The Art of Shaving (no, not that one)

**Samouraï** · 07-13-2009, 03:52 PM

First of all, wet-shaving and all the accoutrement attracts me greatly, but I see myself eventually being overloaded with soaps and creams and aftershaves and oils and blades and razors and brushes--so many different things. Has anyone ever felt smothered by all of these expensive collectibles, albeit usable collectibles? I already have a sizable shaving cabinet: 4 soaps, 4 creams, 2 pre-shave oils, 2 aftershaves (balm and splash), 3 straight razors (2 are on the way), a strop, a DE razor (and 50 Feather Blades + 13 Merkur Blades), a Shaving stand, 2 shaving brushes, and the empty boxes of everything I have bought (the Trumper's gear serves as decoration)...and this is nothing compared to what it could become in the near future, and what it has become for many of you. Now, I don't mean to knock anyone for having huge shaving cabinets--trust me, I am envious on one level. But on the other level, I feel overwhelmed by the avalanche of scented regalia.

I have realized that the art of shaving lies not so much in the copious jars, bottles, and flavors of cream, but rather in the practice mastering a dangerous and beautiful tool--as a painter with his brush. From this understanding, I seek a simplicity in shaving that I haven't yet found.

I seek the most essential knowledge and tools to realize this simplicity. I do not want to pamper myself as much as care for myself and know the limits of what I am capable with razor sharp steel in my hand--my utility and the utility of my tools.

Who found more pleasure: the barber or his client?

**Left Coast DJ** · 07-13-2009, 04:12 PM

Dude... it's just shaving!

**aquilla** · 07-13-2009, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by left coast dj

dude... It's just shaving!

+1

**msandoval858** · 07-13-2009, 04:31 PM

True, it is just shaving...

But a bathroom full of gear and a rack full of brushes... that's just cool

**Samouraï** · 07-13-2009, 04:32 PM

okay okay, it sounded a bit ridiculous and dramatic, but i am serious about the concept of simplicity. i want it to be "just shaving" and a calming ritual like yoga. i guess art-form was a bit off-base.

if it is "just shaving," how can you explain pictures of shave dens with 100s of pieces of shaving gear?

i am more interested in seeing it as "just shaving," not the collecting/pampering timely practice that it is sometimes (not that there is anything wrong with it). I am just more interested in whittling it down to soap, a brush, and a blade--maybe some alum and witch hazel ;). I think making it as close as i can get it to just a blade (while caring for my skin properly) would make me the happiest

i only meant to see if anyone else was more interested in the utilitarian and artistic aspects of maintaining a proper blade and foregoing the unnecessary bits.

**JimBow** · 07-13-2009, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by Samouraï

okay okay, it sounded a bit ridiculous and dramatic, but i am serious about the concept of simplicity. i want it to be "just shaving" and a calming ritual like yoga. i guess art-form was a bit off-base.

if it is "just shaving," how can you explain pictures of shave dens with 100s of pieces of shaving gear?

i am more interested in seeing it as "just shaving," not the collecting/pampering timely practice that it is sometimes (not that there is anything wrong with it). I am just more interested in whittling it down to soap, a brush, and a blade--maybe some alum and witch hazel ;). I think making it as close as i can get it to just a blade (while caring for my skin properly) would make me the happiest

i only meant to see if anyone else was more interested in the utilitarian and artistic aspects of maintaining a proper blade and foregoing the unnecessary bits.

I know exactly how you feel. I recently decided to rid myself of all unnecessary razors, blades, and other items. There were two main driving forces behind my decision:

ONE:
I had started this to save money, and well, I have yet to achieve that. I've gone through about 35+ DE's searching for the best. I've now settled on three, a Fatboy, a Futur, and a Slant.

TWO:
I became tired of the fact that all my time had become devoted to finding more expensive, and more rare razors. It conflicted with my original intent (number one). I enjoy nearly all that I had owned, but it was time to cut the fat, so to speak.

