GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
What are these profane words?
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An Unexpected Journey: A Newbie's Walk In Wet Shaving
- Thread starter Blade-meister
- Start date
What are these profane words?
Mine are identical and 4. They are a blessing, but boy where they a lot of work when they were babies
.
Grow a mustache?
Now that's a stache! My wife would not love it. She barely liked my goatee when I had to grow it.
Saturdays are normally "No Shave Saturdays" but I was forced into a shave. The guy at work that lent me the shavette keeps running into me asking if I tried it. I mean I literally might run into the guy once every other week or so, but it seems like I was running into him 2-3 times daily. So, how bad of a job could I do with the shavette?
Today's Shave: Shave #124
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle / Chinese knock-off of Feather Shavette
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: Mystic Water Lavender LIme
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: 9 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack AS balm to the face only. Mammoth painting.
After a good lather I figured what harm could come from a one pass shave with the shavette just to say I'd used it? Having never really studied techniques with straights, I really felt like I didn't know what I was doing so I started at a shallow angle until I felt it start cutting. Not so bad, it really cut well. It seemed like my hand was always in my face, but it did a super job on my upper lip. I decided to take my Variant and follow up after it and in most areas the 3.5 setting seemed like it was gliding on a face with no stubble! Wow did that shavette cut close!! Now I know how your straight razor guys can do a 2 pass BBS shave without any problems. First dance with the shavette was great.
The razor looked like this and blades are put into it.
Today's Shave: Shave #124
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle / Chinese knock-off of Feather Shavette
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: Mystic Water Lavender LIme
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: 9 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack AS balm to the face only. Mammoth painting.
After a good lather I figured what harm could come from a one pass shave with the shavette just to say I'd used it? Having never really studied techniques with straights, I really felt like I didn't know what I was doing so I started at a shallow angle until I felt it start cutting. Not so bad, it really cut well. It seemed like my hand was always in my face, but it did a super job on my upper lip. I decided to take my Variant and follow up after it and in most areas the 3.5 setting seemed like it was gliding on a face with no stubble! Wow did that shavette cut close!! Now I know how your straight razor guys can do a 2 pass BBS shave without any problems. First dance with the shavette was great.
The razor looked like this and blades are put into it.
This morning was time for a good 3 pass shave. I wanted to use the shavette a little more just to see if I was still liking it.
Today's Shave: Shave #125
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle / Chinese knock-off of Feather Shavette
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) fac
e only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack AS balm to the face only. Mammoth painting.
After a good lather I decided to start right with the shavette razor. I started right on the upper lip and got all around the mouth on a WTG pass. There are some tricky areas there where I can see how a straight razor could slice and dice pretty good. I then went to my cheeks. Boy it does a great job and I can imagine a true straight razor is even better. I sort of reapplied some lather and went over the same areas with my Variant and didn't find anything to cut really. I'm impressed. The Variant was set at my usual 3.5 so that tells me the shavette must be cutting closer than that setting for sure. I did do my neck with the Variant and found plenty to cut there. I can see how an ATG pass with a straight or even the shavette is the pass where all the cuts probably figure in so I didn't tempt fate there and did my final 2 passes with the Variant set at 3.5 and 2.5. Minimal clean-up was needed at 1.5. Actually, the areas that I used the shavette needed the least amount of cleaning. My upper lip has never seen a closer shave than I got with the shavette. BBS + everywhere and a truly great shave. I know I skipped SE's, so I'll have to go back and master them before journeying any further down the rabbit hole.
Today's Shave: Shave #125
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle / Chinese knock-off of Feather Shavette
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) fac
e only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack AS balm to the face only. Mammoth painting.
After a good lather I decided to start right with the shavette razor. I started right on the upper lip and got all around the mouth on a WTG pass. There are some tricky areas there where I can see how a straight razor could slice and dice pretty good. I then went to my cheeks. Boy it does a great job and I can imagine a true straight razor is even better. I sort of reapplied some lather and went over the same areas with my Variant and didn't find anything to cut really. I'm impressed. The Variant was set at my usual 3.5 so that tells me the shavette must be cutting closer than that setting for sure. I did do my neck with the Variant and found plenty to cut there. I can see how an ATG pass with a straight or even the shavette is the pass where all the cuts probably figure in so I didn't tempt fate there and did my final 2 passes with the Variant set at 3.5 and 2.5. Minimal clean-up was needed at 1.5. Actually, the areas that I used the shavette needed the least amount of cleaning. My upper lip has never seen a closer shave than I got with the shavette. BBS + everywhere and a truly great shave. I know I skipped SE's, so I'll have to go back and master them before journeying any further down the rabbit hole.
