catherix's shave journal

[catherix]

Today the postman brought me a couple of awesome goodies. A Star Shaving burgundy Big Daddy strop and a (borrowed) Gold Dollar #66. I'm just shy of a year into wetshaving and its like the fun has started all over again! I thought I'd start a journal like the rest of the guys and reach out for any advice you gents can lend.

And the goodies:

 

[catherix]

SHAVE 1:

DR Harris Arlington
NB Signature Cream
GD #66
Custom Olive wood handle with TGN Finest XH Fan 22/48
RR Alum Stick
Thayer's Superhazel
NB Signature AS Gel

Well the good news is I still have both my ears. And my thumbs.


I have to say that went pretty darn well. It's not the best shave but it'll do. I started by attempting to make the so called thinner lather. That was a flop but I shaved with it during the first two passes anyways. My goal was to shave 2 passes WTG and 1 XTG. But instead I went WTG XTG(sorta) ATG(more or less). The WTG pass was incredibly easy. I noticed a lot more feedback on the razor than with a DE and it seemed that I was holding onto the razor as tightly as I should. It took me a long time to complete the right half of my face so I reapplied my wimpy lather to the other side again and went for the left hand. As soon as I started I suddenly had a shorter left sideburn than before. Oops! Oh well, I need a haircut anyways. It wasn't as easy but still went well.


2nd pass: I suddenly had the urge to attempt a XTG pass even though I hadn't planned to do so yet. But hey, the first pass was a piece a cake so this should be easy. Wrong. Key jeopardy theme song as I attempt to figure out how the heck to hold the razor to accomplish a XTG pass. The actual shaving at this point was not nearly as easy and I know my angles were all off but I went for it anyways. Once I switched to the left hand I did the same confusing dance trying to figure out how to hold the razor. As I got to my chin I took a solid slice down the middle of the chin with the razor essentially at a 90 degree angle to my face. Now I have a cleft chin apparently. Ouch.


3rd Pass: Again I made a split decision here and went ATG. I told myself not to but I did it anyways. Holding the razor for this pass was much more straight forward and the pass went without incident. I noticed here that I was able to easily shave everything below the jawline with my right hand. Not sure if I'm supposed to do it that way but a combo of two different grips on the razor made it a snap. The one area I struggled with here was the chin. The feedback on the razor was crazy! Not sure how to do this part better quite yet but I ended up getting pretty darn close.


Grabbed the alum block for the first time in months to get a little feedback on my shave. It burned but not nearly as much as I would have guessed. Less so than shaves with an SE which is interesting. I had no redness prior to the alum but once applied a little bit appeared at the edge of jaw under the left side of my face. It's always been a problem area for me so I'm not too worried about that. The alum also sealed up 2 tiny nicks under my chin that I didn't realize were there as well as sealed up my slice down my chin to the point where its barely noticeable. Hopefully it won't be too bad tomorrow when I head to work.
Splashed on some Superhazel and cleaned up my gear. Then went to stropping. Now here's where it all fell apart. My stropping is a joke. Superbly slow, not getting the blade coverage when pulling the razor back towards me. Just terrible. This needs work! I went with the regimen that a friend had mentioned: 20 laps on linen, 40 on leather. I'm sure I did more than that though as I kept losing count while trying to figure out how to strop.


Well that's it. I'm pretty darn pleased with myself. I've got a long way to go but hey, I made it through and I now have a decent looking shave and only one minor injury. A lot better than I figured I would come out. And the whole deal only took me an hour!

 

[catherix]

SHAVE 2:

DR Harris Arlington
Simpson Duke 2 in Best
GD #66
Thayer's Superhazel
Proraso Splash

My goal with tonight's shave was to accomplish the same three passes as last night. WTG, XTG, and ATG. I figured if it went well yesterday might as well continue down the same path and master all three types of passes as I go. Unfortunately, that's not what actually happened.

Started with some stropping while the Duke 2 soaked. 25 linen and 50 leather. Plus a few extra strokes on both just in case. Prepped with hot water, glycerin soap, and some more hot water. Face lathered some Arlington and I'm ready to go.

1st Pass: WTG. Everything started out the same as last night with one minor change: I didn't attempt to make a thinner lather. It didn't go well last night and I figured I knew how to make lather for DE's so I might as well take a variable out of the equation for now. The shaving went without incident. No major problems or struggles outside of the whole left handed shaving bit. That will come to me in time though.

