CBLindsay's Journey into Mixed Blade Mastery

WELCOME TO THE MIXED BLADE SHAVING JOURNAL OF CBLindsay

As 2015 comes to a close I look forward to a new year with fresh goals and aspirations. 2015 was the year I committed myself (and my bank account) to the world of traditional shaving. What honestly started as a conversation about trying out some CO. Bigelow soap blossomed, ...no exploded into a collection of soaps, brushes, razors, aftershaves, oils and other hardware. My collection is comprised of dozens of new and used artisan soaps in all sorts of scents as well as some great vintage stuff, I have double edge and Single edge safety razors made as early as the 1920's to current production, a couple of vintage Sextoblades and a couple of vintage straight razors. Honestly, the quality and history behind the older/vintage items has been one of the most exciting things for me to experience this year.

With the help of a few new friends found here on B&B, I have been able to gain a great amount of skill in the art of traditional shaving using DE and SE razors. I also blame these "friends" for exposing me to the wonderful world of vintage razor, soaps and aftershaves. It is because of their influence I have traveled as far down the rabbit hole as I have.

Another area I have found great enjoyment has been in the making (and giving) of shaving soaps. In part due to this forum and the resources within, I was inspired to begin making shaving soap. I made some soaps with various "classic" scents just to see if it could be done. I can see the world of soap making being one that can consume someone like me, IF I had the ability to reproduce my successes and improve upon my failures. Needless to say, soap making is a fun little hobby that will not likely go any further.

Now on to the GOALS and ASPIRATIONS for 2016.

THIS journal is one of my goals set for 2016. I intend to make use of this journal thread to document my journey in what I am going to call "Mixed Blade Mastery". Having attained a fair amount of skill at using my regular DE and SE razors, I intend to try to master the STRAIGHT razor.

Since mastering the straight razor is about more than putting blade to skin, it is about maintaining the razor itself, so my journey may hit a few snags along the way. To aid in my journey, I have acquired 2 Sextoblade razors that do not require particular care in maintaining a sharp edge. I have also acquired a couple of straight razors, sold as shave ready (indicating they have been honed up to 12k stone and finished on linen etc), a strop and various other gear. I will detail my journey more completely following New Years.

I do hope a few of you will follow along at some point ...I have a bit of an ego and do like attention, so tell your friends and neighbors to follow along as well. Feel free to comment, cheer me, give advice or what ever.

First shave of 2016 was part straight/shavette part DE

CBLindsay pre-shave soap. I figured I better give this a fighting chance.

DR Harris Arlington face lathered with my Whipped Dog 30 mm HM. I forgot how much I like this soap and it really seems to work with the ol WD brush

I figured I would just dive in to the straight razor pool by, uh using my Weck Bantom shavette for a 2 pass WTG (north to south) shave followed by a "clean up" with my EDJ89 loaded with a Rapira Lux for a simple no frills 2 pass WTG/ATG (N/S then S/N).

Lather was good, the razor felt comfortable in my hands and I was able to navigate the odd movements needed to get the blade where it needs to be. The part I think I failed at was using my off hand to stretch my skin, it may have effected the efficiency of the razors edge. Even though it looked and felt like my skin was tight from the way I was positioned, it felt like I had to work hard at getting the blade through the hairs. I got no irritation and only two little nicks from the Weck. The first WTG pass with The DE confirmed I had achieved a decent pass (well, 2 passes), as the razor glided removing lather with no real hairs to be cut. The reverse,south to north pass happened with no pain or discomfort.

A quick rinse proved I had accomplished a good DFS for the most part. The lack of a XTG pass means some areas along my jaw line aren't close (and kind of shows that the XTG pass is needed for a BBS face)

I figured I would use my Alum Rock for good measure. The burn was actually less than some of my more aggressive adventures. My alum block seems to approve of my work!

To ring in the New Year and honor a new friend from B&B, I splashed on one of the new aftershaves domzals1 sent me...
Shiseido "Vintage" . It is a great scent and feels great, a little less burn than you expect but no heaviness either.

*I am going to need to check on the skin stretching and whether it might be making the blade work harder. I think I want to try a REAL straight tomorrow (if I can get more time alone), I think the blade may be sharper (even if just in my head)

Honest. I meant to go all straight today but one thing led to another and the day got away from me. So I'll call this one a day of rest and moisturizing.

