Too bad the knot won’t behave. Looks like it is head to the farm in the future. Glad the shave turned out wonderful.

Fantastic shave and great exercise Maestro!

Lol! Thanks Joe! It is amazing that this is the only soap that I get to figure how to best lather it without gelization occuring.

Thank you guys. He is starting to settle in. I anticipate it will take him a couple of weeks to acclimate to living in a home. Cody is Maya's dog and if things work out as anticipated, he will be going back to school with her. All her classes with the exception of Physics lab are online for the fall semester. She will have tons of time to train him. For the time being he will be going to work with her at the vet clinic each day. They are familiar with racing greyhounds and he will get to play with other large dogs.

I think the gel treatment screwed up a very good boar knot. It was worth a try.

Thank you, Joe.

Beautiful blue shave, Gary!

That's kinda funny...I just made the same comment, right before I read yours.

Four, pretty much...at least on the cheeks. I basically do the same routine as I do with other razors.
My normal routine is this - I work in quadrants - First pass, WTG-ish (slightly at a diagonal). Using residual slickness, XTG from ear towards nose. Then I'll splash a little water on, flip around and go XTG towards the ear. I do that with both cheeks.
For the neck, first pass, straight down. Splash a little water again, then S to N.
To finish up, on my neck I'll go across from under my ear towards the middle of my neck, mostly sideways, but slightly upwards. On the cheeks, S to N.
Sounds like a big routine, but it's not. With a DE or SE it takes mere minutes. Even the hair on my cheeks grows in different directions, and it's coarse. I've experimented quite a bit before settling on this routine. If I do just the typical three passer, going only once XTG, when I go ATG on my cheeks, weepers tend to appear.
I've also gotten good results just doing two XTG passes on my cheeks, in opposite directions, then skipping the ATG pass...and the results are fine. I just get greedy most times.

With the Parker I don't go straight across on my neck, just because it's cumbersome. I'll do short, almost diagonal upward strokes across the neck, and that usually works just dandy.
Around my Adam's Apple is my nemesis, and the hair grows out to the side. Straight up and down doesn't get it. But, if I'm not careful, that's where it'll bite me - regardless of what razor is being used.

Sorry you asked yet?

Not at all! I have issues around my AA as well. It’s impressive that you’ve developed such a detailed whisker reduction protocol based on beard mapping.

Great shave, Andrew! Congrats on another winner of software choice.

Congratulations on the new family member!

Hammam Bouquet

Wonderful Vector shave, Jeff!
It’s a shame that some folks can’t think logically, and realize that other razors can do just as well as a straight. There’s nothing wrong with using and enjoying straight razors. It takes skill and concentration to get a good shave with one. But, to call them the ultimate choice for close shaves is pushing it.

Thank you Keith. Cody and Mocha are getting along better at this point than I could have expected. He's a pretty cool big boy.

I think our discussion about the quality of BBS from straights versus safety razor influenced this shave. It is Monday and back to work so it means a safety razor shave. I loaded a fresh Feather blade in to my Joris, picked my beehive zebra Shavemac because it matches my Joris and went for a chilly shave with Stirling Lemon Chill. The lather was slick as always and after two passes I thought an epic shave is possible. Two more passes and yeah, epic! A couple of shots of Terre d' Hermes and I out to the door.

This epic shave is on par with my past epic shaves, no matter if I used a safety razor or straight.

All star lineup and photos, Joseph!

Awesome setup and photo, Clint! Sorry the brush isn’t working out like you hoped.

Congrats on adopting Cody! Beautiful dog indeed! Also good to hear that Mocha is cool with him...

Agreed! Technique trumps tools! A BBS is a BBS! How one arrives there is up to the individual. I appreciate that some people like the old ways of doing things, but there’s a reason safety razors predominate as the shaving tool of choice. Not everyone is willing to spend the time to learn how to shave with a straight! My grandchildren enjoy riding with me in my TR6 with its manual windows and transmission. Are they interested in learning to drive a manual? Not on your life!

Thank Bruce. The knot almost refuses to load soap. Mocha is not missing an opportunity to remind him she’s in charge. Reminds me of all the other women in the house.