It suggested somewhere to post a shave journal. I'm usually an analog kind of guy, with many journals about the house, Homebrewing, Pizza making, Bread Baking, and Bible/religious/catholic reflections. I may start an analog shave journal but this one will do for now.
Some background. I started wet shaving back in 2010. I had some kit from either Classic Shaving or West Coast Shaving. The razor was a Parker Butterfly, feather blade, various soaps, and creams from British shaving companies. I do remember the feather blades slicing me up something awful. I switched blades to something less dangerous and did much better. I also recall weepers bleeding through the lather on the second pass often. I did not upgrade my razor back then. I did change soaps and creams, as well as blades. I used Lords, Murker, Derby, and some other blades. I also used Mother Bear's soap and balm. They had quite a selection of scents and reproductions of classic and not so classic scents. I stopped wet shaving when I grew a full beard. I had a beard for a number of years and got away from wet shaving, I'd touch up the beard with water and cartridge razors. When I did shave down the beard a few times, the memory of those Feather blades slicing me up was a deterrent to start wet shaving again. I did a pseudo wet shave with soap, a brush, a bowl, and a cartridge razor. Please forgive me, I knew not what I was doing.
Fast forward to now. I shaved the COVID beard off a month or so ago and bought some cartridges to shave with. A divorce and three moves since I used the Parker last made it difficult to find my old razor. I was receiving emails for Henson Shaving, I ignored them a few times then like a bass and a shiny spinner bait, I bit. In came a Henson Mild and 100 blades, the blades were free. I still had some soap from before and my shaving bowl had become the wife's cat's water bowl. It sat on my counter where the fat feline would hop up and look at me with disgust if it wasn't filled to the brim with fresh water. Welp, the cat's bowl is now back in use. Come to think of it she hasn't hopped up on the counter for water lately. Soapy water will do that. Haha.
That Henson razor led to me jumping down the wet shaving culture on YouTube. After many videos, a Twig Leaf and a Rockwell 6C showed up along with soap, shaving cream, and pre-shave oil. I re-acquainted myself with GeoFatboy's YouTube channel and along came an order of razors, various soaps and creams, and a Simpson Synthetic Brush from Shave Nation. Then Razor Emporium's YouTube channel popped up on my feed, You guessed it, Rex Envoy razor, soap, and brush showed up. Then I discovered PAA, and signed up for their "newsletter". One of the newsletters mentioned a limited time re-release of a discontinued scent. An order was placed for that soap, along with others. Then another "newsletter" was received with another limited time re-release of a discontinued scent, therefore another order was placed for that soap and others. From exporting their website more was ordered. This scene replicated itself faster than rabbits and now I have enough soaps, and blades to last a good long time. And I am working on a different razor and brush for every day of the week. I need a GRUME challenge break to allow my bank account to recover.
On to the shaves. The first shaves with the Henson were very nice, as is to be expected. The Henson Mild is perfect for someone getting back into wet shaving after a long break or someone new to wet shaving. I did have issues with getting a BBS smooth shave on the neck area. This is a problem area for me. As my other razors came in, the Henson was used less and less.
My 19-year-old son wanted to learn how to wet shave. I had my spare brush and stand in his bathroom for a while, in an attempt to encourage him to start wet shaving. He asked about my new stuff and I used that opportunity to show him how to do a true wet shave with a DE razor, The Henson became his along with the cat water bowl shaving bowl, and shaving soap from Fair Hope Soap Company. He shaved and had a BBS face to show his girlfriend. He has hardly any beard or growth. I tell him he needs to shave to get the beard to grow, but he doesn't listen. I am not sure if he will commit the time to this hobby. He tends to be impatient with anything that isn't his gaming or investing.
The shaves with the Leaf Twig was closer than the Henson as was the Rockwell 6C on the #3 plate, which is to be expected. I started to use pre-shave oil for the first time when the Twig came in. The Rockwell 6C gave a nice shave as did the leaf, with just a tad more irritation as revealed by the alum block than the Henson. I have been using the Rex Envoy for the last two days. I have gotten the best shaves so far. BBS and almost no stinging from the alum block. I have a few other razors on the way and many more soaps. Did I say I needed the GRUME? Going forward I'll update my journal with my Shaves. As of now, I shave 6 days a week, taking off Saturday or Sunday depending on which Mass I serve at as an Acolyte. I think it will be an interesting journey.
