On Shaving: Minor Musings of an Eternal Beginner
- Thread starter Goblin
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #603
I have always maintained that a hot shower is the numero uno when it comes to prep, although I have also thought that making a wet, sloppy lather and letting it sit on my face for 5 minutes before shaving was enough to get me 90% of the way there. But usually I try to only shave after showering, except the past few days I have gotten all out of sync with my washing and shaving routine and been relying on the lather prep to be "good enough"
It turns out that actually it wasn't, and not having my typical hot shower prep was having much more of a detrimental impact than I had expected. Lesson learned.
Ah, so that's what was meant by "sausage balls".
Who am I to criticize Gregg on how he makes his sausage products?
Only when I use a cart. It’s not working for me when DE shaving. My beard protests. In fact I shave completely cold with a DE razor.
I will try to be quick regarding the Overlander.
For me it is not blade agnostic. Blade pairing remains important if you want a great shave. Once I get in the 3 pass territory, I can easily destroy my face just like with any other razor if the blade is junk.
If you want dolphin smooth, it requires to hit the hair at close to the right angle atg. I believe it's because it so mild. I rub my face with my hand to determine what is straggling and what direction it's at... Then attack it like a laser guided missle.
For me it is not blade agnostic. Blade pairing remains important if you want a great shave. Once I get in the 3 pass territory, I can easily destroy my face just like with any other razor if the blade is junk.
If you want dolphin smooth, it requires to hit the hair at close to the right angle atg. I believe it's because it so mild. I rub my face with my hand to determine what is straggling and what direction it's at... Then attack it like a laser guided missle.
Somethings else for improving your shave that I probably mention more times than people want to hear is a continuous misting spray bottle like the Flairosol. It is a continuous misting spray bottle. I spray my face before applying preshave and before each subsequent application of lather, as well as on top of my lather to get it hydrated enough. I use it more than I dip the tips of my brush. There are many name brands of these spray bottles but Flairosol was the first one I heard of. They are pretty cheap on that River store.
- Thread starter
- #608
This is what I have been doing. And I agree - it really is a very mild razor. In fact, I found this video yesterday where Chris is discussing it and he seems to confirm that having the blade protrude from a flat contact area is a deliberate strategy to make a razor feel milder than its stated specs. So, I am not imagining that phenomenon - the designer agrees that it is a thing. In fact it is interesting that he says this allowed him to increase the gap from whatever he had in mind previously. It isn't exactly what I would consider a "high gap" razor in its final incarnation, so clearly a very mild design was the goal from the outset.
It's interesting to hear about the QC fanaticism at Karve. Regardless of whether the geometry / mildness ends up fully clicking for me, I do think it's a beautifully manufactured razor. The threads are not like anything I have encountered before - perfectly smooth with no play and no little click to engage them like every other razor I ever used. I guess that's a bellwether for the care and attention that Chris puts in to his products. To be honest, I am surprised he can produce this kind of quality at the price point.
- Thread starter
- #609
I am not sure I get this, Michael. How does it differ from a pump-action misting spray?
I have one of them in the bathroom that is filled with surgical spirit. The original intention was to use it on my feet when my injuries were so bad I was struggling to bend over and clean them properly. I realised literally yesterday that it also makes an excellent solvent to remove the glue dots from blades.
I know some of you fellas in the USA use isopropyl alcohol as a solvent for that purpose. We can't get that easily over here (except perhaps buying in bulk quantities) but the surgical spirit seems to do a great job. When I came to load the Permasharp in the Overlander I gave the blade a quick spritz, a wipe with a bit of tissue, and the glue dots were gone. I am going to do this with all blades that have glue dots from now on. They have never bothered me massively but on balance I would prefer to get rid of them and this makes it the work of moment. I should have thought of it earlier really.
- Thread starter
- #610
I mean...the Natural History Museum might have a horse skeleton in it.
Why, what did you think I was suggesting?
I don't know if what you are talking about is a continuous misting bottle or a regular spray bottle which are two very different things. I will try to find a video of one to show you what I mean. This guy sprays with a few pumps, but, when I do it I only pump once and the continuing mist sprays enough to get my whole face a few times. He shows it compared it to a traditional spray bottle.
I use isopropyl alcohol for many purposes at my house some of them I won't mention here, but, that I have switched to Paddy's Irish Whiskey so I can drink it after I clean it. Yum.
There used to be a homeless guy who would often hang out near a studio I worked at in East Nashville. He would go into the Family Dollar store nearby and pick up a couple small bottles of their knock off version of Listerine. He would twist off the cap and drink it straight from the bottle.
I don't think I have seen this before! I will be watching it soon.
When I was in Bosnia A bunch of the guys would get Black and Milds or other cigar like things and coat them in NyQuil. Not for me thanks.
Wow, I've not heard of that one.
It was a soldier hack for being on deployment I guess. No access to booze or any other substances.
I see. Yes, definitely not for me.
- Thread starter
- #619
Okay, that is clever.
I can definitely see the advantage of it for plants. I am not sure I need it for my shave though. With the bowl I am finding that if I get my lather slightly on the dry side of where I want it, wet my face, then paint on the lather, I end up with something that has nice density to it but is still saturated and sloppy enough to slop into the sink (and hopefully not onto the carpet) when it starts building up behind the lather channels. That's how I want it. I have also realised it is better to err on the side of too dry in the bowl, then add a couple of drops of extra water to the brush while painting, than to try and get things "just so" in the bowl and end up over-shooting slightly.
I don't think the mister would be useful for me personally, except maybe when doing open blade shaves, where the lather tends to have a bit more time to dry out...although hopefully these days I am adept enough with my shavettes that this isn't so much of a problem. Definitely a potentially useful hint for folks who are just learning that type of shaving though.
- Thread starter
- #620
Poor fella.
I guess at least his breath always smelled minty fresh. Not much of a silver lining though!
