March 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

March 4 (Saturday) - fingertip touch focus

Rockwell 6s on plate #3 / IP (4)
B+B Omega Essential Boar
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap )
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Aftershave

I accidentally soaked the Omega boar brush for much much longer than my usual couple minutes; it was a lot softer and more flexible than normal. I must try soaking the Kent boar brush for 5 to 10 minutes next time I use it and see how that affects its performance.

I tried for extra-light pressure on the Rockwell by holding it at the tip of the handle. This proved more difficult than with the Schick Krona or even the Fatip Grande because of the Rockwell's much greater weight. However I did the best I could and managed to shave while putting no pressure on the razor. Again, I managed an extra ATG pass at the end without any of the razorburn I would normally incur with that maneuver.

I had thought I had mastered shaving with light pressure but am finding there is a whole extra level of "light to no pressure" that I have never previouly attained. I think another few days of fingertip holds with different razors and I will be able to return to shaving with a more comfortable grip while retaining the feel of superlight pressure.

 

March Madness & Spring Cleaning!!

March 4

Razor - CJB Greager
Blade - (2)
Soap - Soap Commander Courage
Brush - Semogue 620
Post - Cold compress, Alum

Well, another night of blood on the steel. This razor is not performing the way I would like and I don't think it's me. But, before I can decide that I'll need to take it through some Rule shaves to figure it out. I switched to the Soap Commander tonight as I am still working on comparing soaps and, while the damage was lighter than last night, I still managed to get a couple of nice bloody spots. This time around the goatee line on my right jaw and under the chin. The soap was very slick and nice so I can't really believe that's the problem. I'm thinking it's caused by the finish on the blade creating some drag and stick.

On the plus side I did complete two full passes before stopping and grabbing the Fatip to touch it up to a DFS. It was close but had a few spots on the neck. Part of that was me going lightly around last night's cuts. I think I'll back off to a New LC for the next few shaves to let my face heal up a bit then come back with a Rule setup for a few days with the Greager to try and figure out what the actual issue is. I didn't see this kind of activity for March but hey.....it's driving me mad figuring it out so that counts, right?

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

 

Dude! What is up with that razor? It shouldn't be like this for you.

 

You are so headed for the dark side.

 

Today's blade shootout was between the Rapira Swedish Supersteel and the Ladas Super Stainless. Both blades were used in my Gillette Slim set on 6. I shaved one side of the face with the Rapira, the other with the Ladas. Both got 3 passes with no cleanup for equal comparison: one North/South, one out/in, one South/North. Winner got the head shave.

The Rapira went first. The Rapira Platinum Lux lost handily to the Sputnik Teflon last night. Tonight's Rapira came out on better. It was a smoother shave then the Platinum Lux, but did not top the performance of the Sputnik for me. The Ladas seemed the less sharp of the two tonight, but not so much so that I would not use it. The Rapira side was my usual DFS. The Ladas side made it there but the alum gave me a little warmth on that side while it acted like it didn't know the Rapira had been there. It was still very serviceable and no one would notice but me. With a little cleanup I feel certain that I would have reached my usual with it as well.

Moving on this far:
Sputnik Teflon
Rapira Swedish Supersteel

Out for the month:
Rapira Platinum Lux
Ladas Super Stainless

TOBS Sandalwood had lathering duties with the RazoRock Plissoft Big Bruce. Aftercare was provided by witch hazel, Osage Rub and Stirling Sandalwood Balm.


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Are you taking into account dominant hand and loss of cross body angle control?

 

I'll tell you, I've never felt like it has worked quite right. The original CJB was as easy to use as the Feather SS. Even though it was a lesser quality overall the shave characteristics were fine. The Greager just seems different. Having said that I did take a polishing cloth to it after the shave tonight and it seems like that may have improved it just from the look of it. But the feel before and after, to my touch anyway, really isn't noticeably different. My plan of attack to try and diagnose the problem will be to go to Arko for the consistent lather and give it a couple of tries with the Feather Pro. If it's still a problem I'll switch to the Kai Original and see if it's a blade issue.

I can't believe it's an issue with the difference in the lip between the SS and the Greager. But, when I get the Kai Captain aboard I'll be able to compare a higher quality DX type razor to the SS and see.

 

Maybe center of mass is at a different point in space, and it's throwing off your Kung fu?

 

Possible. Something I hadn't considered.

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Mark, you've been cranking out gorgeous pics lately! What's your basic equipment/software setup? It's really good, like commercial photography good.

