Thread: Righty Tighty; Lefty Loosey

Shave #146 - Happy Belated Ching Ming Jie

Well, I forgot that for most of you this past weekend was Easter. Here in Taiwan, it was Ching Ming Jie (Tomb Sweeping Day). A day when the families are supposed to go and take care of their ancestor's tombs, pray, and make offerings to the ancestors.



Praying to the family ancestral tablet.




Placing the joss stick in the burner. It was a hot and sweaty day.


Anyway, on with the show...

Castle Forbes Pre-Shave
Klar Seifen Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS Ugly Duckling 9/16" (40)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

Another 2-passer with a 3rd pass on the neck. I was simply aiming to keep yesterday's shave in the DFS range, and I seem to have done that.

The shave was a bit odd, my face is not as good as usual, while my neck is a smidge better than normal. I would call it an overall DFS. However, when I put on the Hulk's Smash it just about made my eyes water. Apparently I was a bit heavy handed, I think probably during the S-N pass. I'll pay attention to that next time. In the meantime Happy Belated Easter/Ching Ming Jie.

Shave #147 - Down the Rabbit Hole

I decided to refresh my WISS today. At 40 shaves it was up for its deca-megastropping. I decided to try to rejuvenate the edge not because it was particularly dull, it was still okay, but because I'm planning to renew the edge on my DOVO soon. Personally I think the DOVO might keep going forever with my every 10 shaves megastropping program. However, I don't plan to push the edge beyond 70 shaves, even if it is still working well. So, I wanted to practice/experiment before I tried anything on the DOVO. That's part of the reason I bought the WISS.

This was my first attempt at any sort of razor honing type thing. I had actually planned to get a Naniwa 12K before this day arrived and try to gradually begin learning honing by refreshing my edges on that, as suggested by Lynne. However, life being life, my expendable income has been used elsewhere, and I don't see myself wanting to direct it into a finishing stone for awhile. I have a Norton 4K/8K, so that's what I used.

I used the 8K side, and I did 5 laps, heel leading, with slurry, followed by 5 x-stroke laps also on slurry. I used what I hope was light and appropriate pressure. I followed this with 10 x-stroke laps on clear water, with the stone beginning to dry, as light as I could, trying to polish/finish the edge, a la gssixgun's honing video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vxrs5kFkmJg

I was pretty awkward on the hone. A couple of times part of the edge lost contact, though most of the time I was undercutting nicely. I think I was going too slowly and carefully and it just wasn't smooth. Things did get better on the polishing strokes.

I followed up by stropping a 100 laps on rough leather, about 150 laps on newsprint, and 700 laps on smooth leather. It seems extreme, I know, but another thing that I don't have is Chromium Oxide to smooth the edge after honing, so I'm trying to jerry-rig a solution. I do have 0.50 diamond spray, but I don't think it really smooths an edge. Anyway, I'll try the edge this way and see what I think, if necessary I can try the diamond spray later.

Despite the awkwardness of my efforts I'm cautiously optimistic. The edge does seem very sharp, treetopping my extremely fine arm hairs. Now for the shave....

Klar Seifen Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
WISS Ugly Duckling 9/16" (1)
Hulk's Smash

Well, it is definitely sharp - it was just exploding the whiskers on contact. I did 2 passes on the face and 3 on the neck. My face is BBS and my neck is DFS+. Really it was a very nice shave. And, the edge actually felt surprisingly good against my skin. I was expecting it to be a touch rough, but actually the edge felt very smooth and comfortable. Success.

I'll monitor the edge over the next couple of shaves to make sure the edge holds up, but I'm pretty optimistic that everything will be okay.

Now that it seems I can refresh the blade, I probably won't go so long between refreshes. Up until now, I just didn't want to deal with hones. I felt that I had enough on my plate just learning to shave. Truthfully, if I lived someplace a bit more convenient, I probably would have sent my razors out for honing, but for me being self sufficient is important.

Shave #148 - Still Good

Another 2-passer, with 3 on the neck,...

Tabac Original Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
WISS Ugly Duckling 9/16" (2)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
C&E West Indian Lime AS Balm

...and I'm darn close to an all over BBS. There is just a streak of skin on the right side of my neck that's DFS+. A very nice result for a quick shave. I'm enjoying the blade's sharpness, though I have given myself a few small nicks in the last 2 shaves. Clearly, I'm not used to the edge.

I've been really busy with work lately, but I managed to carve a couple hours out of my day for a project that's gone wanting for too long. Last time I was in Canada, I picked up 3 antique shop straight razors (cheap). Today I sanded down and polished the blade on the ERN. I didn't unpin the scales, so it's not really a restore. I'm just cleaning it up. (I would love to get some of my goldsmithing tools out of storage and do a full restore, but no space). The edge is in pretty good shape, but it did have a frown, which I elected to bread knife. So, when I have time, I have something I can try to hone from zero to shave ready. Should be an education.

