A newbie’s journey into DE shaving

[Guido75]

I'm paranoid about the blade edge myself. I'm super careful to try to not let anything touch it. I take my blades out after shaving and try to dry them off with a piece of tissue paper but even with that I avoid touching the edge. If I dropped a blade and though the edge was hit I'd probably bin it too.

I dry my blades as well, but I clamp them in the middle and then wipe from the middle to the edge with a micro towel with my thumb and index finger - so both sides at once sort of speak.

But you are right, I should probably have binned the blade after I dropped it (even though it was a relatively short fall).

 

[mgweatherly]

I dry my blades as well, but I clamp them in the middle and then wipe from the middle to the edge with a micro towel with my thumb and index finger - so both sides at once sort of speak.

But you are right, I should probably have binned the blade after I dropped it (even though it was a relatively short fall).

I also remove and dry the blade after I shave, but I don't touch the edge with anything. I hold the blade in the middle and blow the water off before I place the blade on a magnetic strip that holds it vertically to finish air drying.

 

[thombrogan]

Please heal soon, @Guido75

DE blades are like sashimi — if you have any doubt, throw it out!

 

[Guido75]

January Evaluation

Although January is not fully over yet, I have a busy week ahead, so I thought I would do the monthly looking back today.

• January has 31 shaves with an average effectiveness score of 8.3 (December: 8.5) - which equates results between DFS+ and BBS-. So overall good results for January. Slightly less effective than December, mainly because I stopped chasing the BBS as much and I brought down the number of passes from 3 on average to 2.5 on average.
• Most shaves were efficient as well with an average shaving time of 15-20 minutes from start to finish.
• The quality of the shave was better than December with 6.5 as lowest score (December: 5) which was between tuggy and harsh for this shave.
• Lower comfort shaves were with either a London, a Titan or a KCG blade. I had 7 shaves with an Eddison, 6 with a Personna Red and 5 shaves with both a Feather and a Titan. The Personna blade will have seen 12 shaves in total after tomorrow.
• Most spectacular or stellar shaves were a Feather, a Titan (go figure) and a Gillette Black/Ninja. These shaves were with the Ti95 SCB, the R41, Gillette Flat Bottom New and Gillette Old Type.
• Most used razor for December was my Timeless Ti95 SCB with 10 uses followed by the R41 with 5 shaves and the Old Tpye with 3 uses.
• Other razors saw either 2 uses or just 1 use which brings me to the least used razors this month: KCG, Matador Deluxe, NEW Improved, Gillette Super Speed, Flatboy and Swing.
• Most shaves in December were done with a closed comb or safety bar razor.
• Most used soap this month was Mitchell's Wool Fat together with Mike's Natural Barbershop (6 times each). Haslinger followed with 5 times and Bergamot together with Tabac 4 times. Haslinger was brought to 50 shaves this month. I have started with bringing Bergamot to 50 shaves - this will be my soap for February.

January was a good shaving month with the Gillette Old Type as newest addition to the collection. And what an addition! The Old Type will be on deck for a week in February as I re-enter SWS to use my razors more deliberately.

As for technique the main change I made was reverting back to 'standard' strokes which appear to be non-standard for my beard growth anyway. Based on this month's results I estimate that N-S = XWTG, W-E = WXTG and S-N = XATG. With this shaving pattern I only need two passes on my neck to be sufficiently smooth, while my cheeks get 3 passes. In addition, I make super short strokes bordering on buffing strokes. More often than not I get BBS- and DFS++ results. If I combine my earlier tests for growth with this month's findings a Gillette Slanted short stroke might be the definitive ticket to super smooth (yeah...right...)

Am going to finish January GRUME succesfully! Being in the yearly restraint as well has changed my views on my AD's and I feel quite at ease using what I have. I have also found a way to deal with my RRA (Razor Rotation Anxiety). Yes, there will be razors that get less mileage in a given month, but I will make better use of all my razors throughout the year. This may or may not coincide with various themed threads (Fatip Friday surely comes to mind) - we'll see. For now let's for once stick with a plan and see it achieved before making changes.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Guido,

I look forward to your thread posts every day. I want to thank you for all the time and care you take reporting your experiences to us so we can benefit. We've never met... but I would sure enjoy sitting down with you in your favorite coffee shop and getting to know you in "real life". I suspect you are the same in "real life" as you are here: a wonderful human being.

 

[flask28]

January Evaluation

Although January is not fully over yet, I have a busy week ahead, so I thought I would do the monthly looking back today.

