Starting the switchover.

[majorrich]

It's funny that they invented this whole thing on their own. Schedule and all. I to make all over them after they sit their watch, but they seem to hear me stropping and come in and do their thing. Mittens came and made up with me yesterday and we watched some TV together in the command chair. He's still a fairly young cat at 3 so his attention span is about the same as mine. Lap kitty sessions are usually no longer than 5 minutes.

 

[WildWest74]

Nice read, Rich! Sorry about the continued hand injury and the nick that occurred.

 

[majorrich]

New Ears hear the tinkle :
Straight Shave #284
Razor: Erik Anton Berg 11/16 Shoulderless
Soap: Pinaud Clubman
Scuttle: Crown King 12oz.
Strop: Mitchel Mogal #824 Horsehide
Brush: Sterling Boar
AS/EdT: Pinaud Citrus Musk
Sound track: None

Comments: Got my new ears Monday. We selected a different brand this time. Probably better suited to my needs this time. Fewer bells and whistles but far better (in my view) quality. As soon as the tech turned them on everything sounded pretty much the same. None of the 'speaking in a jug' sounds I was trying to tune out from the other aids was completely gone. We'll be trying them out at the movies tonight. The Cats were sleeping at shave time. So I went with a safe bet.

The Hardware: I'm pretty sure that they don't and didn't know how to make a bad razor in Ekilstuna. This EAB is a great representative of the best of Swedens steel. A few laps on the Jnat that I've been giving every razor pre-shave as an insurance thing, the usual stropping and it feels very ready to go.

The Software: Aside from the wee tiny container, Pinaud's Clubman soap is pretty good. Lathering is pretty much in line with every other decent soap in the collection. A touch of finagling with the great huge Sterling got plenty of product for the lather. Clubman appears a little more thirsty than I had estimated, but with a quick splash on the brush and I got a pretty good smooth lather, plenty good for shaving.

The Shave: One of the great things I am really noticing about these instruments is I can hear the sizzle of dying whiskers with great clarity. It really helps me find bad spots and refine my angles and paths. As it turned out over three passes I was able to get a pretty good CCS over my entire face, and not the usual missing pieces where I usually have to go back and clean up afterwards. I do like having ears to hear the carnage taking place.

Respectfully Submitted,
Rich

 

[clyde72]

Congrats on the new hearing aids! Hopefully they will work out for you!
Great shave and picture! I do like the Clubman soap!

 

[majorrich]

Got a Tiger by the Tail :
Straight Shave #285

Razor: Bengall 5/8
Soap: Pre De Provence
Scuttle: Crown King 12oz.
Strop: Mitchel Mogal #824 Horsehide
Brush: +2 Omega Badger Brush of Lathering
AS/EdT: Rich's Mongoose Ultra Menthol
Sound track: None

The Stuff: Bengall's are a very popular razor I gather from what I read. And kind of a hidden jewel. My particular specimen is stamped with a Swedish importers name, indicating it was meant for the Swedish market. Arne says Not all Swedes loved their own steel. As hard as it is to swallow that, I have to admit this is one fine razor. The history of the brand is fraught with ambiguity on the Googles. I don't really care because I know it's a good and fairly common razor for shavers of any skill level, and easy to hone to boot!
I have finally worn the top stamping off the everlasting gobstopper puck of Pre' De Provence. I'm afraid if I don't use it occasionally it will regenerate and then spawn more pucks. Not that that is a bad thing. This is some great soap that lathers great.

The Shave: Wow! what an edge! I've been reading about advice to shave only with the grain. With Buster, SafetyCat Second class, in the right seat, I begin the shave. Two passes with the grain leave me feeling very like one of those shiny pillows I've been seeing around that you can draw and write in the glitter pieces. So, out the window goes that advice and I make a third pass at a near ATG and carefully pick at the problem spots. What I am left with is a CCS+ because Buster aborted the shave by leaving his station and standing in front of me, impeding the completion of the shave. I rinsed my gear and called it good.

Comments: I think I've learned my lesson with the last encounter with Mr. Murphy. I know the cats have my well-being at heart and know they would not let me down.

Respectfully Submitted,
Rich

 

[clyde72]

Great read, shave, and picture Rich!

 

[majorrich]

TSC: Second Shave :
DE Shave Straight Shave #285

Razor: Merkur Futur / Gillette Black (4)
Soap: MVM Parfait
Scuttle: Crown King 12oz.
Strop: Mitchel Mogal #824 Horsehide
Brush: Maggard Synthetic
AS/EdT: GTB
Sound track: Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Queen of the Silver Dollar

The Stuff: Fourth time out with the Gillette Black and needing a more open razor because it's been so long since my last shave. So the Futur gets hauled out. The combination of a smooth blade with the free flowing head of the Futur should not have to worry about clogging with my more than usual harvest today. I will run the razor set at 3 to start, knowing it to be a little more aggressive than the last several razors I've used with this blade.

