Change the razor blade when you THINK it needs to be changed, not when you KNOW it should have been changed.
What did you learn from your last shave?
- Thread starter tmartin89
- Start date
I learned that I'm not loading enough soap when preparing to face lather.
I've been using glycerin soap for several days as a prep.
To not absolutely smash my brush into the soap or cream when loading the brush and building the lather as I had been doing before. Easy does it, no more than the occasional plunger motion required, and it comes out better than if you use way too much force.
The last few actually - that my neck hairs grow in a direction equivalent to "chest to ear".
And the lightest touch can get the razor to go ATG in that direction nicely!
And the lightest touch can get the razor to go ATG in that direction nicely!
I learned that my blade angle was still too shallow.
That Astra SP's are a far better blade than Derby Extras...
After a few months away from the GEM Micromatic, this morning as I participated in Micromatic Monday, and was reminded of the genius behind this design. No wonder their slogan was "avoid the 5 o'clock shadow".
That -- if you're skipping the shower -- a hot wet face towel works wonders as part of a pre-shave routine.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Haslinger Schafmilch works great for straight shaving, both with boar and synthetic brushes
My Rolls Razor hone needs lapping, and the stropping mechanism needs adjusting
My straight razor needs to revisit the abrasives.
I guess it was an educational shave.
My Rolls Razor hone needs lapping, and the stropping mechanism needs adjusting
My straight razor needs to revisit the abrasives.
I guess it was an educational shave.
Not to be lazy; If I’m going to go for another pass in the same area add more soap to skin. Dry runs aint fun.
That when you are soaking your beard in shave soap to prep it for the blade, 4 minutes is even better than 3;
that the 4 minutes goes by pretty fast if you fill it with small chores, rinse off the soap about 2.5 minutes in, and reapply the lather;
and that leaving a bit more water in the boar brush provides a very nice lather with TFS Sera soap.
that the 4 minutes goes by pretty fast if you fill it with small chores, rinse off the soap about 2.5 minutes in, and reapply the lather;
and that leaving a bit more water in the boar brush provides a very nice lather with TFS Sera soap.
That a combination of bowl and face lathering works pretty well. After loading my brush from the soap tub, I lather for a while in my scuttle. Then I move to my face and lather for a while there, adding a bit of water to get the consistency I like. Result is a great lather on my face and plenty in the scuttle for 3-4 (or more) passes. Nice!
That bowl lathering, which I have not done in some time, can provide a very nice lather. My Stirling Baker Street sample has broken down to pieces, so I put a small one into the scuttle this morning with a little warm water and lathered up with the badger brush. The resulting foam was not thick even after I lathered it up more on my face. However, it provided all the slickness and cushion my Slim needed for a good shave.
1) The perfect (BBS) is the enemy of the good (DFS).
2) Practice makes better, if not exactly perfect: the $18 Yaqi synthetic brush I picked up a few months back has gotten better and better as I've improved my technique with it, which is quite different from my 20+year-old silvertip, which I still use.
3) That, sometimes, the best wetshaving "upgrade" doesn't directly involve wet shaving gear at all: My Ultimate Wetshaving Upgrade?
2) Practice makes better, if not exactly perfect: the $18 Yaqi synthetic brush I picked up a few months back has gotten better and better as I've improved my technique with it, which is quite different from my 20+year-old silvertip, which I still use.
3) That, sometimes, the best wetshaving "upgrade" doesn't directly involve wet shaving gear at all: My Ultimate Wetshaving Upgrade?
I may swap from face lathering to bowl lathering.
The only time I face-lather is on the road and using a shave stick (where you pretty much have to). And, in the last year, I've gone from a regular-but-decent bowl (by Fine, which was great until I broke it) to a modern scuttle from Phoenix Shaving. A bona-fide improvement.
With a more aggressive razor (really my same mild razor with a shim), Derby Extras aren't that bad. I did notice more blade feel than with other blades though. Guess that has more to do with the smoothness, or lack thereof on the Derbies.
That even with better technique and a better razor, Wilkinson Sword blades still don't work for me. Weepers galore.
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