Sunday shave

I tried to finish this PRC Chimera twice on a Zulu Grey but never good results. I decided to go back to the Shapton glass 16 for this razor and two shaves in it is better than the Zulu.

The first two passes felt better than when I finished it with the Zulu but still felt a little rough and no where near as nice as the edges on my other PRC razors. Then on the 3rd pass I adjusted my angle making shallower and the edge felt much better. Finished with a little feedback from the alum and just short of dolphin smooth.

Irritation A- Closeness A- Smoothness A- Sharpness A

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Nice photo! But my Weishi clone is clearly shinier and thus prettier!

Very nice! Folks, last photography lesson! How Douglas did it right! When shooting a subject on a landscape, a basic rule is the 1/3 rule. You mentally divide the photo in 3 parts with 2 lines. Douglas here made an exemplary division, in the vertical sense. His subjects are on the lower 1/3rd line, the sky on the upper 1/3rd line. In this way, you have a very balanced photo with the subject in the foreground, while allowing to view the landscape behind. Textbook photo!

Why would you attempt to shave like that?

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NOTIFICATION: You will all be glad to know that i stop individual photo quoting. This way, my posts will be shorter too, so you will not protest, plus, i really lose track when i quote of which photo was what. Except for few, like @clint64 that show even when i quote them. Besides, my work here is done. Your photos have improved. I am satisfied.

Pseudofocus report: Weishi + Dorco Prime STP301 + Proraso Blue + Omega 49
- Lather: Not too good, i could discern my face.
- Dorco Prime STP301: This is a tough one, because i changed shaving passes. Instead of doing 3 passes with instictively enough buffing, i went for WTG, WTG, ATG, ATG, WTG, with very little buffing. Now, i had read that this was way sharper than ST301. Now, i really can't recall exactly the ST301, since many days have passed, but my impression is that... i didn't see this sharpness difference.

I have the opposite impression actually. But this might have something to do with the change in passes, i don't know. They sure have clear similarities as blades and this one gave me 2 weepers, vs 1 weeper of the ST301. So, even the weeper behaviour remains common. The shave was BBS above jawline, BBS below jawline on the half left, DFS on half right and a few patches, where it's a bit worse. Proabably these areas right below the jawline needed more buffing. cause the hair is very tough and hard to cut right in a curve. The blade was gliding well, but i have this gut feeling that the simple ST301 was both cutting and gliding better. Not a bad blade, but it's certainly a blade where i must be VERY careful, because i don't have weepers easily and with the 2 Dorcos i 've had 100% "weeper success".

In comparison, the Shark SS and the SuperMax Super Stainless, are super safe. Maybe i also need to be more careful in building better lather for the Dorcos. Yet, like i said, my impression remains that the shave with the ST301 was more enjoyable (easier cutting and smoother), than with the Prime SPT301. Strange, since Prime is supposed to be better and i read people saying it's like Astra SP or better, but, for now, that's my sensation... But again, we 're talking about heaps and bounds above Derby level blade.

After doing some checking it appears I have a E2.

Congrats on the new job. Hope your life returns to normal soon.

We're not worthy.

I agreee.

:hooray:

Clint.

I've been meaning to mention this, for several pictures now. That razor with the wrap to handle just looks like one bad boy. Very, very cool!

Why do you Italians always gravitate to shiny things, and tend to think they are prettier than things with more "character"? Ironically, this makes you much more like Trump as a nation, then your population would like to believe. Unfortunately, you guys have very different looking hair then Trump does, so it would really be hard to pull the whole thing off. (This segment was meant as a tongue in cheek nonpartisan joke, not the beginning of a political discussion. If it goes the other direction I will regret having made it.)
Also, I have mixed feelings about your stopping the photo criticism. Certainly we are all thrilled at the personal growth you have provided us in your own humble way, but I hope you will replace this segment of your show with something equally annoying and entertaining. What am I saying? That's pretty much a given isn't it!

But, they are shiny! Shiny is pretty! Silver is shiny! Gold is shiny! All pretty things are shiny! If you look at shiny objects under a strong sun, they become even shinier and prettier! Rust isn't character, it's just rust! As in "someone burried it in the ground for 50 years, but somehow it came into my hands and i like it". You like non shiny razors? It's OK. I have a stamp collection too and they are not shiny, just old. It's why i call them a collection, but not a "pretty collection". It might be an "interesting collection", but certainly not "pretty". An opaque razor might be interesting, but not shiny = not pretty.

Prettiest razor i 've ever seen:



So shiny, my eyes hurt!
Shame it's Parker, hence aggressive. But so shiny, so pretty! Second close is Muhle R41 with chrome, rosegold and a pinkish shiny handle. So pretty! Shame it's aggressive too. But i am happy with Weishi and EJ DE89. Shineys too! I didn't understand the part about Trump nation, but we definitely don't have Trump's hair!

Like i said, it's a bit difficult to remember everytime what i wanted to say when i quoted a photo, it becomes overcomplicated and it's even hard to keep up with all the posts without missing some good photo. I will just limit myself to a simple "like", unless i see some super-amazing photo! But thanks, i know that deeply inside, you all know how much i 've helped you in so little time. You 're welcome!

Thank very much Randy.

April 30, 2017
Wolfman Ti WR1 (.74) OC with Hempel Ti
Feather (3)
Shavemac ATG LE D01 2 Band
Mystic Water Raspberry & Lemon
Folsom & Co. Capri

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I am throwing in the towel on using 1 razor for a week at a time. I have several razors that I like to use but not for a week at a time. So for today, I decided to make it 3 and out with the Feather in the Wolfman I have been using all week. I will continue the brush and soap a week theme going. The brush for the week is the Shavemac ATG forum LE D01 2 Band Flat Top. It is up for a repeat performance so no long introduction. The soap for the week will be Mystic Water Raspberry Lemon in her new formulation. This scent was originally developed at the request of of DFS Forum member. The scent is as he describes 50% raspberry, 35% lemon, 10% vetiver, and 5% leather. All I pick up off the puck is raspberry. However, as I start to face lather the lemon comes forward. I can't say that I pick up the vetiver or leather but it could be that the make the lemon scent deeper and more earthy. Either way, I love citrus scents and I can tell I will enjoy this soap.

