A newbie’s journey into DE shaving

[Guido75]

Date	14.09.2023
365 daily shaves	257/365
GRUME August	14/30
SOTMC	14/30
Blade Biter’s Archive	05/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
H: Schick G1 F: Greencult 1.0	Schick Plus (2) Gillette Black (23)	Omega Roma
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Lavanda	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20m)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
9/10 (BBS)	8/10 (Smooth)

Notes to this shave:

Summary - Amazing head shave with the Schick Injector. Wow! Followed up by an equally wonderful face shave with the Greencult 1.0.

Razor and blade - Both giants in their own right these two razors. The G1 was super effective on my head with just two passes to an almost allround BBS while the GC1 delivered a very effective shave on the face. The Schick may just have dethroned the Razorine as most effective head shaver (which is already a close call with the Karve). The GC1 doesn’t get to dethrone any razor as it doesn’t have to - it’s in a league of its own. Blade continues to deliver.

Brush and lather - The Roma is supposedly knotted with Evo hairs which I would know because I don’t have one, but if it is than this brush punches above its weight. Which it also does without this additional non-knowledge.

Technique - Neck first and everything the same from there on. I have done a jaw line touch up pass the last couple of shaves and I must say it helps me to put less effort into the three passes and therefore a milder shave because I am not trying too hard. I will revisit my WTG pass to check if I can up the ante.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Date	15.09.2023
365 daily shaves	258/365
GRUME August	15/30
SOTMC	15/30
Blade Biter’s Archive	05/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
H: Schick G1 F: Lambda Athena	Schick Plus (3) Gillette Black (24)	Omega Super Badger
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Lavanda	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20m)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
7/10 (DFS)	8/10 (Smooth)

Notes to this shave:

Summary - Good head shave with the Schick Injector with more tugging than yesterday. A nice comfortable shave with the Athena followed.

Razor and blade - I said the Schick may have dethroned the Razorine as most effective head shaver yesterday. And I still think it is the case. I do have minor issues with the blade. Or stated more accurately I am definitely at the beginning of my learning curve with injectors and I need more mileage. I do find it interesting that I previously assumed the learning curve would reside with GEM razors rather than Injectors, but so far it has been the other way around.

The Athena continues to be a great razor. The blade was still cutting, but the combination with the Athena made it a very mild shave. Less effective in my view. A shear joy to use so I am smiling in front of the mirror and the end result was very ok for a Friday.

Brush and lather - My mega splayer has a nice lather going today.

Technique - Not sure what I was doing this morning. I followed my beard map as much as possible, but I kept mulling over a thread conversation we had in @APBinNCA 's journal (check that out by the way - great discussions!) and continuously asking myself is this WTG, XTG or ATG right now for me??? Drove me nuts, so I ended up doing a bunch of directions which in actuality made the shave less effective even though you might expect more effectiveness given that going in all directions should result in hair being cut one way or the other. That also needs factoring in the razor and blade you are using and once again shaving became much more than just moving a razor up and down your face. There is much more science to this in my view! Yeah!!

Enjoy your shave!

 

[lasta]

Yeah, sometimes when I think too much, I start finding problems that aren't there!

 

[Rosseforp]

My best shaves are thoughtless.

~doug~

 

[Guido75]

16.09.2023

• Guido75
• Sep 15, 2023

GEM Featherweight • GEM PFTE (2) • Zenith 502B XSE • Lavanda

Date	16.09.2023
365 daily shaves	259/365
GRUME August	16/30
SOTMC	16/30
Blade Biter’s Archive	05/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
H: Schick G1 F: GEM Featherweight	Schick Plus (4) GEM (2)	Zenith 502B XSE
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Lavanda	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WXTG XWTG AXTG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20m)	9.5/10 (Some spots)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.5/10 (DFS++)	8/10 (Smooth)

Notes to this shave:

Summary - Good head shave with the Schick Injector with 1.5 passes to a very nice DFS result. The GEM is much easier on my facial skin. Very comfortable and super close (I can tell even without having applied aftershave yet).

