Do any of you keep an off line shave journal?

[Rusty Blade]

The Journals and Diaries section of B&B is wonderful. I have been keeping a shave journal there for a few years now....albeit somewhat inconsistently.
I am wondering if any of you keep an off line shave journal in paper format, or even in a Word document or Excel? If so what do you keep track of?

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I started a paper journal with notes on the various straights I have. Mostly when I honed it, how I honed it, other things like that, how it shaved based on different variables. Bevel angle calculations. I don't keep track of every shave but I do like to be able to look back and see what I did and why it worked, or didn't.

 

[srqshaver]

I don't keep a journal of shave although I have been considering it. I do have an inventory in a spreadsheet that lists all my gear and what I paid for it. I also keep a running commentary on using the gear. I have a hard time writing so it has to be something on the computer. I've looked at the apps available for phones and can't say I love them. I may try making something myself at some point.

 

[Sinnbad11]

I have both an inventory spreadsheet and an offline shave journal where I mark all gear down and my overall perception of the shave. I usually note and shortcomings a particular combination had.

It's really helped me dial in my shaves, I believe there's an app that does something similar if tech is more your style.

 

[Old Hippie]

I started keeping a paper journal to have a place for those right-after-the-shave reflections on how it went. I also use it to keep track of blade usage -- in a month like SLANTember/SEptember I usually have DE, Gem and AC blades active at the same time.

Funny thing is, when I've filled a small spiral notebook I page through it to see if there are any stunning revelations -- usually not -- then put it in the recycling bin.

O.H.

 

[haggis]

I use Day One (Mac) on my desktop to keep track of SOTD and honing (else I forget where I left off with things). I set it up with templates for each type of entry, and a reminder that pops up each morning to remind me to note the SOTD. I usually drag a photo onto the Notes section.

Journal



SOTD Template



Honing Template

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

I started a bound journal in 2015 to track my shaving, mainly as a way to use my fountain pens. And every year since, I started a new one. This year, however, starting mid-summer, I failed to make consistent entries and use has lapsed. Perhaps in 2022 I'll renew my efforts.

 

[Wogus]

With so many different possible combinations of blade, base-plate and shaving soap (I use a Rockwell 6s) it quickly became impossible to remember which combinations worked well for me, and which ones didn't. I started keeping an Excel spreadsheet to record experiences and assigned an admittedly subjective number-rating to each shave. It's nothing particularly complicated but after a while, I was able to see patterns begin to emerge which really helped me dial in good combinations.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I keep a journal thread on here, mainly for the conversational/social aspects. The data itself is largely irrelevant to me.

Yes, it's nice to occasionally look back and see when I bought something, or when I started using a particular soap or blade, but if it wasn't for the interaction with other members here, I wouldn't go to the hassle of noting anything down.

 

[cryhavoc]

I don't keep a shaving journal of any kind. I don't have time to keep up with one and I've never been a journal kind of guy for anything.

TBH a journal might have helped early in this journey or Hell in anything I've ever done, but mistakes always make the successes more glorious. Or at least that's the story I'm sticking too.

 

[JaggardJ]

I've been trying out an app called shaving buddy on Android. I haven't decided yet if it will give me any useful learnings but I'll keep tracking shaves for a while and see where it goes.

 

[santamariasteve]

I do. Nothing fancy and nothing complicated.

Mainly when I buy a razor, I write a paragraph on my impressions. I also note what setting I used on my 10 adjustable razors.

 

[Brutus]

I started a bound journal in 2015 to track my shaving, mainly as a way to use my fountain pens. And every year since, I started a new one. This year, however, starting mid-summer, I failed to make consistent entries and use has lapsed. Perhaps in 2022 I'll renew my efforts.

Yes, the need to use fountain pens regularly to keep the ink from drying out makes one do strange things.
My solution is to learn a foreign language and write down new vocabulary (or the one that I already forgot ) in a small notebook.
Whatever it takes…

But keeping a straight shaving log?
I haven’t come to that point yet…


B.

 

[Oakmountain]

I use one "TiddlyWiki" for that. I can share one "empty.html" version if you like.

 

[srqshaver]

My solution is to learn a foreign language and write down new vocabulary (or the one that I already forgot ) in a small notebook.
Whatever it takes…

Good idea! Writing is tough for me unfortunately but I’m also learning a language and maybe writing more would help me learn and improve my writing stamina.

I use one "TiddlyWiki" for that.

What a great piece of software that is. I hadn’t thought of it for this but you’ve piqued my interest. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Since June 2020 I keep a very brief paper log.
Date/Razor/Soap/Blade (use)/Result/Notes - if any

Initially to find razor/blade combos that work well together; find blades to stock up and to weed out blades that didn’t work for me at all.

Nowadays it’s more for keeping track of total blade usage if I run some in parallel and if something works especially well/poor.

 

[RogerThat]

When I started DE wet shaving three years ago, I initially just kept track of my shaves on a paper calendar.

The $1 Assured TTO safety razor from Dollar Tree was my gateway drug into this hobby. Lurking on this website, I learned the way of the Jedi, acquiring better hardware and software.

With more gear to track, I recently started keeping a Shave Log in a college ruled composition notebook. This allows me to better keep track of my rotations, shave notes and plan my next shave.

 

[MaineYooper]

I used an Excel sheet, and use various pages to track hardware, sales, acquisitions, and general notes that aren't specific to a shave. Late last year, someone posted about a Google product called Forms, and the user shared a form that uses drop down menus to choose what you use. You can easily export it to Google sheets. Works for me. I started in late 2015 just recording in a Word document how the shave went as was first starting out. That really seemed to help me out. I sure was wordy back then! Now it's mostly habit and many entries say the same thing!

 

[ackvil]

I have kept an Excel speadsheet since 2015. Below are the headings I record.

 

[Oakmountain]

Here is the link to Tiddlywiki. Free and nice https://tiddlywiki.com/