(Slaps link to thread) You Can Fit So Much Wrong In This Journal

[AimlessWanderer]

Fixed Five #2

Last night’s shave:
MMOC
GEM PTFE (5)
30mm Maggards Synthetic Brush
Pre-shave: Noxzema and water on face followed by letting it soak on my face for over three minutes, hot shower, diy preshave oil
Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Post-shave Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Post-shave alum block
Aftershave: Snake Bite
Hyaluronic Acid
Stirling Unscented Witch Hazel Menthol

A few design-angle shallow strokes and I felt invincible. So I buffed away and vinced myself. A nick on the left upper lip, a weeper on each side of the bottom of my throat, and general irritation. Very close shave - BBS most places and no curlbacks again. Not braggable BBS due to irritation, nick, and weepers.

Corners of mouth weeper free!

The comb of the Micromatic feels janky compared to the roller-like comb of the Fatip Grande and comfy-and-adorable teeth of the RazoRock Hawk V3OC, but an upgrade compared to the deeply scalloped safety bar of the Mühle 2013-R41. Maybe some 5μ lapping film will tame it.

Short strokes okay; overall buffing e’erywhere not so okay.

Post-shave lather stung a little, but the other day I lathered without shaving and applied liberally to entire face and neck. When I did that, well, there was too much lanolin to feel as ridiculous as I looked, but also only had soap sting on areas I shaved the day before, so that means that soap sting on initial lather means damage hasn’t healed yet and smarties would call it a day and put their razors away.

Happy shaves, everyone!

Fractured stubble - fixed
Closeness - improved
Eagerness - still too high
(don't make it happen, let it happen)
Pressure - still too high
Buffing/scrubbing - not helping
Comfort - not fixed yet, but showing promise.

Overall, it sounds like you're heading in the right direction.

 

[thombrogan]

Those are you trouble areas we all have them. You must use considerably less pressure in those areas.

I think it was everywhere I shared, so that makes sense.

Those areas should never get One Extra Stroke for Any Reason. Until that skin has healed to normal.

Actually gives me an idea that if I lather before I shower and it stings that I should skip until next time.

My latest comfort improvement has been accepting that and the single stroke of blade sharpness acceptance. If that area isn’t efficient enough with the single stroke, the blade is not sharp enough. That is the number One reason I am looking for sharper blades. Efficiency equals comfort. Not Extra Strokes.

That makes a lot of sense to me. The straight razor crowd won’t start a shave without some stropping and most of the Method ones take their blades to balsa loaded with 0.1μ diamond spray or paste after cleanup.

We safety-razor enthusiasts; flipping blades after use and palm-stropping here and there at best; entrust our faces to rapidly decaying edges. In comparison to edges maintained with 10-20 laps on canvass and 40-50 on bare leather, we’re dichotomous Spartans: blade rich and edge poor.

With that in mind, I’ll not mind binning my GEMs so early.

Fractured stubble - fixed

A silver lining in increasingly silver whiskers.

Eagerness - still too high
(don't make it happen, let it happen)

I think JoWolf’s idea of not using a too dull edge for my goals will help with this.

Pressure - still too high

I agree and have greater expectations for next shave.

Buffing/scrubbing - not helping

The sore spot of my jawline agrees.

 

[thombrogan]

Fixed Five #3

Last night’s shave:
MMOC
GEM PTFE (1)
30mm Maggards Synthetic Brush
Pre-shave: Cold water splash, two face-latherings of Stirling Naked and Smooth
Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Post-shave Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Aftershave: Snake Bite
Hyaluronic Acid
Stirling Unscented Witch Hazel Menthol

I did not chase the baby! Fat good it did me, but I did not!

Lapping film smoothed out comb. Doesn’t feel all Fatip Grande impressive, but the jankiness is gone.

I remembered to not push the cap into my skin, but didn’t make a conscious effort to develop new-to-me habit of locking wrist…

This was all done on break time, so no full hot shower and no alum. Plenty of weepers, upper lip shaved smoother than it has in weeks, razor burn on both sides of throat. Had Snake Bite run double duty for alum and it stung me good. Stragglers not curling back

Observations:

No soap sting in any of four lathers (two pre, one peri, one post) with only water and frantic race against clock for other pre-shave products.

