Diary of a non-dominant hand shaver.

[Moody]

Hi all

Decided to put this here. I have had a couple of threads about my shaving, one in DE razors, one in DE blades. They had reasons for being where they were at the time, this thread has no such reason so I am putting it here.

I am 9 or 10 months into DE shaving. I still don't have anything perfected.

I thought I had had a breakthrough some months back and discovered at the end of a thread here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/505321-My-(YMMV)-comparison-of-different-blades

That the breakthrough was actually a break. When I broke my right arm and started shaving left handed.

I had changed a technique at the time that stopped doing a with-the-grain pass and thought that that was what suddenly made my shaves better.

Then I started the thread above, started using my right hand again and proceeded to have bad shaves again.

Near the end of the thread I had a moment of lucidity that it was my left hand. That thread has now been abandoned.

I am still experimenting. I was going a little nuts using the same razor / soap etc. in the other thread so i am going to have a couple of weeks of trying out all sorts of things before going back to proper blade testing.

 

[Moody]

Last two shaves:

Shark (1) in Gillette slim set to 5. Derby soap
I don't know if I had an off night or if it was a bad blade or something, this was not a great shave. Lots of irritation especially around the corners of my mouth.

Shark (1) in Weishi 9306. Proraso soap (green).
I haven't used this soap before. It lathers well, you can really feel the menthol.
I think it disguises how well you are shaving by the fact that you can't feel anything.

This shave has re-enforced my original thoughts on this razor (I haven't used it in months). It is too mild for me. In order to get a decently close shave I had to do 4 full passes and some touchups (rather than three).

Good overall result with little irritation. Quite bad still around the corners of my mouth but that is mostly from the shave the day before. I imagine if I had had the same shave with only three passes that It would have been really good.

I like the soap, I don't like the efficiency of the razor (at least with this blade). I will try the same soap with the slim tomorrow and see if it is the same result

 

[meanpr]

Moody,

Have you tried different blades? I haven't had any success with Shark razors at all, what else have you tried?

 

[Moody]

Moody,

Have you tried different blades? I haven't had any success with Shark razors at all, what else have you tried?

check the link I attached. That was all about trying different blades followed by completely failing to get anywhere, flailing around in the wilderness, having a moment of clarity and closing the thread.

i have several times tried other blades, then come back to shark and gotten just as good shaves. Maybe my face works best with shark? Regardless I have come to the conclusion that I do not have an easy face to shave.

i intend to try a few other things for a couple of weeks and then go back to trying blades.

i have used in the past, but want to perfect my technique before trying again:
derby, not good. Voskhod, maybe even worse. Rapira Swedish, see thread. Indian wilkinson sword, good for one shave max. Dorco 300, good for one shave only. 7o'clock yellow, good only after first shave. Rapira platinum lux, generally good. GSB about the same as shark. AStra SP about the same as shark.

I will have to try - all of the above plus: feather, Ladas, rapira chrome, Big Ben, lord chrome, lord lpatinum, seven o'clock russian green, sharp star, permasharp, polsilver, nacet, and a couple of others that I can not remember.

 

[Moody]

Ok I won't bore too much with the details. I did not do what I said I would. Instead I have done the last 3 shaves with my old rimei.

3 shaves, same shark blade. Back to three pass rather than four. Decent with a little irritation but not too bad. Not up to the standard of the very best shaves I had with the slim. Second shave I brought back skin stretching. Stretching with the right hand while shaving with the left. I think better results on the first pass without added irritation, not much of a difference though.

I also tried out out only going against the grain in the moustache area. Results inconclusive. Not necessarily better, but definitely no worse.

i have three spots that are my 'trouble' spots. The two corners of my mouth and an area at the bottom of my neck on the right hand side, not quite sure why for that part. I am more and more reducing passes in those areas.

Looking at the next test being yet another razor with the same setup. This time a very modern plastic handled tech with an old tech fat handle attached to it. I am hoping for it to be milder than the rimei but still efficient enough for three passes.

