Examining Evolving Razor Preferences

c. 1948 (1946-1950) Tech

Many months ago I decided to sell my two c.1948 Gillette Tech razors because I consistently felt they were too harsh on my skin to consistently provide a comfortable, enjoyable shave. I also resolved to part with my 1965 Gillette Travel Tech because, in my experience, it offered the same shave character as my older Techs.

Similarly, long ago I had rejected my Lord LP1822L (with the

1965 Travel Tech

popular two-piece L.6 razor head) not because it was harsh, but because its blade-bar span was just a bit too big and tended to nip on occasion. In those days I much preferred my Merkur 33C Classic razor because its razor head had essentially identical design specs as the L.6

L.6 razor head. Note how the cross-section
contour of the safety bar significantly
increases the blade-bar span.

However, as time passed, my preferences evolved. I had already parted with my two c.1948 Techs when I re-visited my Travel Tech razor head just last week, and found that now I really appreciate its shave character. Likewise, months ago I gifted my 33C to my teenage son, and now keep the L.6 razor head at hand in my bathroom razor drawer.

I believe that my shifting preferences may be due to two factors, and these may influence the razor choices of those who are recent converts to old-school double-edge shaving.

First of all, since my early razor preference, I've shaved with more aggressive razors and razor

Parker Variant with charcoal handle

settings. This includes my straight-razor usage -- both my replaceable-blade Parker PTB straight as well as my traditional 5/8" straight razor. To successfully use these straights, one must develop a very light touch of blade against skin. Also using my modern adjustables, the Parker Variant and the Futur-imitating Ming Shi 2000S, I've experimented with fairly aggressive settings, which has helped to modify my razor pressure to become somewhat lighter and more delicate.

Ming Shi 2000S

Some estimated spec detail on the
RM2003 from Rimei

A second factor in my evolving razor preferences is the potential shift in my skin. Similar to the way professional cooks often become used to handling very hot food and utensils, which causes their fingers to be less sensitive to heat, I suspect that my skin has become desensitized to some extent, which might make the blade angle of the Techs, for example, to not feel so scraping and thereby irritating on my face.

This leads me back to other razors that I've previously rejected. My 1963 Gillette Slim is one I have kept at hand for purely sentimental reasons; it was my father's razor. But like a convict potentially wrongly convicted, this razor deserves a re-trial. So too does my Rimei RM2003 razor. I've had this in the closet shaving box for a while now; it's been banished because I thought it just a hair too aggressive to be a daily shaver. However, since I've become aware of my evolving preferences.... who knows?

I'd be interested to hear if others have experience a similar evolution in razor preference. Feel free to comment.

Happy shaving!

Limited-Water Wet Shaving, and a Surprising Vintage Redux

In my community, we have had a water emergency for several days. A water main broke, and several days were needed for the replacement pipe to arrive. It was installed Wednesday, but there was a leak. All of this means that we don't have potable water at the tap until Monday.

The state of my local tap water,
which is likely to persist for a total of at least seven days.

Although bathing in our potentially-bio-contaminated water is not proscribed by local authorities, because of the risk of wounds, I'm not interested in wet shaving with tap water. No thanks. So I've been practicing limited-water, cool-water shaving using room-temperature bottled water (or previously-boiled water, which has subsequently cooled to room temperature).

In addition to my shave soap, razor, and blade, I use two re-purposed Greek-yogurt containers for water. One is for brush wetting and the other is for razor rinsing. (I also used two cups for soap.)

The four re-purposed Greek-yogurt cups for todays shave.
In the background are the two water cups. At near left is the
bay-rum soap. Near right is the lather-booster puck from PAA.

Shave Prep

I pour a small amount of safe water -- about a half-inch deep -- into the container for lathering. I keep this on the right side of the sink as a matter of habit, which prevents me from accidentally using the wrong cup during any part of the shave. Into the container for rinsing, I pour water to about an inch deep, and set that to my left for rinsing accumulated lather from the razor.

