A newbie’s journey into DE shaving

[Butch Waxx]

Always fu

Date	31.05.2023
365 daily shaves / GRUYERE	151/365 (100%) 151/363 (99%)
GRUME May / Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC)	31/29 (94%) 31/31 (100%)
Modern May	26/31 (84%)

Razor	Blade	Brush
Lambda Athena	Gillette Black (22)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Soap	Passes	Pre- & Post-shave
Haslinger Sandelholz	WTG XTG ATG	1. Cold splash 2. KCG Face Wash 3. Proraso Green preshave 4. Cold splash 5. Aftershave 6. Balm

Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
7/10 (DFS)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to these shaves:

Last shave for May and I felt I have already stepped into High Efficiency Summer as stubble again is less than usual shaving with the Athena and Ti95 this week. So considered to do a last minute switch to my Tech, but decided to do that for another time and finish on a high with the Athena.


What I did not finish is Haslinger and it will continue its appearance until gone in June. I really wanted to switch, but I have plans for the tub Haslinger is in (transferring Tabac to it) so that’s why I will ride it out. Kox Blue is a great little brush that I thoroughly enjoy using. I am tempted to buy a new brush, but that can hardly be concealed from the LOTH on my brush shelf. She is however super forgiving towards my mishaps in this hobby. At least till now.

Technique - was interesting this morning. I started out thinking I’d do a two pass shave XTG and ATG figuring that the Athena would be able to pull that off. But I learned two things. 1. The Sun Ray Pattern works for a reason and so my first pass for me needs to be WTG to get that initial reduction in a smooth and comfortable way. Right off the bat XTG was rougher and slightly tugging (at least today and with this blade), but after the adjustment back to WTG I was in slide and glide mode again. 2. I am a sucker for a BBS-ish shave and even with the Athena I need three passes. Do I always get it - no - strive for it without obsessively chasing it - definitely! Something to research some other time: how to get slick and smooth in two passes.

Enjoy your shave!

Always

Date	31.05.2023
365 daily shaves / GRUYERE	151/365 (100%) 151/363 (99%)
GRUME May / Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC)	31/29 (94%) 31/31 (100%)
Modern May	26/31 (84%)

Razor	Blade	Brush
Lambda Athena	Gillette Black (22)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Soap	Passes	Pre- & Post-shave
Haslinger Sandelholz	WTG XTG ATG	1. Cold splash 2. KCG Face Wash 3. Proraso Green preshave 4. Cold splash 5. Aftershave 6. Balm

Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
7/10 (DFS)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to these shaves:

Last shave for May and I felt I have already stepped into High Efficiency Summer as stubble again is less than usual shaving with the Athena and Ti95 this week. So considered to do a last minute switch to my Tech, but decided to do that for another time and finish on a high with the Athena.

What I did not finish is Haslinger and it will continue its appearance until gone in June. I really wanted to switch, but I have plans for the tub Haslinger is in (transferring Tabac to it) so that’s why I will ride it out. Kox Blue is a great little brush that I thoroughly enjoy using. I am tempted to buy a new brush, but that can hardly be concealed from the LOTH on my brush shelf. She is however super forgiving towards my mishaps in this hobby. At least till now.

Technique - was interesting this morning. I started out thinking I’d do a two pass shave XTG and ATG figuring that the Athena would be able to pull that off. But I learned two things. 1. The Sun Ray Pattern works for a reason and so my first pass for me needs to be WTG to get that initial reduction in a smooth and comfortable way. Right off the bat XTG was rougher and slightly tugging (at least today and with this blade), but after the adjustment back to WTG I was in slide and glide mode again. 2. I am a sucker for a BBS-ish shave and even with the Athena I need three passes. Do I always get it - no - strive for it without obsessively chasing it - definitely! Something to research some other time: how to get slick and smooth in two passes.

Enjoy your shave!

Learning “two things” during a shave is enlightening for sure!

