New Goodies

Lisa and I took the day yesterday and sent spelunking in our favorite antique haunt, Stillwater, MN. I came home with some new-old goodies - a Gillette Tech razor and a silverplate shaving cup/ scuttle.

The gold tone Tech seems to be unused and in near pristine condition. There are just a few minor marks that seem to be from handling, certainly not from shaving use. I don't know a lot about these, and always thought they predated the butterfly safety razors, however, a quick check of the internet indicated that it could be a vintage as recent as the 1970's.

Here are a couple of photos for your viewing pleasure:

The shaving cup/ scuttle is another story. I don't know much about scuttles and thus, I don't know for sure how function follows form in this instance. It's two-piece, with a main cup and a shallow bowl insert that I assume is for a cake of shaving soap. Comments are welcome here, in case anyone has more info on origin or usage.

The halmark on the bottom indicates the cup was manufactured by the Eureka Silver Co. (I haven't researched it yet) and is quadruple plated. The number 260 is also stamped on the bottom near the halmark - perhaps a production run number?

Also, the initials JFY or JYF are engraved on the cup, obviously by hand as there is a slight tilt to the engraving orientation. I apologize for the slight glare in the photo.

Here are some photos:

Let me know what you think!

Shave of the Day - Dec. 18

I've been shaving after showering the past few shaves, rather than before, which was always my preference. I've been surprised that I haven't hacked myself bloody! Indeed, I've had fewer cuts and closer shaves!

Today I decided to begin using up my old Mach 3 cartridges and I must say, while I was more comfortable with the razor, the double-pass shave was as close as, but no closer than the two-pass shaves I've been getting with the Gillette DE. No cuts at all, and no razor burn either. I have to say, the Mach 3 is the mildest razor I've ever used. I don't know if it's the pivoting head or what, but it does a much nicer job than the Shick that I keep in my travel bag

That said, I'll continue to go back & forth between razors until I've used up the Shick and Mach 3 cartridges. Then, sometime after New Year's I'll have to get back to the pursuit of the straight razor shave.

So THAT's How You Build a Lather

I finally got around to watching this:



Now I know what I've been doing wrong - or rather haven't even been doing. I'll have another report tomorrow after trying these techniques with the trusty cake of Williams.

Nice Intro From NBC's Today Show

I found this video while spelunking around the web this morning. It's Corey Greenberg's famous shaving segment on NBC's Today Show that allegedly started the worldwide wetshaving boom. A great introduction to wet shaving with DE and straight razors.

Shave of the Day - Nov. 29

I'm shaving every second or third day now. I changed blades in the Gillette DE and that seemed to help get back to a closer shave, but it certainly promoted the red weepers.

Today's shave (second on the blade) was no different. Veerrrryy close, but lots of weepers. Still, the shower afterward takes care of them.

I'm learning that most of the knack for a close shave is knowing your beard grain very well. My WTG passes leave an awful lot of whisker, but the second pass, ATG, takes care of nearly all. I just have a little touch-up here and there and I'm done.

Shave of the Day - Nov. 24

Best shave yet with the Gillette Super Speed although my neck, especially the left side (I'm right handed) was bloodied. I wonder if the blade is getting dull. I went two passes - WTG then ATG, as I've been doing, with a rinse & re-lather in between. I'm learning more and more about what direction my beard grows - something I thought I always knew, but am now paying more attention to.

This was the second round with the brush, and I need to get some instruction on how the heck to get enough lather to last for a pass! It may be the Williams soap, as I've heard that it's not the most lathering soap out there, or it may simply be my technique - which is what I really suspect. This was the first time I didn't rub the cake directly on my face, and that may have had something to do with it too. Still, I'd like to get away from having to use that particular technique.

Guess I'll round up those YouTube videos on lathering with soap & brush.

Tweezerman Brush - First Use

I delayed use of the Tweezerman for a day or two, and used it yesterday for the first time.

OK. A little background. I haven't used a shaving brush in nearly four decades - and never really learned how to use one to best advantage. And I know there are some great videos out there on YouTube and so forth. However, I just dove in and used the thing the best I could with no real background other than what I've read on a few forums and other sources.

I wet my face with hot water, and rubbed my now trusty cake of Williams directly on. I then wet the brush, worked the Williams in the bowl with it, and applied the result to my face. I did get a pretty good lather this way, but it didn't seem to last the way my previous (brushless) method did. I suspect that I need to work the soap longer for a better lather, and play around with just how wet the brush needs to be.

Stay tuned as I begin to get the hang of it.

Tweezerman Brush Is Here!

More tomorrow, after the first fumbling use!

Shave of the Day - Nov. 17

Again with the Gillette Super Speed, Wilkinson blade, and Williams soap, lathered by hand. Fifth shave with the blade.

