Starting the switchover.

[majorrich]

Straight shave #4 Good hybrid shave
Today's kit:

Gold Dollar 66
Gillette Superspeed F-2
Darby blade
C.O.Bigelo Shaving Cream
El Cheapo Grande Especial brush
Yogurt Bowl

I presume this shaving cream was designed to be used directly on the face. I decided to use it in the bowl to see what happened. I was rewarded with a pretty good slightly wet lather. I concentrated extra lather and brushing on the rough patch left over from the first terrible face planing from an early shave. Shave strokes seemed extra awkward to me today. I was having problems with my confidence so switched to DE for my second pass.

Second pass went without incident still having some problems with neck and chin. The grain goes at an angle from the center line. The hollow of my throat and lack of skill in stretching my skin. I re-lathered and successfully with W-E and vice versa got 'er done. I think next time I need a DE I will break out the Fat Boy and use a bit more aggressive setting.

I realize the Super Speed is considered a mild blade, what would the equivalent setting be on the Fat Boy? 1 or 2? perhaps I'll try 3 again. It was set at 4 when I planed off skin. But that was with a different blade. Another experiment more stuff to learn. I'll file this under drinking from a firehose.

Aloe and Old spice finished the job and no stinging. Passable shave for a date out with Mama because today is payday for we pensioners.

Respectfully submitted
RB

 

[lishijia]

This also intuitively seems a good idea that maybe I can maintain an edge before I can attain an edge. What do you guys think?

PS. Do stones occasionally need to be tested and adjusted for flatness? This one is probably about 60 years late for it's last tune up.

Yes, it is a good idea to make sure you can maintain a sharp edge (walk) before trying to get an edge from scratch (run). Setting the bevel is the hardest part of honing and it can be dead easy or really tricky depending on the blade in question. I'm just starting out on this honing journey myself, but I can tell you that I have two razors sitting in my drawer that I've essentially put aside. After numerous attempts, I simply cannot get them sharp: the one has a warped or twisted edge (the last 3/4 of an inch won't lay flat on the hone) and the other has very uneven hone wear that also defeats me. Maybe in the future my abilities will be up to these, but not now. Other razors have been dead simple: 20 laps on my 1000 grit stones and they have a great, heel to toe, bevel that lets me move straight on to my films for finishing. But, I was sure I could maintain a sharp edge (on the balsa strops you're building based on Slash's tutorial) before I attempted any of this and I always made sure I had a genuinely sharp razor ready to go in case I discovered my honing (on a different blade) had gone awry (and it did sometimes).

And on the second question, yes, stones need to be lapped flat. When? Whenever they're not flat. A piece of glass or a marble tile with some wet/dry sandpaper (spray THIN layer of loctite and then put the paper down on it) can do your lapping. Honing subforum will have lots of directions about this -- Slash's posts are usually very thorough and step-by-step.

 

[majorrich]

Received a truly epic PTF parcel in this afternoons post from RockViper of the Great White North. If I hadn't shaved yesterday I would be back there lathering up. Through chance and probably Divine intervention, my Soap for Hope also arrived today! As did a small envelope of .1 micron diamond powder (which I still need to figure out what to put it in suspension with to apply to my stropping media.) It's like an early Christmas to ease the pain of having to put my cat down this morning. I shall keep my handlebars longer in his honor. My Catlike Whiskers are a proud testimony of how he kept all the Elk from entering my home for 14 years! Certainly an accomplishment for Central Ohio.

 

[lishijia]

Received a truly epic PTF parcel in this afternoons post from RockViper of the Great White North. If I hadn't shaved yesterday I would be back there lathering up. Through chance and probably Divine intervention, my Soap for Hope also arrived today! As did a small envelope of .1 micron diamond powder (which I still need to figure out what to put it in suspension with to apply to my stropping media.) It's like an early Christmas to ease the pain of having to put my cat down this morning. I shall keep my handlebars longer in his honor. My Catlike Whiskers are a proud testimony of how he kept all the Elk from entering my home for 14 years! Certainly an accomplishment for Central Ohio.

Truly sorry about your cat; it sounds like he was an honorable and loved member of your family. I had to do the same to one of our dogs this past February and it's still raw. You have my sympathies!

 

[rockviper]

Sorry to hear about your kitty kat; you might need to get another protector to keep your home elk-free. If you're emotionally up for it, 'twould be a great Christmas present to think about visiting an animal shelter and giving someone a new home this holiday season.

 

[majorrich]

I picked up three! Two strapping brothers and a small female who was headed for the chamber. Actually they picked me. One for Elk, and the brothers will handle Moose and Elephant duty. Mama is semi not pleased with me. I occasionally volunteer at the shelter so they already knew me. I had actually planned on bringing them home to encourage him to be more active.

