macdad's Shave Journal

[macdad]

Today's shave:

Razor: ATT M1 DE
Soap: Mickey Lee's The Kraken
Brush: WW Burnt Oak Whiskey
DE Blade: 7 O'Clock SS (1 full and 0 Partial)
Aftershave: Matching AS

Put a new blade in the M1 for today's shave. It was a 2 pass shave with minimal cleanup. I did have a small nick on my upper lip. It was on the cleanup pass. I used my right hand to shave my left side of my lip. I normally use my left hand. Guess I should have used my left hand this time as well

I have a solid DFS shave, though. It is a great way to start the day.

I had a rough day at work on Tuesday. Things didn't go well with one of my projects and shut production down for quite a few minutes. It is not good when you have a director glaring at you asking how this happened! That one will show up on my annual review I have another trial for a different product today. Fingers crossed that this one goes better.

The root cause of the issue was that we have an old system that is not functioning properly, so the BOM for new products must be entered manually. They should import directly from SAP. We have been working on a solution for months. Well, the system didn't have the correct part in it, so it required a complete teardown of our trial products. It is not my responsibility to do the data entry or verification. However, it is my project, so the failure is ultimately my responsibility.

This is why I struggle so much with delegating work to others. Bottom line, I did my own verification for the build today. Not gonna take a chance after Tuesday's performance.

 

[Smattayu]

Great shave today Fred. Sorry to hear about the hassle at work, and hope it all gets worked out soon. I know how slow the actual fixing of that type of problem can be. It would be great if we all had authority commensurate with our level of responsibility, but such is life lol.

 

[macdad]

Great shave today Fred. Sorry to hear about the hassle at work, and hope it all gets worked out soon. I know how slow the actual fixing of that type of problem can be. It would be great if we all had authority commensurate with our level of responsibility, but such is life lol.

Amen! I don't really want all that authority anyway. I am thinking I should go back to school to learn how to be a computer programmer. I would be better off locked in a closet away from all people!

 

[cvargo]

Very nice shave today. The Kraken is one my favorite scents.

Hope your day at work goes much better today. Sounds like you have taken the necessary steps to guarantee that however.

 

[clyde72]

I've had many similar experiences over the years at my job. My current position is officially a maintenance tech. Long story short my lead isn't familiar with our equipment and everyone is looking to me to get things done and assign jobs. I haven't officially been promoted to that level nor am I being paid for it. My hopes are that it will come soon!

 

[macdad]

Very nice shave today. The Kraken is one my favorite scents.

Hope your day at work goes much better today. Sounds like you have taken the necessary steps to guarantee that however.

I do like the Kraken. It is one of my normal rotation soaps.

The build went better yesterday. Several people, including myself, verified the information. Now, if I can use the debacle this week to actually drive some urgency for a permanent solution, that would be ideal. You know the saying, "Strike while the iron is hot!"

I've had many similar experiences over the years at my job. My current position is officially a maintenance tech. Long story short my lead isn't familiar with our equipment and everyone is looking to me to get things done and assign jobs. I haven't officially been promoted to that level nor am I being paid for it. My hopes are that it will come soon!

I here you there, Craig. My current position has a lot of accountability, but no authority. I am basically relying on my ability to influence others to be successful. Good thing I took Dale Carnegie!

I hope you are paid according soon, as well!

There are times , though, that I would like to just come in, punch the clock, do as I am told, and leave. Being a salaried employee has its perks, but it lacks a certain protection and security that an hourly technical role has. At least that is the case in the few places that I have worked over the last 20 years. Some people can just take risks and go for it all the time. That is not me. I take calculated risks, only. Considering that we cannot survive on my wife's income, I put a lot of pressure on myself to provide. Just how I am wired...

Don't get me wrong. I am not really whining here, just sort of reflecting about work and career stuff. There are far too many politics being played within bigger corporations! It is a waste of energy and time.

 

[Smattayu]

I hear you Fred. It seems that politics are involved in just about every organization that has more than two people in it. I prefer to stay out of the way of it and get my work done, which usually works out well, but has occasionally kept things from being seen to when I need them to be.

 

[dexutter]

Work is a funny thing, there's always silver lining, and an ideal situation. It's making the current job match those, or changing the circumstances. But keep on influencing, that'll take you a long way!

 

[macdad]

I hear you Fred. It seems that politics are involved in just about every organization that has more than two people in it. I prefer to stay out of the way of it and get my work done, which usually works out well, but has occasionally kept things from being seen to when I need them to be.

Very true Eric.

