Thread: The Water-Only Pass

I've used the water only pass for the second or third pass, but I'm not a fan of it. I like to put a little oil (Art of Shaving) on, especially on my upper lip and along my jaw line then do the second or third pass. I noticed in the barber book in the info section, the instructor recommended a further stropping of the razor at this point. Does anyone strop mid shave? I always strop just before I shave but never during.

Originally Posted by JerseyLawyer

... and my razormanship (???)

SHAVEMANLINESS!

Originally Posted by trekker2017

I've used the water only pass for the second or third pass, but I'm not a fan of it. I like to put a little oil (Art of Shaving) on, especially on my upper lip and along my jaw line then do the second or third pass. I noticed in the barber book in the info section, the instructor recommended a further stropping of the razor at this point. Does anyone strop mid shave? I always strop just before I shave but never during.

There are people who strop between passes as I've read in other posts. Then again, there are also people who shave with 3 seperate blades; one for each pass (with, against and across). I keep 2 straights ready in case one is catching more than shaving so I don't have to strop during the shave.

The pre-shave oil is a great idea for later passes, I will have to try that.

-Fred

I usually use a down pass and cross pass with soap and that takes care of it. It is interesting though as we had a member named Anto in the past who only used water to shave and swore by it. We used to have much discussion on this topic. Lynn

That is interesting. I've always felt the water only pass was successful because the cream remained in the whiskers.