SMF

most think of a pass as wht happens between latherings (for want of a better description). I agree. But there's a technique, which was probably used by that barber, where you do lather only once, but you might add lubrication at some dry spot while you're working on it (add water, oil etc). I'm sur...

the number of strokes would certainly indicate to me that the person is repeating the stroke on the same section of skin. I don't think so, although it would be more likely. It's just telling me he's taking small strokes. But as I point out, this has little significance compared to all the other fa...

M6Classic wrote:It would appear that God did not forbid the counting of strokes per shave.

It is not the fault of the stars, Brutus, that we are underlings (or something like that).

Well, I completed my shave in 60 strokes this morning. Much easier to count that high. Two passes, one up, one down, a lot more similar to Joe's barber manual concept, I would suppose. I don't know, Dominic. You seem to have disproved the value of the entire exercise. A nearly 700% variation is a b...

I'm speechless! What significance could this possibly have? Suppose you're a str8 shaver and you take very long strokes and yoou use reduction. For example, not worrying about what I leave behind, I take a single 2" wide str8 stroke down my cheek and my neck. That's two on each side and two mor...

If nicks are your problem, you may be too aggressive, trying to cut close before the whiskers are short enough. I'm talking about proper reduction. In a 3 pass shave, the first 2 should be reducing passes, getting you to about 90% of the way without cutting to skin. Don't worry about what you're lea...

Whatever works for you is great. However, I haven't had success with oil in place of lather. I find that, although it lubricates the skin, it makes the whiskers slippery, which interferes with cutting when the whiskers are long. You can get sufficient lubrication from lather. Besides, if you use red...

Thank heavens i have seen the light and discovered wet-shaving with a DE. It was Saturday night and i made some last minute organising to go to a good nightclub so i was abit stretched for time. I saw some Nivia Sensitive shave gel and a Sensor in my younger brother's bathroom so i decided to use t...

Obviously, you don't want to "roll up" to the point where the safety bar is out of commission. If you do, you'll be using the DE like a str8. That is, you'll be riding right up on the edge and it will be up to you to control the cut. It's difficult with a fixed head, but if you open up an...

Good catch -- and I agree 100% that you mustn't go so far back that you lose the benefit of the safety bar. Again, we may be saying the same thing. I just believe the easiest way is to do it by feel. A newbie can tell when the blade starts cutting, and if he goes just a bit further he'll be able to...

what I've been thinking about lately is how to describe blade angle in words, rather than referring to maintaining a 30 degree angle. This is how I think of it: It's all about using the HEAD of the razor to guide you. The head is curved (to a greater or lesser extent, depending on model). If you fi...

Sorry to hear about your shave. I am old enough to have experienced traditional straight shaves from a real old time Italian barber when I was young. It was a great great experience, and I want to remember it that way. I shave mostly with straights now myself, and I might be a lot more critical if I...

I can use a Feather blade in a Vision opened all the way. (I don't do it, because halfway is quite enough for me.) However, I have been a very slow learner with open-blade razors. (Sorry to rain on a very small parade.) I have switched over all my razors to Feather blades. I shave totally open on t...

The more I read posts like this, I regret that sample packs have become so popular. They encourage experimentaation before you're ready, and that retards your development of technique. Select Derby, as suggested and get to work! At this stage change blades no less frequently than every five shaves (...

bernards66 wrote:By Jove, there you are , Joe. Where have you been keeping yourself? Good to see that you're still about.
Regards,
Gordon

Hi, Gordon. Yes, I'm still here. I've been very busy this summer, so I haven't been around much. I do pop in once in a while to catch up.

I suggest you stop worrying about testing things now and work on technique. Start with the Progress on 2 and pick a quality blade, but stick with the choice. You want to keep everything the same while you learn technique. You have to groove it before you start changing things. You wouldn't try to le...

After reading the whole thread, my reaction is that you've embarked on your experimentation too soon. I would go back to the razor and blade combibation that has worked the best for you and concentrate on grooving your technique. The goal is to consistently get clean comfortable shaves without irrit...

If you're using a sharp blade, you shouldn't see considerable difference in irritation when you switch blades (assuming they're all good quality). Frankly, I suspect technique. Irritation tends to accumulate, so you may not notice the effect of a technique flaw for several shaves. The chances are th...

I bought one of these, because a larger, heavier razor feels more comfortable in my hands. After a few weeks, I'm not greatly impressed. Although I do like the size and heft, I don't consider it's shave any better than a Progress. Above it, I would place the slant, the Futur and the Vision. However,...

I've ordered my razor. I misquoted the wait time, its 6-10 weeks. Robert will hone the razor for delivery. Upon further study I've ordered a 3 1/4-inch 2-sided honey leather paddle strop pasted with 1.0 micron diamond on one side and 0.5 micron chromium oxide on the other side. I ordered a second p...