Hmmm, she's kind of cute.
A newbie’s journey into DE shaving
- Thread starter Guido75
- Start date
Nice stuff there pal. When I had my workshop I used to spin brushes, razor handles etc. I really miss it. Maybe when it gets warmer I'll get my lathe out and work in the garage for a few months.Looking very much forward to April for more than one reason. First it’s Vintage April so bringing out the golden oldies of wet shaving and I think I am extending the brush empire.
My mom just send me this picture of the finalised brushes my dad made me:
View attachment 1816897
From left to right:
@apshaveco SilkSmoke
@apshaveco Synbad
Mühle STF 25mm
@apshaveco G5C
These will be awesome next to my @Balin Plissoft Triade.
Again, your dad does some nice work.
- Thread starter
- #3,203
Thanks! I will make sure to pass on the message. He’ll like that.
- Thread starter
- #3,204
| Date | 25.03.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 085/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Mühle Rocca R94 | Shark Chrome (1) | Mühle Rocca Silvertip |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (66) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality (details here) | Blade Sharpness |
| 9/10 (Some red spots) | 5/10 (Razor Sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 8.75/10 (BBS-) | 9/10 (Butterysmooth) |
| Notes: |
Summary. A very exceptional start of the week with probably one of my best razors.
Razor and blade. Separate from each other these are both favourites. I like Sharks and I definitely like my Rocca. So combining the two seems like a no brainer. And it was fantastic. The Rocca did allow the Shark to bite a few times, but no Jaws or Meg type of scene in this morning’s shave. Absolutely excellent. This razor might even qualify as GOAT. If only I knew in January 2022 when I was researching a successor to my KCG razor. Although the R89 would be a good contestant as well. But the Rocca ticks all the boxes for me. The Shark Chrome is a wonderful blade. Much sharper than the previous Lord blades and I know from experience that it will retain its sharpness for a quite number of shaves. It’s also more comfortable.
Brush and lather. The Silvertip was wonderful this morning and I took my time face lathering just to enjoy it.
Technique. My initial stroke was straightforward N-S, but I soon found myself doing the pattern that follows my beard map. CB Curves on the first pass with a good follow through on the neck. Excellent results.
Enjoy your shave.
- Thread starter
- #3,205
| Date | 26.03.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 086/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Timeless Ti95 SCL | Shark Chrome (2) | Omega Badger 33167 |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (67) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality (details here) | Blade Sharpness |
| 10/10 (Clean) | 5/10 (Razor Sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 9/10 (BBS) | 9/10 (Butterysmooth) |
| Notes: |
Summary. Wonderful shave with all well known players.
Razor and blade. It’s always a joy to pick up this razor. It just fits so well to my shaving style. And it delivers every time. Today’s pairing with the blade was excellent as well. A Shark on 2 shaves is nothing yet and so the blade is plenty sharp and still comfortable.
Brush and lather. My first brush and little performer. Wonderful lather and I enjoyed the face lathering immensely.
Technique. Back to my regular beard map pattern. I think it is a micro millimetre smoother than just simply dragging the razor over my face from north to south. I think my main challenge is to accept that rather than needing blade feel to be convinced, featherlight holding and moving of the razor is actually cutting hair more effectively. I am more effective on the left cheek than on the right based on stubble feel. Overall BBS approaching marble on the cheeks.
Enjoy your shave!
- Thread starter
- #3,206
| Date | 27.03.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 087/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Karve CB OC-C | Shark Chrome (3) | Razorock Beehive |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (68) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality (details here) | Blade Sharpness |
| 10/10 (Clean) | 5/10 (Razor Sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 9/10 (BBS) | 9/10 (Butterysmooth) |
| Notes: |
Summary. Had to be in the office early so needed an effective razor. My Karve never disappoints.
Razor and blade. Blade is still comfortably strong. Smoothness is good as well. In terms of scoring charts this might be a contender for top spot so far. My Karve is all brass and I like it very much. Very effective razor. Blade gap .85mm with .09mm positive exposure. Yummy. Most of all I like its design.
Brush and lather. I feel like I am cheating on the 400, but this Beehive is amazing. Similarly soft but huge! Excellent face lather obviously. I notice that I hardly bowl lather nowadays.
Technique. BGSP - Beard Growth Shaving Pattern aka the usual. It just works.
Enjoy your shave!
It really is a revelation when you just barely touch the razor to your face... and it cuts so smoothly and effectively. Until I tried it for myself, I wouldn't have truly believed it... though it's been repeated here time after time.
- Thread starter
- #3,208
It certainly is Kim. That seems an easier task with lighter razors. Which is not an open invitation by me to get others
It is more blade dependent than razor. The sharper the blade is the higher the shave efficiency and skin comfort. Sharper blades enable a lighter touch.It certainly is Kim. That seems an easier task with lighter razors. Which is not an open invitation by me to get others
- Thread starter
- #3,210
Thanks for that additional insight John. I do prefer sharper blades in general so that is something to definitely take into consideration.
Cheers,
Guido
I used the Shark Super Stainless today, and like you with the Chrome, I feel this is a contender for top blade for me. Right up there with the GBS and the Lords Super Stainless. I'll need a tuck of Chrome to make the comparison, they seem to be cheaper than the Super Stainless.
I like the Shark SS as well. Great blade. Also the Shark Platinum is great. I have not used much of the Shark Chrome so I cannot speak of them.
