View attachment 174942
Lots of learning went with today's shave. First, thanks to 30DC members and master enablers
@clint64 and
@Keithmax (along with several other TSD members) for their recommendation of the Bismarck. I like slightly larger, heavier blades, but this is my first heavier blade which has enough of a hollow to provide significant audible feedback. BINGO! Instant learning. The singing of the razor, gave me the feedback I needed to verify that I was still cutting hair even when using much lighter pressure. As was the case when learning DE shaving, I'm realizing that too much pressure is ALWAYS the enemy of a good shave, and this blade gives me the feedback I need to lighten up. The result was my closest shave on my neck ever. Still not BBS, but I was starting to wonder if a BBS on the neck was even possible for me with a straight. Now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Secondly, a word about the little silver container of pre-shave in the pic. In the past, I have not been impressed with pre-shaves, as my experience is that they don't do what they claim to do. In fact, that's a nice way of putting it. I kind of put pre-shave in the snake oil category. Much of this comes from the fact that I can't remember the last time I had irritation DE shaving, and believe the #1 determinant in getting an irritation free shave is proper shaving technique. Yes, I am a die-hard Technique Trumps Tools guy. (For those who have had good luck with a pre-shave, this is not to take away from your experience as YMMV.) Anyway, Mohammad at Grooming Dept, sent me a sample of his pre-shave he is developing to try out and give him feedback. (No bias here, as I've done this for a number of well known artisans developing products.) Anyway, I figured that, having not perfected my straight razor technique, and running into irritation trying way too many passes to chase the baby, this product might protect me from my own stupidity a bit. Mission accomplished. Mohammad's pre-shave really does what it says it will. First of all, it definitely reduces irritation and helps with blade glide. Sometimes my wiry whiskers can slow down a straight blade (particularly with light, full hollow 5/8 blades), and this pre-shave has really reduced the incidence of this happening. Additionally, it's not oily or goopy at all (like I find most pre-shaves to be), and after a 3 pass shave and rinse, there's no annoying oily residue to wipe off, but instead, a great feeling of skin conditioning. I continue to be amazed at Mohammad's ability to dial in formulations of shaving products to a level really not approached by most artisans. Will I use pre-shave when I don't need "training wheels" for the straight anymore? I dunno, but if I do it'll be this one for sure.
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