Not so bad!
global_dev straight journal
- Thread starter global_dev
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I agree with Luc, looks pretty good! Two passes, wtg and xtg are all I usually do unless I have the time/desire for that bbs result. You seem to be doing great.
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- #83
i concur, i think 2 passes are good for me right now. this mornings shave was good but got a couple of small slices on upper cheek ... and one deep slice on thumb pad 
perpendicular to my nail prior to even starting to shave.. bled for a second applied styptic, thought it was an omen but shaved anyway... 
good times
i am really trying to make col conk lime work but it's just not that good for me...
perpendicular to my nail prior to even starting to shave.. bled for a second applied styptic, thought it was an omen but shaved anyway... good timesi am really trying to make col conk lime work but it's just not that good for me...
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- #84
so after getting my miscroscope, a chinese 1200 from woodcraft and snapping a couple pics, i decided to gove teh Johann Engstrom frameback a go.
I honed it on the 12K then coticule with water, than 5u film, then 0.3u film, stropped on linen, and then on leather... i think by this time it was 10 minutes to midnite and setup for some passes. I lathered up some Razorock cream, smells great and thick... c.o. bigelow best badger.. that was one inexpensive brush...
i had watched a google video Lynn Abrams video that was interesting and talked about not going over the moustache and chin area after first pass or so.
first pass N-S everywhere was nice and smooth. however as i got to my moutache and chin area, it was obvious i hadn't hydrated the cream enough as it was drying out so, as Lynn showed, i lathered that area again and nice smooth pass.
added some more water to the brush and the lather semi-exploded, it was obvious i did not have the correct ratio earlier. i was close, but not there.
second pass was N-S on face (again) and cheeks came out past DFS. On the neck S-N and DFS, as was moustache area and upper chin.
Lower chin was seemed CCS, but upon further observation it was obvious I have some issues with this area on the WTG stroke, but if I try to go ATG i get some irritation, so i passed on this touch-up.
I applied some Pinaud Clubman AS Lotion. I am surprised how much I enjoy this scent, although it's not my go to scent, it works nicely. I do like the branded talc, it's a nice break from the metholated medicated gold bond...
...a nice burn, no redness, no need for styptic, and put everything away
right now (1030), i can see some stubble which is a double edged sword. On one hand, i would have liked to see a very close long lasting shave, but on the other it'll give me the chance to shave again soon enough.
I honed it on the 12K then coticule with water, than 5u film, then 0.3u film, stropped on linen, and then on leather... i think by this time it was 10 minutes to midnite and setup for some passes. I lathered up some Razorock cream, smells great and thick... c.o. bigelow best badger.. that was one inexpensive brush...
i had watched a google video Lynn Abrams video that was interesting and talked about not going over the moustache and chin area after first pass or so.
first pass N-S everywhere was nice and smooth. however as i got to my moutache and chin area, it was obvious i hadn't hydrated the cream enough as it was drying out so, as Lynn showed, i lathered that area again and nice smooth pass.
added some more water to the brush and the lather semi-exploded, it was obvious i did not have the correct ratio earlier. i was close, but not there.
second pass was N-S on face (again) and cheeks came out past DFS. On the neck S-N and DFS, as was moustache area and upper chin.
Lower chin was seemed CCS, but upon further observation it was obvious I have some issues with this area on the WTG stroke, but if I try to go ATG i get some irritation, so i passed on this touch-up.
I applied some Pinaud Clubman AS Lotion. I am surprised how much I enjoy this scent, although it's not my go to scent, it works nicely. I do like the branded talc, it's a nice break from the metholated medicated gold bond...
...a nice burn, no redness, no need for styptic, and put everything away
right now (1030), i can see some stubble which is a double edged sword. On one hand, i would have liked to see a very close long lasting shave, but on the other it'll give me the chance to shave again soon enough.
Saw your thread for the lather, you will probably need to practice it a bit more.
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- #86
perhaps, i don't think I am an overall bad latherer, but did you mean later or lather? by later, i mean honing from my microscope thread..