Seems I have been able to make time for a few more attempts at the straight razor since last checking in Saturday (1-2-16). I know now that straight razors DEFENTATLY attract women, I have not been able to get my straight out once without my wife insisting on talking or doing her own hair or something. I can go weeks in shaving solitude (thanks shaving gods) but plan on a few minutes in deep concentration with a straight in hand and WHAM a conversation must occur ...NOW. And I have a few cuts to prove it.

So Sunday's shave was not bad all in all. I had a rather successful 2ish pass straight only shave with acceptable results, I could have gone to work and not gotten too many "hey, you missed a spot" looks. I still have a few issues to work through, one being the slickness or glide of the razor and lather on my face. Seems I have a nice lather on all accounts, seems wet and slick but if I lay the razor too flat to my face it "sucks" to my face, sticking in place as if the suctioned by the lather and at times it seems I might be getting more drag or even hop than I should. I will continue to play with the lather to see if I can fix this but will also add this to the list of things I need to ask around for help on.

Sunday's set up was much better than my other attempts or half attempts made in the past.
The razor is a new to me Simmons Hardware "Hornet" 5/8 Hollow. Arrived honed and shave ready (Naniwa stone 1,3,5,812k)
The Lather, DR Harris Windsor
The Brush WD 30mmHM
2 passes WTG and 1/4XTG with slight 1/4 XTG touch up (I know what I mean and that's all that matters)
Splash of Lilac Vegetal to celebrate.

Oh and only 2 cuts/nicks both required less than stiches or styptic to stop bleeding so I consider this a win.

DAY 3 1/4/2016

Today I demonstrated my mastery of one of the two blades this journal is to chronicle my mastery of. Being a regular business day with a tight morning schedule to adhere to (and a stock market waiting to be taken advantage of by yours truly as soon as I demonstrated my blade wielding techniques), I opted to go for a single WTG pass with my Weck Bantom (stropped 20 times because I read that can take the harshness from the blade ...it did) and finish with 2 passes XTG & ATG with my new friend Mr. 1949 Superspeed (he could be a 1940's-early50's but i'll just call him 1949). The Weck handles a little different but the concept is the same and i'm getting it. I am beginning to think my technique needs some work because as decent as my straight razor against face has been, when I lathered for the second pass with Mr. 1949, I felt every soft bristle caress my face. Then when Mr 1949 went to work, it was like I had forgotten to put a blade in at all ...SMOOTH as silk, both passes. I had an excellent BBS shave in 3 passes not a lick of touch up. Splash on a handful of Old Spice and take on the world!

Now I have to decide whether I stick with a one pass two pass routine for awhile. Seems to be the right thing to do, so I might just do it. But I gotta ask about the skin stretchy thing and the lather.

Day 4 and 5 with the straight have some stories to tell.

Day 4 was a simple WTG and some exploring with a partial second pass using my Genco razor, with XTG and ATG using good ol 1949 superspeed. Overall a win because I had no irritation or cuts, but I did threaten to open a cut on my left jaw line from the day before with an attempt at XTG. All I can really say here is that the Genco is not sharp enough, it handles well from a size and weight perspective but its just not cutting well enough.

Day 5 (the date of this post).
I spent plenty of time last night lightly running the Hornet over 1micron paper, canvas and giving it a good stropping ...it is definitely a sharp razor ready to go (hanging hair is cut at all points along the blade). I also gave similar attention to the Genco only I added a heavier grit paper to the mix and even more stropping, it seems to want to top hairs on my arm and behaves like it is sharper but I have doubts. The bevel has a frown to it (been reading and looking at pictures) so the middle has a very narrow almost non-existent bevel width while the edges have a more normal but slightly narrow bevel width. Oddly the middle seems sharper.


Started today with a good wet lather and the Genco, I could tell with a single pass I didn't like the sharpness (or lack of) so I abandoned the Genco and grabbed the Hornet. The Hornet felt better as far as sharpness but does handle a little differently. I gave a two pass run WTG and an odd attempt at a sort of XTG. Sadly, the left bottom corner of my goatee is now missing, ...but it came off clean with no tugging. I finished with a XTG ATG using my triangle slot tech, some alum and eventually a splash of Barbasol Artic Chill.


