Blood makes poor lather

[Dzaw]

Shave #94:
Date: 03/29/2019
Prep: Hot Shower
Soap: Tabac
Brush: Omega Boar
Razor: Shell "Real German” 5/8"
Post: alum followed by Thayers
A/S: Nivea cooling sensitive AS balm

So, I had a few goals for this shave. Having shaved two mornings in a row, I shaved pretty late this evening, hoping my skin would have had a bit of a chance to chill, and my stubble some extra growth time. That seemed to work pretty darned good.

Next, I've been using my SOC brushes almost exclusively, I wanted a shave with the ol' omega. She's stiffer backed and less soft, but a good brush. Similarly, I've used nothing by Wholly Kaw samples for quite a while now, and my Tabac seemed lonely, so I figured I'd do a back to basics shave.

Finally, I wanted to really take my time, and make a REALLY close shave.

Overall, this was a great shaving experience. The Tabac lathered up so buttery smooth and slick I was wondering this whole shave why I would bother with the slightly fussier WK. Sure, when I hit the right water to product ratio, Wholly Kaw does actually shave nicer, but it's a little more difficult to hit that ratio. I feel like the Tabac has a wider tolerance for varied water content, and performs closer to its peak over a wider range. It's peak isn't quite as good as the WK, but it's like 85-90% of the way there.

Anyway. Pass 1 went so smooth, easy, and clean it was difficult to believe. I was actually astounded at how nice a shave this was shaping up to be. Pass 2 wasn't quite as smooth and easy, meaning it was great, but back into the believable zone. Pass 3 was a little rougher. Not bad by any stretch, but not superbly smooth and easy.

All said and done, I am left with one of the closest overall shaves I've ever had. There's a few areas around my neck that are only CCS, but the cheeks, jaw, moustache, chin, the whole actual face looks cleaner and less peppered and I can't feel whiskers even five minutes out of the bathroom. However, my skin is also kinda raw and sensitive. Not burning like I've had, but a little tingly, and touching it is less pleasant than I would like. The alum wasn't overly unkind, but I think maybe this level of super close shave might still be a bit beyond my skill level for regular duty.

 

[Dzaw]

Shave #95:
Date: 04/01/2019
Prep: Hot Shower
Soap: WK King of Oud
Brush: SOC Badger
Razor: J&R Dodge Judicato "Prussian Army" 5/8"
Post: alum followed by Thayers
A/S: Nivea cooling sensitive AS balm

I am getting really really sick of having to re-hone these razors every 2-3 shaves to get a good experience out of them.

Today this razor was terrible. I managed to fight a close shave out of it, but it is much less comfortable than optimal.

In testing for sharpness after the shave, it would just push arm hair aside at eve 1/8". Heck, it won't even treetop the coarse hair on my chest or belly.

When straight shaves are good, they are -SO GOOD- much better than anything else I've tried. But in order to keep them there, it seems I need to hone the razor from scratch every other shave.

If this keeps up, I will probably just PIF my gear and go back to carts.

 

[Dzaw]

Shave #96:
Date: 04/08/2019
Prep: Hot Shower
Soap: WK Fougere Bouquet
Brush: SOC Badger
Razor: Shell "Real German" 5/8"
Post: alum followed by Thayers
A/S: Nivea cooling sensitive AS balm

Very nice shave today. Started with a knockdown pass using the double edged safety razor. That took a little self control - My instinct was to keep swiping and make a reasonable first pass shave out of that, but I wanted my skin to be as close to unshaven as possible to monitor the impact of the straight edge.

First actual pass was with the grain, and went as smooth and slick as any straight shave I can remember having. The lower neck trouble area did offer me the typical little bit of resistance, but a little less than usual, so I was happy with it. I did make one very small touchdown line that I wasn't actually sure would bleed it was so faint. It did end up staining the lather when I lathered up for pass 2, but it certainly wasn't the fault of the edge condition - totally pilot error because I'm not practicing consistently enough.

