jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Thanks, Bruce! It did help!Never tried that trick. Logical that it should work, though.
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Natterings of a Nasal Barbarian
- Thread starter jgreenepa
- Start date
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 12, 2020
Well time for me to kick off my G7DC shave. As many of you know, my focus is on sharp stuff, not smelly things. So with that in mind I selected my new wood handled DX and dumped the Feather Proguard blade I’d used for my one and only shave with it for a Feather Super, my goto blade for my AC safety razors. So that took care of the mug shave. For my dome shave I selected my Schick Paul Revere L Type, originally a very short-lived collaboration between International Silver and Schick back in the mid to late seventies. Schick L Types were the first Schicks that could accommodate the Schick Injector II blades generally referred to as twinjectors, since they are a twin blade of sorts. But very different spacing-wise with respect to the Gillette twin blade carts which they were intended to compete with. Well they lost the marketing battle, but have never produced ingrown hairs for me, which is more than I can say for my one cart experience with the Omnishaver.
Anyway, back to the shave. I’m grateful for the straight razor experience for helping me develop the required lightness of touch which served me well until I reached my troublesome neck. I needed to back off and settle for a DFS on the neck, or there would have been blood. I’ll need to rethink my technique for tomorrow’s shave. I’ve noticed that Jared of Superior shave grasps the blade with two hands when shaving ATG on his neck In his videos. I’ll give that a shot tomorrow. My Nancy Boy shave cream is quite low, but I still expect there’s at least 4 or 5 shaves left in the tub. The fresh tub should reach me before this tub’s death knell arrives. The dome shave also wasn’t as close as I would like as this razor’s shave seems less efficient than the E Type or my Supply razors. Oh well, that’s the purpose of this 7 day concentration. Hopefully, by the end of it I’ll have both of these new-to-me razors handled. If not, I’ll extend the focus as many days as necessary. Well, I feel refreshed, although nowhere near velveteen on this first day of this shaving focus exercise.
RAZOR: Feather Wood Handle DX Barber’s Razor (Mug), Schick Paul Revere L Type Safety Razor (Dome)
BLADE: Feather Super (Mug), Schick Injector II (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Knurled Aluminum Handle #007 w/ Hybrid Knot
CREAM: Nancy Boy Signature
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Pre de Provence Bergamot & Thyme Balm.
Not velveteen? Nooooo!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Nope, Bruce, that danged FEATHER DX kicked my butt with a Feather Super loaded! I was fine with Proguards, but my current mission is to recapture the velveteen with the Feather Super in the new DX!
My hope is that you get it done quickly. Have you noticed how the whole TSC Space/Time Continuum is off today? Like the earth is off its axis!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD MONDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
Although it’s a bit gloomy this morning, my shave was gratifying. I’m really liking my new Feather DX. I switched back to a Proguard blade and discovered that the shave was every bit as close as it was with the Feather Super. So that’s that! I prefer the Super in my AC safety razors, and now know I can use it in my DX. My preference is for the Proguard in the latter though, as it is designed to prevent horizontal slicing, which shaky old me is prone to. Day 3 of the G7DC was an unmitigated success with new learning. Choking up on the handle of the Paul Revere did help a great deal, bit there was still one crevasse on the back of my dome with just the hint of stubble. So I tried something unique and different. Grabbing the DX by the blade with both hands, I was able to, with the lightest touch, and a fair bit of anxiety, remove that recalcitrant stubble resulting in a velveteen shave for both mug and dome without resorting to one of my AC safety razors. I feel fresh and finally velveteen!