Some background. I started wet shaving back in 2010. I had some kit from either Classic Shaving or West Coast Shaving. The razor was a Parker Butterfly, feather blade, various soaps, and creams from British shaving companies. I do remember the feather blades slicing me up something awful. I switched blades to something less dangerous and did much better. I also recall weepers bleeding through the lather on the second pass often. I did not upgrade my razor back then. I did change soaps and creams, as well as blades. I used Lords, Murker, Derby, and some other blades. I also used Mother Bear's soap and balm. They had quite a selection of scents and reproductions of classic and not so classic scents. I stopped wet shaving when I grew a full beard. I had a beard for a number of years and got away from wet shaving, I'd touch up the beard with water and cartridge razors. When I did shave down the beard a few times, the memory of those Feather blades slicing me up was a deterrent to start wet shaving again. I did a pseudo wet shave with soap, a brush, a bowl, and a cartridge razor. Please forgive me, I knew not what I was doing.
Fast forward to now. I shaved the COVID beard off a month or so ago and bought some cartridges to shave with. A divorce and three moves since I used the Parker last made it difficult to find my old razor. I was receiving emails for Henson Shaving, I ignored them a few times then like a bass and a shiny spinner bait, I bit. In came a Henson Mild and 100 blades, the blades were free. I still had some soap from before and my shaving bowl had become the wife's cat's water bowl. It sat on my counter where the fat feline would hop up and look at me with disgust if it wasn't filled to the brim with fresh water. Welp, the cat's bowl is now back in use. Come to think of it she hasn't hopped up on the counter for water lately. Soapy water will do that. Haha.
That Henson razor led to me jumping down the wet shaving culture on YouTube. After many videos, a Twig Leaf and a Rockwell 6C showed up along with soap, shaving cream, and pre-shave oil. I re-acquainted myself with GeoFatboy's YouTube channel and along came an order of razors, various soaps and creams, and a Simpson Synthetic Brush from Shave Nation. Then Razor Emporium's YouTube channel popped up on my feed, You guessed it, Rex Envoy razor, soap, and brush showed up. Then I discovered PAA, and signed up for their "newsletter". One of the newsletters mentioned a limited time re-release of a discontinued scent. An order was placed for that soap, along with others. Then another "newsletter" was received with another limited time re-release of a discontinued scent, therefore another order was placed for that soap and others. From exporting their website more was ordered. This scene replicated itself faster than rabbits and now I have enough soaps, and blades to last a good long time. And I am working on a different razor and brush for every day of the week. I need a GRUME challenge break to allow my bank account to recover.
On to the shaves. The first shaves with the Henson were very nice, as is to be expected. The Henson Mild is perfect for someone getting back into wet shaving after a long break or someone new to wet shaving. I did have issues with getting a BBS smooth shave on the neck area. This is a problem area for me. As my other razors came in, the Henson was used less and less.
My 19-year-old son wanted to learn how to wet shave. I had my spare brush and stand in his bathroom for a while, in an attempt to encourage him to start wet shaving. He asked about my new stuff and I used that opportunity to show him how to do a true wet shave with a DE razor, The Henson became his along with the cat water bowl shaving bowl, and shaving soap from Fair Hope Soap Company. He shaved and had a BBS face to show his girlfriend. He has hardly any beard or growth. I tell him he needs to shave to get the beard to grow, but he doesn't listen. I am not sure if he will commit the time to this hobby. He tends to be impatient with anything that isn't his gaming or investing.
The shaves with the Leaf Twig was closer than the Henson as was the Rockwell 6C on the #3 plate, which is to be expected. I started to use pre-shave oil for the first time when the Twig came in. The Rockwell 6C gave a nice shave as did the leaf, with just a tad more irritation as revealed by the alum block than the Henson. I have been using the Rex Envoy for the last two days. I have gotten the best shaves so far. BBS and almost no stinging from the alum block. I have a few other razors on the way and many more soaps. Did I say I needed the GRUME? Going forward I'll update my journal with my Shaves. As of now, I shave 6 days a week, taking off Saturday or Sunday depending on which Mass I serve at as an Acolyte. I think it will be an interesting journey.
not before.
I've only been at it for about 2.5 years, not a rookie but still a ways to go. Keep that in mind on any advice I may offer!