 

[Guido75]

Date	01.06.2023
365 daily shaves / GRUYERE	152/365 (100%) 152/363 (99%)
Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC)	1/30 (100%)
High Efficiency June	1/30 (100%)

Razor	Blade	Brush
Razorine Flatboy	Gillette Black (23)	DVH Synthetic
Soap	Passes	Pre- & Post-shave
Haslinger Sandelholz	WTG XTG ATG	1. Cold splash 2. KCG Face Wash 3. Proraso Green preshave 4. Cold splash 5. Aftershave 6. Balm

Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (DFS+)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to these shaves:

Starting June off with one of my high efficiency beasts. The no nonsense, straight technique feedback, very audible Flatboy. I have used the head on the KCG handle lately much to my pleasure. The blade still performed yesterday so gets another shot today. Obviously the angle of the Flatboy is totally different from either the Athena or Ti95 so I am wondering what that will change to the blade’s smoothness and comfort.

First pass had minor areas of tugging but nothing major. No pulling. No irritation. Second and third pass we’re very smooth again with razor and blade delivering a magnificent end result.

Like the Athena the Flatboy is from Southern Europe and made of brass, and that’s where the similarities end except for giving you very close shaves. The Flatboy has more learning curve to it, but once past that curve it is an amazing razor for a minor investment.

Technique - consistent and solid. I actually dare to say that I have found the pattern that just delivers. I am now exploring if the pattern delivers with all my razors. I need to find some time to draw my patterns and post them here for learning and comparison purposes.

Haslinger is definitely entering final stages but easily survived May. Let’s see how long it will take to finish it in June - provided that happens at all!

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Butch Waxx]

Date	01.06.2023
365 daily shaves / GRUYERE	152/365 (100%) 152/363 (99%)
Soap of the Month Club(SOTMC)	1/30 (100%)
High Efficiency June	1/30 (100%)

Razor	Blade	Brush
Razorine Flatboy	Gillette Black (23)	DVH Synthetic
Soap	Passes	Pre- & Post-shave
Haslinger Sandelholz	WTG XTG ATG	1. Cold splash 2. KCG Face Wash 3. Proraso Green preshave 4. Cold splash 5. Aftershave 6. Balm

Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (DFS+)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to these shaves:

Starting June off with one of my high efficiency beasts. The no nonsense, straight technique feedback, very audible Flatboy. I have used the head on the KCG handle lately much to my pleasure. The blade still performed yesterday so gets another shot today. Obviously the angle of the Flatboy is totally different from either the Athena or Ti95 so I am wondering what that will change to the blade’s smoothness and comfort.

First pass had minor areas of tugging but nothing major. No pulling. No irritation. Second and third pass we’re very smooth again with razor and blade delivering a magnificent end result.

Like the Athena the Flatboy is from Southern Europe and made of brass, and that’s where the similarities end except for giving you very close shaves. The Flatboy has more learning curve to it, but once past that curve it is an amazing razor for a minor investment.

Technique - consistent and solid. I actually dare to say that I have found the pattern that just delivers. I am now exploring if the pattern delivers with all my razors. I need to find some time to draw my patterns and post them here for learning and comparison purposes.

Haslinger is definitely entering final stages but easily survived May. Let’s see how long it will take to finish it in June - provided that happens at all!

Enjoy your shave!

Good job….Nothing like starting the new month with a “high efficiency beasts”

 

[Guido75]

Good job….Nothing like starting the new month with a “high efficiency beasts”

Definitely Butch! Tomorrow the Greencult steps up to the plate. You can certainly make your appearance as well in High Efficiency June - I think it applies to every razor you have!

Cheers,

Guido

 

[Jay21]

23 shaves from a blade is impressive!

 

[Guido75]

23 shaves from a blade is impressive!

Thanks! Yes this one is making its way to number 1 - I have a KCG blade that went 30 shaves until I messed it up with a malfunctioning honing/sharpening.

Guido

 

[Phoenixkh]

I'm a Tutu razor blade user.... twice and they are done. I've tried to get DE blades to 3 shaves without noticeable degradation of the shave but have never made it all the way through that 3rd shave.

Remember, I need to keep up with my Profile title: "I shaved a fortune."

 

[Guido75]

I'm a Tutu razor blade user.... twice and they are done. I've tried to get DE blades to 3 shaves without noticeable degradation of the shave but have never made it all the way through that 3rd shave.

Remember, I need to keep up with my Profile title: "I shaved a fortune."

True Kim very true. I am fortunate enough not to have a tagline

It’s not a minimalist thing or being frugal. I have blades until I am most likely not able to hold a razor anymore - but I do like to see for science what a blade is capable of. So far it off all the blades I have shaved with only a KCG and this Gillette Black made it past 20. All other blades anywhere between 3-10 shaves. My average according to my statistics is 7.

