The Shaving Cadre
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A Place for Deep Thought
- Thread starter MaineYooper
- Start date
A big day today! For the first time in over a year, my wife was doing well enough to go to a sit down restaurant for dinner! While we still faced some dietary challenges, and couldn't get everything as needed, the waiter was phenomenal, working patiently with her, and never acted put out or anything like that. His manager was also helpful and understanding. She was able to enjoy herself and some of the things. And we made sure to tip the waiter generously.
In not so good news, I just couldn't get out of my own way today, offending or disappointing her way too much. Wonderful wife that she is, she still loves me and helps me understand how I let her down. But it shows me that I need to be ever mindful of her and not what I think is best. Communication and remembering priorities for her, as she is still unwell.
In shaving news, I got a shipping notice for my recent order from Karve Shaving! A week and a day after I got the order confirmation for the wide body cap (to cover the blade tabs), now I know it's on its way to me!
Sing Happy Birthday twice while washing your hands, stay home if feeling unwell, and save some TP and sanitizer for the older folks you know.
In not so good news, I just couldn't get out of my own way today, offending or disappointing her way too much. Wonderful wife that she is, she still loves me and helps me understand how I let her down. But it shows me that I need to be ever mindful of her and not what I think is best. Communication and remembering priorities for her, as she is still unwell.
In shaving news, I got a shipping notice for my recent order from Karve Shaving! A week and a day after I got the order confirmation for the wide body cap (to cover the blade tabs), now I know it's on its way to me!
Sing Happy Birthday twice while washing your hands, stay home if feeling unwell, and save some TP and sanitizer for the older folks you know.
Eric, caring for a sick family member, especially a spouse, can be tricky. When my wife was getting chemo years ago she tried to keep her life as normal as possible, refusing my help repeatedly. Eventually, I learned that while she wanted no help with the major chores, she was very appreciative if I did the little things that were of secondary concern to her. I tried to de-stress her life in any way that I could. It helped. Best of luck, and Godspeed to you and her.
Thanks, @Graybeard57, for the kind words. We just keep on, doing our best, and praying that this treatment that we fought for works well for her.
That's all you can do, that is, control what you can control and try not to worry over what you can't.
Well, it has been a while since the last entry.
Life is interesting, i.e., scary, now. It feels like the beginning of a sci-fi show, all being normal but things getting bad in places. Then it is in your State, and next your county and now your town. What seemed easy last week now seems dangerous. We have protective shields (plastic sheets and plexiglass) up in the "essential business" store I work at. It brings all this home, makes in personal, and has me worried about what could I inadvertently bring home to my wife. But I carry on, practice the safety measures, and work to help the people who come to our store and pharmacy. One very positive change is folks thanking me more for doing my job now, instead of grumbling about wait times or costs! I'll take it! And as always, hats off to the front-line folks. You guys deserve our thanks, support, and admiration as we fight this invisible enemy.
In the shaving drawer, two new items: a brush and a top cap. The brush is a 28 mm SynBad. The top cap is a brass "wide body" cap from Karve Shaving. The brush was not an immediate hit on its first outing, while the top cap was. The brush is not as "splayful" as I prefer, but hopefully I can appreciate it for what it is (a SynBad!). The top cap was wonderful, not changing the razor's performance at all but nicely preventing the irritating pokes I get on occasion from exposed blade tabs bumping up against an ear lobe. I've never cut myself from a tab, but manage to poke myself frequently, with any razor that has exposed tabs.
The Schick blade works very well in the injector. I can get wonderful WTG and XTG passes, but any ATG leaves some irritation. I have no doubt that my angle is wrong. I need to get used to the razor more, having only shaved a handful of times with it. But after a rough spot, the DE shave seems so much better. Like I wrote, I really need to shave more with the Hydromagic to get the best feel for how to use it. For a couple of days, I was enjoying starting with the injector then finishing with the Karve.
Practice safe distancing, keep cleaning, and help where and when you can! I so enjoy reading here at the Cadre, and wish you all the best in these trying times.
Life is interesting, i.e., scary, now. It feels like the beginning of a sci-fi show, all being normal but things getting bad in places. Then it is in your State, and next your county and now your town. What seemed easy last week now seems dangerous. We have protective shields (plastic sheets and plexiglass) up in the "essential business" store I work at. It brings all this home, makes in personal, and has me worried about what could I inadvertently bring home to my wife. But I carry on, practice the safety measures, and work to help the people who come to our store and pharmacy. One very positive change is folks thanking me more for doing my job now, instead of grumbling about wait times or costs! I'll take it! And as always, hats off to the front-line folks. You guys deserve our thanks, support, and admiration as we fight this invisible enemy.