 

[rockviper]

Well done! and BTW .... THAT was FAST! 36 mins from when I posted to you running out, having them pick you, and then getting back home to post about it!

 

[majorrich]

I stopped by the shelter on the way home thinking to cremate Cuddles. Ended up burying him and brought my new buddies home. They are in lockdown in the laundry room. Pics to follow. Didn't mean to rush out and replace him, I think it was the grief talkin'. We put him down at 11am and I sought comfort amongst the other cats. Failed in incineration and now am the crazy cat guy.

 

[majorrich]

Straight Shave #5 DFS some blood

Kit:
Graef & Schmidt Henckel #62 5/8
Soap for Hope
El Cheapo Grande Especiale

This is the first time using a premium (better than Williams) soap so I stuck with a more familiar brush. I do like the fragrance of the soap, faintly rose like. I had a bit of a learning process figuring out how much to load the brush and water and etc, so it took a couple of tries 'til I had enough soap for a lather that lasted more than a minute or two. Once I got close to right, I was rewarded with a very nice lather that seems to have more cushioning and life than Williams. I will use on of my very luxurious PIF brushes next time.

The blade I selected for today was my fathers that I ran through the stropping compounds yesterday and it felt pretty sharp, although in practice was not quite as sharp as my Gold Dollar. Still, it wasn't pulling at all, it just felt a little different. The narrower profile of the blade proved more difficult for me to control and chattered once on my neck, leaving me a nice little line, but not enough to need stitches. It kind of grabbed and stood up "you shall not pass!" and doink! there was blood. Undaunted, I pressed on. and finished the first pass no problems.

For the second pass, I noted the suds had deflated quite a bit, so I re-wetted my brush and added more soap. Basically starting over again. I'm going to watch the primers on soaps again perhaps to see where I am making my error. Pass 2 was across the grain and I am pretty pleased with my technique although feel like I have to keep a death grip on this blade to keep it from grabbing and standing up. Maybe it isn't as sharp as I think it is. When I build my stropping paddles I think It will be better, although perhaps I should start over when my films come in and start with a known correct base angle. (or maybe farm it out) The blade got me on the point of the chin as I was trying to adjust my angle, but only a little bip, like a tall hair or something.

I actually did a partial third pass Against the grain this time with my Fat Boy. I was a little snake bit by my control issues and didn't get as close a shave as usual with the straight. The result is a Mama Approved PFS.

Alum Block all over the face no stinging. Old Spice pounced on the neck slash. Aloe balm after felt really nice and, did I mention Mama felt my face up and complimented me on how much she prefers my new shaving regimen? To my mind, that is almost a green light for RAD, but I will be slow and stealthy in my approach.

respectfully submitted
RB

 

[rockviper]

Congratulations and Thank You, for picking up a Soap for Hope! Along with your new "Guardians of the majorrich Galaxy," we'll also need picks of this soap as well. The Bulgarian Rose EO is truly a great fragrance. It's not strong like many rose soaps, which mainly use the much lesser expensive fragrance oils compared to the true EO which this soap has, but the scent is unmistakable and should cause no irritation at all.

Your disappearing lather is most likely from not loading long enough. That should be pretty easy to remedy.

 

[majorrich]

Tried again with a little more time spent accumulating more soap in the brush (also with a much much nicer brush thank you very much) attached are photos of that experiment, as well as photos of my new guard cats. They seem pretty calm, I think they are plotting against me.

 

[majorrich]

The bowl is a Japanese primitive piece my mother had. it has a pretty good texture on the inside for making suds. I need to work a little more on getting the right amount of moisture to soap ratio. Just experience points basicly. I am Shaver level 1.

 

[majorrich]

Straight Shave #6 DFS and now for something completely different!

Kit:
Vanta Shavette
Derby blade
Soap for Hope
Omega Boar bristle brush

This morning, feeling a bit shaggy, felt in the mood for a completely new kit, just for giggles. Maybe not so good an idea as I thought.
I also decided to try a cold shave to help the whiskers stand up a bit as this little shavette is pretty darned sharp! Took extra care to gather plenty of soap and foam to my face in the anticipation of an unsoftened beard. I noted additional pull as the blade did its work, and it seemed very up to that task. I also noticed a shavette is as unforgiving as an ex-girlfriend! She (I think I shall name her after an ex GF) found the line where my beard reverses direction and left a bloody line there, and a good deal of little weepers here and there. Perhaps I should use this razor more to hone my technique. I also noted, the first pass seemed a little closer than before. I'm not sure, because I changed too many variables, what exactly was the factor that helped the closeness.