For this shave (and yesterday's), I pulled out my lather-booster soap from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements. I rubbed the puck directly onto my dry, facial and neck stubble. Then I dipped my Omega Syntex brush, which I wrote about several days ago, into the cup to my right and face lathered my initial face prep.

     

While that initial lather sat on my day-old beard, I took the time to set out the remainder of the gear for the shave. That done, I re-wet my shave brush with another dip in the cup of lathering water, and loaded the already-foamy brush from a puck of bay rum soap. Another dip of the brush into the lathering water, and I then face lathered right over the initial lather-booster layer of foam. I always dip the brush into the lathering water a few times during face lathering, which ensures that my lather is sufficiently hydrated.

Today's Razor: Vintage Gillette and a PAA Handle

My razor for today's (and yesterday's) shave was another razor reclaimed from the few unsold razors in my previous garage sale. It is a 1965 Gillette Travel Tech (TT) razor, with the Zamak top cap that is nickel plated and has the Gillette moniker incised into it.

The '65 Gillette Travel Tech top cap and baseplate combine
nicely with the PAA handle. All are nickel plated.

Although I still have more razors than I actually need including this mid-century Gillette, in retrospect I'm so glad that no one bought it. Although I originally deemed it virtually the same in shave character as my all-brass Techs -- meaning it didn't give me the best shave, and was therefore expendable -- in this revival usage, I find that now I really like it and have gotten some great shaves with it.

I have paired the TT razor head with the handle from my PAA double-open-comb razor. The TT top cap, baseplate, and the PAA handle are all nickel plated, so they are a natural and attractive coupling. I also really like the PAA handle -- it's the only three-piece handle I keep at hand in my razor drawer -- because of its excellent and attractive knurling.

The Shave

I used a two-pass shave process this morning. All my strokes were long, slow reciprocating strokes made in an anti-raking pattern. First pass was largely cross grain. After the first pass, I rinse my razor head in the rinsing water at the left of my sink. Then I re-lathered and used pretty much an against-grain stroke direction. I used special care when shaving problem areas such as under my jaw line, on my lower neck and my upper lip.

The outcome was excellent. It was about as close as I can get without inflicting skin damage. I hope your shave is as good.

Happy shaving!

Experiment With Your Shaving Process

I get my best shaves when I deviate from common shaving processes. For example, the hobbyists three-pass shave -- with grain, then across grain, and finally against grain -- just doesn't work well for me. It's not aggressive enough in the first two passes and thereby leaves too much beard for the third pass. If I want a close shave (and if not, then why three passes in the first place?!?), I always have to do a fourth pass, which often gets irritating.

I have found that being more bold, not so worried about following the herd, and using a different shave process, this works much better for me. Of course, process is influenced by your choice of razor.

We're talkin' shaving process!

For example, this morning I chose my Parker Variant adjustable razor with a third-use Dorco ST-301 blade. The Variant has a neutral blade exposure at its mildest setting -- meaning that the blade edge is pretty much in (neither above nor below) the shave plane formed by the top cap and the safety bar. This means that even at its mildest setting, it has the potential to shave pretty closely.

So I set the razor to "1" (its mildest setting) and make my first pass in a direction that is largely between across and against grain. On my upper lip, I am a bit less aggressive and use stroke directions that are between with and across grain.

My second pass is directly against the grain except, again, on my upper lip, where it is between across and against the grain.

For my third pass, I dial the razor to "2" and repeat the stroke directions of the second pass. I may also shave my upper lip directly against the grain.

The result is often about as close a shave (almost baby smooth) as I can get without requiring treatment for nicks. 

What are your preferred shaving processes?

Happy shaving!

Omega Syntex Brush: A Long-Term Evaluation

The ideal qualities that any brush might have include the following:

• Moderate size: large enough to lather one's face easily without being so large that lather ends up in unwanted geography
• Holds sufficient moisture and lather
• Has good backbone
• Maintains its shape
• Made of durable materials
• Dries quickly
• Doesn't require much care
• Isn't stupidly expensive
• Is comfortable to use against one's skin
• To be manufactured, it doesn't rely on dead animals
• When new, there's no offensive odor to dissipate 

The Omega brand Syntex model brush is a near ideal option. I've used it for several years, and it has become the only brush that I use. The reasons correspond to those listed above.

