Truly Shave Ready?

So this past week I have been testing some razors and trying something new. I read online in some old straight razor books that when using a straight razor one should only use lather on their first pass, if a second pass is needed you should be using warm water only.


I tried it and the razor I honed last weekend went right through my whiskers, ATG after my first wtg/xtg pass.
Only water no lather at all, not even thin amounts, warm water.

shave was superb, no burning, no rashes, no tug, no tight skin.

I highly recommend this for someone who wants to test their razors, or just wants to try a new method with less soap loss.

Very interesting! Can you share where you read this?

A clear water touchup pass is quite common

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

A clear water touchup pass is quite common

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I have seen Glen post this method many times from way back. Since reading his posting that I've tried it on tougher spots on the neck after my requisite two pass with lather and IME it is a good way to go.

You should try with no beard prep whatsoever that will tell you something about your edges too.

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Originally Posted by mainaman

You should try with no beard prep whatsoever that will tell you something about your edges too.

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Some folks here may remember the threads on the cold water shave. For a couple of years now I've been shaving with cold water. My beard prep, as the 1905 manual recommends, is to lather my dry face, rub that lather in with my fingers, relather and shave. That is the extent of my daily shave prep. So far so good.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Some folks here may remember the threads on the cold water shave. For a couple of years now I've been shaving with cold water. My beard prep, as the 1905 manual recommends, is to lather my dry face, rub that lather in with my fingers, relather and shave. That is the extent of my daily shave prep. So far so good.

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I just lather and go, works great for me.

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Originally Posted by mainaman

I just lather and go, works great for me.

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Stefan, many years ago, I was probably about 18, I went to an old barber for a professional shave. He did the hot towel thing and when that phase was done he put the hot lather on and vigorously ..... and I do mean vigorously , rubbed lather into my whiskers with his fingers. That is about all I remember of the shave. It made a big impression on me and when I read to do that in the manual I followed it. Whether it would make any difference if I skipped it remains to be seen .... I will give it a try.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Stefan, many years ago, I was probably about 18, I went to an old barber for a professional shave. He did the hot towel thing and when that phase was done he put the hot lather on and vigorously ..... and I do mean vigorously , rubbed lather into my whiskers with his fingers. That is about all I remember of the shave. It made a big impression on me and when I read to do that in the manual I followed it. Whether it would make any difference if I skipped it remains to be seen .... I will give it a try.

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Jimmy, based on some of my reading and research, it seems the vigorous lathering phase that you refer to is often overlooked, or simply does not get the attention it deserves when discussing the key steps to a great shave. I too have experienced the neck twisting techniques employed by the old world professional barbers. I continue to place a great importance on this; also monitoring the stiffness of my brushes to help me along.

In this vein, one quick story. My barber, old world, Italian man has been cutting hair for over sixty years. He started out as a "lather boy"in a shop in Italy. He was working in a shop at the age of 10 or 11. When a customer requested a shave, he would get a stool, place it next to the customer's chair, hop up and apply the heat and lather. Then the barber would step in and perform the shave. If the whiskers were not prepared correctly, his tip and dignity would suffer. As he stated to me, he learned how to correctly prepare the face very quickly.

My experience has always been the same in regards to vigorous prep. I think it's a combo of loosening up of the skin, breaking up and cutting away any and all of the natural oil on the facial hair and skin, and saturating the facial hair and skin with water until it has absorbed all the water it can. I always get that all done in the shower, and I shave right after.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Some folks here may remember the threads on the cold water shave. For a couple of years now I've been shaving with cold water. My beard prep, as the 1905 manual recommends, is to lather my dry face, rub that lather in with my fingers, relather and shave. That is the extent of my daily shave prep. So far so good.

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Same here. One in awhile I may use shave oil or Proraso cream, but for the most part just the routine above.

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Originally Posted by mainaman

You should try with no beard prep whatsoever that will tell you something about your edges too.

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A+++++ Spot on!!!

