November 16, 2015
No Variation NoVember
This No Variation month is perfect for me to learn skills with new-to-me equipment.
Razor: Mongoose B3
Blades: Feather Artist Club Professional (3)
Soap: Saponificio Varesino Manna
Brush: Omega 31025 Scarlatti Boar
AS: Changes at will. Today: Myrsol Blue
Trying to return to work today after my accident, as well as getting back to my regular weekday shaving routine. If I can keep it up, I think these last two weeks of the month will still provide me with enough focused learning on the Mongoose.
Two-day growth, three-pass shave. (WTG,XTG,ATG) Face-lather.
View attachment 82962
I’m determined to work with this beast and not against it. I’m getting used to its unusual (for me) weight and length. By the end of the month I’d like to get locked into a comfortable zone with it and experience all it can do.
To get there, I’m making a very conscious effort this week to find the optimal shaving angle. Today I stayed flush with the angled part of the head (or 'cap slant') on all strokes. This resulted with very efficient passes regarding whisker reduction. But by forcing myself to not perform repeat strokes and touch ups, I did not get the BBS ‘dolphin skin’ of previous shaves. My stroke coverage was fine, I did not miss spots, but apparently the last pass of ATG was not enough to wipe out all signs of whiskers as it has in the past.
My only assumptions can be is that I got BBS in earlier shaves only because of repeat strokes and touch ups - therefor I’m suspecting that the optimum shave angle will require me to drop the handle down a few degrees. I’ll try this tomorrow.
I have also noticed that this razor / blade combo is not as forgiving as all the dozens of DEs and SEs I’ve used. A slight misangled approach and it was quick to cut me without warning. This happened around my mustache / goatee. This is not a complaint, just a realization that this is a very sharp combo that requires solid, consistent technique - and I welcome the challenge.
Cheers!
RT
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