June 2017!!!
Trials and Tribulations
June 7
Razor - A plastic pink shavette kinda thingy
Blade - The one in the plastic pink shavette kinda thingy. It's 1 3/8 inches long and sharp.
Soap - Route 66 Sweeney Todd
Brush - Jayaruh #46
Post - Alum, Cold compress, Styptic. Repeat. And absolutely no sympathy from my wife.
Well here comes the first of the Tribulations for the month. These will be "catch ups" of things I had planned for MAYhem that got "mayhemified" out of the picture last month. Tonight's shave features a really cheapo plastic pink shavette kind of of a thing sent to me by, if memory serves,
@mrchick . If I'm blaming the wrong person please let me know. It was sent to be a part of MAYhem with the other el-cheapo Japanese thingy some of you apparently hated.
I chose the Sweeney Todd because I need it slick and the JR46 usually provides that with the R66 soap. And, it did. Can't complain there. The first few strokes were actually pretty nice. Easy to get the angle as the plastic head tapers to the blade, and the only problem was the grip. It's hard slick plastic so I had to dry both my hands and the "razor". I thought about using alum on my fingers but decided that would be cheating. This is, after all, a stunt shave of sorts.
Right side of the face and neck were a great first pass, actually, and I turned to the left side. Rinsed the razor and rinsed it again because it seemed like it wasn't getting quite clear of the first side. I had rinsed it a couple of times on that side, but it seemed to need some extra help. Started on the left and all was well after I again dried my hands and the handle. Worked down to my jawline and as I was coming down on the second stroke I felt a twang. Checked for blood, saw none, and went to continue. Set the razor down, it wasn't cutting right, rolled the angle steeper and...........the blade is 1 3/8" long and that's exactly how long the cut is. It was a perfect line cut that bled instantly and profusely. A couple of choice words later and I rinsed my face and checked it. Not deep, just the full blade length. Cold water seemed to clear it, I re-lathered and picked up my emergency backup - 1959 Super Speed with Sharp Star - and completed the shave with blood running down my left cheek and dripping into the sink. I haven't had a cut like this since I was learning pain sticks.
Got cleaned up, alum slowed it down, styptic slowed it more so I checked the razor. There is a slight gap between the blade and plastic where it's held. And, the soap and debris had slowly packed into that gap and down onto the blade. After several efforts to clean it completely I gave up. Apparently as the debris built up it caused the razor to stop shaving ever so slowly until I felt the difference on the restart and over-angled the blade to try and get it cutting again. Design error and operator over-confidence contributed to that bloody mess.
The good news - it stopped completely but it's stinging - and that's after rinsing again with cold water. This one will be with me a few days. My recommendation? If this gets sent to you it would make a good letter opener. Beyond that, I can't say I'd recommend it! But hey - it's a pretty pink!
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