My Grande Journey

[Esox]

Polsilver shave #17.

Blade flipped.

46 hours since last shave.

Slight change this morning. I have an appointment and I wanted a scent that would linger a bit so I used Captain's Choice BAY RUM!

@Cal can chastise me if he feels the need lol, but damn thats a nice scent.

Another slight change being a WTG/XTG first pass, no buffing, steep! See Cal, it evens out . One trade off for another, and both paid off...

The blade performed like a new one. After the first pass if I would be happy with a really nice DFS I would have been done, but nope, BBS all the way. Lather again and buff ATG, wipe and check, missed the angle left side jawline, painted it and wiped the lather off and done.

I have to say this is a damn nice shave too.

 

[dangerousdon]

Mike great shave! Is that shave number 17 on the same Polsilver balde? I guess I haven't been giving my blades enough credit!

 

[Esox]

Mike great shave! Is that shave number 17 on the same Polsilver balde? I guess I haven't been giving my blades enough credit!

Thanks. Thanks for wandering through again too .

Yep it is. Not sure I'll beat Cal's 120 shaves on a single Polsilver....not sure I want too either lol.

 

[Raven Koenes]

Polsilver shave #17.

Blade flipped.

46 hours since last shave.

Slight change this morning. I have an appointment and I wanted a scent that would linger a bit so I used Captain's Choice BAY RUM!

@Cal can chastise me if he feels the need lol, but damn thats a nice scent.

Another slight change being a WTG/XTG first pass, no buffing, steep! See Cal, it evens out . One trade off for another, and both paid off...

The blade performed like a new one. After the first pass if I would be happy with a really nice DFS I would have been done, but nope, BBS all the way. Lather again and buff ATG, wipe and check, missed the angle left side jawline, painted it and wiped the lather off and done.

I have to say this is a damn nice shave too.

Fascinating and well done. You're really getting this whole Grande thing nailed down. I have to break out a Polsilver now my fixed four for December is done. Next week I'm switching over to my new Fatip Wenghe Gentile with a Polsilver then my Fatip Wenghe OC. That's my line up for the foreseeable future, but I'm sure it most likely be another Fatip. Maybe a Grande with an Mk1 head? Oh, I think I might have gone a bit off the deep end, officially, with this whole Fatip thing. That's a big admission for me, but what the hell! Pictures coming.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Mike, I'm having hallucinations. I thought I just heard Rave say he might have gone a bit off the Fatip deep end. I hate it when I find myself hearing voices.

Good thing we're all BOSC.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Raven Koenes]

Mike, I'm having hallucinations. I thought I just heard Rave say he might have gone a bit off the Fatip deep end. I hate it when I find myself hearing voices.

Good thing we're all BOSC.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Momentary lapse of un-reason. I'm better now.

 

[Cal]

The blade performed like a new one.

That remark made me look up my "one liner" notes Mike.
Here's my comment after shave #18 on my Polsilver SI long run:

"As above… AND the blade got sharper AGAIN!"

It had done this previously at shave #10 where my one liner was:

"Very nice. I'm still learning though. Hey! The blade got sharper and smoother during this shave!"

Bear in mind that when I said sharper (and smoother), I meant more so than when new. Those phases lasted from shave #10 through shave #12, and shave #18 through shave #24.

At the start I was changing razors every seven shaves. With you sticking to the one razor Mike, I'm thinking that would/will be a much better way of tracking blade performance. Maybe something to consider for February 1st...

 

[Esox]

Maybe a Grande with an Mk1 head?

I've been thinking about the Mk.1 heads and I'm honestly not sure I'd find it a benefit with how I shave. I tend to shave very shallow and I already have a lot of blade exposure to use. With even the exposure I have available I can feel the blade edge flex at a steeper angle over my harder to shave areas. More exposure would magnify that I think.

Mike, I'm having hallucinations. I thought I just heard Rave say he might have gone a bit off the Fatip deep end. I hate it when I find myself hearing voices.

Rave needs to be congratulated for finally achieving his First Step in the Fatip/Joris Acquisition Anonymous Program

There you go Rave, a Brotherhood specifically geared towards you and others that may need support and possibly counseling lol.

