The 4 Minute Shave

I decided to see how quickly I could pull off a DE shave this morning while in a hurry. I passed on the hot water rinse first, thinking that if cold water shaving seems to be all the rage, why waste time on hot water. I lathered up with good soap, a badger brush, and a mug and off I went. I made one full, serious ATG pass, lathered back up for a fairly casual touch-up, and rinsed with cold water. A pretty good shave sneaking up on BBS, no nicks, no cuts, and no razor burn. Time 3:58. I think I can do better.

That's fast. It takes me 4 minutes just to decide what creams, soaps, etc. I will be using! But since I am retired, I have no interest in rushing my shave.

There are times when I can take my time and luxuriate. But I'm not retired, and there are times when I have to do things quickly. Given that environment sometimes, it's nice to know that I can still get a good, quick DE shave.

4 minutes and risk angering the shave gods? Perish the thought. By the time I open the drawer, stare at 10 tubs of cream, open tubs and sniff, then move my gear to the bathroom, at least 5 minutes has gone by. If I shave and clean up in under 20 minutes, chances are I didn't enjoy it. Retired, so relaxation and enjoyment of the shave is always my goal.

Wow, it took me more than 4 minutes to shave in the shower with the old setup: canned goo and power fusion. I'm getting faster with DE shaving, but I would be happy if I could finish the whole process in 15 minutes.

ace43:
Wow... that's fast but I must say please do take your time because Wet-Shaving is a 'journey' and not a race.

Christopher

Jedi Chef said:

ace43:
Wow... that's fast but I must say please do take your time because Wet-Shaving is a 'journey' and not a race.

Christopher

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Journeys can be accomplished at various speeds. Sometimes the reduced pace of the journey makes it what it is. But there are times when the journey is not possible and a simulacrum of it is all that is possible. In those cases, a simulacrum is better than nothing at all.

ATG on your first pass? I'd be too scared to try that.

pezdaddy said:

ATG on your first pass? I'd be too scared to try that.

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You'd be surprised. It's a piece of cake. I can do it easily, and I'm only into DE shaving one month and 20 shaves.

ace43 said:

You'd be surprised. It's a piece of cake. I can do it easily, and I'm only into DE shaving one month and 20 shaves.

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Everybody's beard is different; some guys can get away with one pass ATG and others cannot. I don't think I'd recommend other people try it just because it works for you.

The furthest I can go is using Proraso pre-post instead of the hot towel and getting a three pass shave with a touch of buffing under my chin. Still no way I can get under 5 minutes with making lather and shaving.

I remember watching Grandpa shaving with his DE in less than 5 minutes. Yet I must confess he (and I, thanks genetics) had a very light beard and no hair in the neck.

For all I can remember he did with 2 passes, WTG and XTG, but I can be wrong, it was a long time ago.

In his later years he switched to electric and I was fascinated at that black, heavy Braun machine.

the entire propose of this kind of shaving is to take your time
and enjoy the pleasure of wet shaving so take your time and enjoy
unless your in a hurry like we all are in some occasions

Takes me around 20 mins to do a 3 pass shave with a 4th touch up. Did a single ATG recently(5 mins) to test the reaction and it was fine. No rash at all. But it was hell to think I was missing out on 15 mins of shaving, even though I could every day if I had to.

David

kingfisher said:

Everybody's beard is different; some guys can get away with one pass ATG and others cannot. I don't think I'd recommend other people try it just because it works for you.

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My apologies. I hereby withdraw the recommendation.

Good that it worked for you. I think it's a good experience now (shaving) so I wouldn't rush anyways... I would be late!

[YOUTUBE]KK-aMKyepoQ[/YOUTUBE]

Here's my first run with the WMTR from Bill Ellis (please ignore the cat-terruptions). The shave begins at 0:50 and ends at 3:30. The video is sped up 2x, so 5m20s for a two-pass straight razor shave with a lather pass in between.

Do I always shave that fast? No. Can I? Sure. Lots of guys can.

I've done <3mins with a Tech/Feather combo plenty of times when I'm running late. Faster if I don't lather up. But, where's the fun in that?!

Ultimately, this is a good test of technique. When in a hurry, you start substituting things for technique - pressure, mostly. Doing a good, quick shave without irritation may suggest your technique is sound.

I shave in the evenings so I can relax and enjoy it . If I have to do a 4 minute shave it is with a Bic Steel Disposible and Barbarsol!

davecmu said:

[YOUTUBE]KK-aMKyepoQ[/YOUTUBE]

Here's my first run with the WMTR from Bill Ellis (please ignore the cat-terruptions).

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Dude, what the heck is going on with the door in the background? I can't stop laughing!

BTW, watching you str8 shave makes me want to learn to do it! Maybe one day.

The issue with the door is cat-terruptions, as he said. I have to put up with dog-terruptions occasionally, and it can slow one down.