Oops, coffee didn't kick in yet... I'll go make another one, I'm confusing two things. I'm sure your lather is fine!
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- #88
i moved all of my shaving gear from the 3rd floor to the 1st floor. I am not sure that I like the space. It's a bit small and sink is lower than the master bath. I imagine if I get some more shelving and holders it'll be alright.
Anyway, I had a really nice shave, no cuts, no nicks, no visible irritation. It was face lathering first 2 passes using my "enhanced" VDH deluxe, followed by a tiny amount of KMF lavender on the third, with the engstrom frameback and while i am making great strides in most of my face, i am struggling on my chin. I think visible from some previous pictures, it's usually the same stubble. It grows N-S, probably very common, and the only way i seem to be able to get it down is to go in a slight edge bias E-W which usually ends up with some irritation. I guess it's just practice makes perfect...
everything followed up by some generic witch hazel and glycerin mix and then about 30 mins later when i went back upstairs, i added some cetaphil moisturizer...
Anyway, I had a really nice shave, no cuts, no nicks, no visible irritation. It was face lathering first 2 passes using my "enhanced" VDH deluxe, followed by a tiny amount of KMF lavender on the third, with the engstrom frameback and while i am making great strides in most of my face, i am struggling on my chin. I think visible from some previous pictures, it's usually the same stubble. It grows N-S, probably very common, and the only way i seem to be able to get it down is to go in a slight edge bias E-W which usually ends up with some irritation. I guess it's just practice makes perfect...
everything followed up by some generic witch hazel and glycerin mix and then about 30 mins later when i went back upstairs, i added some cetaphil moisturizer...
Same problem here, but today I tried going SW-EW and that was a major difference, close shaved and no irritation.
I was also having the same problem on the lower chin... I'm gonna try some XTG reduction before I touch it up next time.
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- #91
someone tell me what just happened, because I don't fully understand what happened. i opted not to shave Monday since i was tired. so a nice short beard with really clear skin. no irritations or cuts...
With the school (K) for my youngest & darkness coming earlier, we have been getting kids to sleep earlier and have also moved my own schedule earlier. After tea (our post-dinner usual) and some Old Maid game with my kids (my 5 y.o hates having the old maid card in her hand at the beginning of the game), I decided to go down into my new shave area. With the holiday coming around, i thought i was going to go for the DE, but the straights were calling to me and I couldn't resist their siren song... In fact all week I had been thinking if the Hart was shave ready, knowing that it had some shaves on it already from the previous owner and seeing some of the edge shots from a previous post i was hesitant... i moved the closed Hart around in my fingers for about a minute while i decided what to do.
that sucker is heavy and glides on a strop by itself... having revisited all of my gear, i mixed the castor oil and calendula baby oil as a PSO and let it sit while i stropped on the leather. Opening up the cabinet with the soaps, i thought i was going to go with the Domenico Caraceni 1913, but I didn't want to ruin my first experience of this shave cream with a poor shave if the blade wasn't ready, so I went with Cella. I have been face lathering lately, where I load the brush and apply a thin layer to all my face and then add water until i hit the desired consistency...
moment of truth.. right side of face WTG, nice angle, no pressure... like butter with some audible feeback...almost BBS, i can't believe it, left side WTG, nice angle, no pressure... again almost BBS I am in total shock now. hit under the nose and chin, same thing... no visible stubble like usual... i am getting nervous... the blade will surely bite me at the end... no such luck... it was amazing... there was only a little bit of neck less than nickel sized in total that needed some touch-up!!! I didn't even attempt a second pass!!! I was done. and in shock..
It's not a BBS...I'd say it's a 110% DFS and I can't stop thinking about what just happened.
I am guessing it's a combination of a lot of things, one of the major factors being honed by someone who knows what they are doing....
what a sweet moment...
