Today's Shave...

~ Today's Shave, October 11th, 2010 ~

Cream/Soap: Tom's of Maine, Natural Mint
Brush: iKon Silvertip Badger
Razor: iKon Prototype, Long handle
Blade: Feather
Balm: Kiehl's

My week long obsession with the iKon razors continues.

The Prototype is just awesome.  Yesterday's shave was dead perfect and lasted near ten hours!  This morning was equally enjoyable.  The Feather needs to be respected, but it can achieve BBS in a stroke less than all other blades.  The long handle creates exception balance and it's longer lever action reduces the amount of pressure I apply.. a welcome thing with the Feather blade...

Image is from the Nikon D300, 70-200VR with an extension tube to allow for closer focus.  Sad to report the D3 suffered sudden death syndrome while photographing birds of prey over the weekend.. It sits in the queue at Nikon Melville awaiting a new shutter mechanism.  The D3 has less than 30k actuations on it.. and is generally babied.. odd that it would bite the dust.

Today's Shave...

~ Today's Shave, October 8th, 2010 ~

Prep: Hot shower, Dark Roast, streaming Grateful Dead via Pandora on iPhone
Cream/Soap: Edwin Jagger, Sea Buckthorne Cream, last of my sample
Brush: Shae Moisture, aka Target Special
Razor: iKon Deluxe, Open Comb Prototype / Prototype Long Handle
Blade: Personna Red
Balm: Kiehl's

iKon week continues...  I determined the Standard head is either going to be passed on to someone else or put in storage.  If I want a mild shave, I'll reach for a SS.  I switched to the Prototype open comb head, with a Personna Red with three shaves on it and I am back to the closeness I want in my shave..  Though, I do have a bit of irritation on my neck likely a function of a bit of unneeded pressure written into muscle memory from the prior shaves with the Standard head...

I beat up my face a bit this week.. I think I'll spend next week with my Mergress or Fat Boy and let my skin recover.

iKon razors - Part I

The iKon brand, out of Thailand, is fairly new to the safety razor scene.  My experience with their product has been, for the most part, positive with a small speed bump or two along the way. 

Greg from iKon razors was invited to recap the history of the company and their product on BruceOnShaving blog..  Jump over to there if you want to read the entire post.  The short version is that Greg, like many of the other folks enjoying the wet shaving renaissance, was tired of the inferior shave delivered by over-priced multi-blade cartridge razors and migrated over to the double edge safety razor.  With the DE, he found a much better shave and after trying and collecting a bunch of different razors decided he could make a better mouse trap..  He focused on all stainless construction which, as far as I know, is used in precious few razors..  The Feather All Stainless is one and the Pils Safety Razor are such examples.  Both of these are high priced alternatives at $160 and $239 US respectively, whereas the iKon, in any iteration, is well under $100...  Paying more doesn't guarantee a better shave...  my $16 1954 Gillette SuperSpeed is testament to this.

I am not sure what, exactly, attracts me to the iKon line.. It's a combination of the following....

... the all stainless construction

... a small guy going up against the big manufactures

... the notion of small intimate manufacturing versus mass production

... the idea that one might actually build a better mouse trap

... the wonderful shave

... the iKon logo

I already had the Deluxe Open Comb on a Bull Dog handle, the stainless stand and a matching stainless handled Silvertip brush...

I stumbled across an on-line auction that included a Standard head in brushed stainless, another high polish Deluxe OC head mounted on the Long handle in high polish, which I didn't have, and.... the Prototype Old head, in brushed stainless on the matching brushed Prototype Long handle. The certificates were included as was the original acrylic display case. Click Buy It Now.. It arrived three days earlier than I expected.  My focus was primarily on the Prototype razor which was pictured in the blog post on BruceOnShaving, but it was a package deal and ultimately I expect I will part out the items I don't want as I am a user not a collector.

I shaved exclusively with the iKon's this week and will share the experience and details over the next few posts..

Open Comb or Safety Bar... an Observation

I think I am becoming an open comb snob.

With the exception of the Slant Bar razor, which I just adore, I am finding my preference is moving away from regular DE's with a straight safety bar, and towards the open comb configuration.

Over the past few weeks I have concentrated my shaves to a SuperSpeed, Fat Boy and iKon Standard which in my limited knowledge of this stuff, is a spin-off of the Gillette New Deluxe.

It seems like attaining an ultra close shave is more difficult with the DE's that have a safety bar.  Dissecting one pass, (W/X/ATG doesn't matter), the first stroke seems to serve to clear away some of the lather and subsequent strokes on the same area are required to actually get a cutting action. The next lather starts the 'clear & cut' process over.

On the other hand, the Open Comb (OC) gets busy with the first stroke.  Multiple strokes over the same area aren't necessary, so while the OC's are regarded by some as more aggressive, in my case it is the other way around since it takes multiple strokes across multiple passes to get close to what the OC can do in one pass. When all is said and done, the safety bar razors prove much more difficult to attain a Baby Butt Smooth finish, at least for me.   


NOTE: I feel it's important to share that the world of shaving has precious few right and wrong.  Let's agree which side of the blade is the sharpest.  After that, do what every you like..what ever works for you and most important that which makes you smile...  Remember, YMMV.

Have I found nirvana in the slant? Is there something missing in my technique? Poor blade selection?

I believe I have sound technique with both lather and shave, but I would be way arrogant to think I have nothing to learn... I'm all ears [eyes, given our medium here]

For sake of discussion.. My prep is always a hot shower. Soap or Cream.. either works for me and I believe my lather technique is good. One in ten shaves result in any weepers or irritation and seven out of ten are closer to BBS than DFS, but none out-right suck. Except the face gashing I did with the Feather AC..

Simplifying things a bit - Part II

I am feeling a overwhelmed..

What was supposed to be a cost cutting process has turned into various strains of Acquisition Disorder...  Razor Acquisition Disorder (RAD), Shave Brush Acquisition Disorder (SBAD), Blade Acquisition Disorder (BAD), Soap and Creams (SCAD)...   and a recent inventory, though not entirely complete, has confirmed that some drastic steps need to be taken...

I am beginning to formulate a plan.  What follows is my initial brain dump...

How smooth is Smooth enough?

I am planning to shave with the straight razor this weekend; it will be my second weekend with it and today's shave is the setup for tomorrow.  I decided to go with just a two-pass shave today so I enter tomorrow mornings routine with a bit of a beard to work with.

While my typical shave is a three-pass affair with some touch-up (First pass is With The growth Grain-WTG, Second is Across The Grain- XTG and the final goes Against The Grain-ATG ), today I skipped the ATG pass.  A three pass shave usually leaves me as smooth as a baby's butt and a two pass, though far better than what I could get from any cartridge, leaves me with a great smooth face...not quite BBS, but a damn fine shave none the less...

Not the first time I have done a two-pass shave, mind you...  What I find, quite consistently, is that the two pass gives me an absolutely wonderful shave and I wonder if chasing BBS is all that necessary...

Now, this morning I used a Bluebird Hi-Stainless Double Edge blade in the iKon Open Comb razor.