Thread: 1880s-1890s shave?

Hi, guys. Was looking at a thread posted in another forum, talking about recreating a 50s era shave. It got me thinking.
Not sure if I would do it or not, but I have several straights from around the 1880s-90s. I wonder what a straight shave from that era, particularly in the Old West of the U.S., would look like?

Other than the soap I'm not sure a lot has changed. A cold water shave with some old school soap, straight razor, I think boar was likely the common brush, I think we are pretty close most of the time. There was not a lot of indoor plumbing during that era, so hot running water was not likely. Most of the running water then was only if the guy carrying the bucket was running. I have no idea how much soap has changed. I have used Yardley vintage soap and it is quite good, however I doubt it is anywhere near that old. I know that some of the older companies producing soaps claim to be using very old recipes. We may be fairly close as it is. Cold water is likely the one thing that most of us don't use that would be the common mans shave back in the day.

Originally Posted by RezDog

Most of the running water then was only if the guy carrying the bucket was running.

Hahahaha! Thanks for that!

Originally Posted by RezDog

Other than the soap I'm not sure a lot has changed.

I suppose this would be dependent on your routine now wouldn't it? Some guys go for the hot pre-shave shower, hot towel and hot lather in a scuttle, pre-shave oils, aftershave, post-shave treatments of various kinds... it can be quite an ordeal!

But I think you're on the right track RezDog, cold water in a bucket with the right soap and not much else. My grandfather lived on a farm and also mentioned that absolutely NO water went to waste- it was reused. Clothes were all washed in one small bucket, no clean rinsing. People shared the bathwater, etc. I would venture to guess that with this strict usage a shave would only warrant about a cup of water start to finish.

Originally Posted by wxc1006

I would venture to guess that with this strict usage a shave would only warrant about a cup of water start to finish.

A cupful of water. Now there is a challenge.

Originally Posted by Frankenstein

A cupful of water. Now there is a challenge.

Isn't everything SR related a challenge at first? That's the fun of it [emoji4]

Originally Posted by wxc1006

Isn't everything SR related a challenge at first? That's the fun of it [emoji4]

yes indeed. and it's still a challenge years later, which is the really fun part. Always something to enjoy and learn.

Could be easy to do with a basin and a pitcher of cold water, add a boar or horse hair brush and you are there. I bet something like Arko soap would be close to what was used back then too.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Could be easy to do with a basin and a pitcher of cold water, add a boar or horse hair brush and you are there. I bet something like Arko soap would be close to what was used back then too.

Bob

Why is it that you guys (US and Canada) don't know about these things? I thought there were loads of 'household economy' type books from frontier times which tell you how to make and do everything.
I'm from Australia so we have an excuse. Soap was only introduced recently here, and most people still don't know what it is.

There are a lot of people that make soap in the area I live. None of them can make a good shave soap. That is a bit more tricky. I lived off grid until '89, and did a lot of that kind of thing for myself. Now I trade for bath soap, that is locally made using very simple ingredients. I think the countries were colonized around the same time frame, so I think you should know as well as any. Basic soap making has not changes much over time. The chemistry of stuff included in some of the modern soaps could be more questionable.