Some people found Mystic Water to be a finicky soap to lather and this seemed to be especially true for those with hard water. It did take me a little time to figure Mystic Water out but the performance and post shave feel were worth the effort. Mystic Water introduced a new formula in an effort to make lathering easier. I can say that I found it much easier to load and lather than the old formula. The big Shavemac loaded up the soap quickly and the dark lemon scent exploded as I face lathered. The wonderful slickness is still present in the new formula. With a rich slick lather the rest of the shave this morning was another automatic smooth and close 2 pass near BBS shave. A splash of F&C Capri and I am ready for the day. After a couple of cups of coffee, I am going to take a short motorcycle ride through the N GA mountains. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.

April 30 day Recap

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For the month of April I continued the Razor, Brush and Soap a week theme. During the month I used three razors, the Wolfman SS OC, Wolfman Ti OC with increased blade gap and the brass General. With any skill you reach a plateau that seems to last for a long time. I had reached such a plateau with shaving by consistently getting smooth, close drama free shaves. However, this month I made a for me huge step up in the smoothness of the shave. I will contribute this improvement to minimizing the amount of touch ups. I achieved this by paying particular attention to these areas during the shave and using skin stretching. I will continue to focus on these skills until they become second nature.

I did manage to finish two soaps, Reef Point Dragon's Blood and Route 66 Lumberjack, this month. I started using both soaps early last year. I really liked the performance of the Dragon's Blood but I prefer other Reef Point scents. However, the Lumberjack was a hit and made my buy again list. I will continue in my efforts to thin out my soap inventory.

I enjoyed following the progress of the other 30 day crew this month. I particularly enjoyed the progress our newer members are making. I look forward to reading all your post during May.

Very informative post. Have a great ride Clint.

Thanks Doug. It will be a short ride since the back is still not strong enough for much more.

Then enjoy every moment.

April 29 - Mama Bear Awakenings

Merkur 34c
Personna Red(day 3)
Dark Chocolate (JR 148)
DIY PSO
Mama Bear Awakenings
Alum/Thayers/Nivea

Yesterday I was in a terrible rush and barely had time to shave, much less post. I will also admit that I barely had any chance to truly enjoy the soap I chose. For what normally takes a good hour, my entire shower and shave was complete in under a half.

I chose Mama Bear Awakenings. It was a hot day and I felt the menthol would be good. The lather whipped up great with a creaminess but light feel. I barely had a chance to notice the scent. 3 passes went by in like 5 minutes, maybe less. At the tail end I noticed a very pleasing peppermint scent and a mild menthol(compare to B&M Arctique). I only noticed the scent at the end because I barely had time to smell it. As soon as it went on, it was removed. If you ever dreamed of Arctique with less menthol, this would be a good choice. I finally got an excellent lather from Mama Bear. It did not leave a slick feeling after the blade passed but just felt clean. From a small sample I obtained enough lather for 4.5 passes. More than enough for any day's shave.

Shaving quickly and with a 3 day old blade, one expects some irritation. Alum was bright with a light sting but dulled quickly. Resulted in a DFS.

Unfortunately I have come to love lots of menthol and Arctique fills my peppermint desires perfectly. B&M is a hard act to follow. It also has a much stronger colder scent and for me, that is desirable. Others might prefer a more normal amount of peppermint and menthol will enjoy MB Awakenings so keep it in mind.

My last shave report before MAYhem Will be a twofer since I missed yesterday. Only one picture posted, since I'm less motivated now that shavette Fu's photography lessons will not be forthcoming any longer.
Yesterday was a shave with the PAA Bakelite slant loaded with an Astra SP, using Stirling's barbershop soap lathered up by a whipped dog mountain badger brush. The two vials in front are aftershave splash beta samples provided by captains choice for evaluation. Virtually everything about this shave was new to me except for the Astra which basically makes this an anarchy shave in this thread, but sometimes you just Gotta go for it, right? Let's be clear that I've got nothing on @Drygulch , but I'm inspired nonetheless.

Anyway, the slant performed about the same as the last slant did for the last several days, confirming that it just doesn't provide as smooth and comfortable a shave as my daily drivers. Other than that, I did enjoy all the products involved, and found the whipped dog to be the most comfortable knot I have ever used to date.

This morning's shave was a reversion back to using my slim, while using the feather from two days ago in it for it's second Shave. Whipped dog, Captains choice samples, and kiss my face Keylime rounded out the lineup. Really glad to be back with my slim. Also really enjoyed the shave with the feather. I didn't expect to like feathers, but I am definitely a fan! Also a huge fan of the whipped dog brush and really enjoyed the KMF Key lime and the CC AS as well. Good scent and performance. Now on to MAYhem. I peeked ahead at the thread and already feel behind. My future posts will probably go there.

Good shot!!

Clint,
Part of what brings me back to post my 'novels' is in small part to express my enjoyment that all of you have instilled in me in this hobby and , in larger part to enjoy all of your writings and photographs. I have found the second to truly be one of the best parts of this hobby.

Thanks for all the wonderful photos and allowing us a glimpse of your area. Definitely makes the world smaller.

Enjoy your ride!

Thanks. Unfortunately it was the wrong shot. I just replaced it with one that was more accurate to the shave.