Razor and blade - A first all SE razor experience and a nice way of comparing the two formats. At the moment the GEM format speaks more to me than Injectors where at face value I would have thougt this to be the other way around. Both are super easy to load and both deliver fantastic end results. The road in getting there however is different for me. And I think the Injector requires me altering my technique more than the GEM does. Although @Butch Waxx said something very true yesterday that a good jockey can only take a bad horse so far. This could very well apply to the Schick at the moment (although I also said to Butch that the good jockey part might need revisiting as well! ). The GEM blade was supersmooth on shave 2 with absolutely zero signs of fatigue. The Schick Plus going on 4 was harsher on my skin. Aesthetically both are super razors with a rightful place in history. I saw Mitch @mgweatherly use his Featherweight recently so I thought it would be a nice match (Mitch & Match so to speak!) to use his gift across the globe here in Europe.

Brush and lather - I watched a YouTube shaver and moderator from another forum yesterday when it struck me that I might have been too underlathering. At least with certain brushes so I decided to reset my idea of an almond size and use more product this morning. In addition I also let my brush splay less or actually not that much at all. This seemed to help in preventing hogging of soap while also giving me a nice facial massage and the opportunity of massaging in the lather into the bristles. I am going to experiment some more with this idea (which is more painting on than face lathering in terms of pressure - and I usually bowl lather so I am building that lather anyway).

Technique - For the sake of clarity I have always used WTG, XTG and ATG as abbreviations for my beardmap. I revisited my comment yesterday and paid attention to my passes a bit more in detail. Especially my month of fixed technique (June I believe) resulted in me using the Gillette Slide less and less and using the Gillette Slant more and more to the point of almost exclusively using that stroke in all my passes. In actuality that makes all my passes XTG in some way so WXTG, XWTG and AXTG (see post 1,119 in this journal - the directional descriptions have changed slightly so I might need to update that). I am going to replicate that notion in tomorrow's shave to see if I indeed have found the best pattern algorithm for the results I want. Today was a bit more all over the place still and therefore (I believe) slightly less effective than I am used to.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Flanders]

I revisited my comment yesterday and paid attention to my passes a bit more in detail. Especially my month of fixed technique (June I believe) resulted in me using the Gillette Slide less and less and using the Gillette Slant more and more to the point of almost exclusively using that stroke in all my passes. In actuality that makes all my passes XTG in some way so WXTG, XWTG and AXTG

That is literally what happened to me as a result of my “little” inquiry yesterday! I have always chased the most comfortable directions, but I was using a defective map. I started typing up a post yesterday, but am too busy to finish it…

 

[Guido75]

That is literally what happened to me as a result of my “little” inquiry yesterday! I have always chased the most comfortable directions, but I was using a defective map. I started typing up a post yesterday, but am too busy to finish it…

Me too! And it also depends on the razor. My most challenging area is my jaw line and one patch just right off my Adam’s apple. Almost every razor and blade have trouble getting that down in the regular passes. Usually touch up is required. Only a handful of razors in my collection can deal with that straight away.

Now if I only knew which ones! Haha!

 

[mgweatherly]

Mitch & Match so to speak!

I love it! So glad to here that you had a good experience with the Featherweight. This variant is so easy to find here in the States, that I have four or five of them (still). They just seem to show up in every other batch of vintage razors on auction sites here. I find them to be quite a good razor for the GEM SE blade format. To me, GEM really hit its stride with the solid bar razors starting with the 1947 Flying Wing with the Guiding Eye. These Featherweights and the others made in this timeframe (e.g., G-bar and Pushbutton) are dead simple and provide a great shave.

 

[Guido75]

17.09.2023

• Guido75
• Sep 17, 2023

Gillette Tech (prewar) • Gillette Black (25) • Yaqi Lucky Dice • Lavanda

Date	17.09.2023
365 daily shaves	260/365
GRUME August	17/30
SOTMC	17/30
Blade Biter’s Archive	05/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
H: Schick G1 F: Gillette Tech US	Schick Plus (5) Gillette Black (25)	Yaqi Lucky Dice
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Lavanda	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WXTG XWTG AXTG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20m)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8/10 (DFS)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to this shave:

Summary - Good head shave with the Schick Injector with 1.5 passes to a very nice BBS- result. Admirable performance by the Tech and blade, but less effective than I usually get.

