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Eleven Years On

The Fatip likes it steep. Were you? Or were you riding the cap?

Probably somewhere between neutral and steep in the first two passes. I tried to keep the angle neutral in ATG but may have drifted toward shallow. Like I said, I think the Grande makes it less obvious where the sweet spot lives, due to the lack of gap.
 
3/13

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First ride with the RR SLOC with Super Knurl handle. Moved a Nacet with unknown uses out of the '67 Tech, lathered D.R. Harris Arlington with the Whipped Dog resin handle boar.

Had sufficient amounts of lather to start the shave by painting lather and applying a hot towel to soften whiskers. Comfortable Southbound pass with modest effectiveness. Smooth razor with a tighter window of effectiveness than the FaTip Grande, a little less difficult to find the right angle. Lather leans toward a heavy texture, feedback is a little muted. Little to report from second pass. Final ATG pass I note the tendency that was perhaps plaguing my FaTip shaves--my grip causes my default angle to be rather shallow. I also have a nearly-subconscious temptation to add pressure when the angle is adjusted and I can hear cutting. Some impulse to try and remove whiskers more thoroughly, rather than simply letting things happen. However, I manage to mitigate some of this habit and result in a comfortable DFS+ shave with small moments of BBS- and nearly no reaction to alum, something I haven't succeeded with during the last week. Hydroboost & CeraVe to finish.

First impressions, this razor has some of the benefits of the Grande (namely smoothness) with the drawback? of being milder. Would be more challenging to achieve the thoroughness of a FaTip shave, but comes with fewer risks when my lightness isn't quite available to me.

Whichever permutation lets you shave lightest is its best angle.

You probably noticed I scarcely mentioned lightness in my prior post. Something about the heft of the Timeless (and probably the large gap, and length of the handle) makes angle & lightness both more obvious, and more achievable. I think even better shaves with the FaTip depend upon correcting the angle issue and prioritizing a focus on less pressure. Overall my capacity for skill with my razors was reduced this week, perhaps a bad time to try and adjust to a less familiar tool.

Conversely, despite missing some comfort I still feel pretty satisfied with my progress. These shaves are a long way from the many years of alternating shave days, to recover from heavy-handed razor use (and a host of other sources of irritation). I used to think the only way I'd have no reaction to alum, would be if I shaved two passes or less. So even though I feel like I'm still grappling with the "no pressure" business, I have improved.

May lightness guide us all.
 
I see a R41 on the horizon to go with that SLOC cap of the Razorock.
Wait, you mean to tell me that RAD feeds into itself, an ouroboros of endless purchases?? Yes I am considering an R41 someday :biggrin:

The Grande has less weight to overcome, so there’s that and it’s a plus
After my recent practice/experience with the Timeless, I actually think the lower mass hinders my ability to remain light, as backwards as it sounds. Same deal with the Prewar Fat Handle Tech. Maybe the lighter razor encourages me to apply pressure, because the razor doesn't inherently add pressure by its weight. More testing is necessary, but of course I have no shortage of stuff to try.

Overall I think I've had a more difficult time adjusting to the differences of the FaTip razor, than the Prewar for example. And considering my collection, that seems kind of logical--I have basically no other open combs or Old Type inspired razors (except for the actual Old Type that I have, and never use). Maybe I shim the Old Type and give it a spin sometime soon.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
After my recent practice/experience with the Timeless, I actually think the lower mass hinders my ability to remain light, as backwards as it sounds.

I think it makes sense. You know how to back off on the Timeless and make its gap and exposure work for you.

Come to think of it, the Fatip Grande isn’t the razor I’ve been missing last month or this and it’s nickel-plated. Well ain’t that about a bingo card?
 
3/14 Pi Day--Irrationality

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How can a shave produce numerous weepers without also causing razor burn? How can some areas be BBS+ and other whiskers seem missed almost entirely? How can I be satisfied and confused at the same time?



Wanted to check in with the Timeless .95 SC, I know it will give me direct feedback about my technique (plus I am missing the thoroughness of its shaves). Dropped in a fresh AstraSP and lathrered Mike's Natural with the Yaqi Tuxedo. There was still a sliver of D.R. Harris in the bottom of the lather bowl.