2nd Pass: WTG, again. After inspecting first pass I noticed that I was as close as I normally am so I went with an additional WTG pass. During this pass I noticed a little bit of irritation starting to build. One thing that I figured out though was how to hold the razor to go WTG at the base of my neck. My beard grows sideways going away from my Adam's apple there. I'm not exactly sure how I did it but I hope I can remember tomorrow.

3rd Pass: XTG. This is the pass that I've struggled with the most. Above the jawline I can't seem to hold the razor in a comfortable way to go from ear to nose and still maintain angle. I was still holding in the right hand for right half of the face and vis versa. Possibly I need to change hands at this point, just thought of that. I struggled here having the mustache as the razor was skipping a bit, likely because of the way I was holding it. Below the jawline I feel like I figured out how to accomplish XTG. It went fairly well and I was able to go essentially at a 90 degree angle to beard growth. Again I could feel a bit of irritation but nothing major.

From here I lathered up thinking I might be able to complete an ATG pass. But a couple strokes in I could tell it wasn't going to happen so I called it quits. Applied Superhazel and cleaned up. Burned a tiny bit but I could find no nicks or blood at all. Also, no redness either. Finished with some Proraso Splash and some stropping, 20 linen and 40 leather.

The result was a SAS shave. Not the DFS+ from last night but it was decent. I will say the whole thing was not as easy as the first shave. Maybe it was beginner's luck? Likely, and it'll likely get better with time. For now I have an okay shave and no injury so I'm calling it a win. Looking forward to tomorrow night.

EDIT: While brushing my teeth I inspected my shave a bit more. It's clear that its not perfectly even which is a bit frustrating. I think I'll need to slow it down a bit tomorrow and do a more thorough job.

 

[Obiwan]

Sounds like its going well Tyler.

 

[global_dev]

Keep up the good stropping technique!

 

[catherix]

Sounds like its going well Tyler.

Thanks David! I'm gonna slow it down a bit tonight and see how it goes. It's clear there's a learning curve but I'm very motivated to figure it out.

Keep up the good stropping technique!

Slow and careful is my goal. I'm concerned about maintaining the edge so I don't have to send it off to be fixed up. Hopefully I'm doing it right.

 

[Doc226]

It only gets better

 

[catherix]

It only gets better

I've got my fingers crossed. But I know it will.

 

[catherix]

SHAVE 3:

DR Harris Arlington
NB Signature Cream
GD #66
Thater 4125/1
Thayer's Superhazel
Spieck Splash Lotion

I had two main goals tonight: slow down and do the same three passes as the first shave(W/X/ATG). I accomplished both of these goals. Started with normal prep at the sink and some stropping; 25 linen then 50 leather. The stropping continues to improve. It's not perfect but I'm getting better. I've been hanging the strop on the back of my bathroom doorknob and its essentially at waist level. I'm thinking of hanging it on the towel rod and seeing if that angle improves anything.

1st Pass: WTG. Again this pass is going well. My areas of struggle seem to be the chin area and the base of my neck. Both are improving but need much more work. I seem to take very tiny little strokes on the chin and I'm not sure it's helping anything. Halfway through the pass I noticed my lather was essentially dry and I reapplied. This seems to be a reoccurring thing and I seem to need to work on my lather. It has been great for DE's but its just not holding up for the amount of time it's taking for me to shave. Ho hum...

2nd Pass: XTG. Here is where I'm really sucking. I'm not finding a comfortable position to hold the razor and still get a good angle to shave. It's just awkward. I tried switching hands(right hand for left side of face) and that seemed to help a bit but its still not perfect. In the process I managed to slice myself twice. Tiny cuts and they are essentially invisible now. The one improvement in this pass was below the jawline where I'm getting more comfortable with the angle and direction of the strokes.

3rd Pass: ATG. This pass went fairly well. I had to reload the brush as my lather was essentially gone; the shaves are taking me about an hour from walking in the den to the time I walk out and the lather just isn't making it. I don't know if I need to do something different with the lather or its just because of how long its taking. Some of my strokes weren't as sure as they should have been and I was rewarded with some redness. I don't seem to have any difficulty holding the razor on this pass but I still have some work to do to improve.

