A newbie’s journey into DE shaving

[Guido75]

So my journey continues as I am in my fourth month of DE shaving which definitely turned into an obsessive hobby. I am on my third brush and second razor already, tried a different soap and have yet to decide if I want to try a different blade as well. The KCG blade is performing very well and my issues of irritation and nicks are becoming less and less, unless I applied too much pressure or was careless with the Fatip OC.

Today (13.04.2022) I went for the Gentile baseplate again as it deserves more airtime. I also used it because I felt the OC while being a fantastic razor also was harder on the skin on my neck. So I decided to go for comfort over efficiency. Particularly these last couple of days I have been working out my beard map and what direction WTG actually is for me. It appears to be at least in the N-S direction, but tends to be NE/SW although NW/SE has a similar feel. What puzzles me is that ATG appears to be head on S-N - which would lead me to believe that WTG should then be N-S but it is not entirely the case.

I do sense that using the actual growth direction of my stubble provides a more comfortable shave and hold the number of passes at 3 currently rather than 4 with the KCG - which is why I bought the Fatip in the first place. To be continued.

 

[Ligeti]

That beard map can be a complex thing indeed. It took me over a year to get a fitting WTG routine on my neck. Going S-N in the middle, two razors wide, then NE - SW on the left part and SW - NE on the right part. Ever since: no more irritation in the neck!

 

[Guido75]

That beard map can be a complex thing indeed. It took me over a year to get a fitting WTG routine on my neck. Going S-N in the middle, two razors wide, then NE - SW on the left part and SW - NE on the right part. Ever since: no more irritation in the neck!

I can imagine that left and right of your windpipe are also challenging areas. They are at least for me. Man the buffing needed on the right side can very easily lead to soar skin for a couple of days. Even with a Fatip OC those stubbles can really act stubborn!

 

[Guido75]

Ok, so this past week was shaving in accordance with my beard map. My three passes were smooth and comfortable and I think this addition to the technique helps to minimize neck irritation.

I have also been experimenting with other blades. Until now I just had one blade: KCG. It did the job and it was comfortable and therefore I stocked for about 3.5 years of blades (if you watch the Dutch websites for bargains you can get 60 blades for 0.30-0.35 cents a blade rather than the 0.60-0.65 I have also seen on this forum (and in brick and mortar stores here). But I got the blade-itch (comes with BOSC-membership I guess) and wanted to test a different blade to Gillette blades so I steered clear from St. Petersburg and the like and went for Dorco and Tiger (who used to make Astra's).

Only after my purchase of the Dorco's I came across the rather negative reviews, but last week's Dorco ST300 HQ was simply wonderful. Comfortable 6 shaves (and based on yesterday's BBS I honestly think it had a 7 in it as well). I went for Tiger on Friday (paired with my Fatip for Fatip Friday) and again on Sunday (24.04.22). Smooth sailing there too. Both blades are milder than my KCG. I do find that the Dorco works better in my KCG razor wheras the Fatip likes the Tiger more. Tigers will also work in my KCG, but I have not tried that yet. Dorco Titans are waiting for another week.

I liked the Tiger so much (it appeared to be more comfortable than the Dorco which I attribute to differences in coating - Dorco is also platinum coated, but somehow I think it has additional coating as well OR it is because the Dorco is wrapped in paper and not parafine as the Tiger is) that I purchased a second batch of 100 blades from my regular webshop. I know only after one run, but hey - a man has got to have sufficient blades, right?!

These milder blades are very good for honing my technique so I intend to use them a couple of weeks before rotating back to a KCG blade again.

 

[Guido75]

This week's shaving with the Tiger was smooth and nice. I retired the blade at 6 shaves and maybe 5 would have been better. Still it is a nice blade providing comfortable shaves. I went for the KCG blade this morning and boy that was a renewed smooth experience. Definitely a notch up from Tiger and Dorco. I am going for the Tiger in my KCG razor for this Saturday to see what that brings.

Shaving in accordance with my beard map is still proving its value, although I have the feeling that WTG and XTG are interchangable (WTG is NE-SW for me and XTG is NW-SE). My ATG is weird. Based on my WTG direction you would assume that ATG is SW-NE, but I acutally get better results with 'just' a regular S-N. However WTG is not N-S. I can use the N-S direction obviously as my pattern is somewhat in that direction as well. My neck is another story. There the pattern is horizontal and slightly moving up as I get to the ear. Left and right are mirrored for my neck which is not fully the case on my cheeks.

