PPPS: Patrick Pursues Perfect Shaves

[pdillon]

I started DE shaving and reading B&B about a decade ago (despite what my account info says--there was a mishap when I tried unsuccessfully to change my username). As I learned basics, I read B&B daily and acquired a small collection. I grew content and stopped reading B&B, happy enough with my shaves every few days. A few months in to the pandemic, I started reading B&B again, initially with an eye to replace a Gillette Goodwill that had been my favorite razor but I foolishly discarded after the handle broke (I know! It was really dumb.)

Once I stumbled back into reading B&B, I had a few realizations. One, for some reason, I really enjoy shaving as a hobby. If you are reading this you are probably like minded, but I really can't figure out what draws me to this as a hobby. I have a particularly bad sense of smell, so I have a very limited appreciation of one of the main sensual pleasures of the craft; yet I can easily spend an hour reading about different soaps! I decided to just recognize and embrace that shaving is something I enjoy and should pursue it simply because I enjoy it.

Secondly, I realized my shaves were not that great, particularly in my neck area. I have always had a pretty light touch with the razor. I can count the number of cuts on one hand. Even weepers are seldom. Yet something was off (and still is a bit) with my technique and my tools because my neck was fairly irritated with razor bumps after most shaves. It became a mission for me to be able to shave daily with literally no irritation. I don't want a single red dot or bump whatsoever.

My progress has improved dramatically. I've also hit a bit of the RAD and acquired a stable of razors. The Timeless TI .68 Scalloped has proven to be my weapon of choice for daily shaving without irritation, but I continue to experiment with many more.

My progress has improved, but the shaves are not perfect yet. There is still irritation on my neck (although on most days you might not notice it), My lather seems good, maybe very good, but it is not what I imagine lather should be. i want milky white, clear skin on my neck. I want stupid slick, runny lather dripping off my face as my razor glides effortlessly across it.

This is where I will document my pursuit of the perfect shave.

 

[pdillon]

I 3017 my soaps and balms. So the minimal rotation I do is brushes, razors, and blades.

Chisel & Hound Gentleman w/ B&M Leviathan
Henson AL13 Medium w/ Astra SP (3)
Zingari Unscented ASB

Yesterday, I used the Timeless Ti .95 SB for the first time. It was a drama free shave, and I was happy with it. Today I decided to go with the much milder AL13+. I acquired this razor about 3 weeks ago and have a handful of shaves with it. It has been surprisingly efficient and has a mild feel. I believe it was a super speedy shave on Christmas day with this razor that left my neck with pretty bad irritation. So today I decided to give the Henson another go but focus on a super light touch despite the aluminum. After one pass on my neck, it looked presentable and I decided to leave it there. I did three passes on the face. I am glad I stopped at one pass on the neck because my face now seems to have a fair amount of irritation. I am a little shocked if that single pass introduced the bumps on my neck. While my touch was light, I wonder if my mapping was off. My face feels amazing, the efficiency feels similar or better than my first use of the .95. The jury is still out for me with the Henson although I only really intended it to be a travel razor, I want an awesome travel razor. While I love the efficiency on my face and the comfort is nice, I just don't love this razor while I use it. If it really is the factor contriubting irritation that's a deal breaker.

The Omnibus base is not blowing me away like I feel it should. I find I am getting the best results while starting with a fairly wet brush and face lathering. Today I probably did 50 swirls on the puck and that must have been too much because the lather felt perhaps too thick and not slick enough.

 

[pdillon]

My CG Level 2 arrived today. I was planning to use the Timeless Ti .68 today, but decided to give a spin to the new guy. I debated it at first because I want to try my best strategy to get my neck to a state of zero irritation while continuing to shave daily; and the Timeless has probably been my best razor regarding minimal irritation. I am glad I decided to give the Level 2 a whirl.

