Shaving made easy - what the man who shaves ought to know .. (1905)

[GDCarrington]

Shaving made easy - what the man who shaves ought to know .. (1905)

http://ia360619.us.archive.org/2/items/shavingmadeeasyw0020th/shavingmadeeasyw0020th_bw.pdf

 

[Shangas]

Just found this, downloaded it and printed it. What a wonderful and interesting guide and glimpse into history.

 

[Kione]

I'm reading through this and wow, the insights are astounding to me. Page 51 really throws common thought on its head, hot water makes for a harder shave and soap is used to harden/de-oil the beard.
Not to mention all the talk about lathering your hone and strop. Really neat ideas.

The end part also flies against common thought, shaving with cold water and lather, then only after washing the face you apply the hot towel as a close to the shave to take care of the skin. Good book, entertaining to see how it was thought in 1905. And some valuble pointers I'll likely try out in oh 4 hours or so when I wake up. Until then farewell.

 

[michiganlover]

Preemptive post about his take on safety razors:

He pretty much says in this book that safety razors are vastly inferior to the Straight razor, and a fringe product.

Realize, that the book was published in 1905, which meant it could have been written over a span of a couple of years say 1903-1905.

Gillette's first razor the Double Ring came out in 1903. The double edge razor didn't come into heavy usage, and wasn't even largely known until they were issued to the troops during World War I (1914-1918).

Considering all of this, the safety razors he is slamming are not the Double Edge razors we know, but other razor designs that predated them, such as the 1895 Kampfe Star.

This is reinforced because he indicates they are difficult to strop, a reference to a razor using a wedge blade (that needs to be stropped, and sharpened), and not a razor using a disposable blade:

Of recent years a great number of
safety razors have been invented and
placed on the market, the manufacturers
of each claiming that theirs are superior
to all others and that they have at last
produced a razor that is destined to revolutionize
shaving.

One thing may be said of safety
razors in general—that if a man uses
one he is less likely to cut himself, but
this is all that can reasonably be said
in their favor. Of course, if it were impossible
to shave with the ordinary
razor without cutting one's self, then the
safety razor would become a necessity.
The truth is, however, that anyone who
has a good keen smooth-cutting razor,
lathers the face thoroughly, and will learn
—if he does not already know—how to
handle the razor properly, will run
almost no danger. Such a man will
seldom cut himself.

On the other hand, most of the safety
razors are difficult to keep clean and dry,
and therefore free from rust; and owing
to the difficulty of stropping them, it is
almost, if not quite impossible to keep
them sharp. It is also difficult to make
the correct stroke with them. Probably
a hundred thousand safety razors have
been sold in the United States within the
past few years and it is extremely doubtful
if ten per cent, of them are now in
use.

 

[GDCarrington]

Preemptive post about his take on safety razors:

He pretty much says in this book that safety razors are vastly inferior to the Straight razor, and a fringe product.

Realize, that the book was published in 1905, which meant it could have been written over a span of a couple of years say 1903-1905.

Gillette's first razor the Double Ring came out in 1903. The double edge razor didn't come into heavy usage, and wasn't even largely known until they were issued to the troops during World War I (1914-1918).

Considering all of this, the safety razors he is slamming are not the Double Edge razors we know, but other razor designs that predated them, such as the 1895 Kampfe Star.

This is reinforced because he indicates they are difficult to strop, a reference to a razor using a wedge blade (that needs to be stropped, and sharpened), and not a razor using a disposable blade:

I brought this into play to show how different things were from that point in time. We know more about the way hair, skin and the blades react than in 1905. It is a neat perspective to the fact that just because there is a mainstream way of doing things, does not mean that it will be or continue to be the best way.

Thanks for bring this back. I even forgot I posted it.