Rookie's journey

[Onimaho]

Preshave: proraso white
Soap: Taylor on bond street lavender
Post shave: Nivea sensitive balm
R41 Mühle with Astra superior steel third use.
Two passes with a third on the cheecks

Today I payed special attention to two things.
First I build up my lather up really slowly adding only a little water at a time.
Second I reduced the used pressure to an absolute minimum. Often I didn't even feel the razor but I did feel my whiskers being removed (or tugged at certain places).

The experience of building up the lather very slowly was both educational and fun to watch. Seeing a foamy gel suddenly explode in lather is very fun to see. It also showed me that building it slowly allows the lather to be a lot more even compared to adding more water from the start. It also felt a lot slicker even though I would not have been able to differentiate between the previous one and the of today. I do believe I could have added even more water based on the observation of dry soap during the first pass.

For the pressure for sure taught me that my 'feather touch' was more akin to lead. I think I might have gone a bit over board at certain places as I didn't even feel the razor (but I did feel hairs being removed or tugged). BUT it was the most comfortable shave I had up till now. Zero feedback on the alum stone (which I used more as test while I usually only use it to combat injuries). I have to admit that result is slightly less compared to usual. With my cheeks being dfs and everything else going from ccs to sass. But I do believe that with an additional pass this would have probably exceeded my usual result. And probably without compromising the feeling.

This was for me a divine shave as the lavender soap smelled extremely luxurious and my face just smells and feels amazing without any customary pinching or worse.

So takeaway for other rookies. Even if you believe to have a feather try exaggerating once and see how it treats you.

 

[blethenstrom]

Preshave: proraso white
Soap: Taylor on bond street lavender
Post shave: Nivea sensitive balm
R41 Mühle with Astra superior steel third use.
Two passes with a third on the cheecks

Today I payed special attention to two things.
First I build up my lather up really slowly adding only a little water at a time.
Second I reduced the used pressure to an absolute minimum. Often I didn't even feel the razor but I did feel my whiskers being removed (or tugged at certain places).

The experience of building up the lather very slowly was both educational and fun to watch. Seeing a foamy gel suddenly explode in lather is very fun to see. It also showed me that building it slowly allows the lather to be a lot more even compared to adding more water from the start. It also felt a lot slicker even though I would not have been able to differentiate between the previous one and the of today. I do believe I could have added even more water based on the observation of dry soap during the first pass.

For the pressure for sure taught me that my 'feather touch' was more akin to lead. I think I might have gone a bit over board at certain places as I didn't even feel the razor (but I did feel hairs being removed or tugged). BUT it was the most comfortable shave I had up till now. Zero feedback on the alum stone (which I used more as test while I usually only use it to combat injuries). I have to admit that result is slightly less compared to usual. With my cheeks being dfs and everything else going from ccs to sass. But I do believe that with an additional pass this would have probably exceeded my usual result. And probably without compromising the feeling.

This was for me a divine shave as the lavender soap smelled extremely luxurious and my face just smells and feels amazing without any customary pinching or worse.

So takeaway for other rookies. Even if you believe to have a feather try exaggerating once and see how it treats you.

That sounds like a very nice shave! It may not be the closest, but you seemingly had a very pleasant one and that is what matters at this stage. Just continue like that and you will find that your shaves will get gradually closer as you build your skill level. It is very cool to hear about your progress. Thank you for sharing with us.

 

[Onimaho]

Hi all

As my shave yesterday didn't go as far as usual I had an excuse to shave again today (I usually shave every second day as my beard doesn't require daily shaving).
Preshave: proraso white
Soap: TOBS Jermyn street
Post shave Nivea sensitive balm
R41 with feather blade (first use)
Scheermonnik synthetic brush (noticed I hadn't mentioned it before)
Two passes on the neck and three on the face
Result: dfs on the face and the neck is a mixed bag of ccs and dfs
Slight discomfort (pinching) around the nose.

