Weck Wednesdays

[rudyt]

First pass with the Weck with the OC guard is nearly effortless and almost second-nature.

You're doing great. When the shave goes from "almost second nature" to "second nature", it might be time to test the waters again and try a WTG shave with no training wheels.

If you've never tried vintage Williams, you should try to score yourself a puck. I like the modern stuff, the vintage version is just more luxurious, almost like MWF and Haslinger.

 

[rudyt]

May 14: Weck Thursday with a 90 Degree Twist

Lather: Haslinger Schafmilch Rasierseife
Brush: Simpson Berkeley 46 in Best (21/43mm)
Razor: Weck Wecprep Medical SE Razor
Blade: Personna Hair Shaper [15]
Balm: Stirling Gentleman Post-Shave Balm

Yesterday I said I'd use a Weck today to make up for missing last Wednesday, but I didn't say which Weck. Behold the SE Weck, one of the most efficient razors I own.

Like the folding Wecprep that I use often, this one is all stainless, and was designed for medical use so it can be thrown into an autoclave for sterilization. It has a built in non-removable comb guard with very little blade gap, a lot less gap than the removable guard on my folding Weck, but it works, and works well.

This razor is worth chasing for any Weck aficionado, but it doesn't come up often and it often goes for what I think is stupid money. Note that I've never spent more than $60 for a vintage razor, so my definition of stupid money is probably less than yours ;-)

 

[Flintstone65]

You're doing great. When the shave goes from "almost second nature" to "second nature", it might be time to test the waters again and try a WTG shave with no training wheels.

If you've never tried vintage Williams, you should try to score yourself a puck. I like the modern stuff, the vintage version is just more luxurious, almost like MWF and Haslinger.

I've heard really good things about vintage Williams....I'll try to pick some up.

 

[rudyt]

May 20: Shiny

Lather: Stirling Baker Street (sample)
Brush: Proraso Professional (27/57mm)
Razor: Weck Wecprep Medical Sextoblade w/guard
Blade: Personna Hair Shaper [16]
Balm: Chatillon Lux TSM Fougere Salve

Weck Wednesdays are synonymous with great shaves, and today was no exception. I got lazy and went with the guard do I could have a completely safe and mindless shave entirely on autopilot.

I'm a big Stirling fan, and am really digging the Baker Street scent. Reminds me a lot of Chiseled Face Ghost Town Barber.

 

[Flintstone65]

May 20 -- a VERY successful Weck Sextoblade shave (with guard) -- 2 passes and a touch-up, and I'm as smooth as if I had used one of my safety razors (DE or SE). Today was my cream colored handled Weck Sextoblade with a Fromm blade and the safety-bar version of the guard. Soap was Valobra Fougere lathered with Yaqi Sagrada Familia. Really nice shave! I am particularly proud that it came without any blood or irritation. I think it's time to take the guard off for the easy parts (e.g., cheeks) and then put it on for the tougher areas.

 

[rudyt]

May 27: Weck 2.0 Wednesday

Lather: Stirling Baker Street (sample)
Brush: Vie-Long 12705 brown horse-hair (24/50mm)
Razor: Hess 1010 "EZY Shave"
Blade: Personna Hair Shaper [17]
Balm: Proraso White Crema Liquida Dopobarba

Another great shave with the Hess EZY Shave, of as I call it, the Weck two point oh. It's got less exposure than the Sextoblade, but that's meaningless because hair shaper blades don't flex and there's enough exposure that you don't need to shave artificially steep because of the lip.

The only down side of this razor is that the little knob thingy that let's you eject the blade makes it so you can't strop the blade. I don't usually strop my blades regularly, so the down side is a non-issue.

