Thread: Righty Tighty; Lefty Loosey

Shave #41 - BBS Maintenance

Work stress! I don't believe that the world owes me a living; but, when you consider what I earn, an apology would be nice. I'm grabbing an afternoon shave and meeting SWMBO for a movie and a bit of decompression.

Yesterday's shave was awesome. A day later and I'm still DFS+. So, going to see if I can get back to BBS with a 2-passer.

Proraso (Green Tubed) Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (23)
Alum
Baxter of California AS Balm

Nope. Close, but no cigar. I'm DFS+/BBS. Trouble spots continue to be the right side of my neck and the little spots on my jawline just in front of the ears. Actually I know how to fix the jawline problem, but on a 2-passer I often forget to do it, because it is a XTG stroke.

And, I'm off...have a nice Monday everyone.

Is there really a need to switch hands when using a straight razor? I ask because I am a lefty and do pretty much everything with my left hand and shave normally with the entire process with my left hand. I tried shaving with a mach 3 in my right hand and it was like I was a little kid trying to maneuver a dump truck around...lol

Are you able to shave with a straight razor without switching hands? I'm going to be trying here once I get mine in but I can already see problems if I do it with my right hand...lol

-Nigel

Do whatever works best for you. If you look on page 6 of this thread, there is a video of Chimensch (?) shaving. He only uses one hand, but the way he shaves seems very fluid and worthy of envy.

If you can, ambidextrous shaving seems to offer some advantages. But, don't kill yourself for it.

Shave #42 - Grieg, Franck, Mozart and Straight Razors

Went with SWMBO to see Kyung Wha Chung playing at the National Symphony Hall tonight. When I got home, with the music still ringing in my ears, I lathered up...

Tabac Original Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS 9/16" Ugly Duckling (10)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

I did 3 passes tonight, just because I was in a 3 pass frame of mind. I'm BBS everywhere, except the hollow of my right cheek (DFS), and my moustache which is barely a socially acceptable shave. It is the worst job I've done on my upper lip since my first 2 or 3 shaves. Don't really know what went wrong there. I will have to think about it as I drift off to the Land of Nod. Followed the shave with three times the normal amount of stropping, as this was shave #10 for the Ugly Duckling.

Night All.

Originally Posted by NewShockerGuy

Is there really a need to switch hands when using a straight razor? I ask because I am a lefty and do pretty much everything with my left hand and shave normally with the entire process with my left hand. I tried shaving with a mach 3 in my right hand and it was like I was a little kid trying to maneuver a dump truck around...lol

Are you able to shave with a straight razor without switching hands? I'm going to be trying here once I get mine in but I can already see problems if I do it with my right hand...lol

-Nigel

I agree with TaipeiJake, do whatever works for you, but as I said somewhere on the forum, even though I can't do anything with my non-dominant left hand (even use a screwdriver), I found I shave better with my left, I think because I have a lighter touch (from which I oughta be able to teach myself something).

Shave #43 - Pretty Nice

I felt disinclined to strop, so out came the new shavette.

T&H 1805 Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Shavette + Gilette Super Blue Blades
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

I did a 4-passer tonight - not because I wanted to, but because I accidentally mixed up too much shave cream and couldn't bring myself to wash it all down the sink. I'm a perfect BBS everywhere.

I did learn a few things today. First, there is a lot of adjustment room on the blade when you load it into the Don Jae. The blade can be made to stick out quite a lot (around 5-ish mm) or as little as about 1.5 mm. This is when loading a whole DE blade. I'm not sure what you can do if you break the blade in half, maybe even more. So,...I had the blade sticking out around 5 mm for today's shave - because that's just the kinda doorknob I am. The blade got a bit nippy, possibly because I found it hard to guess where the blade was when diving into the foam. I gave myself 2 small, self-healing, weepers. Next time I'll be a bit more moderate in my blade positioning. I don't really see any advantage to having the blade protruding so far, except that the blade sings a bit.

I saw a shave video today that recommended that the upward stroke on the bottom lip be treated like the coup d'maitre under the nose. Keep your lip relaxed, move the blade into the crease where lower lip meets chin, and make an upwards scooping motion. Worked like a charm for me. I've had a hard time getting the S-N pass in that area, so I'm very pleased with this new information.

