Thread: DBBS and XBBS (and ABBS)

Honestly it was the numbers where my eyes glazed over Dylan. I started picturing threads about people typing, "I got a third degree DBBS!!!"

I injected myself with pure caffeine, and put sharp sticks against my head so that I couldn't look away from the monitor, and re-read the post several times. There was one point where I wanted to stab myself in the pancreas, but I worked through the mental anguish. I think I have it now. There is no third degree DBBS.
That disappointed me.

Can you modify your system so that there can be varying degrees of **BS?

Furthermore, since everything is about degrees of **BS, I think we should name the system "Holli4's BS System".


:P

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Is it really that poorly worded in my first post that it's confusing?

DBBS (Directional) - face feels BBS when rubbed in the direction you shaved
XBBS (Cross directional) - XTG feels BBS after shaving WTG OR ATG feels BBS after shaving XTG
ABBS (Against the direction) - ATG (and every other direction) feels BBS after shaving WTG

I got it with no troubles.

I have thought about something similar for a while. I can get certain areas XBBS, but only in patches. To have a smooth feel from the side of my eye to my neck involves all three and I am not anywhere near a full XBBS.

I must add that I had no great description of what I have felt until this point.

-G

Nifty nomenclaturing.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

XBBS (Cross directional) - XTG feels BBS after shaving WTG OR ATG feels BBS after shaving XTG

For me, the former is fairly easy, while the latter is nigh impossible. If it's all a question of categorizing results by difficulty, I'd vote for differentiating between the two kinds of XBBS by naming them something like XBBS1 and XBBS2.

This is a useful way of explaining things and getting your head around the differing levels of shave quality. I think its something we could refer back to when explaining shave quality to new guys.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

These are some abbreviations that I have been using, and I find them rather helpful.

DBBS - Directional BBS

Directional BBS is when your face feels BBS when rubbed in the direction you shaved. If you shaved WTG and, when running your hand WTG on your face, your face fells BBS, you have achieved DBBS. Any shave ready razor, used with proper technique, should yield DBBS.

But DBBS means more than just "in the same direction." Imagine you were to assign number values to the traditional WTG, XTG, and ATG directions - 1, 2, and 3 respectively. DBBS would imply that your face feels BBS when you rub at or below the value you shaved. So XTG DBBS would also feel BBS WTG. ATG DBBS (which should just be plain old BBS) would also feel BBS XTG and WTG.

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XBBS - Cross directional BBS

This is when your face feels BBS when rubbed across the direction you shaved. But, drawing on the number scheme above, that would have to be one notch higher than the direction you shaved (otherwise it's still DBBS).

For example, if you shave WTG and your face feels BBS XTG, you have XBBS. Or, if you shave XTG and your face feels BBS ATG, you have XBBS.

With a really great edge and really great shave technique, I can get XBBS.

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ABBS - Against BBS

I suppose that if you could shave WTG and feel BBS ATG, you would have ABBS. This is something I have never experienced. I guess this would really be the ultimate shave. Perhaps it is what we all aspire to with our obsession over the sharpest, smoothest edge and the closest shave.

You're making this way to complicated.

You need to simplify it by first taking the cutting angle of each pass, then muliply it by the age of the razor, then divide it by number of laps on leather side of the stop, then add the average post count of the person per day (this establishes a baseline newbie ratio), then multiply by temperature and humidity at time of honing (or ambient dewpoint can be used), then take this and subtract the longatidude/latitude of the persons location, and take of all this and divide by .07526 to account for the curvature of the earth and this should give you an equalized BBS scale.

or YMMV

ps. don't forget to carry the 3

Straight Razor Shaving: It ain't rocket science- yet

So, if I shave against the grain, and rub my hand (left or right?) against the grain, I'm also rubbing in the direction I shaved so have I achieved DBBS or ABBS or both? Let's assume this was done on a Tuesday.

We library folk love controled vocabulary!

LG Roy

Originally Posted by Ryan82

There's one acronym you all missed - WTF?

But for one lacking letter Ryan has it pared to the down and dirty crux of the matter: that would be WTF-S.

To really get down to the nitty gritty we should first do some texture analysis on various babies' butts and we gotta be careful there. How smooth is a baby's butt anyway? What are our smoothness units? At what point does smooth change to not so smooth to not smooth to kinda rough to down right stubbly?

Originally Posted by Library Guy

Straight Razor Shaving: It ain't rocket science- yet

So, if I shave against the grain, and rub my hand (left or right?) against the grain, I'm also rubbing in the direction I shaved so have I achieved DBBS or ABBS or both? Let's assume this was done on a Tuesday.

We library folk love controled vocabulary!

LG Roy

If you shave ATG, you should be totally BBS and there is no need to elaborate.

I don't really ever say ABBS, because I have never gotten a shave like that. I mostly only shave WTG and get DBBS or XBBS. In my simple world, where I only shave downward, these acronyms are very simple.

Oh my, now we have acronym shaving.

I wonder what kind of butt that little dear has.

I'd really like to hear Obie weigh in on this matter. I'm sure he would eloquently remind us that straight shaving is an experience to be savored and is not something one readily quantifies or boils down to the lowest common denominator. How do you catch a cloud & pin it down? How do you keep a wave upon the sand? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

Just kidding Dylan I totally understand what your saying although I refuse to commit it to memory. I have too little grey matter, and I'm afraid it might crowd out some vital information I need at work.