Lather had an unusually thin texture today that lacked a bit of slickness. I think I didn't quite load long enough of the Mike's puck. Still workable. Painted some lather on and applied a hot towel.

Wanted to try more skin stretching during this shave, I noticed from the FaTip trials that long strokes had a tendency to bite me. Originally I blamed this on angle, but I think my skin topography is also non-uniform and potentially not taut enough. Strokes can be shortened, but constantly adjusting the angle and slowly chopping feels somewhat slow and unsatisfying. I also think, when pursuing the way of lightness that I have a tendency to relax too many muscles--when I'm trying to be delicate, my grip on the razor loosens, my jaw goes slack, my eyelids droop. So I want to practice decoupling physical engagement from the act of lightness.

The results of this attempt were mixed. I popped a weeper in the second pass, which I chalked up to an instant of poor technique or some bump on my skin. I had the most successful shaving results in some difficult areas (goatee, mustache) when I tugged on my face with my free hand--but also opened several tiny weepers. A couple weepers formed on the neck also. However: when the shave finished, I braced myself for a sharp presence from the alum, and was met with... very little. I had FaTip shaves last week that had greater sting. What gives?

I think I leaned a bit heavily on skin pulling in the earlier passes, when it really only counts at the very finish. Strokes could still be shorter and angle could be more deliberate. Lightness could always be better implemented. However the shave was completed with technique that was barely good enough to avoid general razor irritation. And some areas are as smooth as I can ever manage. Other areas, like the front of the chin, didn't receive a very thorough cleanup. So I'm still scratching my head a little bit about this one, but mostly satisfied with the result.
 
Also, decided to clean my oldest brushes today. The TGN badger in the Ever Ready handle is probably 11 years old, the Omega perhaps 12 or 13. The boar is looking kind of sparse, but the few remaining bristles always make for an excellent shave. Meanwhile, I had been noticing some clumping with the TGN knot. Got my hands on some citric acid, made a weak solution (1.5 teaspoons/2ish cups) with a few drops of dish soap... and after 20 minutes of soaking, we have a nice solution of residue removed from the brushes. I can already tell the bristles on both feel more distinct and cleaner.

Beforehand: dry photo on left, wetted with water on right

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Solution before and after...

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Brushes after, looking marginally fluffier. Will be interested to see how they perform.

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EDIT: After letting the soaking solution cool to room temperature, all those soap and mineral deposits came out of solution... wow! Those brushes were loaded!
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Also, decided to clean my oldest brushes today. The TGN badger in the Ever Ready handle is probably 11 years old, the Omega perhaps 12 or 13. The boar is looking kind of sparse, but the few remaining bristles always make for an excellent shave. Meanwhile, I had been noticing some clumping with the TGN knot. Got my hands on some citric acid, made a weak solution (1.5 teaspoons/2ish cups) with a few drops of dish soap... and after 20 minutes of soaking, we have a nice solution of residue removed from the brushes. I can already tell the bristles on both feel more distinct and cleaner.

Beforehand: dry photo on left, wetted with water on right

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Solution before and after...

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Brushes after, looking marginally fluffier. Will be interested to see how they perform.

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EDIT: After letting the soaking solution cool to room temperature, all those soap and mineral deposits came out of solution... wow! Those brushes were loaded!
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Wow, that seems like you got a ton out. Great experiment!
 
3/15

Very sparing growth today, a testament to yesterday's thorough shave. Was contemplating the FaTip but wanted to choose something less aggressive today, went back to the Prewar Tech and put the stock fat handle back on. The loaded Nacet has two prior shaves. Wanted to see if the performance of the TGN badger changed after yesterday's cleaning, lathered with Cella today.

Did the lather + hot towel treatment before starting into the shave. Brush tips felt softer and I think made a better lather; a good, thinner texture today. However later in the shave something with the lather caused a little sting, perhaps some remaining citric acid in the brush?