I'm very happy with my choice to whittle my razor setup down, and the only thing left is to finally get a badger brush. I've been using a boar for 5 months now, and I've enjoy it thoroughly. It's just I'd like an alternative brush for a change. Anyway, I guess I was just going to say 'yeah, me too' but got on my soapbox again....*I really need to get rid of that darn box!*

**chfair** · 07-13-2009, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by Samouraï

I seek a simplicity in shaving that I haven't yet found.

i would have to say finding that simplicity may require experimentation. i say this because simplicity is buying a prepackaged multiple blade razor from a local store and dragging it across your face with no regard for prep or skin care before or after, to me that is simple. desirable? no, but simple.

i have bought more than i expected since i joined here and moved to older style razor selections, but that is no problem. I can easily sell razors and gear and even find it below market costs from the BST most of the time to lessen my expense while trying to find my ideal setup. the finding is the majority of the fun in my opinion and as long as i keep my AD's in order i have plenty of time to try and enjoy new products without feeling overwhelmed.

run across something i don't like? sell it or pif it to a friend who is going on the same journey to find what he likes best. i would love to have access to the huge brush cabinets i see on this forum but only building it up slowly (one at a time for me) to test and enjoy the brushes and note in what situation they are best used.

when my journey becomes not fun anymore for me i will get rid of everything i do not use and go down to the bare minimum of what just works the best. (get rid of does not mean throwing away i would have to cry myself to sleep for a year if i did that... hey hey! stop eyeballing my stash like that

). btw for me the most relaxing enjoyable shaves were with my 6/8 dovo straight which i sold to explore other DE options. can always go back if that ends up being what i like the most when i decide i am done.

hope you find what you are looking for.

**Samouraï** · 07-13-2009, 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by chfair

i would have to say finding that simplicity may require experimentation. i say this because simplicity is buying a prepackaged multiple blade razor from a local store and dragging it across your face with no regard for prep or skin care before or after, to me that is simple. desirable? no, but simple.

i have bought more than i expected since i joined here and moved to older style razor selections, but that is no problem. I can easily sell razors and gear and even find it below market costs from the BST most of the time to lessen my expense while trying to find my ideal setup. the finding is the majority of the fun in my opinion and as long as i keep my AD's in order i have plenty of time to try and enjoy new products without feeling overwhelmed.

run across something i don't like? sell it or pif it to a friend who is going on the same journey to find what he likes best. i would love to have access to the huge brush cabinets i see on this forum but only building it up slowly (one at a time for me) to test and enjoy the brushes and note in what situation they are best used.

when my journey becomes not fun anymore for me i will get rid of everything i do not use and go down to the bare minimum of what just works the best. (get rid of does not mean throwing away i would have to cry myself to sleep for a year if i did that... hey hey! stop eyeballing my stash like that

). btw for me the most relaxing enjoyable shaves were with my 6/8 dovo straight which i sold to explore other DE options. can always go back if that ends up being what i like the most when i decide i am done.

hope you find what you are looking for.

I would wholly agree that it requires experimentation. That is probably the spot I'm in right now (and I want to arrive at the most essential endgame).

i'm not saying that i'm not having fun. i'm having a ball. but i think i might enjoy it more if i don't have to worry about spending so much money and amassing so much gear. the clutter bothers me.

there is something really attractive about maintaining my own straight razor with a barber's hone, a strop, oil, a leather roll or other form of protection and storage, etc. I guess I find enjoyment more in the utilitarian aspects of maintaining something as special as a straight razor. the same goes for maintaining my skin/face. I am only interested in what is absolutely necessary.

but don't get me wrong. i love badger & blade and all the knowledge and all the options that I have. I guess i am striving for the most perfect (-ly performing) shaving kit for me. right now i am chewing through the fat to get there.

and concerning a cartridge razor and aerosol shaving gel, perhaps when all is said and done, the straight razor that lasts longer than I do will in effect be the more simplistic of the two (not to mention the cheapest)

**SiBurning** · 07-13-2009, 05:28 PM

The art of minimalist shaving is probably more difficult than dealing with a large den. For example, what do you do if someone drops that jar of cream? Or worse, if you drop the straight edge and damage it?

If it's just shaving, doesn't mean there's no enjoyment or art to it. Does an artist have every brush they need or want? Do they throw out all but the absolute essentials? Probably some do sometimes. But that's extreme. A simpler approach might be to set some limit by devoting a single cabinet or shelf to shaving and forcing yourself to stay within those bounds, using BST or PIF freely as necessary.

I don't really care or have an opinion one way or the other, but the idea of shaving as art is oddly interesting, however you choose to approach it.

