Thread: Pillars of good shaving

Recently I followed an experiment done by a former SRP member who tried to see how long he could comfortably shave using just one razor and one strop to maintain it (no pastes, no sprays, or other maintainers). Now I know there are many variables out there that can effect the outcome, but I want to stick to talking about some of the basic and sometimes overlooked fundamentals in good straight razor shaving, Proper Stropping Technique & Solid Shaving Technique. Oh, by the way, he achieved 6 months of daily shaving, except on weekends, before he had some razor deterioration coupled with boardroom before he decided to end his experiment. The conclusions reached by others including myself is that continuous good stropping technique and good shaving technique can make all the difference. These two fundamental pillars of straight razor shaving can sometimes take a back seat after we have been shaving for a little while. Often times our drive to continue refining these two techniques plateau after a certain level of proficiency is achieved. With stropping, this seems to happen once you can strop at a decent speed and no longer damage your blade, we end up going into an auto pilot routine and forget how important it is to continue to work and improve this subtle but important aspect of razor maintenance. The other fundamental that sometimes gets sloppy or begins to take a back seat after awhile is continuing to push ones shaving technique, I'm talking about the nuts and bolts of shaving, knowing your hair growth patterns, proper blade angle and good skin stretching. Often times one can trick themselves about how good their technique really is and begin looking to other tools such as finer hones, more expensive blades and different pastes in order to get better shaves. My purpose here is not to knock all the wonderful various items that we have available to us because they all have there place and we can argue about them endlessly, but rather I'm trying to point out that nothing will substitute for solid stropping and better and better shaving technique. Lack of technique is more often than not the cause of a not so smooth shave or the inability to get those hard to reach areas on the neck smooth. But time and again we like to attribute these poor results to a dull blade or not using the right fancy lather or so on. Anyway, to sum it up, for me, reading the posts about this shave experiment was a good reminder that the foundation of good straight razor shaving is build on good shaving technique and proper stropping and that these two principles need to be continually refined, everything else is on top of that (IMHO).

You mention two pillars, there are actually three, blade prep, beard prep and then technique. It takes all three of these things to produce a successful shave, any and all variables fall within these three categories. I do appreciate your study and offer this as further food for thought. Have fun with it!

Good post....

A good shave is the net final function of a longish list of things
done well. Things like rinsing, drying and putting the blade up
so it does not rust can get in the way of tomorrows good shave.

You are spot on that some of the details get lost at times...
it all matters.

From my standpoint all those shaving factors are not equal. You have to have a proper sharp razor to do the job and you need good shaving technique to get a good shave. The other stuff like lather and prep though of course important are more minor issues. No matter how good the rest a dull razor trumps everything. I've found even with bad prep I can still get a great shave. Maybe not as pleasureable, maybe a tad less comfortable but it can be done, for me anyway.

I tend to agree with you bigspender, though we all know that good straight razor shaving is accomplished through a variety of elements working together kind of like a fragile ecosystem; (I like that idea). Unlike modern disposable blade shaving where this concept tends to be almost non existent. However when studying this ecosystem I believe the continuous study of being able to maintain a sharp razor (through stropping) and good shaving technique are near if not at the top of the list, and they require continuous refinement (IMHO). A general example, for the purpose of illustrating my point would be, once one is able to build good lather you generally are ok and the need to continue to work at it not as critical when comparing it with other parts of the shave ecosystem. What I was trying to explain earlier especially with stropping is that sometimes we can get lazy or think that we are good enough and we stop continuing to strive for improvement. To me it would be like saying I can hone a razor good enough and then stop trying to really improve. I think that stropping is one of those underestimated techniques and one which people can fall victim to a mindset that once you have the basic idea down there is little left for improvement, especially new to medium experienced shavers. I just really believe that the importance of continually working on good blade maintenance (i.e. stropping) and shaving technique are absolutely critical and the emphasis upon the need to improve them can get lost in the vast amount of shaving information found on forums. It's funny while writing this it feels more like I'm writing a post-it note to myself saying "Keep working on your stropping and Shaving"

Please don't interpret this response as being defensive in any way for I have the utmost respect for all who have commented here I'm just trying to better clarify my point.

What an excellent thread! I'm only a month into straight shaving, but found myself falling into a "this is good enough" traps with my technique. To combat that, I started reminding myself that, "I can do this better." This is really helped to improve my shaving technique, particularly skin stretching, angle and pressure.

Beard growth is something I should look into. Mapping my hair better and trying to get better angles according to the angle of the hair growing out at a particular spot. I really see room for improvement with this area on my chin. While everywhere else on my face the hair grows at a low angle, on my chin its almost perpendicular.

One thing I have done to help me is to print out one of those blank shaving directional maps and have let my beard grow out a little and really spent time mapping my exact growth patterns. You would not believe how much it helps. Technique, Technique, Techniquie. Remind yourself when you are pulling to hard. Learn the little tricks of where to take the soap off so you can get a good grip when stretching the skin on your next pass. Many little tricks when you start putting them all together you'll get a faster and cleaner shave.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

From my standpoint all those shaving factors are not equal. You have to have a proper sharp razor to do the job and you need good shaving technique to get a good shave. The other stuff like lather and prep though of course important are more minor issues. No matter how good the rest a dull razor trumps everything. I've found even with bad prep I can still get a great shave. Maybe not as pleasureable, maybe a tad less comfortable but it can be done, for me anyway.

I like the word "trump" here. Somethings do
trump and dominate the save. Yet if you are
going to get all the points you need to play
all the cards well, even the low ones.

In the old days barbers applied lather with their fingers straight from the latherking machine and as they massaged it in to your face they were really mapping out your growth pattern. You can do it yourself. Try it. Lose the brush for one shave.

Ladies and gentlemen:

For me, four elements comprise the pillars of a good shave: preparation, razor quality, technique and finally.

I embrace the complete ritual and the romance of wet shaving with a straight razor by requiring that all four elements must mesh, like a string quartet, to my satisfaction.

Regards,
Obie