Shave of the Day

[TopGumby]

Funny Jakob should mention an aluminum Brit Tech....

Impulse buy on Ebay, now I have a travel razor...

Tonight I used the Gillette New, mostly because I'm reading the King Gillette bio and WWI just ended.

Hot towel prep, Dorco ST-300 (third shave) and Burt's Bees Bay Rum Soap. Two passes, WTG and ATG. Finished with Burt's Bees Bay Rum Balm.

A good, but not great, shave. I lathered on my face, and the resulsts were only so-so, with the thin lather drying out before my pass was finished. Will try lathering in a bowl next go around. I got the Burt's Bees stuff from a relative who works there...I like the balm and am sceptical on the soap.

I have some Ogallala Bay Rum Cologne headed my way. I'm turning in to a Bay Rum bum.

Third shave is it for the Dorco. Tommorow I'll start painting my African Violet to scuttle conversion.

 

[DeaconKC]

Gumby, until your Ogalalla gets here, run into Wallyworld and get some Van der Hagen Deluxe. It's only a couple of bucks and gives a very good shave! I keep it in the rotation.

 

[JEEP]

TopGumby; that's the same Tech i have, though mine is far from pristine:

Regards.

Jakob

 

[JEEP]

This morning - a wonderful shave:

Prep
Hot shower

Shave
40s Gillette Super Speed. I don't get the deal with the 40s SS; how can a razor be that mild and that comfortable and still give such a close smooth shave? It must be pure magic...
Derby Extra, third/last use
Douglas Rein Dachs/Pure Badger
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Four passes: Two WTG and two XTG + some buffing
DFS, no nics, no burn

Post
Taylor of Old Bond Street alum block
Nivea Sensitive AS balm
Unscented lotion mixed with a drop of 98% organic Aloe Vera gel

Post - post
Hot coffee and homebaked rolls


Regards.

Jakob

 

[DeaconKC]

Just got this gold Tech yesterday, cleaned it up and used it today.
Derby blade
hot towel
VDH soap
C&E Badger Brush
Clubman AS
4 passes and a spectacular shave. Straight up BBS with a first time razor, wow.

 

[MEDIUMMYND]

After reading through this thread the best advice i have read is to cork your blade.I was a saw doctor for some years and we always knew the first cut with a new or freshly sharpened blade was not it"s best you have to knock the edge off it.I always find that the a new razor blade never gives the best shave i would also add that if you get a good shave with a blade with in reason stick with it some might give three good shaves others may give five .they do vary trust your judgment.I do"nt know if this is of any interest but a saw doctors worst enemy is frost it knocks the edge off a blade like nothing else.

 

[JEEP]

This morning - good shave...

Prep
Nivea Sensitive face wash
Hot shower

Shave
Merkur HD 34c
Shaving Shack Israeli mystery blade - a lot like the Derbys, but maybe a tad sharper and smoother. I like it
Douglas Rein Dachs/Pure Badger
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Four passes: Two WTG and two XTG + some buffing
DFS, no nics, no burn

Post
Taylor of Old Bond Street alum block
Nivea Sensitive AS balm
Unscented lotion mixed with a drop of 98% organic Aloe Vera gel


Regards.

Jakob

 

[DeaconKC]

Used the gold Tech again, sweet shaver!
VDH soap
C&E brush
4 passes
Avon Black Suede AS
Derby blade
really nice shave today. This razor shows why Gillette ruled the market.

 

[freebird]

Last night around midnight or 1am.

Barclay Bros. 5/8 square point straight razor
ShaveMac best badger brush
Ogallala bay rum soap
Alum block
Ogallala bay rum a/s

3 passes, bbs

 

[TopGumby]

One of these days I'd love to try a straight. I have my Grandfather's, but it's nicked and unusable. F.A. Koch, IIRC.