Locked wrist would’ve been better.

Upper lip joined booster committee encouraging me to wait more than 48 hours between shaves. The improvement in quality for that section of whiskers fell right in line with observations from @JoWolf and @rabidus

Neck/jawline required a little cleanup. So many ways/reasons I could’ve got that wrong (lack of locked wrist is #1 on list with all other culprits ignored for now). Right sideburn could’ve benefited from cleanup, but it’ll get what’s coming to it next time.

 

[JoWolf]

Fixed Five #3

Last night’s shave:
MMOC
GEM PTFE (1)
30mm Maggards Synthetic Brush
Pre-shave: Cold water splash, two face-latherings of Stirling Naked and Smooth
Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Post-shave Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Aftershave: Snake Bite
Hyaluronic Acid
Stirling Unscented Witch Hazel Menthol

I did not chase the baby! Fat good it did me, but I did not!

Lapping film smoothed out comb. Doesn’t feel all Fatip Grande impressive, but the jankiness is gone.

I remembered to not push the cap into my skin, but didn’t make a conscious effort to develop new-to-me habit of locking wrist…

This was all done on break time, so no full hot shower and no alum. Plenty of weepers, upper lip shaved smoother than it has in weeks, razor burn on both sides of throat. Had Snake Bite run double duty for alum and it stung me good. Stragglers not curling back

Observations:

No soap sting in any of four lathers (two pre, one peri, one post) with only water and frantic race against clock for other pre-shave products.

Locked wrist would’ve been better.

Upper lip joined booster committee encouraging me to wait more than 48 hours between shaves. The improvement in quality for that section of whiskers fell right in line with observations from @JoWolf and @rabidus

Neck/jawline required a little cleanup. So many ways/reasons I could’ve got that wrong (lack of locked wrist is #1 on list with all other culprits ignored for now). Right sideburn could’ve benefited from cleanup, but it’ll get what’s coming to it next time.

This was all done on break time, so no full hot shower and no alum. Plenty of weepers, upper lip shaved smoother

I would never shave without a shower, and any pre shave prep. I would never shave with any type of time restraint. I would never attempt a shave if I did not have the time to produce a very nice lather and enjoy a relaxing face and head lathering. I am always in a relaxed frame of mind ready to take all the time I want with my shave. I thoroughly enjoy my planned relaxing shave every 120 hrs. My shaves are always somewhere between very good and excellent. I have a shave plan that works well for me. I’m retired and I have plenty of time. There may be one or two things you might adapt to your schedule. Even one or two little improvements might help your shave.

 

[thombrogan]

To my cold-numbed fingertips, my whiskers felt softer after the second full-lathering was washed off and about to be buried under the third lathering. The weepers disagreed, of course.

Going forward, keeping the hot shower; focusing on locked wrist at least until it’s automatic; waiting more than two days between shaves; blades to be sacrificed once they no longer behave as desired; waiting more than two days between shaves.

 

[thombrogan]

Fixed Five #4

Last night’s shave:
MMOC
GEM PTFE (2)
30mm Maggards Synthetic Brush
Pre-shave: Noxzema face wash left on face about three minutes, hot shower, mostly grapeseed pre-shave oil
Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Post-shave Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Post-shave alum block
Aftershave: Snake Bite
Hyaluronic Acid
Stirling Unscented Menthol with Witch Hazel & Aloe

Two and a half days growth after an uneven shave. Whiskers under jawline and neck were digging into skin.

LOCKED wrist.

Mission to keep as much pressure off skin as possible.

At sign and even at suspicion of lather drying, brush was wetted lather renewed outward from chin to both sideburns, sideburn to chin to other sideburn, and other sideburn to chin and original sideburn.