The Shave: As I anticipated, at the setting of 3, I can feel the potential of this blade. It has the capacity to reap the whirlwind as a Feather, but perhaps in a little less violent way. I definitely don't want to try my luck with any more than this setting with this blade or risk peeling my epidermis like a carrot. Definitely did some mass destruction on pass 1 I definitely feel the magic, prompting me to back the setting down to 2+ for the next pass and to 1 for the final pass. SafetyCat is watching my footwork today and seems happy with what he sees. Makes a couple of laps and saunters out into the hallway. Turns and sits, keeping watch. Second and third passes at XTG then finishing up at oblique ATG. Walts soaps pave the way for a DFS as I planned.

Comments: There has been a hideous chest cold ravaging the neighborhood that settles in the chest and just wont go away, and I've been in it's clutches for about a week. Dang! What a ride! I missed Sunday go ta' Meetin' for the first time in a long time. The Ear doctor equipped me with a dongle for my hearing aids on my last visit. I've been playing around with streaming audio. While a bit clumsier than built-in bluetooth, this sounds like listening through headphones. Way better than the other set. I fear I could get myself into mischief in boring meetings streaming my tunes. I'll just not mention it to SWMBO how good this is working out and complain about having to wear a necklace to make it all work.

Respectfully Submitted,
Rich

 

[WildWest74]

Terrific stuff, Rich!

 

[McVeyMac]

Great couple of shaves Rich. I am thinking I need some new ears myself, especially on the right. Thinking of seeing what the VA might be able to do, since the U.S.M.C. is why most of it is gone.

 

[majorrich]

The VA here had such a long waiting list I went through my State benefits and medical savings account for mine. At first they insisted on TruHearing. But those didn't work out so well. I ended up with Phonaks. They are the bees knees!

 

[majorrich]

Genco Wedge Back in the saddle again :
DE Shave Straight Shave #289

Razor: 5/8 Genco Wedge
Soap: SV Opuntia (Bellisima!)
Scuttle: Crown King 12oz.
Strop: Mitchel Mogal #824 Horsehide
Brush: Omega +2 Badger Brush of Lathering
AS/EdT: SV Opuntia
Sound track: None

The Stuff: Between shaves I ran the razor over the Jnat with a taped spine. It seems to have really responded to this treatment and I anticipate the results will reflect that. Today’s Software selection is SV’s Opuntia which comes highly recommended and much anticipated. Brushwise the proven power of the Omega is always a good one to use.

The Shave: Today is also go with cold lathering to try out a theory I’ve been mulling about in my (mostly unused) mind. I theorize it may be more possible to get a close and safe shave with cold water due to the tightening of the skin and standing up of the whiskers. The downside I foresee is that it may also not soften the whiskers as hot water does, making it harder for the razor to do it’s job. We shall see.
Lathering direct to the face I think it’s a little dry for the first pass and I slow my pace a bit. In doing that I set myself up for a little nick because my rhythm is off. But with SafetyCat in place, I only hit the usual spot and it doesn’t really affect the shave. Pass 2 I added more water to my face and was rewarded with a much slicker and better lather (did I mention the frag? OH MY! Its wonderous) Mittens is a little fidgety today and leaves his seat during pass 1 and I admonish him not to leave at least until I finish this pass. He leaves his seat and repositions himself to the toilet seat to cover my flanks from a Murphy attack.
Pass 2 and three are exceptionally good with this razor which indeed is much better for the taping of their spines. I’ve never done it and am a bit mystified how changing the profile can have so much impact on the Shave ability of the razor. It does and I should just let it lie. But the engineer in me ponders. I arrive in BBS land very solidly after pass 3 and a bit of cleaning up on the neck region. I spilled the AS a bit and not wanting to waste it, and being unable to put it back in the bottle, went ahead with the application. SWMBO likes the frag, but did say she could smell me from the garage door. I am hoping my cloud of SV goodness will contrace a bit before we go to tonight’s activities.

Comments: We are going to another charity auction tonight to which I have donated a starter wet shaving kit. I hope that by doing this I can renew someone’s interest or convert a spooge user from the dark side. The lineup for the noob kit is a SuperSpeed (L-1) some Voskhods, a Sterling Boar brush and some sample soaps. I am throwing in a copy of ‘The Art of Shaving’ which I think will be interesting for the user.
Today’s shave is after an extended gap due to an unfortunate run-in with gravity and my being a little shaky. That and corralling a SafetyCat to do their assigned task is like.. well.. herding Cats.

Respectfully Submitted,
Rich

 

[Strop Dragging My Heart]

Catching up after some time away, Rich. Great shaves, and congrats on the ears!

 

[majorrich]

Have been out of pocket for way too long! Due to an injury, Typing is quite difficult, so I shot a video instead. If this is the wrong place to post this, Mods please move it and let me know where to post these.

 

[rockviper]

It's great to see you again, Rich. Literally this time!!

 

[majorrich]

I just learned how to pump the volume up. I ordered a lavaliere microphone and can also punch it up through iMovie. The next shaves will be better. I'm stuck in DE's for a while as my hands are not so good for holding small things without fear of facial sushi.

 

[rockviper]

mmmmmmmm ...... sushi .........

 

[majorrich]

Today's shave: Gravity 1 - Rich 0

 

[majorrich]

Shaving with Rich: *Mods* I accidentally mentioned my Youtube Channel, but there are only 2 videos in there. I haven't learned how to fix that kind of stuff yet.

 

[majorrich]

Got an AMAZING PIF from the Rock Viper today!

 

[majorrich]

Another vlog entry today.