More Fun than Writing About a Good Shave....

Today's shave -- my second with the Gillette 7 o'clock black -- was better than yesterday. Still close, but not so irritating.

Can I attribute it to being one shave older, or due to the initial post-shave oiled-palm stropping? It may be due to a combination of both.

I did use the same razors, however, just so I could fairly compare the first two shaves. Tomorrow I'm going to use the open-comb Merkur 15C for the first pass.

I was thoroughly impressed by 24 shaves out of the Personna red, and next time that blade comes up in the rotation, I may push the envelope further. After all, the 24th shave with the Personna was actually as close and more comfortable than the first shave with the Gillette 7 o'clock black.

So what have I learned lately? Let me count....

1. A one-pass standard shave may be adequate, but two passes can be much more satisfying.
2. A very mild "finishing" razor (for example, the Weishi 9306-F) for the final pass can provide a face-friendly end to a shave.
3. Stropping a blade on an oiled palm post shave may be a key to comfortable blade longevity.
4. Shaving isn't a test of bravery or manliness, and there's no need to use a ridiculously aggressive razor. Two passes with moderate razors, or a first pass with a medium aggression razor and a finishing pass with a milder razor may be enough for most. The key to this is remembering to shave with oblique strokes that are rather short and go into the lather in an anti-raking stroke pattern.
5. It's more fun to get a good shave than to write about one.

Happy shaving!