Hello again to all,
An opening ramble to think out loud and organize my way...
Back in 2015 I made the jump from canned goo and cartridge razors to the world of wet shaving. As many do, I lurked for a few months before signing up, asked a few questions and read many, many posts. Eventually I decided to just get going and picked up a starter kit from Maggards. Thus begun my journey.
I had some success in my early shaves and randomly tried many blades, razors, soaps, and brushes. I fell into the GAD vortex and accumulated a good bit more than I could use for some time. After 18 months or so, I drifted away from the forums but continued wet shaving for a few more years. I settled into a Slim Adjustable, acutally a pair of them, still random blade use and primarily MWF for my soap. With our well water, I lather MWF, and any soap, very easily and they always work well.
At some point, convenience began to win over and I drifted into an electric shaver. I got decent enough shaves and I could pick it up nearly any time or place with a reasonable outcome. But this convenience really didn't give me any satisfaction in the process, just a somewhat clean shaven face.
A few months ago, I opened my stash of wet shaving supplies, took a deep, cleansing breath and decided I'd had enough with the electric. I was going back to a DE razor shave. I immediately fell into the GAD vortex for a few moments, landing only ankle deep this time, but I picked up another soap or three, some blade samples and a RazorRock GameChanger 0.68.
I lurked around the forums again and noticed that a number of tallow based soaps had reformulated. There were quite a lot of new razors on the market. You Tube seemed to be the source of information (for better or worse, YMMV as always). And DE shaving wasn't exactly like riding a bike (my longest passion in life). I started back with my original Maggard V3 and cut and pasted my way through a couple of miserable shaves, worse than the very first ones in 2015. I then tried my trusted Slim and got slightly better but still uninspired results, despite trying multiple different blades.
For whatever reason (YT videos probably), I decided to pick up the GameChanger and refocus on technique...a discovery I'd made after my first shave or two back when I started. This razor was balanced differently than my others and it seemed to fall into place without me getting in the way. WTG passess were smooth enough with the Astra greens although not especially close. Two WTG passes and a little clean-up buffing was passable without much irritation. I had a few bloodless shaves as my touch improved, as did the overall results.
Looking for a closer shave but being hesitant about too much aggression, I added the 0.76 base plate to the GameChanger roster. I noticed an immediate increase in closeness without any additional irritation. Also, this razor clears soap and whisker debris very easily. I've also recently been using blades described as 'sharper' than what I'd used recently, mostly Accuforge and, recently, Treet Carbon. I have three or four soaps, and a number of samples, that all provide wonderfully slick skin protection and excellent after shave feel. I've also recently added a preshave treament with either a high glycerin soap or Proraso White pre-shave.
All these things, together with a refocus on angles, pressure and mapping beard growth, have reenergized this small amount of 'me' time that afford myself every two or three days each week. I've never been one to wear any type of scent so I really like the scented soaps, knowing that they won't be lingering more than an hour or so. My post shave routine of alum, a blend of generic witch hazel and orange menthol splash from Maggards and finishing with Nivea balm keeps the scent to a minimum, while helping my skin feel great.
I now look forward to shaving in the evenings when I can take the time I need and not be rushed. For the past few weeks, I've actually logged the gear I've used and been trying to systematically figure out what works better and what's just ok. As much as I'm enjoying this return to DE shaving, I'm now about to enter the world of straights....
A couple of recent lessons or eureka moments learned or relearned:
1. Technique really is EVERYTHING. You can't buy it, you can only develop it.
2. Find a soap base (or three) that works well for you and stick with it. For me, the scent is fleeting and really doesn't matter much as long as SWMBO likes it!
3. This doesn't need to be a hobby in which you're always looking for the next 'thing', but it also shouldn't feel like a chore. Figure out what works for you!
If you're still here, thanks for sticking with me on this. I'm not sure how long I'll keep this up or where it's headed. Along the way, I welcome any thoughts, commentary or questions. Although we're all on our own journeys, spending time along the way with others makes the journey much more interesting...