 

[Esox]

That remark made me look up my "one liner" notes Mike.
Here's my comment after shave #18 on my Polsilver SI long run:

"As above… AND the blade got sharper AGAIN!"

It had done this previously at shave #10 where my one liner was:

"Very nice. I'm still learning though. Hey! The blade got sharper and smoother during this shave!"

Bear in mind that when I said sharper (and smoother), I meant more so than when new. Those phases lasted from shave #10 through shave #12, and shave #18 through shave #24.

At the start I was changing razors every seven shaves. With you sticking to the one razor Mike, I'm thinking that would/will be a much better way of tracking blade performance. Maybe something to consider for February 1st...

View attachment 848222

Its funny how the blade has behaved and I can only put it off to coatings wearing or polishing.

A fresh Polsilver blade is very sharp and pretty smooth. As my shaves progressed, on my 4th shave I think it was, the blade really smoothed out while still retaining its initial sharpness. On its 4th shave it was virtually the same to me as a Gillette Yellow on its first shave.

Its become progressively smoother the longer I've used it but the sharpness is fading, slowly I'll admit, with a shave or two here and there with it seeming as sharp or very nearly so as a fresh blade. Then for a shave or two I've found I needed to do considerably more buffing than I normally would have. For yesterdays shave I shaved a bit slower, and used a bit more pressure to have the same efficiency.

My first WTG/XTG pass was quite telling for me. I shaved slower, deliberately slower and while being a steep angle, I used maybe twice my normal amount of pressure. I couldnt or wouldnt have done that with a fresh blade, nor would I have needed too. The lather floating in the sink looked like it had black pepper in it. The only other time I've noticed that much stubble in floating lather is when I use my Regent. The first pass was a very good one and I'll admit it made my second pass easier and more comfortable, but no more effective.

Yesterdays shave was a very nice shave. Really comfortable and I had that 'I dont feel like I've shaved' post shave feel. However, it wasnt as close as usual. The BBS lasted less than 8 hours and I'm guessing about 6.

I'll work on adjusting the angle and pressure a bit to compensate for the drop in performance, but this blade is certainly not 'done' yet. It's still a 2 pass blade and I suspect it will be after 20 shaves. Once I get it into 3 passes or more, I may need to think about swapping it out.

 

[Raven Koenes]

I've been thinking about the Mk.1 heads and I'm honestly not sure I'd find it a benefit with how I shave. I tend to shave very shallow and I already have a lot of blade exposure to use. With even the exposure I have available I can feel the blade edge flex at a steeper angle over my harder to shave areas. More exposure would magnify that I think.



Rave needs to be congratulated for finally achieving his First Step in the Fatip/Joris Acquisition Anonymous Program

View attachment 848331

There you go Rave, a Brotherhood specifically geared towards you and others that may need support and possibly counseling lol.

Does FJAAP promote recovery of more Fatips, and do I get a Fatip/Joris chip?

 

[Esox]

Does FJAAP promote recovery of more Fatips, and do I get a Fatip/Joris chip?

Well yes, of course. Thats the point of membership I think.

Not only do you get a chip, you get The Diamond Chip as you have many Fatip and Joris razors.



You also get a badge. (Levissimae is Latin for smoothest)



a crest,



and differing grades of membership.



The more Fatip and Joris razors one owns, the higher their grade of membership. So far I believe, you're winning lol.

 

[Cal]

It's become progressively smoother the longer I've used it but the sharpness is fading, slowly I'll admit, with a shave or two here and there with it seeming as sharp or very nearly so as a fresh blade.

(Unless you've read it before) I believe you'll find this post by @bosseb at the Excalibur Club interesting Mike.

 

[Cal]

I've been thinking about the Mk.1 heads and I'm honestly not sure I'd find it a benefit with how I shave. I tend to shave very shallow and I already have a lot of blade exposure to use. With even the exposure I have available I can feel the blade edge flex at a steeper angle over my harder to shave areas. More exposure would magnify that I think.

That's a very good (and valid IMO) point Mike.

