April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

I found another old favorite in the pile. It's time for a touchup on this one though. It took three passes to get a DFS.
Route 66 Perfect Storm Soap
Jayaruh #155 Brush
Giesen and Forsthoff Adoration
Lucky Tiger
Pinaud Clubman
Have fun!

 

Disclaimer: Sorry for the wall of text, feel free to skip, i just try to concentrate things in 1 post.

1) I agree.
2) I agree.
3) I agree. I did mention the razor twice in my post, but didn't expand. I certainly saw better cutting with Derby in the DE89 than in the Weishi for example. I also noticed that they seem to bend the blade differently.
4) I agree. I look at the angle in reference to the skin too. But to be honest, i didn't have much trouble to find shaving angle and i always find it by instinct. Even in my 1st shave, by the end of the 2ns pass, the blade would always cut. But, there is an optimal angle within the "cutting angle". That's the harder part to maintain.
5) That's the problem with the technique. I 've tried to google every advice i could about "shaving technique". And it's all over the place. They don't even agree on how to hold the razor. So my conclusion is that there isn't a "certain" technique, but it's more or less "everyone has his own, it may work universally well or may work well in more restrained spectrum". For example, i read people saying "don't press, ever". I read others saying "i had to press to compensate dullness". I mean, strictly speaking, a technique is a form. It's well defined. It's possible to write it down and teach it. Martial arts have technique. They have strict form. Or it has "schools of thought" with different, but still well defined technique. Shaving, the more i read about it, is more of "matter of good instinct and if you happen to have a technique that fits all, you 're lucky. If not...".

Speaking of which, there we are. I don't have a particular problem with the Weishi finding cutting angle, other than, because of the very small blade exposure, it cuts, but it doesn't cut deeply. So i repass. But the angle, i always find it without thinking. Probably because it's my 1st razor, so i am accustomed to it. To me, looks like that the cutting angle is less than 30 degrees in the Weishi. It's more like between 20 and 30 and certainly not at 45, that the Weishi leaflet says. At 45 degrees, i don't think the Weishi will be cutting anything, unless you start pressing it on your face, like you do with cartridge razors. Anyway, i don't mind doing multiple repasses, as long as i don't get irritation or cuts. And so far this is the case, with anything aside the Derby. But i will come to that later.

Ah, Americans! "Go out and get one!". Here in Italy, it's not that simple. First, you can't just buy assault rifles. There are specific long rifles that are allowed and you need a permit from the police. There is permit also for some handguns. If you intend to bring them OUTSIDE your house's boundaries, you need ANOTHER permit, which must have "valid giustification explaining reasons that justify a concern to defend yourself". And this permit has yearly expiration, so after a year you must again apply for permit and explain again why you would need to carry a gun outside your house. "I like to go shooting" isn't one of them. They want something like "i have threats against my life, they 're trying to kill me". Thanks for the invitation though.

Nice brush and photo. Although @clint64 brush still wins.

It's so funny. You have faster strokes with shavette than i have with Weishi. Blade Ninja much?

I like that summary. I also found a sort of "guide" from the "Art of Shaving" :
1) The razor doesn't seem to cut and multiple passes are needed? --> The problem is the razor being very little aggressive. Some would suggest a sharper blade and this is true to some extent, but the main problem is the razor, act on the razor.
2) The blade scratches the skin while passes and removes the hair in one pass --> This is the opposite problem. The razor is overly aggressive and tends to amplify the blade's defects. Blades that by nature are not docile can prove "lethal" in this case.
3) The razor doesn't glide well, it gets stuck, jumps and you need to "push" it in certain areas: This is the typical trait of a blade that is too dull for your beard, that doesn't manage to cut and might even cut the skin instead of the hair.
4) In the 1st pass the razor doesn't give any problem, but irritation appears at the 2nd or 3rd pass: This is typical effect of a blade too sharp for your skin. All you need to do to verify, it to use an alcohol based aftershave: If at the end of the 1st pass, it doesn't burn or burns a little, but you howl like a wolf after the 2nd or 3rd pass, this is your problem. The explanation is: In the 1st pass, your hair keeps the blade at a distance from your skin, but once cut, the blade starts to dig deeper in the skin, because it's sharp for your skin, with conseguence irritation.