 

[Moody]

Modern tech conclusion. Too mild. back to four passes and too much irritation. I will say it was with the shark blade that was already loaded which I think was up to its third shave, but I don't think that was the issue.

two more tests. The flat bottom tech. Then the slim on settings other than 5. After that I will choose what is seeming to work best (at this point either the remei or the slim on 5) and then go back to blade testing.

When blade testing I will test blades in other razors if they aren't working well in the razor I settle on.

 

[Smattayu]

Good reads and thoughts on the different razors and blades. You've got your work cut out for you will all the razor/blade combinations to try lol.

 

[Moody]

Well. The flat bottom tech is officially no. 2 behind the slim.

Shave wasn't perfect. New shark blade and more aggressive than a modern tech means back to three passes and touch up moustache.

Some but not much irritation and all in areas that were irritated yesterday. I think I figured out the right angle for this razor. (I have never gotten a particularly good shave from it before which was disappointing for my only actual junk shop find).

i will do two more shaves with this razor and blade and then give the slim another go at various settings. Say 5 of the 9 settings at 3 shaves per setting, you will see me finish around Christmas.

Then I want to spend a couple of days trying the couple of soaps / creams I have.

 

[Moody]

I am sick as. Not sure if I will shave for a couple of days.

 

[Moody]

Ended up doing a morning (read rushed) shave. I usually do evenings.

i am stupid sick but had to go to the physio for my arm, doctor for my throat (definitely tonsillitis) and then to work as my boss who would usually be able to cover for me is away for a week. Only stayed an hour and was home by midday. On antibiotics and resting.

shave was basic. Second with the flat bottom tech and shark razor. One pass with the grain followed by one cross and a very light against without even worrying about smoothness. No irritation. Lots of hair against the grain. Definitely at the SAS end of the shaving spectrum. (Maybe CCS but only barely).

 

[Moody]

Was going to do another quick light shave today. I am still horribly sick.

decided to give the aldi soap another try. I have only used it for one test pass before and didn't want to do too much while trying out blades. Mixed it in with the last of the lather of the derby soap from yesterday. (Yes I do that - it works - I hate to waste good lather).

Still British flat bottom tech, I really have learnt the angle I think. Third shave Shark stainless. Two passes were so good I decided to go for it with a proper third pass and touchups. Best shave in months. Near BBS (I don't think I can get actual BBS) and virtually nothing from the alum block.

i will keep using the aldi soap for a few days (increasing the total to near 100%) and at some point I will go to pure Derby to see how different it is. I want to find out if it is the soap, the mix of soap or just better technique with the razor. I will try the same blade at least one more day until I feel it pulling, but it worked like a dream today.

 

[Moody]

Few hours later. Still a good shave especially in terms of no irritation, but only 7 hours later and I have more stubble than I would have expected. Maybe less close than I thought?

 

[Moody]

British flat bottom tech, shark stainless shave 4. Less than a full days growth (by a few hours)

face lathered with the Aldi soap. That beautiful slickness is not there. It is the superlather combination with the derby soap.

Second and third passes with superlather were much better. Are two soaps in combination still a superlather? Does there have to be a cream involved?

The shark blade however has lost it on shave 4. Very smooth feel but not cutting quite as well hence more strokes, irritation. Not awful and a pretty good overall shave but far worse than yesterday's.

I am going to keep with this razor for the moment as it appears finally to be working. I will keep with the current superlather combination for the same reason.

I have loaded a fresh blade for tomorrow and we shall see what happens.

 

[ciderguy]

Welcome to Journals! Nice reads so far.

Sharks are some my favorite blades. I think you'll find that the Lord Chrome and Shark Chrome are similar. I also really like the Nacet and Feather that you have on your list to try.

