Thank you. I do like the way you think

Great minds and all that muck.

April 15th

I didn't go for bbs today( my goal), but I did get a fine shave with less irritation on my neck with my progress. I have to admit I haven't been very well " focused" I went back to astra sp's and I changed my brush from a midget to a semogue 620.

That soap has a funny name!

1) Lather bowl FTW!!! Dog bowl trumps all, if i may add! The brush just slides like on butter on the metal while you lather!
2) Funny, i find the Proraso Blue having a very bland scent. Now i REALLY start having suspicion that the specimen i got was sitting on the dusty shelf for years.
3) I agree on plentiful. At first it doesn't seem much, but as you start whipping, you end up with cream everywhere.
4) Agree on post-shave skin feel. The only reason i may not buy it again, is because for me the scent is too bland and neutral. But i will have to compare with others, since this is my 1st cream.

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Easter morning shave report (6th shave with DE):
Weishi FL + Shark SS + Proraso Blue cream + Omega 48. Lather wasn't as good as last time. I could discern my skin. But, oh well... Did WTG/ATG/WTG (but with multiple passes in each pass).
Result: BBS above jaw line, DFS below jaw line, 0 irritation, 0 nicks, felt extremely smooth and safe blade WTG, not so much ATG, but overall, i am glad i bought 100 of them. It felt much safer nick-wise than Astra SP. This is a good newbie blade. I could even repass areas with no lather WTG with extreme speed ear to end of throat in 1 stroke. Phenomenal. This is what Derby dreams to be at night. I should have bought 400 Sharks insteads of 400 Derbys. It isn't as sharp as Astra, it costs 1 euro more per 100, but it's better than Derby for "quick, careless shave". I will have to shave again with Astra before ordering new blades, but i see high probability that i may order something like 400 Astra, 200 Shark. And i must start shaving with Derby again, in order to burn through the 400 blade supply. I have a bad feeling that the older you get, the more troublesome will be to shave with Derby, with the skin getting looser. I wonder at this point, is there ANY blade that is less sharp than Derby???

Also, i noticed that the Weishi, likes a very shallow angle of attack. I noticed that with all blades. Somewhere around 20-30 degrees maybe.

Happy Easter again and may the Lord deliver us from Derby!

P.S: Still have to try Dorco ST-301 and Personna Red, but the Shark should have been my "Derby" blade since the start. It might not worth the extra euro compared to Astra for closeness of shave, but it does for easyness-safety of shave and beats Derby easily in smoothness and performance. I am afraid that i will end up with Derby being my worst blade... Luckily i can shave with them, but...i don't think i will buying them ever again, unless Sharks fail miserably in the DE89. Shark has a good mix of sharpness and a feeling that you can't cut yourself easily. While Astra cuts well, but also gives a feeling of being much more dangerous blade.

The only good thing about Derby? (well, aside the newbie-friendliness). The plastic blade dispenser! I am going to keep some empty ones, to put the "good blades" in.

1. I used to use a small stainless steel bowl about 3 - 4" in diameter as my lather bowl but it was a bit too small. I never thought of using one of the slightly larger steel pet drinking bowls instead. Come to think of it, I imagine one would be almost the perfect size and depth.

2. To be fair to Proraso Blue, the scent I commented on is noticeable but isn't extremely strong. I can smell it as I whip the lather and then put it on my face, but it doesn't fill the bathroom the way the scent from a warm lather of Castle Forbes Lavender does, for example. And it isn't really pungent, it just smells like plants but some sort of crushed green herbal plant leaf or stem rather than any type of flower. In short, it's there and it's more like an ointment or salve than a perfume.

3. As I said, scent aside, the performance of the Proraso Blue is some of the best I've had from the creams and soaps I've used so far. Very good stuff.

4. Once again, you are proving to us all that when it comes to blades, the absolute rule is Your Mileage May Vary. It's always fun to read how people rate the different brands because the reactions are so mixed and so completely unpredictable. There are some people out there who absolutely swear by Derby, and others who completely hate Sharks...

