Written for the man who wants to enjoy his shave

This post last revised: 2/11/2008 to add a new link in the text below.

NOTE: A revised, reorganized, and considerably expanded version of this post is now available as a trade paperback: Leisureguy’s Guide to Gourmet Shaving: Shaving Made Enjoyable. This is a beginner’s guide to wet shaving: how to shave with a safety razor and not hurt yourself. (Because the safety razor uses a double-edged blade, it is sometimes called a “DE razor.”) The book provides all the information you need to begin traditional shaving (including on-line sources for equipment and supplies), and it also makes a good gift for friends contemplating that step.

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At one reader’s suggestion, let me begin with a teaser:

• Do you enjoy shaving? Is it something you look forward to each day?

• Do you know where you can get good multiblade cartridges for 12¢ each?

• Do you search for aftershaves that promise to “soothe”, “heal”, “restore”?

• Have you ever tried the lather produced by a shaving brush and a good shaving cream?

• Has anyone ever explained how to use a safety razor with a double-edged blade?

Read on.

The book mentioned above contains more information than you will find in this post, including fuller explanations and photos—to illustrate correct blade angle, for example. But this post will get you started. Still: buy the book.

The primary question from men considering the traditional shave with brush, shaving soap, and safety razor is, “Why bother?” Or, as a friend put it, why put aside all the modern technology of pressurized cans of formulated shaving foams and gels and the modern multi-blade razor cartridge that allows you to shave while still half asleep?

The answer varies by person, but for me it is the sheer pleasure that the morning shave now affords. Shaving has moved from a routine at best, a chore more often, to a wonderful ritual from which I emerge feeling truly pampered. I now look forward to shaving each day, and that feeling more than repays the little bit of equipment required. The daily shave: a daily pleasure. How many guys can say that?

The reason many men are choosing to shave with a safety razor, however, is much more down-to-earth: the multiblade cartridge uses a tug-and-cut approach that, for many, causes ingrown whiskers, razor bumps, and skin irritation. These men turn to the double-edged blade and safety razor for the comfort they achieve once they learn how to use the instruments, which might take a week.

Some have expressed a fear of the safety razor, and to those I point out that it’s called a safety razor for a reason: the only damage you might encounter are some nicks while you’re learning. Very quickly your technique improves so that those problems vanish.

Indeed, you can begin by continuing to use your cartridge razor, just adding a fragrant lather you create with a badger brush and a high-quality shaving cream or shaving soap—much more satisfying than squirting some goop from a can of shaving mix. And then perhaps move to a Schick injector razor (see description below), which has a feel very like a cartridge razor and is easy to shave with.

Sooner or later, though, you will probably want to try a safety razor: a great shave with a blade that costs less than 5% of the cost of one disposable Gillette Fusion cartridge.

Along with reading this post, I recommend viewing the series of videos made by Mantic, which offer an excellent complement to the information here.

1. The safety razor itself: how to wield it, and various different razors.

First, how to use the safety razor—unless you’re willing to undertake the learning curve of a straight razor.

If the straight razor is of interest, see StraightRazorPlace.com and also The Art of the Straight Razor Shave, by Chris Moss. You can download the .PDF from this page. Excellent article. Ready-to-go straight razors—sharpened and honed and ready to shave—along with accessories are available from the well-regarded The Well Shaved Gentleman shop.

Using a safety razor puts you in charge, and going from a multi-blade cartridge to a safety razor is akin to going from an automatic transmission to a manual: you can get better performance by being more in control, but you must learn how to use it, practice your technique, and pay attention to what’s going on.

The first issue is pressure. With the safety razor, you must not use pressure to try to get a closer shave: pressure must be light, the razor and the blade doing the work—exerting additional pressure will cause problems (cuts, razor burn, etc.). As described below, you obtain a closer shave with more passes, not more pressure.

The key is progressive stubble reduction over multiple passes: at least two, generally three, and sometimes four (explained below).

Other than pressure, the key variable in using the safety razor is blade angle. Try this: put the head of the razor against your cheek, the handle perpendicular to the cheek and parallel to the floor. Gradually bring the handle down toward the face as you make a shaving stroke, pulling the handle to drag the head down your cheek. When the handle’s dropped around 30º from the initial perpendicular (depending on the razor you’re using), the blade will make contact with the whiskers and begin to cut as you pull the razor. That’s the angle (more or less). The idea is that the edge of the blade is cutting through the whiskers, not scraping over them. If the room is quiet, you can hear the sound of the razor cutting through the whiskers. The idea is that you use the razor like a scythe, not like a hoe.

As the skin on your face curves this way and that—over the jawline, around the chin, and so on—you continue to adjust the razor’s position to keep the blade close to parallel on the skin being shaved. Using short strokes enables you to focus on blade angle (and pressure) for the entire stroke; in addition, for a short stroke the angle is likely to be constant. It helps to lock fingers and wrist, moving the razor with your arm: this makes it easier to maintain a constant angle.

The right cutting angle is different for different razors. When I use my Gillette Super Speed, it’s held flatter to the face than the Merkur Futur, for example. And with the Schick Injector and the Gem G-Bar, the cutting angle is right when the razor’s pretty much flat against your skin. You’ll have to experiment to find the right cutting angle for each of your razors.