Guido

 

[Guido75]

Date	02.06.2023​
365 daily shaves	153/365​
GRUYERE	153/363​
GRUME June	01/29​
SOTMC	02/30​
High Efficiency June	02/30​

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette NEW FB	Gillette Black (24+25)	Simpson T3
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Haslinger Sandelholz	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
7/10 (DFS)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to these shaves:

Today the Hybrid, tomorrow the FB NEW

I thought I had settled on my razor for this morning, but I got inspired by Mr Eleven and so I brought out the FB as well for today’s shave. I find my Flat Bottom to be just a hair less comfortable that my regular Long Comb. I am looking forward to shaving with the Short Comb that is on its way and already made it through customs.

Nice shave and plenty effective too. Not as effective as my high end efficiency razors, but clearly punching above its weight if I take into account what I paid for mine. Just a tad less effective than yesterday’s shave, but that might have been the operator forgetting a part of his routine. The thing that struck me most was the smoothness and comfort. Another thing I was pleased to find was that the Sun Ray Pattern works very well with this NEW.

Subsequent to the face shave I used my Greencult 2.0 II for the head shave. Amazingly effective. Two passes and smoothness around.

I will retire the blade for now. I have a Twinplex coming in for Father’s Day so that will be a nice blade to strop with.

Mr Eleven and I also find each other in soap choice as I am using Haslinger as well albeit a different kind than his. The soap performed as expected.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Date	03.06.2023​
365 daily shaves	154/365​
GRUYERE	154/363​
GRUME June	02/29​
SOTMC	03/30​
High Efficiency June	03/30​

Razor	Blade	Brush
Timeless Ti95 SCL	Gillette Platinum	Omega Roma
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Haslinger Sandelholz	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	7.5/10 (multiple weepers)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (BBS-)	9/10 (Buttery smooth)

Notes to these shaves:

General - Returning to my number 1 for another check in with the dark blue Gillette Platinums. So far these blades have been semi-ok which is counterintuitive to all the record I see here so I want to check (in with) this blade again.

Blade - Well, the semi-ok-ness is still there. While it felt smoother and more comfortable this blade is not working on my neck for me. Actually it is working my neck, but not in a pleasant way so I had to bring out the alum for a nice game of sting like a bee. I do factor in that I paid attention to feather light touch, I might not have during the ATG which is when the less fun stuff happened. Contradictory the end result was very good. Blades are better the second time at least for most blades I have so maybe tomorrow will be better.

Technique - first two passes were very nice and comfortable. I attribute that to strictly (if there is such a thing in wet shaving) following my beard map and using the Sun Ray Pattern.

Lather - was excellent and provided very good glide to the razor which is always a joy to hold and use. The brush provides a nice splay and is almost on par with the Simpson T3 if you ask me. I believe the Roma has an EVO knot. I think I read that somewhere.

Other - Received notification that the SC is bound for delivery today so maybe a Sunday shave is possible. Yihaa!

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Just received a wanted list razor: a NEW Short Comb I was able to score on the bay. Clearly user grade upon arrival and so while cleaning and polishing I decided to take the cap back to bare brass (although I actually think it’s copper given the colour). That was a major improvement as far as looks are concerned.

I thought it had a same common bar handle as my LC, but that’s not the case. The thread part is smaller and because of that by the way a washer is no option.

NEW Short Comb

• Guido75
• Jun 3, 2023

Initial arrival

NEW Short Comb

• Guido75
• Jun 3, 2023

Cleaned and polished

Cannot wait until tomorrow to experience the shave. Liking this addition already!

 

[Guido75]

Date	04.06.2023​
365 daily shaves	155/365​
GRUYERE	155/363​
GRUME June	03/29​
SOTMC	04/30​
High Efficiency June	04/30​

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette NEW Short Comb	Gillette Platinum (2+3)	Zenith 502B XSE
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Haslinger Sandelholz	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	9.5/10 (tiny weepers)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (BBS-)	9/10 (Buttery smooth)

Notes to these shaves:

General - Inaugural shave with the SC. One word: fantastic. Second word: period. Why Gillette ever stopped making these razors is truly beyond me. Their marketing should have been focused on making us buy in on the one and done anthem. They would have ruled the world. Easily a daily shaver and if you are starting out you might not even need anything else.

