A wondering pastor's DE journey

[KellyG]

Friday May 25
Set up:
Gillette Travel Tech; Astra SP (1); Semogue 2000; glass bowl; Tabac
Pre-Shave: Shower; Lather in the bowl
Shave: Basically 3 passes; WTG, XTG, ATG.
Post shave: Warm water rinse; Cold water rinse; Alum block; Let dry; Thayer Witch Hazel (w/cucumber); Proraso Red AS Splash.
Results 4/5 This was my first shave with the vintage Gillette Travel Tech. The razor came with a travel set from e-bay and I don't believe anything in the set has been used. The razor had the cardboard "blade" in place. It was interesting shaving with a very short handle. But, the ball end handle was not hard to grip. The Tech provided a very nice shave even with a bit of clumsiness on my part getting used to the short handle. I don't think this will be my daily razor but it was good to determine it can be a good travel razor.

 

[KellyG]

Sunday May 27
Set up:
Rockwell 6c R4; Astra SP (2):EJ D89; Astra SP (3); Semogue 2000; glass bowl; Tabac
Pre-Shave: Shower; Lather in the bowl
Shave: Basically 3 passes; WTG with the 6c, XTG, ATG with the D89.
Post shave: Warm water rinse; Cold water rinse; Alum block; Let dry; Thayer Witch Hazel (w/cucumber); Proraso Red AS Splash.
Results: A good solid 4/5 (I guess I've decided a 5/5 will require a sort of mythical perfection?). A DFS for sure. The 6c with the R4 plate provides a decent level of aggression for the 1st pass. The D89 finishes up with very little to no irritation and fear of slicing my lip off Seriously, this combination works well for me and while it involves two razors, I don't have to fool with changing the plate out on the 6c mid-shave; not that that is a great big deal, but it is one less thing to mess with while my hands are wet.
On a non-shave related note: Our son and his family are here for the long weekend, which means we are spending quality time with our 21 month old grand daughter, who is a real sweetie (no bias here).

 

[KellyG]

Monday, May 28: shave free.
Tuesday, May 29:
Set up:
Rockwell 6c R4; Astra SP (3):EJ D89; Astra SP (4);Rubberset 400-4 w/badger knot; glass bowl; Razorock What The Puck Lime.
Pre-Shave: Shower; Lather in the bowl
Shave: Basically 3 passes; WTG with the 6c, XTG, ATG with the D89.
Post shave: Warm water rinse; Cold water rinse; Alum block; Let dry; Thayer Witch Hazel (w/cucumber); Proraso Red AS Splash.
Results: nice 4/5; no blood letting, close and smooth. I may have unwittingly used the 6c for the final pass but no problems. The Lime soap was refreshing, but my favorite remains CF-GTB

 

[KellyG]

So as of late, I've been rotating between my EJ-D89, Rockwell 6c R4 plate, and a Baili BR 171. If I've gone more than a day between shaves, I'll do a pass with the 6c and then switch to the D89 or the Baili. I find the Baili a bit more aggressive than the D89 but not wildly so. As my technique improves, I'm finding I can get a satisfying and nick free DFS with any of the three. I've been using Astra SP's for consistencies sake & I find them perfectly good blades. I may branch out again just for fun. Soap and AS have been pretty much CF GTB - I just really like the scent and the soap works well. My brush of choice is my Rubberset 400-4 that I restored with a pure badger knot.
I have been skipping the pre-shave oil to see how that works and I'm finding no particular advantage one way or the other, so it is one less step in the process. The alum block and witch hazel remain in the mix.

Most of all, I'm having fun with all this!

 

[KellyG]

As I've been absent for a good long while, I thought it worth checking in and perhaps closing out this diary. I haven't abandoned wet shaving or anything like that, I simply fell prey to the folks over at The Brown Leaf. After hanging out there a while, I pulled my old pipes out of storage and rekindled my pipe smoking after a 30+ year hiatus. My RAD and SAD is cured. However, my PAD and TAD is in full force. Oh well...
Anyway, my shaving routine has settled in quite well. I'm enjoying a 2 pass shave each morning with the Rockwell 6c R5 plate; Astra SP or Gillette 7 O'Clock SS blades; RazoRock Bruce synthetic brush; either Ghost Town Barber or Sherlock soap, lather on my face; the alum block and a splash of Thayer's Witchhazel with cucumber. Sometimes I'll add an aftershave splash or balm. I'm perfectly happy with this routine and will stay with it for the foreseeable future.

I'll be checking in from time to time on the wet shaving side of things but will likely be mostly hanging out with the pipe smokers at the Brown Leaf or one of the other pipe smoking forums. Thank you all for helping me settle into a great shaving routine!

 

[dmshaver]

Good to see you checking back in & letting us know you've found a good set-up. Congrats & best of luck! Enjoy!

 

[Tokyospike]

Sounds like you’ve settled on a great routine. Best of luck, and don’t be a stranger.