Thread: Righty Tighty; Lefty Loosey

Shave #122 - Disappointing Shave

I have a friend coming over for a few drinks and some chess, so I thought I'd grab an afternoon shave before he arrived. Mistake.

Petal Pushers Fancy (PPF) Sandalwood Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (49)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

You see, it is still hot here, and the air conditioning does not reach my shave cubbyhole. So, I had planned to do a nice relaxing 3 or 4 passer, but the shave got rained/sweated out. By the end of my first pass I could see sweat was beginning to be an issue, causing the lather to float above my skin on a layer of sweat. As I began pass #2, I decided to abort as I was losing lubrication. It was just sweating away.

I ended up with a rather poor quality 2-passer. I look okay, but I can feel plenty of stubble. At best, I have a SAS.

But, you'll notice I brought out another new soap, more bounty from the wife's travels. I now have a pretty nice selection of soap scents in my shave cabinet: Synergy Cavendish (sweet tobacco); Synergy Lime (key lime pie); Tabac Original (a 1970's pornstar's cologne); PPF Sandalwood; QCS Vostok (peppermint and menthol); QCS Celestial Forest (tallow, yuck); C&E West Indian Lime (spicy lime); RazoRock Bay Rum; Proraso Green (menthol); L'Occitane Cade (clean soapy smell, hints of green woods, juniper, thistle); and, Klar Seifen (light dusty rose).

I'm pretty sure today's sub-par shave was not the soap's fault.

Shave #122.1 - Ahh, That's Better

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
C&E West Indian Lime Shave Cream
Semogue 2012
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Personna Precision (4)
Hulk's Smash

My normal 3 passes on the face, 4 on the neck and a smidgen of clean up finds me BBS.

I'm beginning to settle into work after the end of summer vacation. I need to start trying to get more regular about my shave routine again. It is hard to kick the laziness habit.

Shave #123 - Back on Track

Klar Seifen Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
WISS Ugly Duckling 9/16" (30)
Alum
C&E West Indian Lime AS Balm + Captain's Choice Bay Rum

It feels like I've been neglecting my straight razors for a long time. It's a bit of an illusion - I've been neglecting shaving. Period. Today I managed to pull off a 4-pass straight razor shave without any great trauma. My results are slightly below what I've come to expect. Let's call it an overall DFS+, but what can you expect. Practice makes perfect, and I haven't been practicing.

I thought I was a bit rough on myself and could hear my skin complaining, so I hit it with the alum. Actually the sting was minimal, and my skin feels fine now. Maybe just not used to the straight anymore.

Shave #123.1 - The Last New Toy

C&E West Indian Lime Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Bolzano Superinox (1)
Hulk's Smash

The last new product that I got from the wife's recent trip to Canada made it into the rotation today, the Bolzano Superinox blades. My first impression is good, they seem to be both smooth and sharp. I'll need a bit more experience with them to know for sure what I think, but they might be my new number 2, behind the Feathers. They might even give the Feathers a run.

I did my normal 3 passes on the face and 4 passes on the neck. BBS.

Shave #123.2 - Reboot

Not sure what to think, a couple days ago when I shaved with the Bolzano blade, I enjoyed both it's sharpness and smoothness. The results were up to expectation, a comfortable BBS. However, I developed stubble extremely rapidly post shave. I started to be stubbly maybe 20 minutes after the shave. Very odd for me, and I'm not sure what was going on. I shaved in the afternoon, and it was a very sunny day, with lots of Vitamin D flying around for my follicles to pick up. Also, I shaved soon after a longish bicycle ride, so my metabolism was running as well as it is capable of running. Or, possibly it had something to do with the blade (I doubt it), but I wanted to give the Balzanos another run today.

QCS Vostok Shave Cream
Semogue 2012
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Balzano Superinox (2)
Hulk's Smash

3 on the face, 4 on the neck and I'm about BBS, except a strand of stubble at the base of the right side of my neck that I missed somehow. I still enjoyed the feel of these blades. So, let's see if I get instastubble again.

Shave #123.3 - Not the Blade

After yesterday's shave, no problem with instant stubble. Today I shaved about 6 hours earlier, and still no real issues with stubble, so whatever was giving me troubles was not the blade.

My wife and I were meeting friends for a drink and meal, so I decided to have a shave before going (late afternoon).

C&E West Indian Lime Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Balzano Superinox (3)
Alum
C&E West Indian Lime AS Balm + Captsin's Choice Bay Rum
Jo Malone, Lime, Basil & Mandarin Cologne

Nice shave. BBS.

I wrote down the cologne I used today, normally I'd skip that, but today's scent cocktail really worked nicely together. The C&E West Indian Lime, mixes nicely with the Captain's Choice Bay Rum, and both go extremely well with the Jo Malone cologne (Lime, Basil & Mandarin). Very Nice.

Shave #123.4 - Just Burning Up the Blade

PPF Sandalwood Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Balzano Superinox (4)
Hulk's Smash

My normal shave routine and I'm DFS++.

I'm pretty undecided about the Balzano blades. They feel really good while I'm using them, but results-wise I'm not so sure. I've given myself lots of weepers with this blade. Perhaps that's operator error, but it is not something that I usually have a problem with. I'm used to getting an effortless BBS with my DE, but with these blades it does take a touch of effort. Kinda odd, because they do feel sharp and smooth when I'm in the process of shaving, but the results are a smidge sub-expectation.

Shave #123.5 - No Comparison

I pulled out my DOVO for a nice straight shave before meeting a friend at a local Scotch bar, as I was about to start shaving, he called me and said he was already there, so I quickly stuck a blade in my DE and did a quick DE shave.

RazoRock Bay Rum Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather Blade (1)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

This was a very rushed shave, but very nice. I had forgotten how good the Feathers are in my Edwin Jagger. The Balzanos that I've been testing recently are no comparison. I can't even feel the Feathers cutting, they're so sharp, I only know that I'm shaving from the sound. No weepers, no problems, just a very quick and easy BBS. Feather is still the best for me.

Feathers are a great blade! I can't even tell they're cutting.

Shave #123.6 - Nothing to See Here,...

...Move along...

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Proraso Green Shave Cream
Semogue 2012
Mach III
Hulk's Smash

I had an early morning workout and needed a quick post-workout shave, so I grabbed the Mach III.