The Journey Begins: Diary of a newb

JayTrek · Post by **JayTrek** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:58 pm

+1 on the Merkur...just stay away from their blades.

merkri · Post by **merkri** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:06 pm

druphus wrote:I face lather soaps, but bowl lather cream.

Lol. I do the opposite--face lather creams, and bowl lather soaps (I'm lucky enough to have a mother-in-law who's a potter--lots of pottery bowls around).

I'm not sure I have too much reason for that--I guess I feel like I can get more of the lather on my face with a cream.

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Wed Aug 18, 2010 10:13 am

Last night, my curiosity got the best of me and I opened up the derby blades and then got out the Merkur. "Might as well see how the blade goes in," I thought, "then it'll be ready when I am to use it." Put the blade in and set the razor to the side for later use. "Gotta be patient," I told myself.

Today was DAY #2 on the brush and cream experiment. Face lathered again and it went well - a little messier than yesterday and a little more tinkering to get it adequate. Probably will look through the cupboards for a bowl tonight since no mug we have seems right.

Then I reached for my fusion but a funny thing happened on my way down. I picked up the Merkur with the derby blade already in it. Got a slight amount of irritation but not too bad. Did catch myself applying pressure two or three times. Got what I thought as a HAS (is half adequate shave a proper acronym?). Certainly passable.

Funny thing was that my wife said it was closer than what I was getting with the norelco

On another side note - when I got my hair cut today I paid the extra $1.50 for them to straight razor the sides. Not brush and cream but still the hot lather out of the machine and the straight gave a good Army high and tight a good name.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Wed Aug 18, 2010 11:36 am

cadfael_tex wrote: I picked up the Merkur with the derby blade already in it. Got a slight amount of irritation but not too bad.

Atta boy!

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 8:16 am

Day 2 (though I don't really intend this to be a daily log for the rest of my life): Face lathered again - kinda hard to find a bowl with more than a full time job and two sick kids at home. Really want to find something in the cupboard tonight to give it a whirl - the the bowl that is. Lathering went ok but not sure it's lathery enough.

Did 3 passes today - 2 wtg and one xtg. Pretty pleased with the results. Got a DFS on the cheeks and a HAS on the neck. Think the grain on my neck is not as consistent as my checks and the getting the angle right was definitely more tricky. Had one small nick with minimal blood.

2nd day on the derby blade and it seemed just as smoothi if not smoother. I think I'll change it out after tomorrow no matter what.

JayTrek · Post by **JayTrek** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:59 pm

cad...I rarely get more than 4 good shaves out of any good blade.

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:49 pm

Black Belt wrote:cad...I rarely get more than 4 good shaves out of any good blade.

That's why I figured 3 times as a good bet so I could say that differences in the shave are due to user and not blade.

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 5:03 pm

Got a testimonial. I asked my wife to make sure that I didn't look too scruffy this morning because I only did two passes. She said I looked cleaner shaved today than I had been with my electric. She felt my cheeks and said (and I quote exactly) "Wow!" with a twinkle in her eyes. I think I like this wet shaving

Blue As A Jewel · Post by **Blue As A Jewel** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:44 pm

cadfael_tex wrote:Got a testimonial. I asked my wife to make sure that I didn't look too scruffy this morning because I only did two passes. She said I looked cleaner shaved today than I had been with my electric. She felt my cheeks and said (and I quote exactly) "Wow!" with a twinkle in her eyes. I think I like this wet shaving

Just wait until she see's shaving brushes multiplying like tribbles...

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:49 pm

Blue As A Jewel wrote:
cadfael_tex wrote:Got a testimonial. I asked my wife to make sure that I didn't look too scruffy this morning because I only did two passes. She said I looked cleaner shaved today than I had been with my electric. She felt my cheeks and said (and I quote exactly) "Wow!" with a twinkle in her eyes. I think I like this wet shaving
Just wait until she see's shaving brushes multiplying like tribbles...

Haven't got to that point yet

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 3:37 pm

Over the weekend I just did one pass one each Saturday and Sunday just to keep from having so much of a challenge on Monday.

Saturday was the 4th day on the first Derby blade. I wasn't going to go that long but I figured it wouldn't be bad if I was just doing one pass. I had a lot of pulling.

Sunday I put in a new Derby. Still had some pulling so maybe Saturday was more of a technique issue. Both days turned out ok with no irritation and a SAS.

Did three passes this morning - wtg and xtg in opposite directions. Had a really nice shave on the cheeks but just decent on the neck. Is there a trick to the neck?

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 10:30 am

Well, drew blood in a major way for the first time. Almost got some styptic matches when I placed my west coast order but forgot so I went with the TP method - tres chic

My lather was a little thinner today so maybe that was it - or maybe it was that I was watching my wife get in the shower

Fighting the urge to start experimenting. Was planning to try to finish off the 5 pack of derby's before I went on to the Red Personna's Also don't need to order a different shave soap or shave cream but I find myself looking. Will Power or will order - hmmm.

druphus · Post by **druphus** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 11:17 am

If you are getting "pulling" with the Derby's I'd try the Red Personnas. If the Red Personnas pull PM me with your mailing address and I'll send you some Super Iridiums. Life is to short to waste on blades that aren't sharp enough.

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 3:10 pm

@druphus: I'll try the Personna's soon (if not tomorrow) and I've got a pack or two of Asta's too that from what I've read are just a bit sharper than the Personna.

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 10:01 am

Just a quick update on a few topics:

Personna: Best for me so far.
Iridium: Tried my first this weekend and felt a little rougher but not too rough. Will try a few more but so far the Personna seem to work better for me.
Trumpers Violet: nice and like the scent. didn't notice the lather being any better or worse than the Harriss Arlington cream.
Tabac Shave Stick: really like, tried it for the first time this morning and had great lather. When I get ready to order again I'll order a dish.

The merkur classic and the Toro Ganso brush have both been very nice and glad with my choices.

The technique is slowly coming along - doing three passes and getting a DFS at least every day.

cadfael_tex · Post by **cadfael_tex** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:06 pm

Tried feather for the first time and it actually was slightly smoother to me than the Iridiums. Still a little rough and not as pleasant as the Asta's and Personna's gonna put them away for now and use up the others I have.

SMF

The Journey Begins: Diary of a newb

Just a quick update

First Nick