Author Archives: Lee

Five Time Saving Shaving Tips

1. Heating the Water

The absolute fastest way to get hot water in the morning is to own a hot water pot. The next fastest way to get really hot water is to use the microwave. Fill up a ceramic bowl with water and microwave for ~ 1:15 on high; adjust for personal preference and water amount. Alternatively, you could wait for the hot water from your tap. However, we prefer the first two methods because you can use filtered water.

2. Stropping

There are two ways to save time in the morning. One is to strop the night before. The second is to strop while your water is being heated. We like the microwave method because it gives us a full minute and odd seconds to strop. We also like stropping on the linen/cotton after the shave. More on this in the forthcoming stropping article.

3. Soaking the Beard & Brush

Your brush needs to soak. So does your beard. Might as well get the two out of the way at the same time. Once the water has been heated, drop your brush in the bowl and wash your face/take a shower. You could also wrap your face in a hot towel. The hot towel is quite nice, but you might feel like going back to sleep if you do that.

4. Lathering

Face lathering is quicker than lathering in a bowl, and canned shaving cream is even quicker. However, there is only so far we are willing to go to save time. Cream might be even quicker, but until they invent tallow cream, we prefer our tallow soap.

5. The Actual Shave

Only experience can cut down the time here. Skipping the XTG pass will cut down on the time. While it is possible to go straight to ATG, it isn’t as pleasant. If you move deftly and lather quickly, the actual shave can be cut down to five minutes or so.

There you have it. Our time saving tips. What are yours?

ASR Endorses: Tallow Soap

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Soap is an essential part of the wet-shaving experience. Along with a good brush, soap makes or breaks the shave. Yet there are thousands of soaps to choose from and many independent soap makers. Most soaps today are made from glycerin. While good, there is something about tallow that makes for a better lather for straight shaving. Tallow soap is slicker and adds a layer of cushioning. The slicker the lather, the better the shave. And there is just something about the tallow that leaves the skin feeling better.

If you don’t already use tallow soap, we highly recommend you buy a puck. Not too many makers still use tallow shaving soap. Only a handful of major manufacturers still list tallow as the main ingredient. Tabac is certainly one of the cheaper brands, very reliable, but it has a very strong and unique odor. That said, tallow isn’t for everyone. It is made from the fat of animals, so it is not vegetarian friendly. But if you can get past that, it makes an excellent soap.

List of Current Confirmed Tallow Soaps

Arko – Shaving Stick

Cella Crema – da Barba Shaving Soap; Sapone Shaving Soap

Czech and Speake – No 88 Shaving Soap; Oxford and Cambridge Shaving Soap

DR Harris – Hard Shaving Soaps & Sticks

Mitchel’s Wool Fat

Palmolive – EU & Fiji Shaving Sticks

Ralph Lauren Safari Shaving Soap

Sir Irisch Moos Shave Stick

Tabac

Valobra Shaving Stick

The Art of Shaving lists glycerin as the main ingredient in their soap on their website, but instore boxes still list tallow.

Erasmic Shaving Stick lists glycerin as their main ingredient on Amazon.

Wilkinson Sword has glycerin listed as an ingredient at West Coast Shaving.

ASR Endorses: Pyrex Soap Storage Container

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We have looked high and low for an airproof, waterproof, and inexpensive soap container. We’d also appreciate it if we didn’t have to shave down the puck to make it fit. We found the solution with Pyrex 1 cup storage containers. Available from Amazon and Walmart stores. They come in a four pack for $10, making them very affordable. They are water and air proof, keeping your soap from drying out and keeping the scent in the puck. They are almost the perfect size, fitting Geo F. Trumper and D.R. Harris with very little modification.

While not as pretty as those expensive wood bowls, these are much more practical. We highly recommend adding them to your shave den.

Which is Better: Double Edge or a Straight Razor?

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This topic comes up a lot in wetshaving discussions. Which is better, the straight razor shave or the double edge? We like to think of the comparison as between a manual v. automatic car. The manual has more control, you choose when to shift, and better mpg; whereas the automatic is simple, easy, and makes your decisions for you. Obviously, the analogy isn’t perfect, but let’s look at the differences in depth.

Examining the DE first, we can see many features of standardization from the DE head to the blades themselves. While some very complex DE’s do allow you to control the razor angle, for the most part, the blade angle is chosen for you. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it does reduce some of your options. Yet, it is easier.

The real disadvantage of the DE is the lack of control over the razor blades. While there are different blade manufacturers and some blades are better than others, for the most part all DE blades are manufactured in the same manner, with the same double bevel, and the same blade angle. You can see how they are made in the video at the end.