Even though I know I had a keener edge on this razor, my face was more irritated than is has been since I started this little journey of mixed blade mastery. I plan on getting some Balsa wood and .25 micron paste to polish the edge better, and maybe a better canvas strop (no paste on it though). I like the Hornet, got a good razor there, but that Genco has an odd blade and the blade doesn't center right so it can catch if you don't watch it. Might be a project razor.

In honor of the mossing corner of my Goatee, I might make tomorrows shave an all DE shave.

Yesterday (day 6) was a plain old DE shave using my Fatbot dialed to 6. I kept the soap the same, DR. Harris and did a 3 pass shave with pretty decent outcome. I dont' know why but the shave wasn't as long lasting or close as I expected considering I used a rather aggressive setting and a DE with no learning curve.

My new cheapo buffalo strop with some sort of canvas/pleather strop arrived yesterday too. I gave my frowning Genco a good whipping with it but its still sad. I did a 30-40 swipes (lost count) lap on the canvas then 120 on the leather (*2swipes =1pass) on my shaving blade...the Hornet and decided I would have a straight shave Friday.

Today (day 7) Friday: I decided to go ONYL straight shave today and tell the world to suck on a lemon if they don't like the results. First pass WTG, accept the bottom of the neck which is ATG when I go N/S, went well. Second pass I tried to do an actual XTG and had some issues trying to get hands feet and arms in all the right places at the right time. I did a left to right on both cheeks (to keep it uniform) and can tell that I need to do L/R on the left and a R/L on the Right side, because my right side is not so smooth at the moment. Really though, my cheeks and neck are pretty darn good for only 2 passes, its my jaw line that needs help.

I had another Aha moment when I figured out how to grab my left cheek and pull the jawline up to allow better access part of my neck that I just could not figure out. Also got a darn good under the lip shave.

Total time spent shaving was way too long for a weekday shave, but I suspect I can improve that. I think I can get a really good shave with three passes BUT I found a huge silver lining in the semi-scruff that is the 2 pass straight shave. I can probably squeeze in a simple DE shaving tonight so Friday night cuddles are smooth. I will have a reason to shave twice in one day!

Making progress and that's what matters!

Well I put Straight shave number 8 on the books today with a glorious 4 pass nearly full face/neck BBS shave.

I still look a lot like that little monkey doing thing to a football that ain't S'posed to happen but it's happening. I'm find ways to get the razor on my face and stretch my skin (most of the time) but I do need to work on it. I think today's Aha might be the idea that I should lather in sections. Not necessarily to keep it from drying (but that is a bonus), but so I can contort into the odd shapes needed to shave and stretch skin without ending up covered in lather.

I would love to have a pattern by now but I don't think I do. As far as time spent , I am pretty sure I spend more time working on getting a wet/slick lather than shaving. I think I am worried about the lather more than I need to be (irrational fear that my lather is subpar). Maybe I'll worry less about lather tomorrow and try switching hands.

Another learning moment and possible aha may have occurred near the end of my shave as I was touching up (making 5,6,7+ passes in some areas) to get some tough spots. Similar to when I do too many passes with a de razor I will get great results by essentially "floating" the razor as lightly as possible over an area using wet/thin lather, I was able to do that a couple of time with the straight. I would like to do that with every pass. I wonder if I get the razor sharp enough, if I CAN do that. I did stop and strop briefly prior to my 3rd pass.

Do you use a bit of alum on your finger tips to help stretch your skin? It cuts right through lather and really helps get a grip. The problem is, if you use too much, the alum may remain on your face and mess with your lather on your following passes. A good rinse in between passes helps.

Sounds like you're off to a great start. Good luck!

lmarkow said:

Do you use a bit of alum on your finger tips to help stretch your skin? It cuts right through lather and really helps get a grip. The problem is, if you use too much, the alum may remain on your face and mess with your lather on your following passes. A good rinse in between passes helps.

Sounds like you're off to a great start. Good luck!

Click to expand...

[MENTION=62321]lmarkow[/MENTION], yes the alum trick has been the ONLY way I get any grip at all. Funny you mention using too much or not rinsing it off messing with the shave. I had a time used it mid shave while learning DE early on and it ruined the shave AND knotted the hairs on my brush. Yesterday my shave was ok (but I did fight a slickness battle...the alum) but I found my brush I had used several days earlier had knotted hairs. I thought alum was the culprit the first time, even posted a question about it, seems it may be.