Enjoy the ride,
Jay
An opening ramble to think out loud and organize my way...
Back in 2015 I made the jump from canned goo and cartridge razors to the world of wet shaving. As many do, I lurked for a few months before signing up, asked a few questions and read many, many posts. Eventually I decided to just get going and picked up a starter kit from Maggards. Thus begun my journey.
I had some success in my early shaves and randomly tried many blades, razors, soaps, and brushes. I fell into the GAD vortex and accumulated a good bit more than I could use for some time. After 18 months or so, I drifted away from the forums but continued wet shaving for a few more years. I settled into a Slim Adjustable, acutally a pair of them, still random blade use and primarily MWF for my soap. With our well water, I lather MWF, and any soap, very easily and they always work well.
At some point, convenience began to win over and I drifted into an electric shaver. I got decent enough shaves and I could pick it up nearly any time or place with a reasonable outcome. But this convenience really didn't give me any satisfaction in the process, just a somewhat clean shaven face.
A few months ago, I opened my stash of wet shaving supplies, took a deep, cleansing breath and decided I'd had enough with the electric. I was going back to a DE razor shave. I immediately fell into the GAD vortex for a few moments, landing only ankle deep this time, but I picked up another soap or three, some blade samples and a RazorRock GameChanger 0.68.
I lurked around the forums again and noticed that a number of tallow based soaps had reformulated. There were quite a lot of new razors on the market. You Tube seemed to be the source of information (for better or worse, YMMV as always). And DE shaving wasn't exactly like riding a bike (my longest passion in life). I started back with my original Maggard V3 and cut and pasted my way through a couple of miserable shaves, worse than the very first ones in 2015. I then tried my trusted Slim and got slightly better but still uninspired results, despite trying multiple different blades.
For whatever reason (YT videos probably), I decided to pick up the GameChanger and refocus on technique...a discovery I'd made after my first shave or two back when I started. This razor was balanced differently than my others and it seemed to fall into place without me getting in the way. WTG passess were smooth enough with the Astra greens although not especially close. Two WTG passes and a little clean-up buffing was passable without much irritation. I had a few bloodless shaves as my touch improved, as did the overall results.
Looking for a closer shave but being hesitant about too much aggression, I added the 0.76 base plate to the GameChanger roster. I noticed an immediate increase in closeness without any additional irritation. Also, this razor clears soap and whisker debris very easily. I've also recently been using blades described as 'sharper' than what I'd used recently, mostly Accuforge and, recently, Treet Carbon. I have three or four soaps, and a number of samples, that all provide wonderfully slick skin protection and excellent after shave feel. I've also recently added a preshave treament with either a high glycerin soap or Proraso White pre-shave.
All these things, together with a refocus on angles, pressure and mapping beard growth, have reenergized this small amount of 'me' time that afford myself every two or three days each week. I've never been one to wear any type of scent so I really like the scented soaps, knowing that they won't be lingering more than an hour or so. My post shave routine of alum, a blend of generic witch hazel and orange menthol splash from Maggards and finishing with Nivea balm keeps the scent to a minimum, while helping my skin feel great.
I now look forward to shaving in the evenings when I can take the time I need and not be rushed. For the past few weeks, I've actually logged the gear I've used and been trying to systematically figure out what works better and what's just ok. As much as I'm enjoying this return to DE shaving, I'm now about to enter the world of straights....
A couple of recent lessons or eureka moments learned or relearned:
1. Technique really is EVERYTHING. You can't buy it, you can only develop it.
2. Find a soap base (or three) that works well for you and stick with it. For me, the scent is fleeting and really doesn't matter much as long as SWMBO likes it!
3. This doesn't need to be a hobby in which you're always looking for the next 'thing', but it also shouldn't feel like a chore. Figure out what works for you!
If you're still here, thanks for sticking with me on this. I'm not sure how long I'll keep this up or where it's headed. Along the way, I welcome any thoughts, commentary or questions. Although we're all on our own journeys, spending time along the way with others makes the journey much more interesting...
Enjoy the ride,
Jay