I used the same setup as the previous shave, with the only difference being the razor. I wanted to do this because I thought I could improve on the lather. Yesterday I soaked the Fanchurian synth, gave it one and a half good shakes, the swirled 50 times. That seemed thick, so today I tried 35 swirls. That was better but I continued to add water by dipping the tips between passes. The results were fine but it might be better to experiment with adding more water initially. Anyway the lather was good.

The most interesting aspect of this razor was the difference in weight. Most razors I have been using lately are very light: Timeless Ti, Titanium Vector, Henson AL13+, Tech on the Timeless Handle. The only heavier handle is the SS Sabre and Jet Bird. With this CG Level 2, the weight really seemed to be an asset. I have been wondering why my razors don't have "glide" and I was attributing that as a problem with my lather. This razor has me thinking the weight may also be a major factor because this seemed to have some glide.

I did 3 passes on my face and 2 on my neck. I took it lightly so the efficiency may not be an A+ but I would put it at least an A- with room for improvement. Irritation seems very good but I will have a better idea tomorrow. This razor really has me thinking about things:

I gave my thoughts on the aesthetics here.

 

[pdillon]

5/5 of 365 Shaves in 2022
Thāter 2-Band w/ B&M Leviathan
Timeless Ti .68 w/ Astra SP (5)
Zingari Unscented ASB followed by Guerlain Vetiver

Not the wonderful shave I was hoping for today. I brought back the Thäter after setting aside the Paladin, which needs to be sent back to Ken due to shedding. After using the Paladin as my only badger for a few weeks, and now coming back to the Thäter I am surprised to prefer the Paladin (although I shouldn't be). It took me a bit to warm up to the Paladin but now I am spoilt for choice.

No fault of the brush but my lather was weak. I shook the brush one and half times and did 35 swirls. While that worked for the synthetic, it was right on the verge of acceptability and not quite enough product.

I also think the astra may have had one too many shaves on it at 5. I got a weeper on my chin, which is very very rare. Otherwise there was not too much damage. There are a couple of spots of lingering irritation on my neck but I am fine if they did not get worse after this one.

The efficiency of the .68 seems about on par with the CG LVL2. Noticeably less than the .95 or the Henson. I will be interested to give my flat bottom tech another spin.

 

[pdillon]

6/6 for 365 Shaves in 2022
Thäter 2-Band w/ B&M Leviathan
Gillette Flat-bottom Tech on Timeless Ti Handle w/ Gillette Platinum (1)
Zingari Unscented ASB followed by L'Occitane Vetyver

Amazing shave with the Tech. I was very much on the fence as to whether to shave with the new CG LVL 2 or try the flat-bottom tech again. I decided to go with the tech as the CG was still fresh in my mind. I traded out the Astra SP after its 5th shave and decided to try out the Gillette Platinum (St. Petersburg). This is the first time I have used a blade other than Astra in a long while.

Improving on yesterday's lather, I did 50ish swirls and the lather was much better. Reading the threads about B&M Omnibus I feel like I should have superpowers using this soap. The results this time were spectacular but I don't seem to be able to observe the slickness. I noticed with the CG brass handle that the heavier weight may increase the glide.

Going on this heavy handle theory, I wanted to try a new handle on the tech. I was surprised to find that my two Alpha handles did not fit well. I tried an iKon handle as well and it was the same. They all had significant top cap play. I will be trying new handles soon.

So I stuck it back on the Timeless Ti I had been using and proceeded to have a wonderful shave. The shave was wonderfully smooth. What a fantastic daily driver. The efficiency was good but I really did not press it--on the other hand I felt like I could have easily gone for more touch ups without risk.

I am in the GRUYERE as well as 365 in 2022 group. I would be surprised if this razor does not get a lot of play this year.

