Shaving Diary of a Pretend Psychic

[RealPretendPsychic]

My wet shaving journey started in my mid 20’s in 2015 when I was looking for a solution to irritation from shaving with carts. I started simple with a Merkur 34c, Proraso white, and a blade sampler.

Shortly after that I began accumulating vintage Gillette’s (I may have a slightly addictive personality). I’ve probably had over 300 razors come through my den in the 4 years since then. I’ve managed to get my hands on just about every vintage Gillette model at some point with the exception of a bottom dial Fatboy. I also experimented with modern razors including a few RazoRock, Fatip, Ikon, PAA, Fine, Rockwell, and EJ models. At one point my den also featured over 10,000 blades.

Currently my den consists 20ish soaps, half a dozen brushes, less than 10 aftershaves, a modest supply of blades, and a Gillette Slim Twist, Tech, and New, and a RazoRock German Slant and RazoRock Old Type. I did just get a large mail call from Italian Barber in the hopes that I could once and for all find my desert island setup.

Now that it’s all out there, let’s see where this journey goes (remember, pretend psychic). I had a rushed shave yesterday evening with the RazoRock German Slant before a 4am wake up call. Also buzzed my head to a 1/2 ignoring the forecast for temperatures in the low 20’s.

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

First shave in 10 days was on the road. Hacked away that growth with a one blade disposable bic. It certainly wasn’t efficient, but it got the job done. We’ll see if I pay for this with redness and irritation tomorrow or the next day. On the plus side for the next time I travel, I picked up some Gillette Guards from Maggards taking advantage of their Black Friday free shipping deal.

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

Well it took another week to get a shave in. Just haven’t had time with work and family in town for Thanksgiving. Starting a new job tomorrow, so it was time for a buzz with the 1/2 guard (I am asking Santa for a bald head trimmer; I’m not quite ready to go DE up top). The shave was Tabac with a Muhle synthetic along with a Polsilver in my RazoRock German Slant.

I retired the Polsilver after this shave. Still a nice close shave with the Slant, but a little more feedback from the AS than I’d prefer. My next shaves will be experiments as I dig into my recent delivery from Italian Barber.

 

[TinyT]

My next shaves will be experiments as I dig into my recent delivery from Italian Barber.

I love experiments.

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

I love experiments.

View attachment 1040322

I am a big fan of experiments as well; however, mine tend to be significantly less adventurous than your photo would suggest.

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

Last night I finally broke into my box of goodies from Italian Barber and started with the RazoRock Game Changer .68 and a nice new Ladas blade. It was a very smooth shave and surprisingly efficient consider my other Game Changer options are the .84, .84 OC, and .84 Jaws. Lathered up with a Maggards synthetic and Proraso red. Hoping for more good things from the Game Changer moving forward.

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

Shaved before work this morning (rare for me). Lathered up with a Maggards synthetic and Maca Root shave cream, which I have always enjoyed. Second round with the GC .68 and Ladas blade. It was even smoother than the first time with minimal irritation. Very pleased with the GC so far!

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

Got my first shave of the new year with about a week of growth. Decided to give the GC .84 a try with a Ladas blade. The .84 was noticeably more efficient than the .68, but just as smooth. We’ll see how the next few days play out, but this could be the one!

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

Wow it’s amazing how busy you can get when you’re not allowed to go anywhere... I’ve gotten rid of my .68 and my .84 jaws. Looks like the .84 OC is next to go as I’ve settled in the the .84 CC. Still have some other RazoRock razors to start cycling through. Looking forward to the journey!