Damn Comfortable Shave

[Esox]

I'm having a hard time understanding that the Piccolo is leaving anything behind too cut. The whiskers on your neck must be very coarse and/or dense if its leaving anything behind after an ATG pass.

I can understand the SE blade being more rigid and thus less forgiving and more efficient but I'm having a hard time grasping the fact the Piccolo leaves anything behind to cut lol.

The only suggestion I can come up with is the Nacet is lacking sharpness. I know it did for me, not a lot but it did. Could be you need a sharper blade, but in using a sharper blade, you might sacrifice some comfort.

This is a dilemma lol.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'm having a hard time understanding that the Piccolo is leaving anything behind too cut. The whiskers on your neck must be very coarse and/or dense if its leaving anything behind after an ATG pass.

I can understand the SE blade being more rigid and thus less forgiving and more efficient but I'm having a hard time grasping the fact the Piccolo leaves anything behind to cut lol.

The only suggestion I can come up with is the Nacet is lacking sharpness. I know it did for me, not a lot but it did. Could be you need a sharper blade, but in using a sharper blade, you might sacrifice some comfort.

This is a dilemma lol.

A sharper blade like what?

I'm not going to use a Feather.

The General is considerably more efficient than the Piccolo on my neck. That is not me saying the Piccolo is deficient; it seems to me to be the most efficient DE I've used with a couple of possible exceptions, both of them slants.

The P-BOCS is very efficient, and I'm going to give it another trial. The iKon X3 is also very efficient, and I liked it except that it lacks rigidity; that worked fine until it didn't.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

My shave this morning was with the SS General and a Proline.

Homemade Shaving Oil
SV soap
Stirling butterscotch handled, fan-shaped badger
Lucky Tiger
Nivea Max Hydration
Pinaud Clubman Special Reserve

2 face passes
Multiple neck passes and touchups

Not chasing baby, but still got a good shave. Not a great shave. BBS face. Good DFS neck. Close to baby on my neck.

Reasonably comfortable but not DCS. Today's shave was more comfortable than yesterday's, but not as comfortable as I'd like, probably because of the fact that yesterday's shave left me with significant discomfort during the rest of the day.

I need to see how many times I've used this blade. It seems okay, but maybe just a tad less sharp. Of course, it could be going through a phase.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'm planning on taking up Cal on his suggestion to do a full month with the same kit.

• One razor
• One brand of blade, replacing the blade as it becomes dull
• Same soap every day
• One brush

The exact components of my kit have not yet been determined, but I'm leaning towards the SS Colonial General. That means a Schick Proline blade (I have no other AC blades). The soap is likely to be SV, but not necessarily.



The brush is up for grabs. My favorite brushes are the two Stirling badgers, and the Semogue SOC boar, but I'm also considering the Stirling boar. The Stirling boar is not yet fully broken in, but it is acceptably soft, and a month with it would surely break it in very well.

I want to try the Phoenix Bakelite Open Comb Slant again before my full month begins. It is a contender for the month. However, my face is not in very good shape right now. My secretary commented on how bad my neck looks. Actually, I don't see anything much, but her visual standards are high, and her index of suspicion is high for my shaves. I know my neck feels a good bit better today than yesterday, but I also know yesterday's shave did not do my neck much good.

I'm thinking of maybe beginning the full month on the 1st of December, but there's not much actual magic in that date, and it might be just as good to start on Saturday or Sunday.

It's just an idea at this point (and Cal's idea at that), but I will likely give the experiment a shot.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Cal]

Stirling butterscotch handled, fan-shaped badger

Is your brush feeling OK Jim? It looks a bit anaemic to me.

 

[Raven Koenes]

I'm planning on taking up Cal on his suggestion to do a full month with the same kit.

• One razor
• One brand of blade, replacing the blade as it becomes dull
• Same soap every day
• One brush

I'm thinking of maybe beginning the full month on the 1st of December, but there's not much actual magic in that date, and it might be just as good to start on Saturday or Sunday.

It's just an idea at this point (and Cal's idea at that), but I will likely give the experiment a shot.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I'm pulling for you! For the longest time I used a one razor one month rotation. Then I started getting to many razors, and I figured by the time I got around to using a razor again a couple of years might have gone by. Now it's not so much of an issue being that I've pretty much narrowed things down to my Fatips. I did find that when I used a razor for a month I was just starting to get good with it.

Let me know when you start and I'll join in with you.

