...Call it perfect

Another absolutely glorious morning and another perfect shave out on the deck.  The family is still asleep...well, sounds like the whole neighborhood is, but that isn't unusual.  I live on Long Island's Great South Bay...there are only two roads into and out of my neighborhood, so if you don't live here there's no reason to come down this far towards the water.  Only home buyers and site-seers pass by so the neighborhood is typically dead-quiet.

But I far digress...

What constitutes a perfect shave?  For each of us, the exact specs will differ.  YMMV is a pretty popular acronym in the on-line wet-shave community..  Your Mileage May Vary means what works for me might be a horror show for you.  I don't define my shaves by how close they are, though that can be one means of describing them.  A perfect shave is a sum of all it's parts..it's a sensory rich experience.  A soft brush against my skin, gently lifting the hairs; A sweet smelling lather that lasts for multiple passes;  A fresh blade that doesn't skip or chatter; Unlimited time; No nicks, cuts, weepers or irritation; The feel of the razor and brush in my hands....

No question..I am a hardware junky. 
(hardware = razor, brush, bowls, face cloth, jars and containers / software = creams, soaps, oils, balms)

I enjoy the interface that exists between the tools of the trade..  I feel the same about my camera gear.  The tools are part of the experience.  New things that look old, old things made new..

Back to this mornings shave...

The razor is from a new company that turns and mills the parts from solid stainless steel.  iKon razors are just about perfect and this razor will last lifetimes.  It's heavy, yet well balanced and the handle has perfectly placed knurls to help your grip with wet hands.  This is a numbered limited edition and  sports an open comb which is the teeth on the head.  What I like about an open comb (OC) is that with each pass, it leaves a bit more lather on the skin than a regular safety razor will which better lubes the blade that follows. 

The cream?  C.O.Bigelow is a private label for Bath & Body Works and the cream is made by Proraso of Italy.  It is a barber shop staple.  Once it hits your skin you get a wonderful blast of eucalyptus and menthol.  It lathers well, lasts on the skin and is slick as an eel in olive oil.

Adding to the sensory rich experience and hardware inventory is the cool metal key used to turn down the tube of cream.  I am seriously anal retentive about keeping this stuff neat and use these keys in all my tubes even my toothpaste.  I searched for weeks and finally found and bought a handful of  them at Crabtree and Evelyn.

Brush... yes, brushes.  There are more sizes, shapes, colors and hair grades than I can list..give me some time, I'll do my best.  The best brushes are stuffed with Badger hair and the highest grade sports lots of names, most commonly called Silvertip or High Mountain and comes from the neck of the Badger.  The actual hair cluster is called a knot and most are made in China where the Badger is considered a pest, so killing them for their hair is entirely legal.  For those who have reason to avoid Badger there are knots made of Boar hair, horse hair and synthetic materials.  

This brush is a Silvertip, Grade A, three band (refers to the bands across the hairs) made by Penworks.  I purchased pre-owned and it is currently my favorite brush.  I'll revisit the whole pre-owned deal, as well as more details on brushes, in future posts.. 

The aftershave balm is a simple fragrant cream.  Very Sexy, for Men..  a gift from my wife. 

The Elmo face cloth is courtesy of my daughter.

There have been lots of questions via email about how to get started..what razor, where to buy, technique...  I'll keep the momentum on my side and will answer all the questions.  I promise.

Today's image is courtesy of the Canon G9.  It's day three and I love it.  Shot in RAW, aperture priority at minus 1.3 EV to underexpose the background, then I built the light back up using a Nikon SB-600 mounted in a Justin Clamp off to camera right.  The flash was fired using a Radio Popper JrX transmitter and the JrX Studio Receiver.   The Radio Popper setup allows for control the output level of remote flashes.  You can have an infinite number of flashes in three separate groups with each group having independent level control.  Sweet stuff.  The Justin Clamp has endless uses.  I have a few of these in my lighting bag.  I need a Circular Polarizer in 58mm for the G9; Ironically, I had one and sold it a few weeks ago.  In this situation, the CirPol would have knocked down the specular highlights and reflection in the stainless and the handle of the brush.  In retro-spec, a diffuser over-head and about another third of a stop less fill would have been perfect, but considering I am using a new-to-me G9, the images were shot in the middle of shaving and my original intent was to use only the iPhone, I'll take this one as it is!

I am finding the exposure and white balance on the G9 is spot on.  It's on-board flash is pretty much useless though I intend to try it as a wireless transmitter in optical slave mode.  Not sure how it will work since the flashes output will contribute to and contaminate the overall exposure....topic for another blog post.

