Quest for less technology

[Ckmaui]

@PersistentlyBlunt I hear ya on that fun and better

for me its also fun over the time to see I kinda tried enough things and I covered a wide gamut and how I changed some as I went along and what I kinda came back to after trying things I liked it does seem we find that niche we fit in

also I hear some say just stick with one thing and learn it BUT some razors form day to a year later were just not for me and same as the blades or soaps not performing well so the keep using it till you master it idea is not for me and I do think trying things till you find what you like is key and of course we have to get good at technique but IMHO that was very easy and the gear for me is the huge difference and also when I got into this shocked at how much different the gear does make or break the shaves from the brush, soap, blades, razors, prep etc...
for me the mastering was more finding the gear I liked and then dialing that gear in to the most comfy

 

[blethenstrom]

That will be interesting to see what ya think of that Dura Sharp
and even if you do not like it I know I would never reply/say WHAT BUT I DO so you have to hahahahahah

finding some things I agree with from other folks does kinda help me think I should try this or that

one of those was a Rex Ambassador that just tore my face up no matter what if I put it past 3
but without testing I would have always wondered about it and the Lupo the same thing while many love them I can see why but they are NOT for me

even the 1.15 Wolfman would be to much for daily and found I loved the mild razors like the GC or the Timeless etc...

I have not even started my journeys down the Treet land yet. I have to finish up Lord before I get there. I think I have some dura sharps in my sample pack so it is on my list.

 

[Ckmaui]

I have not even started my journeys down the Treet land yet. I have to finish up Lord before I get there. I think I have some dura sharps in my sample pack so it is on my list.

did you have a tuck that says Lord Platinum but then the small word class and the blade has inked Super Stainless on it
and funny how that one for me was decent where the other lordsfell short

On left of this photo
I do find even the blade packaging of so many blades confusing and this platinum that has a stainless inside was so much different/better than the one on the right
while they look almost the same on the outside the blade is different inner packaging is different and totally dif performance ?
Its confusing so yeah I do think we all owe it to yourselves to use as many as we can

 

[Guido75]

I think that with time and technique improvements the less cleanup will be needed to achieve a satisfactory result and along with that the shave time will be reduced.

In my experience it did and after that you can vary depending on the time you have at hand - but I must admit that although strict BBS is not always attainable, I do like it (too much) when I have a smooth surface during the day!

Cheers,

Guido

 

[blethenstrom]

I hope I don't stir up to much with this but the thing with this FOMO thing earlier regarding shaving. I appreciate the many alternatives we have in blades, soaps, brushes and razors.

Sometimes I do wonder about myself why, once I have found a few blades that work well for me, do I go on and search for more blades? Why am I not happy with what I have and just use that? I guess we could maybe say that that is the difference between a user and a hobbyist. It could be that I am more of a user than a hobbyist in that fashion. My aim is not really to have a large razor, soap, brush and blade rotation, but a few that work well for me.

Now the journey to find those items is fun and interesting and enjoyable. Do I have to try every blade there is or every other thing there is to find a set of items that work well for me. I don't think so.

This is where potentially FOMO comes in. If we have a set of items that works well for us, why look for more blades? Maybe we have a desire to test every blade out there out of curiosity or research. No harm in that. Maybe we are looking for just that blade that makes it a bit better even if we are getting great shaves with what we have now. This is what I am talking about. The grass may or may not be greener on that side. It may even be futile to try to find the blade to rule them all. Of course if we are getting subpar shaves we need to track down what is going on and that may include searching for new gear or it could be something in our routine that is lacking.

I find myself more and more a practical user and not a hobbyist. I tend to go toward simplicity and I don't think my shaving journey will be any different. Just some thoughts.

 

[blethenstrom]

did you have a tuck that says Lord Platinum but then the small word class and the blade has inked Super Stainless on it
and funny how that one for me was decent where the other lordsfell short

On left of this photo
I do find even the blade packaging of so many blades confusing and this platinum that has a stainless inside was so much different/better than the one on the right
while they look almost the same on the outside the blade is different inner packaging is different and totally dif performance ?
Its confusing so yeah I do think we all owe it to yourselves to use as many as we can

You know I am not sure which one I have. I will have to check one I get into my sample bag next time. You say the one you like had the word "class" on the outside.?