• January has 31 shaves with an average effectiveness score of 8.3 (December: 8.5) - which equates results between DFS+ and BBS-. So overall good results for January. Slightly less effective than December, mainly because I stopped chasing the BBS as much and I brought down the number of passes from 3 on average to 2.5 on average.
• Most shaves were efficient as well with an average shaving time of 15-20 minutes from start to finish.
• The quality of the shave was better than December with 6.5 as lowest score (December: 5) which was between tuggy and harsh for this shave.
• Lower comfort shaves were with either a London, a Titan or a KCG blade. I had 7 shaves with an Eddison, 6 with a Personna Red and 5 shaves with both a Feather and a Titan. The Personna blade will have seen 12 shaves in total after tomorrow.
• Most spectacular or stellar shaves were a Feather, a Titan (go figure) and a Gillette Black/Ninja. These shaves were with the Ti95 SCB, the R41, Gillette Flat Bottom New and Gillette Old Type.
• Most used razor for December was my Timeless Ti95 SCB with 10 uses followed by the R41 with 5 shaves and the Old Tpye with 3 uses.
• Other razors saw either 2 uses or just 1 use which brings me to the least used razors this month: KCG, Matador Deluxe, NEW Improved, Gillette Super Speed, Flatboy and Swing.
• Most shaves in December were done with a closed comb or safety bar razor.
• Most used soap this month was Mitchell's Wool Fat together with Mike's Natural Barbershop (6 times each). Haslinger followed with 5 times and Bergamot together with Tabac 4 times. Haslinger was brought to 50 shaves this month. I have started with bringing Bergamot to 50 shaves - this will be my soap for February.

January was a good shaving month with the Gillette Old Type as newest addition to the collection. And what an addition! The Old Type will be on deck for a week in February as I re-enter SWS to use my razors more deliberately.

As for technique the main change I made was reverting back to 'standard' strokes which appear to be non-standard for my beard growth anyway. Based on this month's results I estimate that N-S = XWTG, W-E = WXTG and S-N = XATG. With this shaving pattern I only need two passes on my neck to be sufficiently smooth, while my cheeks get 3 passes. In addition, I make super short strokes bordering on buffing strokes. More often than not I get BBS- and DFS++ results. If I combine my earlier tests for growth with this month's findings a Gillette Slanted short stroke might be the definitive ticket to super smooth (yeah...right...)

Am going to finish January GRUME succesfully! Being in the yearly restraint as well has changed my views on my AD's and I feel quite at ease using what I have. I have also found a way to deal with my RRA (Razor Rotation Anxiety). Yes, there will be razors that get less mileage in a given month, but I will make better use of all my razors throughout the year. This may or may not coincide with various themed threads (Fatip Friday surely comes to mind) - we'll see. For now let's for once stick with a plan and see it achieved before making changes.

Great write up Guido! You are a thoughtful and fun writer to read, always a great mix of empirical and subjective analysis.

So pass 1 is N-S, Pass 2 is W-E and Pass 3 (face only) is S-N.

I'm going to try that tomorrow. For me that would be XWTG, WXTG and XATG as well. My third pass has been a E-W AXTG and really has been the stroke that seems to clean everything up on my neck. But it's a moderate/high risk stroke for sure that I do left (off) handed just to make it even more risky. When I do mess up, it's on that pass.

 

[Guido75]

Date	30.01.2023
365 days of shaving	30/365 (100%)
GRUYERE	30/365 (100%)
GRUME January	30/31 (100%)
Other participations	Shave of the Week Society (SWS) Discovery Blade Adventure

Passes	2.5
XWTG	Cheeks: N-S Neck: N-S
WXTG	Cheeks L: W-E Cheeks R: E-W Neck: S-N
XATG	Cheeks: S-N

Razor	Blade	Brush
Mühle R41	Personna Red (12)	Omega Roma Capitolina
Pre-shave	Soap & Bowl	Post-shave
Cold splash Proraso Green	Dutchy Bergamot Hybrid lathering	Cold splash Floïd (AS) Nivea (Balm)

Efficiency	Quality
9.5/10 (~15 minutes)	9.5/10 (tiny one under the chin)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8.5/10 (DFS+)	7/10 (harsher)

Notes to today’s shave:

As I feel my face this morning I think I can say that the blade had suffered from the fall. The KCG is one of the sharper/est blades in my collection and I have shared with it for nearly three months straight before venturing out to other blades (and by now I have more than enough blades to get me comfortably into my 80s before I run out!).