My dog bowl is 13cm diameter. Perfect! You can grab it with one hand too and it's large enough even for the big Omega 48. The Proraso is typical italian product. Max bang for buck. This is always the italian mentality in pretty much anything aside fashion. It's like the FIAT. Italians loved them because they were cheap and in many cities the historical centers have cobblestone like roads that make for bumpy rides. Spare parts are cheap. Proraso is like that.

I find it natural that different razors and persons have different experiences with blades. I have oily, soft and very smooth skin. On paper, i could shave with anything. And the 3 blades i tried, can all work. But they don't all work as good. Derby, i might have to do 5 passes, to get a worse result than 2 passes with Astra or Shark. Or, Derby was the only blade that gave me a bit of irritation. Or, so far was the only one that managed to cut me, because i was going XTG on the moustache area, i forgot to tend the skin a bit and the blade wouldn't move and i kept pushing. When i say that it wouldn't move, it really wouldn't move. It was like frozen while trying to cut, cause my skin is smooth, but my beard although not very thick, is quite tough. The Astra, cut into the whiskers of the moustache area, despite me forgetting to tend the skin. To give you an idea, i don't post personal identifying pictures on the internet, but this is my forearm near the elbow area:



My face is as smooth as that and an oily skin, helps the gliding of the razor by itself. It doesn't take a PhD, to understand that you don't need a very aggressive razor or an ultrasharp blade, to shave on that skin easily and to have close shave. But, to cut the beard, the blade must have some cutting power. Which the Derby, lacks. Lacks visibly. With the Astra, the difference is astonishing. With the Shark it's very visible too.

Now, someone who has drier skin, will obviously suffer more with a blade than isn't smooth. Someone with a very thick or very tough beard, will suffer much more with a dull blade and might even not be able to shave with Derby and instead get irritation. For my skin, i suspect that my big problems would come from a very aggressive razor or a very sharp blade like the Feather, because it becomes overkill. And when it's overkill, it gets easier to cut yourself. Someone with a more "bumpy" or "rough" skin, will likely enjoy more a more aggressive razor and a more aggressive blade to arrive to a close shave.

It's not that i can't shave with Derby. It's that it takes much more effort and passes to do the same job. It actually doesn't do the same job at the end, it does a worse job. But, i can use them. But, i understand perfectly why someone would have tremendous problems to shave easily with it. Someone with rough skin or loose skin and/or very tough beard, will want the sharper blade out there.

Once you get your technique down you will see that a blade is a blade. I get as good a shave as anyone with 5 for a dollar blades from the dollar store. Technique trumps tools. Aggressive razors or mild razors its all the same. It's the technique,or lack there of, that leads to problems. With proper technique you will have no difference in irritation regardless of the razor. Start with a good lather as your base. Then with solid angle and pressure control you can not miss.

I sure hope so, cause i have 498 Derbys to go!

Lmao. You will see. Soon your focus and work will start to pay off with beautiful easy shaves. Thatis a lot of shaves though.

Correction! 398! (that's a relief!...Uh...i guess?) They are 298 Derbys and 100 Bluebirds (which should be Derby under disguise). I shave every 2 days, so yeah, given that i have 100 Astra, 100 Shark and 100 Dorco, they should last me for... some years. And i will buy more Astras for sure... I will rotate blades at some point, when i will have more confidence. For the near future, i intend to cut down the number of Derbys. So far, 2 shaves per Derby is what i consider "good enough".

398 Derbys on the wall, 398 Derbys. Take one down and shave all around, 397 Derbys on the wall!!!

16 April 2017 Easter Blade/Soap Focus Shave

Pre: Hot water and I changed it up this morning. I rubbed my fingers on the soap and applied it prior to putting on the hot towel.
Razor: Van Der Hagen Safety Razor
Blade: Wilkinson Sword(black tuck)
Brush: Omega 10098
Soap: The Cella, Crema Da Barba
Post: Hot/Cold water rinse, alum block, cold towelx2
After Shave: Cella Lozione Dopobarba

This morning starts a new shave week. I brought forth an old friend, my VDH razor. I used it for about a month when I took my first steps into questa cosa nostra. I also brought out my first blade, the Wilkinson Sword. Cella will be the soap this week and it did not disappoint. The 10098 whipped up a great lather with that unique Cella scent. It was slick, protective and did I mention it smelled great?
A traditional three pass shave was accomplished with only one minor hiccup. Low down on my neck I was a little careless and naturally got bit. No worries, the rinse took care of it with a little help from Mr. alum block.
A cold towel for a bracing end to the shave followed by Cella A/S and Easter Sunday is off to a terrific start.
Have a happy and blessed Easter my friends!

