Chatting with my dad yesterday and we got to shave routines. Thought I'd share his as it is quite...minimalist He's 85 yrs olf and his razor stable is comprised of two; one DD and one for travel. They are both old Hoffritz razors he's had for decades, one slant and one open comb (the travel one). They replaced a Gillette he lost while in NY travelling from UK sometime in the 60's. Blades are Wilkinson Sword in both. Post shower, he just grabs a bar of normal "Simple" soap, wets face, slams it on with his hands, shaves 2 passes and sticks some moisturiser on and done. "Give me water and I can shave anywhere in minutes" was his comment. His after shave is Eau Sauvage and again has been for decades. His parting comment was to get a slant as they are the best thing ever invented.
Nice story! Personally I love slants and I agree with your father. For me the biggest RAD-killer is iKon X3 slant. Unless I remember wrong I have had it around two years and I have had so little desire to try anything else that I have not even shaved with two razors I bought, almost out of habit, about one year ago. When I realized I do not want to risk having an inferior shave, I completely quit getting more equipment. The only non-slanting razor I still use sometimes is Saiver travelers razor. I am seriously considering a reduction in my shaving den and when I get time for it, I will probably create a PIF.
My dad had a Gillette tuckaway that he probably used his whole life. As I remember, he would wash his face with soap and then shave with his Gillette OC. He was a minimalist, too.
I can only ever remember my dad using one razor, a Gillette Flare Tip probably a Rocket as I grew up in England. He had one "trick" he told me that he learned in the army during WWII when fresh blades were in short supply. He'd take a used blade that was getting a little dull and hone it by rubbing it on the inside of a drinking glass. Of course the blade would bend to the concave curvature of the glass and thus "restore" the edges as he rubbed it for a minute or two. He claimed he could always get a few more shaves out of them that way! I must admit I've never tried it myself!
My father tells that his dad would rub a used blade on the surface of a ceramic sink to do the same. Ought to remove burrs to smooth out a rough blade.
They even sold glass sharpening blocks to use with razor blades. The expensive ones made with "Radium (actually Uranium not Radium) Glass" so the radiation renewed the metal. Or maybe so you could shave in the dark.
