When I started shaving in the mid-1970s, there was no internet, no eBay, no Amazon, no YouTube. You got whatever the local drug store had, a Rexal in my case. Choices were one, two, or maybe three Gillettes; Super Adjustable, Black Handle Super Speed, and the new Trac II. Shick only had an injector at the time (holidays would find the stick shift and other knick-knack type handles) and sometimes there was a push-button GEM hanging in there. Might get Schick or Gillette or Wilkie blades, usually only one brand hanging on the wall (I always grabbed the Schick if there was a choice, they were cheaper). Soaps were represented by Williams, sometimes Old Spice. A cheap Eveready or no-name brush and a few brands of canned goo rounded your options. Since Williams was half the cost of canned, once you paid off the $1.25 for the brush it was money in the gas tank to a teenager ($0.55 / gallon) so Williams was it, and I discovered I liked it better than the canned.
Since you use a wet washrag and wet soap to wash, I figured wet soap and brush made lather. And boy does it. Drop the soap in a cup and fill it with water, toss in the brush to soak for good measure. After a bit start swirling it all around, turn the cup on its side to pour out the water, holding the puck in the cup with the brush. Soggy puck, soggy brush and start to swirl it around. Tip the cup to drain excess water once or twice. Moments later mounds of glorious lather is exploding out of the cup. You learn to keep at it another minute to make it a bit denser so it shaves better. Once I found the B&B I have seen many a thread saying dry puck, dry brush, add water a drop at a time. Huh? I've tried it and it does make a nice lather, takes twice as long though. Marco seems to be the other lone voice in the wilderness about using LOTSA WATER to make lather.
Now we go on and on and on about the selection of razors, which is best, what is the best material, plating, new/vintage, DE/SE/Injector/Straight, etc. Well over 100 different soaps and creams, numerous brush manufactures. Folks do 70 blade tests and can't decide on a favorite, while others go so far as to work out a specific blade/razor/soap combo. We obsess over minutia, over spend on the latest greatest stuff and forget not too long ago you made what your local store had on the shelf work for you. And it worked quite well.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, my own overflowing den is testament to this. But then I see someone who has one razor/blade/brush and favorite soap and wonder If they have found the way back to a simpler time.
Gotta go, eagerly awaiting the post today, I am expecting some new soaps, oh and some ink and a pen and a...
We have become spoiled.
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