Thread: Righty Tighty; Lefty Loosey

Shave #142.2 - Too Drunk for a Straight

Well, it was my intention to do a straight razor shave today, but I went out with friends in the afternoon, and one thing led to another. After drinking the afternoon away, I needed a shave, but didn't feel competent for the straight, so...

L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Personna Precision (2)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

We are in the shank season now, some days are hot and others are surprisingly cold. Today I was feeling the heat and opted for my first cold water shave of the season - very refreshing. 3 passes on the face and 5 on the neck, and I'm a very comfortable BBS. Next shave I'll pull out the DOVO, it's itching to go, I can feel it.

Shave #143 - Not Bad

I did a 3-passer. It has been a long time since I've done more than a 2-passer with a straight.

L'Occitane Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (56)
Hulk's Smash

I ended up BBS on the face and DFS-ish on the neck. It was a pretty nice and comfortable shave.

Shave #143.1 - Dry-ish Shavin'

So, I had some minor surgery yesterday. I have a surgical wound, under gauze dressing, around about the collar bone. I can't get it wet, so wet shaving became damp shaving, as I altered my normal, slopping water everywhere, shaving routine.

L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather (1)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Turns out, damp shaving,...not the best. I did my usual 3 on the face, 5 on the neck, with a fresh Feather. Normally with a fresh Feather I'd be BBS with no effort. Right now I'm DFS+, but I gave myself about 4 weepers, also unheard of with a fresh Feather. Moral of the story - splash that water everywhere when shaving, that's what makes this whole wet shaving thing work.

As for me, for the next week or two, at least until I get the stitches out, I'll be experiencing damp shaving. I will probably just use my DE, and we'll see, I might even get a can of shave goop. It is generally bad for shaving, but might be good for this situation.

Shave #143.2 - Yuck!!!

First a smidge of background, even though I'm the right age to have spent my entire life shaving with canned shave foam, I have very limited experience with it. Since I first began shaving I've had a mug and soap. Truthfully, I didn't really know how to use it, but that's what I had. I've probably only ever used 2-3 cans of shave foam in my whole life, and I'm sure I haven't used any since I was in my late teens or early 20's. Today I shaved with a Schick shave foam. I did it to keep my face and neck relatively dry and avoid soaking my surgical dressing (as mentioned in the previous post).

Schick Shave Guard Foam
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather (2)
Hulk's Smash
Styptic

I did a basic 3-pass shave. Nothing about it was enjoyable, so I didn't putz around doing anything more than necessary. I guess I'm around about a SAS, which is good enough for me right now.

Thoughts? This Schick stuff was awful. Other than smelling kind of nice, it was like shaving with Vaseline. It was obviously not hydrating anything, just holding enough oil to the skin so the blade wouldn't stick. The results were bad, which of course they would be since I couldn't wet my beard enough, and the feeling of the shave foam on my skin was icky. Even now, it still feels like my pores are clogged.

I did nick my chin. I would like to blame the foam, but I was being pretty inattentive, so maybe not.

You have covered a lot of ground; thanks for keeping this going, Jake - always a pleasure.

Shave #143.3 - This is No Way to Shave

Thanks for the encouragement Mr. Moo, as always I really appreciate it.

I still have surgical gauze on my collar bone region, so I'm still dry shaving.

Schick Shave Guard Foam
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather (3)
Hulk's Smash
Styptic

Well, I took a bit more time with it, and did 3 passes on the face and 5 on the neck. My result is a bit better than last time, DFS-ish, but I've got lots of weepers. I also cut myself on the chin when I lopped off a zit that I think resulted from this foam clogging my pores. The post-shave still makes my skin feel gross. I can't seem to adequately wash it off. This is an awful way to shave. Hopefully I'll only have to do this maybe one more time.

Shave #143.4 - Weeper Town

Schick Shave Guard Foam
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather (4)
Hulk's Smash

I did 3 quick passes and no extra clean up. I have a SAS, and a ton of weepers. I'll be glad when this little journey into canned shaving finally comes to a close.

Shave #144 - ...Ahhhhh...

L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS Ugly Duckling 9/16" (39)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

That feels sooo much better! This was not the greatest shave, but that soap is so much nicer. I did a 3-passer and I have a pretty solid all over DFS. I was shaving after going for a 4-5 hour bicycle ride. I showered of course, but was still very sweaty and that was washing away some of the suds. I probably should have done a PWSS, but after suffering with the shave foam for 2 weeks, I wanted a real shave.

Shave #144.1 - Good, But Not Great

I've come to expect a quick comfortable BBS from my DE shaves, but...

L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Stainless (1)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

...not today. I did my regular 3 on the face and 5 on the neck. I'm DFS+, nothing to sneeze at, but on a fresh blade I generally assume I'll get a nice BBS. Also, my skin is ever so slightly irritated, very unusual for me. I'm not sure what was wrong. We're into the change of seasons here. It's hot and sweaty out there, maybe my skin needs some time to adjust. Or, maybe I got a bum blade. I know Astras are not the sharpest, but they usually work admirably for me, especially right out of the box. This time it was a bit less smooth than usual, bordering on tuggy during later passes. Plus, I got a few weepers, a problem I generally associate with a blade that's going off. So, I'm not sure, we'll see what happens with my shaves over the next few days.

Shave #145 - A Decent 2-Passer

Castle Forbes Pre-Shave
Klar Seifen Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (57)
Hulk's Smash

I did 2 passes, N-S and S-N, guillotining each way, plus an extra pass on the neck stretching my skin sideways and scything in such a way as to lop off some of those sideways growing devils. I applied the Castle Forbes before each pass. My face is pretty BBS and my neck is solidly DFS and my skin feels fine. Good enough.