 

[Flintstone65]

A Double Weck Wednesday -- A Sextoblade and a Bantam. The blades used were the Personna and the Fromm. MWF was lathered with a Yaqi Faux Horse. The shave was...close, but not fabulous. The first pass was the Sextoblade without the guard...and that pass was excellent. Then I figured I'd do a quick second pass with the Bantam using it's open comb guard, and that pass went very well. But then feeling over-confident and looking for a BBS shave, I removed the Bantam's guard and went for a 3rd ATG pass, that pass was NOT great! I ended up with a VERY close shave, but also a fair amount of weeper blood and easily the worst case of irritation I've had in a very long time. It was completely my fault....I could've/should've stopped after 2 passes. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[rudyt]

But then feeling over-confident and looking for a BBS shave, I removed the Bantam's guard and went for a 3rd ATG pass, that pass was NOT great! I ended up with a VERY close shave, but also a fair amount of weeper blood and easily the worst case of irritation I've had in a very long time. It was completely my fault....I could've/should've stopped after 2 passes. Oh well, live and learn.

Been there, done that more than once. I'm not going to lie, you'll do it again ;-)

When bodybuilding, the only thing you're building by lifting weights you're comfortable with is your ego. You need to push the envelope, which is exactly what you did.

 

[rudyt]

Jun 10: Weck Wednesday

Lather: Stirling Baker Street (sample)
Brush: Proraso Professional (27/57mm)
Razor: Weck Sextoblade "Trade Sample Not For Sale"
Blade: Fromm Edge Ahead [1]
Post: Witch Hazel w/added glycerine, aloe and Patchouli EO

New blade in the Sextoblade today, this time with the Edge Ahead blade. These blades are definitely smoother on first use than the Personna "25% Sharper" blades. I got a weeper on my chin below the lower lip, but that was entirely my fault - I did not pay the proper respect to the new blade.

 

[rudyt]

Jun 17: Not the Greatest Weck Wednesday

Lather: Cyril R. Salter Luxury Cream - French Vetiver
Brush: Semogue 1800 (22/55mm)
Razor: Weck Sextoblade "Trade Sample Not For Sale"
Blade: Fromm Edge Ahead [2]
Post: Alum
Balm: Aqua Velva Sensitive 5 in 1 After Shave Balm

To those of you tired up of hearing about my fabulous Weck shaves, this one's for you @Flintstone65 ;-)

The shave started great - get scent, great soap, great brush, great lather, and quickly went downhill. I got a decent sized stealth weeper about an inch away from my lip on the first pass. A stealth weeper is one that you don't feel at all and don't know you have until you see blood. I can't understand how it happened and it threw off my mojo. I couldn't hit the angle in the rest of the shave, and called it quits after 2 passes. I did an alum test and it was a fail - more sting than there should be. I'm blaming it on the new blade again, and will cork or before next shave.

The good news is I managed to successfully cut my own hair without looking like a doofus. I'm avoiding barbers during COVID-19. Long on top, and a taper fade on the sides using a cheap Wahl clipper. Every time I cut my hair, the sides just keep getting grayer and grayer. What's up with that?

 

[Flintstone65]

Jun 17: Not the Greatest Weck Wednesday

Lather: Cyril R. Salter Luxury Cream - French Vetiver
Brush: Semogue 1800 (22/55mm)
Razor: Weck Sextoblade "Trade Sample Not For Sale"
Blade: Fromm Edge Ahead [2]
Post: Alum
Balm: Aqua Velva Sensitive 5 in 1 After Shave Balm

To those of you tired up of hearing about my fabulous Weck shaves, this one's for you @Flintstone65 ;-)

Thanks...as someone who thought he invented the stealth (I call them phantom, but I like stealth better) weeper, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who experiences them. And it's also nice to know they have the same effect on others as well....a distraction and disturbance of focus that often takes what should be a decent-to-good shave and turns it into a mediocre-to-lousy shave. I need to get back to Weck Wednesdays, my shave-timing was off this week and I skipped today....oh well, there's always next Wednesday....for both of us!

 

[Flintstone65]

A Wondeful Weck Wednesday!!! The black handled Sextoblade Weck with an open comb guard and a well-used Personna blade paired up with an Eversharp Fashion razor (aka Schick Type H). The Weck did the vast majority of work with the first 2 passes....it went very smoothly and had I used it for the 3rd pass it would've easily delivered a solid DFS. But since I hadn't used the Fashion razor in a while, I thought it deserved a turn. The overall shave results were a DFS+!!! The cream was the blue Proraso and the brush was the Yaqi Moka Express with a synthetic knot.

