Thread: THE HOLY GRAIL

Obie! Your posts are a pleasure. Thank you for them.

My perfect shave? I strop while the sink fills with hot water, scuttle at the bottom getting hot. The strop draws "just enough" with EVERY stroke, and the back-forth back forth rythmic action is akin to the trances I've seen in the swaying of holy men. I smile for no reason other than enjoying the moment.

I take a hot shower, and whip up some lather. Sometimes it's just effortless, and the lather seem to spring forth as if it was just waiting for me to wake it up. More smiles reserved for when something you enjoy seems to be an extension of you rather than a task you DO.

A warm brush across my face, and that first stroke....when a razor is VERY sharp, yet exceptionally smooth. Every stroke is the same, but for the slightest sound of my favorite 8/8 half hollow damascus popping the whiskers, the squeegee smoothness would belie the fact that anything is being cut.

Rinse, lather, repeat XTG. Rinse, lather, repeat ATG, just whiping that alther off my face, in unthinking concentration. The simplicity that comes in the practice of the precise. Sythe through the tricky spots, and see the skin is clean and well shaven...there will be no need for touchups today.

Warm rinse, get rid of errant lather. Rub the alum block, which feels pleasantly astringent, and not a single nettle-point sting or irritation. Clean my brush and scuttle....look at that, I didn't even overload my brush today, there was plently of thick warm later for all three passes, but not much going to waste down the drain. Clean and dry my razor, put it aside like the beloved tool it is. A warm rinse, and some aftershave....Bay Rum and Sandalwood...still my favorite. Again, there is plenty, but no waste, and it seems to coeat my skin and absorb at the same time, leaving the scent, the smoothness, and the softeness, with the slightest tingle of alcohol and witch hazel.

Then, when I get out of the bathroom, my two year old daughter says "Daddy shave face?" and I bend down, she feels it and says "soft." (this really happens once or twice a week, and it is soul-enrichingly wonderful!) My wife tells me I smell good (this is nirvana, yes? She detests Bay Rum in the real world), and remarks how incredibly manly and impressive she finds the fact that I sahve with a straight razor.

Thanks for giving me the few minutes to go through that in my head this morning, Obie. It was almost as nice as when I did (most of) it this morning.

Well written, Obie! I have no idea what my ideal shave would be. Looking back, my best shaves were usually determined by how my day went afterward, rather than the actual shave.

I consider myself lucky to have received razors right from the hones of Glen and Max, and the first shaves with those were awesome. I also remember the first time I shaved with a razor I honed myself, and while my edge was far from perfect, it shaved and filled me with a euphoric sense of pride that day.

I guess it changes. I'll have a nice shave before an evening out with the wife, come home and think "It doesn't get any better." Then I'll get a new razor, clean it, sharpen it up, try it out and once again say "It doesn't get any better."

As a newbie, striving for the experience you described so eloquently, your post gives me inspiration to trudge through the bleeding chins, the styptic pencils and my less than uberlather.

The perfect shave is elusive and ephemeral. It taunts us . It is like the perfect golf shot, or an inspired improvisation by a musician. All amateur golfers have hit one true perfect shot, amateur musicians played a perfect solo. It is that memory that drives us - we strive to find our holy grail yet again. What is my perfect shave ? I am still searching.

Ken

Dear Obie,

Thank you for some wonderful prose.

Me? It is not so much a Holy Grail as it is a White Whale.

I find I am now obsessed with the elusiveness of a BBS shave and the process of obtaining it.

I love the whole ritual of preparing, executing and clean-up after the shave.

I start by selecting some classical music. The Goldberg Variations by Bach is always nice. I run the hot water till scalding and fill my G5 scuttle and put my brush in to soak. I then select a razor and strop. I usually use TOBS shave cream, so I select the fragrance. Now it's time for a hot shower. At the end I soak a whash cloth and apply to my face for several minutes, keeping it well soaked in the process.

After drying off, I empty the scuttly, put in fresh hot water and prepare my lather. I then fill the ink with hot water face one more time with Musgo Real Lime Glyce soap. Next I apply the lather.

