Thread: Righty Tighty; Lefty Loosey

Shave #46 - Now That's an Über Lather

Truthfully I didn't need a shave, I was still fine from yesterday, but I felt the call of the straights.

Tabac Original Shave Soap + T&H 1805 Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS 9/16" Ugly Duckling (11)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Combined Tabac with some 1805 for a truly profound über lather, the rich creamy texture of Tabac with the fluffy bubbles from the cream - fantastic. I had a nice 2-passer that took me from DFS to DFS+. I didn't quite get all the tough whiskers in the hallow of my right cheek and I missed a few under my chin.

I'm not sure if it was the über lather or the fact that I'm just coming off an intensive stropping of the WISS, but it shaved great.

Shave #47 - Utilitarian, In the Finest Sense

Normally don't shave on non-workdays, but got a social engagement, so...

T&H 1805 Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (25)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Very quick 2-passer, went very smoothly. Call it DFS. After my last DOVO shave I was worried, but the edge seems fine, no tugging or anything,...maybe not quite what it was. I'll have to think about whether I should be preemptive or lethargic in my blade maintenance - I lean towards not troubling trouble til trouble troubles you.

Gotta run. Have a nice weekend all.

Shave #48 - Morning Shaves are Hard

Had a bit of time before work this morning, performed a morning shave. I needed it. But, I really wasn't feeling it, kept glancing at the clock to make sure I wasn't late.

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

A 3-passer, and despite not feeling it, I really got an awesome shave. BBS everywhere, except a dime size spot on the jawline in front of my right ear that is DFS+. Nary a peep out of the alum. I would have to work quite a bit harder to get a similar result from my straights. Not sure if this is a sharpness issue or technique - I tend to shave more lightly with the shavette. But, the two issues are linked.

Shave #49 - Date Night Shave

I felt that I gave the Don Jae short shrift last shave, so I pulled it out again this evening. I do like shaving with it, but the blades I managed to find here don't seem to last so long, 2 shaves per side and that seems to be about it. I guess I could go to 3, but it doesn't seem worth it.

L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Shavette + Gillette Super Blue Blades
Alum

I put in a bit of extra effort today, since tomorrow is date night. My wife rarely allows me to date, so I want to take full advantage of the situation. I want to still be well-shaved at date time. So I went with a full 4-passes, really enjoying giving the Don Jae a workout.

Result: BBS everywhere, and I'm pretty confident the shave will still be holding up tomorrow evening.

Shave #50 - Back on Track

I've been watching the FIDE World Chess Championships online. Fascinating stuff. So, the last couple of days, while watching I have been stropping my razor collection. Chess is fascinating, but sometimes nothing happens for ~20 minutes, or so, leaving the commentators to vamp and me to strop.

I hit the DOVO for at least 100 laps on the scrub leather and 300 on the smooth leather. I lost count, but I did at least this much. So, I was anxious to see how it would do on my, by now, thick growth...

L'Occitane Shave Soap + Proraso (Green Tubed) Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (26)
Alum
Baxter of California AS Balm

3-Passes to BBS/DFS+. The DOVO really delivered a nice smooth shave, with hardly a peep out of the alum. Everything is BBS, except a very small chunk of real estate on the right side of my neck, below the ear, towards the hairline, which is a very respectable DFS+.

An important reason for the quality of this shave is that the blade felt like it was cutting smoothly, so I didn't find myself subconsciously adding pressure to the blade. I was free to just gently wipe off the lather. The last couple shaves the DOVO had dropped off a smidge in sharpness, causing me to us a bit of pressure. But, the edge is back on track for now.

Speaking of the edge, I've been shaving with all three of my straights for awhile now. When I first got them each one shaved well, but there were qualitative differences in the feel of the edges. The DOVO with its coticle edge was my favorite, followed closely by the J. A. Henkels with its Escher edge, while the WISS was a fairly distant third with its cutty feeling edge (synthetic stone, I think). Since then, they have all been stropped on leather a bit, though not necessarily that much - 10-ish times, the DOVO more. Now they all feel the same when shaving, no qualitative differences in edge feel. So,...why spend a lot of money on a special finishing stone, if in less than 10 shaves it is going to feel the same as a blade finished on a Norton? (Philosophical conundrum of the day).

Shave #50.5 - Late Night; Early Morning

Tuesday night's shave is generally just done out of necessity. I work late Tuesday and early Wednesday, so I had a big workout after work. De-stressed and hit the shower with my Mach III.

T&H Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Mach III
Baxter of California AS Balm

Shaved in the shower, quick and efficient BBS (if a bit of a bland experience). Heading to bed - night all.

Shave #51 - Caught Daydreaming

L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS 9/16" Ugly Duckling (12)
Alum
Styptic
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

The WISS also received an extreme stropping, and it seemed to give a lovely shave. Though the results don't totally bear that out. I did a 2-passer. Got caught up daydreaming and nicked my chin twice. Mild enough, but still required a bit of styptic. The results of the shave are DFS-, a bit more stubbly than I find acceptable. Since the edge really did feel good, I'm blaming the inattentive operator.