It is one of the least expensive brushes available. Its knot has good backbone, and is just-right sized for applying lather to face while maintaining optimal control. It holds mosture and lather well. Being made of synthetic fibers, it dries quickly, never stinks of dead animals, is impervious to water damage, and you can just set it on the counter top to dry after shaving -- whether you choose to rinse or not.

     

The one caveat that I would offer is that when this brush is new, the bristle tips are a bit abrasive against skin. With use they become broken in and the abrasive issue goes the way of the dodo bird. 

I prefer the Syntex to my boar brush, which is too big. I prefer the Syntex to my badger brush, which doesn't have a lot of backbone. None of my brushes were very expensive, and the Syntex was between the others' price points, currently available for about U.S. $13.

I characterize this brush as great for traveling or at-home use. It's also great for bowl or face lathering. It's available in three plastic handle colors: green, blue and red. If you're in the market for a new brush and have the patience to use it gently until broken in, I heartily recommend this one.

Happy shaving!

New Political & Current News Opinion Blog

Respecting the wishes of some shaving-hobby readers, who may not want to be confronted with rational, realistic, informed opinions on politics and current events -- opinions that may differ from their own --  or those who just may not be interested in such matters (how can you not be???!!!), I've started another weblog called My Opinion Portal at http://myopinionportal.blogspot.com.

If you're so inclined and not faint of heart, take a look at my initial post there.

Also, for those who are athletically inclined -- especially those who play tennis and aspire to play really good tennis -- I will be writing articles occasionally in another weblog called Seeking 5.0: Writings on Tennis Excellence. This can be found at https://seeking5-0.blogspot.com/.

UPDATE: The first tennis article has been posted on 20 October 2017. Have fun, be healthy, play tennis!

Happy shaving!

Beware Sleepy Shaving

So a couple of days ago, I eschewed my normal couple of cups of coffee before sunrise. I had planned to allocate my caffeine ration a bit later in the morning so I would focus better while hard at work on a tedious task.

So I substituted a couple of cups of decaf and then went about my morning shave.

The plan for the shave was a close but conservative shave that was easy on the face. To accomplish this, my plan was to use a new Gillette Wilkinson Sword blade in my Parker Variant set on one for the first strokes (largely against the grain). Then I was to dial up the razor and clean up any significant lingering whiskers.

So I assembled the razor and blade -- turning the adjustment knob to one. Then I lathered up as usual and began my shave with the usual stroking processes.

However, I soon noticed a harsh sensation following my razor strokes. Then spots of blood appeared, sometimes actually running down my jaw. Finally I wondered whether this was due to more than just a new blade and some remarkably poor shaving technique.

When I cautiously double-checked my razor setting (which I never dial down with too much force lest I damage the threads of the razor), I realized that I had actiually set the razor to six (meaning that I had dialed down one rotation short of what was necessary to achieve the desired razor setting of one)!

Six! I never shave with a setting of greater than four! No wonder my shave was harsh and bloody!

Lesson learned. When not sufficiently caffeinated prior to sun up, I'll be extra careful to make sure that I've set my razor correctly.

Happy shaving!

FINAL Final Word on Ming Shi vs Derby Extra Blades

For my shaves both yesterday and today, I used my Lord L.6 razor head that is a key component of the Lord LP1822L razor. Also on both days I deviated from my usual shaving methods and instead used a common three-pass shave process: WTG, XTG, ATG.

Yesterday's blade was a 12th-use Derby extra; today's was a 12th-use Ming Shi.

Yesterday's shave was not so good, and I gratefully deposited the Derby blade in my recycle can. Today's shave wasn't bad -- much better than yesterday's -- but I also ditched the Ming Shi into the recycle can for greener pastures, so to speak.

Bottom line, the Ming Shi blade is one I could use regularly and isn't the junk that I had previously feared it would be.

Happy shaving.