 

[blethenstrom]

In my experience it did and after that you can vary depending on the time you have at hand - but I must admit that although strict BBS is not always attainable, I do like it (too much) when I have a smooth surface during the day!

Cheers,

Guido

Absolutely and in a strange somewhat weird way you like to run your hand over your face quite a bit. I know what you mean

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

Sometimes I do wonder about myself why, once I have found a few blades that work well for me, do I go on and search for more blades? Why am I not happy with what I have and just use that? I guess we could maybe say that that is the difference between a user and a hobbyist.

Isn't that part of the human condition though and why humans are spread across most of the globe, wondering what that thing over there is like? But then going exploring in their favourite pair of boots and taking their favourite razor because they wouldn't go anywhere without them.

Shaving as a hobby has two other major advantages, you generally have to do it on a regular basis and it is a lot cheaper than owning a yacht or racehorse or motorbike or push bike or golf clubs or ...

One final thought, I was lucky enough to come into possession of a razor from the 1920's recently, I have shaved with it and it gives a great shave. I am highly likely to use it again but maybe not regularly more for its sake than mine. But to think that it may still be going long after I and probably its previous owners have gone is humbling. That I will be a small part in its life rather than it in mine has a nice simplicity to it for me as well.

 

[blethenstrom]

Isn't that part of the human condition though and why humans are spread across most of the globe, wondering what that thing over there is like? But then going exploring in their favourite pair of boots and taking their favourite razor because they wouldn't go anywhere without them.

Shaving as a hobby has two other major advantages, you generally have to do it on a regular basis and it is a lot cheaper than owning a yacht or racehorse or motorbike or push bike or golf clubs or ...

One final thought, I was lucky enough to come into possession of a razor from the 1920's recently, I have shaved with it and it gives a great shave. I am highly likely to use it again but maybe not regularly more for its sake than mine. But to think that it may still be going long after I and probably its previous owners have gone is humbling. That I will be a small part in its life rather than it in mine has a nice simplicity to it for me as well.

No I think that exploration and experimentation does drive much of what we do. Yes I do also agree that the shaving hobby is a relative harmless hobby to engage in. Trust me I know. Don't get me started about fountain pens, which is much more of a costly rabbit hole.

Here is where I am coming from. I think in many aspects of life we are also lacking a healthy dose of contentment. Being happy where you are and with what you have, is mentally a good place to be. Today's world we are so pushed to so much new fangled things and we are told that we have to have this and that trinket and everything will be better. All that those trinkets will do to us is to want more of them. The more things you have, the more you have to take care of. My question is: what is the point? When is enough enough? I guess that is where my journal title comes from. As I am getting older I value completely different things in life. Many of the things that I saw as important when I was younger I now see as meaningless. Maybe we are just complicating things too much.

I find charm in the older things like the razor that you found. It has history and sometimes I wish the items that we find could tell their story. I think sometimes the makers of the older things took more pride in what they were making and made things that will well outlast us. Nowadays many items are made as cheaply as it can, but it will not even hold up but just for a while. Just taking the time to sit down with a cup of coffee and ponder about things have changed my outlook on things in a big way. Do we really think we have figured it out yet?......

 

[blethenstrom]

Morning shave
Razor: RazoRock GC .68-P
Blade: Derby Premium (12)
Soap: Arko
Brush: unnamed synthetic brush
Aftershave: Clubman VIBR
Rating: 10/10, BBS
Extremely smooth ride this morning. Not a lick of irritation and very nice shave indeed. I think this blade will make it to my goal.

This morning I timed myself from brush pickup to razor back on the stand and I was able to get a BBS shave in 14 minutes without even a bit of irritation nor any weepers, nicks, cuts. I kind of surprised myself a bit to be honest.

I did employ a new to me technique this morning that I learned here on the wonderful B&B. I have struggled with getting all the stubble under my chin line. It had been a challenge to capture them all due to the curve there. I came across this thread that just recently got bumped An unconventional way to get BBS on the neck. I found that it worked really well and I did not have to do my normal excessive polishing there the caused me much more alum feedback. I think the technique is referred to as bullfrogging and instead of stretching the skin on your neck you lower your chin and relax it. It makes reaching into the nooks and crannies below the chin line much easier. A definite win!