 

[SharpieB]

6/6 for 365 Shaves in 2022
Thäter 2-Band w/ B&M Leviathan
Gillette Flat-bottom Tech on Timeless Ti Handle w/ Gillette Platinum (1)
Zingari Unscented ASB followed by L'Occitane Vetyver
View attachment 1389995
Amazing shave with the Tech. I was very much on the fence as to whether to shave with the new CG LVL 2 or try the flat-bottom tech again. I decided to go with the tech as the CG was still fresh in my mind. I traded out the Astra SP after its 5th shave and decided to try out the Gillette Platinum (St. Petersburg). This is the first time I have used a blade other than Astra in a long while.

Improving on yesterday's lather, I did 50ish swirls and the lather was much better. Reading the threads about B&M Omnibus I feel like I should have superpowers using this soap. The results this time were spectacular but I don't seem to be able to observe the slickness. I noticed with the CG brass handle that the heavier weight may increase the glide.

Going on this heavy handle theory, I wanted to try a new handle on the tech. I was surprised to find that my two Alpha handles did not fit well. I tried an iKon handle as well and it was the same. They all had significant top cap play. I will be trying new handles soon.

So I stuck it back on the Timeless Ti I had been using and proceeded to have a wonderful shave. The shave was wonderfully smooth. What a fantastic daily driver. The efficiency was good but I really did not press it--on the other hand I felt like I could have easily gone for more touch ups without risk.

I am in the GRUYERE as well as 365 in 2022 group. I would be surprised if this razor does not get a lot of play this year.

Is it the Thater 4670/5 2-Band? If so, I have the same brush and it is excellent. If not, I have a similar Thater and it is excellent.

 

[pdillon]

Is it the Thater 4670/5 2-Band? If so, I have the same brush and it is excellent. If not, I have a similar Thater and it is excellent.

It is indeed the 4670/5 2-Band with the 82-style handle and I agree it is indeed excellent.

 

[pdillon]

7 for 7
Same shave as yesterday except substituted the CG LVL2 for the Tech. The LVL2 is noticeably less efficienct after 3 passes on the face and 2 on the neck--no touch ups. It is an absolute pleasure to use and I think I could add touch ups or another pass without irritation. I do not press for achieving BBS because my goal is to eliminate irritation, and at the moment my skin is looking the clearest it has in quite a while, and this is the most consecutive shaves I have done in memory. I'm very happy with the start to 365 in 2022

Already thinking ahead to tomorrow's shaves:
Stick with the tech/CG LVL 2 with the idea of allowing my skin to keep getting even better?
Try another shave with the Timeless Ti .68 considering it has been my favorite but the last shave had bad lather?
Try a more aggressive razor like the Timeless .95 or BB and see if I can keep the clear skin?
Branch out to SE format like the favored Sabre or the Ti Vector which has had mixed results for me?

As I type this out I'm leaning toward the vector. Plenty of time to think about it.

 

[pdillon]

8 for 8 in 2022
Thäter 2-Band w/ B&M Leviathan
Ti Vector w/ Kai Captain Titan Mild (3)
Zingari Unscented ASB

Another poor shave with the Vector. Not smooth as I struggled a bit with the angle and it has introduced some irritation on my neck. This is roughly my 5th shave with the vector and I am not picking it up as intuitvely as others would have me believe. Lather was not to blame today. Thinking back perhaps I was not focused enough on minimal pressure; on the other hand perhaps the premium titanium is working against me in that regard.
This is a razor I really want to love. It is my most expensive razor. I will have to really focus on pressure next time I use it, but right now there are a few cons stacking up against it. Typically I am the kind of person who will attribute the fault to myself rather than the razor. But it is hard to stick with something that is not giving the results I am getting elsewhere with less effort. That said next time I will have to focus on absolutely minimal pressure.

 

[pdillon]

9 for 9 of 365 in 2022
Chisel & Hound Gentleman w/ B&M Leviathan
CG LVL2 w/ Gillette Platinum (3)
Zingari Unscented ASB followed by Guerlain Vetiver

I love shaving with the CG LVL2 right now. It is noticeably less efficient than some of my other razors but it feels so mild and smooth. Only did a single pass on my neck due to the irritation from the vector yesterday. The irritation is minor but definitely there, so I want to make sure it heals.

