I live in London, UK, and the water here is incredibly hard. Most shave creams and soaps take more work to create a lather, the result being usually less than optimal -- a great cushion, but dries quickly. The state of the water is most noticeable with things like kettle elements furring up within a couple of boils -- I'd hate to see what it does to dishwashers and washing machines.

Anyway, I'm 'blessed' with this sort of water for shavng on a regular basis. Most of the time I just get on with it, not noticing. It's what I'm used to. But every year we go on a family vacation out of London. It doesn't matter where we go, the water is almost always guaranteed to be a lot softer there.

Right now we're in Cornwall/Devon borders, and the water supply is pumped up from the groundwater -- water that has come from rain (and boy has there been a lot recently!), filtered through the peat and moss on the moors, and pure as crystal. It makes a great cup of tea annd coffee, for sure.

Anyway, Day 3 of vacation was the first shave day. I took out my travel kit with my little TI Dandy 4/8. It's a good blade -- took me a little getting used to for honing (it's not stainless, but seemes harder than most CS blades). Stropped it. Left it on the side while I stepped into the shower. Came out and started to shave.

The difference was immediate. The soft water had made my whiskers almost silky soft compared to usual. And the blade just glided over my skin, scything down every last hair. I found I could adopt and extra light touch because of this and the result was not only BBS, but an incredibly smooth shave. The alum block test proved this -- not a single twinge or slight sting. It was as if I was passing a bar of soap over my face. (With a more harsh shave, the alum block can sting like a mutha.)

I've been shaving with a straight for 18 months now (so still a newb compared to many), but I've got pretty settled with technique (shaving and honing). I can honestly say that the water in this case was the only variable, since blade, technique, cream, prep etc. have been constants for some time now. My conclusion?

The softness or hardness of the water can make a big step-change in quality of shaves. Big enough to be shockingly palpable. I am convinced of this (Shaves 2 and 3 during this vacation have been just as smooth).

Anyone else notice this factor?