That's a nice set of gear. Although the brush fetishists here may notice that you didn’t mention your brush... There's absolutely nothing wrong with your postshave regimen either. As we say, it's your shave, enjoy it your way. What scent of TOBS are you using? When I first started here I stuck with an old tub of Avocado shaving cream until it was used up. Today I did my shave with Lavender, although I have long since succumbed to temptation and replaced my original TOBS Avocado with four different scents plus more other soaps and creams than you can shake a stick at (they all look and sound so good in other people's photos and shave reports...)
Yes, I believe both the habit of doing three passes and the try for BBS or "dolphin smooth" results are both aspects of the modern shaving forum culture. If you look at material from the time when Gillette DEs were high tech razors, it seems clear to me that the norm was one pass and possibly some cleanup on missed patches. And what we classify as a third-rate shave or CCS was everyday cleanshaven. There might be a try for an especially close shave on special occasions but certainly not for everyday. Incidentally, one old product that doesn't seem to have experienced much of a renaissance with modern wetshavers is talc. Shavers talc used to be everywhere -- it was even part of the regular GI shaving consumables during both wars. Talc would not only reduce razorburn, it would also make the skin look and feel smoother than it really was, making a CCS look and feel BBS.
I feel you're right about all this. One precise WTG pass, at proper angles and skin stretches, should already produce "good enough for Tuesday morning." If not, more practice is needed, though a little clean up of any missed streaks or spots doesn't really count.
You are correct Jason. My wife is Indian and we do have Indian food at home. She never really cared anything about cooking but fortunately her mother was able to teach us both how to make some of our favorite dishes before she passed. Thank you Jason we did have a great time.
You have a great set of gear. From the report it sounds like you are on the right track. Just stay with the program and do let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
January 29, 2018 Wolfman Ti OC 0.74mm with Hempel Ti Feather Thater 4125/3 Fine Platinum I am leaving the boar brush focus a few days early. When I was offered a Thater 4125/3 3 band brush at an insanely great price, I could not turn it down. Having very little to no patience, I decided to give it a go right away. I measured the knot expecting to be 28mm x 56mm but I am pleasantly surprised that it measured out 30mm x 56mm with a very dense knot. I loaded the Fine Platinum and started face lathering. First observations, this brush eats soap and it is the softs brush I own. I was inspired by @LOOT and pulled out the Wolfman Ti OC with 0.74mm blade gap. Going with a 3 pass I paid attention to pressure and angle. With minimal touch ups and me doing my part, I ended up with a near perfect shave. A splash of Fine Platinum and I am ready for the day. I hope everyone has a great Monday.
January 29 SOTD: Ever-Ready Brush CO Bigelow SC Classic Samurai Shavette Stirling Unscented PSB Proraso Green AS My shave reports are getting boring. One pass CCS. It was a great start to my week, but really not much else to say. I hope everyone has a great day!
SOTD January 29, 2018 Prep: Cold water and Stirling mentholated pre-shave soap Blade: GEM PTFE Razor: GEM G-Bar Brush: Stirling Kong synthetic Lather: Stirling Grapefruit with menthol Post: Witch hazel, Stirling Grapefruit aftershave WTG, touch up Refreshing coolness from the Stirling Grapefruit provided a terrific shave this morning. Monday mornings are always a little foggy and this helped clear it up. Really enjoyable. The PTFE blade has been terrific. Not sure how many shaves are on this one but it was starting to show a little wear. It'll be retired but it's clear to me that PTFE are my favorite blades for a GEM razor. Probably back to the Schick 66 for the last two shaves of this month. It's been a great focus with looking at blades for these two types of razors. Have a great day!