The process of shaving had remained relatively unchanged since its primeval beginnings--using just one blade stropped and sharpened to the most infinitesimal degree, hot water and a rich lather, a man would cut the hair right off of his face in a few steady, trained motions. It was a ritualistic activity that spawned poems, songs, dances and stories, it was a rite of passage for every boy, it was a luxury, something passed down through common knowledge for thousands of years--and then it died out.
The growth and conflict of the twentieth century thrust the world forward in its ways, pushing it toward horizons of ever-greater efficiency, ease and speed. The conventional straight razor was replaced by the first safety razors, which allowed shaving in just a few seconds without the help of a mirror. Then the stone and strop were replaced by disposable blades which didn't need to be sharpened or cared for in any way. Lather was pressurized and pumped into cans. Then there was the advent of the electric razor--which in turn forced the safety razor to evolve: fist one blade became two, two became three, three four, and four somehow became six--five for reduced irritation of the face and one Precision Trimmer (tm) for those Tough Places (C).
There are some of us who don't enjoy this breakneck progression--these Sensitive Skin razors with blades their numbers rocketing toward the triple-digits, the Arctic Rush gel with invigorating chemicals whose names are sounding ever more like high explosives. That's where the straight razor comes in, that ancient and still-perfect implement, the daily ritual of shaving with it, the rich smell of lather and hot water, the knowledge that what you are doing is very real and not bound by contracts or trademarks. All of us can do this.
It seems like our knowledge of wetshaving (that's what it's called) comes from the movies--whether it's the daily ritual of the murderous Captain Vidal in Pan's Labyrinth or the terrifying act in Sweeny Todd, where your life balances on the precarious edge of the Demon Barber's chased-sterling razor. Trust me, this is exaggeration. You won't accidentally turn yourself into pie while shaving. Nevertheless, it isn't foolproof and you'll definitely cut yourself a few times. I've never cut myself badly--in fact, using a straight razor is very safe if done properly, but:
**This guide is meant for instructional purposes only. You can do this but only at your own risk. I, the author, am not responsible for any injury you inflict upon yourself or others while attempting to do what is herein illustrated.**
Okay, with that out of the way, let's get started.
The growth and conflict of the twentieth century thrust the world forward in its ways, pushing it toward horizons of ever-greater efficiency, ease and speed. The conventional straight razor was replaced by the first safety razors, which allowed shaving in just a few seconds without the help of a mirror. Then the stone and strop were replaced by disposable blades which didn't need to be sharpened or cared for in any way. Lather was pressurized and pumped into cans. Then there was the advent of the electric razor--which in turn forced the safety razor to evolve: fist one blade became two, two became three, three four, and four somehow became six--five for reduced irritation of the face and one Precision Trimmer (tm) for those Tough Places (C).
There are some of us who don't enjoy this breakneck progression--these Sensitive Skin razors with blades their numbers rocketing toward the triple-digits, the Arctic Rush gel with invigorating chemicals whose names are sounding ever more like high explosives. That's where the straight razor comes in, that ancient and still-perfect implement, the daily ritual of shaving with it, the rich smell of lather and hot water, the knowledge that what you are doing is very real and not bound by contracts or trademarks. All of us can do this.
It seems like our knowledge of wetshaving (that's what it's called) comes from the movies--whether it's the daily ritual of the murderous Captain Vidal in Pan's Labyrinth or the terrifying act in Sweeny Todd, where your life balances on the precarious edge of the Demon Barber's chased-sterling razor. Trust me, this is exaggeration. You won't accidentally turn yourself into pie while shaving. Nevertheless, it isn't foolproof and you'll definitely cut yourself a few times. I've never cut myself badly--in fact, using a straight razor is very safe if done properly, but:
**This guide is meant for instructional purposes only. You can do this but only at your own risk. I, the author, am not responsible for any injury you inflict upon yourself or others while attempting to do what is herein illustrated.**
Okay, with that out of the way, let's get started.
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Signing UpStep 1: Getting started: pre-shave mindgames, the stone, and the strop.
Okay, it's the morning and you've just gotten up, you're groggy and can't open your eyes for more than five seconds at a time. Picture one, Exhibit A. While a pro-wetshaver might be able to trim his whiskers in this state, a novice would have trouble and would probably end up with some repressed memories of the experience. I recommend taking a hot shower to wake yourself up--at the same time, it' a good idea to rub the hot water into your beard and let the hair soften up. This makes it easier to get a close, non-irritated shave.
Once you're awake and ready, hone and strop your razor. Honing should be done every few months, or if the razor is dull from misuse, or brand new. Stropping should be done daily, both before and after the shave. The big rule to remember here is that you hone and strop going different directions--hone blade-forward, as if you were sharpening a knife, and strop blade-backward so you don't cut into the leather of the strop. More detailed instructions and more rules follow:
Honing
Dampen your stone with some warm water or lather. I use an Ichabod Conk hone, still produced and easily found online. Place the razor's spine on the hone and roll it down so the edge touches the hone without jarring. If you strike the edge or use the wrong angle, you'll ruin the sharpening job and possibly the entire razor. Now, keeping the razor flat with both the edge and the side of the spine touching the hone, gently swipe the razor across the surface. The razor's edge should be moving forward. Sharpen the entire edge by either angling the blade or moving it in a vertical motion as you do the horizontal swipe. At the end of a stroke, roll the razor over on its spine and do the same thing in the other direction. The rolling action is to keep the blade from contacting the hone badly. You'll also use this technique in stropping. About fifteen strokes should be sufficient.