RAZOR: Feather Wood Handle DX Barber’s Razor (Mug), Schick Paul Revere L Type Safety Razor (Dome)
BLADE: Feather Super (Mug), Schick Injector II (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Knurled Aluminum Handle #007 w/ Hybrid Knot
CREAM: Nancy Boy Signature
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brushsqueezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Pre de Provence Bergamot & Thyme Balm and Argan Oil.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Just used it for a tiny portion in the back of the dome!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD TUESDAY MORNING, September 15, 2020
RAZOR: Feather DX Wood Handle (Mug), Schick Type L Paul Revere
BLADE: Schick B-20 Proline
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Knurled Aluminum Hybrid Knot
CREAM: Nancy Boy Signature
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Pre de Provence Bergamot & Thyme Balm.
looks like you are enjoying the DX, nice shaves
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
I’m really looking forward to shaving with the straights I’ve been touching up. I’m amazed at the smoothness of the edges I’m getting. I’m starting on a three stone synthetic progression to two natural stones under water and finishing with 4 pasted strops and finally a leather. The edges I’m getting are buttery smooth (i.e. velveteen)!
Nice.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
This morning was one of those revelatory shaves on day 5 of the TSD G7DC where everything just came together on this beautiful morning in the Philly burbs! I’m talking about my mug shave. It may have had something to do with the alignment of the stars. Or perhaps a serendipitous concentration of ingredients gathered at the very bottom of this tub of Nancy Boy shave cream coupled with a lessening of my usual tremors. This three pass (WTG, ATG, XTG) mug shave was divine. I make formal obeisance to the shave gods! The shave is without doubt the closest face shave I’ve ever experienced in my 7 decades of walking the planet! That includes every safety razor and straight razor shave to date. Here at TSD we say “technique trumps tools”. Those whiskers never stood a chance! I still keep feeling my face an hour or two after the shave. If there’s a level beyond VBBS that’s what I achieved with today’s face shave! It was so good, I decided to forego the dome shave! My face and neck feel amazingly smooth!
RAZOR: Feather DX Wood Handle
BLADE: Feather Proguard
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot
CREAM: Nancy Boy Signature
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Pre de Provence Bergamot & Thyme Balm.
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD THURSDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 17
Day 6 of the G7DC. My late post is due to a shelf collapse that occurred last night. As a result yours truly was caught up in trying to deal with what I felt to be a minor mishap, but my dear SWMBO was convinced the apocalypse was in the offing if I didn’t address things immediately. Well, did that after I shaved, but never had the chance to report results until now. Well, it was not a fluke. The Feather DX delivered the closest shave I’ve ever experienced. In fact the stubble was so slight that I reached velveteen status in two (ATG, XTG) passes. I guess I could have gotten away without a face shave if I wanted, but that’s what we’re all about. I'm beginning to feel very comfortable with the DX. The dome shave was acceptably close, but I used the DX to clean up the same recalcitrant stubble at the bottom of the crevasse in the middle of the back of my head by holding the blade with both hands. The tremors were definitely making themselves known, but I managed, despite one small weep, to clean things up without scalping myself. So, given how well things have developed for me skill-wise with the DX, I’ve decided to complete the focus with a final shave tomorrow! I feel lean, clean and velveteen!
RAZOR; Feather DX Wooden Handle (Mug), Schick Type L Paul Revere (DomeJ
BLADE: Schick B-20 Proline
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot
CREAM: Nancy Boy Signature
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Pre de Provence Bergamot & Thyme Balm.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 18, 2020
When I began the G7DC I had real reservations about being able to complete it, but here I am on day 7 on this sunny morning in the Philly Burbs. I’ve decided that I may have to begin shaving the mug every other day if my straights shave as close as this Feather DX. Nevertheless, my results seemed paradoxically at odds with what used to occur when I began my straight shaving journey. In those early days, I found myself cleaning up my mug with the safety razor designated for my Dome shave. For the last two shaves, I’ve been cleaning up my dome with the open edge blade, since the Paul Revere L Type is just not as efficient a shaver as my preferred noggin selections. In any case the focus is done, and I’m gratified to have completed it. As a result, I plan on spending three to four consecutive shaves with my straight razor selections in the future given the benefit I received with the DX. Another great shave leaving me velveteen, clean and refreshed.
