Thread: Righty Tighty; Lefty Loosey

Shave #169 - I'll Probably Hone Anyway

Synergy Lime Shave Soap + C&E West Indian Lime Shave Cream
Semogue 2012
ERN 5/8" (2)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
C&E West Indian Lime AS Balm

I was just going to do a 2-passer, but the uber lather was so plentiful and luxurious I went with a 3-passer. I'm mostly BBS, just a spot in the center of my neck that falls below that level. The ERN is performing fine, but I will probably try to coax a smidge more out of the edge. I have the Norton sitting out anyway, and I have the time.

Shave #169.1 - Was There a Blade?

Synergy Lime Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather (1)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

I love a fresh Feather. I couldn't feel it cutting at all. The whiskers simply disappeared. 3 Passes to get a very silky smooth and comfortable BBS.

Shave #170 - WISS Sharp

I redid the ERN on the Norton 8k yet again. I was just planning a light refresh, since the edge was awfully good last shave, but I decided on doing a bit more than just that. As I mentioned last time, some of the edge wasn't undercutting perfectly, and then after the last hone it was, but once it started undercutting, I didn't spend much more time honing. As I was thinking about it earlier, it occurred to me that I might need to do a bit more substantial honing, now that both sides of the blade are undercutting well, to make sure that I'm actually honing all the way to the very edge. So, I did a bunch of laps on slurry, followed by a bunch more on straight water, then I got rid of the excess water, and did some polishing passes. (Sorry I didn't count how many laps - just until it seemed about right). I was actually feeling pretty confident about my edge, so I invested some time in a megastropping - 20 rough leather, 100 newspaper, and 300 smooth leather - approximating what I did with the WISS. Initially I was going to use diamond spray also, but decided against it because I like the WISS edge so much, and it was done without paste or diamond spray.

And, the results...

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Synergy Lime Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
ERN 5/8 (1)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

...SPECTACULAR!!!

I returned to my normal 2.5 pass shave and I got my best results ever for a relatively abbreviated shave. I'm BBS everywhere, even the little strip in the center of my neck that usually eludes me.

The edge truly felt awesome. The previous 2 shaves it shaved very well, but I still felt there should be a bit more. I now believe that I have successfully wrung everything that I can out of the 8k. The edge stacks up favorably with the 4 edges that I've received from different professional honemeisters, using finer stones. I'm ecstatic.

Shave #171 - Mmmmm,...DOVO

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Synergy Lime Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (3)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

I did a 2.5 pass shave. I'm BBS everywhere, but a patch of DFS+ just above my Adam's apple. An excellent shave. The DOVO never disappoints, though I share my affections now, she is still my favorite.

I'm really enjoying the Proraso and Synergy Lime combo. That little hit of menthol really makes the Lime soap a nice summer treat.

Shave #171.1 - Loaded to the Gills

Well, started drinking at about 10am - it's a holiday here, so I was entertaining friends - it's now past 10pm. I was planning to shave with the Geo straight razor, but upon drunken reflection.....that seemed a poor idea.

Castle Forbes Pre-Shave
L'Occitane Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather (2)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

I'm BBS (DE's really are that simple), now I'm going to return to the Cuban Ramon Allones cigar and port that I have waiting for me. I hope everyone else is feeling squiffy as well, or is soon to be.

Shave #172 - Sober Enough

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Geo Wostenholm & Son IXL 5/8" (3)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

Another 2.5-passer resulting in a mostly BBS shave, I have a couple small patches that aren't quite there. I have to say, I've been achieving some pretty nice 2-ish pass shaves lately. I really am closing in on a 2 pass BBS.

The square tip on the Geo has not been as hard to deal with as I feared it might be, but some of the blade gymnastics that I do on my neck are considerably more perilous with the spike. I did give myself a couple scratches today, no blood, just marks.

I like the Japanese natural stone edge that Doc226 put on this thing. It does have a little something extra in terms of face feel and possibly sharpness. Not enough to affect shave results as compared to my Norton edges, but I'm trying to talk myself into a finishing stone, and that process has to begin somewhere.

Still loving these posts. If you go finishing stone, I'll be curious which way you go. I got the Naniwa 12k and it does a great job1

Hi Harold, thanks for continuing to read. Most likely I won't be pulling the trigger on any sort of finishing hone for a few months. The Naniwa is right at the top of my list - it's the logical choice. However, I do find myself drawn to Japanese natural stones - they're cool, I have a longstanding interest in things Japanese, and you get to say things like I used a Tomonagura on my Nakayama Maruichi.


Shave #172 - Dusty Rose

Klar Seifen Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS Ugly Duckling 9/16" (9)
Hulk's Smash
Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave

A 2.5 pass shave that yielded a fairly normal BBS/DFS combi-pack. Happy Father's Day.

Shave #172.1 - Post Dental Visit Shave

Had some tooth reconstruction tonight. I'm a mildly hurting cookie, so I thought I'd go with a relatively quick shave.

Tabac Original Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Feather (3)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
Gentlemen's Tonic AS Balm

I did 3 passes on the face, 4 on the neck, for a quick almost total BBS, I missed a little spot under my chin.

Shave #173 - Learn Somethin' New Everyday

I like shave soap, so sometimes I watch the videos of shave soap proselytizer like NickShaves and ShaveBusta. Usually I soak my brush and then load the soap with the bristles very wet. I end up building a proto-lather on the puck, which I transfer to my face for face lathering. ShaveBusta recommended slightly wringing out the knot before loading, then gently loading, and totally building the lather on the face. This did seem to work nicer for me today. I had a bit more control over the lather, plus totally building the lather on the face gives more whisker-to-soap beard prep time. It was also less sloppy - I liked it.

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Tabac Original Shave Soap
Semogue 2012
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (4)
Hulk's Smash
Baxter of California AS Balm

I continue to make progress in my shaves. This 2.5-passer has me BBS everywhere, except a small patch above the center of my Adam's Apple. Also, my mustache is less than BBS, it always is, I don't bother mentioning it because I don't do a Fool's Pass so I know it is never totally BBS. However, I think that may be one of my future goals.