Proper technique with the safety razor consists of using light pressure and the correct blade angle over your entire beard area, including the neck. When you can do that, you’ll learn that the closeness and comfort of the shave is 30% from the razor and 70% from the blade. So read carefully the section below on blades.

The Merkur Futur is a good safety razor, heavy and substantial (German engineering), and it adds yet another variable: it’s adjustable: 1 = least aggressive shave, 6 = most aggressive. Start with 1, and gradually work your way up until you get a satisfyingly close shave. For me, that was at 1.5. The idea with an adjustable razor is to find the lowest setting that works, not the highest setting that you can stand. Lower settings minimize nicks, irritation, and razor burn, and with good technique can still deliver a great shave.

The Futur was my first razor, but then I tried the Merkur Vision. It’s also adjustable and even more massive but, in my experience, is much better than the Futur (or any other razor)—easier to manipulate and providing a better shave. YMMV. I should note that some people have had problems with the Vision; if you’re one, here’s a handy reference. And here’s a positive review from another shaver.

The Merkur slant-bar safety razor is well-loved by some (me, for one). It requires a sharp blade, and the general recommendation is that it’s for a safety-razor user who’s getting consistently good shaves with his current razor. Once you can do that, you can move to a whole new level of ease and closeness by using a Slant Bar. Indeed, I believe that the Slant Bar is the ideal tool for the combination of thick, wiry beard and sensitive skin. If you have a tough beard and sensitive skin, first learn proper technique, then go for the Slant Bar with a sharp blade.

The Slant Bar is not adjustable, but then many safety razors are not adjustable (except the adjustments that you make in blade angle as you shave). For example, the Merkur Hefty Classic (also called the “HD” ) is quite popular—and on two of the shaving forums the HD was voted as the best razor for a beginner, with the 1940s Gillette Super Speed, also not adjustable, in second place.

The Edwin Jagger razors have the same head as the Merkur HD (although with additional polishing and Jagger-specified chrome or gold plate) but larger handles. If you have large hands or just prefer a larger (or more elegant) razor, take a look at the Edwin Jagger line. They are of excellent quality.

The Merkur Progress adjustable, a two-piece razor, is unusual in that the cap has only one correct orientation: there’s a line stamped on one end of the cap, and this must be placed above the triangle stamped on one end of the base. (Charles of QED has the Progress in gold, if you’re so inclined). It’s a delight to use, though the angle for this razor differs quite a bit from the HD angle. But, generally speaking, when you pick up a different razor you always have to learn the proper angle for it—this is called “getting used to it” and is the same process as, for example, learning the right way to hold and cut with a new kitchen knife.

Defects in some new Merkur razors have been noted—typically, that the cap is slightly off center, so one side of the razor gives more blade exposure than the other. Inspect a new Merkur carefully for any defects. The dealer will generally be happy to make an exchange.

I should note, though, that I’ve not had a problem with any of the several Merkur razors I’ve bought—and I have at least one of almost every model (for some models, I have both the chrome and the gold-plated: RAD (Razor Acquisition Disorder)).

2. Vintage razors (e.g., bought on eBay) and how to clean them

On eBay, Gillette safety razors abound. (Here’s a useful guide to some common Gillette razors you might encounter.) There’s great satisfaction in shaving with a vintage razor, and many of them deliver an excellent shave. If you get a Gillette adjustable, do the same thing as above: start at 1, the lowest and least aggressive setting, and gradually increase the setting, day by day, until you get the shave you want.

As with most things in shaving, YMMV: what works for one person will not suit another. For example, the Gillette adjustable slim-handle seems head-heavy to me, but others love it—though I believe the Fat Boy (thick-handle adjustable) is more popular.

Occasionally, a used razor will arrive with a blade in place. Do not use that blade—you don’t know where it’s been. Start with a new blade, fresh out of the package. Also, vintage razors will occasionally arrive with a package of old blades. Don’t use them: the edges will be intolerable due to oxidation. Use only new blades that you’ve purchased. (See below for proper blade disposal.)

If you do pick up an old razor on eBay or at a flea market or the like, here’s a good discussion on how to clean it. Maas metal polish in the tube does a good job—you use only a tiny amount. Using Maas with a toothbrush can clean the chequered handles quite well. After polishing the razor, be sure to wash off all the Maas before shaving: it burns newly shaved skin.

Some vintage razors sold on eBay are, it should be noted, completely cleaned and sterilized. But others require you to provide the elbow grease.

3. Double-edged blades: various makes and the sampler pack

Once you’ve picked the razor, the next step is choosing the blade. As I mentioned above, the comfort and smoothness of the shave (once your technique is good) will be about 70% from the blade you use, and only 30% from the razor.

High-quality double-edged blades run $0.45-$0.55 each in the normal pack of 5 or 10 and as low as $0.12-$0.15 each if you look around for lots of 100—e.g., on eBay. With the right cutting technique on a well-lathered face and softened beard, a blade can last a week. YMMV depending on your prep, your beard, your skin, your technique, your razor, the phase of the moon, etc.

As you see, double-edged blades cost substantially less than today’s disposable multi-blade plastic cartridges, which can run up to $3.50 each, and the usual rationalization for buying lots of delicious shaving equipment is that you’ll be money ahead (eventually—sometime around the turn of the century) because of what you’ll save on the blades. Remember: the blades are where Gillette makes its money, so it’s with the blades that you save money.