Southbound felt good, effective angle and well-mantained lightness. Northbound/horizontal had a similar quality. Finally with skin stretching during the ATG pass, I had good (but not incredible) success removing stubborn stubble in the goatee. Still need to refine my method, I have some very stubborn whiskers in the corner of the mouth that lie nearly parallel to the skin and I have such a difficult time removing them. The tongue-in-cheek method never appealed to me, it presents the whiskers nicely but makes the surface too round for me to comfortably navigate. Overall in the final pass, I maintained better lightness and got reasonably close results, DFS/DFS+ generally. Alum was slightly more detectable than yesterday but not super strong. Used a small dab of CeraVe with Nivea and a splash of Thayer's to conclude.

Probably the best result possible, given the intense shave yesterday and the mildness of this razor. Enjoying some sunshine and warming temperatures today, a brief taste of spring that's scheduled to last into early next week. Cheers!
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Maybe you’d be interested in the Skin Stretch Short Stroke Skin Technique of @User 306 ?

I’ve read it, but haven’t tried it yet. It’s this

Skin Stretch Short Stroke Technique
Well here it is and I hope if you take the time to learn you find it as helpful to you as it has been for me in achieving even better shaves.


Skin Stretch, Short Stroke Progressive Beard Reduction Technique



This technique is a way of shaving using a technique that I developed originally to use only when I was using very efficient razors to avoid nicks, cuts and also irritation. Well I found out, as I got more proficient with the technique that it works on any razor I’ve used from the mildest to the very efficient. DE or SE it doesn’t matter it works on of any type or razor. My original inspiration came one day when I stumbled on a video of an old Italian barber shaving a customer using a straight razor and I was amazed at how well he not only wielded his tool but at how he skin stretched and the way he did it. It got me thinking why couldn’t I use a similar technique when using very efficient DE or SE razors and so I experimented on the technique for well over 6 months, making adjustments and modifying things to suit shaving with a safety razor. So a little history of how I discovered and developed this technique that I use 95% of the time.


I’ve been asked by more than a few members to share this technique. An I’ll add that this technique may or may not work for every face or beard type but it has changed the way my shaves have turned out by reducing the number of passes I need to achieve a CCS, DFS or a BBS shave and decrease irritation as well. Hope it works for you. Using the technique has also enabled me to tame the most efficient or as some call “ Aggressive razors.


Before you begin to try the technique it is important to understand that the movement or strokes are more of an almost continuous movement rather than a stop and go movement that’s most commonly used in traditional long stroke techniques.

For example as seen in the drawings if you’re going north to south on a WTG pass. Your stroke starts with a straight down first stroke about an inch and a half or two max, then going right back up to the original starting point which I call “ center” the next stroke is again downward but this time you go slightly to the left. Then again back to center and then downward again this time going slightly to the right as seen in the drawings. You can reverse the movements going right to left instead of left to right if you find it easier for you as long as you do all 3 strokes and always go back to center. So just to be clear that’s a total of 3 short strokes, each time you progressively work your way downward to the base of your neck. This movement or strokes are center, right left and are used whether going from the sideburn to the base of neck (WTG) or (XTG) ear to nose or (XTG) nose to ear and the same goes for going (ATG) base of neck to sideburn for example.


When you first start to use the technique it may seem awkward so take your time and if you need to stop and go when you first try it please do but remember your goal is to be able to keep the razors moving. I highly suggest practicing with a razor with no blade in it just to get the feel of the movement until it becomes second


This sheet is meant to coordinate with the visual drawing sheets you see below and the arrows point in the direction to go and the SS stands for Skin Stretch and shows you were to start your skin stretching from. The RSS is called “ reverse skin stretching and I’ll explain that better below. Sorry I’m not an artist it's the best I could do.


Also a note! Using this technique there are probably going to be times where you may need only on 1 pass with some touch ups to do a complete shave to your satisfaction and sometimes it may take more passes. Again each shave with a different razor and different blade can change the number of passes and strokes needed to achieve the shave your looking for that day. Also what your looking for will also vary. Example if I’m looking for a very solid DFS shave for what I call a daily work shave then in most cases I can just do 1 pass and I’m good to go! Other times I’m looking for a BBS shave and it will require more passes or more strokes.