The diagonal growth pattern is one of the reasons I think why the Gillette Slide suites me so well. It is both efficient and effective for my pattern. Cheek and neck make no difference in that regard.

 

[Guido75]

Tried a new stroke on the cheeks today. I got inspiration watching CB Shaves after his initial stroke he makes a curved stroke (with the razor more diagonally or slanted) from NW to SE to SW. he even follows through on his neck. I am guessing he does so because of his growth pattern.

As my WTG and XTG are both Gillette slides they appear too short very similar results in terms of beard reduction. So I thought I would give his technique a try. For all intents and purposes I am dubbing this the CB slide . When I performed it I also had the impression I was doing a grand type of J-hook.

Quite nice result actually. I performed this stroke with a Fatip Piccolo and it was very efficient, particularly on the sides of the chin making it a very good first pass.

I will experiment some more with this technique and see where it takes me.

 

[Guido75]

Worked on even better understanding my beard growth and mapping it accordingly. I have attached my current understanding (template by realmenrealstyle.com) from my shaving journal (to BOSC or not to BOSC).

This is where the Gillette Slide and CB Slide come into play as very effective strokes for me together with slanted or oblique strokes. Particularly in sections 2 and 5 my growth is generally in the up down direction but it is not straight N-S and I feel equal resistance when going either NE-SW or NW-SE, so hence my assumption that there is some degree of curvature there. And doing a CB Slide (see my previous post #26) on the cheek continues very naturally on the neck given the more horizontal growth pattern there.

That curvature by the way makes the direction for XTG challenging because I have several directions to choose from. I tend to do Gillette slides for XTG strokes to take multiple directions into account with one stroke.

I used this mapping for this morning’s shave (What did you use today? +Rate the shave 1-10 (10 best) - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/what-did-you-use-today-rate-the-shave-1-10-10-best.568241/post-11755880) and had absolutely ZERO irritation although I did do a four pass shave.

 

[Guido75]

This weekend was my first weekend travelling and performing DE shaves. I did not bring the full entourage with me - just bursh, soap, razor, alum and balm. Used a Fatip Piccolo OC Nickel (bought for the occassion!) combined with a Tiger Platinum (2). And boy that was an interesting experience. I have learned that prepping my face is definitely part of my routine. And I am a bowl latherer rather than face lathering. So I learned that my beard stayed rather coarse and my lather a bit dryish. That turned out in a less than comfortable shave so I left it as SAS or CCS- (minus the comfortable to be honest). Next shave was not that great either and the blade started to tug somewhat or a lot depending how I look at things. A lot of stining with the alum block.

What I also learned was that the Tiger blade is a good blade, but its mileage is definitely less than my KCG blades or even a Dorco ST300HQ (to my surprise). So I have to dail in which settings I need to better use the Tiger. Maybe a Gentile head would be better when travelling with less shave gear. Or take the KCG with me instead of a Fatip. In addition, I think that something like a travel size preshave will work miracles as well. Could be my regular Proraso, but I am eyeing the Cube by PAA as well as a potential candidate.

Anyway, more to learn!

 

[Guido75]

I have decided to collect my various postings from shaves of the day and add these to my thread here for convenience purposes. So here goes.

23.03.22

Today was a 9 out of 10, maybe even a 10/10 with the following gear:

Prep: King C Gillette face wash
Pre-shave: Proraso Green
Shaving cream: Proraso Green
Brush: Omega Badger (I cannot remember the type unfortunately)
Scuttle: Proraso Shaving Bowl
Razor: King C Gillette
Blade: King C Gillette (3rd use)
Aftershave: Proraso Green AS and Balm

I am currently in a self-initiated experiment of doing the Four Pass Shave with practically only Gillette Slides. Today was the maiden shave using that pattern. It took me 25 minutes from start to finish which is doable. And man, it was a great shave! A very mild and irritation-free BBS. I do need to work on my neck stroke, but I will keep you gents posted of my findings and progress. Let's just hope that I have sufficient growth for tomorrow's shave

 

[Guido75]

24.03.22

Today's shave was an 8.5/10 - just a little less smooth than yesterday. Gear was the same:

Razor: King C. Gillette
Blade: King C. Gillette (4x)
Preshave, Shave Cream, AS and Balm: Proraso Green
Prep: King C. Gillette face wash

Less smoothness of the shave was in part because I did a three pass shave rather than a four pass I usually do. Or it was a three-and-a-half shave; I did do my neck 4 times. Pattern: W/XTG (Gillette Slide) NW-SE, W/XTG NE-SW, ATG (slanted). Neck similar pattern with some alterations towards fully horizontal. I even ended up doing a unplanned J-hook (which did absolutely nothing by the way...).

