New Shaving Wisdom

[Bakunin17]

Spent several weeks with the young folks on Reddit's Wicked Edge forum and saw how the old-time shaving wisdom of the earlier 2006 era shaving forums has really changed.

The classics: Trumper, Taylors, Harris, MWF etc. have been displaced by artisan soaps pretty much completely. Creams are just totally ignored while artisan soap and after shave combos are de rigueur.

Badger and Boar brushes have given way to Synthetics brush use, it's taken for granted that this is the number one choice. Brush knowledge or expertise on the finer points of badger and boar use is non-existent.

The Gillette's and Merkur 34 HD that many wet shavers started on as standard are not recommended while the Henson or Rockwell razors are. Instead of Dovo or Thiers as first razors prospective users were directed to ebayer's selling shave ready vintage straights.

Like in many things, it seems shaving wisdom has been dumbed down.

 

[drmoss_ca]

I'm too old for Reddit, so thank you for exploring it for us. The great wave of wet shaving popularity seems to have moved on and we are now so much flotsam in its wake. If the investors and their marketers had not jumped on the three T's and other traditional products and ruined them for a little more profit, where might we have been now? Still riding the crest of an even bigger wave?

 

[Bakunin17]

The richness and high level of the information on the old forums, Shave my Face, early Badger and Blade, Shave Den, Shave Nook, Straight Razor Place was amazing in hindsight. One could learn something by being on them and it was actually exciting to learn or argue, doubt and see for oneself and still feel a part of a wider community of people you feel you knew just because they were members of the forum. lol

The cheap Chinese razors and brushes, the abundance of artisan soap and razor makers and the greater quantity of shaving gear available may testify to how wet shaving became an industry after all but one emptied of the soul of the 2006 period. Lots of shaving gear abundance but rationalized by the market so that perhaps quality isn't thought of and even the shaving wisdom of as near a time as 2006 is seen as old by the Reddit kids. lol

 

[drmoss_ca]

Well I intend to continue to make my soap, hone my razors and do my best to wear out my brushes. I'll never get through all the stocks I have, and I'll certainly never wear out my razors (the oldest of which is looking forward to its 175th birthday soon.) I used to joke that the corruption of youth was one of the few pleasures left, but now I can't be bothered. They can have their hipster razors and soaps, just as long as they stay off my lawn!

 

[Bogie]

I still search out the same soaps. Witch hazel, pretty easy to find, Bay rum not difficult either. My razors will last at least another 100 years well past my use. The beauty of all this is I can buy some really good bourbon with the money I'm not spending on the cartridge BS they're selling now.

 

[Bakunin17]

That's a beautiful collection of straights Bogie. The Reddit guys have big respect for straights, and many seem to aspire to use them but few seem to get really good advice on good first razors and strops. All seem convinced that honing services cost $30 to $40 and are therefore too expensive to use and so recommend " shave ready" vintage straights from ebay sellers to newbs looking for a first straight. Different advice from the past.

 

[Bogie]

Thank you. It really is something you do or not do. I hone my own razors, but I also have a couple of $100 bucks in hones. I spent the money because not only did I need my razors sharpened, I wanted to learn how so I could be self sufficient. I enjoy taking a not ready to shave blade and turn it into magic. Regarding the price of honing, even the new straights are not truly 'shave ready'. They will shave but almost all need a touch up. I've had a number of new blades and the only ones that didn't need touching up were from custom razor makers such as Tim Zowada, Bill Ellis, Robert Williams, Joe Chandler, Koraat, and Max Sprecher. I kept the Zowada, Ellis, Koraat, and Williams and passed the others along. I had several Livi's that also went on their way. I have two Japanese razors from the fifties that are excellent shavers. I've spent over $500 on some razors in the past and some were truly one of kind works of art. Those are all gone now. Of the razors I kept, other than the customs, I don't have more than $75 in any of them including the ones with the elephant ivory scales. Most were under $50. The one on the top left was a 'find'. I bought a 1890's vintage paddle strop and a bone handled John Heister Str8 ($45). The paddle strop had a hidden drawer in it and the oldest razor of the crop was in the drawer. It pre-dates the paddle by about one hundred years. I guess part of the message is you can spend as much or as little as you choose.
In my experience, there are reputable sellers on the 'bay', if you can find them, that will sell shave ready blades for a reasonable price. The lion's share of eBay razors are not ready. I never bought one that had chips in the blade. Of course a razor can be shave ready, but now the question. Is the person using it 'shave ready'? It can be intimidating, but with a little practice and styptic it all works out. just some early morning rambling.

 

[Bakunin17]

What you say makes perfect sense. Self-sufficiency, self-reliance and a satisfying sense of the feeling of mastery comes with knowing how to hone. Also appreciating the beauty and utility of a razor is a gift to appreciate.

When I started straight razor shaving I followed the advice of the old SRP. My first shave was with a hone meister prepared shave ready Dovo Special and Tony Miller travel strop, it went well and wet my appetite to explore more.

New users can still do that. A nice 6/8 shave ready Dovo, Revisor, Ralph Aust, Thiers Issard etc. and a Tony Miller $50 strop, Chromium oxide to refresh would still equal a good first shave and moving on into the world of straights. Reddit advice to new users doesn't seem as clear cut and simple as the old advice as how to get that first shave done right.

 

[Bogie]

Thanks for sharing. It must be refreshing to listen to all the sage advice from people who are thinking about str8 razor shaving. I couldn't resist I took a peak at Reddit. Don't think I'd be looking to that crowd for advice.

 

[Leatherstockings]

Something I’ve suspected about artisan shaving products is their business model of creating new scents thus a demand where there isn’t a need. People really don’t need to buy several soap & aftershave sets per year. Based on my usage I think I could get through a year shaving with at most 2 pucks of soap and a bottle of aftershave.

 

[Bogie]

I'm still working on a soap I started last February I have a 1/3 left. Aftershave (clubman) and Witch Hazel well over a year.