Sunday Morning

Prep:

• Sleep in
• Hot Shower

Shave:

• C.O. Bigelow (Proraso) cream
• Tweezerman brush
• Gillette New w/Dorco ST-300 (couldn't recall the shave count)

First WTG pass felt a touch rough, but good results. Relathered and went one stroke XTG on the neck and stopped, as I could tell it wasn't going to work. Rather than change blades on the three piece, I grabbed the TTO Slim, popped in one of the last of the Personna blades, set it to "3" and continued.

Finished the XTG pass, put on some olive oil on known trouble spots and relatherd for the last ATG pass.

Post:

• Cold water rinse
• Pinaud Bay Rum...Pretty good burn!
• Clubman shaving talc

An excellent shave, and I'm pretty sure that a while back I would have plodded on with the first razor/blade and been the worse for it.

BTW, I've now got a cake of VDH waiting to join the rotation, thanks DeaconKC!

 

[freebird]

One of these days I'd love to try a straight. I have my Grandfather's, but it's nicked and unusable. F.A. Koch, IIRC.

Sunday Morning

Prep:

• Sleep in
• Hot Shower

Shave:

• C.O. Bigelow (Proraso) cream
• Tweezerman brush
• Gillette New w/Dorco ST-300 (couldn't recall the shave count)

First WTG pass felt a touch rough, but good results. Relathered and went one stroke XTG on the neck and stopped, as I could tell it wasn't going to work. Rather than change blades on the three piece, I grabbed the TTO Slim, popped in one of the last of the Personna blades, set it to "3" and continued.

Finished the XTG pass, put on some olive oil on known trouble spots and relatherd for the last ATG pass.

Post:

• Cold water rinse
• Pinaud Bay Rum...Pretty good burn!
• Clubman shaving talc

An excellent shave, and I'm pretty sure that a while back I would have plodded on with the first razor/blade and been the worse for it.

BTW, I've now got a cake of VDH waiting to join the rotation, thanks DeaconKC!

If you want to learn to shave with a straight, try www.straightrazorplace.com. There's some guys on there who will even fix up your Grandfather's old razor so you can use it. I'm freebird over there as well.

 

[JEEP]

Prep
Nivea Sensitive face wash
Hot shower

Shave
Gillette military issue Tech
Shaving Shack Israeli blade, second use
Douglas Rein Dachs/Pure Badger
Worning & Petersen shave-stick
Four passes: Two WTG and two XTG
Quite a close shave, no nicks. But, I suck at face-lathering, truly suck, I always have - even when I used the Palmolive shave-stick I used to lather up directly on the soap or in a bowl. I am thankfull for the fact that the mili Tech is such a mild razor and that the Shaving Shack blade is such a forgiving blade - or else I think that I would have carved up my face insted of just having an absolute nasty case of "OMG-my-face-is-on fire" razorburn. The soap is actually not bad, it's just me who is a really lousy face-latherer. I'll try lathering this soap up in a bowl next time

Post
Taylor of Old Bond Street alum block
Nivea Sensitive AS balm
Unscented lotion mixed with a drop of 98% organic Aloe Vera gel


Regards.

Jakob

 

[TopGumby]

Nice Tech!

Tonight-

Prep:

Hot washcloth
EVOO

Gear:

Gillette Slim (Stayed dialed on "3")
US Personna blade from dollar store
Burt's Bees Bay Rum Soap
VDH boar brush

I went with the boar and face lathered, trying to get the Burt's Bees soap to work for me, since I love the smell. Lather dried out before I got in half a pass. I stuck the brush in the Col. Conk glycerin Bay Rum soap and got a good lather that had the extra oomph of the Burt's Bees scent. Two passes with some buffing on the usual tough spots...under the lower lip, corners of mouth, lower chin and neck where the grain seems to swirl. A good shave, almost BBS but not quite.

Post:

Cold water
Witch Hazel
Ogallala Bay Rum After Shave
Ogallala Bay Rum Cologne
Clubman Shaving Talc

I got the Ogallala in the mail today, intro deal $5 shipped for a two ounce tester of the cologne, and they threw in a tester of the AS. Very clovey, not like the Pinaud at all, but it's nice and the wife, who isn't a Pinaud Bay Rum fan, likes it! For five clams it's sure worth trying!

