Cut-throat shaving guide?

[JoeKidd]

This is an excerpt from an article about straight razor shaving in Mother Earth News magazine, circa 1972. The author must of had one tough face:

"You can plan on cutting yourself about once a month. Better yet, skip that day and 14 others by shaving only every other morning. When you have a real razor that shaves as close as the straight ones do, you can hack off two days' worth of brush as fast and much easier than any other equipment will take off one.

At the risk of incurring some personal injury suits, the general idea of whacking whiskers with a straight razor (if you can't get someone who knows how to show you) is this:

(1) Always shave against the grain. That is, if your whiskers grow down, shave up. Shave cowlicks twice . . . once up and once down. When you make razor strokes only with the grain of your beard, you're not shaving . . . you're just scraping your face and it'll feel like it.

(2) Good concentration is absolutely essential until you get the hang of handling a straight razor so-at least-at first-use a light touch, take your time and shave alone. Later, after you've mastered the art, you can let the kids watch or you can think about the compost heap while you shear your shag.

(3) Always mow in a direction 90 degrees to the length of your razor's blade. Never, never, never move that blade lengthwise across your face. Be especially careful when trimming around your mustache or 'burns, unless you want a nice scar to use as a guide in the future.

(4) Finish with a little alcohol (it's much cheaper than the perfume they sell for aftershave lotion and just as effective) and then go out and turn your buddies on to a really decent shave with about as little environmental impact as possible . . . a shave you can get anywhere (I've shaved in the rearview mirrors of my truck out in the wilderness)."

[moses]

I notice the conspicuous absence of any mention of shaving cream. The mention of shaving in truck mirror emphasizes this. Hmm.

-Mo

[LX_Emergency]

Yeah...I read that bit and since my face starts burning even when I look at FO's I think I'll pass on his technique...my skin is WAY to sensitive.

[berzerkeleyan]

I'm surprised the person who wrote this didn't suggest finishing with gasoline instead of alcohol. But then again, maybe they were trying to reduce "environmental impact."

[rikrdo]

Didnt notice ANY mention of Water during the shave either....
Again, he seems to be very environmentally sensitive !