A newbie’s journey into DE shaving

[Guido75]

Date	28.03.2023
365 days of shaving	87/365 (100%)
GRUYERE	87/365 (100%)
GRUME March	28/31 (100%) 03/12 (100%)
Soap of the Month Club (SOTMC)	28/31 (100%) 01/12

Razor	Blade	Brush
Timeless Ti95SCL	Gillette 365 (7)	Omega Super Badger
Soap	Passes (3:here) (2.5: here)	Pre- & Post-shave
Mike’s Barbershop	3	Cold splash Floïd

Razor	Blade	Brush
Timeless Ti95SCL	Gillette 365 (8)	Omega Super Badger
Soap	Passes	Pre- & Post-shave
Mike’s Barbershop	2 (WTG+ATG)	Cold splash Floïd

Efficiency (scoring details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (BBS-)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to today’s shave:

Wonderful shave today! The Ti95 and blade performed very well together. Smooth and comfortable.

Lathering was magnificent as well. I changed my routine with Mike’s: instead of loading from the puck I decided to do what I do with my other softer soaps - I used my little spoon to scoop some soap out and less that into my bowl. WOW!! That made a huge huge difference! Lather was thick slick and plentiful! I had more than enough for 5 passes so I decided to do a headshave as well.

The headshave was wonderful as well. I went ATG for the first time and that worked out pretty well. BBS in some places. Yeah!

Great start of the day!

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Date	29.03.2023
365 days of shaving	88/365 (100%)
GRUYERE	88/365 (100%)
GRUME March	29/31 (100%) 03/12 (100%)
Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC)	29/31 (100%) 01/12

Razor	Blade	Brush
Green Cult 2.0 II	Gillette 365 (9)	Razorock Plissoft 400
Soap	Passes	Pre- & Post-shave
Mike’s Barbershop	(3:here) (2.5: here)	Cold splash Floïd

Efficiency (scoring details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
7.5/10 (DFS)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to today’s shave:

Took the GC2 for another spin as it will be retired for a month during Vintage April. I have been eyeing additional vintage razors, including a Dutch brand to have even more razors to use in April, but so far still being able to hold back. Man! buying them in bulk is so much easier!!

The combination was smooth and effective and while the blade gave a very good performance (also given three head shave) I do feel we are nearing the end, but I am going to try and see if we can ride out March with this one.

Doing my spoon scallop again to verify if yesterday wasn’t a fluke. I am happy to report it wasn’t! My Lather Maestro made an exquisite lather out of the soap with perfect protection from and glide for the razor and blade. I used less that yesterday judging by the residue, but had a very nice face wash with the remaining lather!

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Date	30.03.2023
365 days of shaving	89/365 (100%)
GRUYERE	89/365 (100%)
GRUME March	30/31 (100%) 03/12 (100%)
Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC)	30/31 (100%) 01/12

Razor	Blade	Brush
Green Cult 2.0 II	Gillette 365 (10)	Omega Roma Capitolina
Soap	Passes	Pre- & Post-shave
Mike’s Barbershop	(3:here) (2.5: here)	Cold splash Floïd

Efficiency (scoring details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	9/10 (tiny weeper)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (DFS+)	7.5/10 (harsher than yesterday)

Notes to today’s shave:

The G365 went into double digits today. I am impressed with its remaining smoothness even after 10 shaves. The GC2 is just a dream to shave with and easy to manage around even though it has more weight to it than most of my other razors.

Scooped out a tiny amount of Mike’s again to press it onto the bottom of my bowl. Yesterday I then dropped a few drops of water on the pressed down soap. I repeated that today because it helped lathering without leaving soap residue on the bottom (like I first experienced with GFS soaps). Lather was thinner and yet equally slick compared to yesterday.

A very nice shave with great results. Tomorrow is the last day for this blade in the Piccolo SE.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

March Evaluation

With one more day to go March is about to be closed and with that the monthly evaluation is due.

