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Trying a new weekly system.

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I'm not normally one for "rotations" as I generally prefer to follow a freethinking path in life (not just with shaving). However, I'm also trying to make sure I keep my hand in with straight shaving, and with the self maintaining single edge razors. As such, I'm trying out a new weekly rota which encompases a fuller spectrum of razor types, and I'm just about to finish my first week of it.

Mondays:
Double edge shave. Continuing to work through the pile of blades that I'm longevity testing and recording in my journal thread. There's a fair chance that most of these will be in the usual Edwin Jagger DE3D14, but I may well swap to a different DE razor if I have cause to.

Tuesdays:
Day off. I usually get a close enough shave with a DE, that I can afford to go 48 hours before shaving again. The purpose here is to get longer stubble for Wednesday's shave. My beard always seems to hydrate better after I've taken a day off, which will probably make Wednesdays a little easier.

Wednesdays:
Wedge Wednesdays. Out comes the Rolls Razor, or the Darwin Deluxe Hollow Ground. I'm still both refining restoration elements with these two razors, and learning how to get the very best shaves with them. The Darwin is running a little coarse at the moment, and needs a little edge refinement. Likewise, the Rolls blade needs to go back to the kitchen table for hand honing, following a bit of a mishap when it flew off the mechanism while stropping. Making this a weekly activity, will hopefully give me a little more impotus to get these refined. I've not had time to do any blade work this week, so I either need to get it done, or get annoyed with the excess growth that I can't get rid of because I didn't get my razor sorted.

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Thursdays:
Day off. As I'm still learning with the Rolls and Darwin, and I haven't gotten either consistently maintaining buttery smooth edges, I reckon this is another good day to have off - either to recover from irritation, or because I got a good enough shave to not "need" to shave again. Plus, any sub standard shaves on a Wednesday will get really annoying on Thursday, and be a good motivator for doing a better job next week!

Fridays:
Double edge shave. Back with the Jagger and ongoing longevity testing, for the second and final DE shave of the week. Yes, that testing is going to take forever if I stick at two DE shaves a week, but I'm not going to progress with the other razors unless I make a more concerted effort to get them finished and mastered. The Friday DE slot gives me a nice easy shave after wrestling with the self stroppers on the Wednesday.

Saturdays and Sundays:

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The weekend shave is with an open razor. I'll leave the "when" flexible to suit the events in store, and i'll also leave the choice of straight or shavette flexible too. If I'm away at the weekend, it'll likely be shavette, as I don't want to be lugging a strop around with me, or risking leaving my straight somewhere I can't readily get back to. Weekly shaves will get me more practiced with the straight format, and maybe be a little more incentive to make a new strop, which I've been promising myself for a while. I'm already more fluent with the straight and shavette than I am with the Wedge SEs, so I don't feel the need to schedule a day off afterwards, and can go back to the DE on the Monday.

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So there it is, the new weekly rota. Hopefully, this new schedule should be interesting, educational, challenging and motivational. If I don't allow myself to go for the DE for "rectification" shaves, it means I've got to improve the shaves with the other gear, or accept the "penalty" or putting up with poor quality shaves, and the annnoyance of excess beard growth.

I've no idea how long this will last, or what I might choose to do once I get the others in finished condition and get proficient with using them. That's then, this is now. I've spent long enough dawdling and saying to myself I'll get myself and the razors good enough "one day", so hopefully this will get me there sooner rather than later. If I do veer off course and break pattern, it's no big issue, but at least I have an ongoing plan to achieve the goals that I've delayed for far too long.

Keeping two DE shaves in the week's line up, should also stop this getting tedious. If any part of the kit is annoying, I've got a whole week before I have to face it again. That's time to fix problems, overcome an irritable face or mood, and minimise boredom or frustration.
 
Seems like you did your homework just thinking how to go about it, hope you get things acomplished and you can move forward trying to tackle different fronts, keeps us posted!
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Seems like you did your homework just thinking how to go about it, hope you get things acomplished and you can move forward trying to tackle different fronts, keeps us posted!

Thanks @ngel.

Yes, I put a bit of thought into it. I want to get things moved forward, without turning shaving into a chore, which is why there's only two challenging shaves and deadlines for repairs and tweaks every week.

I've also got the flexibility of choosing between at least two razors every day, so I can test shave one I'm refining, or focus on technique with one that's already working properly.
 
If I don't allow myself to go for the DE for "rectification" shaves, it means I've got to improve the shaves with the other gear, or accept the "penalty" or putting up with poor quality shaves, and the annnoyance of excess beard growth.

100% this. I had to do the same thing to learn SRs/shavettes to my “acceptable” point. Faced with do-or-die I had to figure out how to improve if I wanted to look decent each day.
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
Great post, thanks for sharing and I hope that this weekly system works for you.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Nice post. Congratulations on furthering your knowledge as well as your enjoyment of shaving!
Great post, thanks for sharing and I hope that this weekly system works for you.

Thanks guys :)

100% this. I had to do the same thing to learn SRs/shavettes to my “acceptable” point. Faced with do-or-die I had to figure out how to improve if I wanted to look decent each day.

