A newbie’s journey into DE shaving

[Guido75]

Date	16.07.2023
365 daily shaves	192/365
GRUME July	16/31
SOTMC	16/31
Consistency Shaves	15/31
Blade Biter’s Archive	03/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
Fatip Piccolo Nickel*	Shark Platinum (9)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Dutchy Bergamot	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

* OEM Handle

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

Notes to this shave:

General - splendidly smooth Sunday shave.

Razor and blade - I don’t know what the word on the street is about these blades, but I think these Sharks are excellent blades! Just a little blood drawn in the beginning, but easy shaving to double digits tomorrow. And sufficiently sharp too. I get mostly DFS++ to BBS shaves with them. Same happen with Shark Week last year using a Shark Chrome. Seriously considering buying these.

The razor is amazing of course. I love it to pieces. And it can easily rival with my top razors. In fact it’s a top razor in its own right.

Brush and lather - nothing remarkable other than the excellent performance of both. Slightly dryer lather today and when I fixed that it was more in the runny side. Having never shaved with runny lather before I continued on rather than making my lather just like I want it. Ok to me, but I prefer less mess in the sink. I will keep using this combo so I can focus on technique.

Technique - very consistent with yesterday. Relathered under my chin on the ATG and I can clearly see that this is preventing weepers. Nice smooth face as a result. No mishaps. I had one blood spot, but it disappeared during rinsing.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[JoWolf]

Date	16.07.2023
365 daily shaves	192/365
GRUME July	16/31
SOTMC	16/31
Consistency Shaves	15/31
Blade Biter’s Archive	03/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
Fatip Piccolo Nickel*	Shark Platinum (9)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Dutchy Bergamot	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

* OEM Handle

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

Notes to this shave:

General - splendidly smooth Sunday shave.

Razor and blade - I don’t know what the word on the street is about these blades, but I think these Sharks are excellent blades! Just a little blood drawn in the beginning, but easy shaving to double digits tomorrow. And sufficiently sharp too. I get mostly DFS++ to BBS shaves with them. Same happen with Shark Week last year using a Shark Chrome. Seriously considering buying these.

The razor is amazing of course. I love it to pieces. And it can easily rival with my top razors. In fact it’s a top razor in its own right.

Brush and lather - nothing remarkable other than the excellent performance of both. Slightly dryer lather today and when I fixed that it was more in the runny side. Having never shaved with runny lather before I continued on rather than making my lather just like I want it. Ok to me, but I prefer less mess in the sink. I will keep using this combo so I can focus on technique.

Technique - very consistent with yesterday. Relathered under my chin on the ATG and I can clearly see that this is preventing weepers. Nice smooth face as a result. No mishaps. I had one blood spot, but it disappeared during rinsing.

Enjoy your shave!

I will keep using this combo so I can focus on technique.

The house of Fatip. All corridors excel in comfort and efficiency.

 

[Quaznoid]

Sharks are great blades. Try the Lord Platinum, too.

 

[Guido75]

Sharks are great blades. Try the Lord Platinum, too.

I will - I think I got one recently in a blade pack. Thanks!

 

[Guido75]

The house of Fatip. All corridors excel in comfort and efficiency.

I should have listened to my LOTH and my gut - after that second Fatip I should have stopped. It is the apex of great results and fabulous design. Despite common rumour my experience with blade misalignment has been very limited. It’s just an amazing piece of equipment. There is only one razor I like even more and that’s my Ti95.

In all honesty even my Athena currently still needs to bow for the Fatip - but that’s has a lot to do with proper technique and muscle memory. I think I have shaved with my Special Edition for 2-3 months straight with really nothing else.

Cheers,

Guido

 

[Guido75]

Date	17.07.2023
365 daily shaves	193/365
GRUME July	17/31
SOTMC	17/31
Consistency Shaves	15/31
Blade Biter’s Archive	03/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
Fatip Piccolo Nickel*	Shark Platinum (10+11)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Dutchy Bergamot	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

* OEM Handle

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20 m)	9.5/10 (tiny spot)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
9/10 (BBS)	9/10 (Buttery smooth)

Notes to this shave:

General - eat, sleep, shave, repeat. Nice and smooth face and head shave. First WTG on the face was a smidge less comfortable, but after that all passes were great. Excellent blade with an excellent result.

Razor and blade - blade is still performing and performing well. Nice Shark Week like last year. No serious blood shed so far. Dare I say that this blade might even be outperforming my love Titan and KCG blades? Not yet.

Brush and lather - decided to give face lathering Anton today. This brush has a truck of backbone so easier said than done. First lather was a bit dry so added extra water. Subsequent passes became better and better.

Technique - I found myself doing Gillette Slant on the WTG like I have done for the last year or so. But this time it felt different, better, more balanced and more capable. I did Gillette Slide on the neck during XTG where I normally do slanted/oblique strokes. That proved slightly less effective. Still in the dark as to why I changed there. It felt natural to do, but need to be more focused tomorrow. So discounting today as a consistency shave.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Vlad97]

Sharks are great blades. Try the Lord Platinum, too.

