Chaaaz's "Zen and the Art of Shaving" Section
When ever you feel that you have reached a next level of harmony with your blade or the balance and flow of your shaving has taken on a mystical level of trancendental meditation please leave us your inspiring note here. Heck if you shaved with out cutting your self for the first time here is a good place to note it.
This area is dedicated to our buddy Chaaaz who's enthusiam for experiment is nearly boundless, and is a delight to read.
John in Covina
Zen, and The High Art ....
Geez! Thanks, John!
The High Art of Straight Razor Shaving - and that is exactly what it is - certainly has many qualities that approximate the levels of concentration achieved by meditation.
Focus and balance are the two beams we build our shaving knowledge upon. Lose either, and you ruin a blade, or even worse, a shave and your face!
Whether it is honing a blade, stropping to final keenness, or making a stroke along your jaw, your entire focus and concentration is required.
During this time, you sense the blade's balance in your hand; its weight as you direct it, and how it is responding to your touch. You can become so "in the moment" that you lose track of time and space, where the universe is focused down to the small patch of skin directly below the blade at the time. You become acutely aware of blade pressure, stroke direction, blade angle, lather lubrication.
In the end, after a particularly smooth, and event free shave, you snap back into the larger world, and realize that something magical has happened again. That you have connected to the millions of men past who have learned, and then performed this ritual the exact same way you just did. That connection is almost mystical, and serves to reinforce the rightness of the act, and a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.
Yes, it can be Zen-like. And it is certainly a High Art. Hopefully, we can all continually improve our skill, help each other learn, and strive for that perfect, elusive shave.