A short essay on how straight razor shaving used to be

[Polarbeard]

Great post, @Polarbeard. I was just discussing this with my mother and dad recently. I have my paternal grandfather's old razor, a no-frills Geneva Cutlery Inc., which puts its age at around the late 20's based on name changes. Based on his age, it likely was his first razor. Ironically, Dad has no memory of him using it, he used a safety razor for many years, and it had very little hone wear when I got it, and still shaved after a quick strop. Grandpa was clean shaven as long as I knew him, though I believe he had switched to an electric by then. He always had a splash of Old Spice aftershave, though. My dad, on the other hand, has a very tough beard and has worn a beard most of his adult life. In fact he could only get through half his face on one blade! I guess when he switched to Schick blades he could shave his whole face in one go.

My maternal grandfather, on the other hand, shaved most days with a straight razor. Mom was the youngest and her mother had died shortly after she was born, so she spent a lot of time with him as a kid and she has fond memories of watching him go through the ritual of his morning shave. He drove a dray wagon when she was quite young; later he did some kind of business to business sales, so he needed to be presentable.

When I was back home visiting recently mom talked about how much I reminded her of him as she watched me lather up and strop and shave. He was born before the turn of the last century, fought in WWI and was a cleanfaced kid in the one photo I've seen of him in his doughboy uniform before he deployed. I sadly never met him as he died a few years before I was born but mom's cousins all talk fondly of him still.

It turns out I have a lot in common with him that I didn't know about besides just our tonsorial habits. When I was younger and dumber I used to smoke Lucky Strikes. I found out years later that he smoked that brand until the day he died. "And I inhaled every one of them," he used to say. We had similar taste in whiskey, too, mom's cousins tell me. Thing that really got me was last time I was home, I jerry-rigged a filter and a baking funnel to make myself a cup of coffee pour-over style, right into the cup (my folks aren't coffee drinkers). Mom got real quiet and then said, "I haven't seen anyone do that since Daddy was alive. He always made his coffee like that."

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, but thanks for the memories.

Thank you for your kindness and for sharing your memories

 

[R7photo]

Only been SR shaving several months now, still learning, but these extremely valuable historical posts and historical information is priceless
Thank you,,
Your help and experience you have shared helping others, cannot be overlooked, thx u
PS,,
My wife asked me to take her to ikea
Appreciate your tip, ikea napkins
Swedish branded shave coming up[emoji3]
Thx u for this valuable read

 

[Polarbeard]

Only been SR shaving several months now, still learning, but these extremely valuable historical posts and historical information is priceless
Thank you,,
Your help and experience you have shared helping others, cannot be overlooked, thx u
PS,,
My wife asked me to take her to ikea
Appreciate your tip, ikea napkins
Swedish branded shave coming up[emoji3]
Thx u for this valuable read

That's very kind of you and it gave my day a silver lining.
Edit: I loathe going to IKEA, every visit makes me feel like a stressed rat in a maze. However in Sweden they charge less for home delivery than the fuel would cost me to drive to one of their darn stores. Online shopping has its benefits.

 

[R7photo]

That's very kind of you and it gave my day a silver lining.
Edit: I loathe going to IKEA, every visit makes me feel like a stressed rat in a maze. However in Sweden they charge less for home delivery than the fuel would cost me to drive to one of their darn stores. Online shopping has its benefits.

Lol, yes giant maze[emoji1787],,,my next shave will be dedicated to you later today,[emoji3], cheers Sir[emoji3]

 

[wombadom]

What does modern straight razor shaving have in common with how it was back in the days? The short answer is: Not much. I don’t intend to go back to the old Greeks or the Middle Ages, but just give a short description of how everyday shaving was for the everyday man when the older of the razors that turns up in this forum were made. Even so I have to take one step further back to give some background.

Up until the industrial revolution most razors were made by smiths specialized in making hand tools like knives, axes, military equipment and such. In Germany they were called Kleinschmidt in Sweden they were called klensmed or finsmed. Mostly they ran their own business, but could also be employed by the armaments industry, which often was the case in Sweden. My ancestors were klensmeder from 1644 up until 1879. Once the industrial revolution came many of these smiths were employed as craftsmen and sometimes as engineers in the newly founded companies. Companies that were the first to make straight razors like we know them today.

Great Britain was where the industrial revolution began about 1770. This also means that the oldest larger firms making straight razors on an industrial basis were British, and most often they were found in Sheffield in the heartlands of the British steel industry. British straight razors soon were sold everywhere in an Empire where the sun never set.