Shave #148.1 - DE is Good Too

Tabac Original Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Stainless (2)
Hulk's Smash
Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave

3 Passes on the face, 5 on the neck, and I'm a refreshed BBS, ready for work tomorrow.

Shave #149 - Still Got It

Tabac Original Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (58)
Hulk's Smash
Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave

I thought that I would find the edge on my DOVO disappointing after experiencing the renewed edge on my WISS - not at all. The edge actually still feels very nice. Not as sharp as the WISS, but very comfortable, not tuggy, and less likely to cut into flesh. The DOVO began its life with a coticle edge. It always was less cutty and more comfort oriented than the WISS. Even after almost 60 shaves the edge is still holding up very well.

I did a 2-passer with an extra pass on the neck. I'd say I'm an overall DFS. A bit below what I was doing with the WISS, but the Hulk's Smash was also more silent (less inclined to sting) this shave. So, I'm pretty satisfied with both my straights right now.

Shave #150 - Grandpa Commemorative Shave

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Tabac Original Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
WISS Ugly Duckling 9/16" (3)
Alum
L'Occitane Cedre & Oranger AS Balm + Old Spice

Today was a 3 pass shave (N-S, nose-to-ears, S-N), with 4 passes on the neck. I am completely BBS. This is the best result I've had with a straight in a long time.

Today I mixed a goodly palmful of Old Spice in with my balm in commemoration of my mom's father. He used to practically bathe in the stuff. Whenever I smell Old Spice it reminds me so much of him. I use it very sparingly, so that I don't lose that link through overuse and familiarity with the scent.

Shave #150.1 - Faceturbating Like a Newbie

I must say, beginning to refresh my own edges finds me spending an inordinate, and unseemly, amount of time stroking my face. I've been very impressed with the closeness of the shaves I'm getting off the refreshed WISS. I'm less impressed by the post-shave face feel. When I am shaving the edge feels silky smooth and non-irritating, but afterwards sometimes my skin is tender. Yesterday, I even had a mild case of razor burn (almost never happens to me). Not entirely sure what is going on. Since the edge feels so nice as I'm shaving, I'm not inclined to blame edge quality. It is possible that I've grown used to a less sharp straight and am now too heavy handed when shaving [maybe], but I'm pretty careful to be light. It is also possible that my skin is unused to straight razor shaving, since I've been DE shaving a lot lately, and my skin needs some time to adjust to the near daily straight razor shaves of the last week [likely part of the problem]. Or, it could be something related to prep, seasonal changes, post-shave, mood, etc., etc. Yesterday, my post-shave definitely contributed. My skin did not appreciate the healthy dose of alcohol and Old Spice. I'll keep my eye on it. It hasn't been that irritating, except for yesterday.

Anyway, today I gave my skin a little rest from the straights...

QCS Celestial Woods Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Stainless (3)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

A 3-passer on the face and 4 on the neck, and I'm a very comfortable DFS++, not quite BBS off the 3rd shave on the Astra blade, but darn close.

I shaved with the QCS Celestial Woods soap. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. It has a beautiful, tallowy, lather - the nicest lathering soap in my collection. But, it smells like a tallow candle. I'm going to see how it works as a base for über lathering with the beautiful smelling, but poor lathering, C&E West Indian Lime shave cream. If that doesn't seem like the way to go, I might have to shave with it as is or try adding scent to it on my own. The quality of its lather is too good not to use.

Shave #151 - Comfortable Weekend Shave

QCS Celestial Woods Shave Soap + C&E West Indian Lime Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (59)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

N-S, S-N, and a little extra scything on the neck gives me an overall DFS/CCS shave. My skin feels comfortable and all is good.

Adding the West Indian Lime Shave Cream did solve the the smell issue with the QCS soap. The mixture gave huge volumes of fluffy moist lather, but the lather lost much of the dense curds and whey texture of the QCS soap alone.

Shave #151.1 - Love Those Feathers

I let time slip away, and needed a quick shave before bed...

QCS Celestial Woods Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather (1)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
C&E West Indian Lime AS Balm

...so I went with the DE. 2 Passes with the straight probably takes exactly the same amount of time as a DE shave, but this way I do save myself the stropping. It was a very smooth and comfortable shave. I'm BBS, with nary a twinge out of the Captain's Choice.

Shave #152 - Delightful Straight Razor Shave

QCS Tallow Candle Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS Ugly Duckling 9/16" (4)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
Gentlemen's Tonic AS Balm

A 2-passer with 3 passes on the neck and I'm my pretty standard BBS(face)/DFS+(neck) combi pack. This shave was a delight because there was absolutely no skin irritation, the Captain's Choice felt like water. Either the edge has calmed down after 4 shaves post-refresh, or I'm just adjusting to it. I'm not sure how I managed to get it so very sharp on my first refresh, with just the 8K stone, but those first couple post-refresh shaves I felt like I was trying to shave with a laser.