- Thread starter
- #3,213
| Date | 28.03.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 088/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Blackbird SS | Shark Chrome (4) | Razorock Big Bruce |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (69) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality (details here) | Blade Sharpness |
| 10/10 (Clean) | 5/10 (Razor Sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 9/10 (BBS) | 9/10 (Butterysmooth) |
| Notes: |
Summary. Rotating between my modern razors before Vintage April kicks off. Top notch shave with the Blackbird.
Razor and blade. First time pairing these two together. Both are working well for me. Combination works really well too. Two passes to DFS and third pass with touch up to BBS and marble finishes. It is a really good razor and I like it. And I have other really good razors as well. Blade was still in performance mode and it will be a breeze getting to 7 shaves and possibly 10 shaves will be easy as well.
Brush and lather. After the Beehive yesterday I couldn’t let Bruce fall behind. Magnificent brush and utter joy during face lathering. Becoming more and more a favourite part of my shaves.
Technique. Wanted to revisit or use Gillette Slides and Gillette Slants in my shave. Just because and just for fun. In actuality I was a bit all over the place but on purpose. I paid specific attention to drag on WTG telling me if I am actually shaving with my grain or not. Interesting findings as it appears that some of my beard has a different path than I previously felt or estimated. I am going to continue finding drag so I can hone in on my beard map even further for an even effective first pass. Using the Blackbird that seemed to work really well this morning.
Enjoy your shave!
- Thread starter
- #3,214
| Date | 29.03.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 089/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Razorock Game Changer .84P SB | Shark Chrome (5) | Zenith 502B XSE |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (70) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality (details here) | Blade Sharpness |
| 9.5/10 (Tiny weeper) | 5/10 (Razor Sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 9/10 (BBS) | 9/10 (Butterysmooth) |
| Notes: |
Summary. Blissful shave with the Game Changer today and feeling like a million!
Razor and blade. If I combine the SB and OC shaves the Game Changer is my most used razor so far. This razor is just fantastic. Also very special to me with adds to the experience. There is an element of paying attention because of the gap and positive exposure - near autopilot but around the edges (side burns, corners of my mouth) stepping on the gas too much can evoke some red spots. Nothing much to say about the blade at this point. Simply performing well.
Brush and lather. Reached for the Zenith today. Fabulous brush and excellent face latherer. Thoroughly enjoyed it this morning. The month is about to close and so I need to decide if I continue with Mike’s or that I switch soaps and go for Tabarko instead - or Proraso Green…
Technique. BGSP shave and I mimicked Chris from CB Shaves as much as my beard map allows me to. Chris is my favourite YT shaver. He pretty much does his own thing, converses was ifI am sitting opposite of him and simply shaves with beautiful razors, brushes and soaps. No overly placing of products or reviews that always praise the product no matter what. I have named my WTG pass after him - the CB Curve - because his WTG growth is almost the same as mine and I found his technique to work very well for me too. And very well it did this morning. Superb results! Easy and smooth.
Enjoy your shave!
- Thread starter
- #3,215
| Date | 30.03.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 090/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Lambda Athena | Shark Chrome (6) | Zenith 502B XSE |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (71) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality (details here) | Blade Sharpness |
| 10/10 (Clean) | 5/10 (Razor Sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 9.25/10 (BBS+) | 9/10 (Butterysmooth) |
| Notes: |
Summary. The final shaves of March and what a shave today. Glorious performance by all parties.
Razor and blade. Still no sign of fatigue and the blade just keeps on going. I know where this is likely going to end up and I already can hear the cult sharpening their swords
Athena is just a fantastic razor. This is a message from Enablers Inc: Athena is available from Lambda ‘s website.
Brush and lather. I haven’t used this simple boar brush that much yet, so it’s still breaking in. A very nice brush. Good size. Great lather. One day left in March and contemplating what to do: keep on going with Mike’s or not.
Talked to my dad yesterday and the brushes are ready for pick up and usage. I am so looking forward to them from April onwards!
Technique. BGSP again and being attentive to any part that isn’t smooth WTG indicating that I am not fully shaving WTG. The Athena is magnificent together with the Shark - marble mania.
Enjoy your shave!
I’ve been wondering about your blade sharpness scale. 5/10 is razor sharp, correct? What blades would be higher?
- Thread starter
- #3,217
Good point as I see I am not sticking to my labels. 5 is sharp and 6 is razor sharp (my scoring is ok just the wrong label). I have 7 for very sharp which I think would apply to KCG blades. 8 is crazy sharp. Maybe for Feather or BIC - but BIC could also be a 9 wickedly sharp. I am assuming that a 10 is for Kai blades being insanely sharp. But Bic and Kai could be switching places.
Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation.
@Guido75, have you seen the Fatip Hybrid Comb? I'm tempted to pull the trigger, but I'm afraid it's just a novelty item and won't be too much of a difference from just the Grande OC I have already.
- Thread starter
- #3,220
Hi Alex, I have, but I personally see little need. I have the Piccolo Special Edition with both baseplates as well as a Piccolo Nickel. I cannot see myself using the Gentile side actually when the OC is just so efficient. I think you are right in your novelty assessment. If you want to pull the trigger on anything I would suggest to get an Il Grosso - obviously the same razor head, but at least a very different handle. Or get something completely different all together (or nothing...)
Cheers,
Guido.
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