Newbie - Current Setup & Overview

[WhiskerLess]

Any suggestions for a blade to start in the Henson ++? Nacet, GSB, Astra, Dorco (I got some PIF'd to me).

For me Henson medium is still on the mild side like R2 plate on our Rockwell, good as a daily driver. So a more aggressive blade like Nacet or GSB would be a good balance.

Its light weight so if you put a lot of pressure it will still bite, extra caution as always is required.

 

[Jaybyrd]

Either of those blades will work really well. Nacet has the coolest tuck art, go with that. Actually I take that back....I would at least start with the blade you have already been using so you do not change too many things at once.

For me Henson medium is still on the mild side like R2 plate on our Rockwell, good as a daily driver. So a more aggressive blade like Nacet or GSB would be a good balance.

Its light weight so if you put a lot of pressure it will still bite, extra caution as always is required.

Yeah I do like the

gator or crocodile? Nacet, GSB and Personna have been the blades I’ve had the best luck with so far (in that order) so I’ll go that route when it comes. Still didn’t come again today so I’ll have to pick a different razor for this evenings shave hmmm. Maybe Rockwell, it’s been a bit since I used that one. Do you guys ever use R1 for day one R2 for day two R3 for day three and so on? Just a random thought I had. I’ll probably try R3 or R4 since it’s day 3.

 

[blethenstrom]

Yeah I do like the

gator or crocodile? Nacet, GSB and Personna have been the blades I’ve had the best luck with so far (in that order) so I’ll go that route when it comes. Still didn’t come again today so I’ll have to pick a different razor for this evenings shave hmmm. Maybe Rockwell, it’s been a bit since I used that one. Do you guys ever use R1 for day one R2 for day two R3 for day three and so on? Just a random thought I had. I’ll probably try R3 or R4 since it’s day 3.

Sounds kind of like a dare for the week.

 

[Jaybyrd]

I went with the R4 and GSB blade that I already had out drying.

SOTD: 05/10/2024

Razor: Rockwell 6S Red
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue, 2nd use
Brush: Captains Choice
Bowl: Captains Choice Copper Bowl
Preshave: Viking Sandalwood Oil
Soap: Taylor Of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Cream
Aftershave: RazoRock Son Of Zeus Aftershave
Balm: Proraso Red Sandlewood Balm
Additional Care: Shave Nation Alum
Additional Care: Thayers Original Witch Hazel Aloe Vera

Great shave using the Rockwell R4 plate with a GSB on my 2nd use. Not irritation or redness. A tiny weeper (on XTG pass) on right side of the mouth near where I had a weeper from my last shave 2 days ago but this one stopped after cold water rinse & alum. Was going to do 2 passes but it was going so well I finished it off for the BBS cheeks and DFS++ neck and mouth. The one thing I did different this time was showered first, I usually shower afterwards. I do enjoy the cool water shave but this one I used room temp water. The lather was wonderful using TOBS Sandalwood. The alum had a tiny tingle on the neck but it went away almost immediately. Overall 5/5 for me!

- Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

 

[WhiskerLess]

Great shave using the Rockwell R4 plate

Looks like you had a great all Sandalwood shave.

Something magical with 6S R4. I always get a guaranteed satisfying irritation free BBS with it.

Flip the plate to R2 and it’s very good for buffing and clean up too.

Very reliable and could be my island razor.

 

[Jaybyrd]

Looks like you had a great all Sandalwood shave.

Something magical with 6S R4. I always get a guaranteed satisfying irritation free BBS with it.

Flip the plate to R2 and it’s very good for buffing and clean up too.

Very reliable and could be my island razor.

Yeah for sure, I really like the sandalwood! I’ve also taken a liking to lime especially from Castle Forbes - if you ever get a chance to check that one out it’s very nice.
Ahh didn’t think to swap the plate over but that’s a good idea thanks!
Yes it’s a great razor. We could always tweak little things here and there so the one thing is the size of the cap & plate makes it a little hard to do a wtg pass under the nose other than that it’s been a gem!

 

[Jaybyrd]

The Henson ++ arrived yesterday and I went for a test drive this evening:

SOTD: 05/12/2024

Razor: Henson Medium ++
Blade: Gillette Nacet, 1st use
Brush: Captains Choice
Bowl: Captains Choice Copper Bowl
Preshave: Viking Sandalwood Oil
Soap: Proraso Red Tube Cream
Aftershave: Proraso Green Aftershave
Balm: Proraso Red Sandlewood Balm
Additional Care: Shave Nation Alum
Additional Care: Thayers Original Witch Hazel Aloe Vera
4.5/5 stars

Henson Medium ++ first use; it was good but it did bite a bit on the XTG pass around the mouth area. It seems like I should not do XTG around the mouth/chin and just do WTG & ATG passes in this area, skipping XTG, because I’ve gotten several weepers now doing XTG around the mouth & chin. Other than a couple small weepers (one of which was on the corner of the right side of my mouth) the shave was really good. BBS cheeks and DFS+ neck without irritation or redness. I washed with Luke warm water & Duke Cannon, pre-shave with sandalwood, and started with Tabac but it seemed to be a thick enough lather but a bit too dry (I might have to figure out the lather for this cream). 2nd pass I switched to Proraso sandalwood and got a nice thick lather for pass 2 & 3. This razor might be better with an Astra blade - try next time maybe.

- Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

 

[WhiskerLess]

The Henson ++ arrived yesterday and I went for a test drive this evening:

SOTD: 05/12/2024

View attachment 1845322
Razor: Henson Medium ++
Blade: Gillette Nacet, 1st use
Brush: Captains Choice
Bowl: Captains Choice Copper Bowl
Preshave: Viking Sandalwood Oil
Soap: Proraso Red Tube Cream
Aftershave: Proraso Green Aftershave
Balm: Proraso Red Sandlewood Balm
Additional Care: Shave Nation Alum
Additional Care: Thayers Original Witch Hazel Aloe Vera
4.5/5 stars

Henson Medium ++ first use; it was good but it did bite a bit on the XTG pass around the mouth area. It seems like I should not do XTG around the mouth/chin and just do WTG & ATG passes in this area, skipping XTG, because I’ve gotten several weepers now doing XTG around the mouth & chin. Other than a couple small weepers (one of which was on the corner of the right side of my mouth) the shave was really good. BBS cheeks and DFS+ neck without irritation or redness. I washed with Luke warm water & Duke Cannon, pre-shave with sandalwood, and started with Tabac but it seemed to be a thick enough lather but a bit too dry (I might have to figure out the lather for this cream). 2nd pass I switched to Proraso sandalwood and got a nice thick lather for pass 2 & 3. This razor might be better with an Astra blade - try next time maybe.

- Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

Grats on another new acquisition, Henson++ in titanium or aluminum?

Honestly, I find XTG along the mouth challenging myself.
Specially the Henson's fix angle which does not give flexibility.
I put extra care with a very light pressure, skin stretching and lots of weird face contouring.

So far it gives me a weeper free shave by doing so.
Hope you get pass this challenge the more we shave.

 

[Jaybyrd]

Thanks! You have similar issues with XTG too huh? Not that I am glad but it's reassuring to hear it's a challenge for you as well. I am going to try WTG & ATG next for the mouth and chin area only and see how that goes. Otherwise you're spot on with the pressure and I totally have to pay attention near the mouth, I think I got too comfortable with the first pass since it was so good and thinking it's a "Henson" = mild in my mind.
Forgot about the Ti Henson razors as well so no this is the aluminum version. This morning I woke up and was very impressed actually with the results of last night's shave, looks and feels great, smooth & evenly shaved. If it wasn't for the weepers last night this would have been a 5/5.

 

[Jaybyrd]

Had a great shave last night using the Blackbird Lite with a Permasharp blade. I used W.M. Neumann Absolute Zero shave cream and aftershave with cool/cold water for a very clean refreshing shave. The one thing I noticed about the shave cream, and it could be user error, but I couldn't get it quite as thick as I can get Proraso and it had some small "bubbles in it". I tried working the brush somemore but ended up putting some directly on my face and lathering it in on my face which seemed to give a much slicker razor glide. 5/5 BBS cheeks DFS++ neck.

 

[Jaybyrd]

Busy week…2 kids birthdays 6 days apart and an anniversary in between!

Great 3 pass shave 4.5/5. Third day in a row however yesterday’s shave was only 1 pass so I didn’t get overly irritated skin. It could have been a 5/5 but I had one little weeper on the corner of the mouth - I’ll blame the kids distracting me for that one

The Tabac soap in a mug was used and I lathered it on my face, one of my first full shaves with a face lather and it worked well. BBS face and DFS+ neck. The KC Gillette really shined through with a Nacet blade!

 

[WhiskerLess]

Busy week…2 kids birthdays 6 days apart and an anniversary in between!

Great 3 pass shave 4.5/5. Third day in a row however yesterday’s shave was only 1 pass so I didn’t get overly irritated skin. It could have been a 5/5 but I had one little weeper on the corner of the mouth - I’ll blame the kids distracting me for that one

The Tabac soap in a mug was used and I lathered it on my face, one of my first full shaves with a face lather and it worked well. BBS face and DFS+ neck. The KC Gillette really shined through with a Nacet blade!

View attachment 1849085

Happy anniversary Jay.
Great week indeed.

 

[blethenstrom]

Busy week…2 kids birthdays 6 days apart and an anniversary in between!

Great 3 pass shave 4.5/5. Third day in a row however yesterday’s shave was only 1 pass so I didn’t get overly irritated skin. It could have been a 5/5 but I had one little weeper on the corner of the mouth - I’ll blame the kids distracting me for that one

The Tabac soap in a mug was used and I lathered it on my face, one of my first full shaves with a face lather and it worked well. BBS face and DFS+ neck. The KC Gillette really shined through with a Nacet blade!

View attachment 1849085

Happy Anniversary!