Well, you know - I could sit here and talk about the minutiae of my shaves #16 and #17, etc. but suffice it to say that I'm pretty much like the rest of you new guys (and former new guys) in that it's pretty much coming along. I'm getting good results and have given up on the DE. Negligible blood - that's important.
My kit is pretty basic and I like it that way: a good brush and strop (finally), couple of soaps that I really like, styptic pencil, and 2 after shaves that I have come to like a lot. Oh yeah - and Thayers Lemon Witch Hazel. I like that stuff so much, I'm thinking of drinking some for breakfast.
I've also now acquired 3 razors in addition to my 9/16, $33.00 well-honed and reliable special. Razor 2 has gone off to Lynn to be honed, and the other two will be sent somewhere soon as well. They're both NOS and not really ready for shaving, but of course I had to try. OK - not so good. I thought maybe I could try to improve things just a little with Cr2O3 on balsa. A little shave test on the arm, and...well, not much better. Maybe the barber hone. A little more shaving: Not much help.
Maybe the other razor! Back to the Cr2O3 and shave: meh. Barber hone....nah. 100 laps on the strop? Nope. Well, maybe I really should compare all this to the benchmark $33.00 razor. Hmm...shaves pretty good! 
I guess I need to i) start learning something about razor maintenance and honing, and ii) just be patient and wait for the honed razor to come. I did learn, however, that the Thayers seems to be pretty good for razor burn, even on the arm.
My kit is pretty basic and I like it that way: a good brush and strop (finally), couple of soaps that I really like, styptic pencil, and 2 after shaves that I have come to like a lot. Oh yeah - and Thayers Lemon Witch Hazel. I like that stuff so much, I'm thinking of drinking some for breakfast.
I've also now acquired 3 razors in addition to my 9/16, $33.00 well-honed and reliable special. Razor 2 has gone off to Lynn to be honed, and the other two will be sent somewhere soon as well. They're both NOS and not really ready for shaving, but of course I had to try. OK - not so good. I thought maybe I could try to improve things just a little with Cr2O3 on balsa. A little shave test on the arm, and...well, not much better. Maybe the barber hone. A little more shaving: Not much help.
Maybe the other razor! Back to the Cr2O3 and shave: meh. Barber hone....nah. 100 laps on the strop? Nope. Well, maybe I really should compare all this to the benchmark $33.00 razor. Hmm...shaves pretty good! I guess I need to i) start learning something about razor maintenance and honing, and ii) just be patient and wait for the honed razor to come. I did learn, however, that the Thayers seems to be pretty good for razor burn, even on the arm.
(and I mean that in the nicest possible way...). Funny that this kind of snuck up on me. An innocent little scratch here and there, and all of a sudden, you look down and realize that you may be wearing long-sleeve shirts for a couple of weeks. Probably good to stay away from the eyebrows...