I seem to recall a controversial thread from a few years ago where someone claimed that if you couldn't dry shave (or maybe it was with a splash of water, I can't recall) your technique wasn't up to snuff. Pretty soon everyone was doing it just to say they could, and I'm pretty sure not everybody was honest. A load of bollocks IMO. If man was meant to shave with water only he wouldn't have invented all these wonderful products that we use today :)

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Originally Posted by Disburden

So this past week I have been testing some razors and trying something new. I read online in some old straight razor books that when using a straight razor one should only use lather on their first pass, if a second pass is needed you should be using warm water only.


I tried it and the razor I honed last weekend went right through my whiskers, ATG after my first wtg/xtg pass.
Only water no lather at all, not even thin amounts, warm water.

shave was superb, no burning, no rashes, no tug, no tight skin.

I highly recommend this for someone who wants to test their razors, or just wants to try a new method with less soap loss.

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Just completed a "water only" second pass. Interestingly enough, there was no need for the customary third pass. It was a great shave.
I do want to thank you for adding another factor that I can ponder for future shaves: Was it the water only? Was it the blade? Was it the outstanding job by the honemaster himself, Lynn Abrams? Did I do a better job with the strop? Was the water a bit hotter than usual? Perhaps my lather was better?

While I am having some fun here, it really is the journey down the road that makes the destination so worthwhile.

Again Disbuden, thanks for some good advice.

DisB - I remember threads saying cold water was sufficient for all passes if your technique was up to snuff, and Glen mentioning touch-ups w/ water only. For those thinking this is silly, be aware that some soap remains on your skin after the first pass, and the water just thins and spreads what remains. 'Quite nice, really.

I still struggle to stick with your suggestion about a year back - to use the same razor 5 days in a row. I'd be much better off if I did. 'Been one of those weeks where I'm nicking myself left & right.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

I seem to recall a controversial thread from a few years ago where someone claimed that if you couldn't dry shave (or maybe it was with a splash of water, I can't recall) your technique wasn't up to snuff. Pretty soon everyone was doing it just to say they could, and I'm pretty sure not everybody was honest. A load of bollocks IMO. If man was meant to shave with water only he wouldn't have invented all these wonderful products that we use today :)

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I tried dry shaving when I was 14 or so, with a gillette fat boy IIRC. That was when I had peach fuzz and I guarantee I'll never try it again. :p

I see it as academic, My brush is loaded.....Should I do water? Gee! Think I will go with the lather!:y JMHO

I never knew this, about a clear water second pass, thanks! Normally, for my second (ATG) pass, I add more water to the lather so it's much thinner than for the first. I'll try just water and see how it goes, thanks!

I started cold water shaving this summer, and have done so just about all this summer - works great for me! But I still prep with a hot water shower.

I din't know there was a name for it - "clear water," and to be honest this is the first time I have read about it. But I have been doing a clear water pass here and there for some time now. I first started doing it only to touch up my tough spots after my last pass - like pinklather states, there is still lube left over from the last pass, be it one or ten passes. Knowing that, it turned into some shaves where I would do an entire pass that way... works great, but I'll never go without at minimum, that first pass with bubbles. Nope, no way lol.

Then as sharpton states - I always have a ton of lather left on my brush so why not use it? I agree - but for touch ups - it's a great way of getting those hard spots - on my face anyway.

On my face if I have any trouble spots I go over them with just water after the normal shave.

When I shave my head I often do an "aftershave pass".
When I splash on the AS, I'll go over the problem areas and then hit them with AS again. It seems that the aftershave helps to tighten up the skin and stand up those hairs that are otherwise tricky to get.

i just tried a clear water ATG pass after my first lathered up WTG pass and have gotten my first BBS shave since i started a little less than a month ago. i'm not putting all my faith in it bc as AndyPic said it could just be that i am finally getting my strop or any number of other conditions to work correctly but for now im rubbin my face excessively. thanks for the tip!