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Perhaps I should explain since I can tell that title made some of your minds wander off track rather quickly. Specifically, I mean your straight razor after each stroke of your shave. Do you wipe the lather and whiskers off your blade on a towel or sponge, or do you rinse it off? Personally, I developed the habit early in my SR shaving life to keep a damp sponge on the right side of the sink and I wipe my blade gently. What do you do? Rinse or wipe?
I wipe mine on a piece of toilet paper.
I wipe on my palm (one stroke of palm stropping, kind of), them wipe my palm on a towel.
Wipe mine on a damp sponge. I rinse it under the tap only when finished shaving abd before drying it with some TP.
Bob.
I just put my razor under the water faucet (usually warm/hot water). Usually do half my face rinse, other half rinse and then dry (like palm stropping but on a dry rag). lather up repeat and finish. I have been drying razor inbetween my first pass and second shave since I had bad luck with rust getting on bevel when I started. I probably don't need to do it at all though
I'm using both, depending on a day. Recently, it's been a small towel.
I must add that I'm keeping a sponge outside sink (don't want to hit a SR on faucet or a sink).
I rinse mine, an wipe the blade at the end of my shave with a bit of TP. I have tried the towel and sponge and I just do not care for it.
Attachment 279416
No concrete system. I'll rinse off shaving cream under running water (not shaking the blade like a disposable) and wipe the hair off with my hand/TP/PT and dry with TP/PT at the end. I've tried using a towel, but it seems like the edge would snag on the fibers of some towels if you weren't careful.
I have a bunch of shaving towels and find now that I just rinse. I bet I rinse 4 times per full face pass. I do three passes. Now if when I rinse I find the stuff didn't come off the edge fully then I wipe on the towel that is in my hand. I bet I use the towel more for cleaning up the sink and counter-top more than anything else. And to scrub out the sink with Comet once a week.
Rinse. I like the feel of a wet blade.
I do both. These days I'm shaving every 72 hrs. So it's a wipe on toilet paper for the first pass so as not to clog up the sink with all those whiskers, then rinsing for the second pass followed by touch-ups. This also coincides with the lather becoming thinner with each pass when face-lathering, so it's a win-win situation for me.
+1 Why rinse or wipe every stroke? I probably wouldn't bother rinsing at half shave but then I switch hands and sides of the blade.Quote:
Originally Posted by Christian1
I rinse when the blade loads up with lather. If needed I will wipe the residue that sticks to the edge with a facecloth, usually between passes.
Pete <:-}
Rinse when necessary.
I rinse and dry at the end with TP. I'm sure it's fine to wipe too, but early on I developed a paranoid thought about touching the edge on anything but a hone, strop, or skin.
I rinse and wipe after doing the right side and again after doing the left side.
Some have said never to put a blade in water but the lather is water and soap.
What you do want to avoid is letting the water run down the blade and get in the pivot. That is a no -no for sure.
I probably should do it your way. The Swiss Miss is not happy about cuts in some of the expensive bath towels.Quote:
Originally Posted by xiaotuzi
Dave.....If you are stropping, you are not cutting!Quote:
Originally Posted by rolodave
I strop mine on my 4-folded face (hand-size) towel. Lain at the side of the sink.
Wife uses them to wipe down the sink with bleach cleaner before she washes them.
Hence the 'mystery splotches' on my shaving towels..
I expect new ones for Christmas!
We just need some shave-dedicated towels. That's all!
Not much to ask? :D
Same here. After seeing the Chimensch Video I started using a sponge and haven’t looked back.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XIM0Coix6Gg
I always tell beginners to wipe but I rinse then wipe as a rule.
When I'm using the razor for shaving I just rinse off lather after a few strokes, and when reapplying lather or when I lay the razor down for a few seconds I rinse and wipe it on one of those round cotton pads.
They work really well, I wrap 'em around the spine and wipe the edge clean from both sides.
The Chimensch Video is a classic, nicely done
Usually wipe unless I haven't shaved for a few days. The amount of posts I have seen where new members hit the tap with their newly honed razor, ding...get a giant sponge and WIPE
I wipe on a barbers towel, and it works great for me.
Used to rinse, but got concerned about water getting in the pivot. So now, after using the hot towel in my shave prep, I just fold it and set it at the front edge of the sink and wipe my razor on it.
