My Search For Smooth

[TinyT]

Shave 101

Fatip Gentile
Perma Sharp (10)
Semogue 1438
Proraso Green Preshave
Proraso Green

Face lather, 2 passes, both WTG

First pass, WTG and I followed the advice dished out to beginners ie. don't keep going over the same area; only shave where there is lather etc, except for pressure, of which I used a considerable amount, albeit with a shallow angle and the secure knowledge of exactly how much I can get away with using this particular razor. It went without a hitch. No tugging, no irritation and very comfortable indeed.

Pass 2, WTG again. I reloaded for this pass and the lather was absolutely perfect, thick, shiny, well hydrated. It shaved like a dream too, nary a murmer of discomfort anywhere.

After a cold water splash I had a check. The front edge and face of my chin, upper lip, far left and right jawline below the ears; all of these areas are not as close as my normal WTG, XTG shave. The area directly beneath my chin is closer, lower lip, cheeks and jawline roughly the same, maybe a tad less close. The post shave is great but not significantly better or worse than usual. All in all, I know my normal routine gets me a better shave, if with a little a more difficulty.

No weepers, no razor burn. Regrets?

 

[TinyT]

A couple of hours after the 2 pass WTG shave and I have to say that the post shave comfort is really quite a bit better than I first thought, yet the differences in closeness are minimal, with small gains in some areas and small losses in others. Hmmm.

 

[JoWolf]

Shave 101

View attachment 1111519

Fatip Gentile
Perma Sharp (10)
Semogue 1438
Proraso Green Preshave
Proraso Green

Face lather, 2 passes, both WTG

First pass, WTG and I followed the advice dished out to beginners ie. don't keep going over the same area; only shave where there is lather etc, except for pressure, of which I used a considerable amount, albeit with a shallow angle and the secure knowledge of exactly how much I can get away with using this particular razor. It went without a hitch. No tugging, no irritation and very comfortable indeed.

Pass 2, WTG again. I reloaded for this pass and the lather was absolutely perfect, thick, shiny, well hydrated. It shaved like a dream too, nary a murmer of discomfort anywhere.

After a cold water splash I had a check. The front edge and face of my chin, upper lip, far left and right jawline below the ears; all of these areas are not as close as my normal WTG, XTG shave. The area directly beneath my chin is closer, lower lip, cheeks and jawline roughly the same, maybe a tad less close. The post shave is great but not significantly better or worse than usual. All in all, I know my normal routine gets me a better shave, if with a little a more difficulty.

No weepers, no razor burn. Regrets?

Great song Wes. If the shave moves up a notch. With all due respect, I think we need an Italian tune.

 

[TinyT]

If the shave moves up a notch. With all due respect, I think we need an Italian tune.

Yeah, lol, I'll try and find one!

 

[TinyT]

Shave 102

Fatip Gentile
Perma-Sharp (11)
Semogue 1438
Proraso Green Preshave
Palmolive Classic

2 passes, both WTG

This was more like a wrestling match than a shave. I'd made a great trial lather with Palmolive a couple days ago with my Omega boar. A small blob of lather on the soaked bristles and bob's your uncle. Not so tonight. The dollop of cream on the brush was pretty unresponsive. Goaded, I attacked my face, scrubbing with the brush and gradually a layer of white cream coated my face. I wasn't to be fooled so I dipped the brush, squeezed another half inch of cream on the bristles, massaged it a bit with my fingers and lathered again. Not ideal but at least it now looked like a proper lather.

First pass, WTG. No tugging but I couldn't call it smooth. I stretched my lower lip more than usual and knew that, just like everywhere else, I was over shaving. I did my upper lip and relathered my neck with what was now a dried out paste. I shaved it anyway and it wasn't too bad. A weeper lower lip, left side and a bit of creeping irritation.

Pass 2, WTG again and I squirted an almond sized amount of cream in my bowl intending to get a bit of lather going on my brush before lathering. It was runny and bubbly so I had to keep at it and I was basically bowl lathering by the end. It still required work as I put it on my face and it didn't feel great. I called it a day with a lather that was just about slick enough but a bit bubbly. I've got a whole tube of this cream to practice with. Lucky me! I started out letting the weight of the razor do the work, no pressure, but before long I was over shaving again.My face was starting to respond as I carried on, soreness building, not helped by one or two painful, careless strokes of the razor. After finishing my neck I rinsed off, my face stinging a little here and there and I patted dry.

After a final cold water splash it was clear that all that over-shaving, whilst not comfortable, had gotten me a pretty close shave. A few red blotches to the right of my mouth mocked me for my poor technique and excessive pressure. The mild irritation calmed fairly quickly though. My lower lip, for all the extra stretching and pressure strokes is barely closer than normal and certainly not worth the extra discomfort but my right jawline is remarkably close and even, the front edge of my chin also, so I'll be seeing if I can replicate that on the left side in future. The post shave: Meh.

I'll be back to my 2 pass WTG, XTG shave next time, except for my jawline where I'll try to repeat what I did tonight.

