Sorry. I meant the relish
The Wanderer's Journey
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AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I was rapidly demoted back to noob status today, courtesy of my most unforgiving DE razor, the Razorine shavette. A few weepers, which does not usually happen with my "conventional" DEs. BBS above the jaw, and DFS below, but at the cost of a bit of soreness. P&B Spitfire got the call to action again.
Despite my incompetent handling, I think the very smooth Blue Diamond Titanium blade is a good pairing for this razor. Sharp but smooth is a particularly good thing for the Razorine, as with the keener edged blades like Feather and SharpEdge, it could be prone to removing skin like peeling potatoes.
Despite my incompetent handling, I think the very smooth Blue Diamond Titanium blade is a good pairing for this razor. Sharp but smooth is a particularly good thing for the Razorine, as with the keener edged blades like Feather and SharpEdge, it could be prone to removing skin like peeling potatoes.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Be proud to wear it forever.
Happy shaves,
Jim
P.S. Personally I'm not interested in unforgiving safety razors unless they offer something in return as compensation meaning they'd have to shave me exceptionally well which means they'd have to be better at it than the FOCS. In other words, I'm not interested in them because none offer what the FOCS offers and it's easy to use and very forgiving (although weepers and cuts are always possible).
P.P.S. I'd say you were humbled, but can't return to noob status unless busted by Big Nurse.
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AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Always!
The "benefits" of this razor are:
- It challenges me. There's no autopilot on these things, like there is on my conventional DEs
- It's a straight format safety razor, and so anything I learn on this, will likely be beneficial to shaving with the shavette or straight.
- It's a shavette that uses whole blades, so I don't need to break blades in half, try and safely store the other half, be wasteful and throw away the other half, or keep a separate stock of factory made half blades. Actually this is kind of a moot point, cos I still need half blades for the Dovo.
- Challenging shaves are good for appreciating the simplicity of other shaves, much like some of the soap samples make me appreciate Mitchell's even more.
- Challenging tasks done at the right time, can help the management of my neurological conditions (at the wrong time, they can set me back somewhat too).
Yesterday's shave turned out to not be too bad after all. No post shave soreness or redness after the aloe based lotion. No regrowth issues so far either. All around the Adams apple has significant regrowth to elsewhere, so long term, that's the area I need to develop new techniques for. That pretty much goes for all the inline handled razors I have.
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- #2,125
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Razorine again today, which was a brave/foolish choice as today hasn't been a good brain day. I even had to abort on two phone calls today, as listen/think/speak was proving too taxing. Not sure if it's the start of a migraine, or just the vestibular aspects struggling, and using up all the free brain power.
Swapping the blade over from one razor to another seemed the less safe option, so I just stuck with the "inline DE", but this time with Palmolive for lather. As much as I hate the term "protective lather", Palmolive does serve very well for open razor and shavette shaves. Didn't fully guard against impaired coordination, but helped, and I was left with reason to try a soothing post shave.
St James Cedarwood and Clarysage sample used. Not quite as soothing as the Phoenix and Beau, I don't think. Skin feels quite sticky too. Scent is OK, but not something I'd want to face every shave. Herbal, but unappetisingly herbal. Overall, not something I'd buy again. I have about half that sample left though, plus three other "flavours" from St James to try.
Swapping the blade over from one razor to another seemed the less safe option, so I just stuck with the "inline DE", but this time with Palmolive for lather. As much as I hate the term "protective lather", Palmolive does serve very well for open razor and shavette shaves. Didn't fully guard against impaired coordination, but helped, and I was left with reason to try a soothing post shave.
St James Cedarwood and Clarysage sample used. Not quite as soothing as the Phoenix and Beau, I don't think. Skin feels quite sticky too. Scent is OK, but not something I'd want to face every shave. Herbal, but unappetisingly herbal. Overall, not something I'd buy again. I have about half that sample left though, plus three other "flavours" from St James to try.
Here’s hoping your noggin is back online soon.
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- #2,127
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Cheers. It comes and goes. Sometimes several times a day. It's a bit like an old computer that's low on RAM. Sometimes "turn it off and on again" works, and other times you just have to wait till the programs in the background have done their thing, and the RAM comes free again. 
I think thunderstorms might have been part of the equation today. I've suffered pre-thunderstorm headaches for years, and we had one shortly after the shave.
I think thunderstorms might have been part of the equation today. I've suffered pre-thunderstorm headaches for years, and we had one shortly after the shave.
