What did we learn from our last shaves?

Sometimes those are the best shaves!

 

I agree with your assessment completely. Perhaps I should have used the more accurate term "cottage industry" instead of "artisan". Some artisans are cottage industry soapmakers, but not all cottage industry soapmakers are artisans. The artful entrepreneurs, as you noted, will claim to be artisans anyway, thus reducing "artisan" to a sales word, much like "natural", "organic", "green", etc. I am not sure if those soapmakers with iffy shaving soaps are deliberately being sloppy or careless. I don't believe so. It could be that they don't realize that simply using a shaving soap formula from the Internet does not automatically result in a serviceable product. That does not excuse the misuse of the title "artisan".

In all fairness, the problem is not limited to smaller operations. Herban Cowboy and NYR Men (Neil's Yard Remedies) also make otherwise stellar shaving soaps with the same Achilles heel. That this would be allowed to happen with a larger business is rather puzzling. Not to worry, checking online review can point us toward known-good soaps.

 

The journey and arriving at the destination can both be very important. IMHO, those are the best and most rewarding journeys. Such travels continue to be beneficial long after one arrives at the destination and the journey has ended.

 

And sometimes...not learning anything is just "not learning anything"

 

That atg causes irritation and not necessarily a closer shave.

 

I don't ever do true ATG, for the reasons you list.

 

But if you learned that sometimes not learning is simply not learning, then at least you learned something!

 

Gentlemen, from my last shave...

I learned that I need not be off-put by generic labels. The blades are pretty good.

 

That Dr. Jon's soap is thirsty and provides a very good shave and post shave moisturization.

 

That the R41 might not work very well for me as a daily razor. Two days in a row where the shave did not feel nearly as close as usual. I actually could have used 3 full passes instead of the usual 2, but feared some irritation so I went with CCS. Looking back at my log (yes, I'm that OCD, at least for my first year) I noticed that I had at least a day and a half of growth for all of my other R4 shaves. I'll skip tomorrow and see how Wednesday goes, then I'll switch back to the Fatboy for a while for comparison.

 

Second shave without any further shaving related knowledge acquired.
I got dumber...more dumb?....dumberer in 2015.

 

It's definitely dumberer...definitely.

 

I learned that I'm getting more comfortable with my straight. Felt almost natural to pick it up this time.

 

So you learned it's possible to shave twice without learning anything. At least you learned that!

 

Gentlemen, from my last shave...

I learned that blade sharpness is yet another factor that must be worked into learning a new razor. I can't make a blade sharper by using more pressure.

 

I've learned the spike point one a couple times. I loved it, but when you aren't watching it gets you

 

Some razors MORE so than others, despite all having a spike point. Larger, longer blades tend to be more problematic for me sometimes.

 

That sounds like a good way to remove a layer of dermis!

 

That there are places to be frugal ( make yor own pre shave oil, bay rum, and tend skin) which is very creative and fun, however being frugal by stretching out the life of your razor blade is counter productive. My feathers have maybe 2-3 shaves before they have to go...otherwise Tuggy McTugerson...ouch.

 

Or a bad way to remove dermis...but who's counting!