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
Good job Mike. I’m also working my way slowly into barber straights (Shavette sounds too girly for me lol) and straights. It can be a bit intimidating at first but I had a similar first experience that eased my fears lol.
I'm with you - don't like the shavette name. Nurse Dave calls it a Kamasori which sounds like something a Ninja would shave with so I will go with that from now on
I worked at a previous job that wasn't suited for a goatee so when I left it, I had to grow one. My wife didn't like the idea of a Fu man Chu so I sported the goatee for a few years.
On the personal side of things, we had warm weather so I was able to do some forging. I forged a 3 1/2 foot long shoe horn for after my surgery. I wanted something I could use standing or sitting so I made it out of a piece of rebar. I had to square the rebar to remove all the texture that is on it so it didn't look like a piece of rebar. The actual shoe horn is 8 inches long and it works great. I put some decorative twists in it and a nice loop on the end so it can be hung up. It's certainly a manly device. I used to have to ask for help getting my slippers on which feels anti-manly, but now I can use this piece of steel that I forged to get them on myself. Works great for my shoes too. Go big or go home! It's probably over-built, but it makes a great statement. 150 years from now someone will be buying it at auction wondering what the heck it was used for
Makes sense, thanks for the bit of info KJ.
All good things come to an end and I should know by now that a really great shave is always followed by a crappy one (or usually in my case).
Today's Shave: Shave #126
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle / Chinese knock-off of Feather Kamisori Style
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: RR What The Puck Barbershop Blue
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: 13 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) fac
e only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack AS balm to the face only. Mammoth painting.
I've been using tallow based shaving soaps for so long that I decided last night to pull out the WTP Barbershop Blue. Lathering it up I immediately noticed a difference. It just didn't seem as slick. It never seemed to bother me in the past, but it really did this morning.
First pass saw me reaching for the Kamisori style razor. I'm still using the same blade. I started with the upper lip and man it seemed kinda raw so I kept things to a minimum there. That area felt great yesterday so I'm not sure what happened. I decided to try to use the Kamisori on the cheeks as well. Dang, if it didn't cause irritation there too. It really felt like my soap had no slickness at all. I cleaned up the first pass with my Variant which felt better, but the damage was already done and I could feel it. The second and third passes were not enjoyable with the Variant and I should have just stopped with 2 passes and cut my loses there. I did manage a BBS / DFS+ shave but have redness I haven't experienced since starting out. I'm thinking my face needs the extra slickness of the tallow based soaps. Not a stellar shave and not one that got my week off to a great start.
Today's Shave: Shave #126
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle / Chinese knock-off of Feather Kamisori Style
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: RR What The Puck Barbershop Blue
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: 13 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) fac
e only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack AS balm to the face only. Mammoth painting.
I've been using tallow based shaving soaps for so long that I decided last night to pull out the WTP Barbershop Blue. Lathering it up I immediately noticed a difference. It just didn't seem as slick. It never seemed to bother me in the past, but it really did this morning.
First pass saw me reaching for the Kamisori style razor. I'm still using the same blade. I started with the upper lip and man it seemed kinda raw so I kept things to a minimum there. That area felt great yesterday so I'm not sure what happened. I decided to try to use the Kamisori on the cheeks as well. Dang, if it didn't cause irritation there too. It really felt like my soap had no slickness at all. I cleaned up the first pass with my Variant which felt better, but the damage was already done and I could feel it. The second and third passes were not enjoyable with the Variant and I should have just stopped with 2 passes and cut my loses there. I did manage a BBS / DFS+ shave but have redness I haven't experienced since starting out. I'm thinking my face needs the extra slickness of the tallow based soaps. Not a stellar shave and not one that got my week off to a great start.
Ahhh, I'm not surprised to hear this because the WTP was terrible for using the open blade.
Wow, finally back online! I feel like it's been months. In all this time I decided to just get electrolysis done on my face and neck so now I don't have to shave only once a month. BBS everyday and I have to just lather up now for the scent. 
Just kidding of course!
So obviously I missed 10 shaves while the website was being updated. I like what I see so far on the changes, so I tip my lathering bowl to TSC owners! The only notable thing I have to share was a shower shave accident. I was bringing down my razor to my side when I sliced................................................................the side of my belly. I could have hurt myself in a most tragic way so I learned a pretty good lessen.