RAZOR: Feather DX Wooden Handle (Mug), Schick Paul Revere L Type (Dome)
BLADE: Feather Proguard
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot 007
CREAM: Nancy Boy Signature
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Pre de Provence Bergamot & Thyme Balm.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
I can get about four shaves with either the Super or the Proguard.Forced days off shaving?! What evil is this?
Cool that the DX is doing so well for you! How are you finding the blade holding up for you? Is it handling a good number of shaves?
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 19, 2020
What a glorious, sunny morning for my first shave with the Riga Razor. The factory edge was quite sharp, on the continuum, I’d say hard sharp vs soft sharp. That was fine for this first shave which seemed to literally melt the whiskers off my mug. There was one minor weep as I got started, but once I concentrated on just sweeping the lather very gently off the surface of my mug, I noticed that my whiskers went with the lather.
This razor’s definitely going to spend some time on the ILR and jasper stones this afternoon. I suspect, given the hardness of the tungsten steel the Riga blade is made from, that I’ll need to spend a fair amount of time adjusting the edge to my liking. I’ve been using a USB microscope, and after carefully examining the edges of the straights I've adjusted and enjoy shaving with, I know what I'm looking for.
Here’s an image of the edge of my Japanese Nichiri Tokusen after bevel set and almost two hours of finishing on the ILR and then burnishing on the jasper. I love the way it shaves. That’s my target edge for the Riga. I’ve decided not to tape the spine on the Riga.
The one scent I do like is lime, and Castle Forbes is an ok cream, but just isn’t in the same slickness class as Nancy Boy, Lush Prince, or MWF. I’ll return to the two lathers and one cream I know and trust for tomorrow’s shave. I’ll be shaving with this razor until I feel comfortable with its handling characteristics. I'm hoping after I finish honing the edge the way I like it, that the shave will be smoother tomorrow. Gives me something to do while sitting through another of my dear SWMBO’s RomComs this evening. I feel refreshed, cool, and cleanly velveteen!
RAZOR: Riga Razor 7/8 (Mug), Blackland Vector (Dome)
BLADE: Feather Super
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by Argan Oil
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
CREAM: Castle Forbes Lime
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with PAA Frost Byte AS & Cologne.
What a glorious, sunny morning for my first shave with the Riga Razor. The factory edge was quite sharp, on the continuum, I’d say hard sharp vs soft sharp. That was fine for this first shave which seemed to literally melt the whiskers off my mug. There was one minor weep as I got started, but once I concentrated on just sweeping the lather very gently off the surface of my mug, I noticed that my whiskers went with the lather.
This razor’s definitely going to spend some time on the ILR and jasper stones this afternoon. I suspect, given the hardness of the tungsten steel the Riga blade is made from, that I’ll need to spend a fair amount of time adjusting the edge to my liking. I’ve been using a USB microscope, and after carefully examining the edges of the straights I've adjusted and enjoy shaving with, I know what I'm looking for.
Here’s an image of the edge of my Japanese Nichiri Tokusen after bevel set and almost two hours of finishing on the ILR and then burnishing on the jasper. I love the way it shaves. That’s my target edge for the Riga. I’ve decided not to tape the spine on the Riga.
The one scent I do like is lime, and Castle Forbes is an ok cream, but just isn’t in the same slickness class as Nancy Boy, Lush Prince, or MWF. I’ll return to the two lathers and one cream I know and trust for tomorrow’s shave. I’ll be shaving with this razor until I feel comfortable with its handling characteristics. I'm hoping after I finish honing the edge the way I like it, that the shave will be smoother tomorrow. Gives me something to do while sitting through another of my dear SWMBO’s RomComs this evening. I feel refreshed, cool, and cleanly velveteen!
RAZOR: Riga Razor 7/8 (Mug), Blackland Vector (Dome)
BLADE: Feather Super
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by Argan Oil
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
CREAM: Castle Forbes Lime
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with PAA Frost Byte AS & Cologne.