The goal for me today was to build muscle memory on the techniques discovered yesterday. So light touch and lather building. I'm amazed at how little pressure you actually need. I remember reading use the weight of the razor and today I used a fraction of it. I used just enough pressure (or tried to) so that I could just feel the razor or the blade.
I had hoped that the feather blades would be sharp enough to cut through the whiskers atg on the lip but so such luck. Next I will be looking into going somewhere between xtg and atg as the tugging and strobbing really is the enemy.
The Jermyn soap smelled really nice. The smell I would describe as the smell of being well groomed. I like it as daily soap which I currently have as the cella extra bio so it will go a to buy list for the future. The lather I build was nicely hydrated. I stopped after the explosion as these are samples and I don't want to ruin them. But I do have a question for the gentlemen here. When did you go to far with water and how bad is it? If the soap gets runny I can imagine it isn't fun as it goes everywhere but does it impact the shave comfort ?

All in all a very good shave with minimal discomfort. Really happy about this shave!

 

[blethenstrom]

If the soap gets runny I can imagine it isn't fun as it goes everywhere but does it impact the shave comfort ?

If you add too much water to shave soap it will separate on you and the result is that it would be more like splashing water on your face. You can actually shave with just water but you have to keep on rewetting since it runs off just like you mentioned. You want to stop adding water before that point when making lather and this is where each individual soap is different. Some soaps are much more "thirsty" than others and it takes a couple of times to figure out how much water each soap can tolerate before it will collapse on you.

As far as comfort goes there are some controversial opinions on this regarding how slick a soap is and how much cushion it creates. Some do not think cushion is a thing and maybe it is isn't. It usually goes like this. The thicker lather you have the more cushion you have, but less slickness and the reverse as well. Cushion is where it helps "cushioning the blade from your skin a little bit during the shave which can help with irritation. I do feel it does have a bit of merit since in my personal experience, especially with mild razors, if I have a thick lather I cannot get as close of a shave as compared to a shave using slicker thinner lather. It does not seem to matter as much with more aggressive razors.

You will have to work out what consistency of the lather that you like with each soap. Another reason why staying with the same setup in the beginning is a good thing. Less variables to deal with and you can focus on skill building.

 

[Onimaho]

Thank you for the complete advice with highlighting your own bias. That is a strong skill! Sounds like I'll need to experiment a bit later on with my non sample soaps.

 

[Onimaho]

Hi all

Preshave proraso white
Soap TOBS royal forest
After shave Nivea sensitive balm
Razor was the Mühle r41 with a feather blade (second use).
Two passes
Result dfs over the whole line. Probably my closest shave up till now.
One nick that bled and some minor pinching around the nose and some spots in the neck


Today I had some trouble with the lather. It was dry that after painting the soap on, I put it back and gave it more water but even after that it felt a bit dry.
Next I experimented with the shaving angle. I usually put the cap to my face and the lower the handle until I feel teeth or blade. Today I did the reverse, where I start with the teeth and lift the handle until you feel blade or cap. I have to say I did not like the sensation. The experience felt closer to scraping off the top layer of my skin than actual shaving. I did two passes and saw some blood blooming through the lather on my second pass. I decided to just finish my second pass and not even try a clean up as I was expecting the worst.
However after splashing with cold water I could not find the nick. I did find a cut that wasn't deep enough to draw blood on my cheek but that was it.
Still expecting the worst I took my alum stone and passed over my face. There was almost no feedback on the face with some minor feedback around the nose and then some more on certain parts of the neck. I was very surprised that my face didn't light up. Then rinsed off, dried my face and applied my aftershave balm. And two hours later I experienced no more than some light discomfort around the nose and a part of my neck. At the same time I was admiring the closeness of my shave as especially my neck has never been closer (including cartridges).

So I will be using this technique in the future during clean up passes as the efficiency is simply too good. I will still be riding the cap for the regular two passes as the scraping blade feel is something I simply do not enjoy. I imagine that maybe on a less aggressive razor the technique might feel less abrasive?

As for TOBS royal forest. I liked it fine. But if I wouldn't pick it out of a line up. Jermyn street I found a more enjoyable scent and lavender smelled more luxurious to me.

