Shaving Myths We've All Heard

"You can get a good shave with any gear if you use proper technique."

Does that include bowling balls?

 

"Used brushes should be sterilized in boiling water."

The head acorn at Squirrel & Nut actually recommended that back in the day. At least he found a good way to remove the knot from a brush.

 

That is not what we say. If a razor is not damaged and the blade is sharp..
Then proper technique will give good shaves. Blade is a blade razor is a razor.

 

And a bowling ball is a bowling ball, but it gives good shaves if proper technique is used. Hence the term "bowling ball smooth".

 

Horse feathers. Someone doing something silly needs to be pointed out so newer guys will know it's silly. YMMV is a crutch for folks with bad technique.

 

You might need another cup of coffee.

 

If no one points out the idiot things people do newer shavers might think they need to do things that way. Think flipping blades...hand stropping blades...hot towels to open pores...blade jumping instead of learning technique..so on and so forth.

 

I'll leave that to other folks. I am tired of getting my hand slapped. If someone asks a specific question, I might chime in, but going out of my way to point out what I know to be a silly or ineffective process...no more.

 

Some men shave everyday and some twice a week. Some have coarse full beards and others patches here and there. Some have sensitive skin while others are never bothered. Some races are prone to ingrown hair and other never have to worry. What works for you might not work for another, not to mention that how the beard hair grows on your face is not the same for mine, mostly likely. As you should readily see, none of those factors are related to a shave technique, but are idiosyncratic factors that lead to practices that work.

Hand stropping is an old practice. It cleans the edge. Flipping GEM blades is something I've hear some men do and they feel it prolongs the edge in some way. Unless I have evidence to the contrary, calling them silly really just makes me look silly and trite.

I used to bloom my shave pucks. I've stopped, but I would not get all bent out of shape if you did.

Some say ride the cap. I don't, but if it works for you, do it. No harm, no foul.

Experience is the best teacher. When I started shaving 50 years ago I figured it out and others will also.

 

True story. A daughter once asked her mother why she cut off the ham hock before baking. The mother said she did it because it's what her mother did. They decided to ask the grandmother. She said she did it because it was what her mother had always done. The great grand mother was asked why she cut off the hock before baking and she said because her pot was too small. If I may apply this to shaving, if you are going to do something, understand why. Don't just do it because you read it on an internet forum.

 

If you can't stand to hear your advice ignored or discounted, then don't give it in the first place. If you give your advice as gospel, expect an empty church.

The best lessons are the ones you teach yourself.

It irritates me that on this opinion board (that is the old name for a forum btw) that giving, sharing, ignoring and discounting opinion can be so problematic at times.

Anyone for an argument?

 

Some people love the argument more than the premise.
While not everything applies to everyone, generalizations are mostly true, or the margins are smaller than most think.

 

That's not a myth. DE shaving will save you money. One razor, one brush, one soap, one tuck of blades. Talk to the rare serious minimalist around here.

Now if you take all the money you've saved on shaving, multiply it by 100, and spend that and more acquiring thousands of blades and dozens of razors, brushes, soaps, etc. - that's collecting. A totally different animal. Correlation does not prove causality.

It's only a coincidence that most of us have fallen (dived?) into a variety of rabbit holes.

 

This is true, but if I shaved for years, hating it, but suddenly found an old way of getting it done. An enjoyable method. It's only natural to want to see what else I'd been missing. Hence, trying a bunch of razors, soap, and creams. I've been happy with my journey, the money may or may not have balanced out, but I've got hardware and new skills to show for it.
If I could dispel a myth. It would be that people move up to more aggressive razors as they develop the necessary skills to shave well. I think the opposite may be true, the better I get, the better shavettes I get with milder razors.

 

i started de because of 30+years of carts wasn't enjoyable for me, a chore that had to be done..after finding out about de shaving and liking a gillette i had acquired i got more.i get fantastic shaves from them,mild and all..the many i now have was collecting ,but i have favorites,and use them all..its my process.if l really like something i research and collect,keeping what i like most..

 

So the sad process is still repeating itself here. Inevitable, I guess. Fun while it lasted.

 

That's why my favorite razors are the Techs and Flares.

 

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