A wet shaving oddity!

[rushchairman]

I just had a funny memory. The first time I saw a real life shave brush in-person was as a boy, at my uncle's house. Curious, I picked it up to examine it - and was somewhat grossed out to discover it to be a wet, soapy, floppy mess. Now, I'm not particularly fussy about my equipment, but I strongly suspect that he didn't even bother rinsing the thing after finishing with it! Maybe not ever! What the heck?!

Have you ever heard of such a thing? Or is this practice more common than I know? Regardless, this wouldn't be the only instance of my uncle being odd.

 

[Graybeard57]

Yuck. Maybe he didn't want to waste soap? I'm cheap, but not that cheap!

 

[Shave_Rat]

I've seen plenty of vintage brushes that certainly appear to have been treated like that during their prime. There was a lot more of a "not waste a thing" mentality in the generation that lived through the depression and the world wars, so it could very well be they were just getting as many lathers from a loaded brush as possible? It will re-lather after it's dried out and then re-hydrated...

 

[rushchairman]

I've seen plenty of vintage brushes that certainly appear to have been treated like that during their prime. There was a lot more of a "not waste a thing" mentality in the generation that lived through the depression and the world wars, so it could very well be they were just getting as many lathers from a loaded brush as possible? It will re-lather after it's dried out and then re-hydrated...

good points. however, he didn't have the excuse of living through some tragic era. i think he was just thoughtless and cheap! he also made his own hooch and summered in a lake-front school bus. in retrospect, his grodey shave brush was probably the most normal thing about him.

 

[Shave_Rat]

good points. however, he didn't have the excuse of living through some tragic era. i think he was just thoughtless and cheap! he also made his own hooch and summered in a lake-front school bus. in retrospect, his grodey shave brush was probably the most normal thing about him.

lol Fair enough. Since I have no personal knowledge, I can only surmise plausible reasons. Was he maybe taught that habit by someone who did live through those hardships?

 

[Mbuckwash]

lol Fair enough. Since I have no personal knowledge, I can only surmise plausible reasons. Was he maybe taught that habit by someone who did live through those hardships?

I have seen YouTube videos of people showing how to bowl lather and their bowls are dirty/soapy with the scum of the prior day shave. They said they leave it in there so as to whip of lather a little bit faster and basically to not waste the soap from the prior shave. I know we all have our own routines and quirks, but to me, that just isn't appealing. I'd rather have a freshly clean bowl for each new shave.

 

[MegaBullfrog09]

Take care of your stuff and it will take care of you. I rinse my brush out after every use. One time I was so tired while shaving that I forgot to clean up and went back to the bathroom in a few hours and spent some time cleaning up my brush.

 

[ateace]

He also made his own hooch and summered in a lake-front school bus.

This was a real man!

 

[BBS Kirk]

That is just unseemly. I must rinse my brush after each use.

Kirk

 

[NCJack]

Probably told as a kid, first starting out shaving, that "it doesn't matter, just leave it" by Great Uncle Fud or "Coach!" and it stuck as eternal knowledge.

 

[JaxJim]

So how many times did your uncle touch you?

I was thinking this, but didn't have the cajones to put it out there!

 

[rushchairman]

So how many times did your uncle touch you?

why do you ask? are you feeling a little under-appreciated?

 

[rushchairman]

I was thinking this, but didn't have the cajones to put it out there!

don't be so hard on yourself! give yourself time. it takes years of practice and major stones to be an internet troll.