Thread: 1880s-1890s shave?

That is for absolute certain. There was a certainly the wealthy, I don;t think there is a period in history without them. There was also a middle class, but not at the same % of society as it is today, and of course there were those without much in the way of cash. I think that was a little different then, their were a lot of people without cash but a lot of them were rural and still had enough to get by, but not much cash. Self sufficiency was way more common then than it is now. I did not mean to paint a picture of poor people, just people without much cash.

Originally Posted by RezDog

That is for absolute certain. There was a certainly the wealthy, I don;t think there is a period in history without them. There was also a middle class, but not at the same % of society as it is today, and of course there were those without much in the way of cash. I think that was a little different then, their were a lot of people without cash but a lot of them were rural and still had enough to get by, but not much cash. Self sufficiency was way more common then than it is now. I did not mean to paint a picture of poor people, just people without much cash.

I live in a very recently colonized part of Brazil right now. Goiania (State of Goiás capital) is now about 80 years old. Not far from capital all we see is rural landscapes, and the people still make soap from pig and beef lard and wood ashes or lye. Also, as noted by RezDod, misery is an urban thing. I never saw a "hillbilly" (sorry, IDK if this is a pejorative term - corrections are welcome) with problems such as starvation or homeless. Country people always have a place to grow corn, cassava and fruits, and grow some chickens, rabbits or occasionally hunt an armadillo to eat, and know how to build a rustic but useful hovel to not die under the sun (believe me, rain is not a problem here) - besides very little or no cash in their pockets. This is so real here than city people still have the habit of exchanging goods and services. Homeless starving people are an urban phenomenom.
Oh, the lard/ash soap is good only to wash dishes and clothes, and smell like... lard. It eats skin very fast and leaves a stinging sensation.

And people used to strop razors on buriti palm leaf sheat, a very light and fibrous material, besides resistant.

This is my ball of lard/lye soap. I bet it also contains some used vegetable oil.

Matheus, great post. Why do you have a ball of lard?