You have a great setup- Razor, brush, blades and Arko!!!- all perfect for a month long technique drill. The issue you describe on the left side is common and ordinary. Almost everyone loses the proper angle when working across the body. Your solution is correct, you most find a grip that allows you to maintain the proper angle of attack. The other solution is learn to shave left handed on the left side. I severely burned my right hand (dominant hand) in late February. It forced me to complete my February and do my March 30 Day rule left handed, and the uneven shave issue you mention transferred to the right side of my face. I now use the right hand to shave the mustache, chin and right side- using my left hand to shave the left cheek and jaw. The injury ended up being a positive thing for me, as the injuries healed satisfactorily, and I learned all kinds of new skills left handed....

My $.02, ymmv, my advice may be worth what you paid for it!

I pray that the hand of God protects you and yours. Life is a journey, keep your head up and your heart open.

1 June 2015

30 Day Rule with OC Cadet!

Aka

"The Battle of Williams"



This will be a strict 30 Day Rule using the following elements:
Cadet OC Three Piece
Derby Extra
Omega 48 Professional
Williams Mug Shaving Soap
​

The following items (AS, Cologne Water, and tonic) are not covered in the guidelines, but were chosen to complete today's shave. It was no accident I chose TSD ISZ AS Splash today. I lack confidence in my OC skills, and seeing some of the other guys do SR and OC inspired me to try a month with an aggressive OC. The Williams is all the joint fault of @NCoxSTL and @wristwatchb . I ran my mouth last month about a 30 Day rule on Williams, and this Samurai ain't gonna let anybody down. And why not use Derby? I had exactly ten blades, I will be tossing each blade after day three. I don't want the blade to vary too much as I learn the technique on OC. And for the record, I cold water shave all of the time, @Jayaruh got me on that train early in my learning process. I won't ever use warm water again, I just don't see the need.



I know I wrote that I was gonna do test lathers, but the damp 48 loaded like a champ on the puck and I wet down my beard and just went for some 2 pass goodness! The first lather was a little thin, so I loaded the brush a bit heavier and pass two was better lather. The Derby is not the smoothest blade out there, but it worked out in the aggressive Cadet. I paid close attention to angle of attack, precision overlapped strokes and riding the razor cap. Pass one (WTG) actually left me shockingly smooth. I went for pass two (XTG - mostly cleanup) and was crazy smooth, albeit with a few tiny weepers near the corners of the mouth. I have no idea why, but the alum felt mostly good everywhere else and staunched the tiny bleeders instantly. Cooled everything down ISZ style, followed by a liberal splash of Florida Water and some Clubman on the scalp. I felt like it was a pretty darn good day one. Williams may not be that bad after all.

Have a Great Tuesday!!

​

Be careful and don't be deceived. Williams is a product of the nether regions. It will suck you in with a decent lather and then fail the next time. And the stench. That will drive you insane day.......by day........by day. Enjoy your month!

World Tournament of Blades - Russia vs. the World!!
June 1, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Vie-Long 12705 Horse
Soap - Tabac
Razor - '46 Aristocrat
Blade - (1)
Post - Alum, The Veg

Welcome Comrades to the first annual World Tournament of Blades!!! Russia takes on the world for double edge blade supremacy! As with all great tournaments let us begin with the singing of glorious national anthem!

​

And on to the tournament!! The first bracket - the number one seeded and most glorious Voskhod!! This Teflon coated engineering marvel goes against another Russian great - The Rapira Swedish Supersteel. Up today to start us off is the Voskhod.

I chose the Vie-Long 12705 for the brush for this matchup along with Tabac soap. The brush and soap did not disappoint. Tabac is a recent addition to my den and a permanent one. Great lather, great scent and the soft yet scritchy feel of the 12705 with its 35% mane to 65% tail hair is perfect. The Voskhod went two passes to produce a very nice DFS. The blade is sharp...among the sharpest. I graded that a 1. It is so smooth in the Aristocrat it has to have a 1 there and I felt no irritation during the shave and alum was very quiet for a 1. The result? DFS for a 2. That is a total of 5 for the mighty Voskhod! Tomorrow the Swedish has its turn to see who advances to the Elite Eight! Hope everyone's June is off to a great start! And the games continue!!!

