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Kingfisher's open blade (straight razors and shavettes) journey

Dave in KY said:
Quick and good shave. Win, win
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Thanks!

GearNoir said:
Should have gone for the 5 minute or less stunt shave entry!
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Maybe later, lol.

CCLXII this morning. Back in the straight razor saddle, and happy to do so.

Couldn't resist the Swedish Steal again this morning. Now I see why these razors are so highly prized. The edge is still buttery smooth.

Lathered up Soapy Science Lollipop Citrus and got a perfect lather for me. Normally I do two passes with the straight and then one with a DE, but this morning I did a third pass on all of the area north of the jawline using the straight, because I was enjoying it so much. I haven't done that nose-to-ear strict XTG pass with a straight razor for a long while, but it went very smoothly and didn't feel dangerous at all. Below the jaw I used the Fatboy set at 6.

End result of the shave was DFS to DFS-. Smooth and comfy. No problems. Good start to the weekend.

I hope y'all have a good weekend!
 
CCLXIII this morning.

Last night I moved my puck of RazoRock's "What the Puck?" soap from its tiny container into an empty container of Obsessive Soap Perfectionist. Nice, wide opening. I figured it would be a lot easier to load the brush. I moved it also because I am going to Miami on vacation tomorrow, and I needed a smaller container to transport what's left of my AoS lemon shave cream so I can use it when I'm gone.

Since I went through the trouble of moving the soap (and being a triple-milled puck, it was a lot of trouble to get it out and pressed into the new container) I decided to fire it up for this morning's shave.

Of course I used the Swedish Steal. I'm off today (first day of my vacation) so I didn't need an extremely close shave. I lathered up the What the Puck Orange Sunrise and went to town. I did two passes with the straight, then just cleaned up a bit on the jawline and neck with the Fatboy. Nice, comfy shave, although I still think this soap lacks a bit in comparison to my artisan tallow soaps. Not quite as much cushion; much worse after the shave face feel. I also noted a tiny bit of tingling on the second pass from the lather. I think there may be an ingredient in it that doesn't completely agree with me. No redness or rash, though.

Anyway, a good shave.

I thought a lot about how to shave on my vacation and I made a command decision to simplify the process as much as possible. I am taking a plastic Atra handle (leaving the metal one home; don't want to lose it) with a fresh Vector cartridge. As I mentioned, I'm taking the remainder of the AoS lemon. No brush. I'm going to apply a thin layer of it by hand. I used to have a container of Cremo that I was use in this setting, but I gave it away (along with 10 Gillette Guard razors) to a man who was being released from prison and needed help between his release and his first paycheck. I feel like the AoS will work just as well, though. Time will tell. I just didn't feel like taking a brush. Sharing one bathroom with 3 people for two days and then with 4 people, so I want to get the shave done as quickly as possible.

Looks like we picked a good time to go to Miami, too, what with the polar vortex arriving in our area Wednesday and Thursday. I just heard that the high here on Thursday is going to be in the 20s, with icy northern winds. We will have 76 degrees in Miami that day. Sorry not sorry.

Hope y'all had a great day.
 
Had a great vacation in Miami. Weather was darned near perfect. Good times.

While I was there I shaved using AoS lemon cream applied by hand, and doing two passes each day with an Atra loaded with a Vector cartridge. I took my plastic Atra instead of my metal one so I if it got lost I wouldn't really care. The AoS applied by hand worked fine. The plastic Atra gets the job done, but I don't like it much. It can't really plow through the tougher/denser areas of stubble without chattering. I really, really wished that I had taken the Trac II instead.

I was very happy to get back to better shaves this morning. Because it was late last night by the time I got squared away for bed, I didn't strop up a straight razor. But I did load up my Hybrid Tech with a fresh Polsilver SI.

This morning I lathered up Doc's Special Blend with my Rubberset brush and got a fantastic lather. I did two passes with the Hybrid Tech and the new Polsilver. Wow. So. much. better. than. the. cartridge. razor!!!

Two each, smooth passes to CCS; great start to the day.

I hope y'all have a great Monday.
 
CCLXIV this morning.

I got to try a new-to-me soap this morning, thanks to Doug. He sent me a sample of CBL's Ghost Lime to try out. I had started a thread earlier asking about whether I might enjoy the "ghost" cooling effect, given my prior experience with mentholated soaps and mint soaps, and Doug kindly offered to send me a sample. It arrived in yesterday's mail and I fired it up this morning.

The appearance of the soap itself is rather unremarkable; smooth, shiny, soft-ish. The smell off the sample is a pure but faint lime. To my nose it smells like a pure lime EO scent.

I spooned a small sample into my lather bowl and flattened it against the bottom and side, then went at it with a synthetic brush, adding water as I went. It lathered up quickly but the lather was not as dense as my usual Soapy Science. After a bit more water and working of the lather I got it where I thought it would be good, and began to apply it to my face.

I got a bit of it on my lip and I could sense the cooling even before I had finished applying the first pass, but it wasn't cooling on the skin at that point in time. I did the first pass with the Swedish Steal, which I had stropped up the night before. It went smoothly. No problems at all.

