I keep thinking about @Rosseforp's Tech assessment as well! A English Tech is in my future for sure.
A newbie’s journey into DE shaving
- Thread starter Guido75
- Start date
I keep thinking about @Rosseforp's Tech assessment as well! A English Tech is in my future for sure.
- Thread starter
- #642
Thanks guys @Phoenixkh , @flask28 
.
And trust me, I have some Darth Vader in me too at times. Light sabres blazing and all. Not my proudest moment, but yeah…
.And trust me, I have some Darth Vader in me too at times. Light sabres blazing and all. Not my proudest moment, but yeah…
When I was taking Algebra in college I would hold evening study sessions at the school library twice a week with about 5-6 other students that needed help. My take away from the study sessions was that I myself would learn new ways of solving equations from others that were just beginning to understand the concepts.
When the teacher would thank me for holding the study sessions my answer was "I am learning as much from them as much as they learn from me."
BTW, I started tutoring math in my sophomore year of High School, and was the welding instructor my senior year.
~doug~
- Thread starter
- #644
| Date | 12.12.2022 |
| 365 days of shaving | 349/345 (100%) |
| GRUME December | 12/31 (100%) |
| Discovery Blade Adventure | Bolzano 2/3 Timor 2/3 Eddison 2/3 |
| Passes | 3 |
| WXTG (2) | first pass cheeks: CB Curve (NW-SE curving to NE-SW) second pass cheeks: Gillette Slide (NW-SE | cheeks) first pass neck: Gillette Slant (NW-SE) second pass neck: Gillette Slant (SE-NW | neck) |
| ATG | Straight & Slanted (SW-NE | cheeks) (SW-NE | neck) |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Mühle R41 with Blue Lasta handle | Timor (7) | DVH Synthetic |
| Pre-shave | Soap & Bowl | Post-shave |
| Cold splash Proraso Green pre-shave | Haslinger Sandelholz Face and bowl lathered | Cold splash Proraso Green (AS) Proraso Green (Balm) |
| Efficiency | Quality |
| 9/10 (~20 minutes) | 9/10 (One weepers) |
| Effectiveness | Comfort |
| 8/10 (DFS+) | 7/10 (Harsh) |
| Notes to today’s shave: |
Another ride with the R41 and the Timor blade which are turning into a trusted combination. The blade had come to an end though and I retired it after the shave. It was not as smooth as last time and felt harsh, bordering on tuggy. Still it performed extremely well in terms of shave quality. Because the harshness (with some very minor weepers) was there from the WTG pass, I did the ATG using a reversed Gillette Slant stroke without going S-N head-on. This prevented me from incurring more weepers or nicks. Today that worked out very well. Even rubbing S-N on my cheeks post shave feels rather smooth. So maybe this stroke is a keeper as an alternative S-N ATG.
Face lathered again. This time taking the advice from Jack and making sure my lather was wetter / more runny. Still not the best of luck with Haslinger. It is a very forgiving soap no matter how you treat it, but I wasn't getting into the groove. Took out my Proraso bowl and whipped up my lather and completed the face lathering with a consistent and slick layer. And I noticed that the scent is still there post shave even though I do not really smell it in the tub.
Everything else was as it should be for this shave. Just a wonderful start of the week.
Enjoy your shaves!
Date
12.12.2022 365 days of shaving 349/345
(100%)GRUME December 12/31 (100%) Discovery Blade Adventure Bolzano 2/3
Timor 2/3
Eddison 2/3
Passes 3 WXTG (2) first pass cheeks: CB Curve (NW-SE curving to NE-SW)
second pass cheeks: Gillette Slide (NW-SE | cheeks)
first pass neck: Gillette Slant (NW-SE)
second pass neck: Gillette Slant (SE-NW | neck)ATG Straight & Slanted
(SW-NE | cheeks)
(SW-NE | neck)
Razor
Blade
Brush Mühle R41 with Blue Lasta handle Timor (7)
DVH Synthetic Pre-shave
Soap & Bowl
Post-shave Cold splash
Proraso Green pre-shave
Haslinger Sandelholz
Face and bowl latheredCold splash
Proraso Green (AS)
Proraso Green (Balm)
Efficiency
Quality 9/10 (~20 minutes) 9/10 (One weepers) Effectiveness Comfort 8/10 (DFS+)
7/10 (Harsh)
Notes to today’s shave:
Another ride with the R41 and the Timor blade which are turning into a trusted combination. The blade had come to an end though and I retired it after the shave. It was not as smooth as last time and felt harsh, bordering on tuggy. Still it performed extremely well in terms of shave quality. Because the harshness (with some very minor weepers) was there from the WTG pass, I did the ATG using a reversed Gillette Slant stroke without going S-N head-on. This prevented me from incurring more weepers or nicks. Today that worked out very well. Even rubbing S-N on my cheeks post shave feels rather smooth. So maybe this stroke is a keeper as an alternative S-N ATG.