• March has 31 shaves with an average effectiveness score of 8.25 (February: 7.75) - which equates results between DFS+ and BBS. More effective than February therefore, mainly because of using different blades - and for me very effective blades such as PermaSharp, Gillette 365 and Personna.
• I took 4 blades into double digits. Personna (15) and Gillette 365 (11-12) were most used.
• Lowest score this month was a 6 on effectiveness using a La Fayette Silver in a NEW. A very very mild blade. Best shaves were 9.5 on average with either my Ti95 or the Green Cult 2.
• Most shaves were efficient as well with an average shaving time of 15-20 minutes from start to finish.
• Razor usage in February:
  • Green Cult 2.0 level II (23%)
  • Timeless Ti95 SCL (26%)
  • Mühle R41 (10%)
  • Fatip (9%)
  • Gillette Aristocrat / Super Speed (both 6%)
• Soap of the month was Mike’s Natural Barbershop which now has 37 shaves in total.

No additions to the collection. I did make a second razor stand from a piece of wood I had lying around and cleaned up the (small) den.

I returned to the Gillette Slide this month and tabled my stroke pattern. Very effective shaving results using these techniques.

Am going to finish March GRUME succesfully! Being in the yearly restraint as well has changed my views on my AD's and I feel quite at ease using what I have. Still I feel the RAD beast lingering. So far so good.

 

[Guido75]

Date	31.03.2023
365 days of shaving	90/365 (100%)
GRUYERE	90/365 (100%)
GRUME March	31/31 (100%) 03/12 (100%)
Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC)	31/31 (100%) 01/12

Face

Razor	Blade	Brush
Fatip Piccolo SE	Gillette 365 (11)	DVH Synthetic
Soap	Passes	Pre- & Post-shave
Mike’s Barbershop	WXTG, XWTG, ATG (here)	Cold splash Floïd

Head

Razor	Blade	Brush
Fatip Piccolo SE	Gillette 365 (12)	DVH Synthetic
Soap	Passes	Pre- & Post-shave
Mike’s Barbershop	WTG, ATG	Cold splash Floïd

Efficiency (scoring details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8.5/10 (BBS)	8.5/10 (comfortable / smooth)

Notes to today’s shave:

Final shave for March. Another month completed in restraint. I have never been able to complete two GRUMEs in a row let alone three. I should celebrate with buying a couple of razors !

The shave was smooth and comfortable like any shave with my Piccolo . The blade felt more comfortable too compared to yesterday. I actually believe it had more in it, but I retired the blade anyway having had 11 shaves and 4 head shaved with it.

Head shave felt nice too. The Piccolo is a great shave for my dome. I could use a third pass, but am reluctant to do so for now.

Mike’s was a challenge lathering up this month, but I have found a way to make it work for me. And scooping out works even better than loading heavy. I feel like I have more control when scooping. And it was fun to use one soap all month, because otherwise I would have never found out about the lathering part.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Butch Waxx]

March Evaluation

With one more day to go March is about to be closed and with that the monthly evaluation is due.

• March has 31 shaves with an average effectiveness score of 8.25 (February: 7.75) - which equates results between DFS+ and BBS. More effective than February therefore, mainly because of using different blades - and for me very effective blades such as PermaSharp, Gillette 365 and Personna.
• I took 4 blades into double digits. Personna (15) and Gillette 365 (11-12) were most used.
• Lowest score this month was a 6 on effectiveness using a La Fayette Silver in a NEW. A very very mild blade. Best shaves were 9.5 on average with either my Ti95 or the Green Cult 2.
• Most shaves were efficient as well with an average shaving time of 15-20 minutes from start to finish.
• Razor usage in February:
  • Green Cult 2.0 level II (23%)
  • Timeless Ti95 SCL (26%)
  • Mühle R41 (10%)
  • Fatip (9%)
  • Gillette Aristocrat / Super Speed (both 6%)
• Soap of the month was Mike’s Natural Barbershop which now has 37 shaves in total.

No additions to the collection. I did make a second razor stand from a piece of wood I had lying around and cleaned up the (small) den.

I returned to the Gillette Slide this month and tabled my stroke pattern. Very effective shaving results using these techniques.

Am going to finish March GRUME succesfully! Being in the yearly restraint as well has changed my views on my AD's and I feel quite at ease using what I have. Still I feel the RAD beast lingering. So far so good.

Excellent report Guido, and presented like a true accountant!