Isn't Lord Platinum and Shark Platinum the same blade?

 

[Quaznoid]

I think so, but others disagree

 

[Guido75]

Isn't Lord Platinum and Shark Platinum the same blade?

I think so, but others disagree

I have no idea. They are at least made by Lord in Egypt so the same manufacturer. I have yet to follow up on Quaznoid’s suggestion to try the Lord Platinum. I know that @Raven Koenes has declared it his forever blade.

Cheers,

Guido

 

[Raven Koenes]

Isn't Lord Platinum and Shark Platinum the same blade?

I think so, but others disagree

I have no idea. They are at least made by Lord in Egypt so the same manufacturer. I have yet to follow up on Quaznoid’s suggestion to try the Lord Platinum. I know that @Raven Koenes has declared it his forever blade.

Cheers,

Guido

The New Lord Platinum in the white box is my forever blade. They remind me of Gillette Platinum in the dark blue and white box. I'm not a big fan of St. Petersberg blades nowadays. New Lord Platinum is better for me than Lord Platinum in the blue and yellow box. I think Shark Platinum and Lord Platinum in the blue and yellow box may be the same blade. I'm more prone to redness on the first couple of shaves using them. This may indicate a sharper blade and user error resulting in razor burn. The same thing happens when I've used Wizamet and Polsilver. Lord makes a really good blade. I've never run across one I didn't like.

 

[Guido75]

Date	18.07.2023
365 daily shaves	194/365
GRUME July	18/31
SOTMC	18/31
Consistency Shaves	16/31
Blade Biter’s Archive	03/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
Fatip Piccolo Nickel*	Shark Platinum (12)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Dutchy Bergamot	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

* OEM Handle

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20 m)	9/10 (some spots)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.75/10 (DFS+++)	9/10 (Buttery smooth)

Notes to this shave:

General - Final day of Shark Week and just like last year only used one blade. Thanks @BigJ for putting this together again! I had a blast again and discovered yet another excellent blade!

Razor and blade - Shark Platinum is an outstanding blade shaving way above its price point. I like them! They might be better than my beloved Dorco Titan. I need to do a side by side shave when I get the chance. The blade did reach its end for me as I got a couple of tiny weepers during the ATG. For the first time in a long time.

Brush and lather - second time face lathering with this soap. Used a cup this time to dip the brush in. Better lather. Bit runny when combined with the water retained in the OC baseplate during rinsing.

Technique - pretty much a copy of yesterday sans the Gillette Slide on the XTG and making sure it’s a Gillette Slant instead. In actuality I found that harder to do, so left side was…yeah, what was it? Slide, slant, straight - all over the place. At least in a general N-S direction which is the main point. Other than that, did everything the same and the results show for it. Some residual hairs on the chin so a small knock off compared to yesterday.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

18.07.2023 Head Shave

Razor	Blade	Brush
Matador Deluxe*	KCG (4?)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash	Dutchy Bergamot	Cold splash Balm

* Gillette Super Thin Handle

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.75/10 (DFS+++)	9/10 (Buttery smooth)

Notes to this shave:

The Matador is a fantastic head shaver! Despite being very mild during the shave, or comfortable is a better term, it is super effective! It has a very large blade gap and the design of the razor actually fits very well with my technique and my scalp. The large blade gap is amazing for ATG.

The KCG is stunning. Smooth, comfortable, no feeling that you are shaving with a DE. Velvety sharp.

Very happy with the end result.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Date	19.07.2023
365 daily shaves	195/365
GRUME July	19/31
SOTMC	19/31
Consistency Shaves	17/31
Blade Biter’s Archive	03/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
Fatip Piccolo Nickel*	Shark Platinum (13)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Dutchy Bergamot	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

* OEM Handle

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.75/10 (DFS+++)	9/10 (Buttery smooth)

Notes to this shave:

General - although the blade was going on 13 today I feel smooth and groomed. Excellent shave.

Razor and blade - perhaps against better judgment I decided to continue using the Shark just like last year and see where we end up. The Fatip knows its taking skills are A-level so I want too worried.

Brush and lather - getting the hang of face lathering - not! I need more practice, but today I reached for a bowl again to finish the dry soap on my face and after that all was well. Nice slick glide. Spent more time on proper build up to ensure protection from the blade the first pass.

Technique - consistent again and I realised that the Gillette Slide on the XTG is aligned with the Gillette Slide on my cheeks. So my muscle memory was actually sending me a message! Tomorrow Is will do the Gillette Slant on the first pass again to see if I can improve my effectiveness and efficiency simultaneously. So far very pleased with the results.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Guido75]

Date	20.07.2023
365 daily shaves	201/365
GRUME July	20/31
SOTMC	20/31
Consistency Shaves	18/31
Blade Biter’s Archive	03/32

Razor	Blade	Brush
Fatip Piccolo Nickel* (F) Matador Deluxe (H)	Shark Platinum (14) KCG (5)	Kox Blue Synthetic
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash Face Wash Proraso Green preshave	Dutchy Bergamot	Cold splash Aftershave Balm

* OEM Handle

Passes	WTG XTG ATG
Efficiency (details here)	Quality / My process
8/10 (~20 m)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.5/10 (DFS++)	8/10 (Smooth)

Notes to this shave:

General - a nice and comfortable face and head shave today. Feeling smooth and nourished.