The second pass was across the grain for the most part. I could sure hear that edge sing, so it was still shaving hair, but damn if the sound of it wasn't the only indication! Great overall experience that left me with a two pass shave that landed right on CCS over 80+% of my face, and the lower neck at SAS.

I did do some spot lather - cleanup along the underside of my right jawline. That area grows from west to east on both sides of my face, so on the left it shaves relatively easily, growing as it does from ear side towards chin side. However, on the right, that area keeps going, so it runs from chin towards ear, and is more difficult to get a good swipe on that will both shave close and not dig into the skin. This is one of the areas I am most likely to find stubble after shaving, and also most likely to razor burn if I am not satisfied after 1-2 passes. No problem there today though!

The Fougere Bouquet has enough scent to overpower the cherry, apple, pecan, and hickory smoke inundating my T-shirt from smoking so many meats this weekend. That's too bad too, because it smells like it would compliment wood smoke well if it were a little less pronounced. That's one of the primary requirements in this hunt for the right scent - it needs to go well with / preferably blend into the smell of hardwood smoke. As always, though, the Wholly Kaw performance was slick and left my skin feeling great.

 

[Twelvefret]

Shave #96:
Date: 04/08/2019
Prep: Hot Shower
Soap: WK Fougere Bouquet
Brush: SOC Badger
Razor: Shell "Real German" 5/8"
Post: alum followed by Thayers
A/S: Nivea cooling sensitive AS balm

Very nice shave today. Started with a knockdown pass using the double edged safety razor. That took a little self control - My instinct was to keep swiping and make a reasonable first pass shave out of that, but I wanted my skin to be as close to unshaven as possible to monitor the impact of the straight edge.

First actual pass was with the grain, and went as smooth and slick as any straight shave I can remember having. The lower neck trouble area did offer me the typical little bit of resistance, but a little less than usual, so I was happy with it. I did make one very small touchdown line that I wasn't actually sure would bleed it was so faint. It did end up staining the lather when I lathered up for pass 2, but it certainly wasn't the fault of the edge condition - totally pilot error because I'm not practicing consistently enough.

The second pass was across the grain for the most part. I could sure hear that edge sing, so it was still shaving hair, but damn if the sound of it wasn't the only indication! Great overall experience that left me with a two pass shave that landed right on CCS over 80+% of my face, and the lower neck at SAS.

I did do some spot lather - cleanup along the underside of my right jawline. That area grows from west to east on both sides of my face, so on the left it shaves relatively easily, growing as it does from ear side towards chin side. However, on the right, that area keeps going, so it runs from chin towards ear, and is more difficult to get a good swipe on that will both shave close and not dig into the skin. This is one of the areas I am most likely to find stubble after shaving, and also most likely to razor burn if I am not satisfied after 1-2 passes. No problem there today though!

The Fougere Bouquet has enough scent to overpower the cherry, apple, pecan, and hickory smoke inundating my T-shirt from smoking so many meats this weekend. That's too bad too, because it smells like it would compliment wood smoke well if it were a little less pronounced. That's one of the primary requirements in this hunt for the right scent - it needs to go well with / preferably blend into the smell of hardwood smoke. As always, though, the Wholly Kaw performance was slick and left my skin feeling great.

Just thinking about your lower neck. If you chose to do another knock down, think about changing direction so that you are shaving the way the hair grows. Maybe that would eliminate the resistance.

Congratulations on your shave, brother.

 

[Dzaw]

Just thinking about your lower neck. If you chose to do another knock down, think about changing direction so that you are shaving the way the hair grows. Maybe that would eliminate the resistance.

Congratulations on your shave, brother.

Thanks! It's always nice to get a good one in to help bolster the confidence.