P.S. My Fatip Master plan is coming together.

@

 

[Esox]

A sharper blade like what?

I'm not going to use a Feather.

The General is considerably more efficient than the Piccolo on my neck. That is not me saying the Piccolo is deficient; it seems to me to be the most efficient DE I've used with a couple of possible exceptions, both of them slants.

The P-BOCS is very efficient, and I'm going to give it another trial. The iKon X3 is also very efficient, and I liked it except that it lacks rigidity; that worked fine until it didn't.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I dont know what else to suggest to help your shaves, this is the dilemma lol.

You've used most, if not all of what I'd call the best blades, and razors. I'm just having a hard time getting my head around the fact that you cant get a BBS shave, even uncomfortably, with your Piccolo.

I only have very limited experience with an SE, a single shave. That single shave, as bad as it was, still taught me that SE razors are a much different animal than a DE razor. As mild as the GEM Bullet Tip is said to be, it still told me it was a beast compared to a DE. The size, the weight, the rigidity of the blade all told me quite clearly that it was a tool to be reckoned with so I cant argue with the efficiency you speak of.

 

[Raven Koenes]

I dont know what else to suggest to help your shaves, this is the dilemma lol.

You've used most, if not all of what I'd call the best blades, and razors. I'm just having a hard time getting my head around the fact that you cant get a BBS shave, even uncomfortably, with your Piccolo.

I only have very limited experience with an SE, a single shave. That single shave, as bad as it was, still taught me that SE razors are a much different animal than a DE razor. As mild as the GEM Bullet Tip is said to be, it still told me it was a beast compared to a DE. The size, the weight, the rigidity of the blade all told me quite clearly that it was a tool to be reckoned with so I cant argue with the efficiency you speak of.

I think a month straight with the Piccolo will dial it in. I believe I have pretty tough beard stubble. After getting to know my Fatips I used my Merkur travel razor on vacation last summer. I was surprised at the great shaves I got with it due to it not being blade rigid. That and it has a really light weight aluminium handle. To me it seemed like the Fatips were a great training tool, and I was better with the Merkur because of it. Just my thoughts and sometimes it's not the tool but the operator. It was in my case at least.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Is your brush feeling OK Jim? It looks a bit anaemic to me.

No idea what you mean, Cal.

One post, the post talking about today's shave, has the Stirling badger.

Another post discusses several brushes, but pictures only one, the Stirling boar.

To me, both brushes look healthy, but I'm not a brush vet.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I have decided that my Fixed Four month - Fixed Razor | Fixed Blade | Fixed Brush | Fixed Soap - began today. It will end on Christmas Day.

Yes, I know that is a bit early to end a month, but I also know what my Christmas present is going to be. I know what I asked Santa Claus for, and I saw a box addressed to SWMBO from a certain well known vendor. It couldn't possibly be anything except the razor which was number one on my wish list, and I'm planning to use it on Christmas.

However, I'm going to pretend I didn't see the box, so no questions. We'll all act very surprised.

My kit until Christmas will be today's kit.

Thanks, Cal, for your good suggestion! Much appreciated.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Cal]

Stirling butterscotch handled, fan-shaped badger

Is your brush feeling OK Jim? It looks a bit anaemic to me.

No idea what you mean, Cal.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Until Christmas, this will be my kit, for my Fixed Four month.

The Colonial General is loaded with a Schick Proline. That's a Stirling badger brush. The soap is Saponifico Varesino Felce Aromatica.

I'm not promising about the Special Reserve, but it is my favorite. I will use Dickinson's Witch Hazel, Lucky Tiger, Osage Rub, Nivea, Skin Food, the Cool Fix, Noxzema knock-off brand (Equate), shea butter, and such as needed; hopefully, I will need fewer of these as time goes on. I will on some days use Shave Secret Shave Oil, or my homemade shave oil.

My skin care routine - wash at night with olive oil bar soap, apply shea butter; Noxzema in the morning, washed off in the shower with olive oil bar soap - will be consistent. I will, as always, do a 100% cold shave. Hot shower, then everything else is cold. Cold rinse of my beard right out of the shower, cold and wet razor, cold water to the puck, cold water on the brush tips, cold rinse at the end.

Today, November 27th, was Day 1. On Christmas, assuming I read Santa's Helper's package label correctly, I will be expected by SWMBO and our daughter to change razors.