 

[blethenstrom]

Hi all

Preshave proraso white
Soap TOBS royal forest
After shave Nivea sensitive balm
Razor was the Mühle r41 with a feather blade (second use).
Two passes
Result dfs over the whole line. Probably my closest shave up till now.
One nick that bled and some minor pinching around the nose and some spots in the neck


Today I had some trouble with the lather. It was dry that after painting the soap on, I put it back and gave it more water but even after that it felt a bit dry.
Next I experimented with the shaving angle. I usually put the cap to my face and the lower the handle until I feel teeth or blade. Today I did the reverse, where I start with the teeth and lift the handle until you feel blade or cap. I have to say I did not like the sensation. The experience felt closer to scraping off the top layer of my skin than actual shaving. I did two passes and saw some blood blooming through the lather on my second pass. I decided to just finish my second pass and not even try a clean up as I was expecting the worst.
However after splashing with cold water I could not find the nick. I did find a cut that wasn't deep enough to draw blood on my cheek but that was it.
Still expecting the worst I took my alum stone and passed over my face. There was almost no feedback on the face with some minor feedback around the nose and then some more on certain parts of the neck. I was very surprised that my face didn't light up. Then rinsed off, dried my face and applied my aftershave balm. And two hours later I experienced no more than some light discomfort around the nose and a part of my neck. At the same time I was admiring the closeness of my shave as especially my neck has never been closer (including cartridges).

So I will be using this technique in the future during clean up passes as the efficiency is simply too good. I will still be riding the cap for the regular two passes as the scraping blade feel is something I simply do not enjoy. I imagine that maybe on a less aggressive razor the technique might feel less abrasive?

As for TOBS royal forest. I liked it fine. But if I wouldn't pick it out of a line up. Jermyn street I found a more enjoyable scent and lavender smelled more luxurious to me.

Seems like you are heading in the right direction.

Steep angled shaving can certainly be felt as more of a scraping sometimes. Some do fine with it and some have trouble with it. I am more like you and ride the cap more for a shallow angled shave, but there are razors that I have that steep is the way to go. For the most part I start with my first pass or two more steeply and go real shallow for my ATG pass. However, you need to figure out what works and feels best for you.

With a more aggressive razor like the R41, that you are using, you do have a fairly wide array of angles to play with and it does give you different shaving experiences what you use. However, on a mild razor there is a narrow window of angles and that is why people have more trouble in getting great shaves with milder razors. You have to be very consistent with the angle on a mild razor. Once you build your skills and especially keeping your angle steady you can always try the R89 again and I would not be surprised if you can then get nice shaves with it as well. Each razor does have their sweet spot and we just have to learn what it is.

 

[Onimaho]

Hi all

Preshave proraso white
Soap TOBS cedarwood
After shave Nivea sensitive balm
Razor was the Mühle r41 with a feather blade (third use).
Two passes plus a third on the face
Result dfs+ on the face and close to dfs on the neck
One nick that bled and some minor pinching on the upper lip and a general tender feeling.

All in all a good shave. I tried a third pass on lips that was somewhere between xtg and atg. This barely doesn't work at this moment so I believe that with practice it will work in the future.

I'm starting to understand why some people say that the r41 isn't a daily driver for them. I don't mind the additional focus at the moment as I'd need to have my full focus for every razor but it does feel as shaving two days in a row makes my skin a bit more tender than I'd like. I also need to keep working on reducing pressure because I did notice that a used a bit more than necessary today.

Tomorrow I'm not going to shave but the day after I'm planning on going back to the r89 and see if I can get it to work for me.

Finally the scent for today was cedarwood which was mightily relaxing for me. The scent wasn't that strong but does seem to have good' staying power'. I like this scent and it is definitely going on my short list.

 

[Onimaho]

Hi all

Preshave shower and proraso white
Soap TOBS sandalwood
Mühle r89 with feather blade (4th use)
3 passes plus cleanup plus additional clean up with cartridge razor in the neck
After shave niveau sensitive balm
Result: inconsistent :
-dfs+ on cheeks and upper lip
- chin dfs with areas where the geometry is more challenging that seem to be missed
-neck is ccs with some dfs spots and then
Today I returned areas where the geometry is more challenging that seem to be missed
1 large nick on the lip but zero feedback on the alum stone.

