Free book: "Shaving made Easy"

[bluefoxicy]

This is a scan-in of the 1904 book, "Shaving Made Easy: What The Man Who Shaves Ought To Know." Since the copyright has run out, it's in the public domain. A decent vintage piece of information from a forgotten time.

http://www.archive.org/details/shavingmadeeasyw0020th

Just in case anyone's interested.

[Jim]

Thanks for the "Heads up":thumbup1:

[KiltedShaver]

Wow! Thanks for the link! This looks great!

[mmack66]

"The popular impression is that the soap is used for the purpose of softening the beard, in which condition it is supposed to be most easily cut. This is a mistake. The soap is used, not to soften the beard, but to produce exactly the opposite effect—namely, to make the hair stiff and brittle, so that they will present a firm and resisting surface to the razor."

[bluefoxicy]

"The popular impression is that the soap is used for the purpose of softening the beard, in which condition it is supposed to be most easily cut. This is a mistake. The soap is used, not to soften the beard, but to produce exactly the opposite effect—namely, to make the hair stiff and brittle, so that they will present a firm and resisting surface to the razor."

I've actually noticed recently that my beard softens under hot water; what I noticed ages ago was no amount of product and no product I've tried has actually softened my beard sufficiently, and the hairs are always bristly and stiff.

There may be some truth to how the soap is taking action here. I'm not sure how to scale it against conventional wisdom, however-- we pretty much take for granted that hair should be soft and elastic, and so go to great lengths to avoid drying the face after a shower and attempt to keep the hair moisturized and clear.

If I am to believe this particular passage and its entire context, then proper prep would actually involve washing the face; possibly a hot towel to open the pores and encourage the hairs out into the open; drying the face gently; and applying shave soap with a brush to stand the hairs up and allow them to stiffen.

It's notable that in this context, the writer has also said that full hollow razors are not so great; they're sharp, but they can flex against stiff hair, spring back, and cause cuts. A 2/3 hollow or half-hollow would resist flexing as much, producing fewer cuts. This part makes sense; and if we are to assume hair should indeed be stood firm for the cutting action, then a full hollow blade may in fact be an inferior tool while a half-hollow may produce an excellent shave.

Wait until you read the part about how to post-shave treat your face though. That surprised me a bit. Most everything he says for the "best" method would make a lot of people here cringe.

EDIT: Spoiler, since it's not copyright anymore.



Most men who shave themselves seem to think that when they have removed the beard, they have nothing further to do. This is a great mistake. They undervalue the importance of a proper treatment of the face. A quick and easy way of caring for the face after shaving, is to remove the lather by a thorough washing, then to apply either witch hazel, bay rum or some other good face lotion, and to follow this with a small quantity of talcum powder, evenly applied. This is probably about all that the average man will usually find time to do.


In order, however, to keep the skin in a healthful condition, a little more elaborate treatment should occasionally be given. We recommend the following:

Wash the face thoroughly to free it from the lather, and then apply a steaming hot towel, as hot as can be borne. The heat and moisture draw the blood to the face, open the pores, and set up a healthful action of the skin. Next apply witch hazel, and finally give the face a thorough massage. There is no other treatment so beneficial to the skin. With many persons the flow of blood to the face and scalp is very sluggish, because of enfeebled or slow heart action ; and in consequence, the many small arteries and capillaries become clogged. Massage stimulates the circulation, and brings the blood from the inner centers to the surface, filling the many minute capillaries just underneath the skin, thus producing a tonic effect, which gives the skin renewed vigor and health.


As opposed to a cold water splash and not touching your raw, stripped, sensitive face except with a gentle pat down with a soft towel. The "thorough washing" is done because lather settles into your pores, and so you need hot water to open them and a good scrub with the fingers to work the lather out of your face. The rest is explained above.

This is all 1905 knowledge, but then again so is the concept that a single blade is better than a 27-blade soft stainless steel shaving system and chemical goo. Some of what we knew back then was wrong; some of what we trust now is wrong. The fun part is figuring out who's right and who's wrong.

[gaj90027]

Very interesting - thanks!

[Smell The Glove]

Thanks for the link.

[Unknownsoldier]

Pages 21-22 are great, an exact mirror of our talk of Cartridge razors, the disdain with which he speaks of them is wonderful................