 

[TinyT]

Shave 103

Fatip Gentile
Perma Sharp (12)
Omega boar
Proraso Green Preshave
Proraso White

Face lather, 2 Passes, WTG, XTG

It's been a while since I used my Omega brush. It felt very different loading from the tub, narrower and longer. It felt very springy on my face but lathered like a dream and I didn't need to reload between passes either. I mash a little now, which I never used to do and it splayed easily but with resistance, if that makes sense. Anyway, it's very nice. I've been missing out!

First pass, WTG. The lather was slick and shiny, the razor glided everywhere. No tugging or pulling at any stage. I rinsed with no irritation.

Quickly onto pass 2 and the familiar territory of XTG. Hardly any pressure, just enough to be effective. No tugging again, in fact not a single difficult or uncomfortable stroke. I can say, without exaggeration, that the entire shave was completely smooth from start to finish. A little stinging to my right jaw as I rinsed off, then a final cold water splash.

No irritation, a spot of blood on the underside of my jaw and a red blotch to my upper jaw, right side where I'd tried a little too hard. Closer than my last couple of shaves but with twice the comfort, my right jawline is as smooth as the cheek above it and a very nice, well moisturised post shave.

 

[Esox]

I mash a little now, which I never used to do and it splayed easily but with resistance, if that makes sense. Anyway, it's very nice. I've been missing out!

I splay my synthetic completely when I load it. That way the entire length of the fibers pick up the soap and not only the tips. I also splay it completely when I build the lather on my face.

My badger I do pretty much the same but I only splay it enough to cover the entire inside of the tub when loading.

My Omega boar I'd splay the knot about half way, soap depending. Proraso is pretty soft and it would be very easy to overload the brush. Using only the tips takes too long.

 

[JoWolf]

Shave 103

View attachment 1113192

Fatip Gentile
Perma Sharp (12)
Omega boar
Proraso Green Preshave
Proraso White

Face lather, 2 Passes, WTG, XTG

It's been a while since I used my Omega brush. It felt very different loading from the tub, narrower and longer. It felt very springy on my face but lathered like a dream and I didn't need to reload between passes either. I mash a little now, which I never used to do and it splayed easily but with resistance, if that makes sense. Anyway, it's very nice. I've been missing out!

First pass, WTG. The lather was slick and shiny, the razor glided everywhere. No tugging or pulling at any stage. I rinsed with no irritation.

Quickly onto pass 2 and the familiar territory of XTG. Hardly any pressure, just enough to be effective. No tugging again, in fact not a single difficult or uncomfortable stroke. I can say, without exaggeration, that the entire shave was completely smooth from start to finish. A little stinging to my right jaw as I rinsed off, then a final cold water splash.

No irritation, a spot of blood on the underside of my jaw and a red blotch to my upper jaw, right side where I'd tried a little too hard. Closer than my last couple of shaves but with twice the comfort, my right jawline is as smooth as the cheek above it and a very nice, well moisturised post shave.

The lather was slick and shiny, the razor glided everywhere.

My my I love that lather

 

[TinyT]

I splay my synthetic completely when I load it. That way the entire length of the fibers pick up the soap and not only the tips. I also splay it completely when I build the lather on my face.

My badger I do pretty much the same but I only splay it enough to cover the entire inside of the tub when loading.

My Omega boar I'd splay the knot about half way, soap depending. Proraso is pretty soft and it would be very easy to overload the brush. Using only the tips takes too long.

My Semogue splays in the tub almost just from the weight of the brush and very easily on the face. The Omega, by contrast, when I started face lathering it felt like a coiled spring. I applied pressure gradually and nothing....nothing....nothing...and then SPLAY!

 

[TinyT]

My my I love that lather

 

[TinyT]

Fatip Gentile
Perma Sharp (13)
Omega boar
Proraso Green Preshave
Proraso Red

I splayed the bush while loading, then face lathered, mashing like a madman. Soap went up my nose, so far that I could taste it. The lather was nice and shiny in short order. This little brush is brutally effective.

2 passes, WTG, XTG. The first was plain sailing all the way. I've mastered the grip for the awkward chin to ear, right jawline section, same for the right side of my neck, east to west, second pass. A little too much blade feel on the approach to my chin, right side, XTG. I repeated the trick left side. Too much pressure or wrong angle or both. No tugging anywhere and no irritation apart from a quick sting either side of my mouth when I first rinsed off.

A good post shave caps off what is my closest shave in genuine comfort so far.

 

[Esox]

A good post shave caps off what is my closest shave in genuine comfort so far.

When you can do that on your worst day, its time to step up to the OC.

 

[TinyT]

When you can do that on your worst day, its time to step up to the OC.

Good idea. I usually tend to plough forward when I'm full of misplaced confidence.

 

[TinyT]

Fatip Gentile
Perma Sharp (14)
Omega boar
Proraso Green preshave
Cella

Tonights shave was an absolute belter. 2 passes, WTG, XTG and the Cella produced a superb lather, cushiony, almost in a Father Christmas way but very, very slick with it. No tugging whatsoever first pass and no irritation when I rinsed. I didn't reload for the next pass and the lather was thinner than I've gotten used to but thick enough, and so slick I went with it.