The lower neck is a long standing perpetual problem. I have directional whirls there that I couldn't shave any more with the grain than against the grain - hairs that grow straight E-W intermixed pretty evenly with hairs that grow straight W-E, and throughout the zone is a smattering of SW-NE and SE-NW, though those are fewer. I can do a down to up pass that thins some out with little irritation, but any other direction and I am risking catching and pulling, so that area is perpetually red after every shave. DE, Cart, or straight, that area is always a super challenge.

 

[Dzaw]

Shave #97:
Date: 04/09/2019
Prep: Hot Shower
Soap: WK King of Bourbon
Brush: SOC Boar
Razor: Shell "Real German" 5/8"
Post: alum followed by Thayers
A/S: Nivea cooling sensitive AS balm

So the razor sure did its job well today too. I have a small nick on the opposite side to match yesterdays, but that's not the edge's fault - lol.

I did notice two things that may or may not be edge related or just today related. 1: the trouble area along the bottom of my neck seemed to shave with less catching or irritation during the shave, but bloomed a little redder afterwards than usual. 2: I had to do more of "The Stupid Thing" (tm) to get some of the areas around my goatee properly cleaned up - just some stubble that got trimmed down, but not properly shaven while making 3 passes lathered up. Once rinsed, with my face wet with Thayer's alcohol free Witch Hazel, I was able to buff these areas clean with no noticeable irritation fairly easily, but man if I am trying to learn not to do that - 50/50 shot it ends up with nasty razor burn (though it didn't today).

This soap is odd. In the jar it smells like one of those early 1980's "Strawberry Shortcake" dolls my sister used to play with - not an appealing scent overall. However, once lathered and shaved, it loses a lot of the overly sickly sweet scent, and smells vaguely fruity, but with a bassnote that isn't easy for me to place - not what I think of when I think bourbon, but not necessarily bad either. I would rank this fourth among the samples I got from WK. King of Oud and Fougere Bouquet seem tied for first, with Project leather in second and Pasha's Pride at three.

 

[Dzaw]

Shave #98:
Date: 04/10/2019
Prep: Hot Shower
Soap: WK King of Oud
Brush: SOC Badger
Razor: Shell "Real German" 5/8"
Post: alum followed by Thayers
A/S: Nivea cooling sensitive AS balm

I wish I would stop catching my ear with the toe of the razor. Also, I cut myself a few times trying new approach vectors. Total driver error, but still a less comfortable shave today. One really hoses my biscuit, because I totally should have known better. When you puff out your cheek, it gets all nice and convex. However, the transition from the puffed cheek to the chin is noticeably more concave than usual. I ran the edge right into that concavity twice before it occurred to me to stop. It was dumb and I feel dumb.

The edge does seem to be holding up pretty nicely.

Something has occurred to me - I am not stropping on pasted balsa between shaves. I used to do that on a semi regular basis (not necessarily every shave, but every 2-3 shaves). I am wondering if that might have been part of my problem.

Alternatively, the knock down pass might be helping more than anticipated. Both yesterday and today I considered skipping it - it didn't seem to make much sense, having shaved only the previous morning, there wasn't a lot to knock down, and if I did, there wouldn't be a lot left to straight shave.

However, it also seemed distinctly unscientific to alter the terms of the experiment in the middle of data gathering, so I stuck with exactly as prescribed.

This was the third shave on this edge. So far little to no indication that it is less than good and sharp. I don't usually shave every day like this, but so far it's working for me.

 

[Dzaw]

Shave #99:
Date: 04/11/2019
Prep: Hot Shower
Soap: WK Fougere Bouquet
Brush: SOC Badger
Razor: Shell "Real German" 5/8"
Post: alum followed by Thayers
A/S: Nivea cooling sensitive AS balm

So... This morning was an interesting shave. Yesterday (as noted in prior report) I tried some new angles of approach, some new razor grips, and generally tried some new ways.

Today, shaving over those areas that were most irritated yesterday, I did, in fact, re-awaken yesterdays irritation.

But much less than I thought I would. By a bunch.

