Rookie's journey

[Onimaho]

That is some nice gifts there. I know of no de blades that are thick enough to make a difference. Some that like thicker blades will use SE razors like AC blade format or GEM based. I have tried neither so I cannot speak for them.

I'm currently not in the market for another razor. Pity they aren't any thicker de blades. Oh well the regular ones work fine. I have seen AC razors and had interest in the Tatara one. Unfortunately it was way beyond the budget I'm willing spend on a razor.

 

[Onimaho]

Hi all

Preshave shower followed by clinique face scrub
Soap TOBS cedarwood
Post shave alum , Thayers coconut toner and Nivea sensitive balm
Razor Masamune with a shark super chrome 2 (tossed)
3 passes with a dfs as result with some redness in the neck and a 4ish weepers that were closed by the end of the Preshave.

It was a nice shave until the atg pass. The blade struggled and instead of stopping or changing the angle of attack I decided to plow through. Of course this resulted in more weepers than I'd like and a location where I'm guessing I just took the top two layers of my skin. The only reason that it isn't hurting more than it is, is probably because of the elaborate post care.

My best guess for the issue is that my prep was lacking. I Bowl lathered because the scrub made my skin a bit sensitive (perfectly normal for a scrub) so I didn't want to face lather. This resulted in my whiskers being too hard for an atg pass. I will try the product again to make sure it wasn't just lacking technique on my end. I will however keep in mind that is the atg pass is too hard that I will either drop the third pass or go for a second xtg pass.

In conclusion a 'saved' shave. I really think dat the Thayers combined with the Nivea kept this from being a miserable experience. At this moment I'm only experiencing some tightness in the neck and I'm very grateful for that.

 

[Onimaho]

Preshave dawn of glory
Soap TGFS re nero
Post shave alum, re nero as, Nivea sensitive balm
Razor Oneblade with feather 2
Two passes xtg and atg resulting in BBS and two nicks and a little irritation on my lip

First true BBS bought in blood. Not worth repeating. But it was worth achieving.
The shave was absolutely lovely. I really like dawn of glory as it feels really slick. Not sure if it really does anything. I'll experiment on that later. Re Nero is my absolute favourite soap. It is slick, smells nice and a little goes a long way.
Post shave Re Nero is a Witch hazel as and it smells nice at just the right intensity for me.

Oneblade is a really nice razor that allows for a closer shave than I'm currently capable of. I do think that the feather blade has a very short lifespan as already during the second pass I needed to buffer when the first time that was really not necessary. This combined with being really close to a true BBS awakened a zealous fever that caused two nicks and some irritation. I'm really happy to have gotten here and realise a good dfs with zero injury is worth a lot more. Something I forgot during last month.

In order to really bring this home I will be limiting myself to wtg and xtg passes for the coming month. This should also give my skin some time to recover from the crusader it had to go through.

I still very much enjoyed this lovely shave and have (re)learned a good lesson.

Wish you all a happy new year! May it be better than the last!

 

[thombrogan]

Please heal quickly and a Happy New Year to you, too

 

[Onimaho]

Hi all

First shave of the year and I'm using one of my Christmas presents, the clinique soap. I decided to use it as per the instructions and it disappointed. The cream feels very slick in the hand but combined with the razor it did not meet expectations.
According the instructions you take a bit and massage it in the wet skin. Next shave I will use a brush and properly lather it up with more water.
It reminds me the most of the Nivea cream that one also massively improves with additional water and lathering.

Preshave proraso white
Soap clinique shave cream
Post shave Nivea sensitive balm
Razor Nodachi with shark super chrome 1
One wtg pass resulting in a CCS with zero discomfort.

I kept it to one pass as I wasn't happy with the soap. I wasn't able to really wash it out of the razor and it wasn't as slick as I liked. For this I'm happy as this is my first break from going overboard.

In conclusion a nice shave with new product which I will experiment more with.

 

[Onimaho]

Second shave of 2025
Preshave proraso white
Soap TOBS Cedarwood
Aftershave alum followed by Clinique after shave balm
Razor Nodachi with Shark Super Chrome (2nd use)
two pass shave wtg xtg with some minor cleanup resulting in a nice DFS, two minor weepers (on on the right cheeck and on to the right of my larynx) and no irritation.

The Clinque after shave balm is fine. It isn't greasy and is absorbed into the skin really fast. I dislike the scent on application but the scent disapears really fast. The afterfeel is fine. Up till now the best aftershave balm is the one from Cella extra bio in my opinion. Unfortunately it has a rather heavy scent so it is not possible to combine with any of my other products.

I'm starting to get to know the Nochachi and I'm rather happy with this razor. It feels aggressive so I don't think that my skin would aggree with three dailly passes I can already feel that. I have that same subconcious feeling I had with the Muhle R41 where my gut tells me not to try more.
The main things I love about the razor is the grip and the balance. The balance lies about 3/4 in the handle towards the head. Which makes pressure control more intuitive. I hold it more towards the bottom of the handle and the weight will push the head down and if I hold it more towards the head then the handle is pushed down.
As for the grip. I never fear dropping it and I haven't slipped yet. Which is not something I can say for the Muhle handle...
The one thing that I dislike and I simply can't get my head around is that the cap and plate have horizontal wiggle room. They declare their incredible accuracy and narrow tolerances and then they design the fit of the cap and plate incredibly loose... This disapears when you insert the handle but still...

