Need advice on DFS

[mgweatherly]

I am still relatively new to DE wet shaving, and I have had a weird week of three shaving experiences that included one of the strangest yesterday. On Monday, I ventured into the realm of vintage blade shaving with a 1950 Gillette Blue blade. It was a very tug-filled irritating shave (Blue Blade Shave). The next day, I tried to get back to "normal" by using a brand new Personna Platinum in a Gillette Super Speed. Essentially, I shredded my face (Shredding Save).

Yesterday (Thursday), I thought I needed to go mild to protect my still angry face, and I wanted to give the Personna Platinum another chance. So I put that blade into my Merkur 34C and lathered my face with my Semogue 820 boar brush loaded with some French Monsavon hard, tallow-based soap that I bought in Marseilles on my recent vacation. My theory was that I just needed a decent shave without any more shredding or irritation. I eventually finished in FOUR passes but I felt compelled to switch the razor and blade during my shave. Here is the stuff I used in various combinations (Semogue 820 not pictured).

I would like to learn something from this experience, but I'm just a little confused. I lathered for every one of my four passes. Here is the blow-by-blow:

1. First pass with the Personna/Merkur 34C going WTG was "noisy" and felt like it barely removed any whiskers. It was very comfortable though.
2. Undaunted, second pass with the Personna/Merkur 34C going XTG. It felt like NOTHING got removed but, again, was very comfortable.
3. I thought something isn't working with either the 34C or the Personna blade, so I put that blade into my Rockwell 6S with plate #2 (prioritizing comfort and using a razor that I "know" better). I went XTG but in the other direction and made some progress knocking my stubble down. Still very comfortable, but still very slow "progress." I had not yet reached DFS closeness (perhaps SAS). I thought, is the blade the problem?
4. On my last pass, I switched back to the 34C, but with a twice-used Wilkinson Sword blade (the blade I probably know the most about). I went ATG on this pass and did some very minor touch ups. Still very comfortable. This pass seemed to finish the job at a DFS level of closeness. I thought going for a fifth pass to chase BBS was just asking for trouble, so I stopped.

What should I take away from this experience? I realize that I may have varied too many parameters in one shave to learn anything. I just wanted a comfortable and close enough shave after my terrible Tuesday experience. I thought the wise B&B community could help me distill this latest experience into something useful.

Thoughts?

 

[NorthernSoul]

Well, you don't need a thick layer of lather. More lather just gets in the way.

If you are not cutting whiskers, it means your shaving angle is not optimal. Sometimes people advise "riding the cap" but that means you don't get as much blade exposure as you would with a steeper angle. Try starting with the razor guard on the face, handle close to vertical. Now, rotate the handle more towards the horizontal, until you feel the blade. Then, rotate the handle just a bit more towards the horizontal. Try to maintain an angle between that position and the neutral angle (midway between "riding the cap" and "riding the guard"). See if you can keep the blade and the guard in contact with the face with very little pressure.

 

[mgweatherly]

Well, you don't need a thick layer of lather. More lather just gets in the way.

Thanks for the response.

On the lathering, after the first pass, each of my successive layers of lather was lighter.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Too many changes at once. The 34c is a fine shaver but has a rather narrow window where it cuts efficiently so most probably your angle was off. Going ATG you found and maintained it so it worked.

 

[mgweatherly]

Too many changes at once. The 34c is a fine shaver but has a rather narrow window where it cuts efficiently so most probably your angle was off. Going ATG you found and maintained it so it worked.

Thank you. It was only my second shave with the Merkur 34C. I went to it because I recall the first shave with it being very mild. I'll keep that in mind when I use it in the future.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Thank you. It was only my second shave with the Merkur 34C. I went to it because I recall the first shave with it being very mild. I'll keep that in mind when I use it in the future.

The blue Gillette carbon blades are only for display after all those years. You would be really lucky to find a pristine exemplar that is somehow comparable to even the cheapest stainless blade.

