Thanks Queen of Blades!

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Joe, Nov 4, 2011.

  1. Joe

    Joe Member

    So I finally got my blade samples and creams in the mail from JoAnna (thank you very much!). I immediately decided to try the voskhod blades everybody told me to try. I did that because I am keeping all the other variables the same like suggested to me. I kept the same routine, wash face, hot towel, wet face, latherd with CO Bigelow cream mixed in a bowl with a brush and used the fat handle tech. I got an awesome shave! Still a ton of passes to get exta smooth, but no bleeding except one tiny spot on the side of my neck under my ear that I knew I nicked immediately when I hit it so that was my fault. Face still looks good this morning. I still can't seem tog get a smooth shave with 2-3 passes, and I have to do a lot of blade buffing but I finally didn't bleed!

    For the next week, I will be barely shaving on vacation and when I do, it will be with my mach 3. And I should have my custom mach 3 handle done by then and will post pics as promised. I'll be on today but if I don't get a chance to get on next week, everyone have a great week and looking foward to talking again when I come back :)
     
    SharpSpine and ChemErik like this.
  2. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    Another satisfied Voskhod customer! It really is a great blade.
     
    dadvest likes this.
  3. ChemErik

    ChemErik Mr. Personality

    Good to see you having improvement. I know you've struggled more than most starting out and you've now had a very well-deserved good shave. I hope it's as simple as finding the right blade as it appears right now.
     
  4. dadvest

    dadvest Active Member

    Voskhod blades rock! Sharp yet smooth and work well in all my razors... well except the injectors but that's not their fault! Glad to hear it clicking for you too!
     
  5. Joe

    Joe Member

    I can't wait to try them again! If if it keeps consistant, then I know I can try the other blades in the sample pack and be accurate in determining what is good and not good for me
     
  6. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    Ditto. :happy088::happy088:
     
  7. lradke

    lradke and doggone it, people like me

    :happy102:

    Hey Joe! I'm glad you had a great shave today! And good job on keeping at it and not giving up! Have a great vacation! :D
     
  8. Joe

    Joe Member

    Thanks everybody. I'm just hoping it wasn't by chance, cause I did have one or two shaves like that in the past with dorco 301. Time will tell!
     
  9. Billr

    Billr Mix Master Mighty White!

    I might be a little late to this conversation but I would like to ask a question or maybe just make a suggestion. How smooth are you wanting your shave to be? I struggled a bit with this when I first started. I wanted the Holy Grail of shaves everyday - it was going to be Baby Butt Smooth or I was not happy. It was not until I kinda gave up on the BBS idea (which for me was only about a week into my wet shaving days) and I found out that if I just gave myself a good 3 pass shave - WTG, ATG and XTG - starting with good prep and using a good blade/razor and ending with a cold towel and a nice AS finish I was very happy with the resulting shave. In fact after about a half hour after my shave I found it to feel smoother than I had thought it was. A lot of what I was calling DFS shaves when I finished with the splash felt - closer to BBS an hour later. All I am saying is if you are going for BBS and buffing each area unit it is smooth as glass - then I think you should back off a bit on that and concentrate on using a good soap along with a good blade/razor combo and while doing that learn your technique and which direction your beard grows and I bet before you know it you will find that your are happier with your shaves than you thought you were.

    I hope this make sense.
     
  10. Joe

    Joe Member

    Bill, Thanks for that advice. A few people gave me that advice. I am a night shaver, and if I don't get it smooth, I'd go to work looking like a bum every day. Honestly, if the shave was ok, I'd leave it at that, but it seems like I have half a shave after three passes. Last night, I did only three passes, WTG, ATG then XTG like you said, but with each pass, more so the last one, I was buffing like crazy. Doesn't affect my face, I don't get redness or irritation from it, and with a mach 3, I have to also do a million passes to get a smooth shave. All I know is I didn't bleed, so maybe I will try just three passes then see how it feels an hour later. I'll be experimenting with blades but keeping all the other variables the same.
     
  11. SharpSpine

    SharpSpine Well-Known Member

    Only a few more shaves will tell for sure, but if your bad shaves were truly blade dependent & the Voskhods keep working for you then it should be easy to get your passes down to a number you can keep track of on one hand. I have 2 Techs & use neither one because they are too mild for me & require "a million" passes to get a good result. With a blade that doesn't slice you up you should then be able to try a more efficient razor. Granted, blades can behave differently in different razors so you will still need to be careful. Also, I agree with the previous advice of not changing to many things so it may be some time before you reach this step. I just wanted to reiterate & encourage you that once the shave results smooth out you should be able to tweak your hardware in such a way to get a more efficient shave which requires fewer passes.

    Congrats, have a great vacation, & we'll look forward to hearing back from you soon.
     
  12. lradke

    lradke and doggone it, people like me

    This is most likely because as hair gets wet it gets longer. I have never thought of it with regards to facial hair, but the thoery should be the same. :)

    I too only ever wanted a BBS, now I cant be bothered, plus some areas of my neck cant handle a true ATG pass.
     
  13. tomnat

    tomnat accepting applications

    Yep, I love 'em

    Congrats on receiving a blood free (mostly) shave. You are one step closer to getting that great shave from a DE. Keep it up and way to hang in there.
     
  14. Joe

    Joe Member

    Only one problem, when I am done with my custom mach 3 handle, it might be hard to not use that! LOL

    I am making something very similar to this. Almost identical as a matter of fact, just the trim pieces above and blow the antler are slightly different style

    http://www.doubleecreations.com/images/Razors/Razor0178_3.jpg
     
  15. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    Joe,

    You may find out that when you shave with the Mach3 at night, then you might use a DE one pass in the morning and enjoy both.
    Some people shave twice a day, but with fewer passes per shave to reduce the wear and tear on the skin.

    I personally think that they really do it because they just want to shave more for the enjoyment! ;)
     
    Joe likes this.

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