My "Ah-Ha!" Moments

[gpjoe]

Happy shaving anniversary, @gpjoe !

Thank you.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I used to hang out at an audiophile headphone and amplifier forum (Head-Fi, don't go there - you've been warned ). Anyway, discussions used to get so heated, that the forum instituted a "no discussion of blind-listening" policy, meaning you couldn't rabidly debate the infinitesimal differences of the sonic differences between a $5 power cable and a $1200 power cable.

To illustrate the ridiculousness on display there, some members will swear as gospel that by replacing their $5 power cable (like the one connected to a computer tower) with a hand-made $1200 cable fashioned by a boutique cable-maker from the exact same copper, plus a dash of unicorn tears, their $5000 headphone amp sounds infinitely better than it does with the crappy $5 cable. Forget about the MILES of aluminum power cable supplying their home, and the copper, un-shielded Romex in the walls of their home - that last 3ft of $1200 cable makes their headphones sing like angels in heaven.

I can't verify their claims but I suspect that the above claim would bring a huge smile to the face of P. T. Barnum (even if it wasn't his quote).

1,000x YES! I couldn’t stand it. It is not possible. The confirmation bias of buying that $1,200 cable was the reason. So glad to hear someone else say it as well!

 

[flask28]

Great post!! And happy shaving anniversary!!

 

[lasta]

1,000x YES! I couldn’t stand it. It is not possible. The confirmation bias of buying that $1,200 cable was the reason. So glad to hear someone else say it as well!

I prefer ASR to Head-fi.

But we probably have similar policies here about discussions on blade manufacturing.

IMO, after trying many, there are threholds/perceivable differences, but objective ratings on sharpness/smoothness are unreliable.

I would probably draw two different frequency response curves listening to the same headphone if it was morning/night...

 

[gpjoe]

So, I'm a bit bored. After buying every shiny thing that caught my attention (and wasn't so expensive that I lost sleep) I thought I had reached my saturation point.

I've amassed over 3 dozen razors, most vintage with maybe 8-10 modern, 1500 DE blades, (at least) 500 DE half-blades, 15 brushes, more than a dozen jars of soap, and a bunch of AS.

More than enough for two lifetimes.

But why stop there?

After watching some videos by Barber T on YouTube, I became fascinated by his open blade shaving. He's probably been holding a shavette since before he could walk, so his shaves look impossibly easy.

More research reveals that he is using a Turkish barber razor, a Sedef, which uses DE hal-blades, of which I have at least 500 (probably more), soooo...off to ebay.

I find that you can buy one razor for around 5-6 bucks, or half a dozen for 12 bucks (including shipping), so of course I buy the half dozen. After all: one is none (gotta have a backup, or five).

In the mean time, I'm reading a bit in the SR forum here, and discover that Feather makes a shavette that accepts AC blades. I am intrigued as I have a small stockpile of AC blades for my Vector.

Since the bug has clearly bitten, I post a WTB in the BST forum to see if anyone has a Feather they want to re-home. I get a response from a member that has two: a Western style (folder) and a Kamisori (non-folder). He says: You can have your choice, either one for $XX.

So I bought both.

This arrived today:

Sidebar: I've found that many Ebay sellers will often offer you a discount on items saved to your watch list. Ultimately, I was offered the six razors at 10% off, so it was less than $12 including tax and shipping. On top of that, the seller included 6 half-blades, and hilariously (forebodingly?...necessarily?) included a book of styptic "matches".

Now, I'm kinda terrified.

Anyway, Barber T makes it look like a walk in the park, so I carefully plan my first open razor shave. I insert blades into all three razors while my brush soaks. My plan is to shave all the "flats" - cheeks, upper lip, neck - and to avoid all edges and crevices - chin and jawline. I would finish and touch up with a DE.

I start on my left cheek with the Turk, the razor nearly flat and then raised the spine until I felt and heard whiskers being cut. It actually was going very well.

Of course, I had the two Feather razors at the ready, so I switched to the Kamisori for a bit, and it also shaved well, though required more of an angle to engage to blade (ProGuard).

So far so good.

I shave as much as I am comfortable with, doing a WTG and XTG on my cheeks and upper lip, mainly using the $2 razor. I very lightly GRAZE my chin with the razor hoping to get some of the stubble, still terrified that I am going to open a gaping wound on my face. It doesn't do much, and I've had enough, so I move onto my DE.

I lather up an do a quick XTG pass on my cheeks, and was shocked that I got ZERO audible feedback. That crappy $2 razor had done quite a job. Of course my chin and neck needed work, so I did one final ATG pass and a touchup.

