The Daily Double

[Tanuki]

DD waiting for sunrise

An SR is in the mix whenever I’m not rushed. I just need to find a little honing time and I’ll put some new steel in the rotation. That’s Williams in its natural Mug habitat. A nice, close, comfortable and DFS grade shave today.

 

[Tanuki]

DD a little practice... never hurts

Shower
Valet AutoStrop VB1, despined Gem PTFE(2)
Gem Guiding Eye Micromatic Bullet Tip, PTFE(4)
Palmolive menthol cream and brick Cella
Unbranded boar
Witch hazel and Proraso green splash

Much better AutoStrop shave today. Lesson from yesterday’s shave 1. I need to constantly check that the lever that pulls the comb against the blade is tight. That cured the blade sloppiness I experienced yesterday.

The VB1 did both the N-S and the S-N pass, plus the W-E (~ATG) across the neck whorls. MMBT just did detailing beneath the jawline. Excellent comfortable DFS+ shave. And I ran the auto-strop, 5 laps, for the first (only?) time. Fun!!

 

[GAW9576]

DD a little practice... never hurts

Shower
Valet AutoStrop VB1, despined Gem PTFE(2)
Gem Guiding Eye Micromatic Bullet Tip, PTFE(4)
Palmolive menthol cream and brick Cella
Unbranded boar
Witch hazel and Proraso green splash

View attachment 1042787
Much better AutoStrop shave today. Lesson from yesterday’s shave 1. I need to constantly check that the lever that pulls the comb against the blade is tight. That cured the blade sloppiness I experienced yesterday.

The VB1 did both the N-S and the S-N pass, plus the W-E (~ATG) across the neck whorls. MMBT just did detailing beneath the jawline. Excellent comfortable DFS+ shave. And I ran the auto-strop, 5 laps, for the first (only?) time. Fun!!

Very cool.

 

[GAW9576]

I tried stropping a pathology blade again today. I don't think it helped much. The stropping attachment holds the edge of the blade off the paddle strop kn the one side and makes stropping difficult at best on a paddle. I think a hanging strop would solve this with the slight curve you would get on it. I'll just have to stick to using the blades as they come till I get a hanging strop. I also stropped the single edge blade with the handle from my Gem Jr. Bar which seemed to give a slight improvement. I used the Henkels Rapide for about half the neck shave and all of the back of the neck.

 

[Tanuki]

I tried stropping a pathology blade again today. I don't think it helped much. The stropping attachment holds the edge of the blade off the paddle strop kn the one side and makes stropping difficult at best on a paddle. I think a hanging strop would solve this with the slight curve you would get on it. I'll just have to stick to using the blades as they come till I get a hanging strop. I also stropped the single edge blade with the handle from my Gem Jr. Bar which seemed to give a slight improvement. I used the Henkels Rapide for about half the neck shave and all of the back of the neck.

View attachment 1043084

I am contemplating starting a thread on adventure shaving. But, I might save myself the trouble and just watch what you’re up to.

 

[Rosseforp]

D&D x 2

The Piccolo and Flare Tip have been getting a lot of use lately, along with my trusty Omega 10066.
Alas the GC68-P has been feeling a little left out after seeing it's more aggressive OC84GC cousin getting in line.
I have been wanting to try out a Fougere and the Black Label soap and splash was on sale.
It has a very faint scent, like a toned down Proraso Green with a touch of citrus. The ingredient list reads the same as the Razorock What the Puck Orange Sunrise soaps that I like, so I will definitely be using it more.

This is also the 2nd use of my new Semogue 620 and it is already starting to break-in.....

 

[GAW9576]

I had to make up for not shaving yesterday so I went with three razors today. The wonderful and trusty Gem Jr. Bar and the first shaves with recently acquired Gem Featherweight and Pushbutton. All three razors shared a first use Gem SS. I lathered up with my boar brush and Mer Shavings mysore sandalwood with a dab of lubriderm for a touch more moisture in this dry weather. The Featherweight handled the first pass on most the shave then the Jr. Bar took over. The pushbutton handle length helped handle things on the back of my neck.

 

[Rosseforp]

D & D
Tonight we had the dueling duo of Game Changers. I loaded a 3rd use Nacet in the 84-P for the 1st pass and used the 68-P to clean up what got missed on the 2nd pass. I treat the 84-P with a lot of respect on my neck and usually leave the sensitive areas for the 68-P.

I was also using the Wholly Kaw Fougere Parfaite for the first time with my new Acca Kappa badger. The brush is getting very soft while having a nice bit of backbone and really spread the lather nice and creamy. Both of my razors just glided over my face as smooth as could be.
After finishing up with Witch hazel, Black Label splash and Nivea balm my face feels very nice.

 

[Tanuki]

Daily DouQuadruple

It was a shave test with 3 SRs just off B/S/T, plus the Gillette New Improved with a Feather to handle fine-tuning of the new beard/side whiskers boundaries. Lea cream base coat with BOSC Special Reserve wet lather.

The SRs all shaved well.

SRs top to bottom
Zebra Brand (I have seen a claim that these were made by Gillette. Seems extremely unlikely to me. The hammered tang is similar to Robeson SRs.)
Blue Steel, German(?) sold by R Bannier, Norfolk, VA
Spike made by Union Cutlery, Olean, NY

 

[GAW9576]

Very nice @Tanuki.

