Does anyone knows how to shave in old fashion grandfather style with long blade and brush ? I need photoes or tell me how to hold or move in the blade in different position and place in the face or neck place.

With thanks

-- Nasseri (ibmcc@colba.net), March 29, 2000

Answers

Nasseri

Ancient Japanese proverb (sorta') "He who shaves with stright razor risks loosing face."

IN any case, the older barbers used to take the balloon test, where they would lather up a baloon and "shave" it. Failure is obvious.

Watch six and keep your...

-- eyes_open (best@wishes.2all), March 30, 2000.

try it out on your legs. trial and error i think. gently, gently catchee ...

-- perilous pauline from australia (paulinej@angliss.vic.edu.au), March 30, 2000.

Got the razor strop for DH, don't have the razor. So now he need infor on how to sharpen 'stuff' using the strop. Help DuffyO

-- DuffyO (duffyo@mailcity.com), March 30, 2000.

Now I originally posted this over on Faye's Y2K board in response to a question by DuffyO but since Nasseri has just asked I'll copy it to here as well. I'm afraid I don't have any photoes, I originally found an article in an old (as in first year of publication) issue of Mother Earth News which is now long gone. If anyone does have photoes of how to use a straight razor I'd like to have the URL too.

==========Copied from Faye's board

Now keep in mind I'm no great shakes with a straight razor but I have used one and used my razor strop to polish it with.

I've seen two kinds of razor strops in the cutlery stores (where I got mine) one is just a leather strap and the other is a leather strap along with a strip of heavy fabric material akin to canvas. I never used the fabric material, just the leather.

The thing to do is to get the very best edge on the razor that you can. To do this I used a medium Arkansas oil stone then a flat honing steel. A black hard stone is my understanding of what should be used after the medium stone but I've never been willing to pay what one costs. Once you get the best possible edge you can get (a very shallow angle edge)you take it to the strop. Using the rough side of the leather you stroke the razor up and down the leather going backwards (as in not trying to shave the leather with the razor). The idea here is to use the leather to polish the blade and smooth off and remove any wire edges you may have created while using the stone. I typically did this about ten times on each side.

There is a strop dressing that's sold for this kind of thing which I think contains some kind of leather conditioner to keep it soft and a very fine polishing agent for the blade. I've been told you can do the same thing with decent saddle soap and jeweler's rouge. Work it into the leather until it's been adsorbed and you can just see it. Don't use so much that it comes off on the blade when you stroke it.

Now as for actually using the straight razor, that's a *highly* experiential thing. The only way to learn is to just do it. What I did was to start with just my cheeks until I get the feel for the thing and use a normal safety razor for the dificult areas. Once I got a little confidence and stopped worrying that I was about to cut my throat it became much easier. Getting a good edge on the razor makes a big difference.

I've talked to old-timers who shaved dry but I guess my sharpening abilities weren't up to that level so I had to use some shaving soap. It didn't take me long to realize the stuff they sell for shaving cups was pretty poor stuff. Even after I stopped using a straight razor I stuck with my cup and brush for years until I decided to grow a beard the day my daughter was born (this seems to be a common thing with new dads, I wonder why?). What I eventually did was to use the best ladie's face soap I could find. Lots of nice, thick, *lubricating* lather. I've still got several bars of Dove in the closet. When the cup ran out I just broke a bar into two piece, dropped them in the cup and microwaved for about one minute on high. It takes *very* little time to make soap melt in the microwave and it gets very hot so be careful.

Remember to always rinse the brush out and shake/fluff it dry when done and it will last for years.

.........Alan.

The Prudent Food Storage FAQ, v3.5

http://www.ProvidenceCo-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@netscape.net), March 31, 2000.

Best things I can think of are-do you know of an older barber who can show you how to sharpen and use a throat-slitter? Be worth paying a bit for the help. Also hit the video store for old movies, lots of striaght-edged razor use in them, westerns and others. Least get some hints. Only other thing I can come up with would be to lather up your face and use either a dull throat-slitter or something (maybe cardboard?) like it and just practice swiping off the lather. Between seeing where the lather is and is not coming off and the feel of your face and throat (you'll know that you've "missed" a spot) get the general idea of how to use it. Then when you've got your razor sharpend, start using it and finish up with your regular razor until you get it down. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), March 31, 2000.

Dear Nasseri, what a delightful question. My experience with shaving is you stroke the opposite way the hair grows. Hair grows left and right, up and down. Look at the way that particular small spot grows, and shave opposite. I'm all for lotsa soft soap barrier like Dove, makes it cut easier and all. Now as for the Strop, I defer to the experts above. I wouldn't put a whole lot of faith into watching how they do it in movies. Seen too many "Technical mistakes" in movie scenes.

-- Humans (helping@nother.com), April 01, 2000.

http://forums.cosmoaccess.net/forum/survival/prep/library2/userazor.ht m

Using A Straight Razor

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Practice: You'll wanna start with a sharp razor.

To get a feel for using a straight razor, try removing shaving cream from an inflated balloon with a sharp edge, without popping the balloon. In a similar vein, some people recommend practicing by shaving a peach or a tomato.