Surprisingly, I got a great shave, with no nicks or blood at all, and no irritation.

If there is an Ah-Ha! moment here, it is this:

I went back and watched Barber T shaving himself, and noticed he (and every other barber) NEVER does an ATG pass. It is usually a two-pass shave, WTG and XTG, which I'm guessing results in a SAS or at best a DFS.

So, that will be my near-term goal: a 2-pass SAS, eventually DSF. After today, I know I can do it.

 

[Guido75]

Barber Turko makes shaving look super easy indeed, no matter what the surface. And at least on video he knows his trade because I hardly ever see weepers or cuts.

Way to go Joe on your journey (and honest reflection too)! This is one area I have not ventured into but am curious about. I have no interest in the full straight razor type of razors. So interested to learn about your journey.

Nice!

Guido

 

[flask28]

So, I'm a bit bored. After buying every shiny thing that caught my attention (and wasn't so expensive that I lost sleep) I thought I had reached my saturation point.

I've amassed over 3 dozen razors, most vintage with maybe 8-10 modern, 1500 DE blades, (at least) 500 DE half-blades, 15 brushes, more than a dozen jars of soap, and a bunch of AS.

More than enough for two lifetimes.

But why stop there?

After watching some videos by Barber T on YouTube, I became fascinated by his open blade shaving. He's probably been holding a shavette since before he could walk, so his shaves look impossibly easy.

More research reveals that he is using a Turkish barber razor, a Sedef, which uses DE hal-blades, of which I have at least 500 (probably more), soooo...off to ebay.

I find that you can buy one razor for around 5-6 bucks, or half a dozen for 12 bucks (including shipping), so of course I buy the half dozen. After all: one is none (gotta have a backup, or five).

In the mean time, I'm reading a bit in the SR forum here, and discover that Feather makes a shavette that accepts AC blades. I am intrigued as I have a small stockpile of AC blades for my Vector.

Since the bug has clearly bitten, I post a WTB in the BST forum to see if anyone has a Feather they want to re-home. I get a response from a member that has two: a Western style (folder) and a Kamisori (non-folder). He says: You can have your choice, either one for $XX.

So I bought both.

This arrived today:

View attachment 1622271View attachment 1622270View attachment 1622269

Sidebar: I've found that many Ebay sellers will often offer you a discount on items saved to your watch list. Ultimately, I was offered the six razors at 10% off, so it was less than $12 including tax and shipping. On top of that, the seller included 6 half-blades, and hilariously (forebodingly?...necessarily?) included a book of styptic "matches".

Now, I'm kinda terrified.

Anyway, Barber T makes it look like a walk in the park, so I carefully plan my first open razor shave. I insert blades into all three razors while my brush soaks. My plan is to shave all the "flats" - cheeks, upper lip, neck - and to avoid all edges and crevices - chin and jawline. I would finish and touch up with a DE.

I start on my left cheek with the Turk, the razor nearly flat and then raised the spine until I felt and heard whiskers being cut. It actually was going very well.

Of course, I had the two Feather razors at the ready, so I switched to the Kamisori for a bit, and it also shaved well, though required more of an angle to engage to blade (ProGuard).

So far so good.

I shave as much as I am comfortable with, doing a WTG and XTG on my cheeks and upper lip, mainly using the $2 razor. I very lightly GRAZE my chin with the razor hoping to get some of the stubble, still terrified that I am going to open a gaping wound on my face. It doesn't do much, and I've had enough, so I move onto my DE.

I lather up an do a quick XTG pass on my cheeks, and was shocked that I got ZERO audible feedback. That crappy $2 razor had done quite a job. Of course my chin and neck needed work, so I did one final ATG pass and a touchup.

Surprisingly, I got a great shave, with no nicks or blood at all, and no irritation.

If there is an Ah-Ha! moment here, it is this:

I went back and watched Barber T shaving himself, and noticed he (and every other barber) NEVER does an ATG pass. It is usually a two-pass shave, WTG and XTG, which I'm guessing results in a SAS or at best a DFS.

So, that will be my near-term goal: a 2-pass SAS, eventually DSF. After today, I know I can do it.

Fantastic, epic post!!

How cool you've found a new part of the hobby to explore! I hope you follow you down this road myself in the future. I'm with you, the feeling of saturation can be real. You've been digging into so many different parts of the hobby it seems like Jedi Master status is just around the corner for you.

 

[Rosseforp]

I have no interest in the full straight razor type of razors.

Where is your sense of adventure Guido? The Feather DX makes it easy to transition...

~doug~

 

[Guido75]

Where is your sense of adventure Guido? The Feather DX makes it easy to transition...