^ That's the best newbie guide i 've seen so far, because i can see #1 in the Weishi and #3 and #4 with Derby. I STILL have the razor burn from Derby. That's 8 days later.
It gives answers to so many different experiences. Key words being "for your beard", "for your skin". Also explains why some people find a blade "scratchy". To that, if i may add, i bet you that "scratchy blade", is easier to appear to dry skin users.Much harder to oily skin users.
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Pseudofocus report:
Weishi FL + Proraso Blu + Omega 48 + Dorco ST-301

1) Nailed the lather. That's the 2nd time. Couldn't discern my skin. The only conclusion i have is that the Omega 48 + Proraso blu, wants a LOT of water. Today i took the Omega out of soaking and gave it one good shake to remove water. Turns out the remaining water wasn't remotely enough. I had to add more. Which agrees with my previous report when i took the Omega right out of soaking without shaking or wiping it and made good lather.

2) Dorco ST-301. I bought this blade, because i read some people saying that it was middle of the road sharpness, remining Derby and at the time i thought this was a good thing. Anyway, it just shows how a preconception can at least initially affect you. My impression: "Dorco, The Great Deception". I start shaving and...it gliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiides! Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery smooooooth! So i think "great, another Derby, but on steroids!". But, as soon as i finish 1st pass WTG, i notice that "this cuts MUCH MORE than Derby". And i go 2nd pass ATG. And it gliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiides! And it cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuts! And i finish with WTG and i touch my skin and for the 2nd time after the Astra SP, i said "WOW!". I can't remember how smooth the Astra was, because at the time, i was too amazed by Astra's cutting power to pay attention to smoothness level. But this Dorco was a VERY effortless shave. Sharper than Shark SS, smoother than Shark SS. It was also very quiet WTG. And i reach for the aftershave balsam, put some on my face and look back at the mirror and then i notice on the throat a small red dot. And i think "what is that!" And it's blood! It was a tiny nick that healed on its own after a while, that i didn't even realize it happened. This blade, was DECEIPTFULLY sharp and it was so smooth, that it was feeling so light on the skin that i didn't even realize that i cut myself. I got BBS above the jawline, BBS below the chin, DFS in the rest below jawline. The nick was in the BBS area below the chin. And then i also notice an area of 1cm x 1cm at the jawline of right cheek with slight redness. This disappeared within 1 hour (contrary to Derby's that i still carry 8 days later). And again, i don't know when or how it happened. Contrary to the Derby, where i could explain every single irritation spot (and the nick).

I don't blame the blade at all. I think this is VERY good blade for ME. It's maybe not as sharp as Astra, but it was so effortless the shave and the result was near perfect. The nick, i think is conseguence of the fact that i "treated it like a Derby". So i underestimated its sharpness. And at this point:
- Sharpness: Astra SP > Dorco ST301 > Shark SS >> Derby.

I can also explain why i get DFS and not BBS below jawline. Because the Weishi, has such a restrained optimal cutting angle, that it becomes difficult for a dull blade to keep optimal angle at the areas where there is a curve where i can't eyeball the razor well. On the cheek, i can see the angle and surface is flat. So BBS was easy even with Shark. On the contrary, i got BBS below jawline only with Astra SP, because it's sharper and it cuts easier deeper, compensating my inability to guide the razor perfectly in the curves.

I also googled and found the most diverse opinions on Dorco afterwards. I also found an opinion saying "it's the cheapest blade in USA, so i use it once for what it is and then toss it". For me, such a price-based approach is very shallow and in my case it's a keeper. For instance, here, at my favourite Barber Union shop, Astras SP are at 7.60 EUR (for 100) and Dorcos are at 8.90. So with a "price-based" approach, the Astras should be junk. Even "Treet" and "Shark" cost more than Astras. That's purely a thing with commerce and how close you are in production centers and import taxes and stuff.
At this point, i still have to try the Personna Red. But, Dorco is APPROVED for further purchase. Like, VERY approved. I might even try the Dorco Prime Platimum, which is just 10 cents higher than Dorco ST-301. I just don't know if i want something as sharp as Astra again, cause i read it's sharp as Astra. I may go with a mix of like 200 Astras, 200 Dorco ST301, 100 Shark SS more. Or maybe throw in 300 Astras and 300 Dorco and 100 Sharks more. Frankly, they cover my good shave needs, they 're cheap and they cover my rotation of blade-need for variety and fun in the future. I may as well hoard some, before the factory changes manufacturing process or something. I see no reason for anything sharper. Feathers are something like 35 EUR for 100. That's the equivalent of 460 Astras. Frankly, i don't need them.

Next shave: Back to Derby, so that i can give it another try while i have vivid memory of the competition. I will continue trying to make Derby shaves better. Who knows! Maybe between the 3rd Derby shave and the 1st Astra shave, i had made a sudden leap in technique, which Derby didn't have the time to take advantage of. It's possible. We 'll see.

P.S: "NickShaves" in youtube, in his Dorco ST301 review, had the same nick happening to him. He also got it in the neck and just like me, he didn't realize it happened, until he noticed it later on the mirror.

