Just how did our fathers and grandfathers do it?

[NeverOne99]

OK, so I have been thinking about posting this question for a long time...

Before the days of cart razors, before the days of canned goo, working men like my great grandfathers shaved.

(A little background) I am 27 years old and relatively new to wet shaving. I like all the nice creams and nice aftershaves. I like taking the time to get in a good shave. I have converted my brother and my father and my brother-in-law. They all love it as much as I do. We all get together and go to the Knoxville Cigar Company and smoke a good cigar and pick out new shaving things to feed our addictions.

Last week we were sitting around at the Cigar Company smoking and talking about how the way we wet shave today differed from the way our great grandfathers shaved. I wonder if they enjoyed a good shave as much as I do now. I would think it safe to say they didn't reach for a tub of GFT and a $200 silvertip each morning. I never worry about food on the table when I buy a tube of cream or find that bottle of Dominica at the Orvis store down the road. I wonder if they had to choose between that new ever-ready brush in the display stand on the counter or food for their family.

There's no doubt I love wet shaving and I also love the nostalgia of it all. To some extent I do feel like I am getting closer to my roots and doing things the way my forefathers did. On the other hand I feel like it's a lie when I tell people that I shave like my great grandfathers. I have said multiple times to people that "If it's good enough for my ancestors it's good enough for me." Am I a liar for saying that? They probably used whatever they could get their hands on and I snub my nose at the cheap canned goo you can get at Kroger.

So, how do you think working men really shaved? What did they use? What was available? For all those people on b&b who want to get closer to their roots, I challenge you to find out how your great grandfather or grandfather shaved and shave the way they did for a week.

[blackfoot]

I agree somewhat with this. I've had the same thoughts. Somewhere I remember someone saying they used to use regular soap. Later soaps were designed for this specific purpose. I have two felt fedoras and two straw dress hats. Again, this is largely nostalgia. (I am only 30) I bought my favorite hat on my first trip to Belgium, Ghent specifically. I let the Euro=$ difference play down the cost of the hat. I believe it was 200 EU! That is an insane price to pay for a hat! I know neither my grandpa or great grandpa paid anywhere near this for a hat. I had to have it all the same.

[mmack66]

They had an Ever Ready brush, Williams Mug Soap, Shaving Mug, and a Straight/DE Razor. Or they went to a Barbershop.

[Rufust445]

When I first noticed my father shaving in the '50's, he was using a Schick injector and blades, Yardley lavender soap in a wood bowl, and a boar brush.

By the time I left the house in the late '60's, I believe he was still using the Schick injector.

It has been nearly two years now since he passed away, and in the last 10-15 years of his life he was using electric shavers, Norelco and Panasonic, because of his medication and doctor's advice.

My mother found a Surrey boar brush and a sample 2-pack of Schick Krona Chrome blades that usually came with a Schick Krona DE razor, but no razor. This was likely the last setup he used before going electric. My mother remembered him coming out of the bathroom with bits of tissue paper on his face, and after trying one of the Krona Chromes, I can see why. Her memory of the bits of tissue paper likely go back to the injector days too.

Back then it was part of the territory in wet shaving.

Today I take my time, work on technique, and most shaves have no weepers, or barely noticeable ones.

[ari95]

I definitely think boar brushes were the norm. An old Gillette razor and the cheapest blades should get you close. I am sure the type of soap varied, but what ever was available.

[poppi]

It was always behind closed doors....OH you mean shaving! I believe that what our grandfathers used was largely dependant on thier financial status. The more $$, the better the equipment.

I recall my paternal grandfather using a brush with soap along with a double edge of some type. It was a long time ago and he passed when I was about 10 and that's all I remember. My maternal grandfather used an electric as long as I can recall. Nasty old Remington, tried it once when I was 15 and it just about ripped the stubble off my face. Hurt like crazy.

My dad used whatever canned stuff was cheap along with a Gillette SS with whatever cheap blades he could get. That's what I started with also.

Now I have much better equipment/soaps and enjoy my morning shaves. Helps me start the day out right.

[Boyextraordinare]

This is a very interesting post and I look forward to more responses.

My father, who is almost 70, used various DE safety razors growing up coupled with canned lather.

He doesn't remember the types of blades he used, etc. He really has no interest in the subject.

He switched to a Trac II when it first hit and has been using it ever since.

[Ru4scuba?]

My Grandfather, a WWII vet in the 8th ID, used a DE when overseas and when he came home. He had enough money throughout his varied jobs in life (park police officer, community pool service technician, parking lot security officer, bank security officer) to have decent shave equipment but not the best.

Since I've gotten in to the whole DE thing, I've thought about him alot. Particularly this one time we were in the car on his way to work (and me to school) and he mentioned that he forgot to shave and pointed at his stubble covered face...at the time, he was a HUGE fan of the Remington foil electric. He was also a big AS guy....Musgo and Old Spice remind me of him.

He had given up DE shaving long ago "to save time." I often wonder what he would say if he saw me using all the old fashioned equipment now. He'd probably laugh and smile at first and then say "Why the hell would you want to go back to that youngster!"