The experiment with only Gillette Slides continues. Have a great day!

 

[Guido75]

25.03.22

Almost forgot - today's shave was an 8.5/10 - similar as yesterday. As was the setup by the way:

Razor: King C Gillette
Blade: King C Gillette (6 - I miscounted yesterday. I change blades on Sunday, so this one is about to retire - or I will continue and see if I can hit 10 again as I did in my first week of DE wet shaving).
Prep: King C Gillette face wash
Preshave, Cream, AS, Balm and Bowl: All Proraso Green (I really love this stuff! I need to get the boar brush too)
Brush: Omega badger

Pattern: W/XTG NW-SE | W/XTG NE-SW | X/ATG SE-NW | X/ATG SW-NE. So this time it was a Four Pass Shave again and an all Gillette Slide (or Gillette Oblique as found in a later ad) shave at that. Very smooth on the cheek and moustache. One or two nicks on the chin, but totally my fault. However, doing only Gillette slides on the neck leaves me some rougher spots along the windpipe-area (hence the 8.5). Horizontal strokes may be a better way to go here, so I will test that tomorrow. And upon reflection I may be too diagonal on the Slide as well, so I will see if steeper slopes (but not making them a purely N-S pass of course) give better results.

In all still a great shave. I mean is now half past 6 PM where I live and I have barely developed something that might resemble a five o'clock shadow. In my book that is DFS++/BBS- even with the rougher spots here and there.

My quest for the perfect (yeah right!) pattern continues. Have a great day everyone!

 

[Guido75]

26.03.22

So gents, the Slide Reporter here.

Today's shave was an 9.5/10 - a step up from yesterday. Setup as always:

Razor: King C Gillette
Blade: King C Gillette (7 - and still very smooth. I retire after a week’s use, but this blade can easily do 10 shaves (mind you with four passes) but I like the cadence of weekly changing blades (OCD no doubt).
Prep: King C Gillette face wash
Preshave, Cream, AS, Balm and Bowl: All Proraso Green
Brush: Omega badger

Now for the pattern. As this was the last shave with this blade I went for the original Four Pass: WTG N-S | W/XTG NW-SE | W/XTG NE-SW | ATG S-N (slightly slanted).

A particular neck area required a fifth pass (maybe I should get another razor with a small step up in aggressiveness - or is that my RAD talking?).

Very smooth on the cheek and moustache. Smoother than just doing Gillette slides too. So there is merit in the usual N-S pass even though the Slide is essentially doing the same.

Horizontal strokes on the neck also worked better although my neck does not allow for exact horizontal - so i do it slightly slanted. Riding the cap here also made a difference so i am guessing i have to work out my best angle here.

I took the Slides less diagonal and that helped too so less diagonal than suggested in Gillette’s manual.

A really great shave. I feel some ATG resistance but in my book this is a fine BBS without irritations.

So after a week of experimenting I conclude that the original Four Pass Shave is really doing its job.

Would anyone be able to reflect on a King C Gillette vs a Fatip Gentile? I am considering buying that razor and finally cave for my RAD, but I am on the fence still as I am a newbie in DE shaving having starting only since December 2021. Maybe my mileage first needs to vary. Any thoughts?

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Guido75]

28.03.22

Today's shave was a 10/10 - again a step up from yesterday (although I did not post yesterday's shave). Setup as always:

Razor: King C Gillette
Blade: King C Gillette (2).
Prep: King C Gillette face wash
Preshave, Cream, AS, Balm and Bowl: All Proraso Green
Brush: Omega badger

For the pattern I first set out to do a three pass shave (WTG, XTG, ATG), but I ended up doing a Four Pass Shave (W/XTG, XTG L-R, XTG R-L, and ATG). I am somehow addicted to the Gillette Slide or my muscle memory is locked in, could also be the case. This time I paid more than usual attention to the direction of my beard growth (particularly on my neck it is very 'counterintuitive'). So I skipped to strict N-S pass. Somehow it made more of a difference today than it 'normally' does, specifically on my neck - although there is this one spot on my right neck that keeps being rough no matter how I stroke and how many times. But with extended stretching and buffing I managed to mow it down (it may have been slightly overpassing, but ok). So all in all a very fine shave and BBS- at least.