 

I think you have written the longest post I have ever seen!

 

+1

 

It's professional deformation. I like always to find the mechanism that causes something. And for me, that's the main fun part of wet shaving. Analyzing the behaviour of the equipment. "If you analyze it, you can understand it and repeat it".

 

Most of us just shave with the equipnemt......

 

Thanks, Doug! I have to say, this is currently my favorite razor. Takes a little more concentration to use, but is an awesome shave.

 

Yes, but most of us, are not Blade Ninjas, like you. Ayrton Senna was "a driver". But most of us aren't. The next best thing for common mortals, is to study what you can about the car's behaviour, to optimize your reactions and materials. For example, i put air in my tyres on my own. Because at the gas stations, you tell them a value and you go away with +-0.5 bar variation. I don't like that. The tyres are the only thing that keep contact with the ground. I want them to be perfectly balanced and with perfect pressure.
It's something that i always liked in university too. There are 2 approaches to studying a disease. One is to mechanically memorize how to recognize and what to do. Another is to understand the pathogenetic mechanism. In case the initial treatment fails, if you know the mechanism, you may figure out what to do easier than again resorting to a memorized "2nd best action". Or, you may figure out that the "first action" is not going well and change it before it's blatantly a failure. One has to use what he is best at. I may never have natural talent for shaving. I certainly wouldn't touch a shavette, ever. So, just in case, the second best thing, is to understand how things work for me. Because if i understand them, i will be able to repeat the same performance. I know i can have a light hand, when i am concentrated. But i am not so sure i will become blade ninja. So, i may as well get repeatedly good shaves with standardized equipment and procedures.

 

I also find the Dorco 301 to be a very usable blade. I prefer the Prime Platinum because to me it seems a little sharper, but both work for me.

 

Hey Brian, beautiful setup today and a cool photo!

 

I am on the fence of whether including the Prime Platinum or not in my next order. It's like 10 cents more than the ST301 (for 100 blades). I read a lot of good things about it. I just don't know, after the nick, if i really want a sharper one...

 

Well put my friend

 

Random question to the dark side guys: I like both soaps and creams (soaps for slickness, and creams for luxurious feel and more release of the fragrance) for d.e.'s. Is there anything unique to the strait razor that makes one better than the other, or is it the same as d.e. or a YMMV?

 

If you like the 301 in terms of sharpness I would suggest you try Voskhod, Super-Max Platinum, Gillette Wilkinson Swords (from India), and Rapira Super Stainless (Black, Blue, and Pink package). All of them are available from international sellers on ebay for less then $10 per hundred often with free shipping. Heck for the cost of an international postage stamp I will send you one of each . Send me a PM with your address if you are interested.

 

I like both for shavettes. I tend to like thinner lather with them so I can better see though.

 

Jason,
beautiful work. I agree with the popular consensus for the most part. The only thing I tend to be partial to is darker stains but do love the lighter ones too.

In the end, having a piece of your work in my den that ties me to this clan is an honor and a privilege.

I would use it proudly.

 

+1

 

Yes.

 

Thanks, i will keep it in mind. I can find them here, just not in my favourite shop (doesn't have any of them). Amazon will probably have them too. For now, i will try to keep it to the 4 blade types i have (Derby, Shark SS, Dorco ST301 and Astra SP). I might add Dorco Platinum to the bunch, because it should be the same blade with different coating. After i gain confidence with all of them, i will try more blades and i will try the Voshkod for sure, because i 've read good things and it's teflon coated, which, by definition should mean it's smooth. I haven't read much about the rest, but we will see.

But, honestly, i think my mainstay blades will remain these ones. Astra is the bomb. I also read an italian user whose father is a barber and he said his father says that "there is nothing remotely close to the Astra SP for the money". And i KNOW i can get BBS with Dorco and Shark. I am just not good enough yet to get it everywhere. If i had to pick 1 blade, it would be the Astra. But, i want to have a bit more for variety, even if they don't give BBS with the same ease. That's all.

For now, i have 2 razors and 4 blade types (i don't count the Personna, because i only got 10 of them). It's better to try to become master of them, before moving to next. I don't want to be "jack of all blades and master of none". Already, i have no idea of how the same blades would behave in the EJ DE89. Only tried the Derby once. I just don't want to change razor in the middle of the month and neither in the next month.

P.S: The "Barber Union" shop from where i bought the first blades, solves also the big question: Is Astra blue or green the better one? According to them, the Green (SP) is the better of the 2. Just in case someone wanted a "professional" opinion, since they are supposed to be a shop that is ran by barbers.

 

Thank you!