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Steve's Journal: The Saga Continues....
- Thread starter SteveChuckFrank
- Start date
Great Shave and Great Party! All is well with the universe!
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
It sure did Chris!
Catching up. Glad you got the troubles figured out.
My wife comes from a horse racing family too. Her dad used to train race horses and her brother currently does. The brother actually own a horse farm about halfway between Keeneland and Churchill Downs.
My wife comes from a horse racing family too. Her dad used to train race horses and her brother currently does. The brother actually own a horse farm about halfway between Keeneland and Churchill Downs.
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
Journal Entry #15
Pre Shave: Hot shower, WSP barbershop bar soap on beard
Shave: Fatip Grand/Astra SP, Kingsley pure badger, WSP Blackbeard Formula T
Post Shave: Cold rinse, alum, cold rinse, witch hazel, Stirling Gentleman AS
Another successful shave tonight. Went with my version of the 4 Pass Shave. Payed extra attention to no pressure and angle again. no buffing at all. The result was no irritation at all above the jaw, and minimal below.
Tonight though I did notice something. The irritation below the neck was visually much more noticeable after applying alum. Obviously the alum will give you a bit of sting wherever you have irritation, but it also seemed to make it stand out more. I couldn't see a whole lot of bumps or redness before the alum, but within seconds of applying it, the bumps showed up and started to turn red. From my experience I know that most of this will subside within a few hours, but I think maybe the next few days I'll skip the alum and go straight to the witch hazel.
I'll also add that my shave from yesterday morning was DFS all day today as well. I was going to shave again this morning since the wife and I were venturing into Philly, but decided I would wait since I still didn't have too much growth. Maybe I've found another really good razor/blade combo. Still not as good as the Stirling razor with a Kai blade, but pretty close. I'm still working on figuring out what was causing the popping, or snapping into place of the blade. It's stopped doing it.
Also bad news on the Fatboy front. After letting it soak in scrubbing bubbles, it seems to have gotten worse somehow. The doors get about half way closed and then seem to get stuck. I would then have to force the TTO knob to get them to push through and close all the way. Not quite sure what's going on there.
Pre Shave: Hot shower, WSP barbershop bar soap on beard
Shave: Fatip Grand/Astra SP, Kingsley pure badger, WSP Blackbeard Formula T
Post Shave: Cold rinse, alum, cold rinse, witch hazel, Stirling Gentleman AS
Another successful shave tonight. Went with my version of the 4 Pass Shave. Payed extra attention to no pressure and angle again. no buffing at all. The result was no irritation at all above the jaw, and minimal below.
Tonight though I did notice something. The irritation below the neck was visually much more noticeable after applying alum. Obviously the alum will give you a bit of sting wherever you have irritation, but it also seemed to make it stand out more. I couldn't see a whole lot of bumps or redness before the alum, but within seconds of applying it, the bumps showed up and started to turn red. From my experience I know that most of this will subside within a few hours, but I think maybe the next few days I'll skip the alum and go straight to the witch hazel.
I'll also add that my shave from yesterday morning was DFS all day today as well. I was going to shave again this morning since the wife and I were venturing into Philly, but decided I would wait since I still didn't have too much growth. Maybe I've found another really good razor/blade combo. Still not as good as the Stirling razor with a Kai blade, but pretty close. I'm still working on figuring out what was causing the popping, or snapping into place of the blade. It's stopped doing it.
Also bad news on the Fatboy front. After letting it soak in scrubbing bubbles, it seems to have gotten worse somehow. The doors get about half way closed and then seem to get stuck. I would then have to force the TTO knob to get them to push through and close all the way. Not quite sure what's going on there.
Great read and shave Steve!
Bummer about the Fatboy, maybe try another soak or two. I have put them in an ultrasonic cleaner, but that can loosen the plating I'm told.
If you don't want to send it to someone, then as a last resort there are videos on youtube on how to disassemble and re-assemble them. I haven't had to do that yet.
Bummer about the Fatboy, maybe try another soak or two. I have put them in an ultrasonic cleaner, but that can loosen the plating I'm told.
If you don't want to send it to someone, then as a last resort there are videos on youtube on how to disassemble and re-assemble them. I haven't had to do that yet.
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Have you tried soaking it in hot water a couple times? Could be built up funk inside.
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
It is a bit of a bummer for sure. It was my grandfather's razor so it definitely holds a special place. Also my first DE razor. Gonzo44 (not sure how to tag people yet...) mentioned the videos to disassemble/reassemble. He said he could take a look at it the next time he's in town as well. Worst comes worst, I'd be ok with sending it out.
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
Just hot water Chris? No I haven't tried that. Should it be boiling hot?
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
Thanks Doug! The alum really just seems to be a way to judge the quality of the shave for me. It doesn't really appear to have any healing qualities when it comes to my skin haha!
I'm hoping the Fatboy is an easy fix. I'll be working on it this week hopefully.
I'm hoping the Fatboy is an easy fix. I'll be working on it this week hopefully.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
It is possible that the alum is causing or worsening the red bumps that you are experiencing.
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
It’s just what I’ve seen in some other posts in “the other place” when folks are having trouble with their vintage adjustables. The water shouldn’t be actively boiling with the burner on when you put the razor in, but get the water very hot, remove pot from heat source, and put in razor for a bit. It may take a couple baths. You could try with Dawn too depending on the razor make/finish. Google it before you take my word for it! ?