I do see that I still need a Four Pass Shave to get to smooth. Three passes with the KCG gets me to smooth, but not smoooth. I have been going back and forth this weekend about buying the Fatip Special Edition. Definitely RAD and I am still on the learning curve. I know the B&B answer - get both!!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Guido75]

29.03.22

Today's shave is a SAS which for me would make the shave a 7/10 - but on purpose: because today should see the Fatip Special Edition coming to our house. So I wanted to have something going and growing for when it arrives together with a new boar brush!

Setup as always: KCG with KCG blade (3), everything else Proraso Green. Did not do a prep today. And it was a two pass shave on the cheeks (Gillette Slide and XTG) and three pass on the neck (WTG,XTG,ATG). And I nicked or cut myself on the jawbone. Interestingly enough, because I was thinking of posting this post - but then my mind is not with the shave! And voila, nicked!

Even though the shave was ok-ish (I wanted to introduce a new acronym NSS - Nothing Special Shave, but I saw in the list that this abbreviation was already taken for Nanny's Special Soap) I paid attention to the growth direction on my neck and that is really doing wonders at the moment (even though I have to go horizontal for WTG and ATG which I still find relatively harder to do, but we are getting there just 4 months into DE shaving).

 

[Guido75]

29.03.22

Ok. Just did a second shave of the day! Not the smartest thing to do perhaps, but my new razor came in!! I just had to try it together with the new boar brush too. So I used the five o'clock shadow I purposefully left there after this morning's two pass shave.

Ok so in terms of setup this shave was preshave, cream, AS and balm by Proraso. Brush: Proraso boar (which immediately started losing hair. I have read that before, but during the shave those loose hairs in my lathering and on my razor annoyed me a bit). And *drums please* for the razor: the FaTip Special Edition Picolo Gentile. An amazing looking razor with craftsmanship and Italian TLC. I showed it to the mrs in both the orginal condition and well as Frankenrazoring it with my KCG into a GilTip or Fallette if you will - and she said: "no, like the smaller one better". And so off we went with the original line up.

As TLC as it was by looking at it, as bity it was during the shave. I definitely have to dail in the right angle into my muscle memory again. It was almost like my first shave with the KCG - same type of nicks in the same places. The fact that I also need to learn to lather with a boar brush (it appeared it had eaten my entire lather!) and therefore had less cushioning effect did me no good either obviously. And I already heared the more experienced Fatip users in my head "no pressure. no pressure. no pressure" which indeed helped in the smoothness of the shave.

The learning curve is there - just have to find the right angle and it appears that riding the cap is currently the way to go. I tried a steeper angle, but resulted in a really scrapy feeling (again maybe also because my lather was less creamy than usual.). I think in 2.5 passes up to DFS+, maybe BBS-.

So looking forward to tomorrow's shave in a way and getting to know this razor a little better.

By the way blade alignment was absolutely no issue. Popped in the blade (I did sort of hold it like Mauro di Lernia - I cannot understand Italian very well despite my name - but he is really fun and entertaining to watch) and it just aligned when tightening the handle. I put in a M5 washer to protect the gold finish and the gun metal finish from each other. The handle was not screwed on properly when I received the razor, but luckily easily fixed without damaging the threading too much.

And no I will stop as this is not the proper thread for a review. Just so excited about my new razor!

 

[Guido75]

30.03.22

I give today’s shave an 8/10.

Second time shaving with the Fatip SE Gentile so I was still being cautious with this little dynamite. No nicks or cuts this second time. Yeah me.

BBS on the cheeks. Like really really smooth. The neck has some rough spots left but I have not bothered to start buffing straight away. So left it for another day.

The boar brush and I are working on our relationship. My lather keeps turning to mush after the first pass. My badger is full of creamy dough. I think I might be overdoing soaking the brush (even though today was just dip in and dip out). And obviously still breaking in the brush (only the second time Guido, be patient)

Everything else the usual:
Prep: KCG Face wash
Preshave: Proraso Green
Blade: KCG (4)
Soap: Proraso Green
AS and Balm: Proraso Green
Bowl: Proraso Shaving Mug

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Guido75]

31.03.22

Ok.Today's shave was nothing short of amazing!

I started off with roughly a day's worth of growth. I did the usual prep: KCG Face wash, Proraso Preshave Green, Proraso Green Cream, Proraso boar brush and Proraso lathering bowl. Nothing special. Me and the boar are becoming more and more accustomed to each other, so lathering was quite nice.

