Rapid Shave

OK, I probably shouldn't admit to the following, but here it goes:

We had a big party at the house Saturday evening - expecting close to 50 guests. We had a very busy day leading up to the party & I showered late. I got out of the shower and was stropping my razor when I noticed it was 15 minutes before guests were to arrive. I realized it would not be my normal long and relaxing shave. Since I decided to cut the goatee off a month or so ago and now have to tackle my chin, my shaves normally take me 25-30 min minimum. I was sporting 2 days' growth and definitely looked scruffy. I was tempted (gasp!) to pull out the G*****e F****n, but decided not to slide down that slippery slope. Yes, I would carefully attempt my fastest straight razor shave ever.

I had lather on my face and my razor approaching skin when SWMBO walked in and in a tone of disapproving disbelief said “You’re going to shave!? I've been so busy I haven't been able to change my clothes yet! Who's going to answer the door?" Whew! Pressure's rising - must not let the stress cause me to tighten my grip on the razor. Deep breaths, light touch, poetry in motion... must not let obsessive nature take over - concentrate on beard reduction, not BBS!

Gentlemen, three light passes in about 7-10 minutes. Much to my shock, it was a respectable shave. Portions, but not the entire face were BBS. However there were no blatantly missed whiskers, only one tiny nick, and a close visual inspection in the mirror revealed a respectable shave.

Special thanks to LinacMan Junior for being my personal valet. He laid my clothes out for me, washed out my brush and scuttle and straightened out the shave den while I dressed.

I don't plan to let this be the norm, but I learned that I don't have to be obsessive about some areas of my face to get a good shave.

Testosterone makes you attempt dangerous feats. It makes you live for the adrenaline rush. Sometimes you have to live on the edge and take crazy risks like this. The risk taken? I'm not talking about shaving fast with a wicked sharp straight razor, I'm talking about risking SWMBO's ire:).

Legal disclamer: Do NOT attempt this yourself. The OP is not a trained professional, just a stupid guy doing stupid things.

Great post, hope the party went as successfully as the shave.

Hello, LinacMan:

Thank you for that informative and useful post. Well done, sir.

Regards,
Obie

It typically takes me only 15 minutes to shave in the morning (this is after a shower). Of course I only do the one natural pass (all you really need). Abscent the shower, I would have to add another 5 minutes for prep (hot towels).

Sometimes shaving's just shaving, even with us. It's nice to have the skills to be able to rattle out a shave, but still use the right tool.
It's also nice to be able to take your time & really enjoy it, but when needs must, you've proved what you've learned over the past months. :tu

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Originally Posted by LinacMan

I had lather on my face and my razor approaching skin when SWMBO walked in and in a tone of disapproving disbelief said “You’re going to shave!? I've been so busy I haven't been able to change my clothes yet!

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:roflmao

LinacMan,

You just won the prize for most spine-tingling post of the year. Sounds eerily familiar to me. Are you sure our wives aren't related?

I'm still laughing (because I can relate). I'm proud that you are doing so well after such a short time. The wife may yet gift you with a new fine razor after such a performance. I hope the party was a success. Thanks for an entertaining tale!
:beer2:

LOL - I think everyone needs to develop several versions of shave and know when to use which. I have my minimalist 1 pass shave all the way up to my luxury shave of 4 passes and several in between.

I use what I need for the occasion and the time I have.

That's great that your son was your valet. Every gentleman needs one!

i started laughing like crazy when you recruited junior as a valet.. he washed your brush? that's awesome..

I have one razor that I shave with regularly unless I am shave testing honed razors. With that razor, I literally can do a full shave with my eyes closed. Yup, tried that out a few times just to see what it was like. My regular morning shave, including lathering and stropping, takes 7 minutes. It's not Shave Of The Day material, but it gets the job done.

Greg,
That made my night...I had a stressful day today, but reading your post totally relieved the strain...poof! Gone!!:D I even shared it with my wife...we both had a great laugh. We do relate.

One question: I never got an invitation to the party!!:rofl2:Did anyone else??

Hope you had a great party and that SWMBO never doubts you again.