So the R41 does get a go today and it’s paired with a Persons Red on its 12th shave. This is a wonderful blade similar to the Eddisson that it up for tomorrow. The blade felt harsher in the R41 today. Great performance, but not smooth and therefore less comfortable.

The brush is the baby brother version of the T3 and they hang side by side in my cabinet. It whipped up a lather in no time and it felt slick and rich just how I liked it.

I read @Butch Waxx latest post on growth patterns yesterday and based on that I combined my current pattern with a Gillette Slanted stroke to assess differences in effectiveness. The first stroke was tuggy as I believe the slant actually mitigated the XTG pattern already included in the N-S pass. On the second pass slanting did provide extra effectiveness - I do need to be careful off the direction the slant goes. Slanting up (more ATG) can lead to pulling on the jaw line area and so I tend to slant down there (WTG) before the final XATG pass from S-N.

A very nice Monday shave. Enjoy yours!

 

[Guido75]

Guido,

I look forward to your thread posts every day. I want to thank you for all the time and care you take reporting your experiences to us so we can benefit. We've never met... but I would sure enjoy sitting down with you in your favorite coffee shop and getting to know you in "real life". I suspect you are the same in "real life" as you are here: a wonderful human being.

With todays technology we could always get a virtual cup of coffee Kim . You won’t get to see a 3D me and experience me from all sides, but maybe that’s a good thing!

Guido

 

[Guido75]

Great write up Guido! You are a thoughtful and fun writer to read, always a great mix of empirical and subjective analysis.

So pass 1 is N-S, Pass 2 is W-E and Pass 3 (face only) is S-N.

I'm going to try that tomorrow. For me that would be XWTG, WXTG and XATG as well. My third pass has been a E-W AXTG and really has been the stroke that seems to clean everything up on my neck. But it's a moderate/high risk stroke for sure that I do left (off) handed just to make it even more risky. When I do mess up, it's on that pass.

Excellent! Keep experimenting. And some of my strokes are riskier too with my left hand. And I am left handed mine you!

 

[stivek]

For me there is always something to learn from your posts @Guido75
Thank you for sharing all these details

I read @Butch Waxx latest post on growth patterns yesterday and based on that I combined my current pattern with a Gillette Slanted stroke to assess differences in effectiveness. The first stroke was tuggy as I believe the slant actually mitigated the XTG pattern already included in the N-S pass. On the second pass slanting did provide extra effectiveness - I do need to be careful off the direction the slant goes. Slanting up (more ATG) can lead to pulling on the jaw line area and so I tend to slant down there (WTG) before the final XATG pass from S-N.

Where can I find this post? I'm planning some experiments with my strokes and I'm collecting info for this.
Thanks and another (hope you love beer as a Dutch)

 

[Guido75]

Thanks and another (hope you love beer as a Dutch)

Yeah, on that…there is one thing I do not drink at all and that’s beer. Anything more spirited is game for me, but beer and me are no match. And yes, beer is readily available here.

Butch’s post was here - I think and a PM he send me. If he’s ok, I will post a copy here in my journal. @Butch Waxx?

Guido

 

[Guido75]

For me there is always something to learn from your posts @Guido75
Thank you for sharing all these details

Thank you so much. Very kind, Sir!

Guido

 

[stivek]

Yeah, on that…there is one thing I do not drink at all and that’s beer. Anything more spirited is game for me, but beer and me are no match. And yes, beer is readily available here.

If you are into spirits and haven't tried Bulgarian rakia, I can send you some. If you haven't heard about, it is a kind of schnapps made from fruits, typically grape or plums.
My son studies and works in Netherlands, in Eindhoven. He usually takes some when returning from Bulgaria.
Cheers

Butch’s post was here - I think and a PM he send me. If he’s ok, I will post a copy here in my journal. @Butch Waxx?

Can't find such post. Hope @Butch Waxx will share it.

 

[Guido75]

If you are into spirits and haven't tried Bulgarian rakia, I can send you some. If you haven't heard about, it is a kind of schnapps made from fruits, typically grape or plums.
My son studies and works in Netherlands, in Eindhoven. He usually takes some when returning from Bulgaria.
Cheers


Can't find such post. Hope @Butch Waxx will share it.

Cool! Eindhoven? Sounds like he wants to be an engineer.

Butch’s post is 47,060 from the “Rate your shave today” thread.

I will look up Rakia - sounds like well above 20%

Cheers,

Guido

 

[stivek]

Cool! Eindhoven? Sounds like he wants to be an engineer.