With the school (K) for my youngest & darkness coming earlier, we have been getting kids to sleep earlier and have also moved my own schedule earlier. After tea (our post-dinner usual) and some Old Maid game with my kids (my 5 y.o hates having the old maid card in her hand at the beginning of the game), I decided to go down into my new shave area. With the holiday coming around, i thought i was going to go for the DE, but the straights were calling to me and I couldn't resist their siren song... In fact all week I had been thinking if the Hart was shave ready, knowing that it had some shaves on it already from the previous owner and seeing some of the edge shots from a previous post i was hesitant... i moved the closed Hart around in my fingers for about a minute while i decided what to do.
that sucker is heavy and glides on a strop by itself... having revisited all of my gear, i mixed the castor oil and calendula baby oil as a PSO and let it sit while i stropped on the leather. Opening up the cabinet with the soaps, i thought i was going to go with the Domenico Caraceni 1913, but I didn't want to ruin my first experience of this shave cream with a poor shave if the blade wasn't ready, so I went with Cella. I have been face lathering lately, where I load the brush and apply a thin layer to all my face and then add water until i hit the desired consistency...
moment of truth.. right side of face WTG, nice angle, no pressure... like butter with some audible feeback...almost BBS, i can't believe it, left side WTG, nice angle, no pressure... again almost BBS I am in total shock now. hit under the nose and chin, same thing... no visible stubble like usual... i am getting nervous... the blade will surely bite me at the end... no such luck... it was amazing... there was only a little bit of neck less than nickel sized in total that needed some touch-up!!! I didn't even attempt a second pass!!! I was done. and in shock..
It's not a BBS...I'd say it's a 110% DFS and I can't stop thinking about what just happened.
I am guessing it's a combination of a lot of things, one of the major factors being honed by someone who knows what they are doing....
what a sweet moment...
Nice!
Your technique slowly improves with each shave, without noticing, you got it! Happens to me too!
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- #93
since after being out of town for thanksgiving, i have been too tired to shave w/ a straight at all... i mean i wanted to, but I passed on the straights and went for something quick and easy, on monday it was a NEW or GASP, yesterday morning i shaved in the shower for the first time in probably 10-15 years with cremo and a schick hydro 5. i barely had my eyes open. I think this might be the same blade i tried a couple months ago... pretty good shave, although for some reason the result didn't feel the same. really strange.
I was feeling great yesterday after work and brother bought a GD108 off the bay. It had no gold dollar mark across the blade, but the shank and scales were the exact as the one I got here. He asked me to hone it and i thought why not... i set the bevel using DMT plates C then F, went on to my coticule and i think generated my own slurry with just water, followed by a natural chinese 12K with some "lather".
I noticed early on an interesting flow to the bevel and and I think the razor is a tiny bit curved, such that on one side the bevel is taller at the ends of the edge than the middle, and on the other side it's the opposite. It's a bit hard to see the curve looking at the spine, but I it's there. either way i decided to strop and use it. cut arm hair very nicely...
proraso pre and co bigelows face lathered... very nice and smooth edge.. 1 WTG pass @ CCS, 2nd pass XTG @ DFS, no cuts, no skipping, washed up and followed with a small amount Pinaud LV and done.
So can I guess i can hone to compensate for the curve in the spine , but I think the blade has a similar of a bend. It didn't seem to interfere with the quality of shave. Any thoughts or advice?
I was feeling great yesterday after work and brother bought a GD108 off the bay. It had no gold dollar mark across the blade, but the shank and scales were the exact as the one I got here. He asked me to hone it and i thought why not... i set the bevel using DMT plates C then F, went on to my coticule and i think generated my own slurry with just water, followed by a natural chinese 12K with some "lather".
I noticed early on an interesting flow to the bevel and and I think the razor is a tiny bit curved, such that on one side the bevel is taller at the ends of the edge than the middle, and on the other side it's the opposite. It's a bit hard to see the curve looking at the spine, but I it's there. either way i decided to strop and use it. cut arm hair very nicely...
proraso pre and co bigelows face lathered... very nice and smooth edge.. 1 WTG pass @ CCS, 2nd pass XTG @ DFS, no cuts, no skipping, washed up and followed with a small amount Pinaud LV and done.
