20 OCtober
Shave Number 8
Pre-Shave: Hot Shower
Brush: JR #180, 22mm Badger
Soap: Badger Shaving Soap
Razor: Valet VC2, Autostrop
Blade: Feather FAS-10 Carbon Steel(CS), Feather Seikan (8)
Strop: Amish made
Post-Shave: Cold Water rinse, OSMA Alum block and Lilac Vegetal AS (Veg), Pinaud
Photo:
View attachment 149696
This was my shave on Saturday morning but I don't get time to post my shaves like I would like on the weekend, they are just to busy. I used this Badger brand soap last time and did not get good results from it, so I wanted to give it a second chance. This time I use a drier brush and loaded the soap like I hated it and was trying to use it up. I gave a much thicker lather but after stropping the blade fifteen times the lather had dissipated yet again. I reapplied lather and got a good first pass. I went to pick up my brush for the second pass and accidentally knocked it in the sink full of water and had to reload the brush. Kept the shave just to two passes with the weak performance from the soap also was hoping to shave again on Sunday morning. After two passes I had a DFS, not quite BBS but close. Continuing to find what pairs up with the Veg well. I pulled out the Veg and applied it liberally hoping it may be the saving grace of this soap.
NOPE, the soap didn't do that real well either, it was okay just not great like the Castle Forbes did. This soap has now been move over to the shower and I will use it up there as a bath soap. I finished by stropping the blade ten more times before putting it up.
I started out the month of October as a test to see if stropping a modern carbon blade would lengthen the life of the blade. When I didn't strop the blade I got 8 shaves from the blade. This shave was number 8 on the stropped blade and the blade is still going strong giving consistently smooth and close shaves from shave number 1 to number 8. You can then conclude that, "Yes, Stropping a modern blade will lengthen the life of the blade.". What I did find out unexpectedly was that stropping the blade also made the shave both smoother and closer. Those of you who have tried CS blades and did not get good shaves from them I would suggest stropping the blade and trying it again, but as we all know YMMV.
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