I'll be in NYC tomorrow, and am looking forward to a visit to Pasteur's pharmacy. We've got other things to do, of course, so I hope I'll be able to keep it together while I'm in there. Based on some other posts about this Mecca, that may prove a tough row to hoe.
Here's the thing. A couple weeks ago I shaved with my grandfather's straight razor for the first time. I posted here about the experience, and I'll definitely shave that way again, but not before I get a strop, and maybe even a hone. But I digress.
In the meantime, I've gone back to the trusty open comb Hoffritz safety razor that also had been my grandfather's. I've been shaving with that razor on and off for over thirty years now. I noticed right away that I had a much greater awareness of the relationship of the blade to my face, or more accurately, to my stubble. Held right, the thing barely graces the skin; it just cuts the hair. And you can hear that happening. This will be old hat to some of you veterans, but only after my experience with the full-on exposure of the cutthroat blade did I really start paying attention to the finer points of what I've been doing for decades now. And it's made a difference.
Used right, the DE is a charm. But since the straight razor shave and all it's taught me, I've begun to doubt the old standbies I had grown used to. Way back when I started shaving, Wilkinson Sword blades were sharp, and they lasted. Plus, I can still get them in the local drugstore. But these days, I get two shaves out of them before they start to drag. Is it me? Wilkinson is what's been available, and as with everything else shaving-related, I thought that was that. Since falling down the rabbit hole that was stumbling upon this site, however, I realize there's a plethora of unexplored alternatives out there, and I feel I'm on a peak in Darien.
So, anybody got the love for Wilkinson's? Or is my trip to Pasteur's tomorrow going to be yet another epiphany? I plan to stock up on several alternatives: Derbys. Feathers, Atras, Personas, and whatever else may strike my fancy. Also, I hope to heft a new razor. I have a feeling one of the new Edward Jaggers might make a difference in my shave. Or will that be aggressive enough? How much is down to the blades?
I'll leave it at that, and spare you the questions about the brush I bought in college and still use - past its prime or just broken in? And on and on.
Here's the thing. A couple weeks ago I shaved with my grandfather's straight razor for the first time. I posted here about the experience, and I'll definitely shave that way again, but not before I get a strop, and maybe even a hone. But I digress.
In the meantime, I've gone back to the trusty open comb Hoffritz safety razor that also had been my grandfather's. I've been shaving with that razor on and off for over thirty years now. I noticed right away that I had a much greater awareness of the relationship of the blade to my face, or more accurately, to my stubble. Held right, the thing barely graces the skin; it just cuts the hair. And you can hear that happening. This will be old hat to some of you veterans, but only after my experience with the full-on exposure of the cutthroat blade did I really start paying attention to the finer points of what I've been doing for decades now. And it's made a difference.
Used right, the DE is a charm. But since the straight razor shave and all it's taught me, I've begun to doubt the old standbies I had grown used to. Way back when I started shaving, Wilkinson Sword blades were sharp, and they lasted. Plus, I can still get them in the local drugstore. But these days, I get two shaves out of them before they start to drag. Is it me? Wilkinson is what's been available, and as with everything else shaving-related, I thought that was that. Since falling down the rabbit hole that was stumbling upon this site, however, I realize there's a plethora of unexplored alternatives out there, and I feel I'm on a peak in Darien.
So, anybody got the love for Wilkinson's? Or is my trip to Pasteur's tomorrow going to be yet another epiphany? I plan to stock up on several alternatives: Derbys. Feathers, Atras, Personas, and whatever else may strike my fancy. Also, I hope to heft a new razor. I have a feeling one of the new Edward Jaggers might make a difference in my shave. Or will that be aggressive enough? How much is down to the blades?
I'll leave it at that, and spare you the questions about the brush I bought in college and still use - past its prime or just broken in? And on and on.