Sometimes I have to shave at a faster pace than I like.
If I get up from bed 10 minutes later than I'd should, I need to speed up things a bit.
I left everything ready the night before - brush, soap, stropped razor. After taking a quick shower to get myself more alert - I suggest you don't shave immediatly after waking up, you need your senses in full motion - I face lather, gaining some time over the typical bowl lathering, and start shaving.
I can get a DFS, not a BBS, with only one pass plus touch ups. It's perfectly possible and under 15 minutes.

Ryan,

I think they're all related. How else do they understand each other so well when we're totally clueless as to what they're talking about?:)

To make the story even more spine-tingling: I forgot to mention that she suffers from frequent headaches, and she had a headache all day. Junior & I ran off to "Man Day" at our church from 10 - 4. It's a testosterone-filled event where dads and their sons compete for the coveted Axe of Manhood (and try desperately not to be in last place and be awarded the Cinderella's Slipper trophy - a lovely pink & purple number). To make it even worse, this was a party for someone at my workplace. I work in a large department at a major university, and she only knows about half of the people. She tends to be shy in social settings where she doesn't know everyone.

Lest you think I'm a total loser, junior & I cut the yard, weeded the flowerbeds, trimmed the shrubs, and helped clean the house the few days before the party. The place was spotless and looked like something out of Southern Living.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

:roflmao

LinacMan,

You just won the prize for most spine-tingling post of the year. Sounds eerily familiar to me. Are you sure our wives aren't related?

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Robert,

Glad to provide stress relief:)

As for the party: you don't need an invitation. Mi casa es su casa, amigo. (Or as we say in Alabama "If a tornado's not blowin' in, ya'll are welcome at the double-wide anytime.")

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Originally Posted by BladeRunner001

Greg,
That made my night...I had a stressful day today, but reading your post totally relieved the strain...poof! Gone!!:D I even shared it with my wife...we both had a great laugh. We do relate.

One question: I never got an invitation to the party!!:rofl2:Did anyone else??

Hope you had a great party and that SWMBO never doubts you again.

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David & Victor,

Junior saw both of your posts this a.m. before I left for work. He was grinning from ear to ear. He's even helping me build a doll bed for "baby sister", my 6 year old. We're learning how to make a mortise & tenon joint together.

A good man is hard to find. I guess I just got lucky:)

Greg

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Originally Posted by Alembic

That's great that your son was your valet. Every gentleman needs one!

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Originally Posted by vthomlinson

i started laughing like crazy when you recruited junior as a valet.. he washed your brush? that's awesome..

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Depends on how hurried I am. If I'm in a hurry, about 7-8 minutes, for two passes, including lathering twice. (I lather in the palm of my hand). If I take my time, maybe 10 minutes. I'm conflicted. I say I view shaving as a contemplative, meditative experience, but I'm quick. I can't seem to figure out a way to make a couple of passes last more than about 10 minutes. I suppose I could shave 4, 5, 6 times, or I could take really short strokes with a pause in between, but that seems excessive, and the lather dries.

One of the reasons I embraced straight razor shaving was as a means of slowing down & fighting the rushed and hurried pace of modern life. That being said, I don't always take 30 minutes to shave - I've oversleep a little and had to pare down the shave by a few minutes, don't turn on music, etc. If I oversleep by a lot, I just forgo shaving so I don't have to rush.

Maybe I don't spend any more time with the blade to my face than you do. Maybe it's just the in-between stuff that slows me down, i.e. - take a sip of coffee, answer questions as family members wander through the shave den, change songs, etc.

Saturday was the first time that I consciously "cranked out" a fast str8 shave. It was a calculated self-challenge where the stakes were high:) The adrenaline rush was worth it - like the feeling in your gut right before you go over the big hill on a roller coaster.

I guess in the final analysis it doesn't really matter how long a shave takes. As long as you enjoy the ride, life is good my friend.

Happy shaves!

Greg

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Originally Posted by fdennis

Depends on how hurried I am. If I'm in a hurry, about 7-8 minutes, for two passes, including lathering twice. (I lather in the palm of my hand). If I take my time, maybe 10 minutes. I'm conflicted. I say I view shaving as a contemplative, meditative experience, but I'm quick. I can't seem to figure out a way to make a couple of passes last more than about 10 minutes. I suppose I could shave 4, 5, 6 times, or I could take really short strokes with a pause in between, but that seems excessive, and the lather dries.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by LinacMan

One of the reasons I embraced straight razor shaving was as a means of slowing down & fighting the rushed and hurried pace of modern life. That being said, I don't always take 30 minutes to shave - I've oversleep a little and had to pare down the shave by a few minutes, don't turn on music, etc. If I oversleep by a lot, I just forgo shaving so I don't have to rush.

