Took the plunge

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 10:23 pm

Yesterday's shave was the six and last with the 365 that Anthony/Dash Maverick gave me. It's got me scratching my head. The first three shaves cut the whiskers well, but they weren't comfortable. They felt like days 7, 8 and 9 with the Swede.

But shaves 4 and 5 with the 365 were excellent. Very comfortable. I skipped a couple of days and then shaved again yesterday. Squire says that skipping days shouldn't matter to the blade, but I find that it always does for me. Maybe after I've skipped a couple of days I should use a razor more aggressive than the Weishi, which as far as I know is the most mild razor there is. Anyway, shave 6 wasn't too bad, but it was about as uncomfortable as I expected, so I decided to put the 365 in the blade bank.

Richy made me a present of a few blades today - Zaza, Tesco and Laser. I didn't work today, and I didn't shave. So tomorrow I'm going to try the Zaza which he likes very much, and see what it is like.

m3m0ryleak · Post by **m3m0ryleak** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:29 pm

MiloFinch wrote:And the downward spiral begins.

Oh too true, as I wait for the mail carrier to bring both a '52 Gillette SS and an Edwin Jagger DE89.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:39 pm

Today's shave was the fourth and last with Richy's Zaza blade. I can't say that I gave it a fair test, so I am glad that he sent me more than one to try. Here's what happened.

Between shaves 2 and 3, I went six days without shaving. For me, using a blade on more than one day's growth really takes it out of the blade. So I am not surprised that the blade gave most of its life to my shave yesterday.

Here's the odd thing: None of the shaves were comfortable. Yet for shaves 1, 2 and 4 my face felt fine afterward and didn't need an aftershave. Only the shave removing the week's beard called for some aftershave balm (Arko Commando creme, given to me by Giovanni with one of my orders). Usually when a shave is uncomfortable, my face feels raw afterward and I need a balm, but not with the Zaza.

This week I returned to my IK puck for the first time in quite a while. I received three soaps for Christmas last year - Cella, the Valobra stick and the IK puck. The Cella and the Valobra have so little left that I cannot get enough on the brush to make a satisfactory lather, so that leaves me with the IK till this Christmas when I hope to get another year's supply. I have more than two months' worth of the IK puck remaining, so no worries. I also have plenty left of the Arko stick which I grated not long ago; so I don't need any soap, I just want to try a few new ones.

I think I'm done experimenting for a little while, so for tomorrow's blade I will pick out something tried and true.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 1:10 am

Today's shave was the seventh and last with the Lord Classic. That was one too many. It was a good blade, but not really top tier calibre.

I think I ought to treat myself to one of my best blades for tomorrow's Thanksgiving shave. Probably the Lord Platinum.

I've been using my Institut Karite puck the past few weeks, and I've noticed that the brush gets much more lather with it than it got from the grated Valobra stick. The Valobra's second pass was always just barely enough, but I get plenty for a second pass with the IK. Mind you, Cella and the grated Arko top them both.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:12 am

Well, I guess I'm going to admit to being the black sheep here! I've worked from home for the past month, and I didn't shave very often. To be precise, I have shaved eight times in the past four weeks!

I used my two favorite blades (currently in production) - the first four with the Lord Platinum and the next four with the Gillette 7 O'Clock black. In both cases, I marvelled at how well they removed half a week's whiskers the first three shaves. The fourth with the Lord was a mistake. It was definitely uncomfortable. The fourth with the 7 O'Clock black was somewhat better, but still obviously the last for that blade.

I can normally count on getting seven shaves from these blades. So I think this pretty much proves my suspicion that for my beard it makes a difference to the blade how long the whiskers are.

I think I'll pull out a Rainbow for my Christmas shave.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:36 am

This week I am reading Henry David Thoreau's Walden Pond.

So imagine my pleasant surprise last night when I read his disdain for farmers who fail to appreciate the beauty of nature, and instead seek only "the diamond of Kohinoor"!

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:35 pm

I've continued to work out of my home this past month, so I have shaved only when I met with people.

I got 6 good shaves out of the Rainbow, 4 (the last one of which was kind of iffy) with a Kai, and 5 from a Shark.

