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Wetshaving rites of passage

silverlifter

silverlifter

Bug Bountyhunter
I was wondering what are the various activities and experiences that are common enough across places and culttures to qualify as general rites of passage? Things that we almost all have, or perhaps will have, encountered at some point...

Some starters:
  • Been shaved by a barber
  • Shaved with Arko
  • Shaved yourself raw in pursuit of a perfect BBS
  • Gone out in public wearing Lilac Vegetal
  • Suffered a conspicuous wound immediately before an important appearance
  • Found a cache of $product that had been completely forgotten
  • Dropped a near full bottle of aftershave on a tile floor
They don't all have to be unfortunuate, of course. What else counts? :)
 
Gone out in public wearing Lilac Vegetal, and received a warning reply from a lady in her 60’s, suddenly she tells me on the public transport that I smell like a cat piss.

It’s too late when you’re on a public transport filled with people, when you’re totally f 🤬 ked, scratching their heads looking at me smelling like a homeless bastard with a kind heart and smile.
 
wiiiildbill said:
I'd add finding out quickly the benefit of having an Alum stick around
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hello-hi.gif

R41 nightmare experience
 
I can only relate to the first two. I went for a shave by a barber a week before going into the army (56 years ago) and I have a stick of Arko that was gifted to me. The barbershop SR shave left me with several nicks and weepers, but I can still remember that the the hot towels were nice. I now shave with a SR minus the nicks and weepers!
 
My only experience with a barber shave was in Nepal. I went trekking in the Himalayas to Annapurna base camp. You can't really shave or anything on the trek because of the lack of water and facilities etc etc The go is when you get back to Pokhara you get a shave from a local barber. This was my first time, and years before I knew anything about wet shaving and straight razors, so it was quite novel. A friend and I went together and it was actually quite a good shave. They used a shavette. After the usual lotions of potions the barber also did a back rub. The extra service was to get extra money out of us of course.

cheers

Andrew
 
I had a shavette shave at a barbers in a small village in India, Igatpuri in 2000. It was memorable, for all the wrong reasons...

I went in for a haircut and the barber, who looked about 17-if that, cut my hair and then proceeded to lather me up. I decided to just lie back in the seat and go with it. I had a full month's growth and he removed it in two passes with a shavette (DE blade), not the most comfortable shave I've ever had, with a couple of weepers, but it did the job.

Once he had finished wiping me down and slapping me about with some dank aftershave, he moved behind the chair and before I realised what he was doing he had his forearm around my forehead and wrenched my head violently clockwise, filling the small shop with the sound of my vertebrae cracking. I went in to shock as he repositioned himself for the other side, seeing a headline in the Times of India appear before my eyes, "Tourist breaks neck in tragic barbershop incident."

Better judgement took hold and I exhaled every bit of breath I could and slumped in the chair like a dead man. CRACK, the other side was done and, in a miracle, I could still move my toes. I paid him and walked out into the street, feeling light and so alive. Best haircut I have ever had, and no way in hell would I ever do it again!
 
My first barber shave was in 1971 at the Union Barber Shop, Uni of NSW. He used a traditional SR. A wonderful experience after shaving with carts that I will never forget.

My next barber shave was in 2019. I found a barber in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines, who agreed to shave me with his old Dovo traditional SR that had been passed down to him from his barber father. That shave was total indulgence. He charged about US$1.50 so I tipped him an extra 50¢. For the next few months I then indulged about once every month with that barber before Covid hit and all came to a grinding halt.

As for ARKO, I still have a few sticks left and include it in my regular shave soap rotation.

To get the absolute perfect shave, I have been known to do eight SR passes. Of course, using a SR, there was no skin irritation.
 
I had a shave with the famous Arko piss stick last night, suddenly I was having breakfast with my mother this morning.
She tells me that I smell like a pissy homeless man, suddenly she asked me, if, I'm broke and needed some money.

I told my mother no, I'm not bloody broke or going homeless, I told her to blame it on Arko.
She had idea what the hell is Arko, I told her to google it, after about 20mins searching on her phone, she said what is a piss stick?
She said why are you buying urinal cake shaving Turkish soap, I told her it's a lemony scour smell. She said it's smell kinda off in a good way, but, it does smell like a homeless bastard lazy pri 🤬 ck.

I told my mother I needed Arko to get rid of the bloody mosquitoes during summer wet/dry season, she said to me, no wonder you're still a sweaty bastard.
 
My first barber shave with a traditional straight was in a land then known as Yugoslavia. It was a tuggy shave, and I've done better for myself. Fortunately, back then I wasn't shaving my head as well, that might have hurt. :rolleyes: Nowadays they all seem to use shavettes, and I'm not a fan. One guy I knew back in Perth used to do it with just the naked half blade between his fingers. To be fair, he never drew blood, and the shave was surprisingly good.

silverlifter said:
...before I realised what he was doing he had his forearm around my forehead and wrenched my head violently clockwise, filling the small shop with the sound of my vertebrae cracking. I went in to shock as he repositioned himself for the other side, seeing a headline in the Times of India appear before my eyes, "Tourist breaks neck in tragic barbershop incident."
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I've had a couple of physios do that to me in Perth. I now make it very clear that if they perform any such foolery, I'll sue them for every penny they'll ever earn. Grrr.
 
Back in the late '70s, I worked for a spell as a sous-chef in a Paris bistro. The head was a martinet who insisted our knives had to be sharp enough to shave with, and insisted that we prove it. I learnt that it can be done, but a kitchen knife does not make a good razor, and likewise a razor would make a poor kitchen knife. I also learnt that my boss was a fool.
 
silverlifter said:
Once he had finished wiping me down and slapping me about with some dank aftershave, he moved behind the chair and before I realised what he was doing he had his forearm around my forehead and wrenched my head violently clockwise, filling the small shop with the sound of my vertebrae cracking. I went in to shock as he repositioned himself for the other side, seeing a headline in the Times of India appear before my eyes, "Tourist breaks neck in tragic barbershop incident."

You are very lucky. That manoeuvre could have caused a stroke or even killed you. I know of a case some years ago where an osteopath did exactly that manoeuvre. As the patient continued to deteriorate she demanded an ambulance. The Osteo refused. Finally, the senior partner overruled her and the ambulance was called. The osteo was fined and suspended from practice.
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> You are very lucky. That manoeuvre could have caused a stroke or even killed you.

That thought definitely crossed my mind. But I'd just completed a month of Vipassana, so I relaxed and resigned myself to my fate. 😋
 
I've got a nice scar on the back of my neck from an apprentice Barber that took a chunk out of me with a straight razor.

Unfortunately she was contracted to the Naval base I was living on at the time and couldn't go to anyone else for a haircut.
 
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