 

[thombrogan]

Thank you for sharing that link, @blethenstrom

I think I tried and benefited from close-to-bullfrogging last year or the year before and promptly forgot to keep doing it.

 

[blethenstrom]

Thank you for sharing that link, @blethenstrom

I think I tried and benefited from close-to-bullfrogging last year or the year before and promptly forgot to keep doing it.

I am happy to have reminded you

 

[Ckmaui]

Sometimes I do wonder about myself why, once I have found a few blades that work well for me, do I go on and search for more blades? Why am I not happy with what I have and just use that? I guess we could maybe say that that is the difference between a user and a hobbyist. It could be that I am more of a user than a hobbyist in that fashion. My aim is not really to have a large razor, soap, brush and blade rotation, but a few that work well for me.



I find myself more and more a practical user and not a hobbyist. I tend to go toward simplicity and I don't think my shaving journey will be any different. Just some thoughts.

Interesting perspective I can so relate to that bold part

for me it was more a had to know and had to try as I put value in that real world experience with a product

I know for me I was happy and would be happy with the Nacet I was using and tested maybe 20 blades at that point to find it

someone who tried various razors and blades and they often kinda lined up with my feelings thoughts tried the treet dura sharp and liked them so figured OK lets see what I think

My guidelines also the blades have to be easily available and NOT some old or out of production blade I have to hunt down on various places etc... I just want to get them from most shops and have them in current production

Also want to have a few backup blades in case that fav of favs changes which I know happens

but my end goal will be just using my fav blade/razor/soap/brush
I have no desire to change razors or blades or soaps if one does not perform as well as the other as in less ! If they they are just different I can see that but if its not the same top performer I would not want to do that just for a change up

and my previous favs my wife uses a Henson and my boy at 14 is going to be shaving soon so he will have a bunch to try but for me

 

[Ckmaui]

You know I am not sure which one I have. I will have to check one I get into my sample bag next time. You say the one you like had the word "class" on the outside.?

Correct the left one in that photo
and to confuse the box says platinum but the package says Stainless blade
(knowing the coating is platinum and the blade is stainless) its still very confusing cause before I did this I thought those two were the same blade ?
Just found the one with the word class on the box and stainless on the blade was the best Lord for me
(not saying its my best blade but going to compare to the treet dura sharp that are now my #1)

 

[Ckmaui]

Absolutely and in a strange somewhat weird way you like to run your hand over your face quite a bit. I know what you mean

OH when I am comparing blades if someone saw me doing this for a while after a shave !
they would be like what is wrong with that guy and what is he doing

 

[blethenstrom]

Correct the left one in that photo
and to confuse the box says platinum but the package says Stainless blade
(knowing the coating is platinum and the blade is stainless) its still very confusing cause before I did this I thought those two were the same blade ?
Just found the one with the word class on the box and stainless on the blade was the best Lord for me
(not saying its my best blade but going to compare to the treet dura sharp that are now my #1)

I will have to check that out. I do like at least one other Lord blade. I really liked the Big Ben blade and I actually bought a 100-pack of them. I have tried Shark SS, Shark Platinum (need to revisit this one though) and they are ok, but not great. I also tried the Lord Cool and it was ok as well, but I will probably go back and run another blade to see.

Lord's to try (again)
Shark Platinum
Shark Super Chrome
Lord Cool
Asco (orange)
Lord Platinum

From the picture of the tucks when I bought these the Lord Platinum does not look like it has the word "class" on it, but I will have to check when I get home on the actual tuck.