As some of you know I have broken down BBS shave results into 3 different levels and to be clear I’ll explain. A Level 1 BBS is when you cannot detect any stubble by hand feel post shave but if you were to do a cotton test you’d find some cotton residue would stick to various parts of your face where you’ve shaved. This shave for example could last 6 hours or more until you feel some slight stubble that has shown up as you run your hands over your face/beard. A Level 2 BBS is the same. Can’t feel any noticeable stubble with the hands after the shave but a cotton test will revel that in some areas which may or may not be some of your trouble areas there will be a little bit of cotton residue that sticks to just to that spot and nowhere else on your face does the cotton stick. The Level 2 BBS may last you 8 to 10 hours or more again for example. Now a Level 3, which is what I consider to be the very closest or ultimate shave is when once more you cannot feel any stubble left with your hands after a shave but in the case of a Level 3 the difference when doing the cotton test is there is absolutely no cotton residue sticking to the face at all on any area of the face and neck. The BBS Level 3 may last for a very long time and each face will be different I’m sure. A cotton test is when you take a loose piece of cotton and to be clear not a tight ball of cotton and run it on your face after a shave and after your face has dried completely. Run it WTG, XTG and ATG. I have become very attuned to these different levels of BBS shaves and can usually tell by hand feel alone what level I’ve achieved for that shave as I’ve done so many cotton tests and know how they feel afterwards but there are times and especially if I’m doing a shave comparison between two razors for example where I’ll use the cotton to be 100% certain before posting my shave results if I’m doing a shave review or a comparison that I’ll go back to the cotton test to make sure my report is correct. There are also times where I think I’ve achieved a level 3 BBS and after a cotton test it really was only a level 1 in some areas and a level 2 in other areas so now and then so I have to check myself now and then and this again only increases my ability to be able to tell what kind of shave I’ve achieved by hand feel. Hopefully I’ve explained the cotton test in detail so if you decide to try it for yourself you understand how to do it and what to look for.


Below are the symbols and meanings of the abbreviations I’ve used in the drawings on the sheets.


1. SS stands for Skin Stretch and in the illustration you’ll notice here is an arrow that is pointing in the direction that you should be stretching the skin! For example if I’m going north to south on a WTG pass my starting point may be right below my sideburns so using the back of the opposite hand from the one holding the razor I begin to stretch the skin above the razor. As I move down using my 3-stroke movement. Remember the skin stretching hand follows behind the razor and depending on what part of my face or neck I generally stay about a solid inch or two behind my razor. So in the drawings you’ll also notice that for example when I’m going ATG south to north where I start skin stretching is at the base of my neck and as a little side note sometimes I use a barber towel to skin stretch on my neck as I keep one on my shoulder when doing my shaves. It works great but using your hand is absolutely fine and I highly recommend that you start that way when first trying this technique.


2. RSS stands for Reverse Skin Stretching, which is a little more difficult to understand based on the drawings so I’ll do my best to explain. So lets go back to the WTG pass and we’ve SS all the way down to lets say the base of your chin for example well if you want to get even closer and still be going WTG you begin to go back up towards your starting point which is back to your sideburns. Here is the difference now your opposite hand is still above the razor and you are still taking downward strokes but your moving in reverse so hand goes up a bit and SS’s and your razor follows still taking down strokes. So you eventually wind up back at your sideburns and have essentially made two passes all going WTG and yet when you feel your face especially if your using a very efficient razor you may be done on 1 pass! I have some razors I can do this with and even though I may need a few touch ups here and there on my trouble spots I’m all done with my shave and it feels like I made 2 and a half or 3 traditional long stroke passes. Really helps when your in a hurry or if your prone to irritation. So the arrows are not pointing in the direction of SS like they are when you see the SS and arrow but rather they are pointing in the direction to go if your going to go in reverse and do RSS. Hope I’ve been clear in my explanation you understand what RSS means now. If not please feel free to ask questions, as I’ll do my best to answer any you may have.


3. Lastly the 3 arrows. They are showing you the direction of the strokes which like I mentioned are straight then back to center, down slightly left and back to center and down right and back to center and then your center progresses forward which could be WTG, XTG both ways or ATG.