Yes, he is following my steps in software engineering, although in a different area.

Butch’s post is 47,060 from the “Rate your shave today” thread.

Found it. Thanks

I will look up Rakia - sounds like well above 20%

Typically, it is around 45-48 but in some regions they produce is up to 58. And we have the tradition to distill it a home (moonshining)

In our family, my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law are the keepers of the secrets of the recipe

 

[Guido75]

So @stivek, @Butch Waxx was ok with me sharing his story for the benefit of all:

“My whiskers pretty much follow a true North South growth pattern on the left side of my face, all the mustache area, and left side of my neck…..So with that stated, I generally use a true N-S stroke on my cheek, mustache area, and neck area for my first pass. I then do a S-N stroke on my neck followed by an East-West XTG on the left half of my mustache area and cheek area. I finish with a true ATG by going S-N on my cheek area only.
This generally gives me a BBS result if all other things are working up to speed….

Now for the right side of my face. My growth patterns are more West to East on my cheek, jaw line, and neck, (I consider this more of my difficult area). While I generally do a N-S stroke for my stated WTG for my cheek and neck, it’s more of a XTG in reality. And then when I “declare” a XTG using a West to East stroke, I’m actually going WTG on my cheek. Luckily I can get pretty darn slick by only using a N-S and then S-N two passes on my right neck area without having to attempt an East-West true ATG without risking irritation […]

So to summarize, my typical shave starts with a true N-S pass on my cheeks, mustache area, and neck…..Then I follow with a true S-N pass on my neck, and an E-W stroke on the left cheek and left side of my mustache area and a W-E stroke on my right cheek and right mustache area. This will complete my 2nd pass. I then finish with a true ATG pass on my cheeks only, no other area gets the ATG treatment. This is done by a true S-N skimming on my left cheek and finishing by a NE-SW skimming on the right cheek.
On occasions as needed I may then do a little cleanup for those pesky whiskers that may still be standing under the nose, jaw line, or neck area. But this is done very lightly and not overdone in order to avoid irritation.”

I think there is value in his approach and particularly the number and nature of his passes, because I rarely read a report from Butch on irritation or razor burn. And he has lots of mileage on his shaving belt - so what he says is therefore valuable to me.

Cheers,

Guido

 

[lasta]

Date	30.01.2023
365 days of shaving	30/365 (100%)
GRUYERE	30/365 (100%)
GRUME January	30/31 (100%)
Other participations	Shave of the Week Society (SWS) Discovery Blade Adventure

Passes	2.5
XWTG	Cheeks: N-S Neck: N-S
WXTG	Cheeks L: W-E Cheeks R: E-W Neck: S-N
XATG	Cheeks: S-N

Razor	Blade	Brush
Mühle R41	Personna Red (12)	Omega Roma Capitolina
Pre-shave	Soap & Bowl	Post-shave
Cold splash Proraso Green	Dutchy Bergamot Hybrid lathering	Cold splash Floïd (AS) Nivea (Balm)

Efficiency	Quality
9.5/10 (~15 minutes)	9.5/10 (tiny one under the chin)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8.5/10 (DFS+)	7/10 (harsher)

Notes to today’s shave:

As I feel my face this morning I think I can say that the blade had suffered from the fall. The KCG is one of the sharper/est blades in my collection and I have shared with it for nearly three months straight before venturing out to other blades (and by now I have more than enough blades to get me comfortably into my 80s before I run out!).

So the R41 does get a go today and it’s paired with a Persons Red on its 12th shave. This is a wonderful blade similar to the Eddisson that it up for tomorrow. The blade felt harsher in the R41 today. Great performance, but not smooth and therefore less comfortable.

The brush is the baby brother version of the T3 and they hang side by side in my cabinet. It whipped up a lather in no time and it felt slick and rich just how I liked it.

I read @Butch Waxx latest post on growth patterns yesterday and based on that I combined my current pattern with a Gillette Slanted stroke to assess differences in effectiveness. The first stroke was tuggy as I believe the slant actually mitigated the XTG pattern already included in the N-S pass. On the second pass slanting did provide extra effectiveness - I do need to be careful off the direction the slant goes. Slanting up (more ATG) can lead to pulling on the jaw line area and so I tend to slant down there (WTG) before the final XATG pass from S-N.

A very nice Monday shave. Enjoy yours!

You would call a harsh shave very nice?!

Get well soon Guido. I find that irritation following a bad shave sometimes compound over the next few days.

Maybe R41 wasn't the best choice

 

[Guido75]

You would call a harsh shave very nice?!