It’s important to note that a given blade will get different responses from different people. List any brand of blade, and some guys will say it’s the best blade ever, some will say it’s the worst, and others will say it’s so-so. You have to try a blade yourself to see whether it will work for you. Your best bet is to buy sampler packs that include a variety of blades. The post at the link contains complete information about the sampler packs currently available and their use, including the price per blade for each sampler pack.

Never buy a large supply of any brand of blade without having first had a shave with that blade. You really cannot predict how the blade will work for you, regardless of what other people say about their experience—whether their experience was positive or negative. Some blades I’ve hated turn out to be the best possible blades for other shavers.

And never buy a large supply of any brand of blade unless you really enjoy shaving with that blade. I’ve read comments along the lines of, “I like Brand A—it tugs a lot, but when I’m done, I have a nice, close shave.” Keep looking until you find a brand that gives you a nice close shave without tugging. Look for a blade that gives you a smooth, easy shave, without any tendency to nick.

Blades are generally printed with the manufacturer’s name, etc., and the two sides—top and bottom—often look different in terms of what’s printed. But there’s no difference in function, and you can put the blade in the razor with either side on top: it makes no difference. Since you use both sides of the razor as you shave—when one side has collected enough lather, you switch over to the other side for a while before you rinse the razor—the two edges are worn down simultaneously.

If you have a bad shave with a new razor, try a different blade. And if you have a bad shave with the new blade, try a different make of blade. Don’t jump to the conclusion that the problem is the razor.The same thing holds with trying a new make of blade: if the first shave is bad, try a different blade from the pack—maybe the first blade you tried was just a bad one. And then try the blade in a different razor—sometimes a blade that’s terrible in one razor will work quite well in another with a different head geometry.

The blade is the very center of the system, and it was the blade that gave King Gillette the opportunity and the challenge: to manufacture a sharp, disposable blade from thin, stamped steel. The safety razor that holds the blade can be three-piece (like the early Gillette razors and the Merkur 1904, Classic, and Long Classic: top, platform, and handle), two-piece (like the Merkur Futur, Hefty Classic (”HD”), Progress, and Slant Bar: top and platform-handle), or one-piece (like the Vision, Gillette Super Speed, and other twist-to-open (TTO) razors: twisting the knob at the bottom in one direction opens butterfly doors for changing blades and, in the other, closes them to grip the blade for shaving).

In all razors using double-edged blades, the blade is held between a top and a platform, with only the edge exposed, and as the razor is tightened to grip the blade, the blade bends over the slight hump of the platform, the edge becoming rigid. (Single-edged blades, like those used in Gem razors and Schick Injectors, are rigid to start with because they are thicker, and thus do not have to be bent in the razor’s grip as do the thin, double-edged blades.)

One error novices sometimes make is failing to tighten the razor sufficiently after inserting the (double-edged) blade. The top must be seated firmly onto the blade, to bend it over the platform and hold it securely. (The Futur’s design cleverly finesses this error: the top snaps on, so if it’s in place, it’s holding firmly.)

When you finish shaving, there’s no need to remove the blade from the razor or even to loosen it. Just rinse off the razor in hot water, give it a shake, and put it aside to dry. The only time you need to remove the blade is when you’re ready to replace it.

4. The shaving brush: various makes, and the trade-offs

The next item among traditional shaving tools is the shaving brush. The best are made of bristles taken from the Asian badger; these come in several grades and are made by hand. Here are some photos that clarify the differences among the various grades.

The Vulfix 2235 is good, and the 2234 is equally popular.Vulfix makes a good brush, but then I tried the Simpson Emperor in Super Badger and found that I liked it better. The Emperor’s bristles seemed to have just the right “give” and density, and I liked its size. Other users agree. Although I started with the Emperor 3 (the largest), as I became more experienced and started lathering on my face, I found that I actually preferred the Emperor 2 and Emperor 1, both of which I later bought (scroll down at the link).

But then I found myself gravitating more and more to my Rooney brushes. I first got the Style 3 Large “Super” Silvertip, but as I found a smaller brush more to my taste, I got both a Style 3 Small “Super” Silvertip and a Style 2 Small “Super” Silvertip. Those are now my favorite brushes—though, obviously, this can change.

If you can afford it, I highly recommend the Rooney Style 2 or 3 Small Super Silvertip as your first shaving brush. A less expensive alternative is noted below.

Simpson brushes (measurements here), Rooney brushes, and the Italian Omega brushes (measurements here) are all excellent. Both Rooney and Omega Silvertip brushes are amazingly soft and thick—quite a luxurious feel.

Savile Row brushes (from QED, menu item “Savile Row” ) brushes are also nice—soft, not stiff. Shavemac brushes are beautiful, and the one I had was stiffish.

All the brushes mentioned are high-end, some higher than others. If those are too pricey, look for something cheaper, but I would say that anything costing less than $20 is suspect. YMMV. Probably the best starter brush for a modest price is the Edwin Jagger best badger from The English Shaving Company—here’s a good selection. Note that if you live in the US, you pay the price excluding the VAT tax: $30.50 plus shipping.

I would avoid brush handles made of wood, horn, or other natural substances, but some like them a lot. You do have to be more aware of possible water damage, though. Here’s an excellent guide on the care of wooden-handled shaving brushes.