I ended with almost DFS by my standards with some areas being BBS like below the jawline. Some redness and irritation but nothing major. It's not a perfect shave but a huge improvement over yesterday and I'm very happy with that. And the shave in general is even and clean.

I finished with some Superhazel and a splash of Spieck. Stropped 20 linen and 40 leather and I'm off to bed. Looking forward to tomorrow's shave. Man, this is a lot of fun!

 

[catherix]

SHAVE 4:

DR Harris Arlington
NB Signature Cream
Thater 4125/1
GD #66
Thayer's Unscented
Speick Splash Lotion

I gave my face 2 1/2 days off. It was painful but I needed to let a few cuts from earlier shaves heal so I just dealt with it but test lathering soaps in my free time.

Started with some stropping, 25 linen and 50 leather. Still noticing improvement here. The movement is easier and I'm making no mistakes during the process. Really happy with how it's going. Went with a 3 pass shave today, W/X/ATG. Superlathered the DRH with NB Cream to try to get a better lather. It still dried out here and there and needed to be reapplied but it was better than before. I did hit the puck once during the final pass because the lather wasn't cutting it.

1st Pass: WTG. Again no troubles here. This pass is by far the easiest for me and is going very well. I am getting a good shave on the base of the neck with a different movement and its working well too.

2nd Pass: XTG. Today I used the right hand for the left side of my face and vis versa for this pass. This works much easier for me. I don't know if this is what other people do but it's working well for me.

3rd Pass: ATG. This pass is going much better than I would have figured. I expected this to be the hardest pass but it just isn't. XTG is much more difficult for me. I'm shaving most of my face and neck with my right hand here and none of it is awkward for me. I'm not even needing to switch hands at all. The only hard thing for me is the feedback from the razor. It's something I'm still getting used to. The chin is a bit difficult as well as the beard is very tough and I'm using a modified XTG/ATG combo to get close there.

Finished with some Thayer's Unscented and a splash of Spieck. Cleaned up my gear and stropped 25 linen and 50 leather. A nice DFS shave with BBS here and there. Clean, even, and smooth. No injury outside a tiny cut under my chin. Really a great shave and here I am 5 hours later and it still looks fresh. Smiley face ->

 

[catherix]

SHAVE 5:

DR Harris Arlington
Simpson Duke 2
GD #66
Thayer's Superhazel
Proraso Splash

Tonight was the same three passes as usual. I'm trying to stick to this routine for now as it gives me a chance to practice all the types of passes during each shave. Stropped 25 linen and 50 leather. I watched Kent's 9 second video about 100 times tonight and tried some x strokes on the strop. It's seems straight forward enough but I will need to practice this more. I can see how it could help get better edge coverage while stropping though. I went heel to toe then toe to heel before the shave. Then tried heel to toe and heel to toe after the shave and I think I like that better.

Gotta make this quick tonight as its past my bedtime so I'll cover my points of needed improvement. The XTG pass is the only thing of note from this shave. Holding the razor here is still a struggle and I ended up with a small cut on my right cheek and I managed to get bitten by the tip at the top of the cheek on the left. I was in a bit of a rush tonight as it was getting late and I will say that rushing is just a bad idea right now. I was left with poorer results for the simple fact that I didn't take my time. The shave still went well and I'm paying close attention to improving areas that I'm struggling with. Ended with a DFS but not as good as my last shave. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and taking some extra time during the shave.

 

[catherix]

SHAVE 6:

DR Harris Arlington
Custom Olivewood Brush with a TGN Finest XH Fan 22/48
GD #66
Thayer's Superhazel
Spieck Splash Lotion

Tonight I went for nothing out of the ordinary. Regular stropping routine, lathering and shave. I didn't really go into this shave with any specific goals like prior shaves. I just went for a regular shave to see what I could do. I'm pleased with the results as with prior shaves but I wouldn't call it perfect.

1st Pass: WTG. Here I'm doing really well. This pass was easy as usual. Nothing specific to note.

2nd Pass: XTG. I'm getting more comfortable holding the razor here. No slices or nicks like in prior shaves. It's still a work in progress and could be a bit better but I'm getting there. My lather more or less died in the middle of the pass though. I think I'm having trouble here simply because of the amount of time my shaves are actually taking. My lather lasts through a DE shave just fine but when it takes around an hour to shave I have to hit the puck multiple times. I'm contemplating tossing my puck of Arlington in my VDH bowl so I can do a modified puck and face lather. I think this might help.

