HOW DO YOU SHAVE?

Hello C.c friends. I am in the military, so I am required to shave daily to maintain regulations and standards. Otherwise I would grow a beard. Shaving used to be a hassle, a chore, a p.i.t.a. and expensive. Until, I switched to straight razor shaving. At first it was a p.i.t.f. 'pain in the face' but I got the hang of it and that was about ten years ago now. I still look forward to my morning shave, it changed from a chore to a hobby and a joy. It's got it's ritual to it now and I enjoy it. Granted, I have to get up a little early, it takes me about 20 minutes but I'm a "morning person" so 'that' doesn't bother me. I strop my blade to surgical sharpness, I rub oils and lotions on my face, I use a badger hair brush to whip up a lather out of lanolin and animal tallow soap, I feel pampered, even if I am doing it myself. I've got a rotation of 5 vintage (that means old) straight razors that I bought for $5-$50 each. Some of them required a lot of work to become operational, all of them required sharpening, so my brilliant idea was to learn to sharpen and hone my own razors while at the same time learning how to shave with them. Needless to say, this was a painful experience in more than one way. I didn't know what a truly "shave ready" razor felt like, and it took me a few very frustrating years of scraping stubble off my face before I finally reached the level of sharpness required for a comfortable shave with a classic straight razor. Luckily for me I purchased a shavette, which is a 'straight razor' with disposable razor blades, so at least I had something adequately sharp to shave with while I was learning the delicate art of honing an edge. Anyway, that's my story. I'd love to hear yours.

~J.Babcock

I shave in the shower every morning with a cheap, disposable twin blade.

If I had to do all of that, I'd never shave. I'm a low maintenance kind of guy. I use an old Gillette Trac 2 with an old blade with some Barbasol. Some days, when I'm motivated, I even put pants on instead of sweats. But I do shower, depending on what day of the week it is...whether I need it or not.:crazy:

But I do thank you for your SERVICE in the military!

I think it would be very cool to shave with a straight razor! I also think I would cut myself....ALOT! I never had a straight razor shave. I went to a local Barber in town who I had seen him do it to people alot growing up and requested a straight razor shave because I had never had one. He told me "I am old as dirt and the doctor said he could fall over dead at any minute......Do you want me doing that with this blade against your neck? Hahahahahahahaa So from then on I never sought after that again! I use my wifes venus razors.....they are pink....yes, but the sure do shave GREAT! hAHAHAHA

I've dry shaved most of my life, even when in the Military. But, since I've been out of the Military (1970) I've had a beard. Only "shaving" I do now is with an elec trimmer (neck area) and follow it up with a disposable razor dry shave cleanup. I don't have to worry about any 5 o:clock shadow, since most all the hair on my head/face is grey. rotfl

:hesaid

We were issued a shaving kit. Had to screw the razor apart to change the double blade.

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

I've dry shaved most of my life, even when in the Military.

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That can't be fun. How in the world do you do that? No water at all?

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

That can't be fun. How in the world do you do that? No water at all?

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No sir, no water. Didn't have much in the way of thick/heavy "facial hair" back when I was first shaving and in the Military ... except the moustache area (and that was only necessary when in Basic. Wasn't a big deal on such a small area. Once I was out and the beard grew, continuing to dry shave the neck area was only a priority on a few occasions (like when the lady I was dating requested it).

And actually, my facial hair seems to grow faster, now that it's grey and I'm much older, than what it did back in my younger days & the hair was black.

I went from this in 1969 :

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...&1489104237025

to this by 1971 :

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...ps3d00d0da.jpg

to this by 1980 :

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...&1489104427837

To this in more recent years :

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...&1489104561643

(bald head & pony tail are not visible)

I step from the shower, dry the body, and step in front of the mirror while that face is still wet and the beard soft from the hot water. I used a Trac II for years and about 2 years back I bought some 4 blade Bic razors at a flea market and like em a lot. No soap, no after shave, and also not much of a beard in the first place. Every other day keeps me as pretty as I'm ever gonna get at this stage.

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

to this by 1980 :

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...&1489104427837

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I love to watch you paint!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLWEXRAnQd0

I laughed out loud. Oh man I remember that guy on pbs yrs ago.