I can't believe that I was actually considering that very thing just last week - the left-hand solution! I even tried it for a couple strokes. I may give that a serious try on the front end of this 30 days.

I'm getting a very clean shave on the right side of my face, but not perfect. So I think that there's a minor aspect of contour as well. Which hopefully can be cured by more practice and better technique.

I mean I'm not in this to chase a baby all the time (ok, maybe a toddler!) but I may just try the left hand and see how it goes.

Thanks for the input (and the $02!). Glad to hear the burn healed!
Cheers!
- RT

I gave my Modern Williams to the neighborhood kids. They use it now to play street hockey.

When I struggled with cross shaving the left side of my face with my right hand, I focused on turning my head so the left side of face faced the mirror completely. I could then see the angle of attack much better. Maybe that helps. Good luck.

And as a bonus...the kids have nary a mosquito bite!

Great advice! I may try that first actually. (Always looking for the easier solution!)

LOL!

I agree - this month you, me, Adam (@Drygulch) are going to make gigantic leaps in our straight shaving. Really looking forward to hearing about your progress.
Cheers,
Eric

Newbie jargon question: what's meant by "riding the razor cap"?

Thanks!

That term means to keep the cap of the razor in contact with your skin. The insures a low angle of attack, like 15-25 degrees, forcing the blade to slice the hair shafts while avoiding the unnecessary scraping of a higher (>30 degree) angle. It raises the razor handle more parallel to the floor than the walls.

Got it. Good phrase and good technique point.

Today was day two with the Derby Extra. Usual Body shop Maca Root Cream, 1951 Canadain Fat Tech, and prep. I ended up with a reasonable DFS shave, with some roughness at the neck. So far, I am not as enamored with this blade, compared to the Astra SP, for roughly the same cost.... And so the quest for my top blades continues. Let's see what I get for longevity with this blade....

Cold water shave focus day 2:

Homemade PS Oil
Vie-long Horsehair Brush
Latha SS
'48 Gillette Milord
Stirling Unscented PSB
Latha Post Shave

A second day using cold water shave, and it seems to be really working well. Still a but odd feeling the cold razor on my skin, but u am getting good shaves and less irritation. The Latha was great providing good protection and slickness. It was a good start to the day.

6/02/15 - A Month Of Proraso!!

Proraso Green Soap
Semogue Italian Barber LE
Gillette New Improved
Pol-Silver Blade (4)
Proraso Green AS

Added another 1/4 tsp of water and got a much better lather. 3/4 tsp in all with the boar.

This razor performs great. Easy and smooth.

06/02/2015
Razor – Gillette New LC with Triad SS Helix
Blade – Feather (1)
Brush – Olive Wood with TGN Finest Fan
Lather – TSD Yin Yan
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol F/Extra



A much better shave this morning. The drugs for my back helped with the worst of the pain compared to the last several days. Accordingly, I was able to better concentrate on the on my technique with the razor. Paying attention to the angle, I went with a 3 pass shave put altered it just below my chin to go XTG in the opposite direction instead of ATG. Still had some residual irritation left from yesterday. Not near a BBS result but more than acceptable. The last couple of shaves have been humbling since my previous results were much better. Finished off with the shave with some Myrsol F/Extra and I am ready for the day.

Day#2 of 6; 30-Days of June
My first day back at it after a three-day layoff from shaving…
Initial shave this week with the USA-made Case 'Red Imp' #133 (1955-1962)—historically, well-made American razors that remain popular with SR shavers. This particular 6/8" wide blade model is fairly unique in that the majority of the Imps found in the wild have the standard 5/8" blade width. This Imp also has a true spike point—a sharp corner that demands your attention when shaving.
The Shave: A three-pass shave taking on 3-day growth. A very audible shave as the big full-hollow blade sings out noisily throughout the whisker-removal process. I was mindful of the Imp's killer point throughout the tonsorial work and appreciated being able to trim close around my facial hair (mustache and soul patch). No blood shed—although I nearly nicked myself twice wielding this big blade. This should be an interesting 5 days with this beautiful razor. Stropped: Preshave—strop 40 on linen; 65 on horsehide. Post-shave—20 more on horsehide to dry the edge.