Today's Shave: Shave #136
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle / Chinese knock-off of Feather Kamisori Style
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: Mystic Water Sadalwood Coconut
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: 10 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack AS balm to the face only. Mammoth painting.
This morning I really wanted a change so I dug out my sample of the SC. This batch is not as strong in coconut as the original one I tried so it's not exactly my favorite. I got a great lather though and got started. I set the razor at 3.5 and got going on the first pass. Something I've gotten really better at lately is just relaxing and letting the blade do what it can on each pass. This was key for me. My second pass I decided to try something new and upped the razor setting to 4.0. Not much difference really other than a bit more blade feel. Final pass was set at 2.5. I did some clean-up on 1.5 and found a great BBS shave at the end of it.
One observation is that I'm getting more shaves per blade than I used to. If you recall, 3 shaves and I had to pitch the blade. While TSC was down I got a 5 day shave off one blade and am on my 4th shave with the current blade. So what's happening here? Well, I think for one I'm just doing straight passes without a lot of clean-up on each pass. My previous amount of heavy clean-up with each pass was putting more miles on the blade than necessary and causing a lot of irritation. The other factor is I'm understanding what no pressure really means. Nurse Dave's signature that he had is so true, if you think you are applying no pressure well you aren't. I think less pressure means the blade is only cutting hair and not scraping the skin causing it to need replacing sooner. I could be wrong on all this, but that's my theory.
On the personal side of things, I'm counting down to the week of my hip replacement surgery. Just a couple more weeks. Now I'm focused on squaring away my will, health care proxy, and stuff like that. I got my hip kit, which is a bunch of tools that help tremendously with chores like putting on your socks and clothes. I'm ever so thankful to be able to put my socks on now without having to ask my wife for help. My pre-op PT has been causing a lot of pain and back issues, but it helping strengthen me. I've added a few of my own PT moves that I believe will help prepare me to move around better using my upper body. Now I just am trying to stay healthy and not catch any of the sicknesses going around.
Just kidding of course!So obviously I missed 10 shaves while the website was being updated. I like what I see so far on the changes, so I tip my lathering bowl to TSC owners! The only notable thing I have to share was a shower shave accident. I was bringing down my razor to my side when I sliced................................................................the side of my belly. I could have hurt myself in a most tragic way so I learned a pretty good lessen.
Today's Shave: Shave #136
Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle / Chinese knock-off of Feather Kamisori Style
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Eric's Lignum Vitae Hand Turned Brush Handle, 22 mm Boss Knot
Soap: Mystic Water Sadalwood Coconut
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: 10 minutes
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Every Man Jack AS balm to the face only. Mammoth painting.
This morning I really wanted a change so I dug out my sample of the SC. This batch is not as strong in coconut as the original one I tried so it's not exactly my favorite. I got a great lather though and got started. I set the razor at 3.5 and got going on the first pass. Something I've gotten really better at lately is just relaxing and letting the blade do what it can on each pass. This was key for me. My second pass I decided to try something new and upped the razor setting to 4.0. Not much difference really other than a bit more blade feel. Final pass was set at 2.5. I did some clean-up on 1.5 and found a great BBS shave at the end of it.
One observation is that I'm getting more shaves per blade than I used to. If you recall, 3 shaves and I had to pitch the blade. While TSC was down I got a 5 day shave off one blade and am on my 4th shave with the current blade. So what's happening here? Well, I think for one I'm just doing straight passes without a lot of clean-up on each pass. My previous amount of heavy clean-up with each pass was putting more miles on the blade than necessary and causing a lot of irritation. The other factor is I'm understanding what no pressure really means. Nurse Dave's signature that he had is so true, if you think you are applying no pressure well you aren't. I think less pressure means the blade is only cutting hair and not scraping the skin causing it to need replacing sooner. I could be wrong on all this, but that's my theory.
On the personal side of things, I'm counting down to the week of my hip replacement surgery. Just a couple more weeks. Now I'm focused on squaring away my will, health care proxy, and stuff like that. I got my hip kit, which is a bunch of tools that help tremendously with chores like putting on your socks and clothes. I'm ever so thankful to be able to put my socks on now without having to ask my wife for help. My pre-op PT has been causing a lot of pain and back issues, but it helping strengthen me. I've added a few of my own PT moves that I believe will help prepare me to move around better using my upper body. Now I just am trying to stay healthy and not catch any of the sicknesses going around.
Well, I used to like them too but only do them if I have to take a quick shower and shave. Definitely not the safest thing 
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
I must admit it's a little unsettling that you think so........not surprising but unsettling stillWow, that's an honor