Muddy's Meanderings

[Clay S]

You said both stopped cutting. What you described is what I refer to as clogging. It would have been interesting to have use my Feather folding SS and VDH soap. I've seen videos showing them used to remove a beard on YouTube.

Stopped cutting, until rinsed by sloshing it in water, which is less effective rinsing than using running tap water. I consider clogged as having to either disassemble, or physically pulling hairs out, or extraordinary vigorous sloshing, or extremely high water pressure being required to get it cutting again.

Even an SR would gather so much junk on it where you couldn't see what you were cutting until you slung the crud off, but it would still cut, it is the only type of razor that would continue being able to cut without any rinsing.

 

[Twelvefret]

Stopped cutting, until rinsed by sloshing it in water, which is less effective rinsing than using running tap water. I consider clogged as having to either disassemble, or physically pulling hairs out, or extraordinary vigorous sloshing, or extremely high water pressure being required to get it cutting again.

Even an SR would gather so much junk on it where you couldn't see what you were cutting until you slung the crud off, but it would still cut, it is the only type of razor that would continue being able to cut without any rinsing.

I don't think GEM would have considered disassembling as clogging when they introduced the "clog pruf". If the blade cannot cut, it's clogged for all practical purposes.

It's standard practice to wipe/rise a SR. I use a sponge now after watching a fellow member shave with a SR.

 

[Clay S]

I don't think GEM would have considered disassembling as clogging when they introduced the "clog pruf". If the blade cannot cut, it's clogged for all practical purposes.

It's standard practice to wipe/rise a SR. I use a sponge now after watching a fellow member shave with a SR.

I have to point out then that my original assertion that OCs would be harder to clog, and that the switch from them had nothing to do with clogging, even though that is what they stated was cause for the changes. TTOs only cut about 2/3rds as well into a month growth beard, and the longer growth of my chin shut down the TTO. Beards falling out of popularity in early 1900's is what caused the shift from OCs.

At least I didn't have to resort to prying hairs out with a toothpick as I have done with single blade Bics, Trac IIs, and Mach 3s. Any more than 3 blades was worthless even attempting the feat. Mach 3s would generally rinse out if you stopped the stroke before it stopped cutting.

 

[Twelvefret]

I have to point out then that my original assertion that OCs would be harder to clog, and that the switch from them had nothing to do with clogging, even though that is what they stated was cause for the changes. TTOs only cut about 2/3rds as well into a month growth beard, and the longer growth of my chin shut down the TTO. Beards falling out of popularity in early 1900's is what caused the shift from OCs.

At least I didn't have to resort to prying hairs out with a toothpick as I have done with single blade Bics, Trac IIs, and Mach 3s. Any more than 3 blades was worthless even attempting the feat. Mach 3s would generally rinse out if you stopped the stroke before it stopped cutting.

I admire your tenacity, but I respectfully disagree. The GEM Clog pruf was once promoted along with a tube of Barbasol cream. This forever links the concept of what the manufacturers intended with a closed safety bar.

No safety razor manufacturer intended their product to shave what you had from a month of growth. Now, consider the one inch, 15/16, 7/8 straight razor as the tool of choice for sheering that much hair

 

[Clay S]

I admire your tenacity, but I respectfully disagree. The GEM Clog pruf was once promoted along with a tube of Barbasol cream. This forever links the concept of what the manufacturers intended with a closed safety bar.

No safety razor manufacturer intended their product to shave what you had from a month of growth. Now, consider the one inch, 15/16, 7/8 straight razor as the tool of choice for sheering that much hair

They had to invent some imaginary improvement so they could get a patent, as opposed to a trademark for a cosmetic change. Will work better with an unreleased, therefore untestable claim was a fix, IMO. The Clog Pruf was a fix for a clogging problem with GEMs, not OCs. GEMs are what I would call Closed Comb. They have both teeth, and a bar closing all the teeth off, creating lots of little holes for hairs to get trapped in, which required disassembly of the blade from my earlier test to get a hard clog out. TTOs and Clog Pruf both have two large skinny holes for hairs to enter, not a clogging issue, until the hair exceeds a certain length. OCs have 3 sided, not a hole, hairs get raked, not trapped. I could have used a sponge to easily clear the razor, since that seems to be a standard practice

I'm sure that it did help streamline the manufacturing process, and resulted in a product that was more robust, so less product damaged and discarded from bent teeth. And it fixed a clogging problem in GEMs and they were able to get a patent. OCs clog less than the supposed fix. Of course TTOs also gathered quick market share because blades had to be installed and removed for every shave. A huge plus for convenience, time savings, and less chance of cutting yourself.

