Thread: 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

Originally Posted by gssixgun

A clear water touchup pass is quite common

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.

Originally Posted by mainaman

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

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.

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.

I just lather and go, works great for me.

Originally Posted by mainaman

I just lather and go, works great for me.

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.

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.

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.