Face lathered again. This time taking the advice from Jack and making sure my lather was wetter / more runny. Still not the best of luck with Haslinger. It is a very forgiving soap no matter how you treat it, but I wasn't getting into the groove. Took out my Proraso bowl and whipped up my lather and completed the face lathering with a consistent and slick layer. And I noticed that the scent is still there post shave even though I do not really smell it in the tub.
Everything else was as it should be for this shave. Just a wonderful start of the week.
Enjoy your shaves!
Impressed with your sticking with Haslinger Sandelholz and trying to really own it!
- Thread starter
- #646
| Date | 13.12.2022 |
| 365 days of shaving | 350/346 (100%) |
| GRUME December | 13/31 (100%) |
| Discovery Blade Adventure | Bolzano 2/3 Timor 2/3 Eddison 2/3 |
| Passes | 3 |
| WXTG (2) | first pass cheeks: CB Curve (NW-SE curving to NE-SW) second pass cheeks: Gillette Slide (NW-SE | cheeks) first pass neck: Gillette Slant (NW-SE) second pass neck: Gillette Slant (SE-NW | neck) |
| ATG | Straight & Slanted (SW-NE | cheeks) (SW-NE | neck) |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Timeless Ti.95 SCB | Eddison (12) | Omega Roma Capitolina |
| Pre-shave | Soap & Bowl | Post-shave |
| Cold splash Proraso Green pre-shave | Haslinger Sandelholz Face and bowl lathered | Cold splash Proraso Green (AS) Proraso Green (Balm) |
| Efficiency | Quality |
| 9/10 (~20 minutes) | 8/10 (Some weepers) |
| Effectiveness | Comfort |
| 9.5/10 (BBS+) | 10/10 (GlideFest) |
| Notes to today’s shave: |
Ahhh...such a wonderful shave today with my most precious and current tier razor - the Timeless paired with an Eddison going on its 12th run. The shave was smooth and very comfortable, despite a couple of weepers on the ATG pass signaling me that the blade is on the way to retirement. I used my non dominant hand again on the right side of my face to get the angle more correct. Or so I thought, because post shave I think I have more resistance on the right side anyway. It is now 5 hours or so past the shave and I can feel stubble emerge again in places which to me is another tip off that the blade has had its peak performance prior to this shave. All in all a great blade.
I bowl lathered again today to 1) check the Omega's capabilities (which are terrific) and 2) because starting with bowl lathering gives me a better base to finish the lathering doing a face lather. So currently using a combination I guess. I appear to have better control over my lather using a bowl.
All other actors were splendid in use and post feel. Simply great with a near marble result on the cheeks and very smooth on the neck.
Enjoy your shave today!
- Thread starter
- #647
| Date | 14.12.2022 |
| 365 days of shaving | 351/347 (100%) |
| GRUME December | 14/31 (100%) |
| Discovery Blade Adventure | Bolzano 3/3 Timor 2/3 Eddison 2/3 |
| Passes | 3 |
| WXTG (3) | first pass cheeks: CB Curve (NW-SE curving to NE-SW) second pass cheeks: Gillette Slant (NW-SE | cheeks) first pass neck: Gillette Slant (NW-SE) second pass neck: Gillette Slant (SE-NW | neck) third pass cheeks: Gillette Slant opposite direction third pass neck: same as second pass |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Razorine Flatboy | Bolzano (1) | Razorock Plissoft 400 |
| Pre-shave | Soap & Bowl | Post-shave |
| Cold splash Proraso Green pre-shave | Haslinger Sandelholz Face and bowl lathered | Cold splash Floïd the Genuine (AS) Nivea (Balm) |
| Efficiency | Quality |
| 9/10 (~20 minutes) | 5/10 (Serious weepers right cheek) |
| Effectiveness | Comfort |
| 7.5/10 (CCS/DFS) | 7/10 (Harsh) |
| Notes to today’s shave: |
Starting the third and final Bolzano of this Discovery Blade Adventure and paired it with the Flatboy for an easy and comfortable shave. Or at least that was the intention. It turned out to be a rather rough shave. The Flatboy can be an aggressive razor and so I thought to change my normal passes and only do WTG and XTG with hardly ATG to avoid potential nicks or cuts. But that change did not fully align with my beard map and my right cheek protested heavily resulting in a number of weepers near the jawline that also the alum nor the after shave could stop. In fact, it was only when I entered the office the bleeding had stopped. The result was still there in term of a smooth face, but it was no fun let me tell you.
