@Bama Samurai is steering you in the right direction I've been doing it 6 weeks and it's going great good luck.
1/7/15 I decided that adding cold water shaving into this focus would be one too many variables, so I will drop that idea until February or March. So back to my basic focus - Ikon B1 Standard, Dusy Kabinett, TGN finest brush and Astra blades. Prep: warm wash Lather: Dusy Kabinett (face lather) Brush: TGN synthetic Razor: Ikon B1 standard Blade: Astra SP (5) Post: Old Spice 2 passes and a DFS.
I'm considering a merkur futur from the wife next month for birthday I will check your post. Will you be doing a focus with it next month?
Thanks. This morning was a very good shave. The biggest challenge has been coming to terms with the handle since it can be kind of slippery. Thank you.
I think the biggest thing with badger brushes in general is to decide what you want out of the brush. Do you want something with good backbone and some scritch or do you want a super soft face feel. Once you have those answers, pick the grade of badger hair that ticks most of your want list.
I actually quit trying to get my neck smooth. Most shaves my face, chin, and jaw are great, and my neck has gotten better, but isn't there yet. Be sure when you shave, you have your fan off, any music off, and no water running. The sound the blade makes will help you figure out the angle. When I switched from carts, I would do work without lather, because that worked with carts. With a DE, I recommend one pass per lathering. If it didn't get smooth, re-lather before you try again. I agree with Chris on limiting yourself to two passes. What every you don't get, focus on it the next day instead of chasing the baby.
January 2016 Focus -- Blade search for the 1958 Executive January 7 Razor: Gillette 1958 Executive adjustable Blade: Dorco 300 (2) Brush: Stirling Kong Soap: TOBS Lavender Post: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel, Fine L'Orange Noir Dorco will not be a blade I use again. I had a rough shave Tuesday night and then again this morning it was pretty bad. I was hoping after using the blade once that maybe it would be worn in and would be ok to use. Nope, not the way it worked. Really, I think the blade became even duller than it felt the first day. The WTG pass was manageable, but definite tugging, pulling and irritation. I got all the way through the pass. I sat there debating with myself, continue with dorco or just switch to the Ladas and call it a day. Then Igor or Ivan or someone piped up with a reminder that last shave the ATG got better so maybe this one would too . . . what's the worst that could happen? Well, I stuck with the Dorco against every bit of common sense I possess (which several people would say does not amount to much) Ended my morning with 2 weepers and a ton of irritation. The ATG pass did not tug as much because of the reduction on the first pass, but it just was not comfortable. I gave the blade a try and I can scratch it off my list of blades ever to try again. Below is not my shave but it is how the Aftershave felt hitting my face.
That sounds like a great plan. Watch the pressure and just go with the grain until you heal. Good luck!
I agree that the audible feedback from the razor is invaluable. I'm not using straights but you still get a good sound from a DE. I'm also realizing that I need to just let my neck be what it is after two passes, sometimes just one pass with touch-up. I've got to remind myself not to push it.
Yup! I started doing this with DEs, and have kept it up with straights. Its a good method to get repeatable results.
Jan 7 day 6 Not much time this morning but wanted to mention the near perfect shave minutes ago. I think I may have found the perfect blade for the Pils. Third day, third blade tried in the Pils and by far the best shave to date was with the NOS Dutch Schick blade. Two passes, the second ATG and boom.....BBS, no irritation at all.....the Lea aftershave went on without any sting, zero. I did switch to MdC soap after struggling with lather yesterday and may have to switch back to Mé soap to rule that out.
You might find that over time as your technique improves you will be able to do a better job on the neck in 2 passes. You might also be able to increase the # of passes as well.
Your shave reports are inspiring me to dig out my Pils next week to try it out again. I always found it to be too mild and not very efficient. I'll try it out with some different blades to see if I can make it sing.
I think it is a fantastic razor (as far as I can tell after one shave), but I also understand why some people don't really like it (the previous owner of my razor for example). It is big and heavy, and that might not be everyone's cup of tea. Do you have a chance to visit a store where you can actually touch and feel the razor before you (or your wife) buy it? I will definitely do a focus - I might actually put the OC focus I'm doing now on hold for a while and switch to the Futur for the rest of January. But tomorrow I'll have to evaluate the R41 that was in the mail today
