Who taught you?

[uncledavedougherty]

Those of you old enough to have started shaving using a DE razor: did your dad or some older male teach you the proper technique ( ala as taught on this forum ) or was it just a lather up once and shave type of thing? With me it was the latter. Had i been taught properly I doubt I would ever have switched to cartridges and electrics.

[Isaac]

Im not old enough to have started with a DE back in the day, but in general I learned on my own. I went ou and bought my own gillete at the time.

My straight razor journey was quite similar. I never knew about stropping. I would buy a Dovo at the knife store and just shave with that. It was pretty painful, and for whatever reason my blades always rusted. It wasn't until SRP/B&B and the Shave Den did I start to learn the proper ways of straight shaving/honing/stropping

[uncledavedougherty]

Im not old enough to have started with a DE back in the day, but in general I learned on my own. I went ou and bought my own gillete at the time.

My straight razor journey was quite similar. I never knew about stropping. I would buy a Dovo at the knife store and just shave with that. It was pretty painful, and for whatever reason my blades always rusted. It wasn't until SRP/B&B and the Shave Den did I start to learn the proper ways of straight shaving/honing/stropping

I'm wondering if it was mostly the old time barbers who knew the proper technique with either a straight razor or a DE. I don't recall ever hearing any of the info I have learned from this forum.

I admire the fact that you shave with a straight razor. If I were younger and my hands a bit more steady I'd try that. I'm afraid I'd get some serious injuries if I tried it now.

[Snargle]

I grew up watching my Dad shave with a DE and a can of goo, so when it came time for my first shave, I already had a pretty good idea of what to do. I don't recall any specific lessons; it was more like "Take this razor, lather up, and get rid of that fuzz, kid!" After a couple of sessions with the resulting scrapes and cuts, I was finally getting a decent shave. After that, it was like riding a bike. 50+ years later, it still requires very little conscious thought on my part.

[uncledavedougherty]

I grew up watching my Dad shave with a DE and a can of goo, so when it came time for my first shave, I already had a pretty good idea of what to do. I don't recall any specific lessons; it was more like "Take this razor, lather up, and get rid of that fuzz, kid!" After a couple of sessions with the resulting scrapes and cuts, I was finally getting a decent shave. After that, it was like riding a bike. 50+ years later, it still requires very little conscious thought on my part.

That's basically the same way I was taught except that for lather we used the hand soap in the dish and a stiff (boar) brush. It was lather up and go after it. When the lather was gone you were finished. I, like you, got decent shaves, but nothing like the shaves I'm getting by following the advice on this forum.

[markewallace]

I was "taught" by watching my Dad. My first shaves were all with DE razors, until (I guess) late high school, when I switched to disposables and then cartridges. I basically had to relearn it all when I started again a few months ago.

- Mark

[smalltank]

My father was a workaholic...never had time to show me..I suffered many years with razor burn..4 years ago I discovered wet shaving just browsing for help..very happy since then :-)

[uncledavedougherty]

I was "taught" by watching my Dad. My first shaves were all with DE razors, until (I guess) late high school, when I switched to disposables and then cartridges. I basically had to relearn it all when I started again a few months ago.

- Mark

yeah, I too had to start over. You can't get away with sloppy technique with a DE.

[fraue]

this forum taught me a lot

[uncledavedougherty]

this forum taught me a lot

Same here. This is where I really learned to DE shave.

[darkxshiki]

i think a lil bit from the TV on how to shave with a cart. then learn about wet shaving through Art of manliness. then dug deeper and found out about B&B then started DE shaving. kinda wish i knew someone in my family that uses this when i was starting out.

[Marco]

I come from a family of wet shavers, my grandfather was a wet shaver, my father is a wet shaver and I have always been a wet shaver. I think I was born with a brush, soap and DE razor in my hands.

[uncledavedougherty]

I come from a family of wet shavers, my grandfather was a wet shaver, my father is a wet shaver and I have always been a wet shaver. I think I was born with a brush, soap and DE razor in my hands.

You are lucky that you had someone to teach you how to shave with a non-cartridge razor. I had to learn by myself and I got 40 years of lousy shaves as a result!

[likehotbutter]

Mantic taught me lol, my dad was too busy rushing to work to bother with a de anyway( electric in the car!).

[uncledavedougherty]

For a while I shaved with electrics. They irritated my skin something awful. I tried both the Norelco type and the foil types. Not happy and the cost of replacement blades is not good on electrics either.

Sadly, I too learned proper technique from watching mantic and geofatboy on YouTube. My dad was just too busy/self-absorbed to fool with teaching me.

[fccexpert]

Those of you old enough to have started shaving using a DE razor: did your dad or some older male teach you the proper technique ( ala as taught on this forum ) or was it just a lather up once and shave type of thing? With me it was the latter. Had i been taught properly I doubt I would ever have switched to cartridges and electrics.

Taught myself.

[Sledgehammer39]

I missed the boat on the DE shave. My dad taught me how to shave with his Trac II/Atra. Many many years later my Dad showed me the DE shave with his 1972 Black Handled SS.

[Whilliam]

I grew up watching my Dad shave with a DE and a can of goo, so when it came time for my first shave, I already had a pretty good idea of what to do. I don't recall any specific lessons; it was more like "Take this razor, lather up, and get rid of that fuzz, kid!" After a couple of sessions with the resulting scrapes and cuts, I was finally getting a decent shave. After that, it was like riding a bike. 50+ years later, it still requires very little conscious thought on my part.

+1

My experience precisely.

[pipskicks]

Manic

[Slash McCoy]

I learned from a TV commercial.