I may take my remaining Col. Conk and try to mix it with the Burt's Bees in the microwave...If it turns to sludge I have the VDH soap and the Bigelow cream.

 

[DeaconKC]

Also try adding some plain glycerine to the mix. It can certainly help the lathering. Funny, because today I was back to trying the experimental soaps and this one X-4 was a dismal failure, couldn't get any kind of lather out of it. Made Williams look like Mama Bears! Switched to some C&E Nomad so I could actually shave!
48 Aristocrat
Derby Blade
C&E Nomad soap
Omega Boar Brush
4 passes
Pinaud Clubman
A couple of weepers, as I tried to squeeze a 4th day out of my blade, I should know better by now.

 

[freebird]

A quick one this evening.

shampoo with olive oil shampoo
The Real Shaving Co. self heating pre-shave
Loom strop
Geo. F. Trumpers coconut oil soap
Wade & Butcher 5/8 square point
Alum block
Straight Razor Place tobacco a/s balm

3 passes, a little razor burn on the neck, think my face was in shock that I didn't wait the usual week before another shave. Otherwise, bbs

 

[TopGumby]

My soap mixing experiment was a dismal failure. The Glycerin stuff melts nicely in a microwave, but the Burt's Bees Bay Rum Soap just kind of gets a little gooey and clumpy, like poorly made mashed potatoes. :eusa_doh:

Worse, it reeked! When my wife came home, she asked me if I'd been washing the floor, and when I told her that I'd been trying to melt shaving soaps in the microwave, she opened up a bottle of Pine-Sol and had me take a whiff...It was the same smell! Had to take the trash out to stop the infernal fumes.

Anyway, I got some VDH deluxe earlier, and that's what I used for tonight's shave:

Prep:

Hot shower

Gear:

Brit Aluminum Gillette Tech
Dorco ST-300 blade, corked (new)
VDH deluxe soap
Tweezerman brush

Three passes with some buffing and touch up afterword. Came out pretty darn smooth with only minor irritation, a very nice, relaxing shave. I made one bonehead ATG move on my upper lip and was sure it was going to be a bad bleeder, but the combination of the Dorco blade and the mild Tech saved me, no cut at all. I'm sure if I'd done the same thing with my Slim I'd have sliced myself good.

Post:

Cold water
Witch Hazel
Pinaud Bay Rum
Ogallala Bay Rum Cologne
Clubman shave Talc

I'm finding I like the talc.

 

[DeaconKC]

Thank God for good old VDH soap!
Today the next protoytpe X4a soap flopped, so it was grab the VDH and away with the failure.
61 Fatboy
Derby Blade
VDH soap
Omega Boar brush
4 passes
Gillette AS Balm

 

[Rick]

Where?

I'm new and this post is long,
I had a Barber in College that used a Straight... yes a real one.
I miss it and want one.
Not vintage but a modern one is fine.
But where oh where can I find either?
...and a strap.

 

[dnjan]

I think that you will find it easier (or at least cheaper) to get a vintage straight razor from Ebay. Look for Solingen (German town where it is made) and stainless, and you will have found an excellent razor. Those words might not be in the descriptions, but will show up on the blade in good photographs.

For a strop, I use a belt blank from Tandy leather, along with jeweler's rouge (also from Tandy). First, put some oil on the back side of the belt blank. Then rub the jeweler's rouge in. You will need to re-treat in about 2 weeks, then about every 6 moinths after that. This is what I use for daily stropping.
Every 3 to 6 months I re-sharpen on my sharpening stones (Arkansas hard, followed by arkansas black. Japanese stones work as well.)

 

[John in Covina]

I'm new and this post is long, I had a Barber in College that used a Straight... yes a real one. I miss it and want one.
Not vintage but a modern one is fine. But where oh where can I find either?
...and a strap.

try www.classicshaving.com
first read thru their "How & Why" section for a number of disertations on the use of straights and the DE.

Also remember that a well cared for straight will last your life time and probably well into the next generation.