I had my usual blade (I only have one kind ) the KCG on its 5th run. I teamed it up with the KCG razor, but I used the Fatip Gentile as baseplate (I have included a photo for reference). I just wanted to experience what kind of shave I would get as KCG's cap is slightly different which changes the angle of the blade somewhat.

Now with a Gillette in my hand it is hard to resist a Slide Stroke so off we went for the first W/XTG pass. It was ok. Not special. Just ok. Found that there was some blade misalignment, fixed it and the razor and baseplate were performing. I would like to say well, but after three passes we were at socially acceptable with a number of weepers and nicks.

I had already experienced it with the Fatip Piccolo handle, but the Gentile baseplate is actually not at all gentile on my skin. The reason being (I think) that the teeth on the safety bar are raised rather than scalloped like they are on the 89-clones such as the KCG. And the finishing of those teeth is not Mühle so it simply scrapes across my skin. I did huffing, puffing and buffing but the harder parts on my neck remained very much in tact as rebels with a cause.

So I took a bold decision and brought out what I believed to be 'The Beast': The Fatip Piccolo Special Edition Open Comb. Switched my blade to the Fatip and took @AimlessWanderer's advice of NO pressure and NO fancy slides and went across my neck. Everything smooth. I relathered and ended up doing I guess 6-7 more passes (I know crazy right), but out of sheer curiousity of what this razor and me could do. I had the most wonderful DE shave ever. With an OC!! Who would have thought! I steered clear from OC's as I have just a couple of months of DE mileage under my belt. But the OC finish of my Fatip is gentile, rounded and smooth. And the lather passes through the combs, but remains on my face. Easy sailing. Or shaving I should say.

And would you know, tomorrow is Fatip Friday, so I am bringing my new friend with me again. I will try the Gentile baseplate again as I need to work on my angle using it, but really the OC was a homerun. So all things considered today is 10/10 experience wise. That is the beauty of the Special Edition, I got both baseplates and could try them out. I know I would never have considered an OC on its own, let alone the Fatip. But this is an amazing razor to have in my (and your) collection (of exactly 2 razors, hahaha!).

Have a great day everyone!

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[Guido75]

01.04.22

Today's shave was a solid 8-9/10 and a DFS with hints of a BBS.

Prep: KCG Face Wash
Blade: KCG (6)
Razor: Fatip Special Edition OC
Preshave, Cream, AS and Balm: Proraso Green
Brush: Omega Boar Proraso
Bowl: Proraso

Second shave with the Fatip OC and again marvellously smooth - tiny nick or two, but nothing real. Barely any irritation on the neck. The Fatip and the KCG blade function well together. Three pass shave to get to DFS/BBS- with typical patterning (WTG, XTG, ATG). To be honest growth was less than normal, because I shaved around noon yesterday, but it was unfatomable not to shave with that Fatip . I am continuing with the Fatip OC (or SB) to ensure my muscle memory develops with this razor. After another week or so, I think I will start some sort of rotation between the Fatip and the KCG. The KCG might be a great candidate for a really lucious weekend shave, complete with hot towel and Four Pass Shave. The works. And then have the Fatip as the efficient weekday shaver. Or I may change my mind - because we can!

Have a great weekend everyone.

 

[Guido75]

02.04.22

Today’s shave was a solid 11/10 - insanely smooth!!

I did the usual:
Prep: KCG face wash
Blade: KCG (7 and now retired)
Preshave, cream, AS and Balm: Proraso Green
Omega Proraso Boar brush (I have tamed the boar finally)

Tool of choice: Fatip Special Edition OC.

Three pass shave (WTG, XTG, ATG) with a final touch up pass on the neck. And it is soooo smooth, it’s insane. The mrs reminded me over breakfast to stop touching my face .

Blade alignment was not even and after fiddling with it unsuccessfully I left it be and used the milder side as a short of touch up side.

Tomorrow I think I will go for the KCG rather than the Fatip. New blade in an OC may be asking for it a bit too much for my liking. Or maybe not. Who knows.

Have a great weekend and weekend shaves everyone.

 

[Guido75]

03.04.22

Today’s shave was good 8/10 - CCS- or SAS

No prep this time, but other than that the usual:
Blade: KCG (1)
Preshave, cream, AS and Balm: Proraso Green
Omega Proraso Boar brush

Tool of choice: King C Gillette as this was a new blade, I went for save.

Three pass shave (WTG (Gillette Slide), XTG, ATG) with a final touch up pass on the neck. Decent shave. Did it in super efficient time too which was the objective. Still an excellent razor that KCG.

Have a great Sunday everyone.