The industrial revolution came to what today is known as Germany in 1848 with social reforms and reformed educational systems that produced a huge number of engineers and scientists that made marvels of what could be done of coal through chemistry and engineering. The Ruhr area soon became one large townscape littered with industries. Solingen was, and still is, situated in the Ruhr area and was already by then known for their Kleinschmidt experts that mostly had their workshops in their homes. The industrial revolution was the start of a merger into straight razor manufacturing on an industrial basis. Soon razors from ERN came to be a must for the gentleman that only would settle for the best, no matter were in the world he lived.

Sweden had had organised manufacturing firms for a very long time to supply the Swedish Empire’s never ending demand for arms and munitions. By the mid 1800’s the empire was gone, Sweden was a poor country finally mutilated and cut in half by more or less continuous war from 1523 to 1809, mostly with Russia. By 1870 a quarter of the Swedish population had emigrated in the hope of finding a better life in America. Even so in the 1870’s the wake of the Industrial revolution reached Sweden due to a rising demand for the high quality Swedish steel, armaments and wood. The small town of Eskilstuna was/is situated in Bergslagen, that by then was the heartland of Swedish mining, and within a decade the razors from Solingen and Sheffield had got fierce competition.

The above gives a brief overview of when the razors we still use today first were made. What I find even more interesting is how they were used back them. I shave seven days a week, always three passes. I have great shaving brushes, good lighting, a huge mirror, hot running water and soaps specially made for shaving. When my razor gets dull I can hone it on my many specialised honing stones that I have in my own workshop. I enjoy my shaving ritual so I often let it take 40 minutes. These are far from the circumstances most men shaved in during the when my older razors first were made.

Let’s begin with the countryside. Regardless if you were the farmer or his hired help the days pretty much looked the same. In the summer you rose with the sun and put in some hours of work before breakfast. Then you worked until the sun set. This could mean workdays of 14 to 18 hours during the summer. In the winter the workdays of course were a lot shorter. Indoor lighting was a luxury and electricity was not common in the countryside of most countries well until a bit into the 1900’s. This busy life means that most men only shaved once a week after lunch on Saturdays sitting by the kitchen table. This to be clean shaved in church the following morning. Soap was a luxury item and shaving soap was rare so most men had to make do with ordinary soap. The razor was honed on the finest honing stones that could be found on the farm, which by no means mean that they weren’t sharp. In the summer the lighting was whatever the sun would provide and in the winter the shave took place in the light from oil lamps and later on in the light from kerosene lamps. What most likely was the farms only mirror was placed on the table and the hot water came from the stove’s boiler. The shave was mostly rather short, just one cross the grain pass. There were however some men that shaved daily; the vicar, the doctor and the teacher. These were the men of authority and it was a part of their professional role to be clean shaved and generally neat. They didn’t share the harsh conditions of the majority but lived under better conditions and most often had servants.

It’s easy to believe that the men living in cities had better conditions, some of them had, but going daily to a barber to get a shave was both time consuming and expensive. White collar labour often had the time and money to go there once or twice a week and wealthier businessmen might start their days with a visit to the barber to get a shave, the latest gossip and meet their customers. Other men like doctors, attorneys, officers and high ranking officials mostly shaved at home. The vast majority however shaved at best once a week under even worse conditions than their rural cousins. A blue collar worker mostly had at least a twelve hour workday winter as summer, and a six day workweek, when their employer didn’t need them to work on Sundays. This was the situation in many/most countries up until the second world war. Having very little spare time meant that shaving was another chore that had to be taken care of eventually. It also might be hard to get a good shave living in a one room apartment with no running water and having five children.

So to sum it up: The straight razor as a tool hasn’t changed much since the 1870’s, but the circumstances surrounding it has. Back then having a daily three pass shave with a dedicated shave soap in a silent well lit room with hot water was a luxury denied more than nine out of ten men. Having a beard meant that the lack of a shave was less obvious and a clean shaved face was a sign of wealth and authority.

I’d also like to add that most soldiers in the first world war shaved with a straight razor (the Americans excluded) often under very unsanitary conditions. If they didn’t the gas mask wouldn't sit tight during the next gas attack. Then again not all seventeen year old boys need to shave.

Thank you for reading.

Wonderful and informative essay .I enjoyed reading it. Thank you very much for taking the time to write it for us.

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[R7photo]

Polarbeard this pic for you, thx you[emoji3]
Awesome tip, and your valuable knowledge and information and help, to this forum

 

[5whiskey]

I think this is something very important to keep in mind. I think we all likely shave with razors far better maintained than your average barber razor (much less your average home user) back in 1890. Add in the fact that we have hot running water, mirrors without blemish, and more than adequate lighting… and shaving today is far different than shaving 100+ years ago. Even if we do use the same razor. On top of it, who knows why type of soap most people used. Or brush.