"Now, don't you kids make me turn this bus around!"

Parker SRX
Gillette Silver Blue
Semogue BC Mistura
Iced Orange Tea Arko SS
Alum
Superior 70

I will call the third shave with the Parker a victory albeit a close one. I am now 2-1 with the shavette and gaining a little confidence. The left hand still needs a lot of work and I saw 2 or 3 minor spots of blood, but overall it was a presentable 2 pass N to S shave. It was also the maiden voyage of my Franken-Arko creation and I really liked it. It was some M-bomb, Mandarin EO, and green tea mixed with a shredded arko stick and pressed into a soap container with a lid.

April 16, 2017
Wolfman WR1 OC
Feather (1)
“Amigos” Simpson CH2 Jade Synthetic
Route 66 Lumberjack
Fine Fresh Vetiver

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A new week and a new lineup. The razor and soap are repeats so no need for descriptions. The Simpson CH2 synthetic is a limited edition version with a jade handle. Like the regular version, this is a synthetic brush for badger guys with its wall of "badger" feel. The CH2 is a lather monster and whipped up a mountain of rich slick lather. All the Route 66 soaps are so easy to lather. This is the soap I would recommend to new DE shavers. I think it would be impossible to get a bad lather from a Route 66 soap. I went with a traditional 3 pass shave followed by touch ups ending in a near BBS. I finished off the shave with a splash of Fine Fresh Vetiver. I am off with the family to celebrate Easter with my Mom. I hope everyone has a fantastic Easter Sunday.

Every time I think I understand what "no pressure" means, I find out there is an even deeper level of this understanding. Yesterday and today I finally understood what it felt like to "wipe away whiskers" with absolutely no pressure whatsoever, and didn't even feel the blade. I'm an aggressive "type A" guy, and this slow, patient, Zen-like learning does not come quickly or easily for me. I'm looking forward to the no effort, buttery, BBS shaves, but I think it's a matter of time and patience before they get here.

Day 21 of 30 days of Henckel straights

I picked up a jar of African Black Soap Shave Butter Creme at walgreen's a few months ago. As with Shave Secret, I decided that it was unusable with a DE. But, I tried it with the straight today and I am beginning to really like latherless creams. I got another very nice shave. My belief is turning towards slickness being the overall controlling factor in a straight shave. 2+ passes and excellent results

African Black Soap Shave Butter Creme
24mm High silvertip set an extra 10mm deep
2 passes, WTG, XTG
Sampsons All Natural Aftershave Balm
Round Toe 6/8 Henckel 17 1/2

Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017

Simpson Chubby 3 Manchurian
Knockout Shave Cotton
Wolfman WR1-DC
Feather HS
Gold Bond Green Lotion
HTGAM Gondolier Aftershave
Brooks Brothers 1818


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Easter Shave:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
Stirling Gentleman SS
Gem Featherweight
Stirling Unscented PSB
Stirling Gentleman AS

Happy Easter! It was a great shave this morning. For a little gratuitous family photos:

April 16

Gillette Old Type w Voskhod (3)
TGN Boar/Maple Handle
TFS Mastro Miche
Thayers Unscented
Barrister's Reserve Cool

Day 12 of the Canadian Old Type focus, day 3 with the Voskhod. Not a great shave today. Lather was fine, if not my best, but for some reason the blade felt dull and tuggy. I can always get 3 good shaves (or more) from a Voskhod, so I'm not sure what is up. I might ask my daughter if she shaved her stuffed sheep with it...
Anyway, no blood or horribly bad irritation, just not a particularly nice shave. Ended up doing 3 passed plus touch up, and finished off with the fantastic Cool. Will obviously change the blade out for next shave. I've run through my usual 4 blades with this Old Type now. Might try a few other blades that are hanging around.
Am off to hide easter eggs, and then head out later for the first golf game of the year. This is a late start for our courses, but like I've said a few times, this has been a long, hard winter.
Have a great Easter all!