I have two razors, both by Edwin Jagger but one of them – EJ Bulbous Lined – came with the old Merkur head while the second one – EJ Georgian - was purchased two years later and came with the current EJ/Muhle head. I like them both a great deal, but at home I prefer the heft of the bulbous so I only use the Georgian handled razor when I travel. I do however, on occasion switch out the heads with each other because they really do perform differently.
I was making that switch recently, just after my Thanksgiving shave and I found that I had left a blade – a Swede - in the Georgian from my last trip. I could not recall how many shaves were already on it or whether it had been a fresh blade, or one that I had taken from my homebound razor. I decided I would risk it being sharp enough for the three-day stubble I was planning to build over the long weekend. I keep a small jar filled with ethyl alcohol to swish the oil off of my fresh blades, I gave this one a rinse and I hand stropped it before loading it into the EJ/Muhle head and screwing the heavy Bulbous handle onto it.
The day of the shave I had a good, palm shredding layer of gray and white waiting to eat the edge from my blade … and it did. For two passes the old Swede put up as brave a fight as one can ask of a thin piece of Polish steel but alas, most of my beard just sneered at us for trying. I had read a few posts about having to change blades mid-shave, but had yet to have that happen to me. Damned inconvenient, and humbling since I have only myself to blame. Fortunately I hadn’t tried to compensate by adding pressure, I have been here long enough to know better than that. I don’t keep any of my kit in the bathroom, so I had to go back to the bedroom to load the fresh blade, which I habitually rinse in the alcohol and cork before loading into the razor. The lather in my brush was still toasty since I use a DB brush scuttle, but the rest of my shave was thrown off its rhythm and I left a few completely unshaven patches that went unnoticed by me until I was rinsing the alum residue from my face and cleaning up the sink. I finished the routine anyway, with witch hazel and balm and busied myself around the house for about 6 hours until I felt calm enough not to rush the fixing shave. I was going to do it as if I was traveling, no hotpot or scuttle and instead of my usual CF Lavender I chose Nancy Boy Replenishing scent. I didn’t need to shave my entire face, just my jaw from ear to ear, and my chin. Face lathering with NB is totally different from the Castle Forbes but I felt a bit more protected. The end result was a surprising BBS. I don’t often get BBS shaves because I don’t really go for a BBS when I shave. I go for zero irritation, and I get that about 97% of the time with a DFS.
Long story short (I know … too late) I managed to turn a D- shave into an A- shave and I learned everything, I mean absolutely everything I know about shaving right here on B&B. One of the most important things is that every face is different and in wet shaving you need to know YOUR face and what works BUT there are some things that are applicable to everyone and are pretty much sacrosant rules for success, such as NO pressure beyond what is necessary to control the razor. Resisting the natural impulse to press when my blade was not cutting my beard is ultimately what saved my skin, so to speak.
If you made to the end, thank you and I apologize for the length.
I was making that switch recently, just after my Thanksgiving shave and I found that I had left a blade – a Swede - in the Georgian from my last trip. I could not recall how many shaves were already on it or whether it had been a fresh blade, or one that I had taken from my homebound razor. I decided I would risk it being sharp enough for the three-day stubble I was planning to build over the long weekend. I keep a small jar filled with ethyl alcohol to swish the oil off of my fresh blades, I gave this one a rinse and I hand stropped it before loading it into the EJ/Muhle head and screwing the heavy Bulbous handle onto it.
The day of the shave I had a good, palm shredding layer of gray and white waiting to eat the edge from my blade … and it did. For two passes the old Swede put up as brave a fight as one can ask of a thin piece of Polish steel but alas, most of my beard just sneered at us for trying. I had read a few posts about having to change blades mid-shave, but had yet to have that happen to me. Damned inconvenient, and humbling since I have only myself to blame. Fortunately I hadn’t tried to compensate by adding pressure, I have been here long enough to know better than that. I don’t keep any of my kit in the bathroom, so I had to go back to the bedroom to load the fresh blade, which I habitually rinse in the alcohol and cork before loading into the razor. The lather in my brush was still toasty since I use a DB brush scuttle, but the rest of my shave was thrown off its rhythm and I left a few completely unshaven patches that went unnoticed by me until I was rinsing the alum residue from my face and cleaning up the sink. I finished the routine anyway, with witch hazel and balm and busied myself around the house for about 6 hours until I felt calm enough not to rush the fixing shave. I was going to do it as if I was traveling, no hotpot or scuttle and instead of my usual CF Lavender I chose Nancy Boy Replenishing scent. I didn’t need to shave my entire face, just my jaw from ear to ear, and my chin. Face lathering with NB is totally different from the Castle Forbes but I felt a bit more protected. The end result was a surprising BBS. I don’t often get BBS shaves because I don’t really go for a BBS when I shave. I go for zero irritation, and I get that about 97% of the time with a DFS.
Long story short (I know … too late) I managed to turn a D- shave into an A- shave and I learned everything, I mean absolutely everything I know about shaving right here on B&B. One of the most important things is that every face is different and in wet shaving you need to know YOUR face and what works BUT there are some things that are applicable to everyone and are pretty much sacrosant rules for success, such as NO pressure beyond what is necessary to control the razor. Resisting the natural impulse to press when my blade was not cutting my beard is ultimately what saved my skin, so to speak.
If you made to the end, thank you and I apologize for the length.
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