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An Unexpected Journey: A Newbie's Walk In Wet Shaving
- Thread starter Blade-meister
- Start date
Yes, the tallow soaps work very well for MP'ing. I may have to start a MP challenge thread so that others can join in the fun
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Yes, the tallow soaps work very well for MP'ing. I may have to start a MP challenge thread so that others can join in the fun
Suggest it in KJ’s monthly challenge thread.
I wonder what it’d be called for us smooth skinned fellows...naked mole rat painting?
Two tusks up! Sounds like a keeper.
Naked mole painting
Now your challenge would be to find a gif for that
Not even gonna look. I'm afraid I might find one.......
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Not even gonna look. I'm afraid I might find one.......
Or other things from the dregs of the interwebz that don’t want to be found!
Woke up this morning to -8 and decided I'd take cold water shaving to a new extreme by going outside to shave. Yeah right
I had to wear my Russian Trooper style hat to work today just to keep warm.
Today's Shave: Shave #103
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: Mystic Water Bay Rum
Bowl: Red Salsa Bowl (plastic)
Pre Shave: Wash with soap in the shower . Rub raw soap on face from the puck.
Total Razor on Face Time: 12 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack on the face and neck. Mammoth Painting.
I brought back my favorite soap this morning and decided to see what would happen if I set the Variant at 4.0. I had some trouble lathering this morning so the brush must be the culprit as I had to go back for more product midway through my lather building just like with the Chambers Black soap. Not a big deal in my book because I love the brush. I'm thinking the small knot size must have something to do with it. I'll tell you this though, the lather I got this morning was exactly as nice, slick, and thick as what I attributed to the Chambers Black soap. It must be the brush and going back for more product. Either way, it's a better lather for sure and the brush feels so great and paints so well.
Today I'm scheduled for a 2 pass shave. First pass was WTG with the razor set at 4.0. Again, this actually felt smoother than 3.0 which felt smoother than 2.0 which makes me believe the larger gap helps me in that aspect. The strokes down the face felt great, but I didn't enjoy the turn down to the neck. It's too aggressive for my skill level I think so I went slow and easy with it completing the whole shave on 4.0. I'm thinking this setting would be good for my face only. For my second pass I shifted the razor down to 2.5 in an effort to head off any irritation I may have caused with the 4.0 setting. This pass felt really nice and I did some clean-up along the way. My clean-up pass was a bit longer than it should have been but did a nice job of evening up things. Overall, I'm calling this mostly BBS or BBS- / DFS+ in some small spots.
I'm thinking of taking the time to do different settings for each pass. WTG would be 4.0 on the face and 2.5 on the neck. XTG on the face could easily remain at 4.0 until reaching the mouth area where I'd need to shift it down to 2.5. I think the neck would be served well at 2.5 on the ATG for this pass. A third pass would likely be 2.5 XTG on the neck and 2.5 ATG on the face with 1 or 1.5 around the mouth. A lot of shifting, but it might just provide a better shave and better utilize the Variant's ability to adjust the blade aggressiveness. Anyone have thoughts or comments or experience with the Variant using it like this?
Today's Shave: Shave #103
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: Mystic Water Bay Rum
Bowl: Red Salsa Bowl (plastic)
Pre Shave: Wash with soap in the shower . Rub raw soap on face from the puck.
Total Razor on Face Time: 12 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack on the face and neck. Mammoth Painting.
I brought back my favorite soap this morning and decided to see what would happen if I set the Variant at 4.0. I had some trouble lathering this morning so the brush must be the culprit as I had to go back for more product midway through my lather building just like with the Chambers Black soap. Not a big deal in my book because I love the brush. I'm thinking the small knot size must have something to do with it. I'll tell you this though, the lather I got this morning was exactly as nice, slick, and thick as what I attributed to the Chambers Black soap. It must be the brush and going back for more product. Either way, it's a better lather for sure and the brush feels so great and paints so well.
Today I'm scheduled for a 2 pass shave. First pass was WTG with the razor set at 4.0. Again, this actually felt smoother than 3.0 which felt smoother than 2.0 which makes me believe the larger gap helps me in that aspect. The strokes down the face felt great, but I didn't enjoy the turn down to the neck. It's too aggressive for my skill level I think so I went slow and easy with it completing the whole shave on 4.0. I'm thinking this setting would be good for my face only. For my second pass I shifted the razor down to 2.5 in an effort to head off any irritation I may have caused with the 4.0 setting. This pass felt really nice and I did some clean-up along the way. My clean-up pass was a bit longer than it should have been but did a nice job of evening up things. Overall, I'm calling this mostly BBS or BBS- / DFS+ in some small spots.
I'm thinking of taking the time to do different settings for each pass. WTG would be 4.0 on the face and 2.5 on the neck. XTG on the face could easily remain at 4.0 until reaching the mouth area where I'd need to shift it down to 2.5. I think the neck would be served well at 2.5 on the ATG for this pass. A third pass would likely be 2.5 XTG on the neck and 2.5 ATG on the face with 1 or 1.5 around the mouth. A lot of shifting, but it might just provide a better shave and better utilize the Variant's ability to adjust the blade aggressiveness. Anyone have thoughts or comments or experience with the Variant using it like this?
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Great shave Mike! Glad my avatar could bring a chuckle.