Razor and blade - I have noticed these past few days that the Fatip has similar water holding capacities as the Lambda Athena. This gives my lather extra glide (not always wanted but ok). The blade is on its way to retirement. Slightly less comfortable than yesterday and also slightly more tugging on the first pass. I think one last shave would be nice.

The Matador is on its way to becoming one of my favourite head shave razors. Nimble, comfortable and seemingly designed for this job. The KCG is a favourite and an excellent performer.

Brush and lather - slightly on the thinner side, but very adequate for the job. Build my lather in the bowl initially. This just works better for me.

Technique - constant. I deliberately used my Gillette Slant on the first pass and Gillette Slide on the second. This worked out very fine indeed when combined with my beard map. Very happy about that as I felt it made my shave more effective. Not necessarily more efficient, but I have also found that I like my shave time as me time, so efficiency is lower on my priority list.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[lasta]

Shark week is over, why you do this to yourself?

 

[Guido75]

Shark week is over, why you do this to yourself?

I was actually considering buying 100s, because I think they are quite nice blades! But I promise tomorrow is the last shave with this blade.

 

[Ligeti]

Are you 3017ing your Dutchy? Or is that just a coincidence I keep seeing it a lot in your diary?

 

[Guido75]

This week shaving with my Piccolo is making me aware (again) of the benefits of shaving with one razor for a longer period.

I was discussing this earlier with @JoWolf. John made an excellent point about me enjoying my collection. I am in no way ready for a fixed four or forever four as @Raven Koenes calls it. But I do want/like more structure to my rotation. It’s my OCD I know, but I like things to be orderly.

John suggested to look at the statistics and I can get very good and comfortable shaves with all my razors. I have looked at usage before and there are a couple that are most used. My Ti95 reigns supreme and I would like to achieve the same with my Athena. The Fatip is obviously in much demand and so is my R41. I believe in current statistics the Razorine Flatboy closes the top 5.

The second batch is lead by Greencults, followed by Old Type and my NEW section.

The last division are my Tech, TTO Gillettes and Swedes. And finally my first DE the KCG razor.

I have considered thinning the herd, but I not ready or willing yet. For one because each razor has a story attached and a number were fond gifts from fellow brothers and passing these on doesn’t feel right or good.

This is also why I feel I don’t need more razors as this will only increase the problem. There are a couple I would still like to acquire. Two in particular and they are within reach so I might just stretch my itch and be done with it.

What my plan is for now, is to alternate weekly between the top two (shaving with either one for two days) and fill in the other days with a selected razor from the collection. That would result in a half year rotation to get through all my razors. Don’t know if that’sa plan yet, but when I have the spreadsheet set up I will know!

 

[Guido75]

Are you 3017ing your Dutchy? Or is that just a coincidence I keep seeing it a lot in your diary?

Doing my best! So a righteous conclusion. But I think it will survive this month.

Since a couple of months I have selected a soap of the month and used that. Sometimes 3017 (with Haslinger for example) and sometimes not (like Dutchy - very little needed for rich lather). I don’t think I will finish Tabac the coming two years either (I think I will only use that during Tabactober).

Cheers,

Guido

 

[JoWolf]

This week shaving with my Piccolo is making me aware (again) of the benefits of shaving with one razor for a longer period.

I was discussing this earlier with @JoWolf. John made an excellent point about me enjoying my collection. I am in no way ready for a fixed four or forever four as @Raven Koenes calls it. But I do want/like more structure to my rotation. It’s my OCD I know, but I like things to be orderly.

John suggested to look at the statistics and I can get very good and comfortable shaves with all my razors. I have looked at usage before and there are a couple that are most used. My Ti95 reigns supreme and I would like to achieve the same with my Athena. The Fatip is obviously in much demand and so is my R41. I believe in current statistics the Razorine Flatboy closes the top 5.

The second batch is lead by Greencults, followed by Old Type and my NEW section.

The last division are my Tech, TTO Gillettes and Swedes. And finally my first DE the KCG razor.

I have considered thinning the herd, but I not ready or willing yet. For one because each razor has a story attached and a number were fond gifts from fellow brothers and passing these on doesn’t feel right or good.

This is also why I feel I don’t need more razors as this will only increase the problem. There are a couple I would still like to acquire. Two in particular and they are within reach so I might just stretch my itch and be done with it.

Don’t walk around itchy Guido. 🫢

What my plan is for now, is to alternate weekly between the top two (shaving with either one for two days) and fill in the other days with a selected razor from the collection. That would result in a half year rotation to get through all my razors. Don’t know if that’sa plan yet, but when I have the spreadsheet set up I will know!

Ideas enable plans. Plans enable order. Order enable goals. Goals enable Success. A tricky journey sponsored by Enablers. 🫣