So can I guess i can hone to compensate for the curve in the spine , but I think the blade has a similar of a bend. It didn't seem to interfere with the quality of shave. Any thoughts or advice?
Some GD are all right/good and other not. In your case, if the blade is warped, that's not good. However, it still sounds like your shave ended up being right. If the shave was right, I wouldn't play with the bevel yet.
It is great to see that it is all coming together for you. I envy you it is a delightful feeling. Well done!
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- #96
thankfully this GD is not mine, i just offered to hone it up for my bro. the blade is not twisted, just curved at 2 places it looks like. one 1/3 from the shank and one near the 1/3 from the tip very slightly. even my wife confirmed it.
i did some research yesterday on maybe honing using a rolling x pass, which i can understand on the convex side, but not so much on the concave.
well, it definitely was sharp for the TPT and arm hair cutting...
thanks, it is a really nice feeling to have it all aligning well. i too get very jealous when I hear about BBS from a straight from the more experienced guys. Especially with all of the talk about wonderful edges coming off these expensive stones that I want to try, but can't really justify now except for lust
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- #97
finally got my Jose Monserrat Pou COGIDO MEDALLION TAURINO #14 in the mail. it is a huge blade and the edge was in pretty bad shape.
started out on a coticule - dilucot, but it was too slow so i jumped to DMT C/F and once the bevel was set I went back to the coticule, C12K and 5 and .3u film.
stropped a bit and then some PSO and some proraso white tub,
2 passes, not cuts, no irritation, some thayers cucumber and proraso AS and done.
I don't know why i even bothered buying and using the GEM OC micromatic.
started out on a coticule - dilucot, but it was too slow so i jumped to DMT C/F and once the bevel was set I went back to the coticule, C12K and 5 and .3u film.
stropped a bit and then some PSO and some proraso white tub,
2 passes, not cuts, no irritation, some thayers cucumber and proraso AS and done.
I don't know why i even bothered buying and using the GEM OC micromatic.
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Wow, that blade microscope seems really useful. Where did you get it and what does it cost?
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- #99
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- #100
# 37 Friday early evening & # 38 Saturday late morning
both with 1874 JE Arrow Joh Engstrom
w/ P.160 C.O. Bigelow Best Badger and Vulfix 41
nice shaves. usually 2 passes and I get somewhere between a CCS and DFS.
Saturday evening, one pass with Feather AS DE and KMF to cleanup for today's shave..
#39 Sunday Afternoon
Hart blade
w/ P.160 w/ Vulfix 41
first pass is awesome... second pass just to see how far I could go. got something between DFS and BBS. I almost kind of wish I had gone with the Hart first.... i think i am putting a fine edge on the JEs, buit doesn't fell as smooth, maybe its the grind?
I am getting zero nicks, no slices, almost no irritation except lower right neck, which i think may be due to right hand pressure. left hand pressure is great...
i was busy spending a ton of time at the Acqua di Parma, Creed, and Tom Ford counter in Neiman Marcus yesterday and then looking around the Grooming Lounge. They have some nice stuff.
both with 1874 JE Arrow Joh Engstrom
w/ P.160 C.O. Bigelow Best Badger and Vulfix 41
nice shaves. usually 2 passes and I get somewhere between a CCS and DFS.
Saturday evening, one pass with Feather AS DE and KMF to cleanup for today's shave..
#39 Sunday Afternoon
Hart blade
w/ P.160 w/ Vulfix 41
first pass is awesome... second pass just to see how far I could go. got something between DFS and BBS. I almost kind of wish I had gone with the Hart first.... i think i am putting a fine edge on the JEs, buit doesn't fell as smooth, maybe its the grind?
I am getting zero nicks, no slices, almost no irritation except lower right neck, which i think may be due to right hand pressure. left hand pressure is great...
i was busy spending a ton of time at the Acqua di Parma, Creed, and Tom Ford counter in Neiman Marcus yesterday and then looking around the Grooming Lounge. They have some nice stuff.