Sometimes the question is asked about which brushes are best for shaving cream, which best for soap. In fact, any brush can do a fine job with both soaps and creams. You learn how to use the brush, and you learn how to create lather (see below), and that’s it. Don’t worry about soap brushes vs. cream brushes—it’s a red herring. Just pick a brush that you like. For me, that’s a softer brush; for others, it’s a stiffer brush. This video shows a soft brush (generally claimed not to be a “soap brush” ) quickly whipping up an excellent lather from a hard soap.

When you complete your shave, rinse all the soap out of your brush with hot/warm water, and then do a final rinse of the clean brush using cold water.Over time brushes may become slightly waterproof from hard-water deposits. Since the brushes are made of (badger) hair, they can be easily restored by washing them with a good shampoo and conditioner.

You might want to use a pre-shave lotion, applied prior to lathering the face. For example, Proraso pre-shave and after-shave cream is quite nice and leaves the face all tingly and cool—especially when used with Proraso Eucalyptus-Menthol shaving cream (green tube). (Proraso products, including an inexpensive boar-bristle brush, are available at Target, in the “spa” section rather than among shaving supplies. The price at Target is less than from on-line retailers—and, of course, no shipping charge.)

Rub just a tiny bit of the Proraso pre-shave cream into your wet beard and then lather over it, and apply another tiny bit as an after-shave after rinsing and drying your shaved face. (Another good pre-shave, it turns out, is Trumper Coral Skin Food or 100% pure glycerine. See below.)

5. Shaving cream and how to build lather from it

Shaving creams are available in a wide variety. Cyril R. Salter Mint is a great summertime shaving cream, for example, and in Canada J. M. Fraser’s Shaving Cream has a light lemony fragrance, creates a good lather, softens the beard exceptionally well, and gives a fine shave. For those with extra-sensitive skin, there are shaving creams (and aftershaves) like Truefitt & Hill’s Ultimate Comfort.

It’s very nice to have a few shaving creams to provide variety. In particular, Taylor’s Avocado has received high praise:

I couldn’t agree more on the [Taylor's] avocado. The scent is nice and light but not as luxurious as some others. The real value for me is the lubricity you described [presumably from the avocado oil (persea gratissima) in the formulation] along with zero irritation. The absence of coloring and heavier scent additives I think is what drives this. IMHO this benefit makes this the ideal cream for a newbie, which I am.

For true luxury, it’s hard to beat Castle Forbes shaving cream, available in lavender or lime. It’s pricey (perhaps better to receive as a gift than to buy), and it produces a wonderful, thick lather. And, in addition to Taylor’s, the other two “T’s” of fine English shaving creams are Truefitt & Hill and Geo F. Trumper.

To produce lather with shaving cream, apply a small amount of shaving cream (”about the size of an almond” ) to the wet brush and make the lather in an empty, heated bowl, using a motion that’s more than stirring but less than whipping. (If you whip too vigorously, you’ll get a lot of lather, but it will be a very dry lather. You want a stiff, dense lather that contains a substantial amount of water.) This motion will create a thick, creamy lather. If the lather is bubbly rather than dense, you’ve used too much water.

Because shaving creams will produce quite a bit of (unprotective) lather even if you use too little shaving cream, experiment to make sure you’re using enough. Perhaps initially you should try using a dollop the size of a large Brazil nut instead of an almond, then in later shaves cut back a bit until you find the right proportion. The lather should be dense enough—and contain enough water—to do a proper job.

Here’s an illustrated guide to one method of lathering with a cream. In this guide, he uses water from a hot-pot—I just use hot water from the tap, but my water is relatively soft. If you do use a hot-pot, do not soak your brush in boiling hot water: that ruins the bristles.

Building the lather in a bowl produced for me the best and most plentiful lather when I was just starting. (I now prefer to build the lather directly on my beard.) The bowl—important point—should have been filled with hot water to sit for a while (while you shower, for example). (Few enjoy cold lather.) Then empty the hot water from the bowl, rinse the brush in hot water, and proceed. Any roughly hemispherical bowl that’s about 5″ across and 2.5″-3″ deep will work fine—you can try a cereal bowl from your kitchen to begin with.

For myself, I’ve found I get the best results if I start creating the lather after flicking water from the brush, so that it’s not as wet as it could be, and then adding driblets of hot water to the brush (or to the lathering bowl) as I develop the lather. This produces an abundant and substantial lather that’s suitably wet—but not too wet. Also, since the brush is relatively dry (i.e., it’s not dripping water), I twirl the brush briefly over the cream in a tub to pick up a small amount of the cream, rather than dipping some out with my finger.

An even more ingenious lathering tool is the Moss Scuttle, described here. With the Moss Scuttle you can enjoy warm shaving lather, a real treat. The bowl of the Moss Scuttle most find too small for lathering; they lather on the beard or use a separate lathering bowl, and then put the lathered brush in the Moss Scuttle to keep it hot.

One shaver has pointed out that a thick ceramic bowl will hold quite a bit of heat once it’s hot all the way through, and can keep the lather warm for the entire shave.

Interestingly, when asked what was the best shaving tip they had read, many answered that it was to use a lathering bowl.

Another method of creating the lather is to apply a small amount of shaving cream to the wet brush and create the lather directly on the wet beard.

Lately, I’ve enjoyed building the lather directly on my beard. Below you’ll find a description of the on-the-beard methods I use for shaving cream and shaving soap.