Well. Today I returned to the r89. I started off with some fear as I still remember the razor burn and blood. So with a light touch I started off and I have to say the r41 as has been mentioned before on this journal is just easier. The angle the r89 allows is smaller which results in places that I was not able to shave properly. After three passes I took my Gillette and quickly made certain areas proper as I didn't want to risk an additional pass for fear of injury. I recognise this all as user error. I know if I keep at it I'll get it down. The cut on my lip I blame on the blade as it started to stutter. I guess it was time to throw it away and use a new one next time.
Having said this I do have one addition peeve. When shaving using the r89 I really missed sensory feedback. On the r41 I have the cap, the blade and the teeth I can identify separately. This gives me the ability to feel the angle, pressure and direction. The r89 I used today didn't give me any of it. I just felt metal and oriented more on sound and feeling of pulling on my whiskers. I'm going to give the razor a few more tries. Especially tomorrow to really feel the difference between the two razors on daily use. See if my skin simply doesn't like to be shaved every day or if lowering the aggression will allow daily shaving.

And now I would like to hear from your personal opinions open out closed comb? I already looked some stuff up but it pretty much seems the consensus that open comb is only good for when you have a lot of hair and that a safety bar gives closer and more comfortable shave. Something which I'm not experiencing at the moment.

Looking forward to your opinions and the shave off tomorrow!

PS soap scent review. sandalwood isn't my thing. I do understand why other people might like it but I very much prefer cedarwood.

 

[Onimaho]

Hi all

Preshave shower and proraso white
Soap TOBS lemon zest
Mühle r89 with feather blade (1st use)
3 passes and clean up on cheeks and neck. As I hit a pimple on my chin I only passes there once. Only 1 pass performed on the lip in order to allow for good healing of the nick yesterday.
Result dfs on the cheeks and somewhere between ccs and dfs in the neck.
No nicks outside the pimple (which I don't really count). Minor burn under the chin.

I've noticed a bad habit today. I go blade hunting on my r89. I wanted to transfer my knowledge of the r41 to the r89 and try looking for the cutting angle by starting from the bar and the raising the handle until I get a cut. However as I don't feel a blade I end up pushing down on the razor. Luckily I caught it before causing a massacre.
As for the experiment, it seems like my skin can handle daily shaving. If I consult my face and am honest with myself. I have minor razor burn on one spot under my chin where I was unable to find a good cutting angle. During clean up I went heavy on it.

All in all the shave wasn't enjoyable. I got frustrated after hitting the pimple which bled unbelievably which led to chasing on my neck which I'm now regretting. I'm going to leave my skin recover for 2 or 3 days and the shave again. I'm unsure if it would be better to improve my skill with the r89 or fall back on the r41 and continue honing my skills there. I do thing I'm going to buy a new razor during sales which will be a in between the two razors in terms of aggression.

Scent review: lemon zest smelled like candy to me. It smelled good but I prefer a less sweet scent. I would have preferred a more lemon scent over the sugar lemon I smelled today.

 

[Onimaho]

Hi all

Preshave shower and proraso white
Soap TOBS Ethon college
Mühle r41 with feather blade (2nd use)
A single pass on the neck lop and chin and two on the cheeks.
Result: ccs bliss

Today I internalised a piece of information the 'know when to stop' isn't just applicable to accidents but can also be used before starting the shave. My skin didn't feel very good as it is still in recovery but I have work tomorrow and after two days I have reached the borders of decency. Therfore I decided to do a single pass with my trusted r41 as I didn't want to finick with the r89. I wanted a nice and easy shave and just use what worked best. It is here that I realised that this is a luxury not available to cartridge shavers. As with a cartridge razor I only ever do one pass and it is a take it or leave it kind of deal.
Today I was able to shave very mildly and my skin feels awesome and I'm as decent as if I had shaved using a cartridge.

So in summary, don't feel like you always need to shave the exact same way. Adjust, adapt and have a wonderful shave!

Scent review the Ethon college is a really nice scent. It was also the last one of the TOBS samples. And in the end only soaps could end in the purchase cart. And in the end it became the cedarwood. Though this alongside lavender and jermyn street are on my backlog for when I finish product. In addition I learned a new trick from YouTube, I used the leftover lather as a face wash before applying the post shave and this really is a wonderful way to use the leftover lather. You give your whole face a nice, luxurious, and feeding wash and allow the scent to be better absorbed for later.