We really are spoiled, and though we like to imagine we shave like our great grandfathers, their shave experience was nothing like ours. Then it was a chore, now many of us use a SR for pleasure.

Excellent essay and write up polarbeard. The only thing I will contend with common logic is that I believe many men shaved far more often than many here recognize. I knew one of my great grandfathers, who was born in 1890. He died when I was 8 years old at a very old age. He was always clean shaven. When I was learning to shave my dad never really “taught” me but just showed me the equipment. Plus I had seen him. The first time I was starting to look a little scraggly when I had enough hair to notice he scolded me about how his parents and grandparents kept clean shaven their whole lives without running hot water, so it’s not much of a chore for me to. And this from a farm family in the southeastern US. Sure I don’t think everyone ran around with a daily shave. But I also don’t think everyone shaved just once a week for church either. There were a lot of varying standards of in between.

 

[luv2shave]

Great reading. I really wonder when did the word "grit of hone" slip in to all this minimalistic basic necessity ritual. Was it the first synthetic?

 

[street]

What does modern straight razor shaving have in common with how it was back in the days? The short answer is: Not much. I don’t intend to go back to the old Greeks or the Middle Ages, but just give a short description of how everyday shaving was for the everyday man when the older of the razors that turns up in this forum were made. Even so I have to take one step further back to give some background.

Up until the industrial revolution most razors were made by smiths specialized in making hand tools like knives, axes, military equipment and such. In Germany they were called Kleinschmidt in Sweden they were called klensmed or finsmed. Mostly they ran their own business, but could also be employed by the armaments industry, which often was the case in Sweden. My ancestors were klensmeder from 1644 up until 1879. Once the industrial revolution came many of these smiths were employed as craftsmen and sometimes as engineers in the newly founded companies. Companies that were the first to make straight razors like we know them today.

Great Britain was where the industrial revolution began about 1770. This also means that the oldest larger firms making straight razors on an industrial basis were British, and most often they were found in Sheffield in the heartlands of the British steel industry. British straight razors soon were sold everywhere in an Empire where the sun never set.

The industrial revolution came to what today is known as Germany in 1848 with social reforms and reformed educational systems that produced a huge number of engineers and scientists that made marvels of what could be done of coal through chemistry and engineering. The Ruhr area soon became one large townscape littered with industries. Solingen was, and still is, situated in the Ruhr area and was already by then known for their Kleinschmidt experts that mostly had their workshops in their homes. The industrial revolution was the start of a merger into straight razor manufacturing on an industrial basis. Soon razors from ERN came to be a must for the gentleman that only would settle for the best, no matter were in the world he lived.

Sweden had had organised manufacturing firms for a very long time to supply the Swedish Empire’s never ending demand for arms and munitions. By the mid 1800’s the empire was gone, Sweden was a poor country finally mutilated and cut in half by more or less continuous war from 1523 to 1809, mostly with Russia. By 1870 a quarter of the Swedish population had emigrated in the hope of finding a better life in America. Even so in the 1870’s the wake of the Industrial revolution reached Sweden due to a rising demand for the high quality Swedish steel, armaments and wood. The small town of Eskilstuna was/is situated in Bergslagen, that by then was the heartland of Swedish mining, and within a decade the razors from Solingen and Sheffield had got fierce competition.

The above gives a brief overview of when the razors we still use today first were made. What I find even more interesting is how they were used back them. I shave seven days a week, always three passes. I have great shaving brushes, good lighting, a huge mirror, hot running water and soaps specially made for shaving. When my razor gets dull I can hone it on my many specialised honing stones that I have in my own workshop. I enjoy my shaving ritual so I often let it take 40 minutes. These are far from the circumstances most men shaved in during the when my older razors first were made.

Let’s begin with the countryside. Regardless if you were the farmer or his hired help the days pretty much looked the same. In the summer you rose with the sun and put in some hours of work before breakfast. Then you worked until the sun set. This could mean workdays of 14 to 18 hours during the summer. In the winter the workdays of course were a lot shorter. Indoor lighting was a luxury and electricity was not common in the countryside of most countries well until a bit into the 1900’s. This busy life means that most men only shaved once a week after lunch on Saturdays sitting by the kitchen table. This to be clean shaved in church the following morning. Soap was a luxury item and shaving soap was rare so most men had to make do with ordinary soap. The razor was honed on the finest honing stones that could be found on the farm, which by no means mean that they weren’t sharp. In the summer the lighting was whatever the sun would provide and in the winter the shave took place in the light from oil lamps and later on in the light from kerosene lamps. What most likely was the farms only mirror was placed on the table and the hot water came from the stove’s boiler. The shave was mostly rather short, just one cross the grain pass. There were however some men that shaved daily; the vicar, the doctor and the teacher. These were the men of authority and it was a part of their professional role to be clean shaved and generally neat. They didn’t share the harsh conditions of the majority but lived under better conditions and most often had servants.

