4 DE shaves under my belt

Yea, The first of 3 packages arrived!! It is a Slim. I have been using VDH select and Williams with my boar brush and mach 3. I haven't shaved with a DE on 25+ years. So I armed myself with my Slim and an American Personna and gave it a go. Well let me tell you it's like riding a bike. Once you learn you never forget. Day 1, put razor's setting on 1 (I know, real tame. Don't want to over indulge first time off) and did 3 passes- WTG, WTG,XTG. No nicks, no cuts , and above all no irritation. I braced my self for the sting of my aftershave. It was extremely minimal, as the sting did not last as long as the time to replace the aftershave's. Day 2 scenario same as first. My face is getting used to DE shaving, I had as good a shave if not better than my mach 3 so I don't want to rush my DE achievements. Day 2 results same as Day 1's. Day 3 got a little braver and and added an ATG pass. Great results again, not BBS, but closer than the mach 3. Day 4, kicked it up a notch and cranked up the adjustable to 3. Beautiful shave close to BBS and barely no AS sting. BTW, the aftershave I am using is 70% alcohol. I think the keys to my success is 1) I grew up with a Slim. Hell back then the only choices were DE or Straight 2) I have been using a brush and soap for a while so my lathering techniques are up to standards 3) I am using alot of patience and focus 4) I am enjoying every part of my shave. Today will be Day 5 for my original blade as well. Gonna try for six days on the blade, then switch to another brand. Just can't wait for my other goodies to arrive!! Merker HD, Prorasso cream, Conk soap, Honeybee soap, Vulfix 1000 brush and Trumper's Alum block. However, I don't expect them anytime soon. I am now preparing to get belted by Hurricane Dean. It's already raining in Kingston, Jamaica and should reach me here in Negril in about 7 hrs. time. Looks right now as the same path a Ivan which left alot of damage, and left us without water for 7 days and current for 11 days. So it looks like I will have some reading and catching up to do on B&B when I get electricity, phone, etc. back after the storm. Well see ya. Gotta go make sure I am stocked up on Appleton's Rum for the storm.

Respect

Great news on the good results with your new Slim, Bill! Not so good about the approaching storm. Cover up good, we want to hear back from you as soon as the power and the network come on. I'd toss the blade and put the Slim in my pocket, if I were you. If you have to leave in a hurry, at least you won't forget it!

You are shaving under your belt... ?! (sorry I coudn't resist)

Stay tight and dry. Where in Negril are you Bill?? I used to do a bunch of scuba diving there..

I sure hope Dean isn't as bad as Ivan!

Mama Bear,
I am in the West End near Xtabi. But got to go now, as my electirc has been shut off. See you after the storm.

Stay safe down there!

Keep us posted on the progress!

Good luck with the storm. Hope you make out okay.

I love the Westside up on the cliffs...is Pirates Cave still there??? but Bill, please let us know how you are.. I am not sure when you will get power again, but I am saying my prayers for you....

Bear Hugs!

Sue

Thanks for all your kind thoughts. Hurricane Dean did little damage here in Negril. No structural damage that I can see from any of the resorts. Don't know about Rick's. Mama Bear, Pirate"s Cave is alive and well and was open today as I passed on a scooter tour. Phone and DSL work. Don't have electric or water yet. Working off generator right now and I have a 1000 gallon water reserve tank, so I am doing pretty well. I also had a full water heater that is still very warm. So after cleanup and unpacking, I was able to enjoy a great shave. Per the shave, not bad considering I am conserving water. Day 6 with my Slim and Day 6 with the American Personna. Slim still cranked up to 3. 6 shaves is definitely the limit with this blade. I have others to try, but I think I am going to use another AP and crank up the adjustable a couple more notches, since I know what to expect with this blade and I want to experiment with razor's settings.

Fritz,

Believe me the Slim and all my shaving gear was the first to be secured!!


Mama Bear,

Your soaps are next on my list. Probably for Xmas. Besides your usual Shipping methods, Do you hand deliver to Negril?

Way to go, Bill! I saw on the news that Dean had passed south and pretty fast, but didn't expect to hear you back on the air this soon!

But, it sounds like you're pretty well prepared for this kind of stuff. I grew up in Houston so I pretty much learned the drill early on...

Good to hear that you and the Slim are both safe and shaving well!

Now you are entering the blissful world of random aquisition disorder, where you have to try everything. Don't worry, it will pass.

I'm now entering the stage of going through my collection I aquired very quickly and trying to simplify, figuring out what works, and what doesn't. That can be fun its own right. I'm torn between Gillette Tech's, Superspeeds, and GEM razors. For soaps I seem to favor Crabtree and Evelyn or *gasp* Williams (I never thought I'd say that, but it's one of the few soaps that lathers well just with tap water), and for creams I like Kiss My Face or Derby/Arko- though I'm still open to trying something new with creams.

Being in Florida it was nice of you Jamaicans to step out there in the Carribean and take one for the team with that Hurricaine. Don't worry we'll probably get ours in September.

Magnulus said:

....For soaps I seem to favor Crabtree and Evelyn or *gasp* Williams (I never thought I'd say that, but it's one of the few soaps that lathers well just with tap water)...

Click to expand...

It's actually possible to get a decent lather with Williams, if you put about a teaspoon of glycerin on it first.

fritz said:

It's actually possible to get a decent lather with Williams, if you put about a teaspoon of glycerin on it first.

Click to expand...

The C&E is definitely the better soap though. Williams seems to favor less aggressive razors. I've been having a love-hate relationship with Surrey. It is nice and slick but doesn't lather as well.

Magnulus said:

The C&E is definitely the better soap though. Williams seems to favor less aggressive razors. I've been having a love-hate relationship with Surrey. It is nice and slick but doesn't lather as well.

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Oh, no question; I have the C&E Sienna and love it. I meant, when you find yourself in a strange city and discover you forgot to pack any shaving soap, when you go to the store to pick up some Williams, be sure to get a bottle of glycerin too! It's a stop-gap soap...
I like the Surrey soaps, especially the Col. Conk versions. They do a lot better with a badger brush, though. I can always add a snurdle of some shaving cream, too.
I've found those dirt-cheap Arko shave sticks will produce a surprisingly good lather. Just no scent to speak of, but my whiskers can't tell... Need to find a pill bottle to fit them for travel.

Mr Whiskers said:

Thanks for all your kind thoughts. Hurricane Dean did little damage here in Negril. No structural damage that I can see from any of the resorts. Don't know about Rick's. Mama Bear, Pirate"s Cave is alive and well and was open today as I passed on a scooter tour. Phone and DSL work. Don't have electric or water yet. Working off generator right now and I have a 1000 gallon water reserve tank, so I am doing pretty well. I also had a full water heater that is still very warm. So after cleanup and unpacking, I was able to enjoy a great shave. Per the shave, not bad considering I am conserving water. Day 6 with my Slim and Day 6 with the American Personna. Slim still cranked up to 3. 6 shaves is definitely the limit with this blade. I have others to try, but I think I am going to use another AP and crank up the adjustable a couple more notches, since I know what to expect with this blade and I want to experiment with razor's settings.


Mama Bear,

Your soaps are next on my list. Probably for Xmas. Besides your usual Shipping methods, Do you hand deliver to Negril?

Click to expand...

I am glad to hear from you.. I was worried! We have had some brutal weather here, but it is nothing compared to what you got. I am way overdue to visit The Island again, but if I can get out there I will bring whatever you want..

Hello to everyone at Pirates Cave from Sue in Chicago!!

Bear Hugs!

Sue