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Doug's Journal of Shaving Happiness v2.0

Too bad about the irritation, but otherwise good shave. I have been considering going the lapping film route too, and the way that I plan on going is getting a rule from one of those home improvement stores. I am only 50 shaves in, so I am not ready to start just yet though.

Having it honed by someone else though, I have 2 recommendations. One would be Doc226 from that other site. Alfredo is a JNAT master .The other person, who I will probably contact for my next honking, is our own Xeno. I know part of his job is to hone customer razors, and I have heard that he is marvelous. There are other Legacy members here that also hone very well.
 
Nice Stuff Doug Home depot has the marble already cut and bullnosed for the film, wet both sides and go to town. A little advice to prevent some irritation, a bit thinner and wetter lather, and picture shaving the lather not you face, that will lighten up your touch, and look at the angle, no more that a spine width off the face.

..and Don, Thanks for the props, Doc was my mentor, as was Gary Haywood, and Arne to jump into the Pit of honing LOL
 
Xenostr8shaver said:
Nice Stuff Doug Home depot has the marble already cut and bullnosed for the film, wet both sides and go to town. A little advice to prevent some irritation, a bit thinner and wetter lather, and picture shaving the lather not you face, that will lighten up your touch, and look at the angle, no more that a spine width off the face.

..and Don, Thanks for the props, Doc was my mentor, as was Gary Haywood, and Arne to jump into the Pit of honing LOL
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Thanks for the advice, Dave. ?
 
Getting caught up Doug. Nice straight shave! As to the honing stuff and getting that razor perfect again... thankfully there are a lot of smart honemeisters around!
 
Journal Entry #10 - 4/29/2018

Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Shave Secret oil
Razor: G-Type Injector
Blade: Personna (?)
Brush: RazoRock 24mm Plissoft with barber handle
Soap/Cream: Stirling Barbershop sample
AS 1: Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive Post-shave Balm
AS 3: Lucky Tiger AS
Fragrance: Cool Water

Overview
I should have stopped at two. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

Shave Quality
It has been a while since I shaved with this razor. I should not have gone for the third pass. I gave myself four pin-prick weepers and irritation that lasted most of the day. That is what I get for chasing BBS with a razor that I haven't used in months. I was BBS however.

Gear
The G-Type Injector is definitely aggressive. Had I stopped at two passes, I would probably still have had irritation, but nowhere near as bad. I really like it, but it needs a much lighter touch than I used.

The RazoRock brush has a great handle. It is a heavy piece of resin that feels good in the hand. My Sorrentino brush is still better, but that goes without saying.

Other Thoughts
Avengers: Infinity War was decent. It wasn't as much of a dumpster fire as Civil War, but it still wasn't quite as good as the first Avengers movie. I am looking forward to the next installment.

Journal Entry #11 - 4/30/2018

Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Shave Secret oil
Razor: Super Safety Razors Heavyweight Chrome Trac II Compatible
Blade: Personna Trac-II cartridge (5)
Brush: none
Soap/Cream: Lush Cosmetics Prince brush-less shaving cream
AS 1: Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive Post-shave Balm
AS 3: Lucky Tiger AS
Fragrance: WSP Barbershop

Overview
Was in a bit of a hurry this morning, so I used the Trac-II compatible razor.

Shave Quality
It was a solidly DFS shave in two passes and quite uneventful.

Gear
The Trac-II compatible system works as expected. The handle doesn't pivot. The Personna cartridges are good quality. It is just a boring way to shave. Also, my whiskers come back faster on days that I use a cart razor.

The Lush Prince cream is good stuff for a non-lathering cream. It is orange blossom scented and super slick. It does leave a bit of residue, however. It was an Easter gift from my wife last year. I quite like it. I wish I had an orange scented cologne to pair with it. The Lucky Tiger went great with it.

Other Thoughts
My company has been moving to new offices over the past five months. Today was the first day in the new office for the engineering staff. The new facility is nice, or it will be when all of the construction is done. We have the cert. of occupancy, but there are still finishing touches and equipment to be installed. It is nice to be in the new office. I have gone from a 40-50 minute commute to a 15-20 minute commute. I just can't wait for all the drilling, sawing, and fire alarm testing to be done.

Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you all have a great day and stellar shaves.
 
Nice couple of shaves Doug, though sorry to hear about the irritation from the injector...it's never fun to get lit up.

dkeester said:
It was an Easter gift from my wife last year. I quite like it. I wish I had an orange scented cologne to pair with it. The Lucky Tiger went great with it.
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Clinique Happy for Men EdT should fit the bill to match that. It's not great on performance (projection and longevity), but is a dead ringer for a nice bright orange scent. You can find it in most department stores and a 50ml bottle shouldn't be very expensive at all.
 
Good stuff Doug. Nice catch up. Moving offices is probably a pain but shortening you commute time that has to be nice and a savings on gas!
 
I hate that all day irritation. A little that wears off is a lesson, all day irritation begs for a day off.
 
Dagwoodz said:
Nice couple of shaves Doug, though sorry to hear about the irritation from the injector...it's never fun to get lit up.
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Dagwoodz said:
Clinique Happy for Men EdT should fit the bill to match that. It's not great on performance (projection and longevity), but is a dead ringer for a nice bright orange scent. You can find it in most department stores and a 50ml bottle shouldn't be very expensive at all.
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Thanks, Josh! I will check it out.
 
Good catch up Doug!
Bummer about the irritation!

That great that you can cut your commute like that! I'm waiting for the entry now that says something like, "as I pulled into the parking lot I realized that I was at the old office location.."
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Journal Entry #12

Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Shave Secret oil
Razor: No Date Code Post-War Gillette Tech
Blade: Gillette 7O'Clock Sharpedge (yellow) (1)
Brush: AOS Fine Badger
Soap/Cream: Stirling Barbershop sample
AS 1: Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive Post-shave Balm
AS 3: RazoRock Mr. Pink
Fragrance: none

Overview
A serviceable shave with a practically foolproof razor.

Shave Quality
It was only DFS+, but a very comfortable one. The lather was wet, sloppy, and slick with just enough cushion. I took two easy passes and am satisfied with the results.

Gear
Everyone should have a Post-War Tech in their den. It is a great razor that works well with almost any blade.

The AOS brush is great. I love it and it performs well. It was a Christmas gift from the mother-in-law, so it is very special to me. However, there are badger brushes out there that are just as good that cost less.

Other Thoughts
Day two in the unfinished office. Hopefully I can be productive today.

Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you all have a great day and stellar shaves.
 
clyde72 said:
Good catch up Doug!
Bummer about the irritation!

That great that you can cut your commute like that! I'm waiting for the entry now that says something like, "as I pulled into the parking lot I realized that I was at the old office location.."
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Lol. Probably not going to happen. The routes are completely different. I had to get on the highway for the old location. The new one has me on city streets the whole way. So, if I find myself on the highway in the morning I know something is wrong, so I would never make it all the way to the old location.
 
Nice fool-proof shave this morning Doug! I PIF'd my two techs as they were a tad too mild for my tastes, but they are surprisingly good shavers for sure.
 
Great reads Doug. I am going to make a couple of suggestions that helped me when I was learning the straight razor. Once I was shaving the entire face, I was struck by how poor the shave was relative to what was possible with the DE. I too did a DE cleanup on work days. Once I was able to accomplish a reasonable SAS with the straight razor only, I eliminated the DE cleanup. This did two things for me. First, it shortened the time in the den having to clean up a second razor. Second, I found myself palpating my face during the day, and almost unconscientiously planning attacks with the straight razor for the next shave to improve the result. Doing the DE cleanup was masking the problem areas of the shave for me, and having the stubble present all day long was a reminder for me to do something about it.

