Thread: Righty Tighty; Lefty Loosey

Shave #111 - ...Straight at Night

Took the weekend off from shaving. I suspect that will be the end of my 2 shave a day experiment. Once in the evening seems best for me.

Today I cut my hair. I used to have quite a mop, that I usually threw back into a ponytail.



It really got in the way of my shaving. I was constantly having to try to move it out of the way of my razor, but now...



Let me tell you, it is a lot nicer to shave when you have white walls!

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Synergy Lime Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (45)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
C&E West Indian Lime AS Balm

I did a full on 4-pass luxury shave. It has been a long time since I've done that. My face and the left side of my neck are BBS. The right side of my neck is mostly BBS, with a DFS+ patch.

Today was a thoroughly enjoyable shave. The new haircut let me shave in comfort. Last night I watched some online shows and stropped my DOVO, several hundred laps, while watching. Just to keep my hands busy. So, the DOVO was ready to perform and gave a sweet shave - 45 shaves and I could still feel the hairs just popping.

Shave #111.5 - One Shave Too Many

C&E West Indian Lime Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Stainless Steel (5)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

A lovely 3-pass shave, but I think maybe the blade's keenness had dropped off a bit, as I'm only DFS++. There is the slightest hint of stubble under my chin and on the jawline in front of my ears. Or, maybe it was just me, as the blade was comfortable. I changed it out anyway.

Shave #112 - A Plum Rain Shave

I finished work for the summer yesterday.

Today I got up early and went for a bicycle ride. Came home and did some household chores, and now I've got a bit of time, unfortunately the Plum Rains are upon us. The Plum Rains happen in the early summer. It is a daily rain that arrives in the afternoon, say 1-2pm and stops around 4-5pm. Don't let the name deceive you, the Plum Rains are torrential downpours often accompanied by violent lightening (think monsoon). For most people, the Plum Rains are pretty pleasant. You wake up in the morning to go to work and the sky is blue, it is warm/hotish, but it is pleasant out, not too humid. Then when you leave the office for lunch, the weather is getting unpleasant, a bit too hot and the humidity is becoming unbearable. But, when you get back to the office a violent thunderstorm arrives and washes away some of the heat and much of the humidity. It is nice to watch through the office window. When it is time to go home, the sky clears and the evening is pleasant, sans humidity. This is not how it works for me. I don't work an office job, and often find myself out trying to accomplish things when the rains arrive, and they make it extremely unpleasant if not impossible.



Or, like today, I want to get out and do something, but find myself trapped indoors. So, I shaved during today's confinement.

Synergy Lime Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Chopper + Derby Extra (3)
Alum
Osage Rub
Baxter of California AS Balm

A 2-passer that has left me about DFS.

Shave #112.5 - I Love Feather

The first shave off a new Feather blade in my Edwin Jagger rarely disappoints.

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
QCS Vostok Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather Blade (1)
Thayer's Extra Cool Witchhazel
Baxter of California AS Balm

It was 3 passes of heaven, the preshave and shave cream were very cooling, the Feather was super sharp and the whole shave was a joy. I slightly altered my 3 passes. On the second, XTG, pass I went from nose to ears on my cheeks (I usually go the other way), because my hair growth angles slightly towards my nose on the cheeks. So, this direction gave a bit more bite (ATG) quality to the XTG pass. On the goatee and mustache area I worked from the outside towards the center, as I previously had been doing. I find this less awkward and the growth pattern in these 2 areas cants slightly towards the ears, so this still gives me a bit more ATG feel.

BBS.

Shave #112.6 - Mach III PWSS

Outside for 9+ hours riding my bicycle here and there, 30C-35C with lots of humidity. By the time I got home I needed to stand in a cold shower for a good long time, so today was a PWSS.

Proraso Green Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Mach III
Osage Rub

I'm beginning to dislike the feel of how the Mach III cuts. It has taken a long time for the yank-cut, yank-cut of a multi-blade cartridge to bother me. It still doesn't irritate me, just not loving the sensation. Still, I get good results; I'm BBS after 4 passes, shaving blind in the shower.

Shave #113 - Shave Aborted

I was planning a 4 pass luxury shave, but things didn't go to plan.

QCS Celestial Woods Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
J. A. Henckels 94 - 9/16" (13/6)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Well, that was not good. My razor felt tuggy and did not seem to be cutting very well at all right from the word go. I did 3 passes (N-S scything, nose-to-ear scything and ear-to-nose) when I decided to throw in the towel. I wasn't getting a good shave and my skin was beginning to feel a bit irritated, so I decided not to push it any further.

I'm not too sure what went wrong, I'll have to cogitate on it for a day or so. My prep was good - better than normal. I had a nice lather. The angles looked good. So, I'm guessing it was the edge. That would be too bad, I've had a lot of problems keeping this straight going. It's edge longevity has been far below my other straight razors. As I think I've mentioned before, it has a swayback and a smile, which throws off my stropping. *sigh* I expect maybe that is where the problem lies. I'll think about it over night and decide what to do next. But for today my shave is SAS-- at best.

Shave #113.5 - Canada D'eh Shave

Happy Canada Day, for anyone who cares.

This evening I did a shave to correct yesterday's sub-par shave.

C&E West Indian Lime Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather Blade (2)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Ahhh. BBS. That feels so much better. I did 3 passes which accomplished their mission. I should sleep well tonight. It is amazing how much more critical of stubble I have become.

Shave #113.6 - PWSS

I'm probably going to annoy you guys with these PWSS, but it is summer vacation, hot, and I'm exercising for longer periods of time, so it becomes a comfortable and wonderful thing to do post-workout. I wish I could shower shave with a straight razor, but not only is the carbon steel a problem, also there is the danger of dropping it and doing a home circumcision. So, alas...

Proraso Green Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Mach III
Thayers Extra Cool Witchhazel
Osage Rub

BBS after 4 passes.

Shave #113.7 - Anniversary Shave

It is my wife and my wedding anniversary. I've been pretty lazy about shaving lately, but this evening we're heading to a spa. I'll have a massage and facial, so I didn't want the poor girl wading through whiskers. But, I needed the shave to be quick and efficient as I'm just coming from one thing and heading to the other, so...

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
QCS Vostok Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather Blade (3)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

BBS after 3 passes.

Shave #114 - Shucks!

Showered and then...

Synergy Lime Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (46)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Well, we're into the dog days of summer. Everyday the temperature hovers around 40C with 75%+ humidity. This morning I got up for my morning bike ride, after which I did a bit of running around. I got back home showered and decided to shave. Possibly not my best plan.

I really didn't feel hot or sweaty as I began my shave. But, my shaving alcove is placed in such a way that air conditioned air has a hard time reaching it. My first pass went great, but with each subsequent pass I got sweatier and sweatier. The lather began floating on my skin and eventually washing away.

Like the yutz I am, I did 4 passes, but after the second I should have stopped and just did a quick final pass with the DE. At the end of 4 passes, my face is BBS with a few DFS++ spots on the right side. My neck is DFS. The result is not so great, but considering the problems I had with the lather, it is not so bad.

I was planning to begin a review of the Synergy soap with today's shave, but that doesn't seem fair. It is not the soap's fault that I became so sweaty. Hopefully I'll be able to start it next shave.