~doug~

Ah but that is a shavette - that I see in my timeline at some point. I am just not into the honing, grinding, stropping thing. And I have a Rolls Razor which is somewhat half way too. Maybe for SEptember.

And my Razorine Flatboy can provide my an adventure of a life time for sure!

Guido

 

[gpjoe]

Ah but that is a shavette - that I see in my timeline at some point. I am just not into the honing, grinding, stropping thing. And I have a Rolls Razor which is somewhat half way too. Maybe for SEptember.

And my Razorine Flatboy can provide my an adventure of a life time for sure!

Guido

That's why I chose to try the shavettes. No honing or stopping, just replace a blade.

My understanding is that a SR is more forgiving than a shavette so I am starting out slowly, and very carefully.

 

[Robertsr]

You did better than I on my first shavette attempt. I was confidently mowing beard right up to the point where I gave myself a GI Joe scar up on my cheekbone.

I've not yet ventured back into straight razors. There are parts of my face I'm still using.

 

[gpjoe]

You did better than I on my first shavette attempt. I was confidently mowing beard right up to the point where I gave myself a GI Joe scar up on my cheekbone.

I've not yet ventured back into straight razors. There are parts of my face I'm still using.

Well, since my initial shave, I've had 2 or 3 more with the shavettes, and had a couple weepers and a bit of irritation.

I'm gonna stick with it, sprinkling in a few shaves here and there with my DEs, or I may start with the shavettes for a first pass and finish with my DE as I did the first time.

I have yet to have a 100% shave with either (any) of the shavettes and always need major touch up with my DE.

Regardless, my open blade shaving is very much a work in progress, but I intend to CAREFULLY move forward.

 

[rbscebu]

@gpjoe, have you ordered your Titan kit?

 

[gpjoe]

@gpjoe, have you ordered your Titan kit?

Not yet. I'm still thinking of my next move.

The kit, or to look for a shave ready razor from somebody here on the forum? I saw yours in the BST forum and thought that might be a good place to start, just not sure if I'm ready to make the jump yet.

At some point I will probably just order the kit as it includes everything I need to get started for the same cost as 15 Feather AC blades.

 

[gpjoe]

@rbscebu

Just to be certain, this is the kit, correct?

 

[rbscebu]

@rbscebu

Just to be certain, this is the kit, correct?

View attachment 1626326

That is the correct kit. Just make sure that the select the correct "color". Do not select the 251. Either of the other two options are recommended.

Once past the initial pasted stropping to get it shave-ready, I think you will be surprised how easy it is to maintain a blade's edge.

Don't expect a perfect shave on your first try. That comes with practice and edge refining using just the pasted strop supplied.

I am shaving with mine again this morning. The only thing I miss with this SR is the comfort when doing the CdM (ATG on upper lip). To achieve that level of comfort, I need a diamond pasted balsa edge.

 

[Old Hippie]

I went back and watched Barber T shaving himself, and noticed he (and every other barber) NEVER does an ATG pass.

Congratulations! I have a clone Feather SS western and an actual Feather SR kamisori. The SR nicely splits the difference between the SS and DX. I found head shaving with a western to be occasionally awkward but doable. With the kamisori it's much nicer.

As I recall. I kinda got away from naked blades after having troubles with ATG. You mighta just put your finger on my problem. Thanks!

O.H.

 

[rbscebu]

The 251 "color" has the same blade as the others, it is just that the 251 has plastic scales while the other two use timder (Madagascan mahogany or Africal black wood). I'm a timber man.

 

[gpjoe]

That is the correct kit. Just make sure that the select the correct "color". Do not select the 251. Either of the other two options are recommended.

Once past the initial pasted stropping to get it shave-ready, I think you will be surprised how easy it is to maintain a blade's edge.

Don't expect a perfect shave on your first try. That comes with practice and edge refining using just the pasted strop supplied.

I am shaving with mine again this morning. The only thing I miss with this SR is the comfort when doing the CdM (ATG on upper lip). To achieve that level of comfort, I need a diamond pasted balsa edge.

Ok, I just ordered the kit. XMHW - the brown wooden handle version, $20 and some change.

Let the waiting begin.

 

[rbscebu]

Ok, I just ordered the kit. XMHW - the brown wooden handle version, $20 and some change.

Let the waiting begin.

You only get one strop so use it with care. Don't rush your stropping and concentrate!

I went from carts directly into SR shsaving and didn't try a shavette until after about 50 or 60 daily SR shaves. Your SR shaving experience may be different now coming from a shavette. I will be interested in following your SR shaving development.