Thread: Righty Tighty; Lefty Loosey

Shave #58.5 - Horrifyingly Stressed Out

No inclination to do anything but the minimum...

Tabac Original Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Mach III
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Result: Smooth enough, quickly enough.

Shave #59 - Overshot My Goal

Had a wedding this afternoon, one of my colleagues, and needed to grab a quick morning shave.

Tabac Original Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS 9/16" Ugly Duckling (13)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

This shave was a bit of a revelation. Not because it was a great shave - it wasn't. I went into the shave nook looking to do 2 very quick passes, on my way out the door. I was hoping for a SAS and a bit of a nice smell in under 20 minutes.

I did my 2 passes, first pass N-S guillotining towards the nose on each side of my face. On the neck, I guillotined the entire neck going downwards from right to left, a bit like a barber's pole. Much of the hair on my neck grows left to right, almost parallel to the floor. The guillotining created kind of an ATG stroke in a downward direction. Then I did a S-N pass, again guillotining towards the nose on both sides of my face. On the entire neck I shaved upwards and guillotined from right to left, again creating a quasi-ATG stroke in an upward direction.

As time was a crucial factor, I did 2 passes with no touch ups. My goals for the shave were not too lofty, so I was quite surprised by how good the shave was (DFS-/DFS). And, my neck is surprisingly good for a 2-passer. I will have to repeat this guillotining pattern and see if I can repeat the results. Even under my chin is pretty smooth, considering how little time I spent on it.

The shave took about 15 minutes, exceptionally fast for me. Normally I shave at night and time is not a factor at all in my shave.

Shave #60 - Do It Again

Tried to repeat my last shave...

L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (28)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Repeated the same 2 passes as my last shave. A quick comfortable shave with very mediocre results, DFS--/SAS at best. Oh well, better luck next time.

I was fortunate in that my job before I retired forced me to learn to use my non dominant hand to avoid injury so I had a head start when I picked up a straight. I still have problems around the chin with my left hand. I get a real nice on first pass on my chin with my right. It will get better with time.

A very Merry Christmas to you and your's. May you enjoy time filled with the love and togetherness of family and special friends.

Shave #61 - Boxing Day Shave

As you might well imagine, Christmas is nothing here - just a regular work day. Usually I manage to preserve a bit of X'mas cheer, but this year, not so much. My wife was in the hospital Christmas Eve, I worked Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. I did manage to spend a couple hours on FaceTime watching my young nephew's Christmas. Technology is wonderful, 20 some odd years ago when I started the ex-pat life, you just had to miss out. Now, you're quasi a part of things back home.

And yet, not exactly...



(My Christmas dinner).

Oh well, right now, SWMBO and I are packing for a trip down to Kenting, on the southern extremity of Taiwan, and some much needed down time to get over the stress of the last couple weeks. We're hoping to catch a bit of sunshine. Taipei has atrocious winters - and this is coming from a Saskatchewan boy. Some years the clouds lay down on the ground and it POURS for 6-8 weeks solid - can you say Seasonal Affective Disorder? Hoping that kinda weather won't hit this year, but we are about two weeks into a spell of non stop rain and not seeing the sky.

This trip is also a good chance for me to give my travel shave pouch a shakedown before Chinese New Year when I'll be on the road for a month.

Anyway, before heading out for the trip, I decided to grab a shave.

L'Occitane Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
DOVO Palisander 6/8" (29)
Alum
Gentlemen's Tonic AS Balm

I took a little me time, and performed a 4-passer. I got a nice result, BBS everywhere, except the mustache, where I left a few hairs standing right around the mouth line.

I think the DOVO is approaching the point of needing a minor touch up. It still shaves pretty nice and smooth, but I do notice it is not quite what it once was. On the first, N-S, pass I used to guillotine for fun, now it is necessary. After I chop down the worst of the first growth, the blade is excellent on the later passes. So, after my 30th shave, I'll give it a mega stropping session to see if that brings it back. If not, I'll try the 0.5 micron diamond paste that came with my SRD modular paddle strop, and see how that works for me.

Shave #62 - Relaxing on the South China Sea

Took the High Speed Rail to Kaohsiung and then a 2 hour bus ride down the coast, and me and my wife are now relaxing in a lovely hotel on the southern coast. Our room is luxurious, with a large private garden and outdoor jacuzzi - just what the doctor ordered. My travel kit performed well. Lots of room for everything.



