Shave of the day?

Preshave: hot shower
Razor: Merkur Futur
Blade: Feather
Lather: TGQ Soap
Brush: Merkur Futur-style
Aftershave: Liberal splash of drugstore rubbing alcohol

Sounds exactly like Thursday's shave. And it was. In fact, it was the same Feather blade. Today was the fourth shave with that Feather. I usually get four great shaves from a Feather. This blade should have been changed immediately after my first stroke. I immediately felt it dull. This is the same Feather blade that gave me a first-class shave yesterday. But, today, it was clearly shot. I finished my shave with it, but I really had to slow down and concentrate on what I was feeling. I really had to proceed slowly and carefully and be very connected to my shave mentally. The result was a trouble-free shave, no cuts or nicks or irritation or anything. It was not as good as yesterday's shave, but still better than the best shave I ever got with a Gillette cartridge.

Most blades wear out somewhat linearly, but Feather's just collapse. This blade gave me a first-class shave yesterday and today it was clearly done. Just Amazing.

Anyway, I've already mounted a new Feather for tomorrow.

I'm on a streak to shave everyday for six months with a Feather. I sometimes see guys say, "You can't shave everyday with a Feather. They are too sharp. Your face can't stand being shaved that close every day. Your face will fall off if you try." Well, July will be my fourth month shaving every day with a Feather and I am pleased to report no problems at all. I don't doubt that some guys may not be able to do this. But the general statement that nobody can shave everyday with a Feather is clearly not true.
 
Sucsess!

DE89L w/ Astra SP. Super smooth, felt smoother than the feather. A 2 pass and touch up shave was my first shave that was closer than i could have ever gotten with a multi pass atg shave with a mach 3. Which would have killed my face. No irritation at all.

Though my chin is still not perfect. Any valuable tips?
 
First shave with the new gear.

Preshave: hot towel on the face for 5 minutes
Razor: EJ 89L
Blade: Derby Extra
Lather: Proraso Aloe and Green-Tea
Brush: Omega Boars Hair
Aftershave: The Gentlemens Refinery The Standard After Shave Balm

Even though I tried to wait till tomorrow to shave I couldn't:o I was a little nervous about stepping up to the mirror with the DE razor, but not guts no glory. I found an angle that worked for me fairly quickly and had no difficulty maintaining it. My first thought was just do a single or double pass north to south, well the first pass went so well that I decided what the heck lets try south to north and leave it at that. Once again, no problems. Not as close as I was getting with the multi blade razor but I was being some what gentle. Since I was having no pulling but could hear the blade cutting I decided it was time to go across the cheeks and neck, wtg. Still no problem but I could feel the smoothness coming on fast, so I got bold and did a atg pass. I made it through with no nicks or bleeding. The atg pass did cause some razor burn, but I had as close a shave as I have gotten with the Fusion. I decided to stop there and not do any touch ups this time. Now it was time to try on the balm I rinsed my face with cold water, blotted off the excess and applied one pump of balm as directed. Burn was knocked back almost instantly, and I find the scent to be very pleasing.
So there it is my first true attempt at a DE shave, 4 passes and no nicks, just as good a shave as I have gotten before. I think that in time I will be getting that BBS shave with no trouble at all.

One thing that I did notice while cleaning up the area is that the razor had developed quite the soap residue on it. Leaves me wondering am I using too much soap or is this common. I got a sample tube of Cremo Cream I plan on giving it a try in a couple of days after I get more confidence in the razor.

In the long run 2:thumbup: to DE shaving, its cheaper, adds a touch of class and pampering to the daily routine, and gives a better shave.
 
Just open the razor a bit, run hot water threw it. The hot water will help dissolve the soap residue, and the heat will dry the razor after you shake and blow on it a bit. Tighten it up and put it away. When you replace the blade every however manydays take a toothbrush to it for a few seconds to get any residual scum off.
 
unky_gumbi said:
So there it is my first true attempt at a DE shave, 4 passes and no nicks, just as good a shave as I have gotten before. I think that in time I will be getting that BBS shave with no trouble at all.
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Excellent! And this from a guy who, just a couple of months ago, didn't think he would be able to do this. Congratulations.
 
I've pretty much given up on against the grain. May try again in a few months, but it seems my skin is just too sensitive. However today after wtg, and xtg I tried going diagonal against the grain. Same angle as chin to top of ear. No irritation at all, BBS in 3 directions with just a little stubble here and there if you run against. I'm sure I could do a touch up though. or maybe try against the grain from here. Very pleased with the result.

Unky how did the scar go?
 
It was the last section I did in each pass, I pulled it as flat as possible and worked carefuly. Still have some stubble there but I think with practice I will get it
 
Today a first-rate effort.

Had a sauna before shaving, nothing else opens the pores so much or softens the beard!

Men-u synthetic brush,really good and some years old

Colonel Conk shaving soap,Amber. It may be modest but its scent is very acceptable and it lathers well-rather wet.

Merkur travelling razor that dismantles into a tiny leather pouch,the ultralight travelling razor.

Feather.

Result? One of the closest shaves ever,no nicks, excellent.
 