Razor and blade - I have come to terms with the Schick and it is the best head shaver ever. Smooth and sufficiently comfortable. Mega effective. I believe this will be my go to razor for head shaving. Thanks @mgweatherly!! The Tech is just wonderful and effective. Nice blade feel and still giving me the impression I can do anything with this razor without risk of injury. Amazing handle by @lasta - I think this is my favourite one!

Brush and lather - Used a little more product again today which resulted in a wonderful lather. Plenty for five consistent passes. Consistent being the word here. I don't particularly like to waste soap/lather if I don't have to, but consistent good passes is better for gliding.

Technique - Going with my usual slanted pattern and I tried a couple of J-hooks during the touch up. My main area of attention is the XTG pass on my neck. I am still figuring out what the best approach is. Today it was more S-N and it seemed effective when executing, but post shave I had the idea I forgot to do my jawline. Still an overall good result. I am getting closer to my personal perfection. I have already noticed that my pattern works across different razors. Different blades might make a difference still. Enough to discover!

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Date	18.09.2023
365 daily shaves	261/365
GRUME August	18/30
SOTMC	18/30
Blade Biter’s Archive	05/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
H: Schick G1 F: Green Cult 2.0 II	Schick Plus (6) Gillette Black (26)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Lavanda	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WXTG XWTG AXTG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20m)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.5/10 (DFS++)	9/10 (Butterysmooth)

Notes to this shave:

Summary - Nice touch up head shave with the G1 and an effective face shave with the Green Cult.

Razor and blade - I straightened the baseplate on the G1 yesterday and I think that did the performance well. Less clogging and better glide. The GC2 performed as usual. Blade is almost done in terms of effectiveness. Still sharp, but there is a decrease in consistency.

Brush and lather - on par today with previous days. I think I have found the way with this cream. Still requires modest amounts to get great lather. The brush is actually a travel brush but it’s just fun to use.

Technique - I tried longer strokes today combined with a more circular first WTG pass. I call it the CB Curve after YouTuber CBShaves who has nearly the same beard map pattern as I do. Results were fine, but appeared to be lacking in the jawline area. I need to be better at maintaining my angle when I transfer from cheek to neck.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Raven Koenes]

Date	18.09.2023
365 daily shaves	261/365
GRUME August	18/30
SOTMC	18/30
Blade Biter’s Archive	05/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
H: Schick G1 F: Green Cult 2.0 II	Schick Plus (6) Gillette Black (26)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Lavanda	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WXTG XWTG AXTG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20m)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.5/10 (DFS++)	9/10 (Butterysmooth)

Notes to this shave:

Summary - Nice touch up head shave with the G1 and an effective face shave with the Green Cult.

Razor and blade - I straightened the baseplate on the G1 yesterday and I think that did the performance well. Less clogging and better glide. The GC2 performed as usual. Blade is almost done in terms of effectiveness. Still sharp, but there is a decrease in consistency.

Brush and lather - on par today with previous days. I think I have found the way with this cream. Still requires modest amounts to get great lather. The brush is actually a travel brush but it’s just fun to use.

Technique - I tried longer strokes today combined with a more circular first WTG pass. I call it the CB Curve after YouTuber CBShaves who has nearly the same beard map pattern as I do. Results were fine, but appeared to be lacking in the jawline area. I need to be better at maintaining my angle when I transfer from cheek to neck.

Enjoy your shave!

I've found an almond dollop size never really worked for me. A dollop and a half does. Two dollops and I'm in heaven. I hear my grandmother go on about wasting soap.

 

[lasta]

I've found an almond dollop size never really worked for me. A dollop and a half does. Two dollops and I'm in heaven. I hear my grandmother go on about wasting soap.

Let's put it this way, I'd rather feed 3 almonds to my brush than 1 and having to start over with 2 more.

No waste and better lather.

 

[Guido75]

Date	19.09.2023
365 daily shaves	262/365
GRUME August	19/30
SOTMC	19/30
Blade Biter’s Archive	05/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
Timeless Ti95 SCL	Gillette Black (27)	DVH Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Lavanda	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WXTG XWTG AXTG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20m)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.5/10 (DFS++)	9/10 (Butterysmooth)

Notes to this shave:

Summary - Just a great shave with great gear. Relaxing, comfortable, absolutely splendid.