 

[Clay S]

Straight Razor Shave #23
2018/11/02 Shave:
Prep - Shower/CVS brand Noxzema/hot towel/lather/hot towel/DIY pre-shave oil
Razor - Blue Diamond 106 / S. R. Droescher Carwood, N. J. SR
Soap - L'Occitane en Provence's Cade
Brush - Omega Pro 10098
Post - Alum, Witch Hazel, Sea Breeze Sensitive, Dove Men+Care Hydrate+, Pinaud Clubman
Result - not quite SAS
Beard oil - DIY Beard Oil
Moustache Wax - Axe Clean Cut Look Classic Pomade

Chin was damaged slightly the day before from DE beard removal, added a lot of nicks to it today, little red chigger looking spots for the most part. Have a lot of white bumps on my chin, looks like clogged pores. Sun and scrubbing should help with that after a couple of days. I seem to have a lot of creases on my chin. That combined with the blocked vision from my 'stache and having to try avoiding cutting it will make this challenging. Alum lit me up today.

 

[Clay S]

Straight Razor Shave #24
2018/11/03 Shave:
Prep - CVS brand Noxzema/hot towel/lather/hot towel
Razor - Dubl-Duck Special No.1
Soap - L'Occitane en Provence's Cade
Brush - Omega S10019
Post - Alum, Witch Hazel, Sea Breeze Sensitive, Nivea Sensitive Cooling
Result - BFS
Beard oil - DIY Beard Oil
Moustache Wax - Axe Clean Cut Look Classic Pomade

BFS = Bloody Shave​

Monday, Bloody Monday
Monday, Bloody Monday
Monday, Bloody Monday, Monday, Bloody Monday (alright)

I was able to find some angles to clean around my bottom lip. Anything tried on my chin seemed to cause a nick. Dots are clearing up, so that will help. I might need to wait for my Christmas shaving mirror so I can see better, but I won't

The 'Stache is a pain to work around. It blocks my view, doesn't stay in one place, and has to be protected from getting cut.

I'll give it a week or so, slightly longer is doing well. I look better with a goatee, but want to try to learn shaving my chin.
Alum lit me up like never before!

 

[Clay S]

Straight Razor Shave #25
2018/11/04 Shave:
Prep - CVS brand Noxzema/hot towel/lather/hot towel/DIY Pre-shave oil.
Razor - Dubl-Duck Special No.1
Soap - Pre de Provence
Brush - Omega S10019
Post - Alum, Witch Hazel, Sea Breeze Sensitive, Dove Men+Care Hydrate+
Result - SAS (maybe) on chin, CCS elsewhere
Beard oil - DIY Beard Oil

Chin was bruised from abuse it took yesterday. Gingerly found some angles that work on some parts, occasionally felt the edge grab flesh, but no red hi-lighter marked the occasions. Didn't look like lipstick smeared on my chin like yesterday. Spent forever on the chin. Alum reported nothing.

 

[Clay S]

Straight Razor Shave #26
2018/11/06 Shave:
Prep - CVS brand Noxzema/hot towel/lather/hot towel/DIY Pre-shave oil/hot towel
Razor - Blue Diamond 106 / S. R. Droescher Carwood, N. J. SR
Soap - Wild West Shaving Co.'s Pinkerton
Brush - Vie-Long 12601
Post - Alum, Witch Hazel, Sea Breeze Sensitive
Result - SAS (maybe)
Beard oil - DIY Beard Oil

Sliced myself twice with the tip Thursday. I guess I shouldn't try SR when not feeling very well.