I do blame it in part on the blade. It was harsh from the first stroke and did not work particularly well for me. I cannot remember exactly, but I believe the other two where not like that at all - even not with the Flatboy (reading back my notes from the first shave). So I will take one for the team and shave with the exact same combination again tomorrow to see if it indeed was the blade or my change in technique. I might incur some weepers again, because my skin may not have healed completely by tomorrow - we'll see.
Soap and brush were excellent. The hybrid of bowl and face lathering works very well to build my initial lather and then finishing it off on my face.
Enjoy your shave today!
- Thread starter
- #648
| Date | 15.12.2022 |
| 365 days of shaving | 352/348 (100%) |
| GRUME December | 15/31 (100%) |
| Discovery Blade Adventure | Bolzano 3/3 Timor 2/3 Eddison 2/3 |
| Passes | 4 |
| WXTG (3) | first pass cheeks: CB Curve (NW-SE curving to NE-SW) second and third pass cheeks: Gillette Slide (NW-SE | cheeks) first pass neck: Gillette Slant (NW-SE) second and third pass neck: Gillette Slant (SE-NW | neck) |
| ATG | Straight & Slanted (SW-NE | cheeks) (SW-NE | neck) |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Razorine Flatboy | Bolzano (2) | Razorock Plissoft 400 |
| Pre-shave | Soap & Bowl | Post-shave |
| Cold splash Proraso Green pre-shave | Haslinger Sandelholz Face and bowl lathered | Cold splash Floïd the Genuine (AS) Nivea (Balm) |
| Efficiency | Quality |
| 8/10 (~25 minutes) | 9/10 (small weeper) |
| Effectiveness | Comfort |
| 8/10 (DFS) | 7/10 (Harsh) |
| Notes to today’s shave: |
Second shave with the exact same setup as yesterday. One for the team. Better than yesterday, but still harsh. I paid extra attention to no pressure and used my usual passes. I also did a fourth pass to concentrate on reduction rather than speed. Small nicks and still sensitive skin. In addition slightly wetter lather for better glide.
The shave was good and definitely better than yesterday, but the blade behaves differently from earlier ones. All in all and combined with its longevity (or actually lack of) I don’t think I will be ordering Bolzano’s any time soon. I have loaded the blade into my NEW Improved for Saturday’s shave to test it in other razors.
The Flatboy itself performs superb with the Lasta Red Handle. Nimble and comfortable. And as Jack mentioned a razor to be handled with respect. R41 effectiveness with the blade exposure of a straight is not something to mindlessly throw about your face.
lasta
Blade Biter
Why you do this to yourself? 
Just toss the bugger!
BTW, I found those Neva's on ebay:
Should be the same factory as old Sputnik blades. So, should be actual razor blades haha.
Just toss the bugger!
BTW, I found those Neva's on ebay:
Should be the same factory as old Sputnik blades. So, should be actual razor blades haha.
- Thread starter
- #650
- Thread starter
- #651
lasta
Blade Biter
I did!
SOTD “Obscure Shaving Gear/Den Diving/Archaeology Week” NOVEMBER 29th - DECEMBER 5th, 2021
SE SOTD, Dec 3rd 2021 Razor: Yaqi V2 Excalibur AC 50mm- Mfg 2021> great tame mid range, great little head design, you have to do a top cap visual alignment to the safety bar because they allowed clearances, easy to work the face and affordable for most folks. Blades cost more than the razor...
www.badgerandblade.com
Although I admit, I was being modest. The job didn't include the neck, or chins, or stache....