Razor and blade - The blade gave a great performance today. Not as sharp as initially out of the wrapper, but a very solid blade this is. I will definitely add this to the core blade stock. The razor is my forever goto razor. Front and centre in my cabinet and for every reason.

Brush and lather - Just good lather today. Brush is on the smaller side and I might notice that it is actually starting to get too small for my preference.

Technique - Continued my experiment with the CB Curve WTG pass paying extra attention and some additional horizontal strokes on the jaw line. The Ti95 performed admirably in this area.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Jay21]

27! I'm not sure how you do it, but that's impressive!

 

[Guido75]

27! I'm not sure how you do it, but that's impressive!

I think that’s more in the blade than me in all honesty. But what I tend to do is use shorter strokes, no pressure and shave in accordance with my beard map focusing more on reduction per pass than as much gone in one pass (I would like to obviously, but reduction minimises irritation).

And in this particular blade case I have stropped it twice with a few laps on the Twinplex.

But the blade is just amazing. It has a bit of tugging a couple of shaves ago, but sprang back into performance after that. The KCG is my other 27+ blade. Both are fantastic at that.

 

[Guido75]

Date	20.09.2023
365 daily shaves	263/365
GRUME August	20/30
SOTMC	20/30
Blade Biter’s Archive	05/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
H: Schick Injector G1 F: GEM Featherweight	Schick Plus (7) GEM (3)	Simpson T3
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Lavanda	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WXTG XWTG AXTG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20m)	9/10 (Small weeper)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
9.5/10 (BBS)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to this shave:

Summary - Fantastic shave. Pure bliss and fun.

Razor and blade - Third run with this razor and blade. Blade felt like new and very comfortable. Superior to the injector although that one is just amazing for head shaving.

Brush and lather - Just good lather today. I am warming up to the backbone of the T3. I might just get more similar brushes.

Technique - Continued my experiment with the CB Curve and actually did everything almost exactly like Chris does. And I must say this was one of the best shaves I have had so far. I credit my technique, because when I tried the CB passes earlier on results were mixed. This begs replication with other razors, because the GEM was just a pleasure to use. Jaw line is smooth with its a huge plus in my book - I did something different there. I tilted my head backwards to the point I couldn’t see the mirror. This allowed my skin to stretch naturally and provide a flatter surface for the razor to glide on.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[JAHE]

Date	18.09.2023
365 daily shaves	261/365
GRUME August	18/30
SOTMC	18/30
Blade Biter’s Archive	05/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
H: Schick G1 F: Green Cult 2.0 II	Schick Plus (6) Gillette Black (26)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Lavanda	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WXTG XWTG AXTG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20m)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.5/10 (DFS++)	9/10 (Butterysmooth)

Notes to this shave:

Technique - I tried longer strokes today combined with a more circular first WTG pass. I call it the CB Curve after YouTuber CBShaves who has nearly the same beard map pattern as I do. Results were fine, but appeared to be lacking in the jawline area. I need to be better at maintaining my angle when I transfer from cheek to neck.

Enjoy your shave!

Would you mind sharing a link zo the vid that shows the technique?
Thx!

 

[Guido75]

Would you mind sharing a link zo the vid that shows the technique?
Thx!

Absolutely not!

His channel is a small one in comparison, but it’s fun to watch. His shave is basically the same every time. And he appears to use less of pressure, but that’s imaginary. I at least do without where I can.

Enjoy!

 

[Raven Koenes]

Absolutely not!

His channel is a small one in comparison, but it’s fun to watch. His shave is basically the same every time. And he appears to use less of pressure, but that’s imaginary. I at least do without where I can.

Enjoy!

That's a nice steep angle he's using.

 

[JAHE]

Absolutely not!

His channel is a small one in comparison, but it’s fun to watch. His shave is basically the same every time. And he appears to use less of pressure, but that’s imaginary. I at least do without where I can.

Enjoy!

Thanks. Now I understand.