6. Shaving soap and how to build lather from it

Shaving soap is a nice (and cheaper) alternative to shaving cream, but first read these instructions (one caveat: I find that giving the wet brush a shake or two so that it doesn’t hold so much water makes it pick up the soap better—you can add more water as you work up the lather) and this excellent tutorial (with photos).

I hadn’t realized that the lather is not created in the shaving soap container. The brush’s initial encounter with the soap—gently rubbing the soap with the tip of the damp brush just until a lather appears—is simply to charge the brush with soap, with the soaped brush then used to build the lather in the (empty, hot) lathering bowl, or in a cupped hand, or directly on the wet beard.

Now I understand why some shaving soaps can be sold in a container barely large enough to contain the soap. When you’re charging the brush with soap, the brush should not be too wet—for example, it should not be dripping water. Give it a good shake or two, and then rub it briskly over the surface of the soap—it will then pick up enough soap to create a good lather.

Handmade shaving soaps are a particularly pleasant luxury and you can readily find several artisans who make a wide variety of handmade soaps including shaving soaps. Their soaps include unscented varieties for those with extra-sensitive skin that reacts to fragrances. Also, the Classic Shaving soaps are quite good (including the unscented).

QED, Mama Bear, and Honeybee Spa make shaving soap in stick form—shaving sticks (scroll down at the link). These are pleasant to use and handy for travel. You rub the soap against the grain all over your wet beard, then build the lather directly on your beard with a wet brush, adding small driblets of hot water to the brush if the lather seems dry. (The brush will hold plenty of lather for multiple passes.) QED’s Mocha-Java shaving stick is especially delectable.

This post on lathering is well worth reading. Even though he’s talking about the Feather Artist’s Club straight razor, the comments apply equally well to lather intended for a safety razor.

The defining characteristic of a good lather is that it’s dense and heavy: microscopic bubbles and a substantial amount of water. Larger bubbles indicate either too much water or water added so fast that it could not be worked into the lather. Your whiskers are softened by absorbing water, and heavy, wet lather will hold water against the stubble in addition to lubricating the skin so the razor glides easily.

Apply the lather against the grain of your beard. You need only enough lather to fully cover the whiskers—that is, the lather need not be deep on your face. Save the lathered brush (whether using cream or soap) to re-lather your face prior to each shaving pass. Rinse your face after each pass before relathering: lather is always applied to a wet beard. Each pass with the razor requires a lathered (and thereby lubricated) face. If you’re using the Moss Scuttle or a thick (high heat capacity) lathering bowl, letting the brush lie in the lathering bowl will keep it warm.

To create the lather on the beard: the charged brush is rubbed briskly over the face, and the lather develops, and again the brush holds all you will need. (As I mentioned, this is the method I’m currently using and enjoying.)

I lather on the beard and find it works well. But even when I was using a lathering bowl, with the brush well lathered I could rinse out and put aside the bowl and just set the brush on its base between passes: the lather’s in the brush, not in the bowl.

With a large brush, the bowl works a bit better. The Simpson’s Major Travel Brush is relatively small, and you can work it smartly against your beard, but a really large brush doesn’t get enough action merely against the beard. So the bowl lets you work the lather into the brush better, and also allows you to adjust water amounts. But: the lather’s in the brush, not in the bowl.

One important point, especially with large-knot stiffish brushes like the Shavemac 220: brushes hold a lot of water, and if you fail to work all that water into the lather at the outset, you’ll find that in the second and third pass the lather has become thin and worthless. So, especially with these larger, stiff brushes, you need to “pump” the brush (and this is where a lathering bowl is helpful), combined with the usual swirling and rapid stirring motions. You pump the brush by working it up and down; this ensures that the water at the base of the brush gets worked into the lather. Don’t pump it so vigorously as to break or damage the bristles—just enough to work the lather fully into the brush and the brush’s charge of water fully into the lather. Experience will be your guide. Brushes that hold a fair amount of water may therefore require a bit more shaving cream or shaving soap for a proper lather.

Softer large-knot brushes, like the Omega Silvertips, are flexible enough so that the pumping action usually happens automatically as you swirl and stir up the lather, so no special pumping is normally required.

This video (also linked to above) shows the pumping and the quick creation of lather. The brush is the Kent BK8, a softer brush which some presume is “not good for soap.” The video clearly shows this notion false. The soap is Kent soap, and the lathering bowl is the Moss Scuttle. The author notes:

With a mug/bowl you can perform the all important “pumping the brush” technique which gets lather deep into the brush which mixes all the deep water within the brush with the soap/cream. You cannot really do this on your face as you will just end up pushing the water out of the brush and it will drip out onto your face or in the sink.

Em’s Place has more information on lathering from both soaps and creams And note that razor-skipping when you shave (razor head not gliding smoothly across your skin, but seeming to “stick” and then skip) might be a problem with the lather.

You can also create a “superlather” by using both a shaving soap and a shaving cream. The video at the link explains how.

Lathering directly on your beard

A quick summary of lathering directly on your beard: As I mentioned, I started with building lather in a bowl, and now I lather on my beard. Lathering on the beard is pretty much the same whether you use shaving cream or soap. It goes like this:

Run lots of hot water over your brush, then shake it two or three times. Charge this more-than-slightly-damp but much-less-than-sopping-wet brush with a certain amount of soap or cream (which you’ll learn by experience) and rub it thoroughly all over your wet beard. Then run a little hot water over the corner of the brush, and rub the brush over the soap or cream that’s on your beard. The lather will begin to form. Continue this process—working the lather up, adding a dab of hot water to the brush, working the lather some more—until you’re satisfied that you have a wet, dense lather. The brush itself will be full of lather for the later passes.

