Thanks, Doug.
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Kingfisher's open blade (straight razors and shavettes) journey
- Thread starter kingfisher
- Start date
81/118 was yesterday morning.
I used Soapy Science in the Lollipop Citrus scent, again, and got an amazing lather, again. Went back to the Noonan and Sons SR, the one I first got from Larry at Whipped Dog.
The edge on this one was really sharp when I got it back from William, maybe a touch too sharp, but now it has mellowed out after a few uses and a few days of stropping. Now it is still very sharp, but doesn't feel harsh at all. I had a wonderful 2-pass shave that required very little clean-up.
Today, Mother's Day, was my day off from open blade shaving, so I shaved with my iKon S3S. I love this razor but loading a blade is a pain in the butt. I loaded it last night, thankfully, so I didn't have to futz around with it this morning. Used Stirling Peach for lather today. This has been my favorite soap for the past 6 months or so. I still love it. In comparison with the Soapy Science soap, the lather is pretty similar. I think Stirling is a bit slicker and Soapy Science is a bit richer and more luxurious.
Happy Mother's Day to all.
I used Soapy Science in the Lollipop Citrus scent, again, and got an amazing lather, again. Went back to the Noonan and Sons SR, the one I first got from Larry at Whipped Dog.
The edge on this one was really sharp when I got it back from William, maybe a touch too sharp, but now it has mellowed out after a few uses and a few days of stropping. Now it is still very sharp, but doesn't feel harsh at all. I had a wonderful 2-pass shave that required very little clean-up.
Today, Mother's Day, was my day off from open blade shaving, so I shaved with my iKon S3S. I love this razor but loading a blade is a pain in the butt. I loaded it last night, thankfully, so I didn't have to futz around with it this morning. Used Stirling Peach for lather today. This has been my favorite soap for the past 6 months or so. I still love it. In comparison with the Soapy Science soap, the lather is pretty similar. I think Stirling is a bit slicker and Soapy Science is a bit richer and more luxurious.
Happy Mother's Day to all.
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
The conversion process is almost complete! Kingfisher 2.0!
82/119 this morning.
I missed the straight yesterday morning, to be honest. I was happy to fire it up again today.
For lather, I used Soapy Science in MY special blend (otherwise known as "Doc's Special Blend"). And yes, it was actually named after me, because I loved this scent so much in the beta-testing phase. It's kind of cool to have a soap scent named after me.
Anyway, on to the shave. Got a wonderful lather, and the scent is heavenly. It is kind of complex but it blends so well. It has some unusual scent notes in it, like wintergreen, for example. This morning when I started lathering it up it reminded me a little bit of root beer, but just a little, because it is so much more interesting. But, I do love root beer and I have a lot of good memories tied up with root beer, so maybe that's one of the reasons this scent appealed to me so much in the first place, even though the thought that there was a hint of root beer in it didn't occur to me until just this morning.
First pass WTG went really well. No tugging, no pulling. SAS after one pass. Nice.
I am continuing to evolve the second pass, doing even more "Gillette slide" and "windshield wiper," and incorporating both into a single stroke. Reduction on the second pass has, consequently, gotten a lot better. And it is smooth and comfortable.
I did a true XTG on both cheeks and called it a day after only a tiny bit of touch-up on the jawline. No irritation, no redness, no nicks, no cuts, no weepers. Just a really nice, comfortable shave that made for a GREAT start to my week!
Have a good one, gents.
I missed the straight yesterday morning, to be honest. I was happy to fire it up again today.
For lather, I used Soapy Science in MY special blend (otherwise known as "Doc's Special Blend"). And yes, it was actually named after me, because I loved this scent so much in the beta-testing phase. It's kind of cool to have a soap scent named after me.
Anyway, on to the shave. Got a wonderful lather, and the scent is heavenly. It is kind of complex but it blends so well. It has some unusual scent notes in it, like wintergreen, for example. This morning when I started lathering it up it reminded me a little bit of root beer, but just a little, because it is so much more interesting. But, I do love root beer and I have a lot of good memories tied up with root beer, so maybe that's one of the reasons this scent appealed to me so much in the first place, even though the thought that there was a hint of root beer in it didn't occur to me until just this morning.
First pass WTG went really well. No tugging, no pulling. SAS after one pass. Nice.
I am continuing to evolve the second pass, doing even more "Gillette slide" and "windshield wiper," and incorporating both into a single stroke. Reduction on the second pass has, consequently, gotten a lot better. And it is smooth and comfortable.
I did a true XTG on both cheeks and called it a day after only a tiny bit of touch-up on the jawline. No irritation, no redness, no nicks, no cuts, no weepers. Just a really nice, comfortable shave that made for a GREAT start to my week!
Have a good one, gents.
WildWest74
Could be John Wayne
Excellent shaves, and terrific work on finding the right moves for your subsequent passes.
Getting a soap made to your specifications is definitely a cool feeling, and having it named for you has to be even better.
Getting a soap made to your specifications is definitely a cool feeling, and having it named for you has to be even better.
83/120 this morning.
Stuck with the Noonan and Sons. Quickly becoming my favorite razor, even though when I first started I didn't like it at all. It's a full hollow. Makes a lot of noise. When I was a beginner I had real significant trouble with the dense areas on the neck just below my chin, especially on the right side. I once thought (and opined on another forum) that the full hollow probably lacked the structural integrity needed to get through the coarse, dense areas of my stubble.
My breakthrough occurred with a 1/4 hollow; a cheap Chinese YZ, seemingly confirming my notion.