Maybe I don't spend any more time with the blade to my face than you do. Maybe it's just the in-between stuff that slows me down, i.e. - take a sip of coffee, answer questions as family members wander through the shave den, change songs, etc.

Saturday was the first time that I consciously "cranked out" a fast str8 shave. It was a calculated self-challenge where the stakes were high:) The adrenaline rush was worth it - like the feeling in your gut right before you go over the big hill on a roller coaster.

I guess in the final analysis it doesn't really matter how long a shave takes. As long as you enjoy the ride, life is good my friend.

Happy shaves!

Greg

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Well said Greg...I am there with you :tu

When I started with the straight about 3 months ago, one major discouragement was how long it took. I think I was needing maybe 40 minutes! My wife rolled her eyes but then I told her it took me about as long as it took her to put her hair in rollers, apply make-up, take hair out of rollers, brush hair....

A couple days later I woke up with this lump on my head but I'm feeling better now!

I have a 3 pass shave down now to about 20 minutes, but I'm trying to work out a "B+" straight shave that is quicker--maybe one pass WTG and then some XTG and ATG touch up passes in spots where that will do the job.

I also recently acquired a couple DE razors that I might use when time is short--at least I can still enjoy the good lather and not have to deal with disposables.

I've had to do a quick shave once or twice too. The m3 was very tempting, but I opted to stick with my str8. One quick WTG and one quick XTG in about 6-7 minutes. Not BBS, but that wasn't needed.

I've enjoyed a few quick shaves, too. I find even if I'm not in the mood to shave (or wash, or..) just starting the shave I get sucked "into" it. If my willpower wins to not go all the way for the close shave I still find the end-product very satisfactory. More for less may be the case.


Sometimes the "I'm Not Bleeding" award is enough.

Actually I've found the days I need a quicker shave to be nice opportunities to "play" with my little collection of DE razors. My main point has been to forsake the disposables and canned shave cream and enjoy traditional shaving. The straight is my first choice, but on pushed mornings, I consider it a "special" morning to whip out the Gillette Super Slim Adjustable or the Merkur Progress and enjoy a different "flavor" of shaving.

Usually my shaving takes about 10 minutes unless i'm testing some freshly honed razor. I do not hurry at all, that is just the way i've seem to ended on these years of straight shaving. I already know my face and my neck and how to shave each part. That doesn't mean i'm ready. I'm still learning and i believe there is still a lot to learn. When i started with straights it was much slower of course. It takes about the same time to shave with DE (or Rolls/Valet).

Funny. As i saw this post i thought it was about razor brand 'rapid shave'. I have one razor 'Schaefer' with text 'rapid shave' on the tang.

Hey I have a set almost identical to that "Rapid Shave" you showed us. It's a 7-day set, Schaefer stamp with "Rapid Shave" on there as well. Spike point, similar scales. Picture attached for fun.

I think my slow pace right now is precisely that I lack experience. I'm working at this slowly partly because I'm learning, partly because I enjoy it, and partly because I can go slow--I'm an academic and it's summer so I can dally a little in the AM and "make it up" working in the evening.

Still, I need to pick up the efficiency a bit and also maybe not think every shave needs to be the full monty 3-pass treatment.

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Originally Posted by Sailor

Usually my shaving takes about 10 minutes unless i'm testing some freshly honed razor. I do not hurry at all, that is just the way i've seem to ended on these years of straight shaving. I already know my face and my neck and how to shave each part. That doesn't mean i'm ready. I'm still learning and i believe there is still a lot to learn. When i started with straights it was much slower of course. It takes about the same time to shave with DE (or Rolls/Valet).

Funny. As i saw this post i thought it was about razor brand 'rapid shave'. I have one razor 'Schaefer' with text 'rapid shave' on the tang.

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Originally Posted by Sailor

Funny. As i saw this post i thought it was about razor brand 'rapid shave'. I have one razor 'Schaefer' with text 'rapid shave' on the tang.

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Along those same lines, my most frequently used razor is marked with just a single word--"schnell."

It means "quickly!"