AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I'm not normally one for "rotations" as I generally prefer to follow a freethinking path in life (not just with shaving). However, I'm also trying to make sure I keep my hand in with straight shaving, and with the self maintaining single edge razors. As such, I'm trying out a new weekly rota which encompases a fuller spectrum of razor types, and I'm just about to finish my first week of it.
Mondays:
Double edge shave. Continuing to work through the pile of blades that I'm longevity testing and recording in my journal thread. There's a fair chance that most of these will be in the usual Edwin Jagger DE3D14, but I may well swap to a different DE razor if I have cause to.
Tuesdays:
Day off. I usually get a close enough shave with a DE, that I can afford to go 48 hours before shaving again. The purpose here is to get longer stubble for Wednesday's shave. My beard always seems to hydrate better after I've taken a day off, which will probably make Wednesdays a little easier.
Wednesdays:
Wedge Wednesdays. Out comes the Rolls Razor, or the Darwin Deluxe Hollow Ground. I'm still both refining restoration elements with these two razors, and learning how to get the very best shaves with them. The Darwin is running a little coarse at the moment, and needs a little edge refinement. Likewise, the Rolls blade needs to go back to the kitchen table for hand honing, following a bit of a mishap when it flew off the mechanism while stropping. Making this a weekly activity, will hopefully give me a little more impotus to get these refined. I've not had time to do any blade work this week, so I either need to get it done, or get annoyed with the excess growth that I can't get rid of because I didn't get my razor sorted.
Thursdays:
Day off. As I'm still learning with the Rolls and Darwin, and I haven't gotten either consistently maintaining buttery smooth edges, I reckon this is another good day to have off - either to recover from irritation, or because I got a good enough shave to not "need" to shave again. Plus, any sub standard shaves on a Wednesday will get really annoying on Thursday, and be a good motivator for doing a better job next week!
Fridays:
Double edge shave. Back with the Jagger and ongoing longevity testing, for the second and final DE shave of the week. Yes, that testing is going to take forever if I stick at two DE shaves a week, but I'm not going to progress with the other razors unless I make a more concerted effort to get them finished and mastered. The Friday DE slot gives me a nice easy shave after wrestling with the self stroppers on the Wednesday.
Saturdays and Sundays:
The weekend shave is with an open razor. I'll leave the "when" flexible to suit the events in store, and i'll also leave the choice of straight or shavette flexible too. If I'm away at the weekend, it'll likely be shavette, as I don't want to be lugging a strop around with me, or risking leaving my straight somewhere I can't readily get back to. Weekly shaves will get me more practiced with the straight format, and maybe be a little more incentive to make a new strop, which I've been promising myself for a while. I'm already more fluent with the straight and shavette than I am with the Wedge SEs, so I don't feel the need to schedule a day off afterwards, and can go back to the DE on the Monday.
So there it is, the new weekly rota. Hopefully, this new schedule should be interesting, educational, challenging and motivational. If I don't allow myself to go for the DE for "rectification" shaves, it means I've got to improve the shaves with the other gear, or accept the "penalty" or putting up with poor quality shaves, and the annnoyance of excess beard growth.
I've no idea how long this will last, or what I might choose to do once I get the others in finished condition and get proficient with using them. That's then, this is now. I've spent long enough dawdling and saying to myself I'll get myself and the razors good enough "one day", so hopefully this will get me there sooner rather than later. If I do veer off course and break pattern, it's no big issue, but at least I have an ongoing plan to achieve the goals that I've delayed for far too long.
Keeping two DE shaves in the week's line up, should also stop this getting tedious. If any part of the kit is annoying, I've got a whole week before I have to face it again. That's time to fix problems, overcome an irritable face or mood, and minimise boredom or frustration.
Mondays:
Double edge shave. Continuing to work through the pile of blades that I'm longevity testing and recording in my journal thread. There's a fair chance that most of these will be in the usual Edwin Jagger DE3D14, but I may well swap to a different DE razor if I have cause to.
Tuesdays:
Day off. I usually get a close enough shave with a DE, that I can afford to go 48 hours before shaving again. The purpose here is to get longer stubble for Wednesday's shave. My beard always seems to hydrate better after I've taken a day off, which will probably make Wednesdays a little easier.
Wednesdays:
Wedge Wednesdays. Out comes the Rolls Razor, or the Darwin Deluxe Hollow Ground. I'm still both refining restoration elements with these two razors, and learning how to get the very best shaves with them. The Darwin is running a little coarse at the moment, and needs a little edge refinement. Likewise, the Rolls blade needs to go back to the kitchen table for hand honing, following a bit of a mishap when it flew off the mechanism while stropping. Making this a weekly activity, will hopefully give me a little more impotus to get these refined. I've not had time to do any blade work this week, so I either need to get it done, or get annoyed with the excess growth that I can't get rid of because I didn't get my razor sorted.
Thursdays:
Day off. As I'm still learning with the Rolls and Darwin, and I haven't gotten either consistently maintaining buttery smooth edges, I reckon this is another good day to have off - either to recover from irritation, or because I got a good enough shave to not "need" to shave again. Plus, any sub standard shaves on a Wednesday will get really annoying on Thursday, and be a good motivator for doing a better job next week!
Fridays:
Double edge shave. Back with the Jagger and ongoing longevity testing, for the second and final DE shave of the week. Yes, that testing is going to take forever if I stick at two DE shaves a week, but I'm not going to progress with the other razors unless I make a more concerted effort to get them finished and mastered. The Friday DE slot gives me a nice easy shave after wrestling with the self stroppers on the Wednesday.
Saturdays and Sundays:
The weekend shave is with an open razor. I'll leave the "when" flexible to suit the events in store, and i'll also leave the choice of straight or shavette flexible too. If I'm away at the weekend, it'll likely be shavette, as I don't want to be lugging a strop around with me, or risking leaving my straight somewhere I can't readily get back to. Weekly shaves will get me more practiced with the straight format, and maybe be a little more incentive to make a new strop, which I've been promising myself for a while. I'm already more fluent with the straight and shavette than I am with the Wedge SEs, so I don't feel the need to schedule a day off afterwards, and can go back to the DE on the Monday.
So there it is, the new weekly rota. Hopefully, this new schedule should be interesting, educational, challenging and motivational. If I don't allow myself to go for the DE for "rectification" shaves, it means I've got to improve the shaves with the other gear, or accept the "penalty" or putting up with poor quality shaves, and the annnoyance of excess beard growth.
I've no idea how long this will last, or what I might choose to do once I get the others in finished condition and get proficient with using them. That's then, this is now. I've spent long enough dawdling and saying to myself I'll get myself and the razors good enough "one day", so hopefully this will get me there sooner rather than later. If I do veer off course and break pattern, it's no big issue, but at least I have an ongoing plan to achieve the goals that I've delayed for far too long.
Keeping two DE shaves in the week's line up, should also stop this getting tedious. If any part of the kit is annoying, I've got a whole week before I have to face it again. That's time to fix problems, overcome an irritable face or mood, and minimise boredom or frustration.