My suggestion would be to put a Feather in the most aggressive razor you have when you go back to trying blades. Feathers are sharp and a little unforgiving. If you are using too much pressure, then the Feather will tell you. I never understood "no pressure" until I tried a straight razor, but I think that is a tad extreme.

Good luck in your journey!

 

[Moody]

Welcome to Journals! Nice reads so far.

Sharks are some my favorite blades. I think you'll find that the Lord Chrome and Shark Chrome are similar. I also really like the Nacet and Feather that you have on your list to try.

My suggestion would be to put a Feather in the most aggressive razor you have when you go back to trying blades. Feathers are sharp and a little unforgiving. If you are using too much pressure, then the Feather will tell you. I never understood "no pressure" until I tried a straight razor, but I think that is a tad extreme.

Good luck in your journey!

I don't have, and have actually never tried a shark chrome. I looked at them when getting my most recent samples but they weren't that easily available with the other samples i was more interested in trying. Therefore, they are not currently on my list. Lord chromes are and hopefully they are similar enough that if I do like them I can ignore the shark chromes

Several of the samples I am still waiting for the shipment - plenty to go through first anyway.

i don't know if I am willing to put a feather in a slim on 9. At least not straight away.

 

[Moody]

Ok. Changing things up again.

Tried a rapira swedish supersteel. I tried one of these on my last thread with mixed results (not awful but not great).

Swedish super steel shave one:
In the english tech. This blade doesn't feel sharp.... It tugs, it feels like i'm mowing with blunt blades. I ended up doing 3 passes without too much difficulty but there was still a lot of hair. I did the forth pass (second against the grain) to try to touch up what was left. Hoping against hope that it was only the sound and feel and that miraculously this wouldn't translate to irritation.

On using the alum: moustache area particularly irritated. Some light irritation all over. Nice close shave after 4 passes, but that is not my ideal at all.

I am not going to use the same blade again. I will try another to see if this was a one off bad blade.

The last shaves I had with this blade were not this bad - but they were in the slim. Maybe it is a bad combination with the tech.

 

[Moody]

So, using the sharp blade in mild razor theory...

I didn't dispose of yesterday's blade.

swedish super steel 2. Slim on 8

better than In the tech. The first pass was almost normal. The second pass still tugged a bit and I ended up with some irritation after the third pass - but not as bad as with the tech. This blade just doesn't seem to go through my hair easily.

It was a closer shave than yesterday and I think I could do a fresh blade in a slim with these without too much problem. I will try that tomorrow.

i still need to check whether this is a dud. I keep hearing about various rapira duds and it doesn't bode well for getting more when I finish the couple of years worth of blades I have.

 

[Moody]

Rapira Swedish shave one. Slim on 7.

I had high hopes for a fresh blade. In high slim settings it does not tug like it did in the tech but it is harsh.

close shave but I went easy on the upper lip and still managed to cut it (something I don't do often). Lots of irritation.

i am going to do two more experiments, one with the slim on 5 (my default for sharks) and one with the slim on 1 just to see what happens.

I am am generally really disliking this blade.

 

[Moody]

Another thing to try is multiple with/cross grain passes. This does seem to cut reasonably well and it is the ATG that is really harsh.

 

[Moody]

I am really disliking these Swedish super steel. I still want to test them more but is am completely over putting my face up for science were I know it is unlikely to work.

so with some trepidation... I put a Ladas blade in my slim on 5.

Trepidation because I have had bad experiences with two of the best blades that rapira is meant to produce (although I have had good results from platinum lux before) , and I am loading up their cheaper generic blade.

All I can say is. This is not the best blade I have ever used, but it is a breath of fresh air after the Swedish.

3 passes + touchup. Low end of DFS level. Some Irritation, but I had a lot yesterday and I don't expect to go from 100 to nil that quickly.

I could live with these. I prefer sharks but these do the job. I will do a fair few more shaves and try different things but I am reasonably happy.

i wonder if my whole tuck of Swedish SS Is a bad batch? I just can't see them being premier blades with that quality.