I do think I made progress on my chin though.

 

[MilkCrate]

Bummer about the slices. When I got into the 30’s, things just started to click.

 

[Clay S]

LOL The /11/ shaves should read /12/ took Movember off, but didn't bump the month number twice to accommodate for it!

The past week I have been test driving a Rex Ambassador in a pass around. It shaves quite nice and is very well made. I would consider buying one as an heirloom razor, if I had any kids. I don't think it shaves any better than my Slim though, so . . .

Bummer about the slices. When I got into the 30’s, things just started to click.

I wasn't feeling well. Was light headed, etc. Not the best time to put a sharpened piece of steel next to your jugular or carotid. On a plus, my chin was about equal comparing the SR to the DE. So I do think everything is coming along.

 

[Clay S]

Straight Razor Shave #27
2018/12/15 Shave:
Prep - CVS brand Noxzema/hot towel/lather/hot towel/Proraso Green Pre-shave/hot towel
Razor - Dubl-Duck Special No. 1
Soap - QED Essentials Frankincense & Myrrh
Brush - Vie-Long 12601
Post - Alum, Witch Hazel, Sea Breeze Sensitive, Dove Men+Care Hydrate+
Result - DFS
Beard oil - DIY Beard Oil

Much better shaving when not light headed

Did ~40 strops on each of Green .3 micron balsa wood, Red .1 micron balsa wood, and leather.

5 strops on leather after shaving to dry.

Chin is coming along well. Alum highlighted 3 blood spots, but no irritation.

 

[Clay S]

Straight Razor Shave #28
2018/12/16 Shave:
Prep - Shower/CVS brand Noxzema/hot towel/lather/hot towel/Proraso Green Pre-shave/hot towel
Razor - Blue Diamond 106 / S. R. Droescher Carwood, N. J. SR
Soap - Stubble Buster Grunge
Brush - Omega Pro 10098
Post - Alum, Witch Hazel, Sea Breeze Sensitive, Art of Shaving Sandalwood, Reef Point Soaps Earl Grey & Ginger
Result - DFS
Beard oil - DIY Beard Moustache Oil
Moustache Wax - Clubman Neutral

2 1/2 pass shave

The 1/2 pass added a lot of irritation.

 

[Clay S]

A copied Maggard slant head review of mine. So can find easier in future if I want to.

I ride the cap, and on a scale from 1 to 10, my face is NOT sensitive I only started shaving in June with DEs, have been shaving a month with SRs, and took Mouvember off shaving, but shaved twice a day 3 passes for first few months, so that I could "stay the course" with a fixed kit, and experiment with soaps, razors, blades, etc. the second shave. So fairly short time, but with a high degree of changes/experimentation.

With that in mind. I decided to give it further testing based on an unfamiliar, super short handle(single ring nut) dry shaving. So caveat #1 is overstated, if you ride the cap. #2. It does look a lot like your Ikon, but has no scalloping, teeth, or anything on the bar. It is a smooth bar. #3. Don't know how much use the head had before me, but I do see zinc alloy in small places through the plating. In critical areas, near the connections of the posts, both threaded and non-threaded ones. So at some point the post will snap off in the handle. If you were wanting to test the waters of slants, it would be worth the price or adding to a collection Only slant I've tried, so can't compare to others. #4. I've never adjusted it. I start on the cap, roll handle lower until cutting, then carry on. I've noticed it isn't quite aligned visually, but hasn't bothered my shaving. I imagine it would slice a bar rider up though. If that is the case, I would wait until v2, I imagine they will thicken the posts then.

(caveats are at Maggard site)​

 

[Clay S]

Straight Razor Shave #29
2018/12/17 Shave:
Prep - Shower/CVS brand Noxzema/hot towel/lather/hot towel/DIY Pre-Shave Oil
Razor - Blue Diamond 106 / S. R. Droescher Carwood, N. J. SR
Soap - VDH Scented Luxury
Brush - Luxury 10-5 Boar
Post - Alum, Witch Hazel, Sea Breeze Sensitive, Dove Men+Care Hydrate+
Result - CCS
Moustache oil - DIY Moustache Oil

2 pass shave. Slowly learning different skin stretches to handle chin better.