Back to the synthetic with Omnibus. I did pretty much a full Marco and wet the brush thoroughly and did 50 swirls. That worked surprisingly well. I did not add any water in between passes. I would have liked to add a little more water but afraid it would have diluted the soap too much so I stuck with it and it was fine.

 

[pdillon]

10 for 10 of 365 in 2022
Chisel & Hound Gentleman w/ B&M Leviathan
Flat-bottom English Tech on Timeless Ti Handle w/ Gillette Platinum (4)
Bump Patrol followed by Zingari Unscented followed by Guerlain Vetiver

Leviathan seemed really dialed in today. Completely soaked the synthetic under the faucet and no shake. Did about 55-60 swirls and lather was great.

Went back to the tech because there is some discernible irritation on my neck, leftover from the vector I think. I did only a single pass on the neck and followed up with the bump patrol for good measure. Tech is more efficient than the CG LVL2 but both are fantastic.

 

[pdillon]

11 for 11 of 365 in 2022
Maggard SHD 2-Band w/ B&M Leviathan
Pre-war Tech on RazoRock UFO w/ Gillette Platinum (4)
Zingari Unscented ASB followed by Guerlain Vetiver

First shave with the SHD. Very nice brush: excellent lather and super soft. Doesn't seem to need a break in. Even though this is the 24mm it feels huge and I wanted a smaller brush as I have a 26mm and 28mm 2-band. I wish this were set a little lower in the handle. My Paladin seems to be ruining other brushes for me, which is fine because I don't need a collection. I may limit the use of this to make it more attractive on BST or as a pif.

Still taking it easy on the neck. The pre-war felt a little less smooth than the flat-bottom. I like the UFO handle on the tech. Still a comfortable shave, with plenty of efficiency. Only one pass on the neck. Irritation does not seem to be getting worse but it feels irritated and the beard is tangible after only 2 passes in as many days.

I'm beginning to suspect Gillette Platinums may not be my blade.

 

[pdillon]

12 for 12 of 365 in 2022
Thater 2-Band w/ B&M Leviathan
Timeless Ti .68 Scalloped w/ Astra SP (1)
Followed by Bump Patrol then Zingari Unscented ASB then Guerlain Vetiver

This has been my classic shave for a while, although the Paladin (temporarily unavailable) has replaced the Thater as my favorite brush and I think the CG LVL2 may have edged out the Timeless. I did have a great shave with the Timeless today though, and considering my experience with the LVL2 I am wondering about the Timeless in SS. I am in GRUYERE though, so I will have plenty of time to think. The Titanium with no pressure was nice as it seemed to skim over the surface of the skin.

The main story here, though, is my neck is looking slightly rough and I think it is due to the previous blades, the Gillette Platinum. As much as I want these "swedes" to work for me; I think they are leaving me irritated. I think it was hard for me to notice, because I thought it was lingering irritation from the Vector, but it seems like it has persisted or gotten so slightly worse.

At the moment, it seems like Astras are the only blades that really leave me with minimal or no irritation. I will be curious to see how quickly (hopefully) my neck clears up while continuing to shave daily with the Astras. I will also need to think carefully about how to experiment with other blades. I don't rotate blades (yet, at least), but it might not be a great idea to stick to new blades for 4-5 shaves at a time.

 

[pdillon]

Roughly ~12 hours later and my neck is already looking the most clear it has in a few days. Wow, blades make such a significant difference in terms of my irritation. And right now Astra SP (& I think GEM PTFE) are the only blades that for sure work for me.

I'm not sure why I even care about trying different blades if I know Astras work for me (and they are widely available and dirt cheap)... but I do. I think this article could be an interesting guide for trying different blades: What Is The Best Razor Blade? The Science Of Sharpness | Sharpologist - https://sharpologist.com/the-science-of-blade-sharpness/

Based on the results there, it looks like Rapira or Treet Platinum could be a good alternative for me. But again, I probably need to find a way to store blades for rotation.