So what do I need???

Like so many other hobbies, you can do wet-shaving on the cheap, or go all out and spend a boat-load of dough on fancy smelling creams, all stainless steel razors and English made Silvertip Grade A brushes.

I've gone down both paths..  Since I love old things made new and new things made to look and feel old, this chore turned hobby works perfect for me and I have amassed a collection of razors priced from $12 to $100+ and brushes in the same price range, but life can be much easier...

This morning is a near perfect day..end of summer, still warm but just a faint break in the temperature and zero humidity.  A shave out on my deck was in order.

I hung a small face mirror from the upright on the pagoda... While I have one of these that belonged to my father-in-law and is an antique, I bought this one at a local pharmacy for $3.00..

I prefer to shave after a shower since having a well hydrated beard is one of the key factors to a good shave.  Statistics say that a man's facial hair is 85% softer after exposure to just a minute of warm water.   Ten minutes in the shower is a perfect prep, but since I was also creating some images and the breeze was drying my face quickly, I also did a relaxing warm towel treatment just before lathering...I dunked a wash cloth in a bowl of hot water and held it on my face..what a treat.

This mornings shave was done with a vintage 1954 Gillette SuperSpeed that I bought on-line for $16 shipped.  It was already cleaned but I gave it a dip and soak in alcohol.  Added a Derby blade, $0.40.  The brush is a well sought after Shea Moisture, Pure Badger.  It's entry level all the way, but for some reason it is a joy even when compared to brushes costing tens of times more.  Find this one at Target, $9... and if you do, buy three.

I broke my normal routine of using shave creams and lathered with a soap.  I find the creams lather easier and are slicker, but this soap is awesome.. Van Der Hagen Deluxe is also a drug store item, and costs about $2.  I put it in an old coffee mug (freebie) and heated it in the microwave for about twenty seconds so it took the shape of the mug..  The stainless bowl held rinse water...$1.50 at a local home furnishing clearance center!

I finished with a touch of Oil of Olay moisturizer that I have had for about ten years.. new it may have cost $3 or so..  Add it up and this was indeed a wet-shave on the cheap, but the result is a damn fine shave by any one's standards!   With the razor, soap and brush now in inventory, future shaves will be even more cost effective!!  I'd venture to say the "per shave" cost with this setup is under a dollar!

Today was a two pass shave, interrupted by some image making.  The mirror image is from the Nikon D3, but the other is from a new-to-me Canon G9, with a Nikon SB-600 speedlight off camera controlled by Radio Popper RF remotes..  Expect some more feedback on the G9, but having shot with it for only a day or so, I can tell you I love it.  It fills the gap between full size SLR bodies and pocket point and shoot.  It's technology is a few years old and there is now a G10 and G11 in Canon's G line-up, but it is perfect for what I need it for...super light, full manual control in addition to Av & Tv, built in hot shoe and most important, it captures in RAW format..  more to come on this...

The lost art of shaving

Over the years I have tried to make what is otherwise a laborious, oft painful event into something enjoyable, but the act of shaving my face never seemed to be something I looked forward to.  A sad fact considering the frequency with which I have to shave...

With the resurgence of wet-shaving, I now welcome each days shave and treat it as an event...a ritual of pleasure that I anticipate and savour...

Wet-Shaving has a pretty broad definition, but it's focus is on old style double edge (DE), single edge (SE) and straight razors (str8's) in tandem with creams and soaps made from more natural ingredients and don't come from a can.

I've always had a love for new things that look and feel old and old things made to look new again, so the nostalgic nature of the implements of wet-shaving are a natural attraction for me.

I have made numerous feeble attempts at shaving in this manner with the obligatory shave brush and some glycerin soap and even a few DE razors my father gave me, but I never had technique and the result was lackluster.  I always reverted back to the multi-bladed cartridge razors and canned goo.

A few months ago I was chatting with a good friend who mentioned he was using a DE which led me to a bit of research on-line and a week later, I made the jump.  My Mach III razor has sat unused since then, as my inventory of soaps, creams, brushes and razors has overwhelmed the master bath and my shaves have never been better.  Better. Closer.  More enjoyable, less expensive and at this point completely free of irritation, stubble and blood loss.

Now, this blog isn't about wet-shaving...at least it wasn't... but I have taken to documenting each days shave as a means of tracking which razor, blade, brush and balm seem to work best and as part of this I am photographing the setups...  using either my iPhone or my (new to me) Canon G9.  (I could never fully explain toting my tripod and light stands into the bathroom..)