Yes I am making progress and I have folks like you and Slash McCoy and Seraphim and other learners like August West and Skyspd to thank. I find I have many questions along the way and have found a lot of the answers I need by reading the earlier journals and advice given. Having been around awhile "perfecting" my DE skills has helped some too.

My 16 year old son is on this journey with me. Ok, he's a little ahead of me if count his use of my Magic Shavette over the past many months,...but he needs to know how to do it right and is always looking to me for help.

Straight shave 9

I strongly suspect that sound of a straight razor against my skin attracts my wife. I can go all morning without her feeling the need to check on me, talk to me or just plain old bother me, but decide to shave and the chances go through the roof...use the straight and its 100%. Even the kids (my 20yr old I don't see all week even crawls out of bed to raise hell).

Anyway, the shave. I decided to change up the soap and go with Chiseled Face Redneck, a fine tallow soap for sure. The lather was great but I did struggle to keep a lather ready to go the whole time. I didn't purposefully try to make any special lather, just a lather that I would use for DE then I splashed water on my face and lathered on my face...that worked ok.

Before the shave I spent some time "sanding" my strop with 600 grit paper to smith out some fine wrinkles. The fresh strop seemed to give a better edge (at first) and the shave felt decent. I went for a full 3 pass with ok results but the ATG pass really felt as if the razor was not sharp. I decided to not push the straight any further than the regular 3 pass, instead i did a clean up ATG with my EJde89 and called it a BBS shave (the straight alone would have been tolerable but the final cleanup pass with the de really made things SMOOTH.

In preparation for tomorrow mornings shave (which is going to have to be a quick combo shave unless I get up early) I freshened the edge with several passes on 2 micron paper followed by several on 1 micron then 35 laps on my new sort of-canvas strop and 60 on my freshened leather strop. Now I just hope I actually improved the edge, not made it worse.

January 11th and I've put a straight to my face 10 times now.

Last nights blade refresh seems to have added a new level of comfort and performance to the razor, which means one of 2 things; 1) the razor was less save ready when I got it than it is now, or 2) I rolled the blade a bit with all my stroppy strop and stuff, possibly both. Either way I am excited by the idea I can get a more comfortable result with a keener edge and that I can improve the edge I have.

I was rudely awaken this morning earlier than I anticipated by SWMBO's ipad making some sort of noise. Rather than linger in bed I decided to get up and get on with the day ...and try to get at least 2 passes in with the straight razor. Since the kids are back in school, this could be last chance during the week unless I make a habit of getting up earlier.

The Shave: (lets start treating this like a shave journal)
Hot Shower
5/8 Hornet freshly "refreshed" and stropped 30 canvas 60 leather & EJ DE089 Polsilver 3 shaves
Lather: Chiseled Face Groomatorium REDNECK, bowl lathered with WD synthetic.
Pre-Wash with CBLindsay Patchouli glycerin, re-wet then apply lather
2 pass WTG, WTG/XTG Hornet
2 pass XTG, ATG DE
Aftershave Splash - Blue Lustray with added menthol.

First thing to note was the lather was better today. The WD synthetic and a tub of soap that had been lathered on yesterday makes a big difference. The pre-wash soap I made with glycerin face soap and added clay, glycerin & menthol might have helped add slickness as well. So SLICKNESS has been achieved! The next thing to note was the relative comfort has improved throughout the shave as a result of the touch up on the blade. I tried to change up how I approached things based on an entry from August West's journal were he describes being able to shave all right handed (I need to do that) and be able to keep visual clarity by never pointing the toe toward his ear,...well that didn't happen today. The last impression is that I still need to figure out how stretch the skin better because WOW, when the skins is stretch the shave is amazingly easy, close and comfortable. Finishing with the DE provides a very nice shave quality (the straight has the capability of doing amazing things for the neck) and it also provides a stark contrast in smoothness when the straight has been used to aggressively.

Injury count: Good nick to the left ear (inside cartilage-not nearly as bloody as I thought it would have been). Some irritation noted a couple hours after the shave.


Need to figure out: How to stretch skin in different areas (looked at WIki's today, that might help). Need to figure out how to approach ear to chin on right side (rt handed), some areas work some don't. Need to decide if I am going to do XTG on neck or just WTG ATGdiag.