In the shaving drawer, two new items: a brush and a top cap. The brush is a 28 mm SynBad. The top cap is a brass "wide body" cap from Karve Shaving. The brush was not an immediate hit on its first outing, while the top cap was. The brush is not as "splayful" as I prefer, but hopefully I can appreciate it for what it is (a SynBad!). The top cap was wonderful, not changing the razor's performance at all but nicely preventing the irritating pokes I get on occasion from exposed blade tabs bumping up against an ear lobe. I've never cut myself from a tab, but manage to poke myself frequently, with any razor that has exposed tabs.
The Schick blade works very well in the injector. I can get wonderful WTG and XTG passes, but any ATG leaves some irritation. I have no doubt that my angle is wrong. I need to get used to the razor more, having only shaved a handful of times with it. But after a rough spot, the DE shave seems so much better. Like I wrote, I really need to shave more with the Hydromagic to get the best feel for how to use it. For a couple of days, I was enjoying starting with the injector then finishing with the Karve.
Practice safe distancing, keep cleaning, and help where and when you can! I so enjoy reading here at the Cadre, and wish you all the best in these trying times.
My somewhat different sense of humor had me considering a Plague Doctor mask, but the cost was too much and some of my coworkers didn't think it was funny. Not that I'd wear it, just show it to folks who I know could smile at this in these times. However, the company gave us reusable, cleanable, plastic face shields to wear while giving immunizations.
I'm one of the people that would have laughed at that lol. One of the guys at work had a full spray suit/respirator in the bottom drawer of his tool box. He put it on and did a turn around the shop floor. Fortunately everyone had a sense of humor about it.
For the past couple of weeks, several times a week, I have been doing my first pass with the Hydromagic injector. Quite by accident (me not paying close attention as I was talking to my wife), I did ATG in an area that WTG is up. Well, I couldn't tell by the "feel" of the razor that I went ATG on the first pass. So the next day I did it again, on purpose. Again, no feedback yelling, or even whispering, "Danger, danger!" The next morning, I did ATG there with my Karve, and did get the feedback. Very interesting to me, that the injector did such a great job ATG. I am considering trying ATG for the first pass with it, but am having to work up the nerve!
Happy Easter to the Cadre, and I hope all stay well as we ride out this pandemic.
Happy Easter to the Cadre, and I hope all stay well as we ride out this pandemic.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Injector is a stiffer more rigid blade 
This week's set up, for most days, will be the Karve razor with the B or C solid bar, a Wizamet blade, Mystic Water Soap Sensitive Skin, and the Razorock BC Silvertip Plissoft synthetic.
This week as been a "vintage" week for me, starting with the Hydro-magic, then moving to a Tech and a Slim. Used Mystic Water Soap for week, now working with the Tonsorial from CBL Premium Shave Soap. Also had a couple of shaves with Parson's Soap. All good stuff!
Some new purchases made, and a sale this week, too. I got another Slim from Techichi shaves, a '64 J-3, and yet another SynBad brush, this time a 24 mm knot. I am starting to get too many brushes!! I just got the 28 mm SynBad, but I am not liking it as much as the others. This is because it has less splay, and I am thinking of moving it on. And in an impetuous moment, I put a bid on a J-4 Slim, cased, and looking awesome. But the price is high (for me). After 5 days, I still am the only one bidding, so by 10:30 PM EDT it will be mine. So I need to move some stuff, as I am getting that cluttered feeling. So when I saw a WTB for my exact Hydro-magic on another shave forum, I got in touch with the guy. So the injector is on its way to a new home.
I am finding that a close shave is getting to be more necessary now, as the amount of time wearing a mask keeps getting longer. I don't like it catching stubble, and my day is 11 hours, so the more dolphin like I can be the better!! One other benefit is no tie required now. Many medical men already don't wear them as ties can be germ carriers, since they never get washed like shirts and pants.
Next week I will be back to the Karve. I added the wide body top cap recently, and I really like it. It has been well over 4 years since I picked up a DE razor for the first time, and I am sort of surprised that I still obsess about shaving and equipment!
To any who read this, thanks! I don't post much here, no cool pics, no fun scents. Just a small number of razors and blades, with unscented soaps, and I like to keep to a set up for several days in a row. I do like to read others' reports and I like jotting down ideas or thoughts of my own, and then read over them to see what I was thinking at that time.
Some new purchases made, and a sale this week, too. I got another Slim from Techichi shaves, a '64 J-3, and yet another SynBad brush, this time a 24 mm knot. I am starting to get too many brushes!! I just got the 28 mm SynBad, but I am not liking it as much as the others. This is because it has less splay, and I am thinking of moving it on. And in an impetuous moment, I put a bid on a J-4 Slim, cased, and looking awesome. But the price is high (for me). After 5 days, I still am the only one bidding, so by 10:30 PM EDT it will be mine. So I need to move some stuff, as I am getting that cluttered feeling. So when I saw a WTB for my exact Hydro-magic on another shave forum, I got in touch with the guy. So the injector is on its way to a new home.