However, as you might notice, I don't have a very elegant solution for hauling my shave brush around. I borrowed one of my wife's old cell phone cases. It worked - but it was a bit lacking in manly aesthetics. I need to find some sort of travel tube, or buy a travel brush.



But, basically the kit works well and fits all the toiletries I need.

So, after a jacuzz on the patio and a hot shower, I pulled out my gear for a nice relaxing shave.

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Proraso (Green Tubed) Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Chopper (I think the shavette I have is called a chopper)
Gillette Super Blue Blade
Alum
Aveda Men Pure-Formance AS Balm

Put a half DE blade into the Don Jae, then deposited maybe a half an almond sized bit of shave cream on my brush from the travel tube I put it in and face lathered. I almost exclusively bowl lather, so I was expecting problems, but it worked like a charm. The brush produced enough lather from that little bit of cream that I was easily able to do 4 passes and a little extra touch up on the neck.

I had a really enjoyable shave. I'm BBS everywhere. But, I must admit I overdid it. If I had sensitive skin, I'd be in agony. With the laser sharp DE blades, anything more than 2.5 - 3 passes is too much. As I was doing my second XTG pass, I noted that in most places there was no cutting noise, meaning I was no longer shaving, but simply exfoliating. After that I still did an ATG pass, plus a bit of minor touch up on the neck. Boy I'm smooth!!! The effort was both noted and appreciated by SWMBO. Not something I'd want to do too regularly, but for these special times it is nice.

Shave #63 - Second Travel Shave

It's not paradise, but it's nice.



Walking around Kenting. Small beach towns feel the same no matter where you are - surf shops, beach wear stores, quaint little bars and a small handful of hardcore beach bums.



It was a nice day, and the sun was much appreciated. Tomorrow it is back to the gloom and rain of Taipei.

But, before that, the shave...

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Proraso (Green Tubed) Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Chopper + Gillette Super Blue Blade
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
Aveda Men Pure-Formance AS Balm

My face was still pretty decent from last night's shave (DFS-ish). But, I had the time and inclination, so I did a 3-passer this evening. That used up the half blade loaded in the Don Jae.

Result: Pretty good. I'm back to an all over BBS. I did blip myself a couple of times though. The first time was a small slice on the mustache while going XTG. The lather wasn't hydrated enough, and I didn't notice until too late. I also gave myself a small weeper under the chin - just a bit too enthusiastic. Neither was too bad and the alum took care of both.

My travel setup works pretty nicely. I even have room for a bit of variety in shave creams/soaps and aftershaves. I loaded the case with Proraso Green products since I tend to travel to hot climes. But, I can see where on a longer trip a little extra variety would be appreciated. I'll have to think about what other shave products to keep in there on a permanent basis.

Shave #64 - Back in Taipei

*Sigh*

Ogallala Bay Rum, Limes & Peppercorns Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS 9/16" Ugly Duckling (14)
Alum/Styptic Pencil
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
Gentlemen's Tonic AS Balm

Did a pretty standard 3-passer on my face. But, tried some different things on my neck. For the neck: pass 1, N-S guillotining from right-to-left; pass 2, starting from the chin and going nose-to-ear with a downward scything motion at the end of the stroke; pass 3, S-N guillotining from right-to-left; pass 4, S-N with a scything motion going from right-to-left; and, pass 5, opening the razor to its max., creating an A-shape, allowing a true right-to-left horizontal pass. Actually, I didn't realize that I did 5 passes on my neck until I sat down to write up the shave. That explains why the alum stung today.

Result: BBS everywhere, except I missed a large group of whiskers on my mustache. I pinked myself on the chin, requiring a bit of styptic - simple inattention.

Shave #64.5 - The Shave In-Between

Worked this morning, running around all afternoon, snuck in a jog in late afternoon, but needed to shave in the shower to have time to meet SWMBO this evening.

Ogallala Bay Rum, Limes & Peppercorns Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Mach III
Baxter of California AS Balm

What can I say? Sometimes life just gets in the way, so I reach for the cartridge razor. I might buy myself a DE for these occasions.

Anyways, it was a really rushed shave, as hot water for showering is very limited in our house. We have a very small electric water heater that bolts to the wall (never seen the likes in N. America). It works great most of the year when the temperature is above +20C, but it is not so good when the temperature drops below +10C.

I had about 5 minutes to wash, shampoo and shave. I managed a quick 3-pass shave getting me about DFS. My straight razor shaves are beginning to outshine my cartridge shaves by just a little bit. But, I can't do a 3-pass straight shave standing naked in the shower, with no glasses or mirror, in under 3 minutes.