Never can tell if it’s the atmospheric pressure changes which precede the rains or spiteful implings having their vengeance, but the weather changes bring headaches to my Bride as well.
A friend of mine has been through the same for about the last 10 years. Every time a low pressure front starts moving in, her headaches get worse until it passes.
How did you overcome it Al?
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- #2,130
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Go to sleep. Nothing really to be done, other than ride it out.
Yeah, thats what she does, if she can.
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- #2,132
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Razorine again today, Palmolive too. Better coordination on my part today, but still nowhere near as good a shave as I can get with my usual kit. Much like with straights and the other shavette, the Razorine will never be more than a novelty for me. Bored of it now, so it will be rinsed off and put back away, until I feel like tormenting myself with a substandard shave again.
The Cedarwood and Clarysage balm smelled better today for some reason. Not good enough though. I got what I wanted for today out of the little pouch, and ditched the rest.
It's shaves like this, that make my regular shaves with my usual kit, seem so good
The Cedarwood and Clarysage balm smelled better today for some reason. Not good enough though. I got what I wanted for today out of the little pouch, and ditched the rest.
It's shaves like this, that make my regular shaves with my usual kit, seem so good
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AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I (hopefully) resolved the issue of the sample loading bowl today, for the princely sum of one Pound Sterling.
I had to nip into the local pound shop today for a few bits, and decided to cast my eyes over the homeware section, just in case, and found what seems to be the perfect solution.
A pack of three sauce/dip bowls, which seem to be the perfect size. Mitchell's dish shown for scale only - sadly that wasn't on sale for £1
The inside is nearly a full radius, which should eliminate "doughnutting".
No irritating clinking noises from these whatsoever, due to being so shallow. Should be perfect for soap samples, I reckon.
And if I drop one, I still have two spare
It ain’t that pretty Al but it works brilliantly. Slow feed collapsable dog bowl. The nubs accelerate the lather beautifully. I bought it from AliExpress. You can jump on it and it won’t break.I (hopefully) resolved the issue of the sample loading bowl today, for the princely sum of one Pound Sterling.
I had to nip into the local pound shop today for a few bits, and decided to cast my eyes over the homeware section, just in case, and found what seems to be the perfect solution.
View attachment 1134472
A pack of three sauce/dip bowls, which seem to be the perfect size. Mitchell's dish shown for scale only - sadly that wasn't on sale for £1
View attachment 1134473
The inside is nearly a full radius, which should eliminate "doughnutting".
View attachment 1134474
No irritating clinking noises from these whatsoever, due to being so shallow. Should be perfect for soap samples, I reckon.
And if I drop one, I still have two spare
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- #2,135
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Clever idea for a lather bowl! Do you use it for samples too?
My brother could probably do with something like that for his dog. Although, being an American Bulldog, he'd probably swallow it whole. It would turn his poos into... do you remember those toys as a kid, where you had a ladybird type thing with a spring and a sucker. You press it down, and after a few seconds... BOOIINNG!!!
Messy...
He'd probably not appreciate having to go up a ladder with the little bags to collect it off the bedroom window...
When you get a chance Al to expand your phone photo, that’s a MdC sample in it. I only use it for samples.
We did have those spring toys as a kid. I’ve never really thought of them it would have been over sixty years ago.
Friends of my wife had brought there English and French bull dogs here for a barbecue. I grilled some knockwurst sausage and wanted to give it to the dogs. She had to cut the sausage into smaller pieces, said they would choke on big meat.
When I was ten years old delivering papers an English bulldog knocked me on my *** and clamped onto my shin. It was Mr Butlers dog and he pulled duke off my leg. Mr Butler did not tip, and he looked just like his bulldog.
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AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Blue Diamond Titanium blade back in the Jagger. Kent and Mitchell's for later, three passes and a rather tingly squirt of EdT. I think the time in the Razorine knocked the stuffing out of that blade.
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AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
English Wilkinson Sword blade - shave #1
Yes, back with the English Wilkie, but this time in the black plastic Wilkinson Sword Classic razor. Three passes, plus a bit of cold water only clean up of missed areas, left me with near BBS. Autopilot needs recalibrating with this razor, as the angle is different to the Jagger DE3D14. The Boots Freshwood aftershave had little in the way of tingle though, so I wasn't too far off the mark.