Did a one pass off handed shave as well later

 

[Clay S]

Another copied Post. Goes into further detail about my shave routine that I don't think people would want to hear about daily. My pre-shave lathering soap? I don't think would be of interest. That it is different than my shave soap might be though. Addresses the Meandering part of the title as well.

I have a soap of the phase routine. I'll use one soap for pre-lather/hot towel cycle, and different soap for shave. The pre-lather will most likely be a soap not conducive to SR shaving, but pleasant aroma and/or face conditioning properties. I also use different brushes for both, and a third brush for Noxzema application. That brush I am hoping something changes about it, perhaps making it something I would want to face lather with, or having all the bristles fall out so I would throw it away/re-knot it The shave soap changes daily, pre-shave every 2-3 days. I am currently doing full 2 pass SR shaves every day, except occasionally on the weekend. Bells and whistles both pre and post shave.

As people say:

Variety is the spice of . . argh!
It's too hot!
Where's the milk?
Got Milk?

 

[Clay S]

Straight Razor Shave #30
2018/12/18 Shave:

Had an interesting event while shaving today, will make my 30th shave memorable. Watching the heel, watching the toe, watching the lobe, watching the other hand . . .
One thing I never thought of watching!
My elbow!!
It's positioning in relation to . . .
the light switch!!!

Nothing bad resulted from it. But it did raise the heart rate a bit.


Prep - Shower/CVS brand Noxzema/hot towel/lather/hot towel/Proraso Green Pre-shave
Razor - Blue Diamond 106 / S. R. Droescher Carwood, N. J. SR
Soap - Pinaud Clubman
Brush - Omega S10019
Post - Alum, Witch Hazel, Dove Men+Care Hydrate+, Reef Point Soap's Earl Grey & Ginger
Result - CCS
Moustache oil - DIY Moustache Oil

2 pass shave.

 

[Clay S]

Color me mind blown!
Went to Market Street today (first time ever), an upper end market.
Found Schick Injectors, PAL super single edges, Vitalis, Williams Soap, Widest selection of AS in Brick & Mortar around here AFAIK. But the two part really mind blowing aspect, being a high end store with Williams the only shave soap and NO DE. Zip, da nada. Blades- nope, razors- nope, creams- well Creamo, but that was it.

Straight Razor Shave #31
2018/12/19 Shave:
Prep - Shower/CVS brand Noxzema/hot towel/Proraso Green Pre-Shave
Razor - Blue Diamond 106 / S. R. Droescher Carwood, N. J. SR
Soap - Proraso Green
Brush - Vie-Long 12601
Post - Alum, Witch Hazel, Sea Breeze Sensitive, Blade for Men(CVS) Arctic Blue
Result - SAS
Moustache oil - DIY Moustache Oil

How long does it take to get comfortable with a razor? About 7 days
How often do you cut yourself, not nick? Hmm, about 8 days apart

1 horrible pass today.
got sloppy. flick of the wrist. square tip. slice near my ear.
Within a minute. Brushed lower lip with edge while positioning to do chin. No idea how/why didn't cut.
Plenty of pressure was applied, guess it had just enough sideward vector to scrape along rather than biting in.
Very slowly finished and figured my head wasn't in the game. I quit while I wasn't any further behind.

Noticed in the mirror that the cut area looked like a blister, hadn't ever bothered to look at a cut from shaving before. Had plenty of cuts over my life from various things, so wasn't a deal once bleed stopped. Found out why these square toe cuts bleed so long after applying styptic. They result in a flap of skin laying over the cut, so the styptic was barely getting on the cut. I'll have to try getting under the flap next time, hopefully longer than the 8 days

 

[Clay S]

Horrible shave. Long day.

 

[MilkCrate]

Horrible shave. Long day.

That doesn’t sound good at all.