There was a nice moment during the second pass, at my lower lip where I'd been aware of a little more audio than usual. So I adjusted the razor angle until I could feel the cap against my face and when I pulled down not only was the stroke silent, it felt soft on my skin, so I did my best to maintain it till the end of the shave. I just about pulled it off to complete a shave that was smooth from beginning to end.

A world class post shave with zero irritation or dryness, only let down by a small missed patch underneath my far jawline, left and right side. As I dried the brush on my towel it appears to be going through something of a second breaking in period. @Chan Eil Whiskers talks a bit about good scritch and bad scritch. I think I've got an idea of what he's on about now. This brush has a certain feel when face lathering that could be described as scratchy but that makes it sounds harsher than it is. It's a good sensation, a feeling that I know I'm working with something natural, animal, imperfect maybe, but how it should be. Man, I feel connected!

Sweet shave.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

View attachment 1114840

Fatip Gentile
Perma Sharp (14)
Omega boar
Proraso Green preshave
Cella

Tonights shave was an absolute belter. 2 passes, WTG, XTG and the Cella produced a superb lather, cushiony, almost in a Father Christmas way but very, very slick with it. No tugging whatsoever first pass and no irritation when I rinsed. I didn't reload for the next pass and the lather was thinner than I've gotten used to but thick enough, and so slick I went with it.

There was a nice moment during the second pass, at my lower lip where I'd been aware of a little more audio than usual. So I adjusted the razor angle until I could feel the cap against my face and when I pulled down not only was the stroke silent, it felt soft on my skin, so I did my best to maintain it till the end of the shave. I just about pulled it off to complete a shave that was smooth from beginning to end.

A world class post shave with zero irritation or dryness, only let down by a small missed patch underneath my far jawline, left and right side. As I dried the brush on my towel it appears to be going through something of a second breaking in period. @Chan Eil Whiskers talks a bit about good scritch and bad scritch. I think I've got an idea of what he's on about now. This brush has a certain feel when face lathering that could be described as scratchy but that makes it sounds harsher than it is. It's a good sensation, a feeling that I know I'm working with something natural, animal, imperfect maybe, but how it should be. Man, I feel connected!

Sweet shave.

Exactly so.

 

[TinyT]

Fatip Gentile
Perma Sharp (15)
Omega boar
Proraso Green Preshave
Rasozero Spiffero

My run of good form continues. Two passes, WTG, XTG and the Omega brush keeps on impressing, delivering a great face lathering experience with no need to reload between passes.

The shallow angle, soft feeling from the last shave continued into this one. This was an easy, enjoyable, smooth shave from the first stroke at my right ear to the last two or three at the top of my neck.

No tugging, no irritation, no blood and no missed areas, all complimented by a great, cooling post shave.

 

[Esox]

Perma Sharp Super, hmmm. I'll have to remember to order some one of these days!

 

[TinyT]

Perma Sharp Super, hmmm. I'll have to remember to order some one of these days!

It was tentatively in my top ten and I didn't expect it to be a one of my top blades in all honesty, but I'm surprised by how much I like it. Still smooth after 15 shaves, cutting as well as the first use and maybe even more comfortably.

 

[TinyT]

Fatip Gentile
Perma Sharp (16)
Omega boar
Proraso Green preshave
Proraso Green

My Omega boar is officially awesome. It loaded so effectively tonight that I used less soap than normal, yet it produced a better, more abundant lather than I've had to date. Face lathering, it felt a little too scritchy to start but it's so damn efficient that I soon forgot about any and all shortcomings. The fact is, there are none. I added an obscene amount of water, dipping the brush carelessly and the lather never even came close to breaking down. As well hydrated as it was, I was able to notice the strong, eucalyptus fragrance of the Proraso green. It accompanied me for the entire shave and very welcome it was too.

2 passes, WTG, XTG, the first of which was perfectly smooth from start to finish. The lather stayed slick and present till I'd done, even on my neck. I was swift but I think it would've been the case whatever. Not only was it an easy pass, it was also a very close first pass. On to number two, and with no need to reload the smooth fest continued. I caught myself doing a funky, semi Gillette slide over the front edge of my chin, from the right side to the centre underside, completely unintentionally. It just happened, the razor sliding in the slickness as if it had a mind of it's own. A bloodless bite on the approach to my chin from the left marred a possibly perfect shave. Even so, it was still my best shave yet.

Close, no irritation and a great post shave to boot. Yep, this brush rocks.

 

[Esox]

It was tentatively in my top ten and I didn't expect it to be a one of my top blades in all honesty, but I'm surprised by how much I like it. Still smooth after 15 shaves, cutting as well as the first use and maybe even more comfortably.

I had about 24 shaves from one in my Gillette Regent. In that razor, they're Nirvana. I kept forgetting to add some to my last three orders lol.