For shaving cream: twirling the wet (but shaken out) brush in the tub of cream will coat the tips with cream, and when you work the brush over your wet beard you’ll create a thin layer of almost pure shaving cream over all your beard. As you add water to the brush and continue to work it, the lather will build. If you’re using cream from a tube, just squeeze a small amount (about the size of an almond) onto the brush tips and work that over your wet beard.

For shaving soap: rubbing the wet (but shaken out) brush briskly around and over the top of the shaving soap will rub the soap into the brush. In just a little while, a lather will start to form. At that point, the brush has picked up enough soap. Rub that over your wet beard to coat the beard with soap, and the lather will start to build. Wet the corner of the brush with hot water and continue to work up the lather. You’ll probably have to add a little water 3 or 4 times to get a sufficiently wet and dense lather, but working the lather around on your beard is all to the good.

For a shaving stick: rubbing the stick against the grain all over your wet beard puts plenty of soap on your face—and, of course, the most soap will be scraped off by the thickest and toughest part of your beard, a plus. Rubbing your beard with the wet brush will start to build the lather. Add a little hot water to the corner of your brush as it’s needed.

7. Preparation—the vital step

Before you apply lather (or pre-shave) at the sink, wash your beard with soap and water and then leave it wet after rinsing. I used to use Baxter of California Vitamin E-D-A Cleansing bars that I get from QED (under “Other fabulous toiletries” ), but then I discovered Musgo Real Glyce Lime Oil Soap (pictured), specifically made as a pre-shave beard wash. With that product, wash the beard and then partially rinse with warm water and apply the lather. It makes a noticeable difference in the quality of the shave.

This washing will further wet the beard and prepare it for lathering. I should note that some shavers say that it works better for them not to wash the beard with soap—they use only water. So you may want to try it both ways and see which works best for you. Obviously, though, since you’re running a sharp blade over your face, your face should definitely be clean. No grime, please.

The trick of using hair conditioner on your beard in the shower works well, but you need to pay attention to the type of hair conditioner. As you see at the link, hair conditioners come in various types, and you want a moisturizer—one that softens the hair. So check the label and look for the right hair conditioner.

8. Shaving: cutting the whiskers and what to watch out for

Before you start applying razor to stubble, it’s important to know the direction the stubble grows: the grain of your beard. About 10 hours after shaving, rub your beard firmly with the tips of your fingers. Pick a spot, and rub in different directions at that spot. One direction will be roughest—that’s against the grain. In the opposite direction at that spot, it will feel smoothest: with the grain. That direction is your beard’s grain direction at that spot.

Go over your entire beard, determining the grain direction at every spot. Usually, you’ll have some surprises. For example, the grain direction on the cheeks is generally down, but on my right jaw, near the corner, the grain direction is horizontal and toward my chin. Another odd spot on me: on the right cheek, just beside my mouth and chin, the grain tilts, growing from upper left to lower right—just on that spot.

You’re likely to find the most surprises on your neck, where the grain direction seems to be a wild card.

The importance of grain direction is this: your first pass is with the grain (WTG). The second pass is across the grain (XTG), either directly across or across at a slant. Those who do the across at a slant usually do a second XTG pass on the opposite slant. Only the final pass is against the grain (ATG), and in the beginning you’ll probably want to skip this pass, introducing it gradually as described below.

Once you know the grain direction over your entire beard—and some guys make little diagrams—you’re ready to begin. Do your prep, lather up, pick up the razor, chant, “Light pressure, correct blade angle” and set to work on the with-the-grain (WTG) pass.

Use short strokes. With short strokes, you’re more likely to use light pressure, keep the correct blade angle for the entire stroke, and focus your attention—and those are the factors that make a good shave. Of course, as with all dicta regarding shaving: Try it, and see how it works for you. But the long, sweeping strokes possible with a pivot-headed cartridge razor don’t work well with the safety razor.

And when you are making the short strokes, hold the razor with your fingers, but keep your fingers and wrist motionless and move the razor with your arm, from the shoulder. This will maintain the correct angle. If you use just your fingers or your wrist to move the razor through the stroke, the angle will change in the course of the stroke.

Stretching the skin where you’re shaving can help lift the whiskers, and the taut skin is less likely to be cut. You can stretch the skin with your other hand (if your skin is too slippery for that, use a damp washcloth in your stretching hand) or, for the skin around your mouth, by grimacing. You shave away from the hand that’s stretching the skin. The skin under the chin is easily stretched just by lifting your chin.

The upper lip is a tricky bit, because of the unremovable nature of the nose. Fortunately, though, the nose is flexible, so with your free hand, you can push or pull the nose to one side and even upward to give your razor more room to work. You also can shave under the nose by coming in at a bit of a slant.

To stretch the skin of my upper lip, I simply draw my lip down over my teeth. Another guy pushes his tongue up between his front teeth and his lip. Still another puts a finger in his mouth and stretches his cheek to one side, pulling his upper lip tight. Whatever works for you.

