Thread: Dry Shaving

Originally Posted by Ryan82

You should also keep in mind that shaving dry is extremely hard on a razor's edge.....

What is your reasoning behind this? I suppose one could say that the softening of the hair by lather does less damage than a dry hair. But there can't be much difference between the two I wouldn't think. Any elucidation?

Originally Posted by adbuett

What is your reasoning behind this? I suppose one could say that the softening of the hair by lather does less damage than a dry hair. But there can't be much difference between the two I wouldn't think. Any elucidation?

The long answer is thus: average beard hairs are actually very tough. It has been measured here before that some mens whiskers are comparable to copper wire, and in some cases even stronger. Lathering will serve 3 purposes - provide glide, skin conditioning and soft whiskers. As we know, soft whiskers are cut with much more ease, thereby reducing stress and wear & tear on a razors cutting edge, which in reality is very fragile.

And what is the short answer you may ask? Take a look at a microscope pic of a razors edge damaged by the cutting of coarse, dry whiskers

I would suppose then, if this explanation holds true, that cold water shaving is harder on an edge than hot water shaving? From what I understand cold water is making hair more "brittle", thus allowing the edge to bite into it easier.

I think though that edges are a lot tougher than some people give them credit for. You're going to have to do something serious to really hurt an edge to the point where stropping or a quick couple laps on a barber's hone wont make the edge right again.

Originally Posted by adbuett

I would suppose then, if this explanation holds true, that cold water shaving is harder on an edge than hot water shaving? From what I understand cold water is making hair more "brittle", thus allowing the edge to bite into it easier.

I think though that edges are a lot tougher than some people give them credit for. You're going to have to do something serious to really hurt an edge to the point where stropping or a quick couple laps on a barber's hone wont make the edge right again.

I've looked at my edges under 10X magnification after my shaves and before stropping. I have an average beard, I suppose, but the damage to the edge is clear under 10X. It is surprising, then, that stropping is as efficacious as it is. It seems to repair the damage visibly.

Originally Posted by adbuett

I would suppose then, if this explanation holds true, that cold water shaving is harder on an edge than hot water shaving? From what I understand cold water is making hair more "brittle", thus allowing the edge to bite into it easier.

I think though that edges are a lot tougher than some people give them credit for. You're going to have to do something serious to really hurt an edge to the point where stropping or a quick couple laps on a barber's hone wont make the edge right again.

Well, there's many advocates of cold water shaving here, and many theories as to why it works. I'm not sure if it makes whiskers "brittle", but the most common belief is that the cold water makes whiskers stand on end, making them easier to cut. Remember, lather is also being employed, so whisker softening is still happening. And yes, I have tried the 1905 cold water shaving technique, and it works very well. To be fair, I didn't do it long enough to asses its effect on edge longevity.

As for your second point, I think the opposite holds true - too many people think a razors edge is less delicate than it is. Edge damage is happening all the time (some gentlemen with particularly heavy beards are touching up their razors every few shaves because their whiskers are literally tearing the edge up). Of course, stropping and honing will fix any problem, but you would be putting a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on your razor by having to do touchups every couple shaves due to dry shaving and other abuses.

Originally Posted by adbuett

I would suppose then, if this explanation holds true, that cold water shaving is harder on an edge than hot water shaving? From what I understand cold water is making hair more "brittle", thus allowing the edge to bite into it easier.

I think though that edges are a lot tougher than some people give them credit for. You're going to have to do something serious to really hurt an edge to the point where stropping or a quick couple laps on a barber's hone wont make the edge right again.

This is assuming though that brittle is the opposite of hard?

From and engineering point of view, i would say whiskers are tough, that is resistance to impact as opposed to hard, which is resistance to deformation. Increasing the brittleness through cold water shave is the same as make the whiskers less "tough", ie it is easier to cut them. although they can remain hard. Although strictly in the case of cold water we should say "makes it easier to fracture them.

So not necssarily more destructive to the edge as it takes a lot less force and effort to effectuvely fracture the hair than to cut it if it were a dry shave.

In the case of warm water shaves, my hypothesis is that through the action of lather, water and heat, you soften the hair, decreasing its hardness thereby increasing its "cleavage" which is its capacity to be cut.

as i said, these are just my hypotheses on the subject

and i may have my terminology wrong, but i know what I'm trying to get at uni was a while ago

Edit: I pretty sure ductility needs a mention in the warm lather shave hypothesis.. Will have a think, goes hand in hand with cleavage anyway, and cleavage maybe an outdated term

Originally Posted by tekbow

In the case of warm water shaves, my hypothesis is that through the action of lather, water and heat, you soften the hair, decreasing its hardness thereby increasing its "cleavage" which is its capacity to be cut.

Cleavage is good . I'm all for increasing it .

Originally Posted by dave5225

Cleavage is good . I'm all for increasing it .

dammit.. its 2nd year materials engineering all over again..

Ah, but the lathering is a significant part of the entire shaving experience which adds to the stropping, the shave itself and finally the aftershave and becomes greater than the sum of its parts. I wouldn't enjoy the experience nearly as much without it.

If I'm not mistaken , during beard prep , washing with soap , and water removes a protein on the hair , making it easier to cut . Easier to cut = less damage to the edge of the razor . Of course , if you enjoy dry shaving , keep at it .