It’s easy to believe that the men living in cities had better conditions, some of them had, but going daily to a barber to get a shave was both time consuming and expensive. White collar labour often had the time and money to go there once or twice a week and wealthier businessmen might start their days with a visit to the barber to get a shave, the latest gossip and meet their customers. Other men like doctors, attorneys, officers and high ranking officials mostly shaved at home. The vast majority however shaved at best once a week under even worse conditions than their rural cousins. A blue collar worker mostly had at least a twelve hour workday winter as summer, and a six day workweek, when their employer didn’t need them to work on Sundays. This was the situation in many/most countries up until the second world war. Having very little spare time meant that shaving was another chore that had to be taken care of eventually. It also might be hard to get a good shave living in a one room apartment with no running water and having five children.

So to sum it up: The straight razor as a tool hasn’t changed much since the 1870’s, but the circumstances surrounding it has. Back then having a daily three pass shave with a dedicated shave soap in a silent well lit room with hot water was a luxury denied more than nine out of ten men. Having a beard meant that the lack of a shave was less obvious and a clean shaved face was a sign of wealth and authority.

I’d also like to add that most soldiers in the first world war shaved with a straight razor (the Americans excluded) often under very unsanitary conditions. If they didn’t the gas mask wouldn't sit tight during the next gas attack. Then again not all seventeen year old boys need to shave.

Thank you for reading.

You shave 40 minutes each day?
What do you do in 40 minutes?
I shave daily and always do two passes. Last one ATG.
I always take my time and don't hurry. But 6 minutes is my max.
40 minutes.Wow.

 

[rbscebu]

You shave 40 minutes each day?
What do you do in 40 minutes?
I shave daily and always do two passes. Last one ATG.
I always take my time and don't hurry. But 6 minutes is my max.
40 minutes.Wow.

It's an acquired skill and not easy to attain. This morning I got my shaving routine up to 45 minutes with three passes (excluding shower). It has taken me almost two years of SR shaving to get to this.

 

[street]

It's an acquired skill and not easy to attain. This morning I got my shaving routine up to 45 minutes with three passes (excluding shower). It has taken me almost two years of SR shaving to get to this.

Of course it 's a skill like everything in life.
But could you elaborate on what you do in this 45 minutes?
For instance I apply soap directly from the brush on my face. That takes a minute. First pass a minute or so. Again lathering and second pass. Cold water on the face and done. Apply aftershave and clean brush. Total maybe 6 or 7 minutes.

 

[rbscebu]

Of course it 's a skill like everything in life.
But could you elaborate on what you do in this 45 minutes?
For instance I apply soap directly from the brush on my face. That takes a minute. First pass a minute or so. Again lathering and second pass. Cold water on the face and done. Apply aftershave and clean brush. Total maybe 6 or 7 minutes.

Ok, I'll try and give you an example from this morning's shave:

• Open up a new stick of ARKO and savour its magnificent scents.
• Select the SR to shave with.
• Wash face vigorously with bath soap and water.
• Rinse bath soap from face.
• Apply ARKO to face.
• Face lather with damp brush.
• Strop SR about 60 laps on a clean leather strop.
• Rinse shaving lather from face.
• Reapply ARKO to face.
• Face lather with damp bush to get the lather to exactly where I want it.
• Perform a WTG pass slowly and deliberately.
• Slightly rinse face.
• Apply more lather using brush for second pass.
• Perform an XTG pass slowly and deliberately.
• Slightly rinse the face.
• Apply more lather from the brush for a third pass.
• Perform an XTG pass in the opposite direction slowly and deliberately.
• Slightly rinse face.
• Apply more thater from brush to the upper lip for a fool's pass and those areas that I want to touch up.
• Perform a fool's pass.
• Shave those areas that I want to touch up.
• Rinse face thoroughly to remove all traces of shaving soap.
• Pat face dry with a fresh clean towel.
• Apply aftershave slash.
• Wipe SR dry with a moist chamois cloth being careful not to touch the edge.
• Strop the blade about 6 to 10 laps on a clean chamois strop to clean the bevel and edge of any soap residue.
• Using toilet paper, dry the scales inside and out, including the pivot area.
• Get out my 0.1μm pasted balsa strop.
• Using the strop hanging, give the blade 60 laps and finish with about 20 short X strokes.
• Wipe the blade clean of any diamond particles.
• Get out the Renaissance wax, apply to the spine wear area and the bevel (both sides) and polish.
• Return SR to its coffin.
• Put all shaving gear away.

