Shave of the day

[garethm]

And best not to discuss it with friends and workmates

or wives...

 

[Pjotr]

I know it's tempting and I'm sure most have done it but it might be good just to stick to two passes. I really don't bother with a third anymore. Maybe a bit of ATG in areas I know can handle it, but anything in the neck area has to be approached with extreme caution.

 

[gthomas04]

but anything in the neck area has to be approached with extreme caution.

Ah the beauty of the Thomas Method. You have gotten rid of all the whiskers and are cleaning up on a second pass with a razor you feel you can be much firmer with.

 

[Mark1966]

@eggbert

Mate you survived! That really is the first goal of the first shave.

Drubbs advice is good but the important thing is that it will come.

I'm about 2 years in now with DE. I've been away from Wed - Fri and just took my cart.

This morning it was such a joy to get back to my Fatboy and with two quick passes (I had to go out) I was done and at least a DFS. It takes a little while but once settled it is just so easy.

I still make mistakes every now and again - especially when experimenting - but overall it is just SOOOOOOO good.

 

[pablo_h]

Yeah, takes a while to find i) your groove, ii) Prefered products that seem to just suit you better and make the whole think easier.


I'm still using the gillette NEW and israeli SP+ blade I mentioned before, as I'm only shaving every second day (so the NEW is the best razor to use for me with a two day growth, and the blade still has life in it). I changed everything else though.
Semogue SOC brush (edit: in between the last post I made - on 05/02/12 - and now, I used the same razor + blade, but cella soap and the simpson commodore badger brush)
Eshave lavender soap
GFT Limes skin food lotion
TOBS victorian Limes 74 cologne

 

[eggbert]

cella soap

Seems a shame that the almond smell turns my stomach so much I will never be able to try those italian soft soaps everyone here raves on about.

 

[Drubbing]

Seems a shame that the almond smell turns my stomach so much I will never be able to try those italian soft soaps everyone here raves on about.

I felt the same way til I tried it. Many other almond scents are too sickly sweet. If you ever feel the urge to try it, just leave the lid off a while and it will lose a lot of scent.

 

[pablo_h]

I hate the scent too. But after a while I either got used to it or it lost some strength.
It's still not my favourite scent, after using it I normally use royal bay rhum aftershave lotion,. But that's a clovey strong smell that some others hate anyway.

I had totally forgotten about the eshave lavender soap I had. I mainly use tabac or MWF, but not really into the tabac scent in summer months, as that soap scent will be on you all day, especially if it's hot and I'm sweating. MWF I like, but don't really want to use the same soap every day. Proraso I just don't like, it doesn't give me a good shave, nearly always get cut when using it. So I've been mainly using cella as a summer soap when not using MWF.

 

[Pjotr]

Seems a shame that the almond smell turns my stomach so much I will never be able to try those italian soft soaps everyone here raves on about.

It's not my favorite scent either. You do get used to it though. I don't understand why Italians shove almonds in everything. If the almond scent in Cella makes your stomach turn from what I've heard P160 will make you projectile vomit on the spot.

There are plenty of other soaps.

 

[gthomas04]

Wild radical move

I know I know I am just the sort who likes to live on the edge.

Cella
Big chinese badger
Indian Wilkinson blade
Gillette Red Tip DE

2 passes not bad at all - The Red tip not as good as the Slim but I have a bunch of different razors to try yet and thought I better start.

 

[eggbert]

Another day, another nick. Realised I was adding pressure to the razor to do XTG a second too late. Better shave generally than yesterday, but my neck could definitely have been done better.

Same gear as yesterday, with the exception of the loo roll. I think i like the proraso, but was expecting a vicks vaporub level of menthol hit that just isn't there. Maybe thats a hint that the new sandalwood proraso won't be too strong in smell either?

I quite badly nicked my cheek with a cart shaver (I think) a few years ago now, the scar had long since gone, but the last couple of days with the DE razor seem to have brought the scar back to the skin surface. I know that doesn't sound possible, but it was the best way to explain. Its a red mark around the size of my smallest fingernail.

I know most of you use a blade more than twice, but I am thinking of trying something different for my next shave. If I am cutting myself with the Derby's I will take your advice and leave the Feathers until much later in my learning experience.

 

[Mark1966]

It's not my favorite scent either. You do get used to it though. I don't understand why Italians shove almonds in everything. If the almond scent in Cella makes your stomach turn from what I've heard P160 will make you projectile vomit on the spot.

There are plenty of other soaps.

What, the almond scent is the best smell in the world, doesn't it remind you of being in your mother's arms as a baby with her breath faintly reminiscent of the amaretti biscotti she just ate before picking you up to be fed? How about uncle Frank's wedding cake, that wonderful day when you were given your first sip of red wine? Maybe your first date when you took the love of your life to the top of that hill in Tuscany and sipped Amaretto liqueur together?

There may also be other soaps but NONE come within a bulls roar of these soft Italian beauties. If you cannot bring yourself to try them I would suggest that you give up on DE and go back to canned goo and carts, life is not the same without them.

Mark(co)

PS If you want to know about my method for lathering these wonderful, wonderful soaps PM me for my 127 page instruction manual.

 

[Pjotr]

That's outstanding Mark(co). A lot better than the barely concealed promotional material you generally copy from the pages of Italianbarber.com.

 

[Pjotr]

Today's edition:

Little travel brush with TGN Finest. Really starting to like this brush.

Speick stick. Sorry Mark(co) but German soaps kick arse.

Bullet tip with third use GEM PTFE blade. ABC with a DE blade (obviously). Can't remember which one. The usual result.

 

[Mark1966]

that's outstanding mark(co). A lot better than the barely concealed promotional material you generally copy from the pages of italianbarber.com.

ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SmallYetDeadly]

Cella...

The scent doesn't do anything for me, I hate marzipan which is exactly what the smell reminds me of. Almond essence must be dirt cheap in Italy.

My solution. Bang that puppy into a nice flatish bowl with no lid. A week or so and I have a very lightly scented Italian harder soap. A few drops of water on top as I jump in the shower and it's ready to get beaten up when I am ready to shave. It's very good soap.

Derby haters...I pity the foo's Cutting yourself with a Derby must take some effort. Pressure and angle need some serious attention Eggy. Cut a decent chunk out of your face with a cart...I hope you don't use powertools too often mate

Today's Shave
Cella
Smoggie 830
Merkur 34C
Permasharp Super
Dickenson's WH
Stella and Marco ASB (Great stuff IMO)

 

[Monsta_AU]

Derby blade (no one seems to like these, so thought I might as well learn with them and use better ones then on)

I hated Derby's early on with my DE86 - it isn't a nice blade in that handle for some reason. But put it in a Slim and I really enjoy the shave. Nothing stellar but a dependable, reliable shave that is closer than a Red. Felt smooth too.

I know it's tempting and I'm sure most have done it but it might be good just to stick to two passes. I really don't bother with a third anymore. Maybe a bit of ATG in areas I know can handle it, but anything in the neck area has to be approached with extreme caution.

+1. I only ever do WTG and a 45 degree WTG/XTG pass now. Even proper XTG will irritate me after a while.

Yeah, takes a while to find i) your groove, ii) Prefered products that seem to just suit you better and make the whole think easier.

It's not just the preferred products or those that work for you, it's more the ones that are reliable and give dependable results that you can rely on. That's when your mojo kicks in a bit more as the variables start varying much less.

GFT Limes skin food lotion

I have the big bottle of this. It's great stuff, pity the scent disappears quickly. I also cannot wear it on hot days as I have oily skin and sweating tends to make a mess.

Seems a shame that the almond smell turns my stomach so much I will never be able to try those italian soft soaps everyone here raves on about.

You can. Get Drubs to send you a block of Cella in a ziplock bag, and then just squash it flat and leave it open to the air in the bag for 3 months. I did and most of that almond smell is gone. It's only very faint now.

It's not my favorite scent either. You do get used to it though. I don't understand why Italians shove almonds in everything. If the almond scent in Cella makes your stomach turn from what I've heard P160 will make you projectile vomit on the spot.

There are plenty of other soaps.

Actually, I found the Cella had a stronger 'Cherry/Dr Pepper' marzipan characteristic than the P.160 which also has it. Again, airing it for 3 months tends to soften the scent considerably.

As for other soaps - ABSOLUTELY. You have the RazoRock Artisan range for not very much money in all sorts of scents, I think there is a chocolate one too.

TuttoItaliaOnline (now barbiere di figaro) is also stocking the TFS soaps which Eric has been badgering me to get a few samples of. They have the a very high quality soap base, and scents such as a Sandalwood, a Green Tobacco, and a Bergamot/Neroli which certainly is not your average Italian "Si può avere in Almond, o Almond!"

They do the standard Almond for the purists, and also a coconut & almond hybrid.

Eric is a great guy, unfortunately the postage to us here in Oz is a bit on the expensive side. I am hoping that now that the holiday season is past that we can get a few guys to get a sample of each (hopefully paying postage only) and write a few reviews.

Another day, another nick. Realised I was adding pressure to the razor to do XTG a second too late. Better shave generally than yesterday, but my neck could definitely have been done better.

Stick with the recipe, your method shall improve. Derby might not be the best blade to go with though. Might see if I can throw a pack of Dark Platinums and GBE's at you to try.

What, the almond scent is the best smell in the world, doesn't it remind you of being in your mother's arms as a baby with her breath faintly reminiscent of the amaretti biscotti she just ate before picking you up to be fed? How about uncle Frank's wedding cake, that wonderful day when you were given your first sip of red wine? Maybe your first date when you took the love of your life to the top of that hill in Tuscany and sipped Amaretto liqueur together?

Well done Markco....

There may also be other soaps but NONE come within a bulls roar of these soft Italian beauties. If you cannot bring yourself to try them I would suggest that you give up on DE and go back to canned goo and carts, life is not the same without them.

Mark(co)

Yes, I think we will need to run a password reset on this account. Marco has obviously hacked the account....

Derby haters...I pity the foo's Cutting yourself with a Derby must take some effort. Pressure and angle need some serious attention Eggy. Cut a decent chunk out of your face with a cart...I hope you don't use powertools too often mate

There's nothing wrong with the blade, just the performance in certain handles. The Muhle R/Edwin Jagger DE head simply does not work well with them IMO. Plenty of guys love them in a Merkur 34C.

 

[SmallYetDeadly]

Oops...sorry if my comment comes across as harsh Eggy. Was written at a sprint. I was just going for gentle ribbing!

 

[eggbert]

No problems at all SYD, I'm not a merkin so I can handle a little piss-taking.

I realise that both nicks were totally my fault and I got them because mid-shave I forgot, or ignored good advice. As you said pressure and angle are all important.

As for the little scar from a previous shave... I've just remembered it was from a Trac II type cart on a razor with a wooden handle which fell apart in my hands mid-shave. The glue didn't seem to appreciate the tropical conditions.

 

[eggbert]

I had a 3rd shave with the Derby, and even risked ATG in a few easy areas.
No nicks this time but a little razor burn around the neck where I haven't mapped out the grain properly yet.
Still a way off from being comparable to a cart shave for me, although I guess I had many years of experience of them compared to a few shaves on the DE.