Stropping The Razor:

A leather razor strop can be used to maintain a keen edge. You know you're getting close when you can slice a piece of paper with your razor. The blade is designed so that if you lay it flat on a surface, the angle at which the blade-edge contacts that surface is the optimal angle at which to sharpen it. Lay the blade flat on one end of the leather and draw it along the length of the strop WITH THE BLADE EDGE FOLLOWING. Turn the blade over, lay it flat on the other side, and draw it back the other way; again WITH THE BLADE EDGE FOLLOWING. Thus, you should always lead with the dull edge. The dull part and the edge should both be in contact with the strop (the blade is then flat, and you are sharpening at the correct angle -- probably somewhere around 5 or 10 degrees). Repeat this about six times for each side. NEVER LET THE BLADE EDGE COME IN CONTACT WITH ANY METAL, OR ANYTHING AS HARD AS ITSELF.

Stoning The Razor:

Any kind of nick in the blade edge is impossible to remove using the strop. If the blade is exceptionally dull or nicked, the use of a sharpening stone is recommended. Use this once a week to sharpen the edge ONLY if you shave every day AND you have a heavy beard. Otherwise, you'll end up using material, and the razor won't last. After giving the blade only two or three strokes on the stone(or whatever instrument you choose), make sure you have an old, wide belt to strop the blade. How will you know when to sharpen and strop? Usually when you start to get tiny nicks, and generally irritate the skin. You should strop every time you shave, and use the stone once a week if needed.

Razor Care:

The blades of straight razors are usually made of steel; the more recent razors have blades made from stainless steel. Keep straight razors out of water as much as possible -- water will encourage the iron-based blades to rust, and can cause serious damage to many handle materials. Metal polishes, such as Brasso, Silvo, or Autosol should never be used on the blade. As well as damaging the surface, they can leave polish residues which are both unattractive, and can be harmful to the blade and handle (never mind the person on whom the blade might be used!). Some blades are prone to rust, particularly the earlier blades, made before the invention of stainless steel. The rust can be removed using either a soft 3M scrub pad (the white ones), or 0000 (extremely fine) steel wool.

Cleaning The Razor:

Some materials used in the manufacture of straight razors are porous, and may absorb body fluids. Thus, if blood or other body fluids come into contact with the razor, it is advisable that that razor not be used by someone else.

Next, clean the entire surface of the blade with a Q-tip dampened with either ethyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol. This will help sterilize the blade, as well as degreasing it. Then, apply a thin coat of light mineral oil to the blade; let it sit for a short while (10 minutes, or so), and then wipe the excess oil off using a clean, dry cloth. This oil coating will help prevent any further rusting. Use rubbing alcohol to remove the oil before use, and again after use to clean the blade. Use mineral oil to re-oil the blade after use, as well as after sharpening. Be careful not to get any alcohol or oil on the handle.

Shaving Technique:

You'll need to sharpen each time before you shave your face. Shaving is best done after bathing, because hair is saturated with water after 2 minutes contact. The only purpose of shaving soaps is to see where you have been, but they don't influence shaving results or prevent irritation. Remove hair and soap from the razor with a finger and put it on a piece of tissue, you don't need to rinse the razor during the shaving. I often let my hair grow pretty long before shaving, so I sometimes have to sharpen again half-way through to get a comfortably sharp shave. Keep it under 30 degree angle with the skin, at the chin somewhat more steep. Shave always and everywhere with your working hand (writing/dominant hand). Shave twice: one with and one against the grain. Contrary to safety razors, this won't cause bleeding. Start with the cheeks, then upper lip, then the neck, then the chin. Always move the blade in a direction perpendicular to its edge. Any sawing motion will tend to cut into the skin. It is very important to keep your skin tight where you're shaving. You can do this by stretching your skin across your face with your hand, and/or (my preference) holding your head up or sideways so that it stretches itself. I've found that (unlike with disposables) keeping my face still and moving the blade is important. It takes a while to get used to this. Be very aware when taking the edge of the razor off your face, before you turn your head to expose a new area for shaving. Here's the routine:

face still blade down blade move blade up face move (skin appropriately stretched) face still blade down...

Making such a routine of a simple thing like shaving seems irksome, but after a while it comes naturally and the routine fades away. I almost never cut myself when I used disposables, now I draw blood maybe every third time I shave, but they are always micro-cuts that disappear under a little cold water (closure of the pores). Rinse the razor with warm water afterwards, dry with cloth without touching the edge, and store in a dry, ventilated place, not in the bathroom. Use mineral oil to re-oil the blade after use.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- The author has made every attempt to provide current, accurate information. The author does not assume any responsibility for adverse health effects or object degradation resulting from the use of any of the procedures presented here.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------

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-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), April 03, 2000.

Nasseri,

About 18 years ago while wandering the streets at Disney World in Florida, we heard a barbershop quartet - sure enough, there was an old time barber shop. It was vacation, so I sprung for a shave and a haircut (but it was more than two bits). Hot towels, the whole bit. It was GREAT! I didn't have to shave for 3 days. I would gladly get a shave like that as a special treat every couple months but they are hard to find.

Anyway, you might want to check with Disney.

Actually with today's high stress and affluence - I suspect that someone who became skilled with a straight razor combined good marketting could make a good living doing old fashioned shaves. The biggest challenge will be to get men for the first time. Once they've tried it, they'll be back. I think you could find a enough well heeled customers to come back regularly combine that with guys who would come on occasionally for special occasions and I think there is a business opportunity. I'll take a wild guess that with today's regulations (have to use fresh towels for each customer) we're looking at $35 to $50 for a shave - but worth it.

Good Luck

jh

-- john hebert (jt_hebert@hotmail.com), April 07, 2000.

Thanks to you all for respond I found a web page wich is wounderful and gives all information with picture pleas have a look at HTTP://razorcentral.cjb.net

-- Nasseri (ibmcc@colba.net), April 08, 2000.