I used the Kent Infinity with Mitchell's again, but have taken to palm lathering to get the lather started. Over recent weeks, the Infinity has been shedding a bit (maybe Infinity isn't as long a time as I thought...), and the lathering qualities seem to have changed a little. I still think it's a great brush, but a few seconds palm lathering really helps get a great lather.
If I don't do that, I can get the water travelling up between the bristles, away from the soap at the tips, and dripping out at the base of the knot, while the soap goes on the face dry. Palm lathering, and getting some lather building between the bristles, helps space the bristles and break that capillary action, in turn allowing the water flow back down into the lather while the brush is on the stand. Those three or four seconds really make a difference to the lather.
The Wilkinson Sword Classic is quite a closed razor, with very little clearance for getting rid of collected lather, so thin lather is more important with this than other DE razors I have. Back when I was using canned foam with this razor, I would frequently need to loosen the head to rinse it out, and more than a few times, failed to close it back up properly before resuming the shave (ouch!), but with a well hydrated soap lather (particularly Mitchell's), verging on over hydrated, that problem doesn't arise. Not at today's frequency of shaves anyway. Less frequent shaving of a younger/finer beard may have contributed to clogging.
Not only is the lather thinner and better flowing, but the few seconds of palm lathering (plus a few seconds hand rinsing and drying) noticeably increase the volume of lather produced too. Although this half puck has been in play since last year (with a few samples used along the way), I suspected I'd been loading a bit more than normal (i.e. what I used to use with the boar). The palm lathering seems to help increase the volume of the lather, meaning less is needed (once again) for three passes. More lather, better lather, less soap, at the cost of maybe 10 seconds.
I can sometimes end up with more lather than I need, but the surplus lanolin rich lather makes a damn fine beard wash for the now 100mm-ish goatee.
Yes, back with the English Wilkie, but this time in the black plastic Wilkinson Sword Classic razor. Three passes, plus a bit of cold water only clean up of missed areas, left me with near BBS. Autopilot needs recalibrating with this razor, as the angle is different to the Jagger DE3D14. The Boots Freshwood aftershave had little in the way of tingle though, so I wasn't too far off the mark.
I used the Kent Infinity with Mitchell's again, but have taken to palm lathering to get the lather started. Over recent weeks, the Infinity has been shedding a bit (maybe Infinity isn't as long a time as I thought...), and the lathering qualities seem to have changed a little. I still think it's a great brush, but a few seconds palm lathering really helps get a great lather.
If I don't do that, I can get the water travelling up between the bristles, away from the soap at the tips, and dripping out at the base of the knot, while the soap goes on the face dry. Palm lathering, and getting some lather building between the bristles, helps space the bristles and break that capillary action, in turn allowing the water flow back down into the lather while the brush is on the stand. Those three or four seconds really make a difference to the lather.
The Wilkinson Sword Classic is quite a closed razor, with very little clearance for getting rid of collected lather, so thin lather is more important with this than other DE razors I have. Back when I was using canned foam with this razor, I would frequently need to loosen the head to rinse it out, and more than a few times, failed to close it back up properly before resuming the shave (ouch!), but with a well hydrated soap lather (particularly Mitchell's), verging on over hydrated, that problem doesn't arise. Not at today's frequency of shaves anyway. Less frequent shaving of a younger/finer beard may have contributed to clogging.
Not only is the lather thinner and better flowing, but the few seconds of palm lathering (plus a few seconds hand rinsing and drying) noticeably increase the volume of lather produced too. Although this half puck has been in play since last year (with a few samples used along the way), I suspected I'd been loading a bit more than normal (i.e. what I used to use with the boar). The palm lathering seems to help increase the volume of the lather, meaning less is needed (once again) for three passes. More lather, better lather, less soap, at the cost of maybe 10 seconds.
I can sometimes end up with more lather than I need, but the surplus lanolin rich lather makes a damn fine beard wash for the now 100mm-ish goatee.
I find if don't use a soap, for awhile, it takes a couple of uses before it performs like it did. Curiously, if it's a fresh puck this doesn't happen. A fresh puck lathers like normal. Maybe it's just me, but I've had this experience with a number of soaps. I say keep using it and MWF will be up to speed after a few shaves.
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- #2,140
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
It's not the soap, Rave. I've been using it continuously for a while now (actually, I did have a couple of shave with Palmolive, but wasn't away from the Mitchell's long enough for it to dry too much). That in itself is still great, it's just that the brush needs a few seconds help to incorporate the water.
You're quite right though. Mitchell's (particularly) can get moody if left alone for a while, but I'm well practiced in coaxing them round
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