Confidence in Shaving is a Fickle Little Monkey

Those familiar with my "coming of age" story here on TSD know how timid I was when I started out. If you followed it til the latest entries, though, you probably noticed I was feeling pretty good about this thing. I've been zooming around the threads like some young whippersnapper, acting all tough and knowledgeable like I was one of the pros. So it came as a much-needed lesson in humility for me when I slipped that Bluebird DE blade into my EJ DE89 this evening. A much-needed, though highly regrettable, lesson...

I felt like the bandages had just been unwrapped and I was sternly demanding a mirror from the black market plastic surgeon who had just worked on me.

Steve: "Why is my skin getting splotchy and red?!"
Guy in labcoat: "B-b-b-but Steve, you must understand..."
Steve: "Why is my skin getting splotchy and...oh...it burns!"
Guy in labcoat: "I tried...but these crude tools, that new blade of yours!"
Steve: "Wh-what's happening to me?!!"
Guy in labcoat: "I think I will be going now..." [dives crashing through nearest window]
Steve: "My face! My face!!! MY F--"
"ARRGGHH!!!"

If one of the characters from GI Joe were going to explain the moral of the story at the end of my action-packed episode, you know, for the sake of half the battle, this would be it: Overconfidence will catch up to you. May my face serve as a constant reminder to the world (for the next couple of days at least) that using care with a razor (and not pursuing a shave with a blade that doesn't seem to suit you) is something you should remember, even after a long string of consecutive wins.

PS - Speick AS lotion is amazing. Despite the misery, I am smiling about my Speick. I have requested that a bottle be placed in the sarcophagus with me should I not make it through the night...

 

It had to happen sooner or later. Welcome to the club.

 

Sorry about the bad shave, Steve, but like Jody said, "It had to happen sooner or later."

 

Thanks for the sympathy. Now that my initiation ritual is over...am I one of you guys?

 

You were one the first time you scraped a sharp sliver of metal across your face... if it really, really, really burns, try a little Solarcaine - the lidocaine will numb it and the aloe will sooth it and help it heal. Don't ask me how I know...

 

As you can see, my mileage did not vary a bit. hehe

Thanks. Immediately after the violent sting of my alum, and a mild sting of Speick, I actually started feeling much better.

Wait, wait, wait...so you mean I didn't even have to do this to become a card-carrying member?! Oh yeah, now he tells me!

 

RIP Smott's face.

 

Was this a new blade for you? If it was then maybe the blade's to blame and you still have the proper measure of confidence. If it's your usual blade then your lucky your shaver didn't give you a good scar to remind you..lol..

 

Yes, a new blade. That's not to say my technique is not somewhat responsible, but I seem to fare better with other offerings at this point. Bluebirds are going on the back burner...

 

Good then..Steve don't be too hard on yourself. At this point your technique is probably getting close to where the muscle memory is becoming more solidly established. So go ahead and have a little hit of cocky confidence..you experienced wet shaver you..

 

Haha, thanks, I'll drink to that! Do you have any Rusty Metal Tetanus soft drinks?!

 

Sadly no..the band got into the cooler and they just finished off the last of it..

 

You See...you fell victim to that thing where....you have several quaranteed ways to get great shaves every day you would like but.......It's more exciting to try that new blade...spin the wheel of chance if you will...... To quote someone far wiser than I, "Don't ask me how I know"....

When that happens to me...I live with my Schick for a while til I get 'cocky' again....

 

Haha! Exactly. What's the psychology at play here? I'm doing just fine, and I look over at the blade sampler and say, "Ahh, Bluebird...haven't tried that before!"

 

Guys good..maybe he wants to join a band..

 

I feel your pain Steve. I picked up a sampler pack of blades but I'm actually enjoying the Derby blades that came with my EJ89L. Astra blades didn't work well for me. I won't say they destroyed my face but they didn't leave it feeling very good.

 

I know that it's always YMMV when it comes to razor blades, but are there certain trends with certain razors? In other words, I wonder if EJ DE89s have any notable patterns of how many people prefer a certain blade as opposed to, say, Gillette Super Speed owners.

That would be an interesting study.

 

Doh, really? In my travels, I feel like I've been exposed to patterns—not hard rules, mind you, but statistically significant trends. Plain blade ratings are a seemingly random enterprise, but it seemed to me that narrowing things down to a particular razor also narrowed down the preferred options for the user. Maybe I'll look into it sometime.