I then looked at the time and realized I didn't have time for another straight razor pass, so I went to the Hybrid Tech with a Polsilver on its second shave, and did a straight XTG with it, which also went went. After those two passes I was CCS, so I quit at that point.

Now, about the soap. The scent off the sample, as I mentioned, was quite faint, but once lathered it smelled stronger, probably a 3 or 3.5 out of 5. It was a very pleasant lime scent and I enjoyed it a great deal. The lather never got as yogurty as I usually prefer, but it shaved perfectly; slick and protective. No complaints at all. As far as the cooling effect, I began to notice it when I rinsed after the first pass and when I applied the second-pass lather. It was actually nice. Not too strong at all.

The final cold-water rinse was bracing in a good way. I applied Stirling lime aftershave balm, which matched perfectly. The cooling effect on the face lasted for maybe another 15 minutes or so and then disappeared. I enjoyed it. I think it was much better than menthol, because it allowed for the pure lime scent to remain. Also, it wasn't overpowering at all. Just refreshing. After a single shave, I'm willing to declare Koolada a winner, for me.

I hope everybody is having a great day.
 
Skipped the straight this morning and had a fine two-passer with my Hybrid Tech and Lollipop Citrus.

The more I use Soapy Science and compare it with other soaps I am using or have used in the past, the more it is becoming clear to me that Soapy Science is my favorite of all the soaps I have ever used, being just slightly above Stirling, Mystic Water, Mike's Natural, and Jeeves of Hudson Street (which is another often overlooked gem of a soap).

After two passes I was CCS+. Completely comfortable. After the shave face feel was great.

A very good start to what I hope will be a very good day. The weather is also phenomenal; no jacket for me today!

On the negative side, last night my son was parking the car at his place of employment and he clipped an already parked car, scraping up the front bumper and slightly displacing it from its moorings. Ras-a-fras-a. You should never drive into a parked car.

Now I have to decide whether it needs to be fixed. It's a 2011 Nissan Versa that I only paid $12 grand for in the first place (tax/title/license included), so I'm not sure it's worth the investment. Maybe some duct tape will do the trick, lol.

Have a great day.
 
CCLXV this morning.

Went back to Soapy Science in the Doc's Special Blend scent, and put the CVH down long enough to give the Sta-Sharp (aka "Mighty Mite") a go.

Two passes with the Sta-Sharp and then a bit of clean-up with the Hybrid Tech and I was good to go. I got a small weeper on the left side of my chin when I tried a different stretching technique on the second straight razor pass.

it seems that whenever I try something that varies from what I am used to, I have to pay for it, at least a little bit. I normally stretch the area just by facial contortion; I notice that most of the shavers on YouTube stretch the area better by pulling back on the skin of the cheek, so i tried that.

Yeah. I'll probably go back to just using contortions for now.

Hope y'all are having a good day. It's like 60 degrees outside right now, even though it's February 7th. Craziness.
 
You have the skin stretch a try, didn’t work...back to what does!

Glad you’re having some more comfortably moderate weather! You’re right, it is odd though.
 
GearNoir said:
You have the skin stretch a try, didn’t work...back to what does!

Glad you’re having some more comfortably moderate weather! You’re right, it is odd though.
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Yep. Weird.
Yesterday morning I looked at the forecast high temps for yesterday and today, and it was palindromic. 73 for yesterday, 37 for today. Yikes. In actuality, it got to 79 yesterday, and broke the record high for that date that had stood since 1953. Sadly, I had to work and couldn't play golf. Luckily, today is a bit warmer than the forecast high of 37; it was easily 39 on my way in to work today.

Yesterday I had a morning dental appointment, so I went with DE. It was my second use of Ghost Lime from CBL. I liked it again. The scent is moderate and the cooling sensation is definitely moderate. Perfect for me.

Straight razor shave number CCLXVI
This morning I went back to the Sta-Sharp, and I decided to use the RazoRock What the Puck in the orange sunrise. I moved it from the tiny container it is in to a wide container I had left over from Obsessive Soap Perfectionist. It made a huge difference. Since it's a hard soap, I loaded and loaded. I figure maybe some of the problems I had with the soap before were from underloading. Well, today I made an amazing lather! It was still airier than I prefer, but the post-shave, which I found lacking previously, was very nice, and it shaved great. It smells wonderful. I think I may be very slightly sensitive to one of the ingredients, though, because I get a slight tingling sensation every time I use it, but no redness or irritation.
Anyway, for today I just did two passes, one with the Sta-Sharp and one with my Hybrid Tech. I got a nice result after a tiny bit of clean-up just above the jawline on the left side. Comfortable and smooth. No nicks or weepers with the straight.

Used Stirling lime balm for aftershave and I was good to go!

Hope y'all have a great weekend.
 
I suck at stretching my skin! I can just never get it down. I contort my face also...but most of the time this doesn't do much for me either.
 
dangerousdon said:
I suck at stretching my skin! I can just never get it down. I contort my face also...but most of the time this doesn't do much for me either.
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It takes a lot of practice, doesn't it?