I perform a WTG, a XTG going towards the ear, a XTG going towards the nose and an ATG pass, rinsing and lathering between each pass. I then perfrom a pilishing pass with my EJ DE89L.

When everything is just right, this results in an abolutely incredibly close and long lasting shave.

I finish with the Alum Block, cold water rinse, Dominica Bay Rum, and finally Barclay and Crocker Bay Rum Vitamin E and Aloe balm.

The clean up is just as maticulous. I wash and dry the scuttle, rinse my brush in hot and then cold water and shake out the excess into the shower. I wipe down my razor and use a thin barber towel over the end of a thin spoon to dry inside the scales. I do 20 laps on my strop and then apply a thin coat of choji oil to the blade and place it back in the rack.

I find that when I use spike points, I slow down and really concentrate on the blade position and pressure more out of fear of the point. Yet another component to the White Whale shave.

I am thinking of hammering a nail through a gold coin into the side of my razor rack. It will go to anyoneat can help me consistantly get the shave i am after.

Signed,
Ahab

Obie and Smoke well done-

All I know is that when the house is quiet= I am alone I know its all going to go well as I have have the time without distraction to do my prep properly-

Its like a zen moment when I begin and decry the end as I will have to
wait another day or so to do it again.

Late a night with a enough beard worth shaving I regret not getting up and doing it but I know I am too tired. And since I detest regret I take a breath and remember what John Wayne said me almost 40 years ago, "A man has to know his limitation".
Then I just look forward to the next morning.

Obie,

Thank you for the insightful post and thought provoking question. Let me begin by stating that ever since I started using straight razors, shaving has become a pleasurable experience. Previously, I had been using cartridge razors, and even a top-of-the-shelf Braun electric. I was never enjoyable, and I still have some interesting scars from ingrown hairs that would not heal for months. All of this is now history, mainly by courtesy of SRP and its helpful members (special thanks to Simon for that package - you know, the very big one).

When I began using straight razors, I was grateful for the fact that it caused less irritation than any other shaving method I had previously tried. The initial results were less than perfect, but still considerably better than those I had obtained from the Braun electric. Admittedly, the dandy factor did play a crucial role, and I still see nothing wrong in that - there is something inherently sophisticated in using a straight razor (mind you, I am talking about vintage razors in their original state, not one of these new school mutations in colourful scales). Last, the fact that I was practically living next door to Germany's best equipped shaving shop played a crucial role. The gentlemen at The Different Scent were kind enough to offer a shaving and a honing class, and provided me with lots and lots of samples (cf my reviews), and that put me in a position to find the perfect equipment without risking bankruptcy.

Which brings me to you question: 'What is the holy grail of straight shaving?' i have described the tangibles above. Here are some images showing my favourite razors, creams, and so on. Any of these combinations gave me a great shave, technically. No irritation, relaxed skin, no remaining stubbles. But to answer your question, the missing link was the surroundings. There are bathrooms, and then there is this:

So, yes, I am looking forward to another shower and shave in our humble new home in Berlin Grunewald, and I know already that it will be bliss. Sun shining through lead glass windows, birds sining, espresso machine waiting - perfect. Tangible? Not really. Repeatable? I certainly hope so.

Best regards,
Robin

Well put sir. My holy grail simply put is the pleasure of the act itself even if its not the perfect BBS.

So,

Anybody else think its a good idea to head to Berlin to hold a "house warming party" for Robin?

I'm willing to cross borders in search of that grail!

Loved your read Obie, I contemplate that euphoric shaving experience of my own each time I enter my bathroom in the morning. I think of the combinations of creams, soaps, aftershaves, and razors that will give me that perfect shave for that day.

Lately, I've found out somethings about what I love for a perfect shave.

The first is a hot pot to get my brush super hot so my lather is very warm.

The second is my SRD Bridle strop, my edges have never been smoother

The third is finding the scents you love, I've found I love these scents, sandalwood, Rosemary, lemon grass, and anything from The Gentleman's Quarter.

I like to be relaxed, so a super clean bathroom, nice candles good soft wash cloth, and a very hot shower all help the mood.

Lastly, is some good music it's the final key.

Rock on.

David