DIGRESSION:
One thing that often amuses me, is many professed "shallow only" shavers talking about things like blade gap, and raving about adjustable razors. The way I see it, is that if someone shaves "shallow only" they never use the guard so they might as well all use No-Guards/Devettes.

 

[Esox]

(Unless you've read it before) I believe you'll find this post by @bosseb at the Excalibur Club interesting Mike.

I'm not sure I'll see the numbers he seems to reach, but thats ok lol.

One thing that often amuses me, is many professed "shallow only" shavers talking about things like blade gap, and raving about adjustable razors. The way I see it, is that if someone shaves "shallow only" they never use the guard so they might as well all use No-Guards/Devettes.

I personally see no advantage to an adjustable razor at all. I really wanted a gold plated long handle Black Beauty, but no longer. Increasing blade gap may help a shave to a point, but in my mind the comfort and security of the shave is lost much quicker as gap increases and I find gap completely unnecessary. Especially with a using a shallow angle as you point out. The razor could have 3 feet of gap and it wouldnt matter as it wouldnt be used anyway.

I'm keeping all my gold and brass teeth right where they belong. How else would I drag the soap back when I'm buffing , but in theory yes I agree, the comb/safety bar is far from an essential piece for shaving shallow.

 

[Esox]

Polsilver shave #18.

Blade flipped.

51 hours since last shave and back to CC 45th.


Since the last shave went so well I thought I'd repeat it.

First pass WTG/XTG no buffing. Some tugging, but not bad.

Second pass ATG buffing. A lot of buffing really but all done in the same lathering pass.

A really nice, comfortable shave. Not quite BBS left side jawline and under the left corner of my chin, but pretty damn close. I would have buffed more but I felt warmth starting so I stopped.

It was -25C here at 630 this morning with a windchill of -31C, thats -13F and a w/c value of -23.8F for the Centigrade(Celsius) challenged lol. I knew as soon as I inhaled my first breath this morning going to shovel the plow in. My nose hairs freeze at -20C first breath. The hair on my head freezes at -50C, but thats another story...or 3-ish lol.

With the furnace going so much the air is very dry. The lather was drying on my face and I had to wet my hand and wipe my face several times while I was buffing.

Humidity this low isnt exactly conducive to great shaves lol.

 

[MaineYooper]

It was -25C here at 630 this morning with a windchill of -31C, thats -13F and a w/c value of -23.8F for the Centigrade(Celsius) challenged lol. I knew as soon as I inhaled my first breath this morning going to shovel the plow in. My nose hairs freeze at -20C first breath. The hair on my head freezes at -50C, but thats another story...or 3-ish lol.

I grew up in Michigan's Upper Penninsula, and taught there for 7 years prior to 2001. Typically January saw 2 - 3 weeks of below zero F temps. Growing up, my Mom called that cold weather "nose sticking" cold, as your nostrils stick together when inhaling deeply through your nose!!

 

[Esox]

Growing up, my Mom called that cold weather "nose sticking" cold, as your nostrils stick together when inhaling deeply through your nose!!

Thats funny, and she was right lol.

I remember one day in Regina Saskatchewan and it was -49C, with the windchill it was -89C. Yes, -89C! I was walking to the store and spit on the road as I stepped off the curb. It froze solid before it hit the road and bounced.

I've been telling that story since the day it happened in 1983 and I'm still not sure anyone believes me lol.

In Regina back then those temps were considered 'normal' and when it got to -40C, which equals -40F, they'd put ticker tape style warnings on the TV stating "Exposed skin will freeze in less than one minute."

It doesnt get that cold these days as often, but it was -47C in Fort McMurray Alberta the other night.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

One thing that often amuses me, is many professed "shallow only" shavers talking about things like blade gap, and raving about adjustable razors. The way I see it, is that if someone shaves "shallow only" they never use the guard so they might as well all use No-Guards/Devettes.

I get your point, but the guard is still a guard. It's there if you need it even if you don't usually or ever go near it. Insurance.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Esox]

 

[MaineYooper]

View attachment 848634 View attachment 848635

LOL!!

(this is a real thing, a Bread Lame?!)