As I was rummaging through my shaving gear today looking for a new blade, I realized that it had been a very long time since I had tried an Astra Keramik. I had the vague recollection that I was disappointed in it the last time I tried it.

Well, it was pretty rough today. The most uncomfortable shave I have had in a long time. Tomorrow's shave had better be better, or out it goes.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:34 pm

I am happy to report that I got six more shaves out of the Astra Keramik, all far more comfortable than that first shave. The second shave felt like I was using a different blade!

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:22 pm

It's been nearly six weeks since I last checked in, and I have an unusual amount to talk about. First let's start with the blades.

I've had a lot of good shaves. I got 5 from a UK Wilkinson, and 5 from a Lord Classic. At that point, I went through my stash looking for something I hadn't tried in a while, and I came across my pack of Silver Stars. I got 6 from that one.

I then decided to try another I hadn't used in a long time, and selected a 7 O'Clock yellow. That was a good one, and I got 8 from it. Just to remind myself of the difference, I followed it up with a 7 O'Clock black. Today's shave was my second with it. It told me again that the black is my favorite blade. The yellow is good, but the black is better - even more comfotable and does the job easily.

I have noticed that I have lost my curiosity to try new blades. I knew that this day would come eventually. What happened was that it has been so long since I have tried a new blade that I liked, I no longer want to keep trying new blades. Maybe after a while I will want to try something new, but my hit parade just hasn't changed much for a long time.

*****

Of course the big news is that since the first of the year I have been using the new Lijun silvertip brush. Zach, Murray, Squire and I discussed the Lijun brushes pretty thoroughly on this thread:

http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42282

The one update I have to give about my brush is that for a while it started to shed again, and then for a while it stopped. Now today it lost one hair. I'm not concerned, but I would have preferred that it lose all that it was going to lose early on. Maybe I have treated the brush too delicately, and if I had been rougher it would have done just that.

I'm still quite happy with it, and recommend that you get one of the silvertips while the price is so low.

*****

I received two tubes of The Real Shaving Cream for Christmas - the Moisturizing and the Sensitive. I held off using either, and spent all of January and February working on the IK puck I got for Christmas of 08. Since the first of this month, I have used the Moisturizing every shave. The Real is made by Creighton. I forget who else they make creams for, but they're good.

I am quite pleased with the medium lather I am getting using The Real with the Lijun brush. I am a two-pass shaver, and there is always plenty of lather left over. I have also found that I don't need to use distilled water, despite the hard water we have here. I suspect that those of you with soft water don't appreciate how much more convenient it is to use hot tap water than to microwave distilled water and then carry it up to the bathroom, cooling all the while while you prep your beard.

Anyway, you may recall that in December Rite Aid had tubes of The Real on sale for $2.99, so this has turned out to be a terrific bargain. I ought to go back sometime and see if they are on sale again.

*****

Finally, I went on a short business trip March 1, and spent the night in a motel.

I keep in my luggage a Lord Click, which is a very lightweight plastic DE razor, even lighter than a Gillette Good News disposable razor. I used it once before, and found that I had trouble controlling it because it is so light. But this time my hand was a little more steady, and the shave was great.

I also keep in my luggage a pack of what Giovanni called the Treet Blue Specials. As I recall, those are the "Black Beauties". I use these on trips because they are carbon and ready to go the first shave, and are thrown away after one shave.

It was that night in the motel that I first tried The Real, and I've used it every shave since.

CMur12 · Post by **CMur12** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:48 pm

Interesting updates, GA.

I find I'm getting tired of testing new items, too. At this point, I'm more interested in settling in with established favorites for a good shave every time.

- Murray

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:38 pm

I note that today is the second anniversary of my registering here. I have to thank so many of you for your informed comments as well as all the gentlemanly banter!

This started for me with a lengthy article about shaving in The News & Observer a few weeks before. I did a little bit of lurking at the half dozen websites whose URLs were provided in the piece, and settled on SMF as the place whose members were most like me.

