SOTD 3/21/18
Razor: Leopard Shavette (half-DE)
Blade: Shark
Brush: 30DC LE w/ Omega Pro Boar
Soap: Beaver Woodwright/ Black Ship Grooming Co. Queen Anne's Revenge
Post: Cold Water Rinse, Alum, Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Beaver Woodwright/ Black Ship Grooming Co. Queen Anne's Revenge
View attachment 162092
I haven't been having a lot of luck with this set up as far as avoiding irritation. My muscle memory from straights is assuming a longer and more forgiving edge. I thought about this as I was getting ready to shave, and as I loaded a new blade I realized something. I don't like the first shave with a DE or SE blade. I also don't usually like the first shave with a freshly honed straight, unless I strop it quite a bit to soften it. I know the purpose of this focus was to get me to a point where I could get a comfortable and bloodless shave with a shavette, but it hasn't been going real well. Normally, with a DE blade, I will strop it some before the first use to mellow it out a bit. So today, I loaded the blade, muted the tip, then stropped it 10 laps on a horsehide strop. I know what got me hooked on wetshaving was the ability to dial in and get a really comfortable shave, and figured this is along the lines of what I do with a straight. No blood, very little irritation, and a BBS face, jaw, and chin, with a DFS neck. I could tweak the angle to where I wanted, and it reduced my hesitancy in how I moved the blade. My first really good shave with this set up. TLDR: Apparently, I don't like really sharp blades. I found a way to fix that.
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