**tlanning** · 07-13-2009, 08:17 PM

Gents, what we all do is an art form in the purest sense. We've all managed to take one of life's drudgeries required of us all and turn it into our own private pleasure. The road we choose to get there isn't nearly as important as the journey itself. The tools we use, the scents we enjoy and the end result--Pure ART. (except for the occasional slip)

**msandoval858** · 07-13-2009, 08:28 PM

I guess it's kind of the opposite for me. I didn't get in to wetshaving to save money, so I never felt like I went the wrong direction. I got in to the "hobby" as a way to change a routine chore in to something enjoyable. I guess that's why I never felt the need to take the minimalist approach, which I certainly see nothing wrong with doing, but instead make it something more like a personal luxury.

My having a bad habit of collecting things certainly played a part in the shaving brush obession

**carloverfast2** · 07-13-2009, 08:34 PM

you can put some of the extras away and force yourself to not use them. but i find that after a few days of fidelity to a set up, i wonder about that razor i've not used for a while, or a razor-blade combo that i've not considered. thankfully this happens when i can open a drawer and find out for myself. you don't know what you're missing if you don't explore and sometimes you make that journey and complete it right where you started- but now you stand firmly. or something like that...

Hanzo · 07-13-2009, 09:01 PM

Samourai

Your misgivings about the large den are justified. I have dedicated thousands of dollars and thousands of hours to my shave den. It took some wise words from my wife about selfishness to make me pull back from total absorption in this nice hobby. Then I said , " well I was getting carried away". My obsession
with shaving gear was becoming irrational and a real consuming distraction from real life.

Do I need 20 razors , hundreds of blades, dozens of soaps and creams, shelves of after shave , my antique barber chair , $150 antique sterilizer display case, hones, barber towels, books, strops ,mugs and scuttles more and more stuff just to enjoy my shaving ? Many purchases and the grand designs for even more purchases, living and dying for ebay auctions and drooling at the sight of BST offers, knowing shaving vendor catalogues by heart are examples of obsession and fixation on the hobby and if I step back doesn't seem like a healthy relationship to a enjoyable past time .

I think you are right to search for the simplicity and enjoyment of the shave versus grasping, wanting, greed and hoarding of shaving gear. Just buying to buy and try because others are saying we must try what they are sampling.

In our country excessive levels of materialism, aquisitiveness and consumerism are so entrenched it may infect how we look at people, ourselves and our hobby. If we worship things we can become things and totally murder our ability to experience the activity of what we enjoy,ya know shaving ,which our love for seems more based in the sensations of smell, touch, feel and the body than say scoring a single ring .

**Samouraï** · 07-13-2009, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by Hanzo

Samourai

Your misgivings about the large den are justified. I have dedicated thousands of dollars and thousands of hours to my shave den. It took some wise words from my wife about selfishness to make me pull back from total absorption in this nice hobby. Then I said , " well I was getting carried away". My obsession
with shaving gear was becoming irrational and a real consuming distraction from real life.

Do I need 20 razors , hundreds of blades, dozens of soaps and creams, shelves of after shave , my antique barber chair , $150 antique sterilizer display case, hones, barber towels, books, strops ,mugs and scuttles more and more stuff just to enjoy my shaving ? Many purchases and the grand designs for even more purchases, living and dying for ebay auctions and drooling at the sight of BST offers, knowing shaving vendor catalogues by heart are examples of obsession and fixation on the hobby and if I step back doesn't seem like a healthy relationship to a enjoyable past time .

I think you are right to search for the simplicity and enjoyment of the shave versus grasping, wanting, greed and hoarding of shaving gear. Just buying to buy and try because others are saying we must try what they are sampling.

In our country excessive levels of materialism, aquisitiveness and consumerism are so entrenched it may infect how we look at people, ourselves and our hobby. If we worship things we can become things and totally murder our ability to experience the activity of what we enjoy,ya know shaving ,which our love for seems more based in the sensations of smell, touch, feel and the body than say scoring a single ring .

That was a beautifully-written post. It summed up (in a much smaller space) what I have been unable to coherently express. But, ya know...that antique barber chair sounds pretty cool ; ).

edit: I was thinking: on the other hand, if there weren't a loyal market supporting these wet-shaving companies, where would this wonderful art of shaving be? It might not be so black and white as what I had imagined, but for now I will just aim to enjoy the act and not the collecting.

