I'm a DE guy. But I'm thinking in the 20th century barber "colleges" must have taught students how to sharpen straight razors. Sharpening and honing must have been part of the curriculum, yes?
A short essay on how straight razor shaving used to be
- Thread starter Polarbeard
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That’s what my childhood barber said. He also said they would lather balloons and scrape the lather off with a straight. When they could do that without popping it, they could work on a real face.
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I remember Janet doing that on "Three's Company" (yeah, I'm old), what a mess. It popped and went of like a lather bomb. I wonder how many strops they were allowed to knick before catching Hell.
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- #47
I'm not old just fashionably wrinkled with stylish grey strands in my hair. It's me and Peter Pan.
I'm not old just fashionably wrinkled with stylish grey strands in my hair. It's me and Peter Pan.
It’s better than the alternative!
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- #49
Indeed
Just found this! Fine essay! Thanks!
Excellent read! A weird thing that I do when I use a "new" razor is I try to imagine the razor's previous owner/owners. These things have survived more than a few wars, economic collapses, migrations, not to mention general use. I like getting banged up blades with hone wear sometimes, and I wonder how many generations of guys used this thing before I got my hands on it. Speaks volumes about the people who made them too. My phone will be obsolete tomorrow, but I'll be shaving with a hundred plus years old chunk of steel for years to come. And I'm sure someone will shave with them after I'm gone as well. Makes you think. Thanks for the history.
When you read this, you understand why the modern version of shaving became popular. Who wants to spend time on an unpleasant and risky chore if you can get seemingly similar results in two minutes with a can of shaving gel and disposable razor that doesn't require any skill whatsoever?
Difficult to put into words why I like straight razor shaving and do it on a daily basis. Its not a single thing, but a combination of skills and experiences.
I started going "old school" many years ago when I found that using a shaving brush and shaving soap reduced the irritation on my neck that was more or less an accepted fact of life since I started shaving. I would be surprised if more than 1% of men these days own a shaving brush!
Curiosity led to trying a shavette because I didn't want to deal with the stropping and honing aspects at first. What was a cheap experiment at first turned into an steep learning curve and an expensive obsession.
Love the craftsmanship in a good razor, love the smell and richness of good soap, love the bristles of a nice brush, love the feel of a well honed blade gliding over my face and a smoothness that I never achieved with a cartridge razor. It will punish you when you don't pay attention, there is a lot that can go wrong, but it's so rewarding when you get it right on a regular basis! Forces you to slow down, make time for it, and enjoy the moment.
Difficult to put into words why I like straight razor shaving and do it on a daily basis. Its not a single thing, but a combination of skills and experiences.
I started going "old school" many years ago when I found that using a shaving brush and shaving soap reduced the irritation on my neck that was more or less an accepted fact of life since I started shaving. I would be surprised if more than 1% of men these days own a shaving brush!
Curiosity led to trying a shavette because I didn't want to deal with the stropping and honing aspects at first. What was a cheap experiment at first turned into an steep learning curve and an expensive obsession.
Love the craftsmanship in a good razor, love the smell and richness of good soap, love the bristles of a nice brush, love the feel of a well honed blade gliding over my face and a smoothness that I never achieved with a cartridge razor. It will punish you when you don't pay attention, there is a lot that can go wrong, but it's so rewarding when you get it right on a regular basis! Forces you to slow down, make time for it, and enjoy the moment.
The danger of shaving back when was not a joke. Henry Thoreau's brother John nicked himself with a razor & died soon after, for example.
Tetnus
Right. Tetanus, then lockjaw.
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- #57
Tetanus used to be a quite common cause of death, especially among people working with horses.
And folks used to be around horses.
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- #59
Indeed, catching tetanus when stabbing your foot with a pitchfork while shovelling horse dung killed more farmers and farmhands than pneumonia.
Yep, been there and done that. Had 8 hay eaters at one time. Lots of work.....later cattle. Glad that over.
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