Trying to decide if I should bite the bullet on Saraphim's 13/16 Spanish tip razor. Its the same size as the butter knifed trainer I plan to experiment with tonight with a different tip, maybe i'll have a better feel for the idea after playing with my trainer.

*trainer is a 13/16 chines razor I bought several years ago thinking an edge could ever be put on it, that has been dulled to allow practice.

January 12th and I've put straight blade to face 12 times now.

Last night I had the opportunity thanks to Rxduds's generous PIF to use a 0.3 micron film secured to a glass tile to complete a refresh of my blade, and the result was noticed this morning. I did a quick 2,1,0.3micron hone, finishing with strop like motions on the 0.3 film, then went to the synthetic canvas then leather. I watched the progression play out on my laboratory microscope at 100x magnification and saw many of the fine scratches get finer and more polished. An inspection of the edge under microscope showed an amazingly even bevel with very few minor (minor even at 100x) nicks in the blade edge.

The Prep-
Hot shower
Pre-wash soap-CBLindsay patchouli again (left on, rewetted prior to lather application)
Brush-WD Synthetic
Soap-CFG Redneck (bowl lathered in my coconut)

The Shave-
Razor #1 - 5/8 Hornet (hence forth known as "The Hornet", not creative because it is actually marked on the blade)
Single pass WTG N:S (S:N on lowest part of neck)
Razor #2 - EDJ89 same Polsilver blade as yesterday.
3 pass WTG,XTG,ATG with appropriate clean-up

The Post-
Rinse followed by good alum rub (no feedback at all!)
Rinsed alum off and applied a healthy splash of Clubman's Coachman (smells an awful lot like regular cluman, maybe exactly)

I feel like I am truly the master of DE at the moment. My shaves with the DE have been nothing but perfection in terms of comfort and results. My face is a wonderful BBS everywhere today. I am sure that the straight on my neck is playing a part in getting such great results there and by way of better/more prep and by comparison to the relative aggressive blade of the straight the DE is feeling extra smooth and efficient.

I abandoned the straight after only one pass today because I just wasn't feeling it. My hands were too slippery so my grip on the blade itself was weak and I just could not get my skin to stretch. I wanted so bad to feel the keenness of the fresh blade (and I did) but I didn't want to risk pushing it into frustration in my rush to stay on schedule this morning.

**Learning done**
Last night I spent a few minutes trying out different holding techniques, including left hand right hand etc. I used my dull 13/16 blade. I found something important while using that blade. The heft and size (and even stiffness of the pivot) made using my left hand easier and made positioning "different", maybe easier. I gave a half hearted attempt at mock shaving using lather I mixed up from a barbasol can and water painted on with a brush. The lather was good for marking the areas I "shaved" but lacked slickness and dried quickly, making the dragging on the fake blade across my still tender skin painful. I think the practice was useful but it may have may me a little hesitant this morning.

As a result of the practice last night making me feel like a larger, heavier blade may make a positive difference, I clicked the buy it now button on the razor Saraphim had posted on Panjo. Aside from the Spanish point, it is similar in size to my practice blade but made way better and a ton cooler. *note to self-buy some super glue to close large cuts and ear lobes.

January 13, Straight to face 13 times now!

The Prep-
Hot shower
Pre-washed with a little -CBLindsay patchouli again
Brush-WD Synthetic
Soap-Williams Tonsorial Face lathered and left on during a 20 lap on canvas 40 leather

The Shave-
Razor #1 - The hornet
2 pass predominantly WTG N:S (S:N on lowest part of neck) with XTG Mouth to ears
Razor #2 - Pre-war Tech Polsilver blade.
3 pass WTG,XTG,ATG with appropriate clean-up

The Post-
Alum/rinse
Florida Water splash
Black-Beard Beard oil rubbed into chin beard.

Thoughts- The blade is comfortable, I have found a lesser angle provides good comfort and control while still cutting well. I seem to have only minor issues with maintaining control of the blade, a little more time and I should not have any issues at all. I think the biggest "issue" I need to correct or change is the direction of passes. I am too random in my approach. I need to establish a routine pass pattern and stick to it for a period of time. Clearly I am still trying to figure out how to address the blade to face.