Razor - super smooth, comfortable and easy to use. Intuitive angle. Much smoother than my LCs. Three east passes and solid end result. Not full blown BBS, but just a nice allround smooth feeling. Head shave was equally smooth and comfortable. Had @JoWolf in my mind as I did an once pass ATG on my head with some touch ups in other directions. Very smooth! Very smooth.

Blade - better than yesterday. Tiny weepers on ATG but they disappeared during final rinsing. No alum needed today. Not my favourite blade. At least not for my face. It was wonderful on my head however.

Technique - nothing new under the Sun. Lol. Sun Ray Pattern delivered again for me.

Brush and lather - wonderful. Brush shed a couple of hairs again today and have more backbone today. But painting lather was just great. Haslinger. Slick, thick and glide.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[JoWolf]

Date	04.06.2023​
365 daily shaves	155/365​
GRUYERE	155/363​
GRUME June	03/29​
SOTMC	04/30​
High Efficiency June	04/30​

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette NEW Short Comb	Gillette Platinum (2+3)	Zenith 502B XSE
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Haslinger Sandelholz	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	9.5/10 (tiny weepers)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (BBS-)	9/10 (Buttery smooth)

Notes to these shaves:

General - Inaugural shave with the SC. One word: fantastic. Second word: period. Why Gillette ever stopped making these razors is truly beyond me. Their marketing should have been focused on making us buy in on the one and done anthem. They would have ruled the world. Easily a daily shaver and if you are starting out you might not even need anything else.

Razor - super smooth, comfortable and easy to use. Intuitive angle. Much smoother than my LCs. Three east passes and solid end result. Not full blown BBS, but just a nice allround smooth feeling. Head shave was equally smooth and comfortable. Had @JoWolf in my mind as I did an once pass ATG on my head with some touch ups in other directions. Very smooth! Very smooth.

Blade - better than yesterday. Tiny weepers on ATG but they disappeared during final rinsing. No alum needed today. Not my favourite blade. At least not for my face. It was wonderful on my head however.

Technique - nothing new under the Sun. Lol. Sun Ray Pattern delivered again for me.

Brush and lather - wonderful. Brush shed a couple of hairs again today and have more backbone today. But painting lather was just great. Haslinger. Slick, thick and glide.

Enjoy your shave!

Razor - super smooth, comfortable and easy to use. Intuitive angle. Much smoother than my LCs. Three east passes and solid end result. Not full blown BBS, but just a nice allround smooth feeling. Head shave was equally smooth and comfortable. Had @JoWolf in my mind as I did a once pass ATG on my head with some touch ups in other directions. Very smooth! Very smooth.

@Guido75 Smiling as I read your comment. I had recently adjusted my ATG Single Pass shave to a two pass ATG. Providing a slower shave with more lathering. Also slightly less challenging. More relaxation. Sometimes we don’t get what we want. If your kit is four high performers, constantly trying to better one another. it isn’t unusual for the shave to steer and dictate the shave. That’s how my planned two pass ATG yesterday. Ended up being a one pass with a barrage of J-hooks, half of em’ done for fun.

The Grande being the ring leader continues to amaze me. Not surprising the SC impressed you. I believe your SC’s blueprint was copied to create the Grande. They sure look like first cousins.

What do you think Guido?

 

[Guido75]

Well @JoWolf - I think they are indeed very similar. The Old Type might be an even close cousin of the Fatip - the cap fits the Fatip baseplate perfectly at least.

Another thing I know is that if I were looking at shaving purely from an economical viewpoint I should have stopped at my Fatip Piccolo. But it turned into something else instead (just finished some amateur woodworking for a new razor stand)

What they absolutely have in common - in my view over the Old Type (but opinions vary) - is a buttery smooth shave. Simply amazing.

In turn your reply made me smile as well, because that two pass ATG might be what happened in actuality if I look at the touch ups in hindsight.

Guido

 

[thombrogan]

I should have stopped at my Fatip

Know that feeling, Guido. And I’m glad I didn’t stop.

 

[Guido75]

Know that feeling, Guido. And I’m glad I didn’t stop.

Same here Thom. Same here. I am having way way way too much fun!

 

[JoWolf]

Well @JoWolf - I think they are indeed very similar. The Old Type might be an even close cousin of the Fatip - the cap fits the Fatip baseplate perfectly at least.