Work is a funny thing, there's always silver lining, and an ideal situation. It's making the current job match those, or changing the circumstances. But keep on influencing, that'll take you a long way!

That's the right way to look at it, Brent. I know from experience that the grass is rarely greener on the other side.

Today's shave:

Razor: EA Berg Straight
Soap: Stirling Spice
Brush: WW Burnt Oak Whiskey
DE Blade: 7 O'Clock SS (1 full and 0 Partial)
Aftershave: Matching AS

Great 2 pass shave this morning! The Berg feels quite a bit smoother after the stropping. It could stand to be a little smoother, but it provided a pretty comfortable shave. I did have a two little nicks on my chin. I am pretty sure one was from a previous shave that just opened back up.

I would rate the shave as a DFS. The upper lip could be a little closer, but it is still darn good! I am walking around smelling like an old man today!

The plan is to run to Harbor Freight this morning and pick up a belt/disc sander. I have some stuff to do for work, and I would like to go fly some helicopters. Buying a sander may require me to start another set of scales too... I think I will keep busy

 

[macdad]

Well, I bought one of those belt/disk sander combos from Harbor Freight along with a little shopvac.

I couldn't wait, so I fired it up last night. I had another starter straight that Dan sent me a while ago. The scale on that started to break the same way that the EA Berg scales broke. I figured it was time to make some scales of it and test out my new tool!

They turned out pretty good. I basically had them cut out, sanded to shape and proper thickness in about 1/3 of the time it has taken me to hand sand a set. Only real issue I have run into is using the end of the belt for sanding the inside curve of the scales. It wants to sort of chatter on the belt. If I put enough pressure to keep it from chattering, it would take off too much material. I think a spindle sander would come in real hand for this area, but I won't be buying that. I can do the minor touch-ups by hand still.

Overall, the scales turned out pretty well. As always, there are areas that I don't care for. However, I think they are my best work yet. They were made out of Padauk. Seems like this wood is a little softer than some others I have used, which may have speed up the process a bit more. I put quite a few coats of CA on them, pinned and polished them. I still need a lot of work pinning...

This picture is of both my EA Berg and the "Ohio Farmer":

 

[Smattayu]

Great job on the scales Fred! I still cross my fingers every time I start pinning a razor lol. Not my favorite part by a long shot, but I've usually been pretty happy with the results.

 

[cmh737]

Nice job!!

 

[macdad]

Great job on the scales Fred! I still cross my fingers every time I start pinning a razor lol. Not my favorite part by a long shot, but I've usually been pretty happy with the results.

Nice job!!

Thanks guys! It is fun to fiddle around with on my own razors.

Today's shave:

Razor: EA Berg Straight
Soap: Mama Bear's Aromatic Pipe
Brush: WW Burnt Oak Whiskey
DE Blade: 7 O'Clock SS (1 full and 0 Partial)
Aftershave: Dapper Dragon Unscented Scale Polish

It was a rough 3 passer today. My face feels great, but it was not without incident... Nicked a mole on the first pass, but that is normal. Near the end of the second pass, I cut a spot just under my chin. I pushed too hard and the skin bunched up. Styptic was needed for this one, as it was still bleeding after my third pass and rinse. Another little nick on my upper lip.

I think I have become too comfortable and got lazy. Need to start being a little more attentive, because the reminders don't feel great!

Happy Monday everyone!

 

[dexutter]

"reminders don't feel great!"

Love it! The scales look great, Fred!

 

[Smattayu]

Sorry to hear about the pain, but that is the razors way of reminding us to pay attention lol.

 

[macdad]

Love it! The scales look great, Fred!

Thanks Brent! It really is fun to fiddle around with.

Sorry to hear about the pain, but that is the razors way of reminding us to pay attention lol.

Indeed they do! It was probably my worst cut yet, since I started with straights. It is already pretty healed up!

Today's shave:

Razor: ATT M1 DE
Soap: Maggard's London Barbershop
Brush: WW Burnt Oak Whiskey
DE Blade: 7 O'Clock SS (2 full and 0 Partial)
Aftershave: Matching AS

It was a great 3 pass shave this morning. No nicks or weepers to note. It is a solid shave! I would rate it DFS+! Even my neck is closer than normal.

I applied the aftershave with no burn! The day is off to a great start!

 

[sskim3]

No murphy is a good hump day.

 

[macdad]

No murphy is a good hump day.

Yes sir! It was a great Wednesday shave!

 

[clyde72]

Catching up.

The scales look good. I've had a couple of reminders with the DE not to get too comfortable and take the razor for granted. Lesson's learned. I'm sure straight require even more confrontation.

 

[Smattayu]

Great shave Fred.