I like how he holds the razor when shaving his face. I need to learn that one. The tip is towards his nose not ear.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steel
Thanks for the link.
Ole Roy uses that same technique, I tried once but everything seemed fine for me. But I watch hat video at least once a year since I started, that is the the perfect shave, he really is comfortable with a razor.
Tc
Wipe on a paper towel or a tissue while I shave, wipe on a microfiber cloth when I'm all done. Most of the Gunk goes onto the paper and not into the drain. Once in a while throw the microfibre in the wash and get a fresh one out. I also use the microfibre to place the razor back in my razor box, so I don't leave finger oil on the blades. I tried to use a sponge, but I never could wash the stubble out well enough,
Grizli
He uses the right hand for left side of face and neck. And with the way its held??? I'm going to give it a try. Never hurts to try new things.
I liked his technique as well, he seemed to hit his face from every angle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gasman
I will admit that I'm a little freaked out about those quick and effort-less upward strokes on the cheeks.
I'd bet that at-home cataract surgery might not be as cool as it sounds. Maybe I just need another 30 years experience.
I don't see the difference between wiping a blade on a wet sponge and rinsing. The lather and whiskers are gonna go down the drain once you RINSE the sponge, and the blade still gets water on it. If you want to avoid getting the pivot wet, don't put it in the stream of water.
My name is Fred, and I rinse (and then I wipe and dry and strop.)
:shrug:
I rinse, and then wipe with a towel. but, after watching that video, I'm going to buy me a sponge.
I wipe the blade on my palm when I need a break in concentration. Half way through a pass I rinse the blade with my fingers under running water. I put it down and rinse and dry my hands. If I'm slow and the remaining lather on face is dry, I relather. I do two passes. When finished I dry the blade with TP, then strop.
Somewhere around my third shave with a straight razor, I bumped the razor against the faucet while rinsing. Since then, I have been wiping on a microfiber towel, seems to work very well.
I was watching the Chimensch video and SWMBO passed by and asked what the sponge was doing at the bottom of the sink. I explained, and she asked if that wouldn't still expose the razor to the danger of bumping on the faucet on the way to the sponge.
The next day, I found this in the shave den. It seems to work very well, but may be a bit of overkill...
Attachment 279574
what BobH said.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
I use tissue to wipe the lather off after several strikes and rinse under the faucet and wipe again after each pass. I have seen rubber cups set in a bowl that are used much like the sponge wiping method. If you watch the barber videos of Alain the Paris barber he uses a fancy version.
I checked out novel Ulysses today from the library. Buck Mulligan wipes his razor off in a borrowed handkerchief. :cry:
I rinse with the tip pointed down to keep the pivot dry. And wipe when on pass two and three. When the gunk doesn’t want to come off under the running hot water. Then dry with tp before outing it away. The sponge idea does look like it would work very well with the shallow sinks in most bathrooms.
I have a small sink with no side boards or counter, just the small sink. Tried sponge and a special rubber dish but sink is too small for me to safely use these. I ended up with damp folded shave towel draped over right hand side of sink. It is an simple/easy move from faucet rinse to draped towel for a few wipes. Rinsing only the blade being careful to avoid pin. I've been doing this for a couple years now and it is working good for me. There's a white shave towel on the towel rack in the mirror.
Attachment 279592
I usually just rins. But I do have a thought about starting to wipe.
I did wipe when I shaved of the November beard.
I started out rinsing, but after chipping a blade in the sink I have moved to wiping on a sponge. I have to say that I prefer it. When I am done with the shave I do rinse the razor under hot running water. I figure if the blade is warm it will help the drying process.
I wipe it off with my brush and use it again. I used to rinse my razor but as a face latherer all the lather I have is on the brush. I do a one pass shave. But areas where the direction of the grain changes get two passes. These get another coat of lather before being shaved in a different direction. So I don't want to lose lather. And that is what happened when I used to rinse.
I rinse for now. Eventually I'll probably chip a blade on the sink and go straight to wiping. But for now, I rinse :)
Wait. You reuse the lather with the stubble in it? Wipe the stubble and old lather back in your brush and then back on your face? Surely I am misunderstanding here. Sorry but I had to ask.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kees