[blackfoot]

My grandpa used a DE (unsure which one) and had an old boar brush. My first mug and brush looked almost exactly the same. He used an electric razor my whole life though. I just found some of his old stuff in the bathroom drawers when I was a kid. It was fascinating to me. Maybe that is the draw I have to it now.

[paul.c]

I think about how people shaved way back when when i am in the field and i take the puck of williams out of my ammo pouch and rub it all over my face with a dab of water from the ole canteen. then "make a lather" with my fingers. and shave with the straight. It is usually only one pass on thes occasions. It sucks, but it cleans the stubble off enough to pass for the field. But I think about the dudes of yon older day, shaving maybe similarly. Maybe not.

Great thread.

[tpoof]

I challenge you to find out how your great grandfather or grandfather shaved and shave the way they did for a week.

NO WAY!

I have been told by my father who is 83 years young that he remembers how his pa and brother used to walk down to the creek to shave.. he says he remembers them taking care to shine up the piece of steel that they had to use a mirror. said there was a nail in a tree that they hung the "mirror" on.
some HOMEMADE soap in a cup and have at her.. NO Thanks..
I think its enough that I still use the SAME razors as they did back then!
I often think of them as I draw that blade across my face, as to how many strokes this blade has taken and how the times can change...
when men were men.

[otherstar]

I'm not sure what soap one of my granfather's used, but when they lived in the country my mom said he shaved with a straight razor using cold water. He never did use hot water to shave, I'm told, even after they moved to town in the early 1950's. At some point he switched to a Super Speed (1954 z1, 40's style to be precise --- it was my first DE).

[joelmole]

I think we probably imagine people used DE or straight razors back in the day in the same sort of indulgent way some of us might now, but the truth is that they used these products back then for the same reasons people use cartridge razors now: It's the norm, and there's no reason to challenge the norm for something as mundane as shaving.

I wonder how many here use a brush and DE or straight in the same way. One brush, probably boar, one razor, one soap or cream, and one bottle of aftershave. I've thought about it a few times. It is certainly fun to experiment, but one side of me misses the minimalism of my cartridge days, where I just bought Mach 3 refills and canned Edge gel, and didn't think much of it.

[Ru4scuba?]

Yeah Joel,

The whole reason I turned to Badger Brushes, tubs of TOBS and DEs is to get out of that minimalist way...shaving was a chore. Now, its something to look forward to!

[mmack66]

I'd be interested in knowing what the standard was for a shave to be considered a "good shave". Was it BBS or DFS? Was it "One and Done" as far as the number of passes?

[mk-ultra]

My father has been gone for nearly 20 years, so I can't ask him.

I remember that he had one Gillette Super Speed, but I don't remember it well enough to know which one it was. I don't believe it had a flared tip, but it had end caps and, I believe, the notch. So my guess is between 1948 and Q2 1954. He may have had a separate one in his travel kit.

He used cream from a can, but I don't recall if it was Gillette, Barbasol or what. Wilkinson blades. I recall him doing one pass. He also had a couple of electrics to use when his face was sore, so I'm thinking his technique must have been lacking. I also recall him saying that, when he first got married (to my mother), he shaved twice a day. Therefore, I don't think he got a BBS or DFS.

When I started shaving, he let me use his DE, but didn't give me much instruction. Then, I used one of his electrics for a while.

I then grew a beard, shaved it off for a job interview, and, once I started at the job, grew it back and kept it for 16 years.

[handlebar]

To me,shaving is now a ritual. Not a religious one but a pathway to relaxation and meditation.If the shave goes well and there are no cuts or issues,then the after effects of the experience make me really happy and relax even more.

Yes,the nostalgia is nice as well. As a Fedora Lounge member,I'm also heavily into vintage clothes and all things associated with the golden age from 1930-45. And shaving is a big part of the daily routine.

It all adds up to being part of the past and yet the present and future as well.And just because it is an older way of doing things does not mean it is not a joy or sensible.

Jim

[NeverOne99]

I think about how people shaved way back when when i am in the field and i take the puck of williams out of my ammo pouch and rub it all over my face with a dab of water from the ole canteen. then "make a lather" with my fingers. and shave with the straight. It is usually only one pass on thes occasions. It sucks, but it cleans the stubble off enough to pass for the field. But I think about the dudes of yon older day, shaving maybe similarly. Maybe not.

Great thread.

You took this thread to a higher level Sir. The thought of soldiers of past and present sneaking in a shave while bullets are flying over their heads just so I can be free brings me to tears.

[Ru4scuba?]

Have any of you seen Band of Brothers? Remember the scene where Maj Winters broke the ice over his ammo can so he could lather up his shave soap with his brush? Classic!

[Mad Prophet]

Have any of you seen Band of Brothers? Remember the scene where Maj Winters broke the ice over his ammo can so he could lather up his shave soap with his brush? Classic!

Them cold water shaves were a bummer. I remember there was one shave cream that would heat itself up. No doubt it was lousy for your skin....I wore an onion on my belt, as was the style in those days...