WetShaving
This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
New subscribers welcome!
Please visit our wiki, which is always and forever a work in progress.
Check out these alternative front-ends for this server:
https://gem.wetshaving.social - a nice modern interface
https://old.wetshaving.social - designed to look like old.reddit.com
Our sister Mastodon instance is https://wetshaving.social.
Community Rules
Rule 1 - Behaviour and Etiquette
-
Be Respectful. Do not bully, flame, or harass others.
-
Malicious comments are not allowed but heated discussion and salty banter is okay.
-
Low effort replies and complaints about content will be removed.
Rule 2 - Content Guidelines
-
Mail Calls, Simple Questions, and SOTD posts belong in the recurring weekly threads.
-
Posts must have sufficient content to generate a meaningful discussion.
-
Images, links, or videos must include additional text that summarizes the topic.
Rule 3 - Reviews and Disclosure
-
Use [First Impressions] in the title if your experience with the product is limited.
-
Use the [Review] in the title if you can provide comprehensive details with enough familiarity to answer follow-up questions.
-
Disclose how the product being reviewed was acquired (e.g., PIF, loan, or purchase). If the product was provided to you directly by the maker or vendor free of charge or at a discount, you must disclose this fact even if the item will later be returned to the maker or vendor.
Rule 4 - Advertising
-
Vendors are to keep marketing within the biweekly Deals/New Products threads.
-
Non-vendors may post topics about products if it will foster a compelling discussion.
-
Do not solicit donations or share fundraisers without mod approval.
Rule 5 - Inappropriate Content
-
All NSFW/L content must request mod approval and be flaired appropriately.
-
Non-shaving related NSFW/L content is not allowed.
Rule 10 - Moderator Discretion
- The rules may not apply perfectly to every situation. The mods have final discretion.
view the rest of the comments
You know my answer. I enjoy doing it myself.
For someone who is interested and willing to put up with some trial and error, razor edge maintenance is a very approachable skill.
Learning how to properly set a bevel and how to deal with geometry issues takes a lot more time, but people have been shaping tools and weapons by rubbing metal on rocks for a very long time. Most folks can do this.
For someone getting into straights, I suggest getting a pro edge to start with. Unfortunately, many shave-ready edges aren’t.
And for someone who doesn’t want to hone or doesn’t have the time, I suggest using a pasted strop every 15 shaves (or so). Assuming your stropping technique is reasonable, this will significantly extend your edge refresh interval.
Yeah, this is important advice. I never felt sure my blades were sharp until I had blades honed by Ralf Aust and Brad Maggard to compare to (and later yours, too!)