I ditched my Astra Superior Platinum blade yesterday after eleven shaves. The first ten were good, but number eleven seemed to shave not as closely as easily as before. So into the recycle can it went.
This morning I used a new Lord Platinum Class double-edge razor blade in my c.1948 Gillette Tech.
The stroking technique was pretty much all oblique strokes and for the most part all buffing-style strokes as well, although they were longer and a bit slower than a buffing stroke that one might use as a final finishing technique. I use the buffing-type stroke -- that is, keeping the razor on the skin for the non-cutting return part of the stroke -- because it helps spread soap and moisture for repeat strokes in a given area.
The point of that is that I continue to use the region-oriented shaving pattern. Instead of shaving in discreet passes, each of a single direction, in this regional approach, I shave a region of my beard from whatever directions necessary until it is in its final degree of closeness, and only then do I move on to another region.
Although today's shave wasn't perfect due to a couple of minor weepers, in all it was close and comfortable. The regional shaving pattern encourages this, I believe, because it is entirely pragmatic, focused solely on the shave outcome and less on specific passes in specific directions that may or may not be needed. Using this regional approach, I shave only as little or as much as a give patch of beard requires.
Tomorrow will be the second shave with the Lord PC blade, but this time in the Merkur 15C open-comb razor.
Happy shaving!
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