Jim, Interesting... That razor doesn't really make too much noise on my face, so you must have a really coarse beard. Maybe hollow ground blades are going to always be less than ideal for you. Hopefully the wedges will perform better for you. Would it be possible for you to shave twice a day? I'm wondering if shaving in the morning with the DE, then in the evening with the straight will help your trial? Since you indicated, that you could shave after an initial reduction pass by DE, maybe the less amount of stubble at night will allow you to use the straights and try them out. If you're able to do this, and the shaves are working out after the first week, then I'd try one of the wedges after a full day between shaves.
Shave 3 and I wish I could say it was better. Just about the same. I needed to do one with the grain then on to this razor. This razor was definitly not as sharp as the other one and I spent some good time on the strop with it. Just for fun I took this photo of my beard- And after
That "after" pic looks pretty smooth to me, Jim. Crazy to see the different growth pattern in the "before" pic, on even such a small area of the face. Kinda cool...
Jim, Sorry to hear that it's still going rough. On a positive note, you (we) now know to get razors only from established honemeisters, as you absolutely need the keenest of edges. The macro photos were stunning & startling all at once. For everyone-- I will be doing some temporary duties away from my usual station and home. So, you may not see me active around here as much. However, I will be checking e-mails (as much as possible), so fire away through the forum's e-mail feature. My wife is also going to help keep the shipment of SER trials going while I'm out & about. Will keep all posted.
Chris- I hope you are OK with your 'temporary duties' Stay safe! The Macro also is interesting in how much plumper/hydrated the skin looks after shaving and AS splash and balm.
Those are the little live worms you feed to tropical fish. I used to keep a tub of them in the fridge. When you dump some into your tank they burrow into the sand and gravel and kind of stick up.
ok.. I'm hooked.. I would like to get into this to give it a try whenever I can get into the rotation. I've been at Merkum Futur for about 1 week now.. and today had the nerve to try the 3rd pass ATG, but only on the cheeks.. still a bit aprehensive about going by the throat, but I've been rubbing my cheeks all day.
I wanted to give a little update on the SER trial pass that Chris has so kindly included me in. Unfortunately I could not get a real good shave with the straights by themselves, if I used my DE for a first pass or my feather straight on my first pass and then switched,then I got some of the best shaves in my life with them. Failure? no way! I learned a lot, got to shave with some great blades twice as old as me and learned how messed up the Postal system is! I now know that straights are just "not for me". I want to extend my thanks and admiration to Chris for this project and his service!
Jim, you have a good attitude about it. Shaving with a straight has forced me to be more careful and observant about the angle of the blade and growth patterns of my beard than I was before. Even if the straight wasn't your thing, using one will help you get better DE shaves, too.
OK -- time to get this trial back up to speed... I have completed maintenance on the kits, and will be shipping them out to Sparky5693 & Baloosh as soon as I've got their addresses. I hope to get them out on Monday with 7-10 day receipt after shipping.
