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EvilZeg Shave Journal

Can't say that I will be posting about every shave I have, but I'll post about major event's. I'm happy to say that today's shave was a great one. I've read in countless other threads that when shaving with a straight it should be like "wiping the whiskers away." Today I have achieved that feat.

I started straight shaving back in January with a whipped dog kit. Most shaves were good, but I would have a slight tugging sensation. I tried using the balsa strop but I believe I will need to rehone the razor on my coti. I have purchased some razors from various antique shops, and with my La Grise have began my attempts to hone them. After a couple of attemps and tips from the forums including the great Gary Haywood, yesterday I managed to hone my Wade and Butcher to achieve a HHT3/4 and the shave today was great.

I believe the issue was blade angle, having the spine at too great of an angle was causing more of a scraping than shaving action which I believe was really taking a toll on the blade.

So going forward I will continue to refine my honing skills, going to try finishing with oil on my Coti. And I'm going to make sure I keep the blade as flat as possible.

Please excuse the poor sentence structure, flying high on allergy medicine due to the obscene pollen levels, but I couldn't wait to post about my shave experience today.


Jim
 
Isn't it crazy how the littlest things can make such a difference. Congrats on the accomplishment!

Also, as a fellow allergy sufferer, I feel your pain:cursing:

nrv216
 
Great to hear Jim! Keep the good reports coming, and congratulations.

Gary is a Great guy he has also helped me a lot on my journey with the coticule.

Jon
 
Nice! Well done. I too had a wiping away of whiskers shave this morning with my Wacker. 3 days of growth stood no chance.
 
Tonight's shave has proven my hypothesis, my blade angle was definitely too steep.

Lathered up with Mystic Water wild Lavendar, and wielded my freshly honed Ernst White. Making sure to keep an eye on my angle I had a DFS. Did my usual single WTG pass, finished by "buffing" a few touch up spots.

So my tip of the night is when in doubt keep the blade as flat against your face as possible, if you miss some whiskers you can always go back, but by keeping the angle shallow you won't cause excessive edge degradation.


Have a good night.

Jim
 
Had a decent shave today, 2 day growth. Lathered up with Mystic WTer Lavendar,just about used up my sample I used my Ernst White for a single WTG pass, with only minor irritation a few spots on my neck. I am going to try to alter the direction I shave on my neck to try to fix the irritation. Finished up with some Clinique shave balm.
 
After 2 very restless nights, and a need to get a quick shave done last night I broke out my Merkur DE. I didn't want to risk severely damaging either my strop or myself. My old friend did a good job.

I also used up the last of my Mystic Water Lavendar shave soap. I am really liking Mystic Water products, the scent was very nice, it makes a great lather, and leaves my skin feeling great.
 
I have to say last night was probably one of my best shaves ever. Typically during the week I only do a single WTG pass to keep things quick. Last night while shaving I was taking some extra special care and really concentrating on my blade angle/pressure on my neck. I've been doing fairly well with only minor irritation, but last night I finally shaved my entire neck without any irritation.

It's hard to describe, but while shaving, I got into an almost meditative state. Everything else was drowned out except for the sound of my razor, I used my Ernst White, I believe 5/8 full hollow, love the sound generated by the full hollow. I enjoyed that first pass so much I lathered up for a 2nd WTG and achieved a darn near BBS shave. I lathered up with Mystic Water Lime for the first time, love the smell, great citrus smell and the typical great performance of a Mystic Water soap

After having one heck of a crazy week last night was a real pleasure, everything else just faded away, just me, my razor, and the satifaction of a good shave.
 

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Lathered up with Mystic Water Lime, definitely loving this soap. The smell is awesome and it leaves my skin feeling great. Did a double pass with my Ernst White, both with the grain. Had a little bit of an incident when my SWMBO dropped something in the shower and I was left with a nice weeper on my cheek. Put my debleeding stick to work and everything was fine. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Jim
 
Had a good shave last night. Used my Ernst White, started with 20 laps on linen and twenty on leather. Lathered up using Mystic water Lime, follow Raithskar's tip and only used warm water. I noticed a definite improvement in the lather, love the scent and leaves my skin feeling great. Did 2 WTG passes and had a near BBS shave. Taking my time, keeping the pressure light and really watching the blade angle. I'm finally getting the knack for holding my razor at an angle where I can trim my sideburns while still being able to see the blade.