Pass two was an abbreviated pass. I was unsure if it was wise to shave across cuts. I didn't lather my lower neck as that was looking pretty bad when water dribbled across it. I did a second pass with the grain. Cheeks and jowels which are normally problem spots for me were pretty easy probably due to the smaller sharp of the shavette. She got her final licks in though in a neat line of weepers across the point of my chin and down to my adams apple. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I will figure out when I go back to hot water where I erred.

That will teach me for changing too many things at once. The only thing that would have made it worse would be if I decided to try using my off-hand! Despite the weepers, I was rewarded with a DFS with several patches of BBS, most notably my cheeks and chin. Finished with a gentle rinse, Alum block and Clubman aftershave, which stings less than Old Spice. Aloe massage to follow. Close examination afterward found a couple of missed spots and a strange look to the skin on my chin, almost like the beginnings of a peeling sunburn. I gave myself a second aloe treatment. I will leave the missed patches be, I've nowhere to go today so nobody will notice except for myself.

Quite an adventure shave!

Respectfully submitted,
RB

 

[rockviper]

The great joy about a shavette is that it will help you understand if you really know what "no pressure and a light touch" really means. Just be happy that your shavette shields the corners of the blade and think about what a wonderful job of self-filleting you might have done otherwise.

Seriously though, a shavette will punish you if you're not paying attention, but rest assured, as you get the hang of it, your "normal" straight shaves will also improve.

 

[SpikedLemon]

The great joy about a shavette is that it will help you understand if you really know what "no pressure and a light touch" really means. Just be happy that your shavette shields the corners of the blade and think about what a wonderful job of self-filleting you might have done otherwise.

Seriously though, a shavette will punish you if you're not paying attention, but rest assured, as you get the hang of it, your "normal" straight shaves will also improve.

Yep. Light touch light touch light touch light touch... and when in doubt? Light touch.
Unforgiving instructor of good form.

 

[majorrich]

Took the blade out of the Shavette and tried to figure out why parts of my face are consistently so hard to shave. It appears it occurs when I hold my head in certain ways the line of my Bifocals gets in the way. It was kind of fun, but still can't get my left hand to feel safe to use with a live blade.

 

[majorrich]

Straight Shave #7 DFS last second blood

Kit:
Vanta Shavette
Derby blade
Williams Soap
Omega Boar bristle brush

Went conventional warm shave this time continuing to use the shavette until I can get a consistently good and blood free shave with the shavette before I take it easy on myself and use the bigger blades. Also A Big Thanks to Buca3152 for making a frighteningly sharp blade out of my super cheap Chinese blade. Very good work!. After a hot shower, lathered up the Williams and, remembering it's lack of staying power decided to work a section of my face at a time. I started out with my neck where the grain grows backward and the blade punished me last time trying to just N-S the whole neck. No Drama. Paid close attention to light pressure and straight strokes. Then went on a cheek at a time then chin. These Derby blades must be really sharp, or I'm finally getting the right angle, I'm not getting much pull at all and just hear the whiskers being made homeless. When you guys get to your lip and chin area, do any of you really choke up on the blade and kind of hold it over the blade to guide it N-S? it seemed to work good this morning.

Pass 2 also went pretty drama free until a large white cat demanded attention and rocked my hand out to about 90 degrees and caused a pretty good cut on the top of my chin. Shaves are starting to take far less time as I am getting used to the routine and understanding how my whiskers grow.

Finish up with a warm towel and Clubman aftershave. Alum and Stiptic pencil failed to staunch the flow of my cat-cut, so I just stuck some TP on it and let it go with that. Pulled it off when I got to church. No worries at all. Feeling pretty smooth this morning. I got my hunk of granite from the Home Depot yesterday and am going to try and hone a blade up to the very high bar set for me. It's going to be a challenge, but we old Boy Scouts and our fetish for sharp knives will drive me onward.

Respectfully submitted
RB

PS. Does Clubman have less alcohol than Old Spice? It sure doesn't sting on cuts as bad. Just wondering.

 

[rockviper]

"Normal" straights are generally much more forgiving than shavettes. (Notice, I didn't say "real straights" as they're both VERY real in my book.) No need to stay with the shavette until you master it. I'd say go 3 shaves with the 1/2-blade in a shavette, then switch back to normal straights for a week and alternate this way.

 

[Devonmoonshire]

"Traditionall" straights are generally much more forgiving than shavettes. (Notice, I didn't say "real straights" as they're both VERY real in my book.) No need to stay with the shavette until you master it. I'd say go 3 shaves with the 1/2-blade in a shavette, then switch back to Traditional straights for a week and alternate this way.

Fixed that for Ya I completely agree though, both are extremely real, even though I have yet to try a shavette, I am simply waiting for the perfect one to come along and I shall be getting one myself

 

[rockviper]

Thanks, "traditional" is what I was looking for but my brain was fried.