Quest for less technology

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Ahh, grow a beard, it is easier. Haha.

When you grow a beard, all you need is a Wahl Detailer, use a combination of the bare blade, as well as the guide combs to trim the beard down, and you are golden. If you have a wiry/scratchy beard, then use beard balm, comb it in, both conditions and styles the beard, what more could you want? At least you won't deal with weepers.

 

[blethenstrom]

You need a way to stretch the skin flat there and it may take several contortions and different angle with the razor. You can try to find somewhere to pull up with your index finger, but many people simply open their mouth varying amounts. I tend to tuck my lower lip under my top teeth, not something you want to be seen doing though! I also contort the corners up, sort of an asymmetrical lip tuck.

It sure will be a sight to behold for me to try all those grimaces. Hopefully none walk in on me. They probably think I have lost it completely. Alright alright they already think I have.

 

[blethenstrom]

I am catching up a bit so if my post is a little late that is why. The highest rating I will ever give is generally 9.8/10 DFS++. The reason for that is my neck. I never get better than a DFS on my neck. The ++ comes in from my face. It is still not BBS. I find for myself at least BBS is a mythical beast only attainable to others. Part of the reason for this I am sure is I do very little facial contortions. I do not bull frog. I do not slacken my neck. I do not lift my head. Rarely I will lift my nose. but, not always. I have a few very expensive boutique razors, and, yet I gave my highest score ever a 9.99/10 DFS++ to the lowly Muehle R89 that I have shaved with twice since obtaining it a few weeks ago. Earlier in my shave journey I had an Edwin Jagger DE86 and while my shaves were better than with my 34C that I had at the time the results were not as good as the last shave with the R89. I don't know why I got such a good shave this last time. I didn't do anything other than lifting my nose and bulging my lower lip. This probably means I should practice some more contortions, but, I don't really feel the need to achieve a BBS shave. No one is going to stroke my face but me anyway. I am quite happy with my shaves and my rating system.

As long as you are happy it is all that matters my dear friend. When it really comes down to it who really needs to do an ATG pass every time they shave? After all as you stated who is going to check my face besides me? Well my wife might, but who else? I think we have become shaving nerds and we love to chase after that elusive and hard obtained BBS no matter the cost sometimes. We are a strange set of characters. That is all I can say.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Best way I've found to deal with the chin (other than growing a beard) is to avoid the angles over the bone. I do that by stretching the skin upward and shaving everything I can see at the front (vertical) part of the chin, then stretch it downward and shaving below the jawbone. I don't have a lot of slack in the skin there but enough that there is overlap between what I can get at stretching upward vs. downward. Hope that makes sense. Also the skin is pretty thin there and prone to weepers, for me very light, short, repeated strokes are the best.

 

[blethenstrom]

Grow a beard, and tell your wife it is for your own safety.

I am not sure she would go for it. However, that would also lessen my area to shave! Nope ain't going to happen. I need all the surface area I can get since I do not have a head to shave yet.

 

[blethenstrom]

Best way I've found to deal with the chin (other than growing a beard) is to avoid the angles over the bone. I do that by stretching the skin upward and shaving everything I can see at the front (vertical) part of the chin, then stretch it downward and shaving below the jawbone. I don't have a lot of slack in the skin there but enough that there is overlap between what I can get at stretching upward vs. downward. Hope that makes sense. Also the skin is pretty thin there and prone to weepers, for me very light, short, repeated strokes are the best.

Thank you for those ideas. I will definitely try that out. Might take me a good while to master though. Yeah my skin on my chin does not stretch much either.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Try it with a DE first, it will give you an idea of how it will work. I almost never try to shave "around a corner" anymore regardless of the razor; it's something that works with a pivoting head but not much else.

 

[cajunrph]

I am not sure she would go for it. However, that would also lessen my area to shave! Nope ain't going to happen. I need all the surface area I can get since I do not have a head to shave yet.

I'm not talking about a full beard, I guess I should clarify. A goatee and mustache are what I am talking about.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

I'm not talking about a full beard, I guess I should clarify. A goatee and mustache are what I am talking about.

