Awesome shave kit and photos, Gary!

Correct as I is one!

for the mention Jeff, I'm greatfully humbled to say the least..since i became a member of the TSD i consider you and @Trigger as my personal mentor's.If it wasn't for you i probably would never have entered into the wonderful world of injector razors.Both your good self and Joe have pushed me in the right direction on many shaving issues. You maybe the oldest member of the thread, but your outstandingly good postings, shaving knowledge and experience, you have shared with us have made this thread a very worth while source of traditional wet shaving wisdom..
The only thing you need to do is to come out of the closet,and admit your hidden passion and love for the 'Tabac Scent'.. Your amongst Tabac fragrance lovers who understand..As they say in my neck of the woods, your as sound has a pound..Old farts trump newbies....Yours- Barry, the green tea drinking limey.

It's a ymmv. When I did my very first honing, it was on my Dovo Special. I reset the bevel on the 12 micron film, then 9, 5, 3, 1 and .3 progression. I looked at Slash's method and Mike Baker's general method and created my own method by taking a little from both. If I remember, it took me a half hour to get a great edge the first time. Subsequently, it usually takes about 20 min to rehone my razors. Anyway, I was hooked after successfully honing a razor from bevel to shave ready. Master honemeisters make a big deal about honing and I think it is over hyped to justify their services. I understand it and I don't blame them. However. I do know my limitations as far as honing a wonky razor that has a wavy edge, etc. I could probably do it, but not as quickly as Slash, Sixgunn and others. My point is that lapping films is a great alternative to honing razors for newbies that are anxious about doing it. As far as I am concerned, it's the most foolproof method. I will cede that edges on stones are less harsh than on films, but it really isn't that great of a difference in quality. In any event, I am glad you're a stoner and I am glad that I am a film star. Lol!

Thank you for the kind words Barry. You have progressed very well in your journey. The beautiful thing about this shaving community is that wetshavers don't hide their knowledge and freely give it to others so as to make their journey into wetshaving smoother. I started with open blade shaving in October 2018 with my trusty Dovo shavette. Two months later, I joined this thread and at that time I already had approximately 25 shavette and 25 straight shaves for a total of 50 open blade shaves. Still a newbie, I gleaned info from members here and doing my own research on the net. At that time, I wasn't thinking of honing or getting serious about wetshaving. Three and a half years later, I can't believe where I am today with my journey. Jeff came to this thread later on and never thought of going into straights because of his Parkinson's. Now, he is a Major League All Star in the world of straights. Gary is a fountain of knowledge with Gillette razors. My buddy Joe C. is literally down the road from me and we exchange shaving info. There have been other members who are no longer here who have encouraged me and showed me things as well. You see Barry, everyone gets better with technique, amassing knowledge and most importantly, what tools are best for them based on expense, razor preference, etc. the longer they stay engaged in shaving forums. Take care.

thank you Jeff..

2nd June 2022.



​

Shaving recipe for today.

Prep: Warm shower:/Lynx Africa Body Wash.

Pre:
Cold wet flannel to my face.
Chantry Lavender Goat's Milk Bar Soap.
Brush: Omega S10065.
Face Lather.
Lather: Proraso Sensitive Shaving Soap.
Blade: Derby Usta. (D2)
Razor: Parker 87r.

Post:
Cold water face wash with brush squeezing's, Cold Water Face Rinse./ Homemade (~Spring/Summer mix~) Lemon, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Essential Oils.3 Menthol Crystals Mixed Together With 200ml of Care+Witch Hazel./Wilko Men's ASB./Denim Original EdT.

Greetings,

Early Morning Shave,

Last outing of the Derby Usta which has gave an acceptable performance blade throughout the week.

A comfortable 2 pass + pick ups shave with no errors to report...Finishing to the shave off with a few small squirts of Denim Original EdT to the pulse points.

My face is feeling smooth cool, & smelling divine.

Stay safe, and enjoy your day ladies & gentlemen.

Very nice shave Gary.

Very nice, efficient shave Barry.

I will switch from RAS to soap aquisition syndrom. LOL

I keep seeing this soap and am leaning towards trying some. Not that pricey too!

Great shave Barry. Proraso is a terrific shave soap. Enjoy your day.

It would have been a great shave if I had not gotten careless and cut my lower lip! Right on the lip! So, I had red rose shave cream for a bit before it stopped on it's own during the second pass of a 2-pass shave. That little 1930's razor is very efficient! I get a really close shave with this razor!

I duplicated yesterday with the exception of a different blade. Razor was the 1930's open come (short comb) brass razor with a Voskhod blade (1st shave).
Pre-shave was Proraso white. Shave cream was TOBS "Rose" whipped in my lather bowl with my Simpson X2 Badger brush.

With this razor I get really close with a 2-pass shave. WTG & ATG. No cleanup needed on my right jawline. Very efficient!

I love it when the alum bar raises no feedback. The cut on my lip was too high for the alum bar to get to. The cut was not in an area that gets shaved! Just plain carelessness on my part. Enjoying the shave and not paying attention! I simply placed the razor on my face too quickly and caught my lip!

Tomorrow I switch to the Feather DX and MWF for 2 days.

If you like almond/cherry (marzipan) scent, then you will really enjoy using Cella.
.

Nice shave Hogie. It happens that we shed blood during shaving and it's part of the process. When I first started using straights, I would occasionally nick my ear lobe. Sometimes, I hit the top of the ear. Lol! Now, I developed my technique that it's very rare that I do it.

Better alternative to Cella:

my searching has come up empty! I searched for "Sapone Da Barba"

OOPS! I did find it....not an easy buy tho.... LOL

https://www.barbaebaffi.it/item/sapone-da-barba-3p-alla-mandorla-150-ml.html

Wow, you started out so nicely, Barry! Thanks for the kind words, but you crossed the line! What did that old geezer Charlie (@wristwatchb) pay you to slip that last bit in! I will admit that the soap lathers nicely, but shaving with a clothes pin on your schnozz ain’t easy! “Et tu, Brute!” Ha! Didn’t even feel the dagger!

YEP! I got a little too cocky and was careless setting the razor down for the WTG pass on my chin and caught my lip in the process!

I barely felt it at first and thought it was only the comb that caught my lip....until it ran red!

Very true, Joe! I probably would have stayed with lapping films, if my son, Ben, hadn’t loaned me his Shapton Glass progression. When he did he declared he was only going to use jnats from that point onwards! Well it lasted almost two years, but he finally asked for them back. I had meanwhile obtained a Jasper stone, a coticule, the Suehiro Gokumyo 20k and the terrific 9 Ball slate. In fact the edges off that 9 Ball were so good, Ben “borrowed” it back in January when I went into the hospital. He still has it. At that point, and on Glen’s recommendation I acquired three Shapton Kuromaku which fit into my personal progression. Yes, they’re synthetic stones, but boy do they lay down an amazing edge. So, you’re right, whatever works!