Stropping
Use a hanging leather strop for a concave or Y-profiled blade (like mine) and a block strop for a flat or V-profiled blade. As with honing, you must place the blade spine-first onto the strop and then roll the edge into contact with the leather. Do not do this like you've seen in the movies, where the barber swipes the razor back and forth like he's spreading spackle--use slow, delicate movements; roll the blade when you chance direction instead of lifting it; and remember to move spine-first, the opposite of honing. Otherwise you'll cut through the strop.
If you have a combination strop, use the canvas side first to rough out the edge and then move to the leather to fine-tune it. Again, about fifteen strokes should be enough.
Once you're awake and ready, hone and strop your razor. Honing should be done every few months, or if the razor is dull from misuse, or brand new. Stropping should be done daily, both before and after the shave. The big rule to remember here is that you hone and strop going different directions--hone blade-forward, as if you were sharpening a knife, and strop blade-backward so you don't cut into the leather of the strop. More detailed instructions and more rules follow:
Honing
Dampen your stone with some warm water or lather. I use an Ichabod Conk hone, still produced and easily found online. Place the razor's spine on the hone and roll it down so the edge touches the hone without jarring. If you strike the edge or use the wrong angle, you'll ruin the sharpening job and possibly the entire razor. Now, keeping the razor flat with both the edge and the side of the spine touching the hone, gently swipe the razor across the surface. The razor's edge should be moving forward. Sharpen the entire edge by either angling the blade or moving it in a vertical motion as you do the horizontal swipe. At the end of a stroke, roll the razor over on its spine and do the same thing in the other direction. The rolling action is to keep the blade from contacting the hone badly. You'll also use this technique in stropping. About fifteen strokes should be sufficient.
Stropping
Use a hanging leather strop for a concave or Y-profiled blade (like mine) and a block strop for a flat or V-profiled blade. As with honing, you must place the blade spine-first onto the strop and then roll the edge into contact with the leather. Do not do this like you've seen in the movies, where the barber swipes the razor back and forth like he's spreading spackle--use slow, delicate movements; roll the blade when you chance direction instead of lifting it; and remember to move spine-first, the opposite of honing. Otherwise you'll cut through the strop.
If you have a combination strop, use the canvas side first to rough out the edge and then move to the leather to fine-tune it. Again, about fifteen strokes should be enough.
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I assume by sharpening you mean honing? If so, I don't do that every time I shave--probably more like once a month. I may not have made this clear in the instructable...I'll have to go back and check.
Thanks!
Then again, I've never tried stropping one side of the blade. It could definitely work, though I've never heard of it in practice.
But new production razors can be tricky. Cheap razors are made of stainless, and that's bad. Always go for carbon steel. Dovo (the brand of my razor) makes some really good ones.
Basta, thanks for adding these directions. Shaving w/ a straight blade, strop, brush, & lathering soap has become a lost art-form. I'm glad to hear someone still uses it. Maybe someone will read your instructions & pick up true shaving again then convince others to try it too. I'd like to see this type of shaving come back.
An elderly man in the neighborhood where I grew up developed Parkinson's, which caused his hands to shake so bad from the tremors he couldn't shave himself as he had since he was a young boy. Since I shaved my paternal grandfather using this method, I offered to shave him & even trimmed his hair when it needed it. I learned to shave w/a straight blade by applying lathering soap to a blown up balloon. Once I should shave consistently w/o bursting the balloon, I could shave any man who wanted a straight blade shave.
I ran into the elderly man I used to shave back in the day some yrs after I left home. He was w/a nurse helping him shop b/c he had Alzheimer's; it was fortunate for me that he wasn't sun-downing b/c while he couldn't remember my name, he could remember all those times I shaved him & cut his hair. He told me how much he appreciated my taking up time w/such an old man when clearly I probably had better things to do; however, I told him it was not only my pleasure to help him, I enjoyed spending time w/him, hearing stories of his childhood & young man days, & well - his life story. I adored him. When I told him this, he broke out in tears, wrapped his arms around me, and hugged me tightly. He said I did for him when neither of his two children could be bothered. I was more like his daughter than the daughter he had. That made me cry. It was nice to know I made such an impact on his life considering the impact he made on mine.
I've heard about the balloon trick. Never tried it, though. I HAVE tried to shave the fuzz off a peach, and that's tricky to say the least.
If your experience is that you're just flattening the hairs when shaving with the grain, then one or more things is happening. One is that you're not lathering correctly... especially in the case of a wet shave... as the lathering process encourages the hairs to stand up and the shave soap holds them that way. Another could be that your razor is slightly dull... even out of the packet, most cartridge style razors fall into the dull category compared to a properly kept straight razor and if your facial hair is of substantial thickness a cartridge razor can be made useless after one or two passes (I've actually chipped the edges of Gilette Fusion razors before I switched over to a straight razor). Finally, it may just be that you're sporting facial hair that's still too close to peach fuzz for a razor's edge to bite into when going with the grain (a problem I had when I first started getting facial hair, I never could have anticipated the wire brush that grows out of my face now)