"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."

Thanks a great read :D

ATB,
Tom

[Slowhand68]

Thanks for the link lad.

Cheers,
Stefano

[jgjoneslaw]

Yes he is pretty hard on the safety razor and his powers of prognostication were a bit lacking... he estimated that of the hundreds of thousands of safety razors sold, only 10% were still in use. :001_huh:

[Unknownsoldier]

The 10% are in use... but they're only the non members of B&B, we are using the rest ;-)

Tom

[grouse79]

Fascinating. I'd say this could very well be the 1904 equivalent of B & B. It amazes me how much of the techniques, terminology and even products we still use now: witch hazel, bay rum, styptic pencils, etc. Even a brief comment on face vs bowl lathering.

I like the little indications of the era this was written in: telling the reader to put the shaving mirror between two windows to get a good light and to "remove the shirt collar" before getting started.

I notice it only mentions shaving soap. Would that have been more common than cream in those days?

[bluefoxicy]

Pages 21-22 are great, an exact mirror of our talk of Cartridge razors, the disdain with which he speaks of them is wonderful................



Yes he is pretty hard on the safety razor and his powers of prognostication were a bit lacking... he estimated that of the hundreds of thousands of safety razors sold, only 10% were still in use. :001_huh:

Yeah, but this was 1905, when the 1904 Gillette replicated by i.e. Merkur was pretty new and revolutionary, based on a 1902 manufactured Gillette razor that itself was based on a 1901 filed Gillette patent. If we're talking about the hundreds of thousands of safety razors in the hands of men back in 1905, however...



The first safety razor was invented in the late 18th century by a Frenchman, Jean-Jacques Perret, who was inspired by the joiner's plane. An expert on the subject, he also wrote a book called Pogonotomy or the Art of Learning to Shave Oneself. In the late 1820s, a similar razor was made in Sheffield, England, and from the 1870s, a single-edge blade, mounted on a hoe-shaped handle, was available in Britain and Germany. One of the rarest[citation needed] European razors was made by "Comfort"[1] and, while this was not a true safety razor, it remains a landmark in razor design[citation needed]. None of these razors are considered to be true safety razors.

Described as a razor where "a small blade is held in a suitable frame and provided with a guard to prevent the edge of the razor from cutting into the skin", the first American safety razor was patented in 1880 by the Kampfe Brothers.[1] The new razor featured a wire-skin guard along the razor’s edge. Only one side of the actual blade is used to shave, and it must be removed often for sharpening.


From Wikipedia. And immediately following:



In 1901, the American inventor King Camp Gillette, with the assistance of William Nickerson, invented a safety razor with disposable blades. Gillette realized that a profit could be made by selling an inexpensive razor and generating a market for disposable blades.


Given that Gillette's safety razor of the 1901 patent type:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/US_Patent_775134.PNG

(Diagram from US Patent #775,134)

is the type we know today, I'd say that yes, the comments about such "Safety Razors" as had been popularized through the late 1800s being utter garbage hefted up on wild claims was probably correct at the time. (Also, you know I use a 1904 open comb replica, right? See diagram....)

See diagram at the top of this patent: http://www.pat2pdf.org/pat2pdf/foo.pl?number=385462 This was the other safety razor design, with a blade that required sharpening rather than replacement.

[norton]

thanks for the link.

+1

[Swampfox]

Thanks for the link! Very interesting.

[chainfire]

great link and book...thanks!

[mdunn]

interesting read!

[spinyeel]

Great link.:thumbup1: The advice not to shave ATG with a straight razor is interesting.:huh: But what would they have known about straights in 1905.:001_rolle:001_rolle. Our present day guru's obviously know a lot more.:001_huh:

[bluefoxicy]

Great link.:thumbup1: The advice not to shave ATG with a straight razor is interesting.:huh: But what would they have known about straights in 1905.:001_rolle:001_rolle. Our present day guru's obviously know a lot more.:001_huh:

I found the advice to use a 4/8 at 2/3 hollow rather than a 5/8 at full hollow interesting. Today's advice seems to be that full hollow is better, but you need more experience to use it properly; and that your only starting blades should be 5/8 or 6/8.