None of the above is done in a rushed manner as I thoroughly enjoy ever moment of it. It use to only take me about 30 to 35 minutes but then I was able to slow down a bit more, add a pass and still achieve my desired DFS+ result by not stretching as much.

My SR shaving is like I "show affection" to my girlfriends. Never rushed.

 

[VBH37118]

Ok, I'll try and give you an example from this morning's shave:

• Open up a new stick of ARKO and savour its magnificent scents.
• Select the SR to shave with.
• Wash face vigorously with bath soap and water.
• Rinse bath soap from face.
• Apply ARKO to face.
• Face lather with damp brush.
• Strop SR about 60 laps on a clean leather strop.
• Rinse shaving lather from face.
• Reapply ARKO to face.
• Face lather with damp bush to get the lather to exactly where I want it.
• Perform a WTG pass slowly and deliberately.
• Slightly rinse face.
• Apply more lather using brush for second pass.
• Perform an XTG pass slowly and deliberately.
• Slightly rinse the face.
• Apply more lather from the brush for a third pass.
• Perform an XTG pass in the opposite direction slowly and deliberately.
• Slightly rinse face.
• Apply more thater from brush to the upper lip for a fool's pass and those areas that I want to touch up.
• Perform a fool's pass.
• Shave those areas that I want to touch up.
• Rinse face thoroughly to remove all traces of shaving soap.
• Pat face dry with a fresh clean towel.
• Apply aftershave slash.
• Wipe SR dry with a moist chamois cloth being careful not to touch the edge.
• Strop the blade about 6 to 10 laps on a clean chamois strop to clean the bevel and edge of any soap residue.
• Using toilet paper, dry the scales inside and out, including the pivot area.
• Get out my 0.1μm pasted balsa strop.
• Using the strop hanging, give the blade 60 laps and finish with about 20 short X strokes.
• Wipe the blade clean of any diamond particles.
• Get out the Renaissance wax, apply to the spine wear area and the bevel (both sides) and polish.
• Return SR to its coffin.
• Put all shaving gear away.

None of the above is done in a rushed manner as I thoroughly enjoy ever moment of it. It use to only take me about 30 to 35 minutes but then I was able to slow down a bit more, add a pass and still achieve my desired DFS+ result by not stretching as much.

My SR shaving is like I "show affection" to my girlfriends. Never rushed.

Very well put!

 

[street]

Ok.
I must say I have 7 razors in my routine which I strop all on sunday before the new week starts.
To me it has to be quick. I'm going to time the whole thing tomorrow morning. Maybe in reality it takes more time than I thought. We'll see.

 

[rbscebu]

Ok.
I must say I have 7 razors in my routine which I strop all on sunday before the new week starts.
To me it has to be quick. I'm going to time the whole thing tomorrow morning. Maybe in reality it takes more time than I thought. We'll see.

With practice, you should be able to get you SR shaving up to at least 30 minutes.

I leather and chamois strop before and after each shave. Having 23 SR's in my rotation. As each of my SR's "rest" for about 3 weeks between uses, I prefer to balsa strop and wax after each shave. Dovo would be proud of me .

 

[street]

With practice, you should be able to get you SR shaving up to at least 30 minutes.

I leather and chamois strop before and after each shave. Having 23 SR's in my rotation. As each of my SR's "rest" for about 3 weeks between uses, I prefer to balsa strop and wax after each shave. Dovo would be proud of me .

Do you kiss each and everyone goodnight?

 

[rbscebu]

Do you kiss each and everyone goodnight?

No, but we all sleep in the same room.

 

[street]

My 7 best . All vintage and practically unhohned.

 

[Eastcoast30]

I don't spend as much time as @rbscebu but I definitely come close. Back when I used cartridge razors, I spent a lot less time. But some of that time was spent applying toilet paper to my cuts. With SRs I don't get cut. So it is worth the extra time.

 

[street]

Just finished shaving.Timed it and took my time
Lathered face,brushed teeth while soap did its magic,stropped 10 times,did first pass,lathered up and second pass.Cold water on face and apllied aftershave.Dried off razor .
8 minutes.