Another thing I know is that if I were looking at shaving purely from an economical viewpoint I should have stopped at my Fatip Piccolo. But it turned into something else instead (just finished some amateur woodworking for a new razor stand)

What they absolutely have in common - in my view over the Old Type (but opinions vary) - is a buttery smooth shave. Simply amazing.

In turn your reply made me smile as well, because that two pass ATG might be what happened in actuality if I look at the touch ups in hindsight.

Guido

I was too late in noticing or knowing of the Gillette Open Combs. I didn’t get to try any. I was hopeless locked into the Grande when I did learn of them. Even when I sojourned into Straights and Kamisori. I found a way to incorporate the Grande in all shaves.

My step back from the one pass was probably stimulated by the touch-up stroke count. More lather was the main reason.

Although I did very limited ATG with Carts. The Grande just screamed through a proper three pass shave. I remember holding back in reducing passes. It started to feel like driving a fast car on the shoulder of a superhighway. I honestly still don’t know and can’t feel where the performance limits are. The precision and performance continue to surprise me. It is the only razor I attempted J-hooks across the moustache strip. A regular part of my shave as needed now.

 

[Guido75]

Date	05.06.2023​
365 daily shaves	156/365​
GRUYERE	156/363​
GRUME June	04/29​
SOTMC	05/30​
High Efficiency June	05/30​

Razor	Blade	Brush
Mühle R41	Gillette Platinum (4)	Omega Super Badger
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Haslinger Sandelholz	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
7/10 (DFS)	8/10 (Comfortable)

Notes to these shaves:

General - very nice shave that I purposely did not take all the way given my relationship with the Platinum.

Razor - the R41 is a staple of high efficiency. It has a small learning curve but once you get past that the R41 is intuitive, smooth and mega effective.

Technique - first time using this razor with my Sun Ray Pattern. And it worked well like with the other razors before it. I did do less effective work on the jaw line. And I need to pay attention to my XTG - I think it can be more effective than it currently is. At least with the R41 XTG is usually my money shot but today that wasn’t so.

Lather and brush - excellent combination. Brush splays almost immediately and is very soft to the skin. Excellent protection from the lather against razor and blade.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Date	06.06.2023​
365 daily shaves	157/365​
GRUYERE	157/363​
GRUME June	05/29​
SOTMC	06/30​
High Efficiency June	06/30​

Razor	Blade	Brush
Greencult 2.0 II	Gillette Platinum (5+6)	Omega Proraso
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Haslinger Sandelholz	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8/10 (DFS+	9/10 (Buttery smooth)

Notes to these shaves:

General - easy 2.5 pass shave with a great end result followed by an amazing head shave. Wow!

Razor and blade - Platinum going on 5 which is usually around the max for me with this blade. The Greencult is just build with high efficiency in mind. Excellent razor!

Technique - turned my attention to the neck today. My XTG is usually N-S, but for today’s shave I switched to S-N because I only did two passes on the neck. Even with this blade that was a mild and irritation free experience. The head shave was two ATG passes and my dome is feeling super super smooth right now - especially the back of my head. Tiny weeper on the side burn but other than that clean as a whistle.

Lather and brush - have the boar done soaking time and made sure I had enough soap loaded to counter the hogging part of this brush. I always load using a spoon so loading more or less soap is a relatively easy task.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Date	07.06.2023​
365 daily shaves	158/365​
GRUYERE	158/363​
GRUME June	06/29​
SOTMC	07/30​
High Efficiency June	07/30​

Razor	Blade	Brush
Lambda Athena	Gillette Platinum (7)	Razorock 400
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Haslinger Sandelholz	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality
8/10 (~20 m)	9.5/10 (Small spot post shave)
Effectiveness	Comfort
9/10 (BBS)	10/10 (GlideFest)

Notes to these shaves:

General - exquisite shave with the Lambda today. Busy day at the office so I wanted to look my best. And I did.

Razor and blade - working well together. No sign of wear in this razor. The razor itself is simply a joy to use. I think I the angle locked in better than my last shave with the Athena.

Lather and brush - my favourite brush made tons of food and solid lather. I could have painted the bathroom, so three passes was super enjoyable.

Technique - I was more focus on getting to the office today so nothing special to note.

Enjoy your shave!