I see, I see, you like to rock a chin scratcher, an organic cleaning brush, when you can't find a real one. Don't lie people, we've all done it. Lol

 

[cajunrph]

I see, I see, you like to rock a chin scratcher, an organic cleaning brush, when you can't find a real one. Don't lie people, we've all done it. Lol

Nah, it's pretty much the prerequisite beard of crusty old farts. I might as well embrace being an old fart because I am certainly not out running it thus far. Haha.

 

[Eric_75]

farts

I'll see myself out...

 

[thombrogan]

all those grimaces.

 

[blethenstrom]

Morning Shave - 09/06/24
Razor: Maggard V3
Blade: Dorco Titan (5)
Soap: Proraso Red
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft RR400
Aftershave: Skin Bracer
Shave Comfort: 10/10 (Smooth)
Shave Quality: 9.5/10 (DFS++)
Shave Rating: 9.75/10
This is the kind of shaves that I have grown accoustomed to. Nice and close and irritation free. More than 90% of my face including the neck is BBS and I just have a couple of spots with short stubble. Blade is going strong and the razor is doing its job. Great shave.

I had to push my shave from last night until this morning. We got home late last night so there was no time to do it then. This also meant that I did not have time to use the Vanta for my first pass or two. I also stayed with the Maggard V3 razors so I did not have to dig out another one. The shave was a pleasant one though. It felt like a standard shave that I have gotten used to. Of course this means a nice and close shave. Blade is holding up very nicely and it is still sharp and smooth.

Happy shaves everyone!

 

[blethenstrom]

Evening Shave - 09/07/24
Razor: Maggard V3 + Vanta RA111
Blade: Dorco Titan (6)
Soap: Proraso Red
Brush: Omega 10049 Boar (Pro 49)
Aftershave: Clubman VIBR
Shave Comfort: 10/10 (Smooth)
Shave Quality: 9.5/10 (DFS++)
Shave Rating: 9.75/10
Really nice and close shave with this blade to cap off the week with it. Smooth sailings without any issues.

Saturday was the last shave with the Dorco Titan and it was a very fine one. I did try to do two full passes with the Vanta shavette and I was doing fine except for my chin. The chin is a difficult nut to crack it seems like. I am sure with time and patience it will get there eventually. I did get a few weepers with the shavette due to my carelessness. I need to take a step back and slow down. It is not a race. I get get the cheeks pretty good. The neck is a bit more challenging, but decent. Upper lip is actually not that bad with the shavette. That kind of surprised me. Chin will have to be a step by step thing. I will not attempt ATG for some time with it though. The Maggard V3 did great to clean up and do my ATG pass with and I ended up with a nice comfortable close shave. So what do I think of the Dorco Titan?

• Sharp blade with good longevity
• Smooth shaving blade.
• Does not seem to be razor sensitive.
• Very consistent blade across the shaves. Seems to be very good steel/grind/heat treat.
• Good longevity. Can certainly be used well past a week's worth of shaves.

It is interesting to read the other opinions on this blade and the quite large variability we have in opinion of it. It just goes to show the true YMMV nature of this hobby.

Evening Shave - 09/08/24
Razor: Merkur 41C + Vanta RA111
Blade: Treet TJAX (1)
Soap: Arko
Brush: Omega 10049 Boar (Pro 49)
Aftershave: AV Classic
Shave Comfort: 10/10 (Smooth)
Shave Quality: 9/10 (DFS+)
Shave Rating: 9.5/10
New blade to me and it was a solid outing. No issues. Not quite as close as the previous shave, but still a very respectable one.

First use of the Treet TJAX blade and it was a good opening shave with it. Not quite as close as with the Dorco Titan and I can say that it is not quite as sharp as the Dorco Titan, but still plenty sharp to do the job. Again I was a bit careless with the shavette, even though I only did a single pass with it, and I ended up with a couple of weepers. The Merkur 41C did a pretty good job in cleaning up and getting me pretty close. Certainly was a decent and comfortable shave.

Happy shaves everyone!