Have a great day.

Jim
 
It's hard to describe, but while shaving, I got into an almost meditative state. Everything else was drowned out except for the sound of my razor, ...everything else just faded away, just me, my razor, and the satifaction of a good shave.
so true

Had a little bit of an incident when my SWMBO dropped something in the shower and I was left with a nice weeper on my cheek.
:confused1


I'm finally getting the knack for holding my razor at an angle where I can trim my sideburns while still being able to see the blade.

i can see mine for a second or two through this off angle in my periphery view just around my elbow or in side of it...
 
She was in the shower and I was shaving under the left side of my moustache below my lip using the heel of the razor, she knocked the shampoo off the shelf in the shower and when it hit I flinched slightly and tapped my cheek with the toe of the razor.
 
Had an OK shave today. I shaved with my Lowcock & CO razor. This was the second razor I havd honed on my coticule. While I was able to shave with it, I can say that my Earnst White which was the latest razor I have honed has a much keener edge. the practice is paying off.

Two passes WTG, ok shave, minor irritation.

For the heck of it I decided to make a combo lather using Mystic Water Lime and Bigelow Creme. My Menthol Lime lather was very nice. Great lime smell and cooling menthol.

Have a great night.

Jim
 
Had a great shave with my buddy Ernst today.

Started with my usual prep of a hot shower and washing my face well. Lathered up with my Mystic Water Lime, and wielded my Ernst White.

My Ernst has got to be my best honed razor, and it did not let my down for my two WTG passes. The first pass went great, my extra hollow Ernst sang sweetly while my whiskers were swept away. The second WTG pass I heard barely a whisper.

I had no irritation, and I have to say I had a DFS shave. I'm taking the nearly silent 2nd pass as a sign that I'm getting pretty darn efficient with my WTG pass. I've been really watching my angle and applied pressure.

Lately I've really eliminated the irritation I was getting on my neck. Following the whisker grain and using a slight scything action has been giving me great close shaves.

Finished up with some Clinique After Shave Balm.


Have a great night.

Jim
 
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Definitely, a couple different factors have played into this:

1. The keeness of the edge. Once I got comfortable using the unicot method on my coticule and using the HHT test I am able to get a very good shaving edge on my razor. I found my self using more pressure because of using a dull razor.

2. Blade Angle. Just taking my time to make sure I was keeping the angle has shallow as I could while following the contours of my face to keep the blade at a cutting, not scraping angle.

3. Beard Mapping. Really learn the grain pattern of your beard.

4. Scything. Now that I'm getting more comfortable I'm using a slight Scything action which really helps in cutting through my whiskers.


5. Linen. Since I got my TM strop I love the genuine linen component. I love the feel, I love the sound, I love the edge it leaves on my razors. I do at least 20 laps on linen before and after my shaves, followed my equal laps on leather.


Jim
 
Had an OK shave tonight. Lathered with Mystic Water Lime, wielded my budddy Ernst.

Lather seemed to be a little dry tonight, I added some water but just couldn't get it perfect.

Did my usual 2 WTG passes. First one seemed to drag a little due to the dry lather. The second went better with the wetter lather, only had one small spot of irritation on my neck.

Got my DMT 600/1200 in so I'm going to hone up some project razors this weekend. They are all full hollow, I'm hoping to get a wedge as some point to try out.

Have a great night.

Jim
 
Placed my order for some Queen Charlotte soap samples. Can't wait to try them out. Got the following samples:

Vostok
Hanami
Green Irish Tweed Type
Basilica
Vetiver
 
Had a good shave tonight. Lathered up with Mystic Water Lime, wielded my buddy Ernst. Today was a little bit of a change up from my usual routine. Normally I shave every other day, but last night I had a late shave with my DE, so I decided to shave again with my straight. Months ago when I used cartridges if I tried to shave everyday I would get very bad razor burn, I wanted to experiment and see if I still faced the same issue now that I no longer use cartridges. In the near future I may be going to Japan for a few weeks for business, I would like to keep my self presentable while there.

Started off with my normal hot shower routine, did a two pass WTG, everything went well only minor irritation on one small spot on my neck. I finished up with a cold water rinse and Clinique after shave balm. Everything feels good, the real test will be how my face is in the morning.

Have a great night everyone.

Jim
 
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