 

[Guido75]

Date	01.04.2023
365 daily shaves | GRUYERE	91/365 (100%)
GRUME April | Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC) | Vintage April	01/30 (100%)

Razor	Blade	Brush
Flat Bottom Tech w/ Lasta Blue	Personna Blue (1)	Simpson T3
Soap	Passes (3:here and 2.5: here)	Pre- & Post-shave
TGS Inferno	2.5​	Cold splash Floïd

Efficiency (scoring details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	8.510 (minor weepers)
Effectiveness	Comfort
7/10 (DFS)	8/10 (comfortable)

Notes to today’s shave:

Opening Vintage April with my first vintage razor and the one that really send me down the razor and vintage rabbit hole. The pairing with my @lasta blue handle is fabulous both in appearance and in handling.

First use of the Personna Blue which @Jack Goossen included in a package last year. I just hadn’t gotten around in trying them. The blade feels very smooth the first two passes. During the third pass I think I went too ATG in the moustache area so I incurred a minor weeper there. User error. In terms of end result I feel some stubble left which might be the razor’s mildness or the sharpness of the blade. Or what is more obvious, I was preoccupied with the number of passes and therefore paid less attention to my clean up / touch up strokes I do as part of my passes. All in all a nice first encounter.

TGS Inferno is not my favourite TGS scent, but it has nice lather and post shave qualities (although a bit dry this morning) as most TGS soaps do. I originally intended to do just 2.5 passes, but the lather was so fine.

Great start to the weekend!

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Breaking in my new boar brush from @flask28.

I did three latherings today (two with De Vergulde Hand what you see above and one with regular hand soap) and let the lather soak the brush a little (15-20 minutes or so). I dried the brush against my towel and then let it soak in water for a while. Even did some light combing.

In fact, I liked the process so I decided to take my Omega Proraso through the same process.

I am so looking forward to using this tomorrow!!

 

[Guido75]

02.04.2023

• Guido75
• Apr 1, 2023

Swing • Personna Lab Blue (2) • Zenith 502B XSE • TGS Inferno

Date	02.04.2023
365 daily shaves / GRUYERE	92/365 (100%)
GRUME April / Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC) / Vintage April	02/30 (100%)

Face

Razor	Blade	Brush
Swedish Swing	Personna Blue (2)	Zenith 502B XSE
Soap	Passes (3:here and 2.5: here)	Pre- & Post-shave
TGS Inferno	WTG/XTG/ATG	Cold splash Floïd

Head

Razor	Blade	Brush
Swedish Swing	Personna Blue (3)	Zenith 502B XSE
Soap	Passes (3:here and 2.5: here)	Pre- & Post-shave
TGS Inferno	WTG/ATG	Cold splash Floïd

Efficiency (scoring details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (DFS+)	8/10 (comfortable)

Notes to today’s shave:

The Swing performed as usual. The blade felt bordering on harshness. Stainless steel isn’t always my cup of tea. In terms of sharpness this appears to be a mild blade for me - or it needs more aggressive razors, but the Swing should fit that bill easily (despite that fact that it is a very comfortable razor).

The star of today’s shave was the Zenith by @flask28! Wow! Based on this one performance I might even develop a liking to boars! Excellent lather thick and slick and enough to go around. No eating away at lather like my Proraso does. I had enough for 5-6 passes so I decided to do a headshave as well. Worked very well.

I used classic strokes during my three pass shave on the face. No Slides or slants. In addition I went super light touch - mostly as a reaction to the blade feel from the Swing in combination with the feeling of the Personna. Nice end result, but as was the case yesterday I think stubble will return sooner.

An excellent start of this Sunday I would say. Did errands yesterday so today is more about tidying up and relaxing before another week of work starts.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[flask28]

Fantastic!! It's only going to get better over the next 15-20 uses or so.

We'll make you a boar lover soon enough!

 

[Guido75]

This yearly restraint has got me thinking about razors a lot. Specially if I truly need any more given the (for me) already sizeable collection (and one already to be added after the restraint).

I for sure like/love the Karve CB, both Lambda’s and an open comb TTO English Aristocrat. And I have seen a fair share of excellent vintage razors on various well known websites. So far I have been able to withstand pressing three buy button.