3rd Pass: ATG. Everything started out fine on this pass but I found myself chasing BBS mindlessly at the end. Something I've done with a DE many times before without problems but I'm not skilled enough with a straight yet. As much touchup as I did my face was telling me enough was enough. No nicks or cuts here either.

Finished up with my normal stropping routine after applying some Superhazel. Cleaned up and splashed on some Spieck. It was a nice DFS but too much time in the ATG pass left me with some irritation and a little redness here and there. The Spieck had a decent burn to it that I normally don't get, which told me about the irritation. As to the redness, luckily I'm a night shaver.

I've got two new straights in the mail that should hopefully show up in the mail tomorrow. The PO duped me and lied about them being expected to deliver today. Darn USPS, got my hopes up.

 

[Big_OC]

Interesting reading on your journey and the progress your making. I'm looking to make an entry into the world of straights.

 

[catherix]

Interesting reading on your journey and the progress your making. I'm looking to make an entry into the world of straights.

Thanks sir. I'm glad someone is getting something from this. The whole thing is a bit of a challenge and a process. Hope you enjoy the switch to straights!

 

[catherix]

Finally received my first straights in the mail today! The delivery was quick but I was a bit anxious.

Peaso 5/8. Seems pretty hollow ground:

Couldn't get a good shot of the blade but it says "High Class" and in the middle "Exello Super." The tang is stamped "27" and "Peaso Solingen."

Torrey 6/8. A bit heavier grind. Rescaled in lacewood:

Has "The JR Torrey Co." "US" "Worchester Mass." stamped on the tang. She's really pretty.

I'm looking forward to giving them a good comparison and seeing where my preferences lie. I tried to get myself two different grinds so I had some differences in the shave.

Many thanks go out to Alfredo for the help and the beautiful razors! You rock Doc!

 

[catherix]

SHAVE 7:

DR Harris Arlington
Thater 4125/1
Torrey 6/8
Thayer's Unscented
NB Signature AS Gel

First shave with my new(to me) Torrey 6/8. Stropped 25/50 and did my usual prep. Lather up with the Thater tonight.

1st Pass: WTG. First stroke: WOW! This sucker has a sweet edge and the grind definitely provides a different feel. Again this pass is pretty easy for me but that square point bit me once early on. No blood but I knew I had made a mistake. I'm going to have to pay more attention to the point on this one.

2nd Pass: XTG. I could tell that things are getting a bit easier here. The strokes are making more sense and holding the razor is easier than before. I was paying more attention tonight and noticed my angle was varying a bit so that's going to need some work. Got bit once more during this pass, again no blood but it woke me up a bit.

3rd Pass: ATG. I was thinking when I started this pass that I wanted to see if the feedback would be different with this razor. Not much different but a little less feedback than with the GD. Felt a little smoother but really not much. Could have been my imagination. I was paying attention to my angle here as well and it could use a little work below the jawline. Need to keep that in mind.

One of the things I was working on tonight was my lather. I was noticing that it had been drying out during the prior shaves so tonight I hit the puck anytime I noticed it needed help. It's added time to the shave but my lather can't make it through so its needed. What I noticed was when I had fresh lather on my face the strokes felt better. I'll need to keep this top of mind in future shaves as well. I feel this is my easiest fix to improve my shaves at this point.

Finished the shave with some WH and NB Cooling Gel. Stropped 20/40 and cleaned up. I had a bit of irritation tonight but nothing more than prior shaves. In contrast, this is by far my closest shave with a straight so far. I'm very pleased.

Tomorrow night I'll shave with the Peaso 5/8. It's much more hollow ground and seems much smaller compared to the Torrey. I'm interested to see what the differences between the two razors are and how they shave differently.

 

[Vivasanti]

nice!

that Torrey looks great

 

[catherix]

nice!

that Torrey looks great

Thanks! It does look great. Wish I could get better pictures but my iPhone can only do so much for my terrible photographer skills. It shaves really nice too!

 

[Doc226]

Very nice, glad you are enjoying the razors.

Look forward to the Peaso shave.

 

[catherix]

Thanks Alfredo! I'll be shaving with the Peaso shortly. Keep your television tuned to this channel for further updates.

I'm absolutely in love with these razors by the way. (Don't tell SWMBO, she'll be jealous )