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Ok, this is going to sound like an question, but what brand of shaving soap and aftershave do you think a Victorian sailor (on say, a trading vessel) would choose to shave with?
It's not that i'm trying to imitate the shaving styles of old sailors, i'm really just curious.
I don't know about brands, but I'm thinking it would probably be a cheap Bay Rum. Why cheap? Because he'd be spending most of his money on real rum.
probably some homemade soap and sea water aftershave with a splash of body funk for cologne Hygine was not big on early sailing vessels
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Originally Posted by holli4pirating
hahahahahahaha!!!! good call.
During the seventeenth, eigteenth and nineteenth centuries, very little (if any) shaving occured at sea. Shipmasters onboard both British and U.S. vessels wouldn't allow the men to have a point on their knives. At the start of a voyage, the men would muster wiith the ship's carpenter who was ordered to use his vice and mallet to snap the points off all knives (this is why today's rigging knives have the blunt tip they do). Certainly the razor is easily as formidable a weapon as a pointy knife. Also, fresh water was rationed and would be considered wasted to shave. Hair was typically not cut at sea either. Many ships kept a cask of eelskins rolled up like condoms and pickled in salt brine which were used to cover the tightly braided ponytail of a sailor. The hair was never washed and the eelskin was changed as needed to allow for the growth of the hair. The officers on the same ships were considered "gentlemen" and had the same shaving sets and soaps they used at home.
I started shaving with a straight razor whilst in the U.S.Navy submarine service from 1977 to 1981. Onboard submarines we generate our own air and control the atmosphere with extreme care. Aerosol products are considered atmosphere contaminants. Therefore canned shave cream is not allowed. Everyone either used an electric razor or a non-aerosol shaving soap. The base exchange at the New London Sub Base stocked only the Old Spice mug, soap and brush so that was essentially all we used. Once using a mug and brush to make lather, it wasn't too much of a leap to pick up a straight with which to shave. Also, it was a lethal weapon one could easily carry on shore that was very easily justiified in one's locker at sea.
I do know Pirates used parrots and brown rum for shaving :HJ
What happens when you break your razor in a bar fight? That would stink. I would carry two. One for bar fights and one for shaving.:D A nice old rusty one for the fights and a zowada for shaving. Or visa versa.:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by icedog
Think about it for 2 seconds: Why shave when there are no ladies on board anyway? :p
They were probably shaving when on land. More stable grounds too.
Ok, so the natural progression of this discussion is what did those "gentleman" use for their shaving cream/soaps aboard their ships?
Also, Does Old spice still make soap??
That's a good point, cybrok. I think even the most careful shaver would prefer to shave on something that isn't swaying randomly all hours of the day.Quote:
Originally Posted by cybrok
That was a great write-up Captain Icedog. :tuQuote:
Originally Posted by icedog
Thanks for sharing,
Bart.
Old SpiceQuote:
Originally Posted by bbshriver
:OT Cannon, nice work on the Mitch Hedberg quote in the signature.
This is why every port had a barbershop (or two). It was quite a profession long ago, and considered a luxury in port to get a shave at a barbershop because most sailors didn't own razors themselves. One of the three most popular port venues, right after the whore houses and bars :DQuote:
Originally Posted by cybrok
I guess it felt good to get all cleaned up after all that partying.
Well, it should've been right before the bar, so the guy won't have to pay for the whore :roflmaoQuote:
Originally Posted by marosell
Quote:
Originally Posted by zenshaver
Actually, the clean up was before the party started. On modern ships and submarines we have heads with showers and we make fresh water with which we could bathe. The tall ships of yor had no such luxuries. There were no toilets. For bowel movements the men would climb out onto the "headrails" which braced the stem. (This why the bathroom on a ship is called the head.)http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/...c221e19161.jpg
Once we realize that sailors did not bathe at sea, even when a voyage (especially whaling voyages) might last for years, it doesn't take much imagination to understand why a sailor might take an hour or so to hit a bathhouse and a barber before the bar and the whorehouse.
My grandfather was a sailor with the Royal Navy (I always thought he was a Merchant Seaman, but he recently corrected me) during WWII.
He was on the landing craft(not a very safe job I have heard nearly all his old friends got killed so my grandmother tells me), he won't tell me any more than that !! I don't know why, maybe he thinks he's still not supposed to.
He did tell me that he offered his straight razor using father and other relatives razors cheap as they were sold by the RN stores.
He still uses Old Spice:D
That makes a lot more sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by icedog
Wow, i have always wanted to know why they called them heads. I just thought they had a bucket and tossed everything overboard. You learn all kinds of cool stuff at SRP!
might be suprized at how well you adapt to the sway. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by redcannon
i never heard about the head thing even tho while being in the corp all ****ers were "heads" well now i know
BTW markings on boats have them as WCs "water closets"
:OTWhy thank you, nice work on appreciating good humor.Quote:
Originally Posted by foundlingofdollar
The swaying isn't random at all, if you've spent any time on a small ship at sea, you will acclimate to the rocking, or get very sick, but in normal seas the swaying is something you get acclimated to very quickly. It takes time to get your land legs back, and I've noticed I'll stand in the mirror after a week at sea, and can see myself rocking as if I were still on the water.Quote:
Originally Posted by redcannon
After a short time aboard ship, they would have no difficulty shaving in normal/calm seas.
wow, that's incredible. I guess you do learn something new every day!
This is how one soldier shaved. He carried his straight stuck in his boot which also came in handy as a strop. For soap there were the soap impregnated cloths that were with the prophylactic kits that were more plentiful than ammo.
first time i got off the ship after being on more then a week i felt like the sidewalk was waving for me. fun times for a day or so but then all back to normal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike_ratliff
I read somewhere that sailors of old used to plait their baccy into the braids of the hair.:shrug:
If they did shave aboard I wouldn't be surprised if riggers goop wasn't utilised in some way, (Tallow, Lanolin etc ) For aftershave would they have used Stockholm tar (my fav smell)? :roflmao
PuFF
Don't know if it means anything but I have an old W&B 8/8 wedge that has a huge anchor on the tang next to the maker's mark. I'll attach a photo. Maybe it belonged to a captain?
This speculation is all well and good, but how did sailors shave coochies? :hmmm: We get now to the real crux of the matter and its about time.:nj
That's a beautiful razor Alex.....I love the look that the anchor adds along with the mistique.