Of the items making up the Fixed Four - razor, blade, brush, soap - there will be no changes other than a new, sharp blade as needed.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Ron R]

The P-BOCS is very efficient, and I'm going to give it another trial. The iKon X3 is also very efficient, and I liked it except that it lacks rigidity; that worked fine until it didn't.

Hello Chan ...., when you use the Ikon X3 you could try a shim underneath the primary blade and it will make a huge difference for rigidity is my best guess to that nice razor. I have been experimenting with shims lately and any razor with blade overhang that is excessive- I boost rigidity with a simple shim.(you should not see any significant aggressiveness in performance IMO.)

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Hello Chan ...., when you use the Ikon X3 you could try a shim underneath the primary blade and it will make a huge difference for rigidity is my best guess to that nice razor. I have been experimenting with shims lately and any razor with blade overhang that is excessive- I boost rigidity with a simple shim.(you should not see any significant aggressiveness in performance IMO.)

Thanks, Ron. Timely information. I was actually thinking about how a shim might work in the iKon X3. Other than the lack of rigidity, it is an excellent razor. Well, I say that having not used it much, but it seemed extremely efficient when I did use it.

It will be a while before I use anything other than the Colonial General, but I will see what I need to make a shim. Safety glasses will be #1 on my list. Maybe some little tin snips?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

One stick, wooden doweling.

View attachment 835992
Instant epoxy

View attachment 835998
One SE blade stuck to said stick.

View attachment 835996
= how many shaves?

View attachment 835997

This could be a big part of someone's Fixed Four month?

It is absolutely the definition of

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Raven Koenes]

I'll be joining you starting on the 4th of December. Now brace yourself for a shocker, ready, I'll be using a Fatip! I'll let you know what I decide for a brush and soap. The blade will be Gillette Platinum, and I'll vary back and forth on aftershave. I have to control my usage of the old splashes to keep them equal in usage. It's much easier when I re-up them.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'll be joining you starting on the 4th of December. Now brace yourself for a shocker, ready, I'll be using a Fatip! I'll let you know what I decide for a brush and soap. The blade will be Gillette Platinum, and I'll vary back and forth on aftershave. I have to control my usage of the old splashes to keep them equal in usage. It's much easier when I re-up them.
View attachment 840394

Cool!



A Fatip? Somehow I thought you'd be using a R-41! You and Mike@Esox and @rabidus.

Okay, okay, okay. I was kidding about all three of you. My guess is Mike is already doing much the same thing with his Fatip Grande; he only has one brush, right? Rabidus is either using the ATT SE1 or the ATT SE2 most all the time if memory serves, and I think he uses one boar brush maybe, but he switches blades like a madman.



Okay, okay, okay. I was kidding again, but I'm not kidding when I suggest you try some Pinaud Clubman Special Reserve. Great stuff.

I'll be glad to have some company.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

View attachment 840366

Oops, I get it now. Which one did I use this morning? I think it was actually the fan-shaped badger, so I have to alter what I said about my Fixed Four.

It's what I get for shaving several hours before posting about my shave.

Geez.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

This is the kit I'll be using until Christmas.

Colonial General SS razor
Schick Proline blades
Stirling fan-shaped, butterscotch handled badger
Saponifico Varesino Felce Aromatica Shaving Soap

Other products will be used as desired, needed, or on whatever whim strikes me, but these elements are the Fixed Four - razor, blades, brush, soap - until Christmas Day.

This is what I used this morning, so today was Day #1. My "month" has begun, but it will not last exactly a month because of Christmas and what Santa is bringing, and what Santa's Helper will expect to see used right away.

This should be a very good kit for the project Cal suggested, a project which sounds like a good idea to me.

Happy shaves,

Jim

P.S. Sorry for the earlier confusion with the picture and content.

 

[Raven Koenes]

Cool!

View attachment 840420

A Fatip? Somehow I thought you'd be using a R-41! You and Mike@Esox and @rabidus.

Okay, okay, okay. I was kidding about all three of you. My guess is Mike is already doing much the same thing with his Fatip Grande; he only has one brush, right? Rabidus is either using the ATT SE1 or the ATT SE2 most all the time if memory serves, and I think he uses one boar brush maybe, but he switches blades like a madman.

View attachment 840417

Okay, okay, okay. I was kidding again, but I'm not kidding when I suggest you try some Pinaud Clubman Special Reserve. Great stuff.

I'll be glad to have some company.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I've always wanted to give Pinaud Clubman a go. I'll put the Special Reserve as the one to try.