 

[Onimaho]

Preshave, soap, and post shave balm were cella extra bio
Razor was a Mühle r41 with a feather (3rd use)
Two passes plus clean up
Result dfs on the face and a little less in the neck.
Skin feels absolutely amazing. Had a nick in the neck that went away with cold water.

This shave was absolutely amazing. If I'm able to have this result every day then I can be a happy man. I'm even willing to take the nick (though without would be better ) , the alum stone gave absolutely no feedback. In conclusion: wow, I'm happy I started weet shaving.

 

[Onimaho]

Preshave: proraso white
Soap : Nivea sensitive
Post shave: Nivea sensitive balm
Razor was a Mühle r41 with a feather (3rd use)
One xtg pass plus clean up
Result: dfs with a red spot in the neck. No discomfort

I write this one day late as the shave was done before going to bed. I wanted to be smooth for work.
Two consecutive days shaved with the R41 without issues. Seems like my technique as come a long way!
This was a quick and fast shave so I shaved with scentless products in order to not disrupt my sleep. I was a bit hesitant to use the ds safety razor but considering the previous shave was so divine I took the gamble v really glad I did. Next shave will be tomorrow with the R89 again I see if my improvements allow me to get a satisfying shave from that device!

 

[Onimaho]

Preshave: proraso white
Soap : TOBS cedarwood
Post shave: Nivea sensitive balm
Razor was a Mühle r89 with a feather (4th use)
Two passes (wtg & xtg) plus clean up
Result: dfs+ with a tiny weeper on the lip. No discomfort

Today I started the shave with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I wanted to 'beat' the r89. It is a very silly feeling which I recognised even before I started but hej. So after a shower, preshave and whipping up the soap I mentally prepared for a good shave. It didn't need to be close, I just wanted a technical ok shave with no blood or discomfort afterwards. First two passes were fine I also decided to relabel the word pressure to touch in my mind as this helps me to reduce pressure on the razor. One thing I did differently today was the shave order. I usually go cheeks, chin, lip to neck. Today I went cheeks, neck, chin to lip. And on the clean up pass I discovered that my whiskers were soft enough to cut going against the grain. I got a bit zealous and hence the weeper on my lip.

I'm going to repeat this order during the next shave to see if I can reproduce this as stuttering over the lip with a blade really isn't fun.

As for 'beating' the R89, I did beat it. Doesn't mean I have mastered it. I understand that I can get a closer shave with the razor in time with practice but at least I can get a decent and comfortable shave out of it without getting frustrated or feeling (too) lost. I still prefer the R41 with its blade feel but now I know I will use the R41 because I prefer it and not because I'm unable to wield my other razor.

 

[blethenstrom]

Preshave: proraso white
Soap : TOBS cedarwood
Post shave: Nivea sensitive balm
Razor was a Mühle r89 with a feather (4th use)
Two passes (wtg & xtg) plus clean up
Result: dfs+ with a tiny weeper on the lip. No discomfort

Today I started the shave with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I wanted to 'beat' the r89. It is a very silly feeling which I recognised even before I started but hej. So after a shower, preshave and whipping up the soap I mentally prepared for a good shave. It didn't need to be close, I just wanted a technical ok shave with no blood or discomfort afterwards. First two passes were fine I also decided to relabel the word pressure to touch in my mind as this helps me to reduce pressure on the razor. One thing I did differently today was the shave order. I usually go cheeks, chin, lip to neck. Today I went cheeks, neck, chin to lip. And on the clean up pass I discovered that my whiskers were soft enough to cut going against the grain. I got a bit zealous and hence the weeper on my lip.

I'm going to repeat this order during the next shave to see if I can reproduce this as stuttering over the lip with a blade really isn't fun.

As for 'beating' the R89, I did beat it. Doesn't mean I have mastered it. I understand that I can get a closer shave with the razor in time with practice but at least I can get a decent and comfortable shave out of it without getting frustrated or feeling (too) lost. I still prefer the R41 with its blade feel but now I know I will use the R41 because I prefer it and not because I'm unable to wield my other razor.

Very cool! Sounds like a very respectable shave with the R89. This is great news.