It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that I received my DE kit from Giovanni. That's the date I consider the real start of it all.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 12:33 pm

As you can see from the first page of this thread, today is the second anniversary of my first traditional wetshave!

I shaved very late last night, so I haven't shaved yet today. I think tonight I'll pull out what's left of my tube of Bigelow/Proraso, and for a new blade I think I'll go with a Lord Platinum.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Wed May 12, 2010 2:17 pm

My last big order of shaving soap was for Christmas, 2008. Last Christmas, I picked up two tubes of Real Shaving cream that were on sale at Rite Aid, but for the most part I have been finishing off the soaps that I got in 2008.

Today I placed an order with Paul at Connaught for the first time, ordering three soaps which have been recommended here, and which I have wanted to try for a long time:

Mitchell's Wool Fat (in the wooden bowl)
Tabac bowl
(2) Palmolive shave sticks
and my favorite from 2008, Cella.

I'm looking forward to trying something new!

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Thu May 20, 2010 8:31 am

My order from Connaught has just arrived. The first thing that I have done is smell each of the soaps!

I haven't shaved yet because I plan to shave late this afternoon before a meeting this evening. So now I have to make up my mind which to use. I think I'll go with the Fat!

tryAgain · Post by **tryAgain** » Fri May 21, 2010 9:56 am

I'm quite looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

I'm currently determined to finish out my Valobra menthol. (Which I'm enjoying, by the way...not meaning to imply that I'm suffering through it.)

But I'm very much looking forward to using the Fat again. And next time I start it, it'll be for many months. It's really the only product that has a special attraction for me. Many others are great and very enjoyable, but the Fat is somehow special for me.

I've never used Tabac, so I'm also looking forward to hearing how that goes.

So, I guess I'm getting vicarious pleasure from your exploration while I enjoy my monogamous determination.

Bruce

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Fri May 21, 2010 11:32 am

tryAgain wrote:I'm quite looking forward to hearing about your experiences...

So, I guess I'm getting vicarious pleasure from your exploration while I enjoy my monogamous determination.

Thanks Bruce! I appreciate it.

My first shave with MWF didn't go particularly well. I don't think I had enough water in the brush, or maybe I didn't pick up enough soap. Anyway, the second pass didn't have enough lather. I should have recharged the brush, but I didn't.

In addition to that, I used an old blade, a Silver Star for its sixth (and last) shave. I'll use a new blade next time.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Sat May 22, 2010 9:02 pm

My second MWF shave went much better. I put a lot more soap on the brush, which was a little wetter than the first time, and my skin felt better than usual after the shave. Not as good as after a Cella shave as I recall, but memory will play tricks on you, and I will sometime soon use my new jar of Cella to verify how much my skin likes it.

I also used a new blade today, a 7 O'Clock black, which helped a great deal. It's only fair to judge a soap with one's best blades.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Mon May 24, 2010 8:45 pm

Yesterday's shave (my third with MWF) didn't go over so well. I was reminded of my difficulty getting lather with hard soaps for those 27 years I used a silvertip and didn't know what I was doing.

I have been quite satisfied with the performance of my Lijun silvertip using the Real Shaving cream for the past few months. But today I decided to go back to my trusty Koh-I-Noor SC68 boar which I used daily throughout 2009, but haven't used since the New Year.

Eureka! I got great lather. I don't want to write this in stone, but right now my thinking is that I will continue to use the silvertip for creams, and the Koh-I-Noor for pucks. The KIH served me well with soaps throughout last year, so why turn my back on something when it's working?

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Mon May 24, 2010 10:58 pm

You can certainly get great lather from hard soap using any decent brush. It's a matter of experimenting to find out the proportions you need.

However, like you said, if you already have a method that works fine, it makes sense to continue it.

But just to satisfy my curiosity - what was yesterday's lather like?

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Tue May 25, 2010 9:05 am

notthesharpest wrote:But just to satisfy my curiosity - what was yesterday's lather like?

NTS, Sunday it seemed like the silvertip brush wouldn't pick up any soap. Nothing was happening other than some froth.

Monday the boar picked up the soap with ease, and quickly obtained rich creamy soap to use.