So day three with the DE and getting better

Preshave: hot shower and tried the Baxters of California facial scrub sample I got
Razor: EJ 89L
Blade: Astra Platinum
Lather: Proraso Aloe and Green-Tea/Cremo creme
Brush: Omega Boars Hair
Aftershave: The Gentlemens Refinery The Standard After Shave Balm

First off I will say the facial scrub is something you don't want to do after a close shave, it really does scrub:eek:. It does make your face feel good after though and there is a visible difference:thumbup: I know that the Derby blade wasn't dull yet, but I wanted to compare sharp blades to sharp blades, and with the lower price of them I think I can afford to switch out early for this first week or two. I think I like the Astra better then the Derby, it did seem to cut better and closer. I did get a couple of nicks, one on each side of the mouth and one one the throat, and some razor burn. I chalk that up to technique instead of the blade. That and I wanted as smooth a shave as possible so I may have gotten a little aggressive, tomorrow will tell for sure. I actually did a touch up and after hearing how slick the cremo was I decided to use that for touch up, it did the trick. I may have to try a full shave with it after I try all the blades. End result Near BBS in all directions and happy despite the burn
 
Astra is a much more agressive blade than Derby. I also found Astras to be much more inconsistent.
 
Gollnick said:
Say, how is that balm working for you?
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Like a dream:thumbup:, really feels good and I like the smell of it. It's a little on the expensive side but I truly feel its a case of you get what you payed for. The next best thing to getting more then you payed for:p
 
you know I've been finding derbys inconsistent, and have been favoring astra. Though my sample size is nowhere near aproaching 'scientific' Maybe its a batch thing?
 
Today's shave

Preshave: hot shower
Razor: EJ 89L
Blade: Dorco
Lather: Proraso Aloe and Green-Tea
Brush: Omega Boars Hair
Aftershave: The Gentlemens Refinery The Standard After Shave Balm

So I am finding the Astra Platinum's just a little too harsh for me at this time, 3 shaves with razor burn each time. I still credit this to my technique so they are shelved till I get better with the DE. The next pack in the pile was Dorco. While it took an extra pass to get an acceptable shave, I have zero burn. I haven't even put on the balm yet and no burning, so either I am getting better or the dorcos are just that gentle, I think the latter. I am not BBS, I wasn't looking to get that close today because of the razor burn from the last couple of days. It could be what the older guy down the street suggested for the razor burn helping too. He is just down the street from me, and every time I see him I stop and chat. He had known about my switch to a DE razor and noticed the redness yesterday. He suggested that I rub some moisturizer on my neck before going to bed. I decided that it couldn't hurt and gave it a try. It helped with the razor burn, but I don't know if it helped with the shave today, but it could have. With no burn today I will skip the moisturizer tonight and run the Dorco again tomorrow. If I get burn it means moisturizer each night before bed and maybe revisit the Astra Platinum again, because I do like their cutting power.
 
My mom was talking to her hairdresser about shaving supplies, and she suggested a local place I'd never heard of. I went today expecting mostly just a dealer of barbering products. When I got to the door the door was locked and had a doorbell. Rang it and waited a minute or so before a nice Italian gentlemen came and greeted me and welcomed me in. Inside were vat's and bottling equipment from their own products. They had a few products other than what they made, some brushes, straight razors and strops. Basically what you'd expect for a barber bulk supply store. I ended up getting some of his aftershave lotion, and some other blades to try out. Lord, and Crystals. I just put on a bit of the aftershave. I'm not really sure whats in it, but its got a nice bit of alcohol to it, and my face feels tight and soft. Nice well balanced scent too. I went looking to get a nice cooling aftershave for summer, as what I've been using so far had been a bit greasy. I think this will do nicely.

http://www.anthonycorporation.com/Catalogue/AnthonyGold.htm
 
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Munky, any Proraso RED shaving cream at that place you visited? I'd be interested..
 
nope. no Prorasso at all surprisingly.

Most of the stuff was geared towards today's barbers. For instance most of their shaving cream was for lather machines. also not so much on the shaving side of things unfortunately. But what there was was very classical. It was just a fun little place. Can't wait to try the aftershave.

as I said it was a barber supply place. Not really setup for public. Though he was very happy to help, and told me to let people know they were welcome.
 
Preshave: hot shower Proraso Pre/Post Shaving Cream
Razor: EJ 89L
Blade: Precision Red pack blades
Lather: Proraso Aloe and Green-Tea
Brush: Omega Boars Hair
Aftershave: Proraso Pre/Post Shaving Cream The Gentlemens Refinery The Standard After Shave Balm

I had seen the pre shave sitting in the store a couple of times and decided to give it a go and see how it works for me. First thing I have to say about this stuff is, boy does it remind me of Vicks Vapor Rub. I didn't find that it provided any extra lubrication, but it does make my beard that much easier to cut. Today was a 4 pass shave, with some buffing for a 5th pass. It was close with only minor irritation. I had been reading how the pre shave works great as a post shave so I put a little on my hands and rubbed it in worked like a charm, but the smell leaves something to be desired. to combat the smell I did my usual GR balm and believe it or not it smoothed out my face even more. My skin feels silky smooth, no burn and tight yet flexible. It is almost like a fountain of youth for my skin, feels like my face has lost 20+ years of abuse.

So that is round one of all the blades I got in my sampler, except for the Feathers. I am still a little hesitant to give them a go till I have a bit more time on the razor. I figure I will give one more round of the other blades before I break the seal on the Feathers.
 
I didn't find the feathers to be that much more aggressive than the super platinums. Give into temptation. The very worst is they teach you what your doing wrong.

The new aftershave was quite nice. The scent is a little on the flowery side, but is wearing down quite nicely. It does have a nice alchohal burn. It's on the refreshing side of things though. My face feels nice and soft with no film or grease. I'm sure there are better aftershaves out there, but for 10 dollars for a bottle that will last a year. Very happy. May have gone with the musk if I had to choose again. Scented aftershaves have just grown on me. Wilgoy if your near North Vancouver I'd give it a recommendation. fun little place. It's just behind Rona.
 
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