Thread: Why Shave Straight

Originally Posted by mrgad

Not completely incapable of brevity,
M.

sometimes, more is more!

I was inspired to read as many pages of the Penelope chapter as I could out loud last night to my girlfriend. that's a challenge, to parse all of it without punct. there's a Naxos audio book I have where a woman reads it so beautifully...

As soon as I finish Gravity's Rainbow, I'm going back through Joyce; haven't read him since I started shaving. I'm sure there are all kinds of surprises waiting for me.

Inspired by all the comments about Joyce, I thumbed through my old copy of Ulysses and was able to find this other passage -- much later in the book -- in which Stephen explains the advantages of shaving at night-time. I put into bold the part that most struck me:

A softer beard: a softer brush if intentionally allowed to remain from shave to shave in its agglutinated lather: a softer skin if unexpectedly encountering female acquaintances in remote places at incustomary hours: quiet reflections upon the course of the day: a cleaner sensation when awaking after a fresher sleep since matutinal noises, premonitions and perturbations, a clattered milkcan, a postman's double knock, a paper read, reread while lathering, relathering the same spot, a shock, a shoot, with thought of aught he sought though fraught with nought might cause a faster rate of shaving and a nick on which incision plaster with precision cut and humected and applied adhered: which was to be done.

And, one final note: I also found a passage in which Leo Bloom reveals that his own razor is of Swedish make - and that the vendor who sold it to him charged extra because he'd honed up the blade. Now that is an experience to which I'm sure we all can relate!

Shave ready,
M.

Mrgrad,
Thanks for that excellent piece of writing. I am a newcomer to straight razor shaving and I am asked on a regular basis by my friends and co workers why I do it. Ever since my barber gave me a straight razor shave on my wedding day, I knew I had to have one. And, I like the nostalgia of the practice...much the same reason I wear a fedora much of the time. You summed up everything I love about using a straight in a few sentences. I know I still have volumes to learn and love about it, but what you wrote really struck a chord with me. Thanks for writing such an inspirational piece!

I've gotta say, I read the title and though, "because when I'm a few tumblers in I can hardly see straight"

you are right, immersive. excellent word to sum it up. it is the one activity I have found that let's me focus so completely that everything else is gone. I can truly reset. I have noticed on the rare occasions I don't shave my day doesn't go the same, I'm not as focused on the work ahead and haven't properly situated behind the home life. there is also a pride and confidence I get from it.

Red

Excellent post, you've put into words what goes through my mind when I use a straight

Well done. I just wish my beard grew faster.

Damn great prose. Emotion to hands to pen . . . what a fabulous piece. Not much else to add to that.



Alpsman

Yeah this is a great way of putting it.

*BOOKMARK*

Thank you to everyone for the exceptionally kind words both here in the thread, as well as in the PM's I've received.

That said, how is it that someone as passionate about straight razor shaving as I evidently am, has managed to travel thousands of miles for Fourth of July weekend without his shaving brush!? The first night, I tried a quick substitution -- nimble fingertips -- but the lather was about as thick as airline coffee. My host was a green tea drinker, however, and he had this little wooden brush which is traditionally used for encouraging green tea powder to dissolve in warm water or milk. I can't say the badger is in any real danger of being put of work by the wooden tea brush, but at least it allowed me something like a decent shave for the rest of my trip.

Hope the rest of you managed to pack more sensibly.

Cheers,
M.

Another few reasons why I am attracted to straight razor shaving is the bad to the bone aspect. Its the same reason why women are sometimes attracted to the bad boy image. Sort of the badass image, nothing oozes testosterone like a straight razor.