Amen brother

That my fatboy is not fussy when it comes to blade choice. I might just try something unused from my noob sample pack from way back (Dec).

Yes the Gillette Slim is a bit more aggressive then I am used to so I should not chase the baby - he bites. Experienced some razor burn on my neck just below my chin. Will dial it back a notch and sloooowww it down

I did the same thing. I did not like them in my Merkur 34C but loved it in the tech. I also think the one I used in the Merkur may have been a dud. Will give it another chance at some point.

I learned that I can only get one shave out of a feather.

I re-learned that no matter how good the razor, blade or I am...if the soap/lather doesn't have good protection it can still result in a poor shave.

Many a discussion has been had as to what is most important to a good shave.

I'd say it's just like taking a photo - you have the triangle of factors;
- shutter speed,
- aperture, and
- ISO

They all need to work together to produce what you want and not one is more important than the others - actually, often they rely/depend on eachother.

The same goes for shaving where, to me, the triangle is;
- Razor,
- Blade,
- Lather

And most folks will add a fourth leg - prep.

I'm a low-prep kinda-guy: shower and wet my face

Slow and steady wins the race.

I learned, as with everything else shaving, some creams require more water in the brush than others. Neutrogena requires minimal water, almost none. Every Man Jack, I had to go back multiple times to add water to the brush.

Not from the shave itself but after....I love Old Spice

So much that I'll probably end up buying stock in the company

I know its been said a gazillion times and YMMV, but some things have to be seen for them selves to learn from. Soooo.... Today I used C.O.Bigelow's cream with my newest badger brush restoration and wow what a lather. Both on my face and the brush. I used a third of what I had been using with the other cream.

How are you getting along with your cadet I recieved one this week and shaved with it this morning I like it but it's missing a lot on my neck but I get very little irritation with it. Did it take you long to learn the angle on the cadet open comb?

I learned that Ladas are very inconsistent and that I need to be more careful with my Merkur 37c

That razor weight is more important to me than I thought (I like them heavier).

I've been using my Shovel Head SE this week, and experimenting with some different handles. I originally thought that it just needed a longer handle, as it didn't feel right with the tiny stock handle. I used it a few times with an MR3 handle and enjoyed it. I tried it with an EJ handle earlier in the week, and the blade skipped really bad and felt pretty rough. Went back to the MR3 handle today and got a really good shave. I'm going to try it with the Muhle Grande handle tomorrow just to confirm. I'm thinking I may need to pick up an MR8 handle just to see what it's like...

I've recently gone from 3 passes to 2 passes. I knew all along I was just using the extra pass because I had left over lather.

Gentkemen, from my last shave....

I am not sure that tobacco scented soap actually smells like tobacco.

I have learned from my last shave I don't need tend skin just plain witch hazel works just fine.