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2-piece – a razor design where the razor is separated into 2 parts for blade insertion
3-piece – a razor design where the razor is separated into 3 parts for blade insertion
3 pass – it is common to do multiple passes in different directions to remove all stubble on the area you are shaving. a common method is WTG, then XTG, and finishing ATG to get a BBS shave
A
AFW – a shave that would be acceptable for work
aquatic – a scent profile, containing fresh or crisp notes of marine notes, like a day at sea/beach
ATG – against the grain – shaving against (or opposite) direction of your hair growth
B
B&M – Barrister & Mann – a company that makes traditional wet shaving supplies
backbone – the ability of the hair to withstand force, push back against force
BAD – brush acquisition disorder – a phase in wet shaving where you are acquiring many brushes
badger – a type of shave knot/brush that is manufactured with badger hair. There are several types of badger brushes offering different shave experience/quality including pure, best, silvertip and two band
BBS – Baby Butt Smooth – a term referring to having completed your shave leaving your face smooth as a baby’s butt
blooming – the act of of soaking a shave soap in water prior to building a lather. This bloom water can aid in easier brush loading, lather building and can also be used as a preshave prior to shaving
boar – a type of shave knot/brush that is manufactured using boar hair
BSS – baby smooth shave – see BBS
BST – Buy/Sell/Trade – a forum or location for your to offer items for purchase/trade or to purchase yourself
C
cartridge – a safety razor using disposable plastic cartridges holding 1 or more blades
CCS – clean close shave, see DFS
clear the runways – after applying your lather you clean off a bit of your sideburn area to see where to begin your shave
cushion – the density of the lather, provides comfort during your shave
CWS – Canadian Wet Shavers – a fantastic Facebook group devoted to us Canadian Wet Shavers.
D
DE – double edge – a safety razor that uses a replaceable double edge blade
density – how tightly the hair is packed inside a shave knot
DFS – damn fine shave – a clean shave, but you will still feel stubble even though you wont see it
E
enabling – the process of encouraging others to purchase or seek-out new or more shaving items. Occurs by sharing recommendations of shaving hardware/software, sometimes by the way of a sample(s)
F
fasturbating – when you keep checking out how smooth your BBS shave is
FCSS – First Canadian Shave Soap – a company that makes traditional wet shaving supplies
floppy – a brush that doesn’t have much backbone
fougere – a scent profile, French for fern. an earthy scent, often built on a base of lavender, coumarin, and oakmoss
G
gourmand – a scent profile, containing sweet edible notes such as chocolate, honey, vanilla, candy
growth pattern – your beard (all hair in fact) will grow in a direction. For facial hair, different areas of your face will grow in different directions, your growth pattern
H
hardware – referring to the tools you use for wet shaving, IE razor, brush, bowl
HHT – hanging hair test – a test where a portion of hair is removed on the arm to verify a blade is sharp enough to shave with
hollow / hollow grind – on a blade this would be a concave curved grind that allows for a thinner/lighter blade
hone – sharpening a blade
horse – a type of shave knot/brush that is manufactured with horse hair. They come in different blends of mane and tail hair to offer different levels of backbone/softness/scritch
I
ISO – in search of, someone looking for something
J
K
kamisori – a sharpened blade similar similar to a traditional straight razor but typically a shorter blade/handle, and does not fold into the handle
knot – the bristle portion of a shave brush used to create lather
L
lather – the soap/cream that has been worked up to a think/creamy foam for shaving with
lather bowl – a vessel used to load soap/cream and/or build lather in
lather hog – a brush that tends to be densely packed that absorbs lather but doesn’t release it as easily
loft – the height that a brush reaches above the handle
M
mail call – the art of sharing with other wet shavers the cool stuff you just acquired
MDC – Martin de Candre – a company that makes traditional wet shaving supplies
N
nick – a small cut you have developed during your shave
O
oud – a scent profile, a dark/rich scent coming from a resinous wood
P
pass – performing one complete set of shaving strokes over the entire area you are intending to shave
PAA – Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements – a company that makes traditional wet shaving supplies
PIF – pay it forward – the wet shaving community is a friendly group. this is when a wet shaver shares his/her love of the hobby by giving shave related gear to someone in hopes that will enjoy it and will continue the favor
post-shave (or post-shave feel) – how your face feels upon completing your shave, also can refer to a product you use after shaving (aftershave splash or aftershave balm)
preshave – a product you apply prior to lathering up to add extra protection
Q
R
RAD – razor acquisition disorder – a phase in wet shaving where you are acquiring multiple razors
S
SAD – soap (software) acquisition disorder – a phase in wet shaving where you are acquiring many shaving soaps/creams/etc
SAS – socially acceptable shave – a clean and consistent shave, may have visible stubble but consistent and clean
scritch/scratch – the quality the brush has that causes it to feel abrasive. Some brushes have a bit more scritch which can aid in exfoliating the face and loading a harder soap.
scuttle – a vessel that has a section to contain water (usually hot) to maintain the temperature of your lather during a shave. Some have a top area to work up a lather similar to a lather bowl, while others (like a brush scuttle) simply have a location to hold a lathered brush between passes.
set the bevel – when honing, this is the setting of the angle on the blade
SE – single edge – a safety razor that uses a replaceable single edge blade
shavette – a razor similar in style to a straight/kamisori razor but with a disposable single edge blade
slickness – how slippery your lather or shaving lubricant is
software – the consumables for wet shaving, your soaps/creams/pre and post shaves
SOTD – shave of the day – a wet shaving term describing their daily shave, it is quite common to share the hardware/software you used and how happy you were with the shave
SOTN – shave of the night – see SOTD, same idea but for those wet shavers that are evening shavers
splay – the amount a knot spreads out from the handle with preasure applied
straight (cut throat) – a sharped blade housed in a folding handle (scales) that can be sharpened (honed),
stropped (finishing edge) and then used for shaving
strop – a flexible strip of leather, canvas, denim fabric, balsa wood, or other soft material, used to straighten and polish the blade of a straight razor
synthetic – a type of shave knot/brush that is manufactured with man made materials
T
tips – the top of the knot
TOBS – Taylor of Old Bond Street – a company that makes traditional wet shaving supplies
TTO – twist to open/turn to open – a razor design where the blade is inserted by turning a dial to open and close the cap to insert your DE blade
U
V
vetiver – a scent profile, a earthy/grassing scent usually with a touch of citrus
W
WTB – wanted to buy – someone looking to purchase an item
WTS – wanted to sell – someone looking to sell an item
WTT – wanted to trade – someone looking to trade an item
wedge – on a blade this would be a straight/linear sides of the blade that gives a stiffer/heavier blade
weeper – an extremely tiny or nick cut that weeps a tiny red spot after a shave
Wet Shaving – wet shaving is the use of a blade with water and some form of lubrication (oil, soap, cream, etc) to perform beard/stubble reduction and removal.
WTG – with the grain – shaving with the direction of your hair growth
X
XTG – across the grain – shaving across the direction of your hair growth
Y
YMMV – your mileage may vary – when describing something (software/hardware) this is a way of saying what works for me might not work for you