However, this Noonan now has a great edge on it and provides a superb shave. Yesterday's shave was my best straight razor shave ever, and this morning's wasn't far behind. I went back to Soapy Science Lollipop Citrus, and the lather I got this morning was otherworldly. I had great lathers with it before, but today's was even better. (There are definitely mild variations from day to day, even for an experienced latherer.)
This soap keeps climbing up into the upper eschelon for me. Today it reminded me of a cross between Stirling and Mystic Water. Loaded and lathered up quickly and easily, like Stirling, but the final lather reminded me a ton of that nice, dense, shiny MW lather that I also love.
I suspect my stropping is improving a lot, because this edge hasn't deteriorated at all since it was honed. It mellowed a bit, which just made it better. This morning it felt exactly like it did yesterday, which was awesome.
After two passes I was SAS+. One more pass on the cheeks to CCS+/DFS-. Smooth and comfortable. Used Stirling lime aftershave balm, which pairs wonderfully with the citrus scent of the Soapy Science Lollipop Citrus.
All in all, a great start to the day.
Stuck with the Noonan and Sons. Quickly becoming my favorite razor, even though when I first started I didn't like it at all. It's a full hollow. Makes a lot of noise. When I was a beginner I had real significant trouble with the dense areas on the neck just below my chin, especially on the right side. I once thought (and opined on another forum) that the full hollow probably lacked the structural integrity needed to get through the coarse, dense areas of my stubble.
My breakthrough occurred with a 1/4 hollow; a cheap Chinese YZ, seemingly confirming my notion.
However, this Noonan now has a great edge on it and provides a superb shave. Yesterday's shave was my best straight razor shave ever, and this morning's wasn't far behind. I went back to Soapy Science Lollipop Citrus, and the lather I got this morning was otherworldly. I had great lathers with it before, but today's was even better. (There are definitely mild variations from day to day, even for an experienced latherer.)
This soap keeps climbing up into the upper eschelon for me. Today it reminded me of a cross between Stirling and Mystic Water. Loaded and lathered up quickly and easily, like Stirling, but the final lather reminded me a ton of that nice, dense, shiny MW lather that I also love.
I suspect my stropping is improving a lot, because this edge hasn't deteriorated at all since it was honed. It mellowed a bit, which just made it better. This morning it felt exactly like it did yesterday, which was awesome.
After two passes I was SAS+. One more pass on the cheeks to CCS+/DFS-. Smooth and comfortable. Used Stirling lime aftershave balm, which pairs wonderfully with the citrus scent of the Soapy Science Lollipop Citrus.
All in all, a great start to the day.
84/121 this morning.
Went back to Doc's Special Blend this morning; stuck with the Noonan.
I had a live TV segment to shoot this morning, so I very briefly considered utilizing a different method of shaving, thinking "what if today is the day I get a gash?" but decided to forge ahead. I figure it's a lot like golfing: it's best not to think, "don't hit it into the water," or "don't pull it into the trees." It's better to focus on where you WANT the ball go GO, not where you want it NOT to go. So, straight razor shaving is similar. Focus on shaving off the stubble, not on NOT cutting yourself.
The approach worked. I got quite a bit more water into the lather than on previous days, to the point where I was worried it might be too wet, but it still shaved great. If anything, the post-shave face feel was slightly better with the lather wetter.
So, long story short, I got a good shave and the TV segment went well. Win-win.
Have a good day.
Went back to Doc's Special Blend this morning; stuck with the Noonan.
I had a live TV segment to shoot this morning, so I very briefly considered utilizing a different method of shaving, thinking "what if today is the day I get a gash?" but decided to forge ahead. I figure it's a lot like golfing: it's best not to think, "don't hit it into the water," or "don't pull it into the trees." It's better to focus on where you WANT the ball go GO, not where you want it NOT to go. So, straight razor shaving is similar. Focus on shaving off the stubble, not on NOT cutting yourself.
The approach worked. I got quite a bit more water into the lather than on previous days, to the point where I was worried it might be too wet, but it still shaved great. If anything, the post-shave face feel was slightly better with the lather wetter.
So, long story short, I got a good shave and the TV segment went well. Win-win.
Have a good day.
Not thinking about the shave is a huge part of success. Overthinking can get any one of us into trouble, even after a bunch of experience.
As to the full hollow, quarter hollow etc. I don't think structural integrity is ever an issue BUT the grind of the blade does indeed influence the entire shave. A full hollow blade will flex some while a wedge is never going to flex, everything in between has its own "flex". Many will say the more the blade flexes the more forgiving it feels...we'll leave that one to you. I think the heavier grinds have a distinct advantage for the newer user. I think the mass helps to compensate for the user's hesitance. Much like a plastic DE razor (or the razorock silver hawk) lacks mass. If you compare the shave experience between a very light DE/SE and tank of a DE, the heavier razor is often described as easier to use. I think the lighter feel and flex of a full hollow have the effect of telling our brain "push harder you fool, I can barely feel this thing". As you gain more experience you learn to overcome the mass/flex differences. good job sticking with it.
As to the full hollow, quarter hollow etc. I don't think structural integrity is ever an issue BUT the grind of the blade does indeed influence the entire shave. A full hollow blade will flex some while a wedge is never going to flex, everything in between has its own "flex". Many will say the more the blade flexes the more forgiving it feels...we'll leave that one to you. I think the heavier grinds have a distinct advantage for the newer user. I think the mass helps to compensate for the user's hesitance. Much like a plastic DE razor (or the razorock silver hawk) lacks mass. If you compare the shave experience between a very light DE/SE and tank of a DE, the heavier razor is often described as easier to use. I think the lighter feel and flex of a full hollow have the effect of telling our brain "push harder you fool, I can barely feel this thing". As you gain more experience you learn to overcome the mass/flex differences. good job sticking with it.