Personna Platinums are good blades and liked by most everyone be it noob or old hand so I guess you either overshaved (going often over an area without sufficient lather) or your suspicion with the not fully closed knob was the correct one.

 

[Invicta]

1. First pass with the Personna/Merkur 34C going WTG was "noisy" and felt like it barely removed any whiskers. It was very comfortable though.
2. Undaunted, second pass with the Personna/Merkur 34C going XTG. It felt like NOTHING got removed but, again, was very comfortable.

Noisy suggests a very steep blade angle and if nothing is being shaved you are a long way from the neutral angle. Irritation is another sign of poor technique. I think your problem is the blade angle which if at the design angle, sometimes called the neutral angle, will shave effectively without having to force the razor. That means both cap and safety bar are riding the skin and the blade is at it's most effective angle.
This may help; Blade Angle | Badger & Blade
Changing too many things in a shave is not going to give you the best results so just change one variable if you need to experiment.

 

[BigJ]

Great advice above!!

I suggest the #1 ’learning point’ is to change only one thing at a time. Otherwise it is difficult/impossible to attribute your outcome to any single variable.

 

[mgweatherly]

Great advice above!!

I suggest the #1 ’learning point’ is to change only one thing at a time. Otherwise it is difficult/impossible to attribute your outcome to any single variable.

As an engineer, I understand this principle. The child in me gets so excited about all the things to try that I often overlook this simple truth. A reminder such as yours from someone who benefits from a deeper well of experience is precisely what I need. So, many thanks

 

[musicman1951]

My best suggestion would be to stick with your favorite razor/blade combination for a few weeks so you can experiment with technique. I agree that if the razor is not cutting the blade angle is off. Try moving the handle closer to your face and then move it away, somewhere in there it will work best. Then try and maintain that good working angle with literally as little pressure as you can (but not dropping the razor in the sink).

When you've had a run of successful shaves you can go to the next razor and figure out what that one wants. Blades are very ymmv. Find one you like and stick with it for a while (it might be a different favorite for different razors).

 

[cryhavoc]

You've received some good advise but I'd agree with too many variables. Pick a razor/blade combo and use it until you can get consecutively good shaves. Let us know how the next few shaves go.

 

[Filudo]

Besides Gillette Spoiler, Personna 74 and Schick Krona blades; I avoid using any old blades. Just use new blades, BTW check if that Personna is made in Germany? those were also rough for me ..... Israel are #1 or USA Med Prep.

 

[mgweatherly]

Besides Gillette Spoiler, Personna 74 and Schick Krona blades; I avoid using any old blades. Just use new blades, BTW check if that Personna is made in Germany? those were also rough for me ..... Israel are #1 or USA Med Prep.

Interesting, thanks. I think they are the German blades. Platinum Chrome printed on the blade, Personna Platinum printed on a blue package of 10 blades. I got them in a sample pack from my dad. I'm gonna give them another chance since I've only used one blade, maybe tomorrow morning.

 

[Guido75]

I can only concur with earlier comments, so as a relative newbie myself I shaved with the same razor/blade/soap combination for I think two months straight.

Learning to build the right lather takes time and anchoring your muscle memory to your razors takes time as well.

The Merkur is an excellent starter razor (and beyond starter as well) to hone your technique.

And to add to earlier discussions: it is about reduction. Especially in the beginning. So from one pass to another you might think that’s notA lot of progress, but all passes combined give a nice and comfortable DFS or BBS.

Do let us know how you progress!

Cheers,

Guido

 

[aussie]

As someone who has used many vintage blades, let me tell you they can be very hit and miss. So remove this variable. Wait until you can nail it with any razor/modern blade/soap/cream/brush combination.

Some of the old Gillette Blue blades, if well kept, give me two stellar shaves before dying. I have had other vintage blades that cut me right away. So this is why you will always want another loaded razor at hand. Mucking around trying to change a blade with lather drying on your face isn't my idea of fun.

So yes I reiterate the advice given above about only changing one variable at a time until after you are much more experienced.