 

[Onimaho]

Preshave: proraso white
Soap : TOBS cedarwood
Post shave: Nivea sensitive balm
Razor was a Mühle r41 with a feather (5th use)
Two passes (xtg & a/wtg) plus clean up
Result: dfs+ with a nick on the lip. No discomfort aftwards

The feather showed it's age today. The blade felt scratchy. As I mentioned yesterday I changed the shaving order an was able to shave against the grain which up till then was not able to do comfortably. I tried reproducing it today and nicked myself. I shaved with the grain on the lips for the remaining shave. Don't know if yesterday was a fluke or maybe I can do it but the blade was already too far gone. Either way I'm not going to share atg for a couple of days. Let my lip heal up. I will also repeat yesterday's strategy where I progressively approach atg instead of approaching it head on.
The result is still very good with even bbs on the cheeks but the experience today was slightly less enjoyable between the scratchy blade and the unnecessary nick. Next time I will simply switch out the blade once I feel that scratch.

 

[thombrogan]

Please heal quickly

 

[Onimaho]

Healed up and had myself an evening shave.
Shower followed by a preshave cella extra bio.
Soap and after shave balm are from cella extra bio as well
The razor was the Mühle r41 with a parker premium blade (1st use)
Result: general dfs with some ccs spots in the neck in the difficult areas.
Weeper around the larynx but it stopped bleeding during the post shave.
Little to no discomfort

Today I tried a new blade. A parker premium. I'm not impressed with the blade. It feels similar to a Mühle blade and feels less smooth as astra or feather. I will give it a couple more tries but I fear the blade is not sharp enough for my tough whiskers.

All in all an enjoyable shave with a smooth result and only very little discomfort.

 

[Onimaho]

Today was a bit different. Today, the goal was to have the most relaxing morning possible. So I started with breakfast and then had a bath which ended with a nice hot towel on my face. I then put proraso white preshave on started to assemble my razor. My gut told me to use a feather blade and the R89 so I popped a new blade in it, put it back in its stand and started up whipping up TOBS cedarwood. Gave myself a cold water splash as the preshave had dried and then applied the soaps face lathering to really work it in there. Rinsed the razor in hot water and as I didn't have a large amount of growth went somewhere between wtg and xtg on the cheeks and wtg on my chin, lips, and neck.
First pass done, I splashed cold water on my face and painted the soap back on my face for a xtg pass.
Just generally enjoying shaving I went a did a third pass, still remembering the second to last time I shaved somewhere between xtg and atg. My whiskers simply don't allow for atg shaving.
Finishing up the third and final pass (where also did some cleanup), I splashed myself with cold water and seeing no blood I dried my face and applied Nivea sensitive aftershave balm.
Some minor feedback on the chin and lips and now half an hour later my skin feels good with no discomfort.
The result was an absolutely pleasant experience. Not to be repeated every day and I doubt the hot towel did anything to really help the shave but it is simply relaxing so I see myself doing it again. In terms of closeness it is good as long as I don't push into the skin I don't feel anything except on some of my more challenging locations. So I guess this is dfs++.
I have to say I'm starting to understand the appeal of a mild razor. In terms or relaxation, I find it more enjoyable. At the end of the day I might enjoy both mild and aggressive razors! To be further investigated!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend as well!

 

[Onimaho]

This morning I used the full cella extra bio line with Mühle r89 with a feather (2nd use). Went three passes plus clean ups (wtg, xtg and not quite atg). On the lip I nicked myself. I really need to be careful that I don't go too much atg as an angle. I'm not sure if the hair deflects the blade down into the skin or if the whole razor is tilted and I don't feel it. No burn and only very minor feedback when I used the alum stone. The result is a solid dfs+ which is perfect for me. This shave was also more consistent with less missed spots compared to the previous shave.

I find it hilarious and a little embarrassing that a bit over two weeks ago I was criticising the Mühle r89 for the lack sensory feedback and being convinced an aggressive razor was the way to go (for me). In the mean time, I have grown my skills to the point where I'm less reliable on blade feedback and prefer the milder r89 as the experience has become more easygoing compared to the R41 which brings you to the edge of your seat (in a good way). Yesterday I read this is common thing where people go from mild to aggressive to mild again but definitely didn't think it would go this fast.