This morning, as is my wont, I went with DE only for my Sunday shave. I temporarily forgot that I also have been using AoS lemon cream for my Sunday shaves. It's almost gone, and I moved it into a different container because I took it on my vacation last week to Miami, so I guess I kind of forgot that it wasn't all completely gone.

Anyway, so I went with the Orange Sunrise What the Puck? soap again today. Now that I've learned that you just have to load longer and then take your time lathering it up, I really like it.

Used my Hybrid Tech loaded with the same Polsilver SI blade that I've been using for a while. Got a nice two-pass shave in without any problems at all. After the shave I binned the Polsilver. It had a nice run.

I have to say that if forced to choose to keep only one of all my DEs, I think I would probably go with the Hybrid Tech. It's just about the perfect DE razor for me. It's icing on the cake that it's also rhodium plated and relatively rare and sought after. Just makes it that much sweeter, I guess. A really great shaver.

Hope y'all are having a great Sunday.
 
CCLXVII this morning.

Decided to use a razor I haven't used in a long time. The huge, unwieldy, inelegant ZY with its large wooden scales. Felt weird after using delicate, sophisticated razors for a long time. But the good news is that the ZY still has a pretty good edge on it, and I did two passes without incident.

For software, I used Lollipop Citrus and I lathered with my Rubberset brush.

Third pass clean-up was with a new DE and a fresh Polsilver blade. I used my iKon S3S this morning. It's a great razor. It's like a Pils except it's a 3-piece and it has one side that is open comb. I chose a handle I haven't used in a while, too: a UFO Kaiser short. What a gorgeous handle! The S3S on the Kaiser short is a fine shaving tool.

After the three passes I was CCS+. I had one little area of irritation on the lower left side of my neck; not sure when it happened, but I think perhaps on the second neck pass with the ZY, which I rushed a little. Still, the irritation was mild and it is gone now, so "no harm no foul," as they say.

I used Stirling lime aftershave balm. Good start to a rainy, nasty Monday. Hope y'all are having a good start to your week!
 
GearNoir said:
Bummer on the irritation. Stay safe out in the nasty weather Randall!
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The irritation wasn't a big deal, but thanks. The weather was pretty much nasty all day and we have the same thing today, although it isn't raining quite as hard. Rain is supposed to go away by tomorrow, so we have that going for us, which is nice.

CCLXVIII this morning.

Stuck with almost the same set-up as yesterday. Lollipop Citrus (fantastic again). Used a different brush, but still synthetic. Same razors: ZY and the iKon S3S.

I was pressed for time so I did one pass with the ZY and a second pass with the S3S and called it good. CCS-, smooth and comfortable.

I forgot that I started a little experiment yesterday morning. I've been told that using conditioner on your stubble in the shower before straight razor shaving is helpful, by making the hairs softer. To test the theory, yesterday I put conditioner on the left side of my face only and this morning, the right side only. So far, can't tell a difference at all. If anything, the first pass with the straight was closer on the left side this morning, and just as comfortable.

I'll probably keep trying this experiment for a few more shaves to help decide whether there is any point (for ME) in using conditioner in the shower. I've always used it, but I've often wondered whether it's really a good idea. Two thoughts I've had about how it could be not good: 1) if the hairs are softened, it is possible they might bend and pass below the blade rather than being cut, and 2) I've wondered whether the conditioner might also make the face more susceptible to irritation or cuts by softening it. I have no evidence for either of these things, and I suspect the real answer is going to be that conditioner has no effect whatsoever on the quality, comfort, or results of a straight razor shave.

Hope y'all are having a good day!
 
Stayed up too late last night, so planned a DE shave for this morning.

Decided to lather up the What the Puck? orange soap today, and made a stunning lather. The more I use this soap, the more I like it.

Did two passes with the iKon S3S and was easily CCS.

After the shave face feel was remarkably good. This soap gets better the more I use it; I suppose I am learning exactly how much to load and how much water to add, and how long to work the lather to maximize its efficiency.

Nice!

I hope y'all had a good day. It finally stopped raining after two days of rain, so it was a good day.
 
Good shave Randall! Staying up too late is something I’ve been doing too much as well. After I get home from work, I just can’t get to be right away without some lounge time.
 
GearNoir said:
Good shave Randall! Staying up too late is something I’ve been doing too much as well. After I get home from work, I just can’t get to be right away without some lounge time.
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I hear you. For me it was watching a basketball game that had a late start time. One of the things about living on the East Coast that stinks.

CCLXIX this morning.

Used the What the Puck? soap again, lathered it with my Rubberset. Went with the ZY, and it was up to the task. Two passes with the ZY resulted in CCS-.

I changed out the DE to one I haven't used in a long, long time. I picked up a vintage Merkur travel slant at an antique store in the summer of 2017. Really cool razor. This morning, I hooked the vintage slant head up to my UFO Kaiser short and had at it. Nice and smooth. The razor is likely from the early 1960s, and it's in near-perfect shape.

End result was CCS+ and comfortable.
 
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