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Originally Posted by kdk

I laughed out loud. Oh man I remember that guy on pbs yrs ago.

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X2!!

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

I love to watch you paint!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLWEXRAnQd0

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Hey now ... that was back in my Disco Duck Days !! (I knew I'd get a rise out of you with that pic :Rofl ) I think I watched maybe 15sec's of that "happy little cloud" painter and turned him off so I wouldn't :puke

Funny story about that pic ... cousin of mine moved to Fla. and I sent her a copy of that picture. She showed it to her Latino girlfriend/BFF ... and she said to my cousin ---- "I didn't know your cousin was Black" :yikes:Rofl:Rofl (cracked my cousin up !!) She had to go dig up some other pics of me, prior to the "fro", to convince her friend that I was white.

I've always been clean shaven,my ex wife was a beautician,so I was her practice model when she was learning to shave folks with a straight razor.when our relationship began to sour,I got really worried when she had the razor to my throat,so I learned to use the straight razor myself........for my own protection.:pray

I learned on a straight razor and have used one my entire life in my 60's now. I did try one of them new fangled multi blade type things once and hated it.

I only shave my neck in the winter Ialways grow a beard but when summer comes I shave it off but I still use the soap in a cup with a brush and an old double edge razor hate those disposalable ones

Little known fact about old Bob Ross the painter up there, before he had the show he made it to the rank of master sergeant (E7) in the Air Force, he was stationed in Alaska and that's where he perfected those mountains and happy little trees.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love bob Ross!!!! I watch him paint them happy trees every single night on YouTube. You can't help but end the day on a positive note watching him paint!

always used an electric

Attachment 260639:dono:scratchhead:scratchhead

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Originally Posted by spartannation

Attachment 260639:dono:scratchhead:scratchhead

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Beard envy. I've got four years until my twenty. I'm not sure if I'm getting out then or not but my wife already signed off on an entire year no shave for me when I do decide to punch that ticket.

~J. Babcock


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by spartannation

Attachment 260639:dono:scratchhead:scratchhead

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You guys make great duck calls!

Haven't shaved with a razor in years, haven't shaved period in 8 months. Really easy and convenient until you hang a beard in something or have to constantly clean food out of it.

Barbers do a nice job with a straight razor, it is kind of a treat. Now I just use an electric while watching the news, takes the boredom out of both.

Funny you should ask. A week before you posted the question I got to wondering how hard it would be to shave with a straight razor after returning from the barber shop where the barber uses a straight razor to shave around my ears and the back of my neck. My grandfather only shaved with a straight razor and in fact I have a sharpening stone handed down from my Mother that was his. I only wish I also had the razor.

I've been a safety razor shaver since my teens but when I moved into an office job in the eighties I went to an electric razor so that I could touch up quickly at lunch time. Now retired I'm back to safety razors. A few years back a friend gave me one of those straight razors with the changeable blades which he found his daughter playing with. It was his wife's who had been taking barber lessons. Thanks God she hadn't figured out how to open it.

Anyway fast forward to last night. All of a sudden I got the urge to try the straight razor. I had a nice 3 day growth on so it would be easy to see where I was going. I used a hot towel for a few minutes, then hot lather with my badger hair brush and then dove head first into my first straight razor shave. I was a little nervous at first but gained confidence as I went. I did the side burns and side of my face first and that worked out just fine. Then came my neck which was easier than I thought it would be. Doing my chin was a chore but I soon figured that out and it wasn't too bad. Now for my upper lip. It was tough but then I realized that my face had cooled and dried so I lathered up again and voila, that did the trick and now I was finished. I finished the event with a little nick on the front of my chin. Much to my satisfaction I had done at age 72 what my grandfather did all of his life. It was a good feeling to say the least.
"gene"

Haven't shaved since 1974. Don't miss it a bit. The day I was discharged from the Navy was the last day I shaved.

Grew a goatee years ago to cut down on the area that needed shaving. Grow a beard from August to at Least March every year now, so nothing during Fall and Winter. The rest of the year, I use a disposable, and usually lather with soap in the shower...