Cheers Chris. I've actually only followed up with a DE once, and felt that it was "cheating" as soon as I did it. I only did it as I had a family function to go to, but I still felt guilty doing it.

Great post!! I especially appreciate that you will use your outstanding collection! :a29:

Thanks BigJ. It's a very humble array compared to many on here, but when I first got them all several years ago, I got them with the genuine intention of fixing them all up and putting them to use. I've just been very slack in making that happen.

If any of them don't work for me on a regular basis, I'll pass them on. I've no intention of owning shaving stuff that doesn't get used.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
The system is working.

I really wasn't in the mood for messing around with the blades today, but am really in need of a shave, and I wasn't allowing myself to just take the easy route and grab a different razor. It was a choice of "pull your finger out, and get some work put in" or "go without a shave till Friday".

I got all the kit out, and set about doing the bevel refinements on the Darwin blade. After a while, I started doing a test shave, and the blade was just as rough as before. Close inspection showed that the bevel hasn't fully set along the edge, and I need to take this blade, and the Rolls blade, right back to square one.

No time for that today, so I'm going to allow myself a conciliatory shave with the DE. At least I now know what the issue is with this blade, and have a week to address it. That wouldn’t have happened if I hadn't set Wednesdays as Wedge Days. I might not have got a wedge shave, but at least it's a little more progress in understanding why thing aren't working as they should.
 
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Hello Aimless. This is a fascinating thread. I applaud you for your dedication and determination in setting this up and following through with your plan. Keep on truckin' my friend, and let us know how things keep working out for you.
 
It sounds like you might be starting to aim :)

Best of luck with it, I never could do it. I shave twice a day so my morning shave I can dedicate to trying blades with same setup, and evening shave I can try whatever.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Hello Aimless. This is a fascinating thread. I applaud you for your dedication and determination in setting this up and following through with your plan. Keep on truckin' my friend, and let us know how things keep working out for you.

Thanks Adam. Hopefully, this will all pay off. I'll either finally get everything in full working order, or I'll realise it's all a complete waste of time, and can just get back on with shaving "normally". :D
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
It sounds like you might be starting to aim :)

Best of luck with it, I never could do it. I shave twice a day so my morning shave I can dedicate to trying blades with same setup, and evening shave I can try whatever.

I do have my occasional moments of focus :D

I could do twice a day as one pass shaves, but after a full three pass jobbie, I need to leave at least 24 hours before shaving again. I can't prep effectively if the stubble is too short, and that causes me irritation.
 
I do have my occasional moments of focus :D

I could do twice a day as one pass shaves, but after a full three pass jobbie, I need to leave at least 24 hours before shaving again. I can't prep effectively if the stubble is too short, and that causes me irritation.

I generally will get 5 or 6 passes between the two, depending on how the shaves go. I prep with 3 hot towels, one with lather, one with Noxzema and one with a pre-shave, either oil or cream. I don't have sensitive skin, though some chemicals will bother it.
 
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Good luck on your rotation system.

Yeah I'm a little bit of free path myself. I hate to decide what to wear the next morning, let alone what I'm going to shave with for a set period of time.

Lately I've noticed that from my collection I have been neglecting the GEM SE razors, so that's what I've been including in my rotations lately, going thru my 3 GEM razors.

But again, seem to be reaching out to the prefered one, the bullet tip.

Enviado desde mi moto g(6) plus mediante Tapatalk
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Good luck on your rotation system.

Yeah I'm a little bit of free path myself. I hate to decide what to wear the next morning, let alone what I'm going to shave with for a set period of time.

Lately I've noticed that from my collection I have been neglecting the GEM SE razors, so that's what I've been including in my rotations lately, going thru my 3 GEM razors.

But again, seem to be reaching out to the prefered one, the bullet tip.

Enviado desde mi moto g(6) plus mediante Tapatalk

Thanks Artlogon,

I expect this will only be in place until I'm satisfied with the performance with each (both my performance, and the razors themselves). It should hopefully speed that up too, and also highlight any tedium or frustration with individual items.

As time progresses, I've also thought about throwing in the occasional month with one specific item, to see which I could live with as a daily shaver, or which need to remain occasional usage only. It's an interesting thing to try, and i'm learning all the time. For example, I'm surprised that I seem to be slightly favouring the DE shavette over the straight for the weekend shave.
 
The best laid plans ....

I have had many different rotations, different razor every day, different soap everyday, different brush everyday, etc.

While on a 10 day business trip, I found that my soap performed better when used for multiple days.

Currently, Fridays are generally reserved for my Fatboy, but other than that I use a razor for the 4 shave life of the blade and then pick a new razor (which might be the same one again) and a new blade. I use 5 different brushes in the same order when home (because they need to properly dry or so I tell myself). Soaps are used for at least one run through all of my brushes, but often two or more cycles. After shaves are picked daily, but usually Lucky Tiger on gym days since the scent dissipates so quickly and I shave before the gym and shower at the gym.

This is my rotation and I’m sticking to it until I decide to change it up.

What I have found is that most of my kit could be used daily without changing anything and yield perfectly good results. While unnecessary, the variety for lack of a better word is fun.

In a couple of months my rotation and answer may change again, but I think I’m pretty happy with it as it now stands.
 
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