In summary Really enjoyed my shave today. I'm getting along with with the Nodachi.

 

[Onimaho]

Preshave dawn of glory
Soap TGFS re nero
Post shave Re Nero Post shave and clinique balm
Nodachi razor with shark super chrome 3
Two passes resulting in a dfs with some minor irritation (itchy, tight and a warm feeling)

A bit of context, winter has finally shown some teeth so I'm unsure if the irritation is solely due to the Nodachi. Either way I will use a milder setup tomorrow. I will also be using Nivea moisturisers to keep my skin healthy.

I am also experimenting with thinner lather. I do prefer this. The extra wet lather improves the slickness which I very much enjoy.

 

[blethenstrom]

Preshave dawn of glory
Soap TGFS re nero
Post shave Re Nero Post shave and clinique balm
Nodachi razor with shark super chrome 3
Two passes resulting in a dfs with some minor irritation (itchy, tight and a warm feeling)

A bit of context, winter has finally shown some teeth so I'm unsure if the irritation is solely due to the Nodachi. Either way I will use a milder setup tomorrow. I will also be using Nivea moisturisers to keep my skin healthy.

I am also experimenting with thinner lather. I do prefer this. The extra wet lather improves the slickness which I very much enjoy.

For me I have to make sure to add moisturizer post shave in the winter. I get very dry after I have shaved. The low humidity is the reason for this. I'm the summer not so much.

Thinner and slicker lather does yield a bit closer shave IMHO

 

[Onimaho]

For me I have to make sure to add moisturizer post shave in the winter. I get very dry after I have shaved. The low humidity is the reason for this. I'm the summer not so much.

Thinner and slicker lather does yield a bit closer shave IMHO

For me it increases the comfort of the first pass. I have complained in the past how my first pass sometimes feels rough. I believe this could be due to dry lather.

Do you also change razors over winter?

 

[blethenstrom]

For me it increases the comfort of the first pass. I have complained in the past how my first pass sometimes feels rough. I believe this could be due to dry lather.

Do you also change razors over winter?

Dry lather can be really rough because it is not slick. We need that slickness. The bulkiness of the lather does not really add anything for the shave. That is also why lather less creams work. They are very slick.

I do not change razors with season. I have the same rotation. Now I do my rotation maybe a bit different than most. I try to have the same number of shave on all my razors in rotation. That way I hope I can be equally proficient with all of them.

 

[Onimaho]

Preshave proraso white
Soap cella extra bio (first pass) Nivea protect (second pass)
Aftershave Thayers coconut toner and cella extra bio
Razor Masadachi (Masamune plate with Nodachi cap)
Two passes resulting in a nice dfs with no blood or irritation.

I really like thin lather. Better slickness. I have to admit I did not pick up enough soap from the cella causing a soap shortage during the second pass. Luckily I had my Nivea cream come and rescue me. I could have taken more cella but I didn't want to fiddle around with it.
This made me really appreciate these creams. I will have to make sure I always have a stock of it.

The Masamune plate really mellows out the razor. I'm really liking this combination.

Today's shave was wonderful. I allowed me to reappreciate my Nivea product and give a nice shave while taking extra care for my skin.

 

[Onimaho]

Full cella plus alum
Oneblade razor with feather blade 3
Two passes wtg xtg resulting in a nice dfs with no irritation or blood.

Today's morning shave was on a time clock so I decided to use oneblade. It delivered good results and really establishes itself as fool proof razor perfect for the moments where results matter over method.
I think that as a whetshaving product it lacks in historic je ne sais qua. But as an alternative to a cartridge… it really is a first rate product. I also think the element is smartly priced at 80 euros. it doesn't break the bank and the all (non corrosive) metal makes it feel more luxurious compared to plastic cartridges.
What this means for me is that I have perfect razor for when I absolutely need a swift and safe shave.

The feather blade has an amazing deterioration rate (in a bad sense) . The first shave was godlike where the blade glided over the skin all whiskers fell like chaff in the wind. Second and third shave a decidedly sub average and I would not try them with atg passes in fear of injuries.

In conclusion, a swift, effortless, and generally nice shave.

 

[Onimaho]

Preshave proraso white
Soap TGFS re nero
Post shave Re Nero After shave and clinique after shave balm
Masadachi with a Mühle blade 2 (tossed)
Two passes resulting in a dfs with no blood or irritation.

A mistake that I now have repeated a couple of times is that I underloaded the brush with soap. I was short a bit of soap in my second pass. Next time I will need to consciously load more product as it is rather annoying to come short a smidgen.

While I really liked the Mühle blades in the more aggressive r41. I don't care for it in this razor. It tugged a bit too much for my taste. Next shave I will see how the personna lab blue treats me.

The clinique after shave is a product I'm simply not a fan of. Today it felt aggravating on my skin rather than soothing and the smell during application is one I do not like. I will continue to use it until I have used it all but I would not recommend it to anyone.

But annoyed with how the shave ended but the shave itself was nice and relaxing.

 

[thombrogan]

To a smoother shave next time