I do sense however that while I certainly do not need more razors I also truly developing a view of seeing this as a real hobby. That aspect justifies buying more gear I believe. At least for me.

The current restraint I am in makes me think more deliberately about which more razors I want rather than buying it on a fling because of the price point or simply satisfying a short term urge.

Hence the list above: Lambda’s, Karve CB and Gillette English Aristocrat TTO open comb - maybe in that order too.

 

[jason2]

Great list of wants. I'm on the list for the next lambda Athena batch. So, if you're thinking of wanting one get on the list now. It's not required you buy it either. You can decline if you end up deciding not to buy one.

The British '30s TTO open comb aristocrats are amazing. You'll love it.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I'm not a part of any of the GRUME threads but the only razor on my radar for this year is the Wolfman WR4, if that AC design gets good reviews. I really have settled into what I'm using now. It's an odd feeling... much like when my brush search was complete. It's nice and still a bit disconcerting .....

 

[Guido75]

I really have settled into what I'm using now. It's an odd feeling..[…]. It's nice and still a bit disconcerting

Very well said Kim. This is exactly my feeling as well. I am super comfortable with what I have and I couldn’t be happier with these excellent razors. And one or two might increase the joy even more

Guido

 

[Guido75]

The British '30s TTO open comb aristocrats are amazing. You'll love it.

I have seen yours Jason and you ever expanding collection. Great work by the way - and sharing the photos makes me vicariously enjoy them too.

Cheers,

Guido

 

[jason2]

I have seen yours Jason and you ever expanding collection. Great work by the way - and sharing the photos makes me vicariously enjoy them too.

Cheers,

Guido

I'm pretty well near the end of what I really want. Lambda Athena and the PAA Quantum are what I'm really looking forward to right now. Other then that a hybrid tech, hybrid big fellow, and a double ring that's not crazy expensive.

After that I'm good I think and may try the GRUME.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I'll be shocked if I buy anything shaving related in April....... If the Wolfman WR4 looks promising, I won't put myself back on the list until May.. so I'd be purchasing something in June.. I'll wager, I won't buy anything in May either.

I'm sure that was a hidden agenda I had... it was suggested by others.. but I really didn't plan on another WR2 with a larger gap.. so I thought I wanted two handles just to have them for the WR2... but the Darwin might just fit the WR4 perfectly.

 

[Guido75]

Date	03.04.2023
365 daily shaves / GRUYERE	93/365 (100%)
GRUME April / Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC) / Vintage April	03/30 (100%)​

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette NEW Flat Bottom	Astra SP (1)	Zenith 502B XSE
Soap	Passes (patterns 3:here and 2.5: here)	Pre- & Post-shave
TGS Inferno	WXTG/XATG/ATG	Cold splash Floïd

Efficiency (scoring details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	8/10 (minor weepers)
Effectiveness	Comfort
7.5/10 (DFS)	8/10 (comfortable)

Notes to today’s shave:

My 1930s NEW FB is from set Nr 25 and has a baseplate with additional vertical slots to hold the blade in place. To me this razor has ever so slightly more blade feel than a regular NEW making this razor sometimes more if a scraper than a shave to be honest. Although I think it depends on the razor you pair it with.

The Zenith came with Astra blades and I have never tried these before. I came into DE shaving with a KCG razor and blade and that kind of stuck. Ventured out to other blades, but somehow never Astra’s. Not my most comfortable shaver but it wasn’t bad either. The blade felt harsher on the neck and I had some minor weepers there which I normally do not have there at all. Skin felt somewhat sensitive post shave. Still a good performing blade and after two passes I felt audiëntie smooth at DFS levels. The ATG sealed the deal on the cheeks. Neck could have been smoother.

This is the second shave with the Zenith and again I am amazed by its ease of use, but mostly by the difference in use between it and my Omega Proraso boar. Granted the Proraso has had multiple shaves the past year and so is very much broken in, but still the Zenith brings a different kind of softness that I have not experienced before and I like it.

Using TGS Inferno reminded me of the difficulty I have with soap residue that just won’t join the lather party all TGS soaps actually are. So I prepared my bowl with a scoop of soap and dropped in a small amount of water the night before to let the soap bloom. That did help, but I think the design of the bowl (Proraso) with its sharper lathering ridges actually promotes soap to be caught in the crooks of those ridges. Not the end of the world, but enough to annoy me.