 

I am trying to be careful to do so and I am taking my time to pay attention to technique. I am comfortable enough with my shaves now that I can usually get a fairly even shave all around. I tend to shave the right side with the right hand and the left side with the left hand. The Shavette focus got me in that habit and helped me to develop better control with my non-dominant hand. I am making sure to mimic grip and angle on each side and to keep light pressure and ride the cap. I realize that this is a largely unscientific shootout based more on initial impression than anything. I have an odd conglomeration of blade samples and want to whittle the pile down and settle on a few favorites. At the end some will get PIF'd. My top four or five will end up in a far more detailed focus, with plans to try each with a series of razors - my Slim, my Slant, my Tech and my Magic Shavette - to see how they perform over a series of days and with varied shaving tools. I can and would use any of the blades so far. None have been stinkers. Yet. The difference between the two today was fairly minimal.

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By golly I think I'm onto something. Based on your suggestion I took both the Greager and SS and compared them closely on my grip. The Greager is a bit shorter so my first thought was I was perhaps affecting balance by the thumb position under the notch and the extra closeness of my fingers on top. With the round SS grip it's a slightly looser feel to the grip. But then I noticed something when I flipped them over to look down the blade. The Greager blade holder is not precise. With the Feather, the blade slot is perfectly aligned and, without a blade, there is no visible gap between the sides. With the Greager, it's almost like there's a slight overbite on the fixed side. Very slight but it's there.

AND....here's the real discovery from that view...it's like the blade holder bends away slightly toward the tip on the fixed side. You can see a slight gap between the sides as it approaches the tip...and the overall visual affect is a slight curve. Add the blade.....and the gap is clearly visible. And this is after cleaning the razor thoroughly to make sure it's all metal on metal like it's supposed to be. I feel like I'm looking at a Russian knock of.....instead of a Korean one. The engineering is off like you'd expect from a Soviet design.

The CJB is rather infamous for a wide range of quality control and most reputable sellers of them will inspect them prior to shipment and not send defective ones. This is such a slight problem, however, that it may have escaped notice if it was indeed checked. Something tells me tolerances in the factory aren't exactly perfect. I'm betting I could buy another one and it would be perfect, while three razors later I might find even a slightly different issue.

If that is indeed what's going on that would explain the random bloodletting. As I'm working angle, especially in XTG/ATG passes around my chin/jawline I can't see or account for the slight bend and offset of the blade. Just a few microns difference and I'm slicing and dicing.

 

On your last sentence, I think it's important we point something out to newer converts. We are discussing the differences between a 94 rated blade and a 91 rated blade. It's really more about the razor and the techniques working together.

 

Makes a little more sense now. Unseen Mayhem rising up!

 

Yep. I've not yet found a blade that I can't use or get a good shave with if I take the time to understand it. The differences are slight, and a lot of it is YMMV. I don't like Derby blades in a DE. But they work quite well in my Shavettes. I like Feathers better with a milder razor, like my Tech or Merkur. I like milder blades paired with a more aggressive razor. Some of it is cost/value as well. I want to find blades that give me a close, comfortable shave at the best value in relationship to performance.

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Well, as always - Technique Trumps Tools.......unless the tool is defective. I'm not willing to call this Greager totally defective......but quirky would fit and that means technique has to adapt to the quirks! Now I know what I'm working with.

 

Feather in a FB on setting:Neal is actually pretty sweet. Risky too. These day I feel like mild razors would irritate my face because my technique has drifted toward almost all open blade stuff. Like @Screwtape wrote earlier, there are different levels of concentration and control. Mild razors would confound all my finer techniques, especially pressure. Might actually be more work for me than a shavette at this point. Full circle in a sense.

 

I understand what you are saying. I keep considering selling my Merkur 34c, not because it is a bad razor but because I now find it too mild. I have been steadily walking up on my Slim. I was at a 4 on it for a while. Moved up to 6 and got a more efficient shave. And I still prefer Shavettes over the rest because I like having to zero in and really focus.

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I like knives and have some really nice custom ones. Some straight razors are absolute masterpieces of the cutler's art and I would like to own them just for that reason. However I simply cannot see myself ever getting into that whole honing / stropping time sink that safety razors got men away from. So shavettes possibly; SRs no.

Actually I have a Magic shavette I got in an eBay batch lot once, along with some Feather guarded shavette blades. I may consider joining in MayHem with them. (I also have two or three vintage SRs I accumulated somehow, but that's a different issue.)

 

My Magic Shavette is one of my favorite shaving tools.

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