I tried a suggestion I found on the ShaveMyFace.com forum and rubbed the moist but not wet cake of Williams right on my face. I then wet my hands in very hot water and rubbed my face. I got what I felt was a very nice lather (still waiting for the brush to come in the mail).

As always, I did a first pass with the grain. I'm feeling much more comfortable with the razor, getting more used to the heft and balance. I rinsed and relathered, then did a pass against the grain. This pass caused a little irritation. I'm not sure if the blade is getting old or if it was due to technique. I find myself getting a bit nervous and shaky around my adams apple and my chin line. I'd also had several cups of high caffine coffee by this point in the morning, and that may have had something to do with things.

At any rate, I got a reasonably close shave, although not as close as last time. This one was much more irritating as well, along with several red fluid weepers. I did a final hot water rinse to get rid of the lather, then a cold rinse to stop the weepers, and hopped in the shower. I can't yet bring myself to shower before the shave.

I'll continue to hone my technique, and will soon begin trying different soaps and creams. I can see the line of shaving mugs along my sink ledge already.

Blade Sharpness

I have to admit, these days I shave so seldom that a blade lasts me weeks, perhaps well over a month. I used to push the Mach 3 blades I used as far as I could, way into dullness, just because they were so stinkin' expensive - pushing $4 per cartridge.

However, a down side to this practice is my belief that a blade starts deteriorating after the first shave, due to water and residual whiskers and cream on the blade after that first shave, even with vigorous rinsing and shaking. I think this is time-based, not just due to the number of shaves on the blade. If you buy the theory, a six week old blade with six shaves on it would be in much worse shape than a two week old blade with six shaves behind it.

I think there's something to this, because once upon a time I shaved nearly every day. Only when I began to stretch the time between shaves did I notice that time seemed to be part of the equation when it came to a dulling blade. Of course, part of the problem could well be the fact that a blade used once a week is cutting a longer, heavier whisker than a blade used every day or two.

My DE Wilkinson blade now has four shaves on it over the course of about three weeks, and I think I can tell that it's not as sharp as it was. However, it's still doing pretty well, and that pack of five blades cost me a little over $2. So I'm going to get possibly 100 shaves (two packs, 10 blades, 10 shaves per blade) for roughly the cost of ONE Mach 3 cartridge, which might give me ten or twelve shaves if I push it, the last four or five being quite miserable.

Refurb an Antique For My First Straight Razor?

OK. I don't think anybody is reading this - at least not yet, so I'll also post this question on a razor forum somewhere too. However, if you stumble upon it here, please comment.

Is it reasonable for a Straight Razor Rookie to pick up an antique straight razor in an antique shop somewhere and refurbish it for his first razor, say via Bill Ellis' methods? I mean, for crying out loud, a lot of times you can pick 'em up for $5 or $10. I realize that, at a minimum, it'd mean a lot of elbow grease, and would only be cost effective if a guy had the right tools to begin with. Or does it make more sense to cough up the $100 - $250 for a good blade and start that way?

What about the cheaper blades? I saw an ad somewhere on some site that had a nice looking straight razor for $60 or $70, but it was titanium coated stainless steel. Quick digression: I'm a fly fisherman and sometimes teach fly casting. One of the first things we warn beginners about is the so-called "hardware store" rod that you used to be able to pick up for $30. They were so bad that a beginner couldn't hope to cast one decently, and would likely be put off fly casting forever because of the bad experience thes rods would induce. Does a $50 - $75 razor offer the same bad experience to a rookie straight razor user?

goin' smooth....

Another shave with my vintage Gillette DE and the Wilkinson blades. I'm getting the hang of it more and more. I can get as close a shave with two passes as I've ever had with the multi-blade "Hydras" I've been shaving with for years (God forbid we ever get to 9 blades in one of those things). I had only one slight abrasion and the resulting red fluid leak, right at the jaw-line.

I'm beginning to really like the feel of the DE. Being all metal, it has a good heft, something I didn't even know I missed with the mostly plastic Mach 3 and its predecessor, the Trac II. I have to admit, the vintage DE still feels a little awkward as the handle is shorter than I'm used to. I will need to search out a long handled version.

I've been lathering with a cake of Williams Mug Shaving Soap by hand, the way I'd use a bar to wash my hands. Vastly inferior, and probably blasphemous, but that's how I'm traveling this journey, not necessarily how one should. At any rate, I've got a brush on order, the inexpensive but highly rated Tweezerman. More on that in a few days.

Is DE Shaving "The Path?"

I've been scanning a forum or two lately, and joined ShaveMyFace.com this morning. One thing I've noticed is that double-edge shaving seems to be a common path / stepping stone to shaving with the long blade.

I've also noticed - or think I have - that any kind of wet shaving is new to a lot of guys. Can this be true? I've shaved with cream and a blade of one sort or another since I was about 13 or 14, except for maybe six weeks back in 1979, when I tried out a Norelco electric. This past few weeks is my first experience with a classic DE razor though.

