Shaving Myths......

For God's sake people:  PORES DO NOT OPEN AND CLOSE.  There are no muscles attached to them.  I have no idea why this statement annoys me so much whenever I read it, but it does lol.

What other shaving myths can you come up with?

This is my number one pet peeve too. Even manufacturers talk about pores opening and closing. It usually puts me off considering their products if they don't know the basics of how our skin actually works.

One other myth, at least based on my personal experience, is that you can't face lather with floppy brushes. While I prefer bowl lathering, I have no trouble whatsoever loading a brush like my Kent BK4 with triple milled soap and building a proper lather on my face.

I'll leave those answers to you.

I agree with everything you wrote and will only focus on one point you made

So what's the appeal of hand-crafted work?  Simply this:  each hand-created piece--be it a piece of furniture, a chess set, or in our case a razor or a brush--is unique.

True. And I will give you a better example. There was a time when car engines were mostly hand made. As time went by, the process became more automated. Today, in almost all cases machines are doing the entire machining and assembly ...

And the tolerances of those engines are far, far better than "back in the day". They might be all exactly alike. Now if you took 1,000 machinists and had them build engines, you will get a normal curve. Some will be crap, most average and probably not equal what the machines can do, and some excellent. But one thing will be the same, each engine will be uniquely different.

But that doesn't mean they are any good. And that was my point. But I think we agree. And perhaps  you are right that back in the day, there were standards for apprentices or trades that had to be met. But like I said, I can make Pizza from scratch. But it won't be very good pizza compare to some I can buy, better better than others sold commercially. But its still artisan pizza.

Good example. (Yes, I'm old enough to remember hand-made engines as well as the "blue printing" services offered back in the day to fix the QC SNAFU's.) And you're absolutely right: the bell curve reigned supreme. Computer-controlled machines have flattened the curve significantly, but it still remains. That's why some cars have better frequency of repair records than others.

But to return to the original question. I think it's good to remember that there's lot that goes into running a business if it's to become--and perhaps more importantly, remain--a going concern. Large companies typically have accounting, R&D, marketing, purchasing, manufacturing, quality control, warehousing, shipping, customer service... departments, each staffed by specialists. The small (micro?) artisan shop of today typically consists of one person or, if s/he's lucky, a family member or two able to handle some of the above. The thing is: very few artisan shops I know of have the cash flow to support any more than that, particularly in the wet shaving world we all know and love.

My point is that with all that needs to get done to maintain an artisan shop, it shouldn't surprise us that quality can and often does vary. I can say from personal experience that it's extremely difficult, particularly under time pressure--not to mention the conflicting demands such as cutting the grass, painting the house, honey-do's, etc.--to be consistent. In that sense, I'm very fortunate to have a wife who's highly detail-oriented. Nancy not only handles the "back office" but has an eagle eye for quality control. To give an example: I examine each brush from a variety of angles under four different lighting setups. But even then I want her second pair of eyes to come behind me to be sure I haven't missed something. (Not that she ever finds anything, of course. <cough> <cough>)

Now quality's all well and good, but if the design and materials aren't top notch, all the quality in the world doesn't amount to a hill of beans. I can make an absolutely perfect sow's ear, but it's still a sow's ear. In that case, it's not the work of art we strive for. And THAT's the key thing: all the requisite components must come together to produce a functional, high-quality, aesthetically pleasing end product. Our objective then is the pursuit of beauty in all its aspects.

Can that be achieved by a machine? Sure. Quality hand-crafted pieces aren't for everyone. But if you desire something unique--something that is yours alone--I'll argue that purchasing an Original, hand-crafted by a first-tier artisan, might be worth your consideration. Very few of us can afford a Boss or Purdy shotgun. Even fewer can afford a Rembrandt. But a hand-crafted razor (a Wolfman, a vintage JMP Fili, a Brian Brown, etc.) or shaving brush might be attainable.

And there you have it.

BLOOMING...its such an effeminate term.

BLOOMING...its such an effeminate term.

Your point being...?

BLOOMING...its such an effeminate term.

barryarmstrong, why are you so negative?  All four or five of your posts here at DFS read like this one.  What is effeminate about something blooming, be it shave soap, a bud into a flower, or an algae bloom on a pond?

On top of all of this, your statement has nothing whatsoever to do with the theme of this thread.

shaving myth: that people with sensitive skin or those who are prone to ingrowns need to use mild razors.

Shaving Myth,

Ladies never shave their faces,
other than that dreaded mustache or scattered chin hairs,

But truth be told we do actually. Because those teeny tiny bitty little fine little hairs on our cheeks show up and are more pronounced when wearing foundation. (makeup) Some are so very fine you can hardly see them unless you look really super close. But under foundation, they might as well be glowing with signs with arrows and the whole ball of wax. At least in my mind that's how they look. So yep, they gotta go. But we don't need to map our faces, or make multiple passes. Sometimes I just use a dry razor and a bit of moisturizer if I am at my makeup vanity and notice it needs to be done. But in the end, lots of ladies shave their faces.

And the tops of our toes, but that's another story.

It's an OPINION Freddy just like this forum is about

Time to relax Barry. Catch your breath.