Is your razor the Chatsworth Barley? I have one, but for some reason, I don't use it too much. It is a nice looking razor, but it is in the back of the drawer and doesn't come out. I'll have to break it out in November.
Saturday October 21 - high noon shave down Delta Echo Gillette SuperAdjustable on 4 / Topaz Platinum (2) Semogue Owners Club cherrywood boar brush My Red Green Duct Tape Special frankensoap Alum and Clubman VIBR Well I managed not to mess up the lather from the frankensoap with the SOC today. I am calling that a win. I think both these items have made the cut for No Variation November -- the SOC because I need to do a lot more work with it to learn how to use it consistently and/or to finish breaking it in, and the frankensoap because (a) it's good, and (b) I have about a pound of it to use up. I only had time for a very quick one-pass shave today, but the SuperAdjustable still got me into DFS territory. The alum was silent and the VIBR only gave a mild warming burn. Tomorrow I will move on to my Delta Echo refurbished Fatboy for a couple days, then finish the month with the Slim. I will then pick one for No Variation November but it will be a tough choice. I may end up settling for a "Minor Variation" November and use each one for a ten-day stretch...
Razor: Gillette 1930's OC Ball End Blade: Personna Tungsten 74 (12) Brush: Elite Razor Gold Laced Black Onyx w/Tuxedo Soap: B&M Latha Oceana A/S: Myrsol Aqua Balsamic An excellent week of shaving with these products. Either I got a BBS or very near BBS every day.
Wade has a Black Onyx handle from Elite with a Envy White knot that he enjoys a lot. Elite makes some nice handles.
OCtober 21st Gillette NEW LC w Polsilver (1) Prohibition Style SS 30DC LE Thayers Pinaud Clubman Shaved this evening, which is out of the norm for me. My wife is playing with the local Symphony of the Kootenays tonight, and the kids and I are going to watch/support her. Loaded a Polsilver as I realize it had been a few months since I used one and used the Prohibition Style again after I messed up the lather with it yesterday. Odd shave tonight. I got the lather much more functional tonight thanks to the tuxedo and a longer load time. Really enjoyed the light citrus scent of the soap. Had 3 what I thought were routine passes and then started counting up the weepers- 1..2..3..4. Whaaaat? No idea how or why. Very out of the norm. Splashed on some Clubman and wow did it burn as well. Needed the styptic on 2 of them. I wonder if I rushed too much in order to be ready. Have a great night all!
Isn't that the truth? Maybe just consider it suffering for your art? I think your razor decided you were starting to take it for granted and made you pay for it today. The other possibility is that the posts are thin enough to allow the blade some wiggle room in its placement and it ended up a bit crooked today, giving your shave a bit of a slicing action. One of my razors was like that and the results could be painfully messy.
Great picture, Jason. I've had one or two of those shaves recently as well. Tomorrow is a new day and a new shave.
OCtober!!! October 21 Razor - '46-'47 Gillette Aristocrat Blade - (1) Pre-shave - Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap Soap - Arko Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip Post - Alum So how ARE you fixed for blades? Gillette Blue Blades, that is. Well, thanks to @BearCWY I'm quite well fixed for them. He requested that I try a shave or two with the original Gillette Blue Blades, all carbon of course, and sent me a pack with several in it. He even added some oil to the blades to keep them nice and rust free. I've gotten these NOS blades before with razor purchases and never tried any of the them, mostly because they showed signs of rust and I've read too many bad reviews of people trying it. Like that would normally stop me, right? Well, by request, I'm giving them a go. My choice of gear is based on history a bit. The old Blue Blades were around back in the 1940's so my Aristocrat seems a perfect fit. It's also an excellent razor that should provide no issues in technique. For the soap it's Arko (on top of pre-shave soap) for its history and the fact that there is zero risk of making a bad lather. And the brush - my Wolf Whiskers Silvertip. Gotta have a natural badger to match up with the history as well. As far as my stunt/shenanigan shaves to this one seems pretty tame. However, carbon blades can be tricky. Especially old ones that have had plenty of time to oxidize and generally feel the effect of time. I considered stropping the blade first but decided against it. It looks good under examination in a bright light. Edge looks nice and shiny with no visible rust or pitting. We'll give it a go without any extra help from the strop. After all, what's the worst that could happen? The Wolf felt great for a change up from the synthetic rotation. It holds the hot water well from the soak so the lather goes on nice and warm. Got the typical great Arko lather and got ready to find out what this blade will do. The first stroke or two wasn't bad. I was pleasantly surprised. A bit rough feeling but not nearly as bad as some I've used. As I got down my right cheek and onto my neck the tugging and roughness seemed to increase a bit. My imagination or something else? Whatever it was it kept getting more and more obvious as I moved to the left side. By the time I finished the first pass I was about 2 seconds from throwing in the towel. Especially since it didn't seem like it had done much to reduce my beard by feel. But, I hate to throw in the towel so on to the second, XTG pass. Better on this pass which told me it had done something with reduction. Still rough but not to the point of driving me off the blade. I finished the second pass including some sliding on the neck for touch up and called it good. Alum was surprisingly quiet but I could feel a bit of irritation sting overall. Still, the result ended up as a near-DFS. I shouldn't have to reshave for work tomorrow morning, though I'm sure my beard will be more obvious by the end of the day. First day results - better than I could hope for probably and certainly not as bad as I was ready for. Carbon blades are usually a bit on the noisy side and can be a bit tuggy. If this blade is essentially the same as when it was new I can see why everyone was so excited when stainless blades came out. But, I can also see how it could be adjusted to and be a better and quicker shave than other options. I think I'll give it a go again tomorrow night after checking the blade tomorrow. I dipped it in 91% alcohol and it's drying in front of my desk fan to stave off rust.
