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Doug's Journal of Shaving Happiness v2.0

dkeester

dkeester

"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
Journal Entry #1

Pre: Shave Secret oil
Razor: Rockwell 6C with R3 plate
Blade: Baili Super Blue Stainless (1)
Brush: Sorrentino Custom Tuxedo
Soap/Cream: Arko
AS 1: Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive Post-shave Balm
AS 3: Pinaud Clubman
Fragrance: none

Overview
A new forum and a new journal. It feels a bit like I am starting my journey all over again, but definitely in a good way. This is version 2.0 of my journal, so let's call it version 2.0 of my shaving journey also. Since leaving that other place I have stopped keeping track of any numbers relating to my shaves, but now that I am here I feel like starting to keep track again. So, I am going to reset everything to zero and keep track here. This will be a fun new adventure.

Shave Quality
Today's shave was DFS+ in two passes (almost BBS going WTG and XTG, a bit rough ATG). I am not a "Dolphin chaser" because the third pass can leave me irritated if I don't really take my time with it. Although I do blade buff during my normal two passes, I only do three or more passes on the weekends when I have time for a longer shave. This is also when I pull out the straights and shavettes. Overall I am very pleased with today's shave, but my face is a bit dry after the dry-down.

Gear
The Rockwell is a well engineered razor with excellent plating. It just works. I do have some concerns about longevity due to it being chromed zamak, but that is a minor concern. I should get many years of service out of it and when it finally does fail I will replace it with a 6S.
The Arko soap is still great. It performs well during the shave, although it is a bit drying to my face afterwards. I created a puck by mashing two sticks into a black Col. Conk shave mug. I have been using this Arko puck almost religiously since the beginning of January. Even loading hard it going to take me a while to use it up. I must have somewhere around 70 or more shaves on this puck by now and it shows no sign of giving up the ghost.
The Baili blade (which may actually be a re-branded Personna) worked excellently. It is an efficient and smooth whisker whacker on the first shave.

Other Thoughts
It is great to be thinking about and discussing my shaves again. I am looking forward to lots of gentlemanly conversation. I am really happy that TSC exists.
One of my New Year's resolutions is to shave every day of 2018. So far I have yet to miss a shave. Today is day #110 of 2018 and was my 110th shave of the year. Go me.

Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you all have a great day.
 
Man, how can I miss and entry of a journal of happiness??

Welcome to the 365 club.
 
Well Doug I think you are the first to use Arko at TSC. Nice read and good shave. I agree the Rockwell 6C/S is a great razor. I own the 6S and it has always delivered great shaves for me.
 
Cvargo said:
Well Doug I think you are the first to use Arko at TSC. Nice read and good shave. I agree the Rockwell 6C/S is a great razor. I own the 6S and it has always delivered great shaves for me.
Click to expand...

Yay! First Arko post!! Lol.
 
dkeester said:
Yay! First Arko post!! Lol.
Click to expand...

Much to Chad's chagrin! ?

Wonderful first entry, Doug. Looking forward to following your new journey here at TSC!
 
I am traveling Sunday Doug, and Monday through Wednesday shaves next week will be with the Arko stick that always resides in my travel kit. Great performing soap, but it does lack conditioning.
 
Great read and shave Doug!

Great to have you back journaling!

Arko performs really well for me.
 
Journal Entry #2
TSC Straight Shave #1

Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Shave Secret oil
Straight: Genco Old Dutch
Strop: Tony Miller "Plain Chocolate"
Razor: Rockwell 6C with R3 plate (cleanup pass)
Blade: Baili Super Blue Stainless (2)
Brush: Sorrentino Custom Tuxedo
Soap/Cream: AOS tallow formula Sandalwood
AS 1: Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive Post-shave Balm
AS 3: AOS Sandalwood ASB
Fragrance: none



Overview
I love this hobby. I have been wet shaving for over two years now and I still love the long moment of zen that is my daily shave. A good shave really improves my day. Saturday is my favorite shaving day of them all. My very first wet shave was on a Saturday and it is the day when I have the most time to devote to my shave. Today's shave took me a full hour. And what a lovely hour it was.

Shave Quality
Saturday is also the one day of the week that I allow myself to chase a BBS shave. Today was no exception. I took three passes (WTG, XTG, XTG) with my Genco Old Dutch. I am still developing my straight technique, but I feel myself getting better every time. The only blood shed was a single pin-prick of a weeper that closed up before I finished my last pass. After the three passes with the Genco I took a full ATG cleanup pass with the 6C from yesterday, then used it to cleanup a couple of rough patches. The alum lit my face on fire afterwards, so as usual on my straight day I used double balms for my AS. The razor burn lasted for a good two hours after finishing. However, I am still BBS 7+ hours later, so it was worth the discomfort in the short term.

Gear
I am really glad that this razor has the edge that it does, because I was so excited to get to my shave that I forgot to strop beforehand. (I got it as a "sight unseen" razor from Larry at Whipped Dog.) Luckily, I don't think my failure to strop had any detrimental effect on the shave. I made sure to give it 50 cotton laps and 50 leather laps on my Tony Miller afterwards. The Genco is a really fabulous piece of steel. Perhaps I will see if I can hunt down a couple more of them.

