Thread: Same Gear (Hardware) For A Year

It was about a year ago I got the weird idea to just stick with the same SR for my Face, same DE for my Head and same Brush for both... I decided to continue to rotate Soaps and DE Blades as a way to balance it all out.

The Equipment

The Straight is a Karnak about 11/16" that I did a Resto on and it was the first time I decided to use a Drill Press to take the pins out... Yep, you guessed it... One side did fine and the other side the bit warbled/walked and I gouged a bit out to the side of the hole. Using a more generous pin length and patient peening I was able to get good coverage but the space underneath left me unable to fully correct the blade alignment and I didn't want to pop it and fill with epoxy and start over in order to flip it so I just decided to keep it and it is a great razor that just kind of fell into position when I got this idea.

The DE is a birth-year Gillette Knack N-4 and with the extended handle and knurled texture itnis just superb for Head Shaving... I typically run: Personna Blues, Voskod, Super Shark, Dorco and a few others but, aside from how many shaves each makes it through (... all 3+...), they all just shave great for me.

The Brush is my first that I built with a lot of help from Gerrit/Deighaingeal... Cocobolo from an escrima stick I ordered out of Black Belt Magazine in the early 80's with a TGN 3-Band Synthetic 20mm knot. The handle shape is pure function so I ignore the fact it resembles a 'bum cork' and really enjoy how the grooves fit my hand like it was made by me for, well, me!!

The Experience

I didn't really have goals or agenda when I started... I had been heavily into Honing for some time and had never used the same razor for more than a few months and had always wondered exactly how many touch-ups a given razor I honed would require in 12 months. I was also tiring of every time I got however mamy shaves in or when I got new gear in I was changing parameters and could not answer deeper questions as they came up.

So, I just kind of fell onto this idea after asking myself, "What all has changed since I switched from Modern Cartridge Razors?", and the one thing was I had been almost constantly changing techniques or gear (... not even gonna try to tackle Software...) whereas I had previously only used the same Modern Cartridge Razor for however many years it took for Gillette to come up with somethng new... Mach 3 was the deepest I dove into that rabbit hole. But, that question kept bugging at me until I finally decided to just give it a go.

Some Things I Noticed Along The Way

- Touch-Ups- I ended up doing 3 but one was because I got a New Stone (Llyn Idwal) and had to see how it worked. So, I may have made it with just two necessary touch-ups.

- Acquistion Disorders- Diminished... Greatly!!! Without a desire to constantly see, read about and try whatever thing someone else was talking about or selling, I fell into this really clmfortable rhythm of just Wet Shaving. Since I do SR and DE it was a double pay-off!!

- Fluidity Of Skill- Impressive improvements throughout!! I received my worst cut (head) with a Mach 3 some time back and had the same type of inconsistency with technique and occasional cuts from Wet Shaving that most experience. But, after about 2-3 months I started noticing I almost never had cuts. I have a mole newr my jawline that is in a tough spot so had always been a 50/50 kinda deal as to getting a nic in that spot but even that greatly reduced with now only a very occasional nic. When I go to use my gear now everything just feels like an extension of my hand.

- Pervasive Calm- I noticed that, without the frenetic pursuit of SOMETHING ELSE, I just easily focused on and enjoyed my shaves even more which I previously did not think possible.

Not a lot of huge info or surprises but enough to make me respect and appreciate the experience of Wet Shaving in a way I didn't know was possible before this. Makes me understand a lot more the back-story behind some of those razors you see in the wild or for sale somewhere that has crazy toe/heel wear and honed down to a nub... Somebody loved that razor, fell into a groove with it and every time they thought about replacing it found a reason to love it even more. That, or it was just another tool that still functioned properly so why change what is working?! But, I like the more romanticized version.

Happy Shaving Everyone!!

Shawn
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