One of those shaves...

It was terrible today. I was able to back off and examine a few things which might have been the culprit. Anyway, started out with a lot of unknown variables-new brush, a new soap and a freshly honed TI razor.

First off, the razor, I re-honed the TI last night because, well because. I am not saying it was mistake. I know what a sharp razor feels like it. Anyway, the razor did not perform as I had hoped. When I got to my chin it was like hitting a brick wall. I put the razor down and let it be. I really wanted it to shave well but I am not gonna force it. I whipped out my DE since I did not want to tempt fate anymore with another straight.

Second, the brush was a new boar hair from Omega-the little chubby. I lathered up with some CO Bigelow last night to 'test' it. The brush did it's job. I have to work a little harder because it is so small but all in all it seems like a winner. Until I got to the new soap-Pre de Provence. I was able to work up a mediocre lather but the results were less than stellar.

I had big hopes for this soap. I at least wanted the soap to perform as well as my L'Occitane soap. So I tested it with my Semogue 830. The Portuguese marvel of a bush was able to do a little better but not by much. I sighed and had to let the Pre de Provence slide this time.

I will try it again but for now I went to the ole' trusty MWF. I switched back to the Omega and was able to get a great lather with the Omega/MWF combo. My face thanked me as well since it was feeling a little irritated from the WTG pass on my left and right cheek with the TI. All in all, I was able to get a decent shave for the day. However, not the 'shave of the day' I wanted.

Bravo for uncommon wisdom. 'Not forcing a bad edge, not flogging marginal lather.

I've no contact w/ the little chubby, or Bigelow (other than Proraso). I do have experience w/ Pre de Provence that could be helpful. PDP is a hard french triple milled soap. The operative is 'hard'. This will mean you work harder to load the brush - whatever kind it is. Let some water soak on the surface to soften it some, grab the knot of your brush no higher than 1/2 way between tips and handle. This shortens the effective length fo the knot and makes it less flexible, more stiff. Use this stiffness to make the tips bite into the softend surface of the soap and spend alot more time loading that brush. It may take some time for a full lather to develop. I love the smell of PDP, but love the lather of Provence Sante alot better. 'Best single product I've used.

Should you want a hand w/ your T.I. edge, PM me. 'Did one last night, along w/ a Duck.

Keep using your good sense about not trying to make something work. It'll save you some blood & bad experience.

The shaves will get better. Alot better. Your good sense guarantees it.

+1 To what Pinklather said. Had the same experience with a razor not being sharp this morning, and thank goodness I also had enough sense not to force the issue! Shaves get better all the time, and being patient is part of the key to learning. Great choice and Good Luck!

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Originally Posted by pinklather

Let some water soak on the surface to soften it some, grab the knot of your brush no higher than 1/2 way between tips and handle. This shortens the effective length fo the knot and makes it less flexible, more stiff. Use this stiffness to make the tips bite into the softend surface of the soap...

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Thanks. I have never used triple milled soaps before. I was working at it fairly hard today trying to get a lather that said, 'boom, here i am in all my white puffy glory.' Instead I got mediocre results. I am not gonna give up on the soap though. Your advice about squeezing the brush together would help. I was thinking of taking a small rubber band and tieing it around the brush to squeeze the bristles together. By sliding it up and down the bristles you be able to change the 'density' of the brush. I think I have had a few bad shaves now where I have learned my lesson. I also have had good shaves to be able to compare the bad ones to. I guess I finally know when to say stop this is going bad. Of course, I might not have that wisdom all the time. Btw, the 'little chuby' seems to be ok. I am gonna use it as a travel brush given the small size.

TI's are notoriously fussy to hone, especially the newer carbonsong c135 models. The fact you didn't have much luck honing one the first time out is not surprising. You can play with it some more, but I would recommend sending it to someone who has some experience with that steel - you might want to take up pinklather on his offer.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

...you might want to take up pinklather on his offer.

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Yeah, I might do that. I might give another whack at it though before giving up. Despite the results of the shave, I do enjoy honing. It is sort of tranquil. I am making some other honing connections too, sort of helping me with the learning curve. He honed up one of my razors too. I should be able to shave with that by the end of the week...I hope.

Ok, I had better luck with PDP this evening. I did not shave with it but just practiced lathered. It is one of the few things you can do repeatedly w/o serious consequences. Anyway, much better luck with the brush and the soap! I used a small rubber band to squeeze the bristles together. I also let the soap and the brush soak for over five minutes. I think the results were good.Attachment 97700

Ok, I felt like doing a follow up to this. I sat down for one hour and slowly honed the TI. I took my sweet time using very little pressure. I think I got a decent result. I did a one pass shave with the grain. My face was not BBS and I missed some spots but far better than yesterday.Today, the shave went a lot better. I did use the Pre de Provence. I think it is great but I might be allergic to one of the ingredients in the soap. My face turned ruby red. I do not think it was from the blade since my face was already stinging a little while face lathering. Anyway, there you have it. One day from the next things change.

Hmmm, reporting some info about today's shave. Went OK but not great. It is so strange. The last few weeks were full of great shaves but lately they have gone down hill a little. However, this might be a result of my standards changing. I mean maybe a week ago what I considered a great shave has changed. Who knows. The TI did not perform as well as it did yesterday. I like these puzzles. Though it is frustrating. Puzzles can intriugue me. The more variables the more confusing it becomes. I need to take off into new directions. I have to keep my mind focused. No drinking, no smoking and celibacy make a person a little frustrated. The grinding of metal agains stone helps with that. A silent prayer amidst the caos around me. I will have another razor coming in soon that has been honed by a member. Will love to test it. I am also considering another TI to purchase. I am done with the old razors for the moment. They are cheaper but a pain to hone. I also need to get a new strop. I need to eliminate that as a culprit. Of course it could be my stropping technique which I doubt. The journey continues.

Don't be so quick to give up on old razors. I rarely shave with a razor less than 120 years old, and they all seem to shave fine. Your standards are improving, and you are probably noticing flaws in your blade that you might have missed before. Take your time, and the progress will come.

Agree for the past few months I've been buying a number of really reasonably priced older eBay razors. Honing all of them the same way and finding that most so far have made good shavers. I've been finding that the Soap that I use mades a real difference in how they shave!! A real difference.