There is not much to say about my Tony Miller strop. It is well made and serves its purpose well. The is smooth and fast. I am glad that I got it as my second strop. (My first was a Whipped Dog "poor man's strop" that I cut to ribbons as I was learning.) I know that there are higher-end strops out there, but my T. Miller is all that I need.

The AOS tallow formula soap is good stuff. Great performance with lots of residual slickness and good post shave feel. I think I would have had much worse razor burn today had I not been using this stuff.
The AOS balm is a little spendy for what you get. Basically you are paying for AOS name and scent profile. However, it works and feels good on my skin. I will probably get more once this bottle is empty.

Other Thoughts
It has been a good Saturday around here. I had to replace my break light due to burn out, which was fun and my major accomplishment for the day. There are other things that I wanted to get done, but didn't. Regardless of that I am really feeling good today. I think the shave has more than a bit to do with it. I think the new glasses that I picked up yesterday evening also have something to do with it. It is nice to see the world clearly again.

Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you all have a great day.

EDITED: Forgot to add the pics.
 
Is that the bottom of the container for the AOS? If so wow that is a LOT Of awesome shaves delivered!
 
Great Stuff Doug!

I started with the a Whipped Dog razor and Poor Man's Strop Kit also, and yes I nicked and cut it several times. That one piece of advice everyone should follow when starting out. Get a cheap but good performing strop. Last December I traded Dave E. for a Tony Miller Old No. 2 Heirloom Strop. It is diffidently a step or 3 up from the Whipped Dog, and as you said, it works for me.
 
Cvargo said:
Is that the bottom of the container for the AOS? If so wow that is a LOT Of awesome shaves delivered!
Click to expand...

It is a ramekin from the local Wally-Mart. The AOS puck fits it perfectly. And yes, I put the puck in flat side up, so there is a fair bit of soap left to go. The puck filled the ramekin to a bit over half-way.
 
Journal Entry #3

Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Shave Secret oil
Razor: GEM G-Bar
Blade: vintage Treet SE (3)
Brush: Sorrentino Custom Tuxedo
Soap/Cream: AOS tallow formula Sandalwood
AS 1: Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive Post-shave Balm
AS 3: RazoRock Mr. Pink
Fragrance: none

Overview
This morning I could have skipped the shave. But, I have committed to 365 shaves this year, so out came my favorite GEM model, the G-Bar (a.k.a. the Heavy Flat Top) for a two pass (ATG, XTG) shave with my favorite GEM blade the Treet SE.

Shave Quality
I probably should have skipped the shave. It did bring the BBS back for a short while, but it also brought back a touch of the irritation from yesterday. Thankfully the irritation was short-lived.

Gear
What can I say about the HFT that hasn't already been said? Honestly, not much. If you are looking to get started with GEM-style razors, this one is a good place to start.
The Treet blades are great. The ones that I have are a bit old (the "special razor offer" on the back is for a GEM Contour II). These are a little better for me than the GEM PTFE blades. I am glad that I was able to snag a full carton of them (120).
RazoRock Mr. Pink (same scent as the RR Baby Blue). This is good AS. It is powder and citrus. I am a little disappointed that ItalianBarber appears to have discontinued the Baby Blue.

Other Thoughts
This has been a good weekend and it feels good to be journaling again. I am thinking more about the hobby than I have in about a year. The past couple of shaves have been more enjoyable because of it.

Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you all have a great day.
 
Great read, and happy to have you journaling again also!
 
Journal Entry #4

Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Shave Secret oil
Razor: Boss Razors textured handle DE (https://tinyurl.com/y8o7ps8v)
Blade: Baili Super Blue (1)
Brush: Sorrentino Custom Tuxedo
Soap/Cream: Arko
AS 1: Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive Post-shave Balm
AS 3: RazoRock Mr. Pink
Fragrance: none

Overview
I stayed up too late last night, so I am feeling a bit out of sorts, but today's shave helped me feel a bit better.

Shave Quality
I came away with my usual DFS+, and my face is less tender today. But, I am still feeling Saturday's BBS a tiny bit. Not skipping a day is prolonging the irritation.

Gear
After spending months off-and-on with Arko I am not sure if I want to keep it around. I still have half a dozen or more sticks in the den, and it does make a good travel soap. However, it doesn't have the skin conditioning properties that I really want.
Today's razor is something that I got via Amazon a few months ago. It is a decent Merkur-style head, but I really bought it for the handle. I find it to be a bit more aggressive than my 34c and 38c. I think I might pitch the head of this one and find a better head for a Frankenrazor.
The Baili blades are still working great.

Other Thoughts
I have been thinking for a few months that I might have to have a month of straight shaves sometime later in the year as a bit of a challenge to myself. I have never attempted a straight shave on a day when I have to work. Maybe this week I should give that a try.

Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you all have a great day.
 
A month with a straight is a great way to continue progress in getting better at straight shaving. I agree with you on Arko. It performs well but lacks in certain areas. I also do not like the scent.
 
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