Failed mission. Nicked neck. Eep! Weepers on neck and corners of mouth. Razor burn on neck. Rationalized chasing baby would even out shave enough for me to comfortably endure three-four days of rest. That said, I think shaving more frequently; excluding mustache area from some shaves; will give me more opportunities and decrease my urge to chase that baby as a 24 hour patch of uncurled stragglers (now that that’s a thing with my whiskers) is; theoretically; easier to leave than a 60 hour patch.

Happy shaves, everyone!

 

[Esox]

The MMOC is a lot of razor. Do yourself a favor and try a Bullet Tip. When you're proficient with it then step up to the MMOC again.

 

[thombrogan]

I have a Micromatic Clog Pruf. Is that close enough?

 

[Esox]

I have a Micromatic Clog Pruf. Is that close enough?

I havent used one but many say its sort of between the MMOC and Bullet Tip.

 

[thombrogan]

many say its sort of between the MMOC and Bullet Tip.

If shaving more frequently doesn’t help me develop an appropriately light touch, it’ll be scrubbed out and loaded up.

 

[Esox]

If shaving more frequently doesn’t help me develop an appropriately light touch, it’ll be scrubbed out and loaded up.

Risk/Reward. Theres far less risk, and therefore more chance of reward, by using something less inclined to sharpen its claws upon your face lol.

 

[TinyT]

If shaving more frequently doesn’t help

I think it will. I shave every 2 days religiously but last time I left it for an extra day it was hard going. I'll be more likely to shave every day. Who knows, I might even end up shaving in the morning (or as close to it as PM gets) like a normal person. But probably not.

 

[thombrogan]

Theres far less risk, and therefore more chance of reward, by using something less inclined to sharpen its claws upon your face

It doesn’t want to claw me, but I’m sometimes naughty.

like a normal person.

Don’t normies accept carpy shaves and push on with stronger intoxicants than mentholated pre-shave?

 

[Esox]

It doesn’t want to claw me, but I’m sometimes naughty.

 

[TinyT]

Don’t normies accept carpy shaves and push on with stronger intoxicants than mentholated pre-shave?

Just Checking.

 

[Esox]

Good one lol.

 

[thombrogan]

Fixed Five #5

Last night’s shave:
MMOC
GEM PTFE (3)
30mm Maggards Synthetic Brush
Pre-shave: Noxzema face wash left on face about three minutes, hot shower, mostly grapeseed pre-shave oil
Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Post-shave Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth
Post-shave alum block
Hyaluronic Acid
Stirling Unscented Menthol with Witch Hazel & Aloe

Aside from thinking adding menthol crystals and aloe powder to the grapeseed oil would be fun, I think I’m settling into an easily repeatable pre-shave ritual.

Without two days or days and a half of drying between uses, the Stirling starts making lather before I’m done loading the brush.

Didn‘t notice any weepers, but made some areas on throat and cheek a bit more raw.

Very few stragglers and no curlbacks noticed on them.

You know how most of youse guys say shaving irritated skin makes it worse?

Nail on the head with that pronouncement!

Looking forward to the next shave. It just won’t be tonight.

 

[Esox]

You know how most of youse guys say shaving irritated skin makes it worse?

Nail on the head with that pronouncement!

I went through much the same thing. Then I started swapping back and forth between highly efficient (Grande/MMOC) and more forgiving, less efficient razors. My Brit clone being my solid #1 choice in that regard. Thats the one reason my Brit clone Old Type is still on my shelf, albeit dusty, but its still there.

When I would revert back to using it, it was more as a way of reenforcing The #1 Priority, comfort. As my shaves improved through refining of technique, blade and soap choices, that razor got used less and less. Now it sits there as a sort of reminder to keep shave comfort my #1 Priority.

 

[thombrogan]

That‘s a cool idea! After I get 31 shaves down in my ‘Fixed Five,’ the Yaqi Mellon (rigid, built for shallow-angles, open-combed) shall ride again!

 

[JoWolf]

That‘s a cool idea! After I get 31 shaves down in my ‘Fixed Five,’ the Yaqi Mellon (rigid, built for shallow-angles, open-combed) shall ride again!

The Yaqi MelLon is an excellent very comfortable razor. It will deliver great DFS shaves. If you report BBS shaves we’ll know your buffing too much Thom.