Vintage Williams is a great soap, should have used it earlier!

January 14, Straight to face 14 times now!

The Prep-
Hot shower
WSP "Black Beard" beard oil rubbed in as pre-shave
Brush-Trader Joes Synthetic
Soap-CFG "no-label" scent

The Shave-
Razor #1 - Weck Bantom
2 pass predominantly WTG N:S (S:N on lowest part of neck) with XTG EARS to mouth
Razor #2 - Tech with Backalite handle used ladas blade.
3 pass WTG,XTG,ATG with appropriate clean-up

The Post-
Alum/rinse
Stampede AS balm

First impressions using the Weck vs straight were that the blade felt smoother/sharper, as it glided easier across my face for the first pass. Having changed everything this is not a good shave to compare against but I did find the size of the bantom a nice change. I think the pre-shave oil may have helped with initial glide but it had no lasting effect and may have made the long term lather less friendly.

January 15, Straight to face 15 times now!

The Prep-
Hot shower
Pre-washed with a little -CBLindsay patchouli (Right out of the shower-left it on)
Brush-WD Synthetic
Soap-Williams Tonsorial Face lathered over lightly rinsed/wetted face.

The Shave-
Razor #1 - The hornet
3 pass WTG N:S (S:N on lowest part of neck) with XTG ears to mouth, with a slight biased WTG neck shave AND a ATG S:N
Razor #2 - EJ89 (Hence forth known as "Kelvin") with blade from pre-war tech used earlier.
2 pass WTG,ATG with appropriate clean-up

The Post-
Clubman -coachman.

I've got maintenance down to a few laps on the 0.3 micron (strop style) film followed by 30 canvas 60 leather and im getting a sharp smooth feel. I focused on keeping my directions generally within 3 major axis DOWN, Ear to Mouth, UP (with exception being the lowest portion of my neck which is UP, Down, UP-maybe a down too). I am sticking to these primary moves and the needed stretched skin grabs and moves for now.

None of my shaves are terribly irritating and the quality can be said to be getting better.

Much has occurred over the past few days and this post will serve to bring everyone up to speed.

Shave #16 (January 16) took place on a lazy Saturday following an opportunity I had to prepare 0.5 micron and 0.25 micron diamond lapping paste balsa strops to freshen and sharpen my daily shaver, the Hornet. The result was a much improved sharpness, even over the 0.3 micron film. I still had some difficulties in the technical department but the comfort was noticeably better.

Shave #17 (January 17) took place on a hurried Sunday, allowing me only the opportunity to give my freshly honed and revamped Genco (honed and revamped by ME) a single pass test run. I do like how that razor handles and the blade feels at least as good as it did when I got it if not better. I finished with my SE Ever Ready for a really smooth shave.

Shave #18 (January 18) was the most magical shave EVER. I was finally able to give my new Vorpal razor a test run. It shaved like a dream. It was sharp and hefty, a true beard eraser. I got a true BBS shave in 3 passes with minimal irritation. I do have some redness and post shave burn several hours later but nothing major. This is a milestone for sure.

In honor of my first BBS magical shave I have composed a Shave of the Day photo.

Straight to face # 19

13/16 Spanish point "Vorpal" creation (pending a new name)
24mm Wd Synthetic
CBLindsay Magic Florida Water Soap
Florida Water AS/Cologne

Prep- Hot Shower & post shower face wash/rinse with CBL patchouli pre-shave
*Cold water*
Still stoked by yesterday's incredible shave I woke up ready for another great shave courtesy of the new arrival. After cutting the shower short to ensure ample time with the razor, I set out to get my shave on. This is the first time I have had a chance to use my new recipe of shave soap since [MENTION=89999]skypsyd[/MENTION] provided feedback regarding glide and face feel & this is a new scent (Florida Water). The combination of ample COLD water, synthetic brush and soap quickly formed a super slick lather superior in nearly every way. The combination of slick lather, improving skills and most incredible razor made for a very good 3 pass shave with essentially BBS results again. The only irritation I have is related to what may have been dragging the tip yesterday.

I have made some serious strides in being able to achieve multi directional shaving passes and am beginning to increase the amount of off hand use (either to stretch or for actual shaving). I have been able to improve my edge maintenance/honing skills as well, which I think will allow me to address comfort issues as I become more proficient. My improving skills have resulted in my being able to hone a very raw edge to shave quality AND freshen my son's quality edge to an incredible edge.

