Good morning gents! It's been a while since I've been an active member here. Taking care of a dying friend and both health issues and work issues have kept me occupied for an extended period of time. But I do want to share what I have learned during my absence. I've spent a ton of money on shaving stuff. DE razors, blades, straight razors and accoutrement, shaving soaps, shaving creams, pre-shaves, after-shaves, brushes, colognes, etc. And I've come to a conclusion. Perception is reality. I've heard that all of my life. But understanding it was not always my reality. But over the past few years I have come to a reality. I like what I like. And I like a lot of stuff. But reality set in when I realized that using one shaving cream or soap for a month or longer at a time really taught me how to master that product. Or one shaving brush. Or one type of blade. I learned to appreciate how T&H 1805 Shaving cream smells and feels during the shave, and a few hours later. How Kiss My Face Cool Mint lingered. Expensive, inexpensive, whatever. While I don't care for roses, I like Thayer's Rose scented Witch Hazel. What I learned is that reality is repetition. I've mastered my C&E cheap brush. My Shavmac expensive brushes. My Simpson brushes. Savile Row. I can get a great shave using Palmolive Shaving Cream (yes, I have 8 tubes and NONE of them are for sale). Or Proraso. Or Taylor's Shaving Shop. But the most important thing I've learned is not that I get a great shave. But that I ENJOY the shave. The scent. The glide of the razor. The brush that applies the lather. I love stropping a straight. I love the weight of the handle of my Merkur 38C and the heft of the razor. The prep process of a hot towel applied to my face. The splash of witch hazel. Start to finish. Soup to nuts. Since my toe amputation almost a year ago , I am sporting a beard (yeah, I'm an old hippie!). But I get the same enjoyment from trimming my beard. And I still shave daily. The goal is a shave that looks great and feels great that you enjoy. I've learned a lot from the members of this forum. But maybe the most important thing I have learned is that regardless of the quality of the shave, what IS important is that YOU enjoy the shave itself. From soup to nuts (youngsters should Google that if you don't know what it means). The important thing is that YOU are satisfied with the results. While I have not been an active member, I know the competition of trying the latest and greatest. And the most important thing I have learned is that you work within your means, enjoy and master what you have, and get a great shave. The most important person you have to satisfy with your shave is...yourself. And maybe your spouse.
Randy
Randy
