October 13, 2015

OC October - This month I'll introduce myself to OC razors.
Gillette New LC
Gillette Goodwill
Standard Safety Razor OC
Schick Type C1 OC

Morning shave
Hot Shower
Soap: Arko homemade stick.
(as mentioned by @Bird Lives I took an Arko stick and molded it into an empty, travel-size, push-up deodorant stick. Glued the Arko label onto the outside. Works great for travel!)
Brush: Omega Pro 48
Razor: Schick Type C1 OC
Blade: Schick (China) (1)
TSD Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Proraso Green



Two-day growth, three-pass shave.
1st pass - WTG. Little feedback, good reduction.
2nd pass - XTG. Little feedback, better reduction.
3rd pass - ATG. Good feedback, excellent reduction.

Much better shave than the past couple. Changed blade today, so I'll blame the last shaves on the blade!
Very good shave. Razor/blade very smooth, not extremely close on first two passes but adequate.

3rd pass knocked it out of the park, cleared the bases and I'm smooth all over.

Play ball!
RT

Chris, the Rocket is a fine razor! The Aristocrat is the sports car of razors, the way it handles it's a very forgiving yet efficient razor. In all seriousness I could get rid of all of my razors but two. The Mongoose and Aristocrat, and someday I very well may do that. Considering I have three grandsons and two sons that are very active wet shavers.

MITA is my favorite Stirling soap, it's a top 10 of mine.

The best vodka I've ever tasted came out of Texas. Now I'm going to have to watch out behind me.

Only two things come from Texas...........and vodka isn't one of them. Igor is on the way.

I unexpectedly spend the last 5 days sleeping on a cement floor and only shaving once with an unbranded single blade disposable on sat night with a hand lathered bar of soap. When I got home last night I needed a great shave so I used my whipped dog brush, truefitt & hill lime scented cream, my fat boy set to 6 and a Gillette silver blue blade with a chaser of nivea sensitive after shave balm. 3 Passes wasn't enough to achieve BBS but I was close and it felt amazing to have my face pampered.

I feel the same way. I could shave with my Schick G or J forever, same for Phoenix DOC. Fat bay is actually growing on me. One of the things I am doing this year is "Love it or PIF it", and will have a much smaller collection come 2016. But that's great by me, I am the technique guy, and have decided not to collect razors. Of course I say this now, but I will try SR in the future and probably go on a spree. So far the year, a Cadet TTO OC, Cadet OC, a Slim, an Aristocrat, and a Schick E have all been sent to find owners that love them more than I did. I have no kids of my own; my stepson, he's 20, uses a Braun electric. He shows little interest in this stuff, but I have a Tech setup ready for him should he change his mind.

I actually find Voskhod mismatched with a Cadet razor, experiencing the same drag and tug issues that you have. GSB was way better...

Those Schicks are too cool! Injector performance, OC handling,...best of both worlds!

Should I go full menthol again today? Decisions, decisions...but while I ponder that, let's talk Fat Boy.

I have been using a 59 Fat Boy (courtesy @wristwatchb ), and have been evaluating it for inclusion in my permanent collection. After using an injector in September, I was honestly quite skeptical of adjustable TTO. In January, I did a Slim, and loved it just enough to gift it to my father, it's now his daily razor (with GSB or Voskhod). In all fairness to the Slim though, my technique probably stank back then, but hey, Dad loves it. He learned shaving on a Slim in 1963.

On the Fat Boy...

I think I really like the head geometry and set blade angle much better in the Fat Boy versus the Slim. I started with it on six, and found that too be a bit mild, requiring touch up. Dial on seven has been providing a much smoother experience. I will be trying 8 and 9, and fully expect that 9 will be my fave.

Keys to the Fat Boy:

1) Smooth Blades seem best, sharpness can be sacrificed here for comfort.
2) Ride the cap. When the angle is low, this razor really shines.
3) Skin stretching is vital here, especially on jawline and mustache areas.
4) Insure the doors are fully closed, tightly. Bouncing blades hurt!

So, after eleven shaves...

I like it much better than the Slim. I like the extra mass of the FB, it helps me resist urge to add pressure. It is one of the sturdiest adjustables I have seen, and am super happy with the razor itself.

Bad news though...no PIF here on the Fat Boy. It's staying.

Me too! Great soap.

So I was hoping some of you might share your thoughts on this. Pressure is two parts, first part is forward. We don't want to use a lot of this because the right angle and a sharp blade should glide right through if we have a good lather. Pressure inward, or against the skin won't hurt anything. Getting the right balance of the two seems to be how I hit my grail shaves.

Razor: Gillette Black Tip (X3) 1952
Blade: Voskhod Teflon Coated (1)
Brush: Omega 10066 Boar
Cream: The Real Shave Company
Bowl: Yokohama Studio (Hand Painted)
A/S: Fine L'Orange
Day 13
Excellent shave this afternoon with this combination. The Boar brush and Bowl are gifts from my wife a few months ago. The Real Shave Co. Cream is very slick, and a little added menthol made for a great lather. The Fine A/S is outstanding. The Omega 10066 Boar brush is probably my best Boar brush. Have a great night.

I feel like the no pressure advice is somewhat misguided. Using the proper and appropriate level of pressure is the real goal. I caught Grail shaves with the injector by using a level of pressure that I would never recommend to a brand newbie. There has got to be a better way to describe this.

Anyone?

That bowl is making me crave congee and miso soup! Cool piece. I really like traditional cobalt China patterns. Great color in your photo today!

(I realize that piece is Japanese. Love it!)

Thank you, thank you very much!

I agree Chris, if you/I don't love it, PIF it! Let someone else enjoy it, having 25+ razors is absolutely nuts. Considering I basically use maybe 5 of them on a monthly basis. I'm going to put a mystery box together soon and PIF it.

I think that is a great idea once you're experienced and have tried several razor/blade combinations to discover what you really like and what you don't - unless of course you enjoy collecting. At this point in my journey, I don't know what I'll end up liking, so I'm acquiring razors gradually and seeing how they work for me. It's an enjoyable task though, so I'm not complaining!