Hope you find the video useful as well:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...%3DeqCgaw5ioAk

Shave #43.5 - Abort! Abort!

Lathered up, pulled out the old J. A. Henkels, stretched the skin, planned my first stroke and began moving in with the blade, when the house began to violently shake and roll. Earthquake! I live on the 11th floor, and we got a pretty good whipping action going this time.

So, my shave is postponed until a time when I feel sure that the earth won't launch me and my razor into a wall or something similar.

But, this is my century post, which should mark my rise to "Senior Member", I think (?). So, as a newly minted senior, I have some observations on aging.

One thing I've noticed as a senior, when you gotta pee, YOU GOTTA PEE!!! And, it is not just me. The ladies I know used to carry an extra pair of panties in their purse in case they got lucky. They all still carry extra panties, but now it is in case they sneeze.

...Oh....aftershock...I hate these things...

Shave #44 - Dulling?

I had a goodly amount of growth, so I reached for the DOVO, but it did not seem to enjoy plowing through high timber as much as it usually does. It was a bit tuggy and left quite a lot uncut on the first WTG pass. Leaving me uneasy about whether I did something to dull it a bit.

Ogallala Bay Rum, Lime and Peppercorns Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (24)
Alum
Baxter of California AS Balm

I did a full 4-pass shave today, followed by a bit of touch up on the neck and under the chin. Then I washed my lather bowl and brush and did a gentle clear water WTG pass. It was my first time trying that. I'm pretty darn smooth everywhere. I would call it an all over BBS.

The first pass WTG worried me. The edge didn't seem to be as there as it has been. The other passes seemed okay, and the result is good. So, I don't want to get overexcited about it and begin trying to refresh the edge all willy-nilly. Maybe it is nothing more than that either I, or my razor, was having a bad day. (It has happened before, where I had a shave that made me question the blade, immediately followed by a good shave). I tried scything on the first pass, instead of my normal WTG guillotining - maybe that was the problem. Anyway, we'll see how the next shave feels.

Shave #45 - A Shave of no Significance

In life we tend to think that something should happen, and we chase results - good or bad. Poker players may be familiar with this phenomenon. After sitting at the table for 8-9 hours, you expect to leave either up a lot or down a lot. The psyche rebels at the notion of leaving the table even. Its like the day never even happened. It is hard to learn to walk away with an even result.

This was one of those shaves. I began the shave DFS and I ended the shave DFS. It's almost like it never happened. But, rather than chase a result, I just stuck to my plan of a 2-pass shave.

Ogallala Bay Rum, Lime and Peppercorns Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
J. A. Henkels 94 - 9/16" (9)
Alum
Gentlemen's Tonic AS Balm

I did a jog, followed by a shower prep and a hot water shave for the first time in a long time. The air temperature has finally cooled off to a point where it made sense. The hot water shave felt quite luxurious for a change.

My 2-pass shave was uneventful. Just a nice shave and a nice way to cap my day. I'm currently DFS (a bit better than before) and smell nice - good enough!

I did have one small issue this shave. I bowl lathered some wonderful suds, and then heavily lathered my face, but the lather kept disappearing. Took me a few seconds to realize that I was still sweating heavily from my workout, and the sweat was degrading the lather. I had this issue once before. Such a shame, shaving after the post-workout shower should be great, but it just doesn't work out that way.

Shave #45.5 - An Annoyingly Good Shave

I think I might designate Tuesdays as Mach III day. I work late Tuesdays and early Wednesdays, so I don't much want to make a big deal out of shaving Tuesday nights. I need a shave, but I don't need it to be fun, just to be over with.

Proraso (Green Tubed) Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Mach III
Baxter of California AS Balm

After my jog, I did a quick 4-passer in the shower. I am BBS everywhere. It is a bit annoying how quickly and efficiently I can get a superb shave out of this thing. I don't know if that is years of experience or the unique combination of my beard type and skin type just works unusually well with the Mach III.

Oh well, a bit of TV and then hit the sack.