I notice on your Torrey razor that it has a bit of a smile from heel to toe. Honing a razor with a smile is a bit more challenging than honing one that is straight across. Your two options to hone it successfully are to: 1. hone the smile out of it, or 2. master the rolling X stroke. Given the amount of hone wear on the razor, I think your best option is mastering the rolling X stroke. I will also add that this is not something that I have fully mastered, but I have a razor with a smile by design that I have been able to get a decent edge on. In order to get the stone (or film) to touch the bevel across the entire length of the blade, you will have to raise the toe slightly when starting at the heel, then gradually lower it as you move towards the center with it laying flat, then slightly raise the heel as the stroke approaches the toe. Your goal is to do this repeatedly and consistently with each X stroke. This razor is probably not the easiest razor to learn honing on, but it is something that you will want to have in your honing arsenal at some point as certain razors have a smile by design.
 
McVeyMac said:
Great reads Doug. I am going to make a couple of suggestions that helped me when I was learning the straight razor. Once I was shaving the entire face, I was struck by how poor the shave was relative to what was possible with the DE. I too did a DE cleanup on work days. Once I was able to accomplish a reasonable SAS with the straight razor only, I eliminated the DE cleanup. This did two things for me. First, it shortened the time in the den having to clean up a second razor. Second, I found myself palpating my face during the day, and almost unconscientiously planning attacks with the straight razor for the next shave to improve the result. Doing the DE cleanup was masking the problem areas of the shave for me, and having the stubble present all day long was a reminder for me to do something about it.

I notice on your Torrey razor that it has a bit of a smile from heel to toe. Honing a razor with a smile is a bit more challenging than honing one that is straight across. Your two options to hone it successfully are to: 1. hone the smile out of it, or 2. master the rolling X stroke. Given the amount of hone wear on the razor, I think your best option is mastering the rolling X stroke. I will also add that this is not something that I have fully mastered, but I have a razor with a smile by design that I have been able to get a decent edge on. In order to get the stone (or film) to touch the bevel across the entire length of the blade, you will have to raise the toe slightly when starting at the heel, then gradually lower it as you move towards the center with it laying flat, then slightly raise the heel as the stroke approaches the toe. Your goal is to do this repeatedly and consistently with each X stroke. This razor is probably not the easiest razor to learn honing on, but it is something that you will want to have in your honing arsenal at some point as certain razors have a smile by design.
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Thank you for this advice, Walt. I admit that I do find the smile to be daunting. I have a balsa strop from Whipped Dog that has CrOx on one side and FeOx on the other. I am hoping that it will be enough to revive the edge. If it can't, I am going to send it out. I think I should learn how to hone a non-smiling straight before attempting a smiling one.

Also, I don't care for the razors that are designed to have a smile. If it has developed a smile over time, I don't mind. However, I think a straight razor should be mostly straight.
 
Great reads. Our company decided to go another direction instead of getting a new building. They are having someone come in and redesign the whole layout. They are constantly expanding and even starting to offer the work from home option to some positions(not mine). Others will share a desk and spend half their time at home the other half at the office.
 
Comfortable is a win. I never ventured down the vintage razor road, but I imagine I will when I feel the acquisition disorder waning.
 
Journal Entry #13

Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Shave Secret oil
Razor: Merkur 42c
Blade: BIC Platinum Chrome (1)
Brush: RazoRock 400 Noir Plissoft
Soap/Cream: Stirling Barbershop sample
AS 1: Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive Post-shave Balm
AS 3: RazoRock Mr. Pink
Fragrance: none

Overview
Complacency is the enemy of a good shave. I tried something new and was pleasantly rewarded for it.

Shave Quality
Today's lather was just about perfect. The Noir Plissoft knot loaded well and whipped up a decent amount of great lather. Both cheeks went as expected. When I got to my chin I decided to do something different. I started at my left ear and shaved across to my right ear, then re-lathered my neck and went the opposite direction ear-to-ear. Keeping the pressure light, I ended up doing less buffing and had much less irritation than usual. Overall I am BBS- and very happy. I may continue this for the future, or perhaps I will try going chin to ear on both sides. Today is one of the best neck days I have had.

Gear
I love Merkur razors. My face loves them. The standard Merkur safety-bar head works well with almost any blade. Today's BIC blade was no exception.

The RazoRock 400 is a really nice brush handle. I should see if I can get one of these with a SIlvertip knot.

Other Thoughts
It is a rainy day here in Denver. I am glad. I hope that the rains keep going so that we don't have a bad fire season.

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