I am finding that a close shave is getting to be more necessary now, as the amount of time wearing a mask keeps getting longer. I don't like it catching stubble, and my day is 11 hours, so the more dolphin like I can be the better!! One other benefit is no tie required now. Many medical men already don't wear them as ties can be germ carriers, since they never get washed like shirts and pants.
Next week I will be back to the Karve. I added the wide body top cap recently, and I really like it. It has been well over 4 years since I picked up a DE razor for the first time, and I am sort of surprised that I still obsess about shaving and equipment!
To any who read this, thanks! I don't post much here, no cool pics, no fun scents. Just a small number of razors and blades, with unscented soaps, and I like to keep to a set up for several days in a row. I do like to read others' reports and I like jotting down ideas or thoughts of my own, and then read over them to see what I was thinking at that time.
As I posted in the New to You thread, a got a new to me Slim yesterday. What follows are some thoughts I want to record for my future reference. Feel free to skip over this post!
Back when I first started shaving with a DE razor, I became enamored with vintage Gillettes and the birth year/quarter ones. And I was really into Delto Echo Razor Works for coating them. I did a Super Speed, a Tech, a couple of battered Old types, and a New short comb. But my fave, and the only one still with me, is my Slim.
This razor was The One for two years, continually beating out any other razor added to my collection. Even other Slims and a couple of Fatboys. Until the Christopher Bradley razor by Karve came.
Prior to that arrival, I had been contemplating getting another J-4 Slim, and sending it and a Fatboy off to be replated. But the CB Karve was so good, I decided not to spend the money, and sold off most of my small collection, keeping only a pre-War Tech and my Delta Echo Steampunk Slim. But recently, I decided to get another Slim, in good shape, and keep it as original. I got a J-3 a couple of weeks back.
Very nice! Shaves great, and just a few months older than me. Just what I wanted. Until, late at night and not able to sleep, I looked for a J-4 on the Bay. Sure enough, not only one in great shape, but cased and looking pristine, with numbers intact. Without thinking more than a couple of seconds, I bid on it. The next morning, I thought how silly, and looked to see if I could retract my bid. Nope. So I hung in there, thinking surely someone will outbid me. But no one did, and I won the auction. I sold the injector and bought the cased Slim. It arrived yesterday, and today I shaved with it. What a beauty!! It is so shiny, it just lit up the bathroom! (Not really, but it did catch my eye a few times, just how shiny it is!).
This morning, there is no Buyer's Remorse. I am happy with my purchase and plan to use it and enjoy my Slims that are as old as me!
But I will most likely sell the J-3. Three Slims is at least 1 too many for me. I don't collect, I just like to shave. And since all the Slims shave well, I don't see the point in carry extras, not when someone else may be looking for Slim in great shape.
Back when I first started shaving with a DE razor, I became enamored with vintage Gillettes and the birth year/quarter ones. And I was really into Delto Echo Razor Works for coating them. I did a Super Speed, a Tech, a couple of battered Old types, and a New short comb. But my fave, and the only one still with me, is my Slim.
This razor was The One for two years, continually beating out any other razor added to my collection. Even other Slims and a couple of Fatboys. Until the Christopher Bradley razor by Karve came.
Prior to that arrival, I had been contemplating getting another J-4 Slim, and sending it and a Fatboy off to be replated. But the CB Karve was so good, I decided not to spend the money, and sold off most of my small collection, keeping only a pre-War Tech and my Delta Echo Steampunk Slim. But recently, I decided to get another Slim, in good shape, and keep it as original. I got a J-3 a couple of weeks back.
Very nice! Shaves great, and just a few months older than me. Just what I wanted. Until, late at night and not able to sleep, I looked for a J-4 on the Bay. Sure enough, not only one in great shape, but cased and looking pristine, with numbers intact. Without thinking more than a couple of seconds, I bid on it. The next morning, I thought how silly, and looked to see if I could retract my bid. Nope. So I hung in there, thinking surely someone will outbid me. But no one did, and I won the auction. I sold the injector and bought the cased Slim. It arrived yesterday, and today I shaved with it. What a beauty!! It is so shiny, it just lit up the bathroom! (Not really, but it did catch my eye a few times, just how shiny it is!).
This morning, there is no Buyer's Remorse. I am happy with my purchase and plan to use it and enjoy my Slims that are as old as me!
But I will most likely sell the J-3. Three Slims is at least 1 too many for me. I don't collect, I just like to shave. And since all the Slims shave well, I don't see the point in carry extras, not when someone else may be looking for Slim in great shape.