- Thread starter
- #653
- Thread starter
- #654
| Date | 16.12.2022 |
| 365 days of shaving | 353/349 (100%) |
| GRUME December | 16/31 (100%) |
| Discovery Blade Adventure | Bolzano 3/3 Timor 2/3 Eddison 2/3 |
| Passes | 4 |
| WXTG (3) | first pass cheeks: CB Curve (NW-SE curving to NE-SW) second and third pass cheeks: Gillette Slide (NW-SE | cheeks) first pass neck: Gillette Slant (NW-SE) second and third pass neck: Gillette Slant (SE-NW | neck) |
| ATG | Straight & Slanted (SW-NE | cheeks) (SW-NE | neck) |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Fatip Special Edition | KCG (30) KCG (2) | Omega Proraso |
| Pre-shave | Soap & Bowl | Post-shave |
| Cold splash Proraso Green pre-shave | Haslinger Sandelholz Face and bowl lathered | Cold splash Proraso Green (AS) Proraso Green Balm) |
| Efficiency | Quality |
| 8/10 (~25 minutes) | 9/10 (small weeper) |
| Effectiveness | Comfort |
| 8.5/10 (DFS+) | 10/10 (GildeFest) |
| Notes to today’s shave: |
Started the shave with the KCG I stropped and honed (not exactly). I didn’t damage the edge to the point of being harsh or painful. I did make it rather useless as a shaving blade. After two passes I still felt lots of stubble so after the second pass I swapped the blade for a fresh KCG. Two passes later I was effectively at BBS level, but there were some spots left so let’s leave it at DFS+. And my Fatip just delivered - no protesting with good or bad blades. It just works
Used my boar as it had been a while. It is still a lather hog because after the first pass I had to redo my lathering with some more water. A nice brush, floppy, with just enough backbone.
Enjoy your shave today!
- Thread starter
- #655
| Date | 17.12.2022 |
| 365 days of shaving | 354/350 (100%) |
| GRUME December | 17/30 (97%) |
| Discovery Blade Adventure | Bolzano 3/3 Timor 2/3 Eddison 2/3 |
| Passes | 3 |
| WXTG (2) | first pass cheeks: CB Curve (NW-SE curving to NE-SW) second and third pass cheeks: Gillette Slide (NW-SE | cheeks) first pass neck: Gillette Slant (NW-SE) second and third pass neck: Gillette Slant (SE-NW | neck) |
| ATG | Straight & Slanted (SW-NE | cheeks) (SW-NE | neck) |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Gillette Super Speed (birth year) | Bolzano (3) | Omega Super Badger |
| Pre-shave | Soap & Bowl | Post-shave |
| Cold splash Proraso Green pre-shave | Haslinger Sandelholz Face and bowl lathered | Cold splash Proraso Green (AS) Proraso Green Balm) |
| Efficiency | Quality |
| 9/10 (~20 minutes) | 9.5/10 (tiny weeper) |
| Effectiveness | Comfort |
| 8.5/10 (DFS+) | 8/10 (Super Smooth) |
| Notes to today’s shave: |
My inaugural shave with The Weatherly as this razor is fondly nicknamed after its gracious and very kind gifter the eminent @mgweatherly. This is a birth year razor and like me
doesn’t show its age at all!I loaded the third Bolzano blade for the third run and it was really smooth and comfortable. The Bolzano behaved very differently from the runs in the Flatboy. Performance was on par and already after the first pass I could tell this would be a great shave.
The Super Speed has an intuitive angle and I can use my usual steep approach. Very effective razor if you ask me. Gillette Slide were buttery smooth. I incurred a small nick/weeper from going against the grain too soon on my neck under the chin.
This is my second TTO razor and I have to hand it to Gillette that this is a very easy to handle razor. Loading, unloading - open/close and you’re done. I am a bit OCD about cleaning and drying my razors which is a bit more difficult with these razors, but if you were a working man back in the day, a razor like this indeed makes for super speedy shave. And the condition it is in, is just remarkable!
A really nice shave. Thank you again for your generosity Mitch! I love this razor!! (and for more than one reason).
Enjoy your weekend and enjoy your shave today!