 

[pdillon]

13 for 13 of 365 in 2022
C&H Gentleman w/ B&M Leviathan
CG LVL2 w/ Astra SP (2)
Zingari Unscented ASB

Nice shave. 2 passes on my neck. A little stubble left on the chin. Pretty great and going in the right direction irritation wise.

 

[pdillon]

14/14
Same shave as yesterday. Leviathan was phenomenal today. So was the CG LVL2. Irritation in a few problen spots is still noticeable but I don't think the shave today irritated it further. Will be interested to see how it looks in the morning. I am tempted to keep trying different razors but I want to keep that in check until this clears up significantly more. Could just be a couple of days and I may see some significant improvement.

 

[pdillon]

15/15
Razorock Bruce w/ B&M Leviathan
Henson AL13+ w/ Astra SP (4)
Zingari Unscented ASB

Irritation is continuing to clear up so I was a little hesitant to switch it up, but for some reason had the urge to use the Henson. I have gotten bad irritation with the Henson before, I think it is so mild and light it is easy to be careless and especially easy to apply pressure. Focusing on not applying pressure I got a great shave with 3 passes on the face and 2 on the neck. Good efficiency. I don't love the experience of shaving with this razor.

Switched to the synthetic Bruce as they a e supposed to be great with omnibus. That is true. A couple of good shakes, 50 swirls and wonderful lather.

 

[pdillon]

16/16
Bruce w/ Leviathan
Sabre w/ Personna GEM (1)
Zingari Unscented followed by Guerlaon Vetiver

Omnibus really reached a new height on this one, but only on my third pass. First two were great but on the third it was as good as everyone is saying. Soaked the Bruce under the faucet, one good shake and 50 swirls. On the second pass I gingerly dipped the tips to refresh the water. On the third pass I dipped a bit more, about half an inch, and the extra water really added another dimension. The first two passes were not dry by any stretch, but there was definitely another gear.

The shave itself was excellent. I reached for the Sabre which is an old favorite but has been on standby with so many additions to the lineup.

While I used to think the Sabre was one of my most reliable razors in terms of irritation my standards have increased. While I think the Sabre is phenomenal, I wonder if I can use it without producing any irritation whatsoever. Today my lather was on point, and I was completely focused on pressure. I think the Sabre introduced/retriggered some minimal amount of irritation.

Considering my pressure and lather was on point, I think I need to figure out the angle here on the Sabre. The head design to me calls for a shallow angle (not my favorite). I did try a steep angle and it worked but I didn't play with that for long. I will read up on this and see whether to try a steep angle or really focus on shallow.

 

[pdillon]

17/17
Bruce w/ Leviathan
Sabre LVL1 w/ Personna (2)
Aveda ASB followe by Eau de Baux

Any irritation from yesterday had cleared up nicely so I was eager to give the Sabre another spin and try to undo any suspicion after yesterday's shave. I am glad I did, because today's shave was excellent. After reading up on angle I decided to go a tiny less bit shallow, that said there is only so much I can control angle, and I did manage to find an even lighter hand.

The Leviathan was incredible today although perhaps a bit thick. It was incredibly wonderfully protective and slick. I am just curious how a slightly wetter, less product lather would perform.

The overall shave was great. It wasn't the closest so I think I should evaluate the LVL2 soon as long as I can keep the lighter hand.

 

[pdillon]

18 for 18 in 365 in 2022

Fifth shave on rhe Astra. Fantastic shave. I tried little less product, 40 swirls rather than 50+. Great lather but a little more product is better in my opinion.

I hear about the super slick, dripping lather preferred by straight shavers and I am just not getting that. But I think omnibus is just a different type, and it is wonderful for what it is.