Squid with an interest in good shaving.

[ShadowsDad]

TW, was that one of the personnas I sent you that I mentioned might be a bad batch? I had one bad one, I could shave with it, but it wasn't pleasant- lots of weepers. Maybe the entire batch of those personna labs is junk.

[The_whingnut]

TW, was that one of the personnas I sent you that I mentioned might be a bad batch? I had one bad one, I could shave with it, but it wasn't pleasant- lots of weepers. Maybe the entire batch of those personna labs is junk.

yup, same issue as you had.

on a brighter note i was able to take a few minutes at lunch today and bang out the new handle viewtopic.php?f=6&t=53430 i hope you guys like it.

[The_whingnut]

oh and i found a use for my old razors

2012-05-23_08-43-50_473.jpg (41.93 KiB) Viewed 4835 times

I may need more practice with the .009" blades

[ShadowsDad]

Thanks TW, I'll remove them from my cabinet. I guarantee the others will be good.

Not the easiest thing to do, weld metal .009" thick.

[The_whingnut]

lastest update, Thank you to everyone who was kind enough to PIF with the products and razors. I can't thank you enough.

So on to this weekend i let the beard grow from thursday night until sunday. using a gillette adjustable (setting 5 first pass 6 last two passes) and a 7 o'clock blade (i like it a lot), i set up my soap which since i'm not at home the name escapes me. (copper color tin white soap (yes i will edit this later)), preshave oil and using the omega boar brush i went to work i ended up doing three passes got a very nice shave with every little irritation on the neck.

Monday my wife and I had a social gathering to go to, i felt a shave was in order, two things; 1) i'm a big dumby, 2) i knew better.

so i decided to try a Pol Silver iridium blade with the adjustable set on 6, i couldn't get my soap to lather very well (stick soap Valobra) with the badger brush, and i was rushing to be done in time. I did get an ok shave but i didn't get a very good lather going, i'll be reviewing the videos and articles again today to see how i can improve. Face lathering is not my forte. i razor burned my face and neck and the nic stick is a very nasty reminder of why not to rush.

So when i get home today i'm going to try and whip up some lather and see ii a can't get this going better. i will also try and grate some of the stick into a mug to lather with that. i'm currently using the VDH kit mug to lather and a large 6 flags mug for holding my VDH puck.

[Squire]

VDH (and other glycerin shave soaps) can make a beautiful lather but by their nature they aren't as thickly cushioned or protective as traditional hard triple milled soaps or shave creams. A thinner lather cuts very well (some prefer them) but don't lend themselves to a rush job. For a quick shave Barbasol and a Bic may be more gentle.

[The_whingnut]

for whatever reason i can't figure out i'm now having issues lathering the cream, and soaps with either the boar or badger brushes. the lather seems too dry, even if i add more water. if that makes any sense.

i used a perma sharp blade today, the POL Silver is out of the razor for good. didn't like it one bit. i liked the perma sharp ok. razor set to 5-6 seems fine. So far the 7 O'clock and personna are the ringers.

i'm still having hit or miss with my neck and getting a good shave. i think i maybe holding too much pressure while shaving. still having irritation with shave oil and trying to be very careful.

[ShadowsDad]

T_w,

When you practice lathering deliberately take the lather to the point of breakdown. Just keep adding water. It will turn to bubbles just before it totally breaks down. That way you'll know just what hydration is and what you can get away with. You want to stop before the point of big bubbles if you intend to use it for shaving.

[brothers]

Whingnut, maybe you've mentioned it above somewhere, but have you watched those Youtube videos about how to make a lather with a brush? They're instructive. They give the basics from a whole lot of guys' varying points of view. The combination that works best for you will come eventually, and when it does, you'll recognize it.

[Squire]

I don't know what may work for you but I never set my Gillette adjustable higher than three and with a sharp blade like Polsilver, two. The wider blade gap of 5 or 6 doesn't give me a better shave and if too much pressure is applied will definitely produce a scraping effect on the skin.

[Thalay Sagar]

I don't know what may work for you but I never set my Gillette adjustable higher than three and with a sharp blade like Polsilver, two. The wider blade gap of 5 or 6 doesn't give me a better shave and if too much pressure is applied will definitely produce a scraping effect on the skin.

+1

[The_whingnut]

OK cool thanks guys I'll give the break down a shot, and I'll try the POL a shot on 3.

[CMur12]

Whingnut, I'm not sure how you mean "dry." It could be dry and airy from the start, or it could be wet and sudsy, soon drying on your face.

Dry and airy usually means not enough water. However, if you add too much water and don't get enough soap in the mixture, you will get sudsy and prone-to-dry-out.

For boar brushes, soak the brush and shake most of the water out. For badger brushes, no need to soak but do get the brush wet and shake out most of the water. If after some swirling you are not picking up soap, dip the ends of the brush quickly into water and load some more. If you get a lot of sudsing while loading the brush, you have too much water in the brush.

Some guys just load their brushes with a few swirls. I have never understood this, as it doesn't work for me. I charge the brush until it is loaded with proto-lather. Then I move to the bowl and and work the lather, adding just drops of water at a time, until I get the lather the way I want it.

Look at some of the instructional videos with these points in mind and hopefully that will cast some light on your lathering.

Good luck!

- Murray

[The_whingnut]

I rewatched the videos, and one thing I noticed different was that most ppl use a larger bowl to lather in. I was using a small mug without soap in the bottom. So I was rattling the brush more that whisking lather. Once I used my large coffee cup (4.5" wide) I was getting plenty of lather. I started out just a little soap, then water and so on until I had good lather then added too much water and then soap to even it out. Once again you guys were a big help!

[Squire]

Glad to be of assistance. I also lather in a large cup but directly on the surface of the soap. It's easy enough to stick a cake of soap in a cup or plastic bowl by moistening the surface and letting it sit overnight. Then lather directly on the soap itself which for me makes it easier to adjust the water/soap ratio to create the best lather.

[dosco]

whingnut:
Glad to see you making progress.

I know you aren't all that interested in disposables, but you might want to give the Bic Sensitive and/or Bic Metals a try. They're cheap, IMO they last for a very long time, and the Sensitive is my #1 choice for razor. For me it simply delivers the best and most comfortable shave ever.

I do have a Gillette Tech (actually I have a few of these), a Gillette Super Speed, and Gillette Slim. The Bic still wins every time for comfort, simplicity, durability, and affordability.

Cheers-
Dave

PS: Nice welding. If you're interested in settling in the DC area I know a factory that needs your kind of skills ... thin metal (thickest is 0.25"), and exotic alloys (inconel 625, inconel 718, titanium (CP, 6-4, 6-2-4-2)).

[The_whingnut]

I just picked up a Schick injector for $5.00 bucks! Its dirty now, I'll have pics up soon of it cleaned!

[Squire]

How about some fore and after shots.

[The_whingnut]

i'll try and get them up soon, life has been life lately.

[The_whingnut]

Here is the injector.