Shave #52 - The Tao of the Shave

Well, I believe that is the longest I've gone without a shave since starting to use a straight razor. I caught a cold and preferred not to shave, as the skin was pretty sensitive from all the nose blowing. Finally felt okay enough to have a shave tonight, plus we are hosting a dinner party tomorrow, so...

L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Shavette + Gillette Super Blue Blades
Alum
Styptic
Baxter of Californis AS Balm.

Everything started out pretty nicely. I got a good N-S pass on my right side, and cleaned up the, by now, very thick growth nicely. But, going N-S on my left side I gave myself a pretty good series of slices on the cheek. It looks like I was beat up by a cat. I think what happened was a combination of two things, a bit too much pressure and I wasn't holding the blade parallel to the floor. The corner of the razor blade was the leading point of the blade for some of the stroke,...evidently not the best way to go.

So, after my N-S pass, I just did a quick nose-to-ear pass, an upward scything touch up pass on the neck and called it quits. Normally when I'm taming this much growth I'd make more passes, but the cuts were a bit raw.

Results: Let's call it a crappy BBS. I'm BBS on my face and 95% of my neck but I can't call it a very satisfactory shave when I've cut myself up this much. In this regard, the worst I've done since starting out.

On a side note I have some pictures to share of a recent trip I took to the south. The farmers where my wife's family comes from just built a new Taoist temple in their community. The wife and I went down for some of the opening rituals. My first trip to Taiwan 25-odd years ago was to study Chinese folk religion, so I've had a bit of a long term interest in this type of thing. I was really hoping to see some dong gi performing. They are a kind of shaman, who enter a trance state, then a deity enters their body and in that state they do all kinds of things, from self mutilation to fortune telling, talisman writing, etc. But, alas we missed them. Here are a few iPad photos snapped during the event.


Just a quick snap of a bit of the outside of the new temple.


One of the side altars. This particular god cannot be housed in the main temple with the other gods as he is jealous of them, and animosity would reign if they were together.


The main altar. The banners are magic talismen written for the event.


A Taoist priest chanting.


The dragon is made of rice dribbled on the floor of the main altar. It is an offering for the gods on this special occasion.


A few of the local's offerings to the temple gods.


Of course any religious event in Chinese tradition is really just an excuse to engage in an orgy of food and alcohol.


And, it was delicious.

Sometimes these temple consecrations - and other religious ceremonies such as funerals and weddings - include either strippers or live sex shows. Another offering to the gods. But, alas this community is too poor for that level of religious devotion.

Shave #53 - Lets Try That Again

So, I healed up after my last, less than satisfactory, shave, and was ready to give that another whirl.

Ogallala Bay Rum, Limes & Peppercorns Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Shavette + Gillette Super Blue Blades
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

I had a bit of a thick growth again so I did a 3-pass shave, N-S, nose-to-ear, S-N, followed by an upward scything touch up pass on the neck. In terms of smoothness, it is a beautiful shave - BBS everywhere. However, I did ding myself up a bit again. Not nearly as bad as last time, but.... I gave myself a couple very small weepers on the upper lip during the fool's pass. Just taking it a bit too close, I guess. Also, I managed to dig the corner of the razor blade into the right side of my neck. This is similar to the problem I was having last time. This time it happened while I was going sideways from nose-to-ear on my neck. The corner of the blade just kind of dug into a bit of loose-ish skin. The wounds all sealed themselves by the end of the shave, and I didn't have to dig out the styptic.

With the weather having cooled considerably, I'm switching over from cold water shaves to hot water shaves. I like both.

Shave #54 - Try, Try, Try Again

Went with the Don Jae again, I'll probably keep using it 'til I tame the beast. I'm ornery that way. Plus, I need to get control over it, as it is my travel razor, and in about 6 weeks I'll be hitting the road for a month. Not sure why my first few shaves with it went so well and now I'm having problems.

Ogallala Bay Rum, Limes & Peppercorns Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Shavette + Gillette Super Blue Blades
Alum
Gentlemen's Tonic AS Balm

First I just have to comment, if I haven't said it before - I love this particular Ogallala shave soap! It smells sooo damn good! If I'm walking by the sink, I often find myself lifting the lid off the soap container and giving the puck a sniff. I've never had any other soap cause that reaction. It creates a copious lather, good cushion and nice glide.

I did a 2-passer, N-S and then S-N. Results: BBS face, DFS neck - good enough for government work. But, I failed to tame the beast. I gave myself 2 inconsequential weepers on the chin, and a slight slice on the upper lip during the fool's pass. For some reason I had a brief moment of lateral movement. So, the Don Jae will be starring in my next shave as well.

Today's shave was the third on the same side of the Gillette blade. It was noticeably duller by the end of today's shave than it should have been. I think that was a factor in the chin weepers. So, next shave I'll be using the other side of this blade, and going forward I'll be looking at 2 multi-pass shaves, or 3 two-pass shaves per side.