**ateace** · 07-14-2009, 06:51 AM

A big part of the problem is that we only get to shave once a day and that takes just a few minutes. Even if a shave takes 30 minutes each morning, there are still 23.5 hours in the rest of the day to think and dream about all the razors, soaps, creams, blades, brushes, scuttles, splashes and balms out there.

Oh and don't forget the styptic!

**crocto** · 07-14-2009, 08:37 AM

i think the people with massive shave dens is just crazy. in fact the concept of a shave den to me is crazy.

i think you can be a minimalist. you could probably keep one or two creams/soaps. or do what i do. make an excel chart! i think it has to do with me being an archivist and liking organization but i've got a little chart of the creams, soaps and blades i've tried. so its sort of my own little review system and wish list.

**Emmett** · 07-14-2009, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by crocto

i think the people with massive shave dens is just crazy. in fact the concept of a shave den to me is crazy.

i think you can be a minimalist. you could probably keep one or two creams/soaps. or do what i do. make an excel chart! i think it has to do with me being an archivist and liking organization but i've got a little chart of the creams, soaps and blades i've tried. so its sort of my own little review system and wish list.

I keep a notebook. Slowly I am deciding what gets a permanent place in the rotation.

**Bertilak** · 07-14-2009, 08:58 AM

Originally Posted by Samouraï

...
I have realized that the art of shaving lies not so much in the copious jars, bottles, and flavors of cream, but rather in the practice mastering a dangerous and beautiful tool--as a painter with his brush. From this understanding, I seek a simplicity in shaving that I haven't yet found.

I seek the most essential knowledge and tools to realize this simplicity. I do not want to pamper myself as much as care for myself and know the limits of what I am capable with razor sharp steel in my hand--my utility and the utility of my tools.

I agree 110% and fully expect to whittle down my shave den to a few essentials and favorites.

That I still have so many razors, blades, brushes, etc. I don't use is mostly a matter of laziness. I just haven't worked up the energy to produce BST entries for them: put into lots, figure out prices, write descriptions, take pictures, post the entries, answer PMs, package and mail, and keep track of it all.

Yow! I think I just talked myself into further procrastination!

**LittleJon** · 07-14-2009, 12:16 PM

I'm a relative newbie so I haven't amassed anything close to a shave den. But so far Proraso Cream, Red IPs, Merkur 38c and a small rotation of aftershaves is all I have. But I really couldn't be happier with my shaves, so I have all I "need". meaning I have my control elements and look forward to varying a few items here and there. Maybe this is what the OP is still needing to find? But I guess I don't know what I am missing because I haven't tried so many products, I am just enjoying my entry into wetshaving. The new product enjoyment is something I look forward to though.

**Confilo** · 07-14-2009, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by Samouraï

First of all, wet-shaving and all the accoutrement attracts me greatly, but I see myself eventually being overloaded with soaps and creams and aftershaves and oils and blades and razors and brushes--so many different things. Has anyone ever felt smothered by all of these expensive collectibles, albeit usable collectibles? I already have a sizable shaving cabinet: 4 soaps, 4 creams, 2 pre-shave oils, 2 aftershaves (balm and splash), 3 straight razors (2 are on the way), a strop, a DE razor (and 50 Feather Blades + 13 Merkur Blades), a Shaving stand, 2 shaving brushes, and the empty boxes of everything I have bought (the Trumper's gear serves as decoration)...and this is nothing compared to what it could become in the near future, and what it has become for many of you. Now, I don't mean to knock anyone for having huge shaving cabinets--trust me, I am envious on one level. But on the other level, I feel overwhelmed by the avalanche of scented regalia.

I have realized that the art of shaving lies not so much in the copious jars, bottles, and flavors of cream, but rather in the practice mastering a dangerous and beautiful tool--as a painter with his brush. From this understanding, I seek a simplicity in shaving that I haven't yet found.

I seek the most essential knowledge and tools to realize this simplicity. I do not want to pamper myself as much as care for myself and know the limits of what I am capable with razor sharp steel in my hand--my utility and the utility of my tools.

Who found more pleasure: the barber or his client?

Speaking as a painter, i'm sure you had been to an Artist's studio. If so you must have noticed that among myriad of brushes, paint tubes, canvas rolls and easels of many sizes there are also many things that artists hoards for either future use or inspiration.
I think an artist master his trade surrounded with its tools so they are available on his whim.