the better I get, the worse my shaves seem to be

[FireDragon76]

Today I shaved with Van Der Hagen Glycerin. I used an Omega S-Brush and it worked well and actually generated a decent lather quickly. But I wasn't playing with my A game with my razor and the shave wasn't as good as it could have been. Sometimes the razor doesn't feel natural and I don't get into the groove. I'm pretty sure I have to work on my cross-grain shaving technique, my mind can't quite visualize how to hold the razor.

Those who have followed me know I have had problems with this soap in the past. But I think using a synthetic brush helped a great deal to get a better lather.

 

[GaryTha]

Today I shaved with Van Der Hagen Glycerin. I used an Omega S-Brush and it worked well and actually generated a decent lather quickly. But I wasn't playing with my A game with my razor and the shave wasn't as good as it could have been. Sometimes the razor doesn't feel natural and I don't get into the groove. I'm pretty sure I have to work on my cross-grain shaving technique, my mind can't quite visualize how to hold the razor.

Those who have followed me know I have had problems with this soap in the past. But I think using a synthetic brush helped a great deal to get a better lather.

Don't forget the possibility of using a slant stoke instead of a straight stroke across the grain. On my cheeks, I can hold the handle of my razor vertical and make a diagonal stroke to get across the grain.

 

[Yyragtoj]

As you discovered, blades don't go dull after one shave.
There's many wonderful soaps, creams, razors, blades.
Stick to one setup till you know your tools. By switching a parameter daily you're bringing constantly new things into play.
The Omega S-brush will lather just about anything with ease. Pick one of the soaps or creams you have, a razor and a blade and stick to that for a couple of weeks.
Best of luck - plenty of good advice in the thread.

 

[MntnMan62]

I have been experimenting with single blades and twin blades, as well as cold water shaving. I can't get a really close shave lately with brushes or most soaps (I tried Sterling recently and it wasn't any different than any other shaving cream, really).

The only really close, comfortable shave I had recently was with Cremo and/or Everyman Jack's gel and a Bic. I also have had decent results with cheap glycerine soap. Everything else has been just a case of weed whacking, in comparison, and not particularly close. It's true that skin iritation has gone down significantly, but some days it looks like I am not getting a decent shave.

I got a reasonably close shave recently with a twin blade, but I had to do 2 passes and alot of touch up, and even then I found myself going back later with an electric because a few spots didn't get cut very well at all (on my neck). With that kind of shave, I might as well just use an electric in the first place.

Well, if your shaves keep getting worse, how can you say you are getting better? Those two concepts seem to be incongruous.

 

[FireDragon76]

Today was an injector day (type N), but I used the same soap and brush. This razor is very intuitive to use, and very efficient. The shave was better than what I typically get with a DE.

 

[FireDragon76]

Today I tried out an old Shick Krona. And it occurred to me, double edge razors are really my least favorite kind of razor. There's something about the angle or blade gap on the Krona that is really counter-intuitive to use.

So, I think I am getting better by learning what works for me. Ironically it seems headed back to the same place I came from, towards single edge razors.