 

[GAW9576]

Had a great shave today.

 

[Tanuki]

DD post-holidaze

Doubles are just how I roll these days, generally a straight and either a DE or an SE. I am not moving DE blades between razors, so one DE gets several shaves in a row.

After no shave on the big day, the last two days my Focus Slim Al 1/2 blade shavette worked as the main razor, with my NEW Deluxe just doing a couple strokes sideways across my neck, which is as close as it gets to ATG down there.

Shower prep - the house has cleared out after the holiday, so I can get morning showers again!
Focus Slim Al / fresh half of a Rapira Platinum Lux
Gillette NEW Deluxe / Feather at the end of its tether (7&8)
Soaps: RazoRock triple milled Orange then CBL Tonsorial Roasted Oatmeal Stout on an Omega cream base
After: witch hazel splash and the Burt’s Bees Aftershave (actually a balm) from my stocking. Burt’s Bees’ proud boast is “99% Natural”.

Thursday’s shave rated highly, today’s shave prompted me to kick both blades into the bank. For me, Feathers give a superior shave for three or four uses, shave fine for a few more, then quit suddenly. I expected more than two shaves from the Rapira in the shavette, but this half of the blade had been waiting in the wrapper for six weeks. That might explain the short life.

 

[GAW9576]

I had a fantastic Daily Double today. Started things off with the Ever-ready 1924 aka little lather catcher. Then did a little cleanup and the back of the neck with 1900 Star lather catcher. The razors shared a 4th use Gem SS. Mer Shavings mysore sandalwood on my new brush with a 28mm SHD Maggard knot for lather. WOW first impressions of this knot are very good. And of course I love Mer Shaving soaps.

 

[GAW9576]

Correction that an Ever-ready 1914

 

[Tanuki]

Correction that an Ever-ready 1914

My recently acquired 1914 is queued up for Monday. And, hey, if the 1914 is a ‘little lather catcher’, why aren’t the Gem and Ever-Ready 1912s called lather catchers? Unfair!

@Flintstone65 , I need some information here.

 

[Flintstone65]

My recently acquired 1914 is queued up for Monday. And, hey, if the 1914 is a ‘little lather catcher’, why aren’t the Gem and Ever-Ready 1912s called lather catchers? Unfair!

@Flintstone65 , I need some information here.

I have to say that my earlier Gems (i.e., the 1912s) really do seem to "catch lather" (at least better than my DE and many other SE's); BUT, I think to be a REAL lather catcher, you're supposed to have a base plate with holes/slits internally which funnels/drops the lather to a relatively large scoop, which in turn catches and holds the lather. That's why many folks don't really consider the 1914 a "real" lather catcher. It's got the scoop (which is where the nick name came from, I'm sure), and while certainly can catch lather that is filtered from the front of the head, it doesn't really funnel the lather internally and then drop it down the center.

That's my understanding of it, but YMMV -- always safe to say that -- !!! And I bet you're glad you asked

 

[Flintstone65]

Speaking of Lather Catchers, John (@Tanuki), I'm trying to remember if you've got one (besides the LLC, of course). I could go and use the advanced search with your username and the term lather catcher....yada yada yada....but I figured I'd ask and be embarrassed when you remind me of the answer which I probably knew long ago....it's what I do.

 

[Tanuki]

Speaking of Lather Catchers, John (@Tanuki), I'm trying to remember if you've got one (besides the LLC, of course). I could go and use the advanced search with your username and the term lather catcher....yada yada yada....but I figured I'd ask and be embarrassed when you remind me of the answer which I probably knew long ago....it's what I do.

No real lather catcher for me yet. I formerly used the argument that I didn't want to figure out blade modifications, etc., but then I bumped into a healthy wild AutoStrop...

So you may eventually see me posting with your gentlemanly association of lather catchers. The wild woods have been scaring up some interesting razors for me of late.

 

[Tanuki]

I have to say that my earlier Gems (i.e., the 1912s) really do seem to "catch lather" (at least better than my DE and many other SE's); BUT, I think to be a REAL lather catcher, you're supposed to have a base plate with holes/slits internally which funnels/drops the lather to a relatively large scoop, which in turn catches and holds the lather. That's why many folks don't really consider the 1914 a "real" lather catcher. It's got the scoop (which is where the nick name came from, I'm sure), and while certainly can catch lather that is filtered from the front of the head, it doesn't really funnel the lather internally and then drop it down the center.

That's my understanding of it, but YMMV -- always safe to say that -- !!! And I bet you're glad you asked

In short, the rickety Erector set architecture of the lather catcher superstructure is essential to the breed! And a truly capacious lather scoop is equally necessary.

So, I’m planning to shave with my 1914 Fake News Lather Catcher on Monday. Or to be more period correct, my 1914 Yellow Journalism Lather Catcher.

 

[GAW9576]

No real lather catcher for me yet. I formerly used the argument that I didn't want to figure out blade modifications, etc., but then I bumped into a healthy wild AutoStrop...

So you may eventually see me posting with your gentlemanly association of lather catchers. The wild woods have been scaring up some interesting razors for me of late.

What you need is a Gem Jr. Bar. No need to modify or wedge/shim the blade. And it is one of the best shaving razors I own. And likely one of the best shaving razors ever produced.