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  1. #1
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    Default On shaving with a cutthroat

    (References to people, brands etc are not in any way meant to harm or belittle.This piece is in answer to a request by Manservant on November, the 14th 2013: http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/show...ht-razor/page2 )

    Why someone wants to shave with a cutthroat? “Because I can and because I want to”is probably the short version. The longer version is indeed longer because it is so much deeper. Shaving with a cutthroat is more than just scraping some unwanted hair out of one’s face. It is part culture, part joyful pleasure, part fine motor skills, but I think it (mostly) has to do with pure male virility. One might compare it to a woman enjoying a luxurious bath, then having her nails done, then visiting a very good and expensive hair salon, and ending it with a glass of wine at her very best friends’.

    My fascination with cutthroats started early in life because I simply love any form of sharpened and/or polished steel. Armor, knives, swords and similar things have always drawn me like a magnet. (My favourite weapons in a sword fight would be either two wakizashis or two scimitars, depending on their length, steel quality and balance.)

    The cutthroat is in a certain sense the highlight of old school metallurgy and the blacksmith’s art. It is a delicate and finely made instrument used for a fairly rough purpose. If there should be a single flaw in either the steel, the shape, the honing or the use of the cutthroat, the user will end up with a dampened spirit for the rest of the day. Not only will he be bleeding and sore, but his ego will be accusing his earthly master of desperate failure and incompetence. To bring that piece of finely honed steel near one’s face is thrilling, dangerous and a moment to look forward to. Those few moments are yours to enjoy.

    Just as with automotive vehicles, there are quite a few straight razors (Oh, how I detest the word!) available. But true cutthroats are few and far between. Just as one can get a dud Mercedes or a “blue Monday” Volvo which simply doesn’t work as it is supposed to, I own a modern Zwilling Dreizack razor with a slightly bent cutting edge. Try as I may, it won’t ever work properly. So please take care to get yourself a proper blade once you decide on going this road.

    A small observation or two before continuing on the “how to” – using a cutthroat is very much like drinking good wine, smoking a delicious pipe, sipping your favourite Scotch Single Malt whiskey or reloading your own ammunition – you do it because you enjoy it. Don’t expect others to understand or respect that, because they can’t and won’t. The like-minded are few and far between. Prepare to face ignorance in the form of “It is much easier to buy a Bic shaver for R2,50 than to ...” or “Isn’t it dangerous to...” You get my drift. It is very much like EDC'ing. And, as with all good things, it takes time. Every two to three weeks, you’ll have to sit down, clean, sharpen, hone and strop your blades. You’d also have to take the effort to look for a real good shaving brush and – the delight – to find a good and proper shaving soap. Please don’t commit the sacrilege of using canned foam together with a cutthroat? It is simply not the same.

    Once you’ve found the right carbon steel blade together with a good badger hair brush and the shaving soap of your preference – I like the classic sandalwood fragrance - , it’s time to get going. Shower and get all the morning rituals done and over with, then settle down and get the warm water running. Not cooking, but as hot as you can handle. Now wet your face and brush decently, then shake the excess water off and let the last drops of water from the brush fall into the tub with shaving soap. Leave the soap for a few moments while stropping the blade a last few times, just to ensure that it is indeed “dangerously sharp”. The water should soften the soap a little.

    Then, take the brush and make a few gentle circles, lightly touching the soap with the tips of the brush until there is soap on the first 4-7mm of the hairs. It is a fine art to apply the soapy water of the brush in smallish circles to your face, but practice makes perfect. Use a small amount of pressure until a thick and lush lather forms. Lather differs from foam like bread differs from cake. It is not supposed to be very firm and stable, but rather a gentle and soft soapy layer on your face. The idea of the lather is so assist the blade when it glide over your skin. (Softening your beard is done by the warm water. That is why barber shops use hot towels!)

    I prefer lathering up one half of my face, shaving, and then lathering the other half. Otherwise the lather dries, and you have to do it all over again. Barbers do it differently because they shave faster than I do.
    Then start – if you are right handed – on the top of your right hand cheek. The trick when using a cutthroat is to grip it tight with the handle sticking out above your little finger, but still keeping a semi-relaxed wrist. Blow out your cheek slightly, put the flat side of the blade almost completely onto your skin and pull the blade slowly in a straight line downwards. (It takes me roughly 4 seconds to make this “cut”.) As long as you maintain a 90° angle between the straight line of the cutting edge and the direction in which you are moving, you shall never ever cut yourself. Cutting yourself occurs when you put the blade into place at more, or less, than 90°, or when you move it diagonally instead of downwards. As I said in the thread, don’t bother about cutting yourself – it will happen sooner or later, and will only happen once. Thereafter you would have learnt your lesson. AND NEVER SHAVE QUICKLY!!! I have the mark to prove that it doesn’t work at all.

    You should have obtained a clean, shaven and slightly glowing cheek. Repeat this procedure for the rest of your cheek, but watch out for the tip of the blade near your ear. The next easy part to shave is usually the opposite side of your neck above the collar bone. You have to turn the blade that it faces upwards, and shave upwards. Shaving the moustache comes next, and afterwards the skin below your chin and chin line. For this, everyone should figure out the best way for himself due to the fact that the hair on one’s neck and throat grow in different directions. It is always the trickiest part.

    I do not use after shave because it contains alcohol which burns like hell and does no good at all, except disinfecting. If you use proper shaving soap, neither disinfecting nor balm is necessary because it contains all the goodies to soothe your skin. I sometimes apply a little cream or Vaseline (it still is the very best skin product ever!!!) when my blade has not been sharp enough.

    Hope you guys enjoyed it! PM me for further info.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: On shaving with a cutthroat

    Quote Originally Posted by Ds J View Post
    Why someone wants to shave with a cutthroat?
    In the spirit of Gunsite, "because f-you, that's why" :D

    I must admit, I don't have the balls, or the hard skin to allow me to do that.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: On shaving with a cutthroat

    Well that sure beats shaving with a bus ticket! Very cool Ds J. Will need some courage before I can try it though.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: On shaving with a cutthroat

    Great read, thanks Ds J.

  5. #5

    Default Re: On shaving with a cutthroat

    It is nice... just don't do it when you're pissed.

  6. #6

    Default Re: On shaving with a cutthroat

    The only thing nicer than shaving yourself with a cut throat is going somewhere where you get sat in a chair for an hour while some old russian or greek dude who can't speak a word of english shaves you, then burns the hell out of you with that 100% alcohol mix they throw on. I'm not "metro" by any means, but I've done that once and would have no issue doing it again. I shave myself with one often, especially if I have a few days growth. Normal shick whatevers don't work :)

  7. #7
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    Default Re: On shaving with a cutthroat

    Yeah, where can a man find a decent barber to test if the cutthroat path is indeed the one I wish to follow.

    Nice write up in the OP

  8. #8
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    Default Re: On shaving with a cutthroat

    Thanks for the replies. I'll be happy to assist with sharpening, honing and stropping of cutthroats, as well as shaving the uninitiated. I have shaved roughly twenty five people over the last five years with my blades and they are all alive to tell the tale.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: On shaving with a cutthroat

    I went back to the old ways. This is where I learned from.

    http://badgerandblade.com/index.php

  10. #10
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    Default Re: On shaving with a cutthroat

    I use to have one, some bastid decided to pocket it. I would like another but struggle to find a decent supplier. Suggestions

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