 

[blethenstrom]

Interesting perspective I can so relate to that bold part

for me it was more a had to know and had to try as I put value in that real world experience with a product

I know for me I was happy and would be happy with the Nacet I was using and tested maybe 20 blades at that point to find it

someone who tried various razors and blades and they often kinda lined up with my feelings thoughts tried the treet dura sharp and liked them so figured OK lets see what I think

My guidelines also the blades have to be easily available and NOT some old or out of production blade I have to hunt down on various places etc... I just want to get them from most shops and have them in current production

Also want to have a few backup blades in case that fav of favs changes which I know happens

but my end goal will be just using my fav blade/razor/soap/brush
I have no desire to change razors or blades or soaps if one does not perform as well as the other as in less ! If they they are just different I can see that but if its not the same top performer I would not want to do that just for a change up

and my previous favs my wife uses a Henson and my boy at 14 is going to be shaving soon so he will have a bunch to try but for me

Oh yes I think that we need a few blades that are our go to blades. As we all know blades come and go, or change, and we need to be prepared for that. It probably would be wise to have them spread over a couple of manufacturers even. Some people are into the vintage blades and that is not just me. I am a plain practical shaver. I am not discrediting any of those that do, but I am not that type of person.

When it comes to trying blades I have/had even gotten to the point where I find myself looking at the cost per 100-pack. $15 dollars is too expensive, $8 dollars is where it is at and so forth. Had to find the cheapest blade that would work for me. Who cares? It is not like it is a lot of money per year I would spend in either case. However, that is the reasoning that I do. It can even approach the irrational in a sense. Actually if you look at the economics of things, soaps can be more expensive per shave than the blade. If you spend $15 on a soap and it lasts 100 shaves, that's $0.15/shave. Anyways I am getting deep into my geekiness.

That is cool that your wife and soon shaving age son is considering/using DE's as well. More the merrier.

 

[blethenstrom]

OH when I am comparing blades if someone saw me doing this for a while after a shave !
they would be like what is wrong with that guy and what is he doing

I am glad I am not the only one.

 

[blethenstrom]

Morning shave
Razor: RazoRock GC .68-P
Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux (1)
Soap: Homemade shave soap
Brush: unnamed synthetic brush
Aftershave: Clubman Whiskey Woods
Rating: 10/10, BBS
Very smooth and nice shave. I can even call it effortless BBS. Glass like result.

I decided to bin my old blade and not do my full 14 shave goal. I was frankly getting a bit bored with it. I think that is a good lesson to. I do belive we need to have enough variability in our shave hardware / software to keep things interesting, but at the same time not go overboard with it. Seems like a difficult balance to strike.

I've been reading the 365 days something different thread where you are supposed to have a unique setup for each day. I always thought that that would be hard but even with a few razors, blades, brushes and soaps it is very easy to do so . It just shows that we can mix up things with not that much hardware/ software. Bring the need I am. If you have 5 of each of the items that I mentioned you can get 625 alternatives! That is not even counting aftershaves. But hard to spice up the shaving experience every day.

 

[blethenstrom]

Evening shave
Razor: RazoRock GC .68-P
Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux (2)
Soap: VDH
Brush: unnamed synthetic brush
Aftershave: AV Classic
Rating: 8/10, DFS
Good shave, but not as smooth as last one with this blade. Still decent shave. A tiny bit of irritation.

First I have to apologize for my spelling in the last post I had. I wrote it on my cell phone and the auto correct reeked havoc on it and it was too late for me to edit it before I noticed it. Although it could be due to that english is not my native language, but I've lived longer in the US than I have in my native Sweden by now.

This blade gave me a wonderful shave the first shave and then I got this a bit rougher shave this time. I have noticed that when I use the VDH soap I tend to have a bit rougher shaves. I do not think that it is working for me that well. I think I will have to add some glycerin to it from now on until I have used it all up and not get anymore. Luckily I have no other pucks of it. Both my homemade soap and Arko works a lot better. Those will be my main drivers. I know Arko stirs up some feelings in people here on B&B being a polarizing soap due to it's smell. Myself I'm not finding it offensive. Just soapy smell.

I actually prefer low or non-scented shave soaps in general. Less chance to clash with the aftershave. I tend to value performance of the soap over any scent that the soap has. Also the shave soap scent to me is just there during the shave, then rinsed off. However, I do understand that it can be nice and relaxing to have a nice smelling shave soap. Maybe all this has to do with my view on shaving in general. I am still seeing shaving as something that I have to do everyday. It is a chore, but I am trying to make it less so and still be practical about it. I am not one to lock myself in the bathroom for an hour and have a spa day either.