It's obviously made an impression on me. I dreamt about it the other night...

Double-Edge Shave Redux

I shaved again with my new old Gillette double-edge. Checking the post dates of these entries, you'll note that I don't shave every day. This may be a disadvantage from a consistency standpoint, but there it is.

This shave wasn't quite as close, and I nicked myself in two or three spots. I'm not as scared of the blade as last time, but I still felt a little trepidation. I lathered twice, going with the grain the first time, and (mostly) against it the second.

OK. These entries are seeming a little trivial, even to me, but I have to start this journey somewhere. I need to get out there and find a straight razor, get it in shape and try that. Gotta get to the forums and see if that's a practical approach. I found a couple of what appeared to be servicable razors last weekend in the antique shops for the ridiculously low prices of $7 - $15. If all they truly need is a hone and a strop, it seems like an inexpensive way to step into true straight razor shaving.

Stay tuned.

First Double-Edge Safety Shave

Just had my first shave (late shower today) with the Gillette double-edge I bought yesterday. I have to admit to some trepidation, but was it ever COOL to hear the sound (especially) and feel the sensation of a single blade cutting through my beard! I took it really easy, and only had two extremely minor nicks - almost just abrasions that leaked about an eighth of a drop of blood each.

I lathered once, shaved purely with the grain, then rinsed in very hot water, lathered again, and shaved against the grain – to the best of my ability to tell, while trying to break my old habit of cross- and against-the-grain strokes in consecutive strokes. The result is not quite as close as my typical Gillette Mach 3 (three-blade cartridge), but that's all in the technique and in getting used to the new heavier razor. It’s obvious to me that my technique will improve over time, and the “willies” will go away as well.

Gillette DE Detour

I’m moving into this whole straight razor thing a little slow, I’ll admit. However, that’s what this blog is all about – my path (as opposed to any kind of direct path) to classic straight-edge shaving. In my research on razors and shaving, I’ve become enamored with double-edge safety razor shaving. That may be a stop on the journey.

I had to take my lovely wife Lisa to the airport this morning, and I stopped to poke around in some antique stores on the way home. Indeed, I discovered an old Gillette double-edge while spelunking. I don’t know the model – I don’t know that much about them yet, but it’s in great shape and was only $5.00 [since identified as a 1960's era Gillette Super Speed - see Country Joe's Collectible Stuff, a very handy site for DE razor identification]. I saw an identical one in another case, plus a Schick, each marked $8.50, but figured I didn’t need two, let alone three at this point. If I really get the bug, I know where they are.

I found a related item in another store – a neat stainless steel case with the word ‘RAZOR’ embossed on it. At $5, it was too cool to pass up. It’s a simple clamshell case, about the size of a regular bar of bath soap. The Gillette fits perfectly.

I brought razor and case home, cleaned them up with alcohol, and boiled them for five minutes. I loaded the razor with a Wilkinson Sword blade from the pack I picked up the other day. Tomorrow I’ll have my first-ever classic double-edge razor shave in forty years of scraping hair off my face – and I’ll try not to cut my nose, lip, or ear while doing it.

Contemplation

I've been thinking about straight razors for a couple of days now. I think it started with thinking about using shaving soap and a brush. Actually, in my late teenage years I was a horse and western freak. I saw all those rough, tough cowboys shaving with a straight razor and figured that was the way real men shaved. Mentioning this to someone was the wrong thing, however. They immediately warned me that I would slit my throat or at the very least, perform inadvertent plastic surgery on myself.

I've been a wet shaver (read, shaving with hot water - I know, I know, not the traditional definition) for most of the last 40 years. I was seduced by the electric mistress for a few months in my early 20's, but it was a sad affair. I tried to enjoy it, but felt nothing but hot abrasiveness. Pain and shame should have no place in a man's morning routine. The siren song of the blade, a hot stream of water, and rich white foam lured me back. Closer shaves, a bit of ritual, and all that.

I tried good ol' Old Spice shaving soap in their branded sailing ship mug as a late teenager, and didn't have a lot of success. So I went back to the shaving cream spray bombs and have dwelt there ever since.

I fell for every safety razor ad ever put out by Madison Avenue. Single edge injectors, Gillette Trac-II, Mach 3, they're all in my background. Now that I'm studying the deeper aspects of the manly art of shaving, I'm not so convinced of those "advanced" shaving technologies, to say nothing of their associated lack of technique.

And so... I'm contemplating a straight razor again, 35 years after first thinking about it. You, dear reader, are the benficiary of my contemplation. In these electronic pages I'll chronicle my journey through the minefield/maze of learning about scraping hair off my face with a single lethally sharp chunk of steel. Come on along and enjoy the journey.