The safety razor has two sides, and in shaving you flip back and forth, using both edges of the double-edged blade. Flip the razor over to the “clean side” after a few strokes and then rinse it off when it’s covered in lather. After each rinse, give it a good shake—or two or three—to remove as much water from it as possible.

Let me emphasize again: correct blade angle puts the blade almost parallel with the skin, so the edge hits the stubble at almost a right angle. And light pressure. This is hard for those coming from cartridge razors, but the weight of the razor with a sharp double-edged blade will do the work. When you rinse your face after the first pass, you’ll feel some stubble and may think you need to use more pressure. Not so: you will be doing another pass, and the key is progressive stubble reduction. Each pass further cuts the stubble, so the end result is a smooth face.

Once you complete the first (WTG) pass, rinse your face and re-lather (lather is always applied to a wet beard). The second pass is across the grain (XTG), and this will further reduce the stubble. The XTG pass is also useful for cleaning up the upper lip, under the nose. Again: light pressure, correct blade angle, and short strokes, with focused attention on what you’re doing.

Rinse, and—when you first start shaving with a safety razor—that’s it. If you want further stubble reduction, you can re-lather and do an XTG pass the other direction, but when you first start learning the safety razor, don’t try ATG. Reasons: first, until you master blade angle and pressure, ATG is likely to cause cuts and/or skin irritation. Second, in the ATG pass, you’re holding the razor pretty much upside down, and you’ll find it requires more practice and concentration to keep pressure and angle correct in that maneuver.

When you are ready for ATG: rinse your beard and feel the stubble. It should be almost gone—if it’s not, do an XTG pass the other way. Before the ATG pass, you want the stubble reduced as much as possible. Then, when you’re ready for it, re-lather your wet beard and do ATG just on your cheeks. That’s the easiest and gives you good practice without getting into the difficult curves and challenges of chin, jaw, neck, etc. After a few shaves, when you’re happy with ATG on your cheeks and are comfortable with the ATG razor position, do your chin as well, then your upper lip, and finally your neck and under the jaw. Remember to keep a correct blade angle for the skin you’re shaving, as the skin curves this way and that.

This post provides a detailed description of a four-pass method, which you can modify to suit the lineaments of your own face. The benefit of this method is how it progressively reduces the stubble so the final, ATG pass is quite comfortable. Going for a clean, close shave in one pass results in too much pressure, a guarantee of razor burn and cuts—progressive reduction through multiple passes is the key.

I usually do a three-pass shave: WTG, XTG (ear-toward-nose), and ATG. As I mentioned, one small patch at the heel of my right jaw grows horizontally toward my chin, so with the usual three passes that particular patch never got an against-the-grain pass. So now I either do a four-pass shave, or a three-pass shave with one little backward horizontal pass over that spot. And my ATG pass on my right cheek, near the mouth, tilts to match the grain pattern of my beard there.

The Adam’s apple presents a problem for some guys. One technique is to move that skin off to the side, so you can shave it without a big bump underneath it. Grip some neck skin between your fingers and pull to the side. Another trick is to swallow and hold it—that flattens the Adam’s apple long enough for you to shave it.

If you suffer from razor bumps and ingrown whiskers, special care in shaving technique is required. The post at the link has helpful information. If the “bumps” are actually acne, read this post. And here also is a thorough discussion of razor bumps.

For some guys the neck is a problem area. Almost always the problems arise from using too much pressure and/or an incorrect blade angle—the technique that’s good on the cheek falters on the neck because of the unusual angles. (The same thing that can happen when shaving ATG with the razor held upside down.)

The usual recommendations are to be sure to use light pressure, to move to a lower setting if using an adjustable razor, to be careful to keep a correct blade angle, to stretch the skin, use shorter strokes, and the like.

RECENT UPDATE: check out the Oil Pass—it adds a lot, it turns out.

After you finish shaving, rinse your razor in hot water and stand it up to dry. It definitely helps to have a razor stand—you can buy a stand for a single razor from various places, but I particularly like this rack that holds 12 razors.

You do not need to remove or dry the blade, or even loosen the razor’s grip on the blade. In general, it’s a good idea to minimize handling of the blade. And it’s better to have the razor out where it can dry, and not put it in a drawer—especially since the blade’s edge is more likely to damaged in a drawer (much as you don’t put your quality kitchen knives in a drawer, but keep them in a knife rack).

9. The aftershave options: alum bar, balms, aftershaves

After you’ve finished the razor work, including any blade buffing, rinse your face first with warm water and then with cold—quite refreshing.

My Nik Is Sealed, a liquid styptic in a roll-on applicator, is handy during the learning phase to take care of the occasional nick. It works like a charm and, in my mind, is much better than a styptic pencil—and it doesn’t leave white deposits on your face.

After the cold-water rinse and prior to using an aftershave, use an alum block. It’s extraordinarily refreshing, but the sort of thing (like coffee) that appeals to adult tastes: in the case of the alum block, a tingling and slight stinging. The alum block (at the link: what it is and where to get one) is held to glide over the freshly shaved part of your face while it’s still wet from the cold-water rinse. (I don’t wet the block, just glide it over my wet face.) This is non-abrasive: the block gently glides over your freshly shaved face. The block is then placed on its little wooden rack to air-dry. (I have read where some have inexplicably attempted to use a styptic pencil as though it were an alum block, rubbing the side of the pencil on the face. This is very misguided. The styptic pencil is not the same substance. Get a real alum block.)