It seems that the goal here was to stiffen the beard so it would stand up and be cut; and to use a sharp but stiff blade (hence 4/8 at 2/3, shorter blade is stiffer and less hollow is stiffer) so it can effectively pass through stiff hair. Today the goal seems to be to soften the hair and use an extremely sharp blade, so sharp it glides through without disturbing the hair (or flexing against it) while cutting (hence the need for much softer hair).

In both cases, it's been emphasized that a dull razor is going to pull, irritate the face, and give a horrible shave. The 1905 book also mentions that manufacturers do not sharpen their blades to shave-ready status, despite advertising claims. Well we've got the same basic idea at least...

[Augustiner]

Wait until you read the part about how to post-shave treat your face though. That surprised me a bit. Most everything he says for the "best" method would make a lot of people here cringe.

I looked through the book last night. Why would the "best" post-shave treatment make people cringe? I was suprised to find that this happens to be my exact post-shave routine except for a few details and I find this prescribed routine to be the most effective I have ever tried by far.

Immediately after my last pass I rinse off my face with warm water to get all the excess lather off. I then rub a generous dab of Proraso pre/post over the freshly shaved area. I then saturate a steaming cloth with hot water, ring out the excess, and hold the hot towel over my beard for 60 seconds. Then I gently wipe off the excess with the towel and then do a final cold water rinse of my beard and face. Then I apply some Dickinson's witch hazel and then last slap on some Speick after shave lotion.

I can tell you that probably the most important part in this routine is the hot towel. It is very, very soothing to the skin and does have a toning effect much like the author said. I can also tell you that this routine eliminates ALL irritation that I MAY have gotten during the shave and leaves my face soft and moisturized. In fact it does not even feel like I have shaved at all. I highly recommend giving the post-shave routine advocated in this book a try.



As opposed to a cold water splash and not touching your raw, stripped, sensitive face except with a gentle pat down with a soft towel. The "thorough washing" is done because lather settles into your pores, and so you need hot water to open them and a good scrub with the fingers to work the lather out of your face. The rest is explained above.

If your face is this stripped and raw after your shave I have to say you are not quite there yet with regards to reaching maximum wet shaving results. I would work on your pre-shave prep and technique to look for improvements. If you have prepped your beard properly AND executed good/flawless shaving technique your face can handle washing/rinsing and a hot towel with absolutely no problem at all.

[Crawford Montizano]

Thanks just downloaded the PDF. A good read for tonight!

[VGA Ubersoldat]

Cool. This is going to go into my Barnes and Noble Nook reader :)

[htownmmm]

Excellent read-thoroughly enjoyed it!


marty

[jss4fish]

Thanks for the link!

[Anubite Lord]

Nice find. Ill at it to my collection. Thanks for the share!

[SiBurning]

There's a few more listed in the wiki (http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Barbering_Manuals)

[Floor]

Fun to read. Thanks for the link!!!

Printed it and goes next to my other shaving book :thumbup1:

Floris

[Alraz]

In case you do not recognize it, this is the famous or infamous book that has inspired so many to plunge into cold water shaving.

Al raz.

[demaro]

I thought it was very interesting especially when they talked about the soap drying iout the beard and when he talked about washing your face , then drying it with a towel and then applying the lather. I will have to give that a try. That changed my perspective on a couple things.

[bew47]

In case you do not recognize it, this is the famous or infamous book that has inspired so many to plunge into cold water shaving.

Al raz.

I couldn't find it. Which section are you referring to?

[luvmysuper]

A favorite old standby.

[Alraz]

The reference is on page 51 (2/3 down the page) when it talks about the soap and how it makes the whiskers stiff. I can refer you to some of the "original" (recent) cold water experiments if you send me a PM.

Al raz.


I couldn't find it. Which section are you referring to?

[mattymatt]

This was a great read. Thanks to the original poster.

[flamewing]

Look forward to reading this...thanks for the link :)

[JM]

Great link, thanks.

[Topgumby]

It's a classic, but some of the science is a bit....odd.

"And that, my liege, is how we know that lather makes the whiskers stiff and brittle!"

"This new learning amazes me, Sir Bedevere. Explain to me again how cold water and sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent razor burn."