The straight razor comes in a dizzying array of options, and each option affects the shave in unique ways. First of all, the straight razor has no guide. You, the user, get to choose how steep or shallow an angle you want. You get to control every aspect of the stroke. You can get a completely different shave from a heavy wedge than from a nimble hollow ground razor. The scale material and balance affects how the razor feels when stropping. Each razor has its own honing characteristics, has its own favorite honing methods, responds differently to different hones. Even the bevel angle is unique to each razor. In fact, the person sharpening your razor can even increase the natural bevel angle. Add to that all the different ways in which the edge can be finished, and you have a very customizable experience.

Unfortunately, when you take away the thing that does all of the tasks for you, you have to learn a whole new set of skills. But just like you gain MPG when you switch to a stick shift, you get a better shave if you master the straight razor. And if you decide you want to take the plunge, we are here to help.

Do I Really Need a Strop for my Straight Razor?

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Just as you don’t need to buy hones or learn to do any honing, you do not need a strop. However, if you want to keep your razor sharper longer, you want a strop. Or, you could constantly re-hone and re-sharpen your razor once a month. So, if you want to keep your straight razor sharp without the need for hones or honing lessons, you need a strop. Click here to learn more about stropping, what strop you should buy, and how to strop.

The more proficient you become at straight razor shaving and stropping, the more features you want with your strop. Features such as linen, cotton, chromium oxide, horsehide, cordovan, etc etc. If you get too much SRAD (Straight Razor Addiction Disorder), you will find yourself with at least two strops consisting of a leather and fabric piece. For the beginner, you do not necessarily need or want an expensive strop.

The point of stropping is to remove the oxidation on the edge and realign any burrs that may have formed. Removing the oxidation (rust) keeps the razor’s edge sharper, longer. Oxidation is the enemy of sharpness (honing accomplishes the same objective, but is much more costly and time consuming). Yet, you don’t need an actual strop to start your straight razor journey. An actual strop makes the process easier, looks better, and usually consists of quality components. However, in the end, a strop is just a piece of leather. Regardless of the leather quality, all it is is a piece of leather attached to a mounting point, with or without a handle at the other end.

Instead of plunking down $100 on a strop you may or may not like or damage, you can use a leather belt made from quality leather. You can also purchase a leather strip from someplace like Tandy Leather and making your own mounting hardware. Finally, if your adventurous enough, brave enough, and/or poor enough, you can just strop using the palm of your hand.

Ask ASR: Taping a Straight Razor Spine for Honing

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Q: Is taping the spine with electrical tape ever beneficial or recommended?

A: We prefer to not use tape if we don’t have to. However, in some situations, tape is recommended. The spine of the razor acts as a honing guide, controlling the angle of the cutting edge’s bevel. If the razor’s spine is too far damaged or uneven, taping the spine can alleviate some of the unevenness.
Tape also proves its usefulness for wedges. Wedges were not designed to be honed with the spine on the stone (note: this conclusion is disputed). Adding tape to the spine acts as a honing guide for your wedge. It also makes the bevel smaller.
If you do use tape, make sure it is evenly distributed (see picture) and you use a high quality tape. Happy Honing!

Ask ASR: What is a Honemeister?

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Q: Dear ASR,

I haven’t heard of this term before I came across your website. It is not defined in any of the online dictionaries. A google search just links to the same two places. What exactly does the term mean and why do you use it?

A: Dissecting the term, the word is the combination of two words: hone & meister. Hone refers to the sharpening stones we all use to put a fine edge on our tools, knives, and razors (hence the term honing, meaning to hone (sharpen)). Meister is a German word and translates literally into master. Wikipedia defines the term “meister” in the English language as: “A person referred to as “Meister” is one who has extensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills in his profession, business, or some other kind of work or activity.” Thus, in the English language, a hone-meister would be one with extensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills regarding sharpening stones, honing, sharpening, edge repair, and straight razors.

We didn’t hear the term until the advent of the internet. Before the shaving forums became extremely popular, the term was either nonexistent or used extremely rarely. In fact, the term honing wasn’t thrown around much back then either; it was still called sharpening. Consequently, we think the best definition of honemeister is provided by Badger & Blade: someone who sharpens straight razors professionally (edited for grammar)(link no longer working). There is no international or national accreditation or certification for hone-meisters. Consequently, anyone can hang out their shingle and call themselves a hone-meister. Simply put, the term is a word of art and is otherwise meaningless aside from denoting someone who sharpens & hones straight razors professionally or semi-professionally. We hone & sharpen professionally, and so we use the term. Until the English language comes up with a better term, everyone is going to use the term hone-meister.