Number of Passes - What is Traditional?
- Thread starter draconicsonic
- Start date
Then there's these glimpses into the current state of the shaving art outside of the sport-shaving forums...
and
and
Hitchcock humor...
The movie might not have been back in the day, but Bronson learned to shave back in the day...
George Harrison goes ATG...
I dont belive any of tjose people can shave
- Thread starter
- #70
Yeah personally I do a single pass and while I do get five o’clock shadow, it doesn’t bother me at all. I just prefer the ease and comfort of a normal single pass shave. Which I suppose is what most men who shave do, forums aside.
I agree with you, DEATHMgck. I'm also inclined to believe that they're all pretty close to being typical; much more so than we who have taken a greater interest in the subject. I don't think those particular men have any training -- they've just gone about with trial-and-error. To hear them talk, I'd guess they can get through a shave, but they don't like it and aren't especially good at it (and know it). They shave when they have to.
I think those women are much more regular shavers, mainly on account of there being a higher social cost in most (US) circles for being a visibly unshaven woman than a visibly unshaven man. They may have received some instruction from their mothers/sisters, and compared notes with friends. They may even have read articles in magazines on the subject of ladies' shaving, though I've seen very poor advice advanced with great confidence on the subject of ladies' shaving.
And now to bridge back to the OP: I don't think it was much different in decades past. I think most men figured it out just enough to get through the shaving they had to do which, prior to the 60's was every day for most men. If everyone was getting the close, comfortable shaves we now know are possible from vintage razors, there would have been no problems to solve with cartridges.
[B said:
I think starting with a well thought through multipass routine is actually a great benefit of our modern ability to share information. In the past, folks just figured out what worked for them by trial and error, or got advice from dad / family member / friends. I personally find that the "modern classic" three pass routine works extremely well for me, and I am a tough case (very tough and fast growing stubble, very sensitive face, historically prone to irritation, have to shave daily).
Having shaved with a de before cartridge razors came out, there was not a term passes for shaving. People mostly lathered once, shaved n to s then touched up where needed with Residual left over lather, myself, father and grandfather, great shaves no Problems and nobody saying it was wrong. A shaving hobby is a whole Different story with Multiple passes to make the shave last longer which is great. A shaving rotation of de,carts,straights and electric, I get great shaves with each method. The rotation of each method is the hobby for me.
My dad would always boil a kettle for shaving. He would never shave with anything other than hot as hell water. I don't know if he did passes but I do remember the noise. I'm pretty sure the sound of his whiskers being mowed down could be heard across the street. I also remember the blood. He musta used half a toilet roll on his face every shave, and he always blamed the blades. That would suggest he shaved against the grain as well.
I don't think he put a lot of thought into 'prep' and relied solely on a hot water splash, then have at it with reckless abandon. He was a butcher and would probably have achieved the same results using his knives. Strangely he did not and would not ever leave the house without a shave, in all the years I knew him, which was fifty years. Every time I met him as an adult he said I needed a shave, even if I didn't. He put a premium on shaving daily but couldn't shave worth a damn. Strange guy my dad.
Moral of the story is past generations weren't always 'doing it right'.
I don't think he put a lot of thought into 'prep' and relied solely on a hot water splash, then have at it with reckless abandon. He was a butcher and would probably have achieved the same results using his knives. Strangely he did not and would not ever leave the house without a shave, in all the years I knew him, which was fifty years. Every time I met him as an adult he said I needed a shave, even if I didn't. He put a premium on shaving daily but couldn't shave worth a damn. Strange guy my dad.
Moral of the story is past generations weren't always 'doing it right'.
It wasn't until the internet era that people really talked about this subject. The idea was to get a clean shave that was socially acceptable, without taking too long. "Gourmet shaving" did not exist, though you might want to have a really close shave for special occasions.
One pass would be enough if your beard was light. Otherwise, you might go with the grain and then shave again in another direction in the places where that was needed.
One pass would be enough if your beard was light. Otherwise, you might go with the grain and then shave again in another direction in the places where that was needed.
I don't think there is a norm in number of passes we take. I have always done 2 passes with a touch up all ATG. My son just does 1 pass with a touch up. Others may do just 1 or 3 passes, it depends I think on the person.
I don’t Believe there was a right or wrong way to shave. I think everyone had a Different method. My sister in law has been a barber for 40+ years, in barber school they were taught a one pass multi Directional shave or sometimes called a once over shave. I asked her about 2,3 pass shaves with a de razor, she was told a de razor was a safer form of straight razor shaving, and should be used in the same Manor.I guess someone came up with shaving in passes and it Became a golden rule now. As long as the method people use works is what really counts.
I agree , but so much matters of what kind of beard we have . Dark coarse beard , blond maybe thinner hair , makes a big difference on how we shave. My self , shave WTG then a touch up. I never need more than this . Reason, I had light brown hair . Now gray white beard .
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