The perfect shave

The best time to blog is when you're down and out with a fever!

I've a bit more than the usual boyhood fascination of knives. And I've found the ultimate non homicidal out let for it! Shaving.

In school days, rather than the usual reading a comic behind school books whilst studying I'd be whittling pencils with a pocketknife, resulting in a bin full of little wooden chips and a shouting from my brother who'd be studying on the other side of the room.

Then I practiced thowing those pencils through a few sheets of a book working my way up to getting through a single gatta cover. All the while lost in day dreams of 007 fantasies :)

Well, I still have my sharpening skills - this was whittled from a new pencil in about a minute using an old partly dull thai bought flip knife

And throwing skills - 12 feet aiming for the Mercedes logo

Now, the real challenge is closer home, and its called shaving. I hate the user friendly multi-blade razors. Where's the art in it? Where's the finesse?

And so began my quest to find a straight razor, which, in Delhi, is surprisingly hard. I found this:

Which is similar to the DOVO shavettes, except the blades are smaller and well, its a bitch to use.

But you've got to keep at it. Try repeatedly and slowly. Cut your face again and again till the one shave (around no 7 for me) you manage the shave without a nick. Oh what a glorious feeling! And then you feel oh so happy about not giving up midway, because the end result is therapeutic.

Whats the key again? Try honestly and try hard, because nothing this good comes easy! At the very least give it a... *ahem* the first will never go well.... say 5 shots?

I must mention that I had asked a number of barbers where I could buy one and right until the last guy, they all said "I don't know", despite using these blades to shape fringes of hair around the ears. Also, they all (including the last one) told me not to try shaving on my own because its very dangerous with these little razors.

But baby I stuck to it and I'm-a happy!

And the actual process of the shave is an experience to be savored. For those few minutes, there is nothing else on your mind. And there better not be because you're holding a bloody sharp knife to your throat. Be sure to watch the right side of your face and your jawline and mustache, they take a lot of patient work.

But that's all there is to it. Some honest effort and work, and you wont regret it a bit! So come on, don't be a wuss and give it a shot!

Next step is to get a proper straight razor and strop, I've heard they're much easier to use and give a much better shave.

p.s. further reading:

1) 5 guys who died shaving (hence the need to focus, but really, its not all because of the blade)
2) THE guide for straight razor shaving online