Wet Shaving Glossary

A–E

ATG — Against the grain. The third pass in a three-pass shave. Closest finish, highest irritation risk.

Alum block — Hardened mineral salt (potassium alum) used post-shave. Antiseptic and mildly astringent. Stings on micro-cuts.

BBS — Baby Butt Smooth. A shave so close that the skin reads completely smooth in every direction. Opposite of DFS.

Bowl-lather — Building a lather in a small bowl with the brush before applying it to the face. Alternative to face-lathering.

Brush knot — The bundle of fibers (badger, boar, or synthetic) glued into the brush handle. The “business end” of a brush.

Cap — The top of a DE razor head. The cap leads in the proper shaving angle.

Cartridge / cart — A multi-blade razor head (Mach 3, Fusion, etc.). What wet shaving moved away from.

DE — Double-edge. The classic safety razor — uses a single blade with two edges.

DFS — Damn Fine Shave. A close shave that’s smooth WTG and XTG but not quite ATG-smooth. A reasonable target for daily shaves; less irritating than chasing BBS.

EDP / EDT — Eau de Parfum / Eau de Toilette. Fragrances that often accompany an artisan release as a matching scent.

F–M

Face-lather — Building lather directly on the face by working a loaded brush in circles. Faster than bowl-lathering.

Feather — Japanese blade brand. Famously sharp, dulls fast (3-5 shaves). Great for veteran shavers, punishing for beginners.

GFT — Geo. F. Trumper. British perfumer/barber that makes high-end soaps and creams.

Grain — The direction your beard hair grows. Different on different parts of the face.

Knurled — Textured grip pattern on a razor handle. Provides traction when wet.

Lather — The whipped mix of soap, water, and air you apply to the face.

Loading — Pressing the brush into the soap puck and swirling to transfer soap into the bristles.

Med / Mild / Aggressive — Razor blade-gap categories. Mild = less blade exposed, forgiving. Aggressive = more exposed, faster cut, less forgiving.

N–S

Nick — A visible cut from the razor.

Pass — A complete coverage of the face with the razor. Three-pass = WTG + XTG + ATG.

PSO — Post-Shave Observation, or in some groups Post Shave Order. Used to share what you used today: “PSO: Stirling Glacial Mint, Merkur 34C, Astra blue.”

Puck — A round disc of hard shave soap.

Scuttle — A heated lather bowl, often double-walled for hot water. Mostly an aesthetic accessory; not necessary.

SE — Single-edge. A razor that uses a single one-sided blade (as opposed to a DE’s two-sided blade). Includes injector razors and modern AC razors.

Shavette — A folding razor that takes replaceable straight-razor blades. Steeper learning curve than DE.

SOTD — Shave Of The Day. The daily ritual photo posted to Instagram, FB groups, or forums showing today’s gear.

Splash — Alcohol-based aftershave. Stings briefly, closes pores, leaves a dry finish. Best in summer.

Strop — Leather (or canvas) strip used to align the edge of a straight razor between honings. Doesn’t sharpen; aligns.

T–Z

Tallow — Rendered beef fat used as the lubricating fat in many traditional shave soaps.

Three-piece (3pc) — A DE razor that breaks down into three pieces: cap, base plate, handle. Easier to clean than a two-piece TTO razor.

Touch-up — A short final pass after the main three to clean up missed spots. Always re-lather first.

TTO — Twist-To-Open. A DE razor with a butterfly door on the head — classic Gillette Super Speed mechanism. Convenient blade swap; harder to clean than a three-piece.

Weeper — A pinprick of blood from a hair follicle opened by the blade. Smaller than a nick.

WTG — With the grain. The first pass — shave in the direction your hair grows.

XTG — Across the grain. The second pass — perpendicular to hair growth.

Acronyms you’ll see in artisan brand names

• B&M — Barrister & Mann
• HC&C — Hendrix Classics & Co
• MSC — Master Soap Creations
• PAA — Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements
• SGS — Strike Gold Shave
• TWSS — The Wet Shaving Store

That’s the vocabulary. You’ll pick up another twenty terms by hanging out in the Shave Dad group for a week.

Ready to put it all together? Most of the gear you’ve learned about in this path is at The Wet Shaving Store — Shave Dad’s official outfitter.