I must comment again on my new razor made by (or at least sold by) Seraphim. It goes without saying it is nice to know the edge is/was sharp and truly shave ready. As a learner, I found value in that feature straight away. I had feared the transition to a larger blade from the 5/8 (or 9/16) I had been using, and feared the POINT of the Spanish point as well. It turns out, the added heft was a blessing AND the blade itself , while being wider, is a little shorter than a regular blade. The cut-away at the point provides both added visibility and the ability to reach the edged of my face. Now my only fear is that I will learn to ONLY be able to use this razor.

Straight to face # 20

13/16 Spanish point "Vorpal" creation (pending a new name)
24mm Wd Synthetic
CBLindsay Magic Florida Water Soap
Stampede AS

Prep- Hot Shower & post shower face wash/rinse with CBL patchouli pre-shave
*Cold water*

Today's shave went well, a full 3 passes with the powerful blade with a little clean up here and there. I wasn't able to achieve a full on BBS as I had particular difficulty with the area under my jaw line on both sides. That area seems to require an ear to mouth direction that is very nearly impossible to achieve.

The biggest accomplishment for sure over the past two days may be the ability to complete an entire 3 pass shave using ONLY the straight in under 30 minutes (including all prep and clean up).

As sharp and smooth as my new blade was for the first shave, it has indeed diminished, if only slightly. I will begin to post my maintenance and/or prep routine used to get or keep blades in use. I plan to (or at least expect to) use my new 0.25 micron balsa strop as a regular blade edge enhancement. I'll dial in a routine as I learn more.

I'm having a hella lot of fun with the straight but I do miss my DE's too. Maybe I'll begin alternating next month.

Straight to face # 21

13/16 Spanish point "Vorpal" creation (pending a new name)
24mm Wd Synthetic
CBLindsay Lavender de'Candre'
Coachman AS

Prep- Hot Shower & post shower face wash/rinse with some glycerin stuff
*Cold water*

Blade prep:
4 laps 0.5 diamond balsa
8 laps 0.25 diamond balsa
25 laps leather strop

Da Shave:
The blade is better/sharper feeling today. To me the blade felt a little weak by the ATG on the cheeks, but it could have been my fatigue. This was the first time using this special recipe soap and I like it very much. I have a bowl set aside, I may put up for Saint Sue auction this year (its that nice). The shave went well over all with one area being the exception again, my jaw line. I made some improvement but not enough. I also had something of a brain fart and forgot how to go up on both cheeks,...BOTH!

I pushed through it though and got shave 21 on the books. Today was DFS very close to BBS with the straight, I gave myself a clean up with my Mr Kelvin and a fresh Vokshod then hit the road.

Anyone else following along?

Straight to face # 22 (22 GLORIOUS times)

13/16 Spanish point "Vorpal" creation (pending a new name- I'm thinking "Victory" or maybe "Inigo" ...what do you think?)
24mm Wd Synthetic
CBLindsay Lavender de'Candre'
ViJon Old Spice AS

Prep- Hot Shower & post shower face wash/rinse with CBLindsay patchouli pre-shave
*Cold water*

Blade prep:
20 laps 0.25 diamond balsa per SlashMcCoy's suggestion. 0.1 micron incoming will start using that as part of daily routine

Da Shave:
The prep resulted in a pretty sharp blade. I bowl lathered a bit more than face today but still worked a good face lather. The down pass was easy enough, as was the ear to chin for the most part. I still struggle to get a grip on my face in order to keep my skin pulled tight and often just go with a face contortion here and there. The thing is, stretching makes it SO much better.

I did a 4 pass shave WTG,XTG,ATG,WTG (the last WTG was ATG on the lowest part of the neck) and got a pretty good result. I played with a slicing technique to help with the hard to get area under the jaw and got some improvement...If I just pulled it UP over the jaw line I might find better results. I STILL cant get a great result on the lower neck. Its not a matter of irritation, I tried shallow angle and that is really comfortable (almost a crutch) and today I tried a sharper angle and still cant get a smooth shave. I think I am stretch SO far that hair hides...might have to relax a bit but still stretch and see what happens.