Overall, the shave was quite the positive experience. Not. One. Cut. Some small weeping bleeders in those areas most effected by yesterdays experimenting, but none of the usual nicks, cuts, or kisses with the toe.

The edge hone seems to be holding up quite nicely to the shaves. I kind of expected to experience a little edge degradation by now, but so far no sign of such is in sight.

On another note, last night I was considering my shaves and the breakthroughs I've had in technique. It occurred to me to go back and watch some shave vids, and I ran into that "shave a balloon" trick. I was like "No way that would be effective - I have a pretty light touch, but even so, I would easily pop a balloon, the edge just wouldn't cut anything if I shaved light enough for a baloon"... This morning I tried a balloon level of touch, and found that if I moved a little slower, the edge jus kinda glides on a cushion of slickness from the lather and finds this line between my face and the whiskers... It's a lot like the breakthrough I had on shave 31, but more so... The new mantra now is "trust the razor". As long as I just trust the razor, it seems to know what to do...

 

[Dzaw]

Shave #100:
Date: 04/12/2019
Prep: Hot Shower
Soap: Tabac
Brush: SOC Boar
Razor: Shell "Real German" 5/8"
Post: alum followed by Thayers
A/S: Nivea cooling sensitive AS balm

So here we are. The mythical 100. They say it takes 100 attempts to learn how to shave with a straight razor, after which you "shave with a straight". I made it. There were quite a few twists and turns along the way, but overall it has been a gratifying, satisfying, and engaging experience. I've met some of the finest gentlemen left in the world on this forum, and benefitted from their generosity, wisdom, experience, and wit.

The shave was good. Not truly spectacular, or magical, not theatrical, not bad or horrible, and even not mediocre - solidly good.

"Trust the razor" seems to be the takeaway for me. That mentality really helped me find my line today. I was able to shave the trouble spots on my neck almost completely bbs and almost completely without any irritation - a true first, and a win all by itself. I did engage in a bit of "The Stupid Thing" (TM) with predictably poor results (a bit of burn - honestly, you'd think I would know better by now!). I also have a neat little cut right where the septum of my nose transitions in to the upper lip area. A reminder to approach less aggressively right in that concave.

Aside from those bitty little issues, I am right between CCS and DFS, so major win overall.

I had originally wanted to do something kind of spectacular for 100. I wanted to put a straight razor edge on a big bowie or butcher's knife or somesuch, and video my shave with that. Alternatively, my sentimental side wanted to use the J&R Dodge Judicato, since it was my first, along with my omega boar and Arko. However, since I am in the middle of experimenting on edge longevity vs my beard as well as testing my stropping technique, I decided to keep the data collection intact and follow the plan.

Thus, appropriately enough, #100 was not marked by any drama, theatrics, or exaggerated expectations. Just a nice, good shave to start my day.

I will likely not be continuing to post every shave from here on out. There are quite a few very well kept logs on this site by better writers and shavers than I. I am glad to have had this tool to look back on both for perspective, as well as to help mine for data when I needed to note patterns in my shaving for troubleshooting purposes. However, the pressure to update each and every shave does eat a certain amount of time.

Today is also my middle son's 17th birthday, so the schedule is a little busy, and timing of things like shaving is a bit off. Nonetheless, it is an occasion we are happy to interrupt the mundanities for.

On a final note, I do miss @Animag771 - my original training partner. We started this journey within a day or two of one another, and tried to keep each other motivated and learning. He was polite, intelligent, thoughtful, and disciplined in his approach, and learned faster than I. While he hasn't been around these parts lately, I hope wherever he is he is safe, happy, and still happily shaving with a straight.

 

[Clay S]

Congratulations on your Century!

It has been awhile since @Animag771 has been seen. Hopefully he is doing well!

Wish your son a happy birthday for me.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Congratulations. Nice write up. Happy Birthday to your son; maybe a nice razor for him?

Happy shaves to everyone,

Jim