Personally, I leave my adjustables on their same setting the whole shave. It’s not uncommon though for some to adjust earth pass for what is more comfortable for them. Absolutely go for it if it’s working!
Personally, I leave my adjustables on their same setting the whole shave. It’s not uncommon though for some to adjust earth pass for what is more comfortable for them. Absolutely go for it if it’s working!
I'd say it can't hurt, but it really could hurt
I'll give it a shot. I honestly think I'm getting the itch to try a SE razor. I've got a bunch of them PIF'd to me so I'm thinking the time is near.
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
I'd say it can't hurt, but it really could hurtI'll give it a shot. I honestly think I'm getting the itch to try a SE razor. I've got a bunch of them PIF'd to me so I'm thinking the time is near.
Dooo eeeet!
Everyone said that yesterday was supposed to be the coldest morning of this Polar Vortex, but today I woke up to -15. Dang Cold!
Today's Shave: Shave #104
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: Mystic Water Bay Rum
Bowl: Red Salsa Bowl (plastic)
Pre Shave: Wash with soap in the shower . Rub raw soap on face from the puck.
Total Razor on Face Time: 16 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack on the face and neck. Mammoth
Painting.
I lost track of how many shaves I had on this blade and think it might be #3. I probably should have just changed the blade out (if in doubt change the blade out!) I lathered up a nice bowl of goodness, but again I needed to go back for more product, but had a great result from doing so. I'm really liking applying the raw soap to my face from the tub for extra protection.
A 3 pass shave was on deck this morning. WTG I set the Variant razor to 4.0 without issue and it felt nice and smooth. For the neck I jacked the razor down to 2.5. The second pass XTG / ATG I left the razor set at 2.5 and I think that works well. Final pass I left the razor at 2.5 for everything and tried to clean-up as I went along. Something went wrong on my top lip though. More on that later. I also got a weeper on the left side of my face somehow during a J hook there. Overall, another BBS shave with DFS+ at the bottom of the neck around the adam's apple. I got to work though and looked at my upper lip finding that it had the appearance of being shot with 100 mph sand. I must have worked too hard on that area. Lots of irritation and it will earn some R&R for tomorrow for sure.
I'm thinking with my upper lip that I need to go back to the beggining and start at 1.0 with the Variant. I've tried different shaving angles and no pressure but something is wrong and I have no clue what it is so back to the starting line on that area.
Came into a surprise this morning at work. I suspected that a guy here was a wet shaver based on how his shave looked and the different scents I'd smell when he'd be in my office. How do you ask a dude about that?
One day last week I just came out and asked him. He was a little surprised but yeah, he uses straights and shavette's. This morning he was at my desk waiting for me when I arrived and is letting me try a shavette he had. It's a Chinese copy of the Feather. He also gave me a pack of Derby's to try. The guy said he even dry shaves with the Derby's if he's short on time. Huh???
Never heard of anyone dry shaving before and the idea of it doesn't even sound appealing to me. Anyways, it was nice of him to let me borrow the shavette, but now I have this dilemma: I haven't even tried a SE yet and think jumping to a shavette is quite the leap, yet this guy is going to eventually want to know how it went.
Today's Shave: Shave #104
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: Mystic Water Bay Rum
Bowl: Red Salsa Bowl (plastic)
Pre Shave: Wash with soap in the shower . Rub raw soap on face from the puck.
Total Razor on Face Time: 16 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack on the face and neck. Mammoth
Painting.
I lost track of how many shaves I had on this blade and think it might be #3. I probably should have just changed the blade out (if in doubt change the blade out!) I lathered up a nice bowl of goodness, but again I needed to go back for more product, but had a great result from doing so. I'm really liking applying the raw soap to my face from the tub for extra protection.
A 3 pass shave was on deck this morning. WTG I set the Variant razor to 4.0 without issue and it felt nice and smooth. For the neck I jacked the razor down to 2.5. The second pass XTG / ATG I left the razor set at 2.5 and I think that works well. Final pass I left the razor at 2.5 for everything and tried to clean-up as I went along. Something went wrong on my top lip though. More on that later. I also got a weeper on the left side of my face somehow during a J hook there. Overall, another BBS shave with DFS+ at the bottom of the neck around the adam's apple. I got to work though and looked at my upper lip finding that it had the appearance of being shot with 100 mph sand. I must have worked too hard on that area. Lots of irritation and it will earn some R&R for tomorrow for sure.
I'm thinking with my upper lip that I need to go back to the beggining and start at 1.0 with the Variant. I've tried different shaving angles and no pressure but something is wrong and I have no clue what it is so back to the starting line on that area.
Came into a surprise this morning at work. I suspected that a guy here was a wet shaver based on how his shave looked and the different scents I'd smell when he'd be in my office. How do you ask a dude about that?
I think we all expect to hear how the shavette experience goes down at this point!
Brave man venturing out in that weather! Can’t imagine!
I dunno, I'm sorta forced to do it since the guy was so generous as to let me borrow it. I used to work a deli slicer way back in high school so the shavette can't be much different
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
I jumped from DE’s to shavettes yesterday Mike. You just gotta do it! I took Doug’s advice though and only used the shavette on the cheeks and stache areas. Until I get The hang of it I’ll be using a DE on the neck.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Nice analogyI dunno, I'm sorta forced to do it since the guy was so generous as to let me borrow it. I used to work a deli slicer way back in high school so the shavette can't be much different