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My inaugural shave with The Weatherly as this razor is fondly nicknamed after its gracious and very kind gifter the eminent @mgweatherly. This is a birth year razor and like me
Wait a second - I call my birth razor The Weatherly! LOL
@mgweatherly is like a razor stork, delivering birth razors all over the world. There's a special seat at Valhalla for you my friend.
That's a fine looking birth razor, Guido. Congrats!
- Thread starter
- #657
There are very few pleasures in life greater than sharing happiness with others. And you have both succeeded at doing that with me. I'm genuinely humbled. Because of my interest in collecting and restoring these devices, I end up with far too many in my "overflow" boxes that, frankly, I'm compelled to send to a loving new home (just ask Mrs. Weatherly, my divinely sweet and devoted partner and best friend). This is to say, the pleasure is all mine.
In the meantime, I need to think of a way of re-homing the rest of my Super Speed collection. I've still got about 40 dated from 1948ish into the mid-1970s with a heavy dose of 1950s. A new Super Speed for every septuagenarian!
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@luvmysuper sent me a consolation razor when he did that PIF for @Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker for a 37C.... and just by chance, he sent me a Super Speed Y2 1953 razor... my birth year razor... what a lovely coincidence.
- Thread starter
- #660
| Date | 18.12.2022 |
| 365 days of shaving | 355/351 (100%) |
| GRUME December | 18/30 (97%) |
| Discovery Blade Adventure | Bolzano 3/3 Timor 2/3 Eddison 2/3 |
| Passes | 3 |
| WXTG (2) | first pass cheeks: CB Curve (NW-SE curving to NE-SW) second and third pass cheeks: Gillette Slide (NW-SE | cheeks) first pass neck: Gillette Slant (NW-SE) second and third pass neck: Gillette Slant (SE-NW | neck) |
| ATG | Straight & Slanted (SW-NE | cheeks) (SW-NE | neck) |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Gillette NEW Improved | Bolzano (4) | Kox Blue Synthetic |
| Pre-shave | Soap & Bowl | Post-shave |
| Cold splash Proraso Green pre-shave | Haslinger Sandelholz Face and bowl lathered | Cold splash Proraso Green (AS) Proraso Green Balm) |
| Efficiency | Quality |
| 9/10 (~20 minutes) | 7/10 (couple of weepers on jaw line) |
| Effectiveness | Comfort |
| 8.5/10 (DFS+) | 7/10 (Smooth) |
| Notes to today’s shave: |
The fourth run with the Bolzano blade and this time with my beloved NEW Improved. For me this razor has the same efficiency as a R41, but with a little bit more smoothness - despite the increased blade feel with the NEW Improved.
I decided to use a follow through stroke today (aka longer strokes) and so my CB Curve stroke began on the top cheek and followed through down the neck without taking the razor off of my face. The NEW Improved let's me do that and I do not do it with any razor (yet). I just wanted to know if it would increase the effectiveness of the first WTG pass as I have this idea that because of my usual shorter strokes I tend to be less effective at the junction of cheek and neck (better known as the jawline!).
The first pass proved to be very, very effective indeed and quite frankly I could have really stopped right then and there and make it a comfortable CCS/DFS shave in one pass. But recently I am not so much interested in efficiency as I am in making the most of each pass in terms of hair reduction. Second pass using Gillette Slides was super smooth and very comfortable. A very pleasurable experience. Going ATG and a bit XTG on the jawline and chin proved to be more challenging so I only did ATG on the cheeks and neck. I let my mustache and chin area ATG-free with doing only W/XTG strokes. This resulted in a very close shave on all areas of my face with parts approaching marble status - similar to the R41 and Timeless .95.
The whole experience was very comfortable and easy going - until I began my post shave routine. I saw some minor weepers and so just in case I brought out the alum block. The alum stung pretty good on neck and jawline and apparently I nicked myself beyond minor weepers. And they remained open until breakfast, because even the LOTH noticed red spots. Really weird, because during the shave I had no signals pointing to anything but a comfortable shave.
The end result was super slick and smooth and I was very happy with my face. So a fine shave, but I think this blade has had its peak performance already - also given its previous performances with other razors. The NEW Improved is an excellent razor, easily competing with modern top end razors if you ask me. The only minor downside is the quite extensive blade reveal /overhang to the sides.
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