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
Journal Entry #16
Pre Shave: Hot shower, WSP barbershop bar soap on beard area
Shave: Fatip Grande/Astra SP, WSP Blackbeard Formula T, Kingsely pure badger
Post Shave: Cold rinse, witch hazel, cold rinse, Stirling Spice AS
I guess all good things must come to an end. Tonight's shave was less than great. But on the plus side, I did learn some of the things that are really causing problems....because I started doing them again!
I've realized that I need to stop with the short, overlapping, buffing strokes. After the last 2 shaves being so good without them, I've realized that they aren't necessary. At least not for me.
I need to stop going back and touching up without completely re-lathering. Sometimes I can get away with it, sometimes I cant'. Either way it's not worth the irritation that comes along with it when I can't get away with it. And before everyone freaks out, I don't mean I'm going over areas with no lather! I'm just kind of dabbing and rubbing some lather with my finger over small areas. But that's all done now haha!
Another thing that seems to be working that I need to continue to do is, focus. I need to focus on NO PRESSURE!!!! and also on my angle. The steep angle doesn't work so well for me right now, so that's also out.
The alum....some people love it. I can live without it. The irritation seems to just be inflamed by it. The only thing it really seemed to do was tell me where I may have had a bad angle, or maybe did too many passes. Other than that it just made what irritation I had go crazy. So I left that out. It seemed to have been an improvement, but tonight I did have a decent amount of irritation on my neck so it was hard to judge. I'll be leaving it out for a while to see how it goes.
So it was a sub-par shave, but I learned a lot about what works for me. And what doesn't. So I chalk that up as a win.
On another good note, the Phillies are currently up 10-0 over the Giants....that helps take the sting out of any irritation!
Pre Shave: Hot shower, WSP barbershop bar soap on beard area
Shave: Fatip Grande/Astra SP, WSP Blackbeard Formula T, Kingsely pure badger
Post Shave: Cold rinse, witch hazel, cold rinse, Stirling Spice AS
I guess all good things must come to an end. Tonight's shave was less than great. But on the plus side, I did learn some of the things that are really causing problems....because I started doing them again!
I've realized that I need to stop with the short, overlapping, buffing strokes. After the last 2 shaves being so good without them, I've realized that they aren't necessary. At least not for me.
I need to stop going back and touching up without completely re-lathering. Sometimes I can get away with it, sometimes I cant'. Either way it's not worth the irritation that comes along with it when I can't get away with it. And before everyone freaks out, I don't mean I'm going over areas with no lather! I'm just kind of dabbing and rubbing some lather with my finger over small areas. But that's all done now haha!
Another thing that seems to be working that I need to continue to do is, focus. I need to focus on NO PRESSURE!!!! and also on my angle. The steep angle doesn't work so well for me right now, so that's also out.
The alum....some people love it. I can live without it. The irritation seems to just be inflamed by it. The only thing it really seemed to do was tell me where I may have had a bad angle, or maybe did too many passes. Other than that it just made what irritation I had go crazy. So I left that out. It seemed to have been an improvement, but tonight I did have a decent amount of irritation on my neck so it was hard to judge. I'll be leaving it out for a while to see how it goes.
So it was a sub-par shave, but I learned a lot about what works for me. And what doesn't. So I chalk that up as a win.
On another good note, the Phillies are currently up 10-0 over the Giants....that helps take the sting out of any irritation!
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Journal Entry #16
Pre Shave: Hot shower, WSP barbershop bar soap on beard area
Shave: Fatip Grande/Astra SP, WSP Blackbeard Formula T, Kingsely pure badger
Post Shave: Cold rinse, witch hazel, cold rinse, Stirling Spice AS
I guess all good things must come to an end. Tonight's shave was less than great. But on the plus side, I did learn some of the things that are really causing problems....because I started doing them again!
I've realized that I need to stop with the short, overlapping, buffing strokes. After the last 2 shaves being so good without them, I've realized that they aren't necessary. At least not for me.
I need to stop going back and touching up without completely re-lathering. Sometimes I can get away with it, sometimes I cant'. Either way it's not worth the irritation that comes along with it when I can't get away with it. And before everyone freaks out, I don't mean I'm going over areas with no lather! I'm just kind of dabbing and rubbing some lather with my finger over small areas. But that's all done now haha!
Another thing that seems to be working that I need to continue to do is, focus. I need to focus on NO PRESSURE!!!! and also on my angle. The steep angle doesn't work so well for me right now, so that's also out.
The alum....some people love it. I can live without it. The irritation seems to just be inflamed by it. The only thing it really seemed to do was tell me where I may have had a bad angle, or maybe did too many passes. Other than that it just made what irritation I had go crazy. So I left that out. It seemed to have been an improvement, but tonight I did have a decent amount of irritation on my neck so it was hard to judge. I'll be leaving it out for a while to see how it goes.
So it was a sub-par shave, but I learned a lot about what works for me. And what doesn't. So I chalk that up as a win.
On another good note, the Phillies are currently up 10-0 over the Giants....that helps take the sting out of any irritation!
Complacency is the enemy of consistency!
At least you know good shaves are possible!
And ugh those Giants this year...I remember a number of years ago the Giants fandom equated their support to pain, seems to be that way again!