 

[rudyt]

A Wondeful Weck Wednesday!!!

Great shave. Me too!

Jun 24: Mostly Italian Weck Wednesday

Lather: Proraso Green "Super Formula"
Brush: Omega 50068 "Bambino" (18/46mm)
Razor: Weck Sextoblade "Trade Sample Not For Sale"
Blade: Fromm Edge Ahead [3]
Post: Pur-est Musk/Patchouli/Glycerine/Aloe

After last week's horrible Weck Wednesday shave, today I tasted redemption. I didn't have a cork, so I "corked" the blade using an empty toilet paper tube, and then stropped the blade for 26 laps on leather. Today's shave had that wonderful quality that I expect from my Weck. I may have gotten a tiny weeper near the corner of my mouth, but there was no sign of blood after the rinse, so I'm calling it a false positive ;-)

 

[rudyt]

Jul 2: Delayed Weck Wednesday

Lather: Stirling Baker Street (sample)
Brush: Semogue 1800 (22/55mm)
Razor: Hess 1010 "EZY Shave"
Blade: Fromm Edge Ahead [4]
Post: Pur-est Musk/Patchouli/Glycerine/Aloe

I didn't shave yesterday, so I commuted Weck Wednesday to today. I used the Hess EZY-Shave (AKA Sextoblade 2.0) just to mix things up a bit. My son borrowed by stainless steel medical Sextoblade and my cobalt blue Hair Shaper, leaving me only two options.

Shave was perfect - no nicks, no cuts, no weepers, no irritation.

Yes, I know the soap in the picture is upside down. Didn't have my glasses on ;-)

 

[rudyt]

Jul 9: Weck Thursday

Lather: Haslinger Schafmilch Rasierseife
Brush: Omega 10005 (24/54mm)
Razor: Weck Sextoblade "Trade Sample Not For Sale"
Blade: Fromm Edge Ahead [5]
Post: Pur-est Musk/Patchouli/Glycerine/Aloe

Completely forgot about Weck Wednesday yesterday, so Weck Thursday it is. 4 passes - no nicks, no cuts, no weepers.

4th shave in this new boar brush and I hit a milestone. This was the first shave where I did not need to reload the brush. Boar brushes are notorious for killing lather during the break-in period, and my three previous shaves needed a reload. The first shave actually needed two reloads.

The brush is nowhere near broken in, but it has great potential.

 

[Flintstone65]

July 15th -- Weck Wednesday. Had a nice 3-pass Weck (with safety bar guard) shave today. No safety razor (SE or DE) needed for backup or touchup, just the Weck with a Fromm blade....no blood, no irritation, just a really nice DFS!!! The cream was Proraso Blue, the brush was Yaqi Familia Sagrada 24mm tuxedo knot. 5 months and I'm feeling VERY comfortable with the Weck....as long as it has a guard. I haven't tamed the unguarded Weck, but I'm feeling confident that I will.

 

[Gryffindor]

Looks like I’m all in for Weck Wednesdays going forward. This Prep arrived yesterday, and I took it for a spin tonight. Extremely pleased with the results.

 

[Flintstone65]

Looks like I’m all in for Weck Wednesdays going forward. This Prep arrived yesterday, and I took it for a spin tonight. Extremely pleased with the results.

Welcome and a hearty (albeit tinged with jealously) congratulations on the Weck Med Prep!!! It and a certain injector are the only two razors left on my acquisition list, but both have been VERY elusive!!

 

[Gryffindor]

Welcome and a hearty (albeit tinged with jealously) congratulations on the Weck Med Prep!!! It and a certain injector are the only two razors left on my acquisition list, but both have been VERY elusive!!

Thank you! What injector are you hunting for?

 

[Flintstone65]

The type "D" (Gold scissor handle type). I finally found my cased Type "F" not long ago, as well as black-handled E2...I remember seeing a "D" ages ago on Etsy for well under what I've seen them go for since, but at the time I thought "no way I'm paying that much". Sadly I made the same comment about NYC real estate a few decades ago....I'm not the best at seeing "bargains" when they're right in front of me.