Enjoy your shave!​

 

[Guido75]

04.04.2023

• Guido75
• Apr 3, 2023

Gillette Tech • Astra SP (2) • Zenith 502B XSE • TGS Inferno

Date	04.04.2023
365 daily shaves / GRUYERE	94/365 (100%)
GRUME April / Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC) / Vintage April	04/30 (100%)

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette Flat Bottom Tech	Astra SP (2)	Zenith 502B XSE
Soap	Passes (patterns 3:hereand 2.5: here)	Pre- & Post-shave
TGS Inferno	WXTG/XATG/ATG	Cold splash Floïd

Efficiency (scoring details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	8/10 (minor weepers)
Effectiveness	Comfort
6.5/10 (DFS-)	8/10 (comfortable)

Notes to today’s shave:

Second with the Astra. Yesterday was ok, but not overly so. Harsh bits on the neck passes and a skippy ride during the headshave (forgot to mention that in yesterday’s notes). My rotation randomizer came up with the Tech again for today - always fine by me!

The blade was better than yesterday, but still not great. I had similar weepers to yesterday, which are not ordinary weepers by the way, but more like a blemish. Again primarily in the neck. But that’s what little packages are all about. Trying them out before getting them in bulk. I didn’t do that in the past. Luckily for me it worked out, but imagine buying 200 Gillette 365 and the blade not being right for me. That’s why I sort of stick to the blades I have and I have a ton more one offs to try. I might be inclined to get Personna Platinums in bulk - those seem to work ok, but I might also stick with Dorco Titan. With current track records I have blades until my 80th birthday so…maybe by then I need to restock. I might not even be able to hold a razor! Although @ackvil is a true inspection in that sense so this can be a real lifetime hobby!!

Third consecutive shave using the new Zenith boar brush. An absolute pleasure to use. Great feel to my skin and a consistently nice and thick lather. Again, @flask28, what an excellent choice you made. I really like my synths a lot, but this brush might just be a gateway to whole boar hole!

A fine shave for a regular day.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Butch Waxx]

04.04.2023

• Guido75
• Apr 3, 2023

Gillette Tech • Astra SP (2) • Zenith 502B XSE • TGS Inferno

Date	04.04.2023
365 daily shaves / GRUYERE	94/365 (100%)
GRUME April / Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC) / Vintage April	04/30 (100%)

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette Flat Bottom Tech	Astra SP (2)	Zenith 502B XSE
Soap	Passes (patterns 3:hereand 2.5: here)	Pre- & Post-shave
TGS Inferno	WXTG/XATG/ATG	Cold splash Floïd

Efficiency (scoring details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	8/10 (minor weepers)
Effectiveness	Comfort
6.5/10 (DFS-)	8/10 (comfortable)

Notes to today’s shave:

Second with the Astra. Yesterday was ok, but not overly so. Harsh bits on the neck passes and a skippy ride during the headshave (forgot to mention that in yesterday’s notes). My rotation randomizer came up with the Tech again for today - always fine by me!

The blade was better than yesterday, but still not great. I had similar weepers to yesterday, which are not ordinary weepers by the way, but more like a blemish. Again primarily in the neck. But that’s what little packages are all about. Trying them out before getting them in bulk. I didn’t do that in the past. Luckily for me it worked out, but imagine buying 200 Gillette 365 and the blade not being right for me. That’s why I sort of stick to the blades I have and I have a ton more one offs to try. I might be inclined to get Personna Platinums in bulk - those seem to work ok, but I might also stick with Dorco Titan. With current track records I have blades until my 80th birthday so…maybe by then I need to restock. I might not even be able to hold a razor! Although @ackvil is a true inspection in that sense so this can be a real lifetime hobby!!

Third consecutive shave using the new Zenith boar brush. An absolute pleasure to use. Great feel to my skin and a consistently nice and thick lather. Again, @flask28, what an excellent choice you made. I really like my synths a lot, but this brush might just be a gateway to whole boar hole!

A fine shave for a regular day.

Enjoy your shave!

I’m liking that brush more and more Guido!!