I got my Gold dollar razors and wood yesterday, gonna play with mak'in me some razors soon! You know me, cant leave well enough alone, I have to try to copy what everyone else has done.

I have had a lot of fun with my Vorpal razor but I think I might shake thing up and give the Hornet a go this weekend.

Weekend Edition (recap version)
A retrospective recount of the weekend of the blade as told by the hero, and blade master, Chris (known to B&B as CBLindsay)


Straight to face # 23

Hornet-a saucy 5/8 barber notched job
24mm Omega Boar
CBLindsay Stinky La Veg (a redo of "The Veg")
Alum/Blue Lustray menthol blast

Prep- Hot Shower & post shower face rinse
*Cold water*

Blade prep:
Full refresh using 0.50 & 0.25 diamond balsa followed by poly canvas and leather strop. Hard to count as I did this over the course of a few days each time I had my other razor at the strop. (practice make perfect...)

Da Shave:
...This should be good, a lazy Saturday LATE afternoon shave. I had been up a long time but spent many hours playing in the garage, working on my first Gold Dollar razor modifications. I am feeling like a true blade master by this point, having masterfully removed hunks of spine and ground shoulders, heels and toes (maybe more like a psyco killer). Anyway, by now I am excited to give my "refreshed" Hornet a go and try out a few new approaches I have planned out in my head. As it turned out, my refresh(s) didn't put the Hornet in a loving mood, the Veg Revisited wasn't paying nice with the Omega brush AND SWMBO felt that of all times, the exact moment I have blade squarely across my carotid artery, hands contorted in all manor of confusion, she needs to come into the blade masters domain to discuss a dress she is considering ordering online. ...Gentlemen...she will not wear a dress if I beg her to yet she somehow needs MY help choosing between a Chinese size 8 or 10 or maybe a 3 or 5 but could be a ...MY GOD does she not see the blade against my neck? I tried to proceed, somehow her distraction caused no blood loss nor injury...she continued by lifting her shirt and holding the measuring tape around her "bust" and asking ME, guy shaving, to read the measurement.

Needless to say, between a blade that was rough and much less sharp than I had become accustomed to with the new Vorpal honed creation AND the dress purchasing, I opted to end my shave after only two passes. Although I only did tow passes the results were actually very good. I figured out (sort of) that I can sort of stretch or lift my neck onto my cheek for a better E-M pass and played with an idea I had to stretch the bottom of my neck a little less when shaving down (ATG) to see if I get a better/closer shave, it sort of worked, at least it didn't hurt.

NEXT!

Straight to face # 24

13/16 Vorpal- &?
24mm Omega Boar
Williams Tonsorial
Clubman Special Reserve

Prep- Hot Shower & post shower face wash/rinse CBLindsay patchouli pre-shave glycerine soap
*Cold water*

Blade prep:
Full refresh 30 back and forths on 0.50 & 0.25 diamond balsa followed by 20 B&F's on 0.3u film followed by 30 Laps poly canvas and 50 Laps leather strop. *I have 2 leather strops, I used one that says its buffalo and is harder and smoother...I'll call it buffalo strop.

Da Shave:

Another lazy day and late afternoon shave. I was excited fro todays shave because I was going to get a chance to go back to the Vorpal that I had just refreshed (the blade had let me down the last time I used it) AND test the edge on both my Hornet that I just re-honed from bevel set to finish AND a GD under construction. I used a time tested and trusted lather to ensure the fewest variables possible and set to shaving. First up, the GD blade...without scales it was odd to handle so I just gave it a single stroke down the cheek...not bad at all, felt smooth. So the verdict was either the blade was sharp and smooth or it was so bad I got nothing, truth is that part of my cheek has a pretty light beard so hard to tell...guess I'll have to wait and see. Rather than risk SWMBO deciding to buy shoes while I was shaving, I decided to go straight to the Vorpal and erase my beard. The good news is that the refreshed blade is very pleasing, combined with a few new moves on my part and a very close shave was to be had. Additional good news was that I DID get a chance to give the Hornet a test pass, on my neck no less, and it felt much better than it had the day before.

Oh, lets not kid ourselves, SWMBO did come in and attempt distraction but much less so this time. For the record, she has done this EVERY day that she is awake while I shave. The dress thing is the topper though, that one...WOW.

next up #25