I let my alum-blocked face drip while I rinse out and put away the brush. (For y0ur brush, rinse out all the soap with hot water, then do a final rinse with cold water, then shake it dry and set it on its base.) Then I rinse my face again (optional), dry it, and apply an aftershave. The razor is simply rinsed out with hot water, given a couple of shakes, and put aside for the next shave: no need to do anything special with the blade.There’s a good variety of aftershaves. Here’s a useful summary and reference. Generally speaking, you can choose between an aftershave (bracing) or a balm (soothing). Thayers Witch Hazel (alcohol-free) is available at Whole Foods and health food stores and is pleasant and soothing. It comes in a variety of fragrances (see at the link), all of which are good, though none of the fragrances linger. There’s also a Thayers Witch Hazel Aftershave, a bit more bracing and an excellent aftershave if you’re traveling, since it has no fragrance.

The Proraso pre- and after-shave cream mentioned above works quite well as an aftershave balm. If you scroll down, here’s an entire array of aftershaves. Some that I’ve tried and liked: Taylor’s No. 74, Dominica Bay Rum, Pashana, and l’Occitane’s Cade aftershave balm with shea butter. Some continue to swear by Old Spice, from your local drugstore. And, of course, the Pinaud aftershaves have their fans—the Pinaud Clubman is a very old-timey fragrance.

If you want a balm as an aftershave treatment, look around (at your drugstore, for example) for Neutrogena Razor Defense lotion, Triple Defense cream, or Nivea Aftershave Sensitive lotion. Also, there’s Baxter of California Aftershave Balm, which you can get from QED (under “Other fabulous toiletry products” in his menu at the left. You can also email him for general recommendations regarding aftershave skincare.) And I like Taylor of Old Bond Street Luxury Herbal Aftershave Cream.

You may also want a stand for the brush (it grips the brush at the base of the bristles, bristles downward) and a stand for the razor, but the brush stand is definitely optional. (Simpson states that their brushes should simply stand on the base of the handle to dry after you’ve rinsed the bristles and dried them on a towel—no stand needed.) Indeed, if you begin to collect razors and brushes, you will have to improvise a rack with sufficient capacity. As noted above, I use a test-tube rack for my razors, which was repurposed as a pen rack (scroll down looking for “Double Pen Rack”). It holds 12 razors, which is a good start. And for my brushes, I use a 4-tier spice rack.

Shaving, it should be noted, is a path of continuing experimentation. You will want to try different razors, blades, brushes, soaps, creams, techniques—everything.

On pre-shaves in general: I usually don’t bother, but occasionally will use one (either glycerine or the Proraso pre- and post-shave cream) for a change of pace. I’ve never used pre-shave oils and don’t like the idea, I have to admit: my thought is that you’re trying to get the whiskers to absorb as much water as possible, so why coat them with oil? In any event, if you do decide to use a pre-shave, try shaving without it from time to time so that you can tell whether it’s doing anything or not.

10. My experience with Method Shaving

It was quite a while before I tried a Method Shave, and when I did, I was stunned at what a good shave I got. You can read about my experience, and I certainly encourage you to give it a try. Like everything in shaving, YMMV, but my own experience was extremely positive. I don’t necessarily cotton to the jargon, but the shave itself is jargon-free and quite good. Something in the products really produces a fully prepped beard and well-protected skin. At the link, you’ll find also Mantic’s three videos on Method Shaving. It’s definitely worth a try.

The razor recommended for Method Shaving is the Merkur Hefty Classic (”HD”), though the Edwin Jagger Chatsworth or Georgian would certainly work as well: just a more finished Classic head with a better (in my opinion) handle. The Shavemaster Brush would make the lathering a bit easier (see link in previous paragraph), and the supplies are pure Method from Enchante: Cube, Shaving Paste, Activator, Cutting Balm, Aftershave Conditioner, and Aftershave Tonic. In my opinion, the Method should definitely be a component of your shaving portfolio of practices. While I use the Method shave only occasionally, what I’ve learned from it I’ve incorporated into my daily shave—the Oil Pass, for example.

11. Links to discussion groups

Here’s a write-up on MSNBC on how to get the perfect shave. It covers some of the same points as above. A commenter pointed out this “how-to” site as well.

In addition, YouTube has a series of videos to introduce the concepts of wet shaving. This one is the video devoted to shaving with a safety razor and double-edged blade and is the fourth in the series—you can see the previous titles in the links list. The blade angle as he shaves the right side of his face (on viewer’s left—around 5:30 into the video) looks wrong to me: too much like a hoe, not enough like a scythe. I would expect the handle to be closer to parallel to the floor. But he is using a Merkur Progress, and the blade curvature is such that the angle shown works. Still, it’s important that, when you shave, you find the angle that’s right for you, your razor, your blade, and your face. And the angle shown in the video would definitely not be right for the typical DE razor; with a typical DE razor, that angle would result in razor burn and skin irritation.

ShaveMyface and Badger & Blade and The Wetshavers and The Shave Den are wet-shaving forums that offer advice to novices and let you post questions. These constitute an invaluable resource for resolving specialized problems that you may encounter—for example, skin that breaks out when you use certain shaving products.

For samples of various shaving products, take a look at this comprehensive list of sources.