Get well soon Guido. I find that irritation following a bad shave sometimes compound over the next few days.

Maybe R41 wasn't the best choice

Harsher might have been a better description. No irritation or redness at all - I just felt the blade (edge) more than usual. Still quite smooth at the moment at 14:55 local time. And tomorrow is another run with the Ti95 - looking forward to that one!!

 

[Guido75]

Date	31.01.2023
365 days of shaving	31/365 (100%)
GRUYERE	31/365 (100%)
GRUME January	31/31 (100%)
Other participations	Shave of the Week Society (SWS) Discovery Blade Adventure One Blade in February (OBiF)

Passes	2.75
XWTG	Cheeks: N-S Neck: N-S
WXTG	Cheeks L: W-E Cheeks R: E-W Neck: S-N
XATG	Cheeks: S-N

Razor	Blade	Brush
Timeless Ti95 SCB	Eddison (7)	Omega Super Badger
Pre-shave	Soap & Bowl	Post-shave
Cold splash	Tabac Hybrid lathering	Cold splash Floïd (AS) Nivea (Balm)

Efficiency	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	10/10 (clean as a whistle)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (DFS)	9/10 (buttery smooth)

Notes to today’s shave:

Closing out the month with my #1 razor. Everything about it is beautiful and I smile no grin from ear to ear every time I pick it up. Pinch myself and get on with the shave.

Combining the Ti95 with the Eddison is a very reliable combination for me. They both entered my home around the same time and I have had most Ti95 shaves with an Eddison I think. Very consistent results. Super comfortable and smooth. This blade has mileage left, but with OBiF up next month I will use this blade again in March. And reality was aligned with expectations so a very relaxed and effective shave.

Tabac…yeah well…the lather is excellent. I used my thumbs to close the gap from the donation to a fellow brother. Gives me the impression that I have used this soap more than I have. Even after the 26+ uses no dint had occurred at all. This puck will be with me for years coming.

Having tried the Gillette Slant yesterday I reverted back to regular strokes today, as I felt these were easier to perform with short strokes. Slant and Slide work better with longer strokes. I do use a slanted / oblique stroke when doing the WXTG pass. For now this is working out quite well with wanted results.

Enjoy your shaves!

 

[Guido75]

I am waiting at the busstop to pick my son up from school when I saw an email come in from a fellow brother. "Did you happen to get mail today?". I denied, having gone straight from work to the busstop, but curiosity peaked. "Ah, I shouldn't have said anything" - Well, too late for that buddy I thought!

So got home, and indeed there was a package. Rather on the heavier side too and definitely shave related, because it was from a well-known online vendor. I continue with caution and open the package. A box appears and I stop breathing - wait what?! - uhh, okay...I am staring at a Green Cult 2.0 box!!! Seen that box before of course, but never live (and contrary to other reviews, my 3D printed container was still in tact and so the razor sat firmly in the box). I open the box and there she is (this is actually after I had given her a polish - see later):

GC 2.0 II - 2/2

• Guido75
• Jan 31, 2023

Heavy razor! It came with Gillette Platinum blades by the way - I thought these were packaged with Tiger Platinums, but Gillette Platinum is definitely an A-blade so happy there as well. I gave her a feel and a look. It is sandblasted or beadsblasted and therefore feels rougher - or how to say it - more skiddish and not smooth. Feels good in the hand though and the knurling is present and not too present. Quality build for sure! I feel the need to do something about that blasted finish so I took to the handpolish and about half an hour later she looks like this:

GC 2.0 II 1/2

• Guido75
• Jan 31, 2023

I think I will have so much fun shaving with this one! And coincidently I have the Tiger Platinum blade selected for One Blade in February - so that helps! My Razor Rotation Anxiety surfaced again (thanks!), but I think I made a fair compromise. I received the Level II baseplate which represents a .65 blade gap with .10 positive blade exposure. So the blade gap is less than my Ti95, but the exposure is (much) bigger. Curious to know how this will shave tomorrow morning!

Dear, dear @flask28, I super appreciate the kind gift you made possible. And I find it touching you reached out to other brothers to help you pick this razor as your gift to me. That makes it an even more remarkable and special razor than it already is. I don't know who these brothers are and that's ok, but if you are reading this - I appreciate your help to Flask immensely.

Keep up your postings and sharing of experiences - I enjoy reading them and your GIF-matching-to-story skills are in a league of their own and crack me up every time I see one. Thank you again my friend and tomorrow's shave is in your honour!

Cheers,

Guido