I hope you enjoy the SSSST and I’d love to hear your feedback. Just remember it takes a few shaves to get the rhythm or the 3 strokes movement and the entire technique down to where it becomes a natural movement.


Thank you and great shaves to all.

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It was indeed an interesting read. I wish the user had included the original video that spurned their interest in skin stretching. In my recent experiments I almost think of it more as skin flattening, as the transition between my mustache/lip/goatee is not easy to shave cleanly without some maneuvering. I don't find it easy to shift my jaw, puff my cheek, etc. Furthermore much of my whisker growth is quite flat against the skin, so stretching might help with multiple factors.

I also think it's worth considering his "short stroke" (which sounds an awful lot like buffing?) to do a very thorough southbound single pass shave. Interesting that his method is always shaving away from the point where skin is being pulled--when I shaved ATG, I was shaving toward or across that point. A cursory feeling of my stubble when pulling from different directions seems to validate my method... but that might be my particular circumstances. Plus I haven't tried his way.

And boy, that user makes my posts appear curt and concise! Holy verbosity! I got really curious about that whole thread when I saw it spanned 180 pages, and imagine my surprise when I reached the end... gulp...
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
What little manual skin stretching I’ve recently done has been more to stabilize where I’m shaving versus raising the whiskers or flattening the surface. On the ATG pass, there’s a tendency for the skin to move in the same of the blade so I sometimes hold the skin still when that happens. Other times, I try going shallower and hope the wave of skin the razor cap produces lifts the hairs enough that they can be cut without sinking the edge into my skin.
 
Will write about today's shave shortly, but most importantly: I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with @flask28 for coffee on a brilliant, springlike afternoon today. We had a couple goodies to exchange, he generously bestowed upon me a truly mind-boggling collection of samples and soaps:

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Along with a @Rudy Vey Finest Badger modeled after a limited edition Semogue, and his well-loved PAA Dreamscape Scuttle

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Whether online or in-person, B&B membership continues to be the friendliest, most generous community!! I hope to meet other local members sometime in the future, and of course I have massive gratitude to @flask28 for these gifts.
 
The shave notes today eclipsed entirely by the generosity from @flask28 --A speedy shave with the Timeless right before we convened this afternoon. Lathered the Mike's Natural with my refreshed Omega boar, managed to get the proper texture with good slickness and modest bulk. Two passes, used my left hand to keep my goatee flat on the second pass. Grappled a little with lightness but achieved reasonable closeness in a short shave. DFS+ with little reaction from the alum, Nivea with a dab of HydroBoost to conclude. As I was tidying up my equipment, I discovered in my haste that I had forgotten to fully tighten the razor--like Adam, I am relieved that my handling was careful enough to avoid injury! Perhaps it's a little pre-St. Patty's fortune. May your weekend be lucky!
 
Will write about today's shave shortly, but most importantly: I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with @flask28 for coffee on a brilliant, springlike afternoon today. We had a couple goodies to exchange, he generously bestowed upon me a truly mind-boggling collection of samples and soaps:

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Along with a @Rudy Vey Finest Badger modeled after a limited edition Semogue, and his well-loved PAA Dreamscape Scuttle

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Whether online or in-person, B&B membership continues to be the friendliest, most generous community!! I hope to meet other local members sometime in the future, and of course I have massive gratitude to @flask28 for these gifts.

I hadn't ever piled up the samples together like that - wow! lol. That is almost embarrassing. I really tested all those?! lol.

I hope you enjoy exploring the soaps my friend, I sure had a good time doing so and learned A TON. Mostly that it turns out I'm pretty particular about scents, I didn't love the vast majority of those. But I did find a few I fell in love with a ended up purchasing the full soaps of. I hope you can find a few favorites in there too!

The custom travel kit you made me is so cool, THANK YOU! It's just awesome that you took the time and effort to create that for me. So thoughtful :) And the 84-P plate, well, I'm almost a little weepy about that. I can't wait for FFFMM to finish to try it!!

Thanks again my friend! I'm going to head over to the frame shop on Saturday :)
 
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