 

[blethenstrom]

Morning Shave - 09/10/24
Razor: Merkur 41C
Blade: Treet TJAX (2)
Soap: Proraso Red
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft RR400
Aftershave: Clubman Jeris Osage Rub
Shave Comfort: 10/10 (Smooth)
Shave Quality: 8/10 (DFS)
Shave Rating: 9/10
Definitely not as sharp of a blade as my previous one in the Dorco Titan. I did however have a smooth comfortable shave and it was sufficiently close for the day. Left a little bit to be desired though.

Happy shaves everyone!

 

[BigAlVista]

The neck was the area that took me the longest to tame as well. I actually do two ATG passes on the neck. One with stretched skin and one last time very lightly bullfrogged.

I think I have it down now and yes my rating includes the neck. Nowadays I can get pretty much BBS on my neck every time with no irritation. However, this is the area where irritation starts by causing me tightness of skin.

I find that on my left side, where the chin transitions to my neck is really tough to get to BBS With most razors and blades, unless I buff the he'll out of the area.

 

[blethenstrom]

I find that on my left side, where the chin transitions to my neck is really tough to get to BBS With most razors and blades, unless I buff the he'll out of the area.

Yep the transition along the chin is a difficult area and this morning I had some stubble left there. I do find that bulfrogging really helps me with this and as long as the razor/blade does their job I can whip it in shape.

 

[BigAlVista]

I see, I see, you like to rock a chin scratcher, an organic cleaning brush, when you can't find a real one. Don't lie people, we've all done it. Lol

During covid, I shaved the goatee off. I looked like my Grandfather. I loved my grandfather, but did not like the idea of seeing him in the mirror every day.

 

[blethenstrom]

Morning Shave - 09/11/24
Razor: Maggard V3
Blade: Treet TJAX (3)
Soap: Proraso Red
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft RR400
Aftershave: Clubman Lustray Blue Spice
Shave Comfort: 10/10 (Smooth)
Shave Quality: 9.5/10 (DFS++)
Shave Rating: 9.75/10
All I can say is wow! What a nice shave. Extremely close to a BBS shave. I was even debating with myself to give it a BBS rating, but not quite. The blade shined in this razor. Nice smooth and plenty sharp. No issues.

This shave kind of panned out exactly the way that I thought that it would. The blade struggled a bit in the milder Merkur 41C, but once it was put into a more efficient razor, even with already two shaves on, it came alive! This was a very nice and smooth shave and oh so close and close to BBS. Everything clicked and I did my job as well. Just the way shaving should be! I am looking forward to see what this blade can do in subsequent shaves. I have not used my shavette for the last two shaves. I have been a bit in a hurry in the morning and I cannot really use it when short on time, because bad things might ensue. I will return to it once I go back to evening shaves this weekend.

Have a great blessed day everyone!

 

[blethenstrom]

Morning Shave - 09/12/24
Razor: Maggard V3
Blade: Treet TJAX (4)
Soap: Proraso Red
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft RR400
Aftershave: Clubman Citrus Musk
Shave Comfort: 10/10 (Smooth)
Shave Quality: 10/10 (BBS)
Shave Rating: 10/10
Go shave, go shave, go shave! It sure happened! It has been a long time since the last BBS shave. Everything went smoothly, but I can tell that I used a bit more pressure than I usually do and I need to be careful to not cause myself irritation. Razor, blade and soap in beautiful harmony.

It was one of those special mornings! Everything seems to have clicked and fell into place. Blade plenty sharpness left and the razor doing what it knows best how to do, cut whiskers. I can tell I will be rubbing my face more than normal today. The more I use the Maggard V3 the more I like it. It is not overly aggressive and not too mild either. It strikes a great balance. It is easy to use and the result is smooth goodness. The TJAX is performing great as well. No sign of slowing down and I see no reason why it would not hold up for the rest of the shaves this week. All around a very nice shave.

I do need to watch my pressure though. I could feel some initial signs of irritation coming and I noticed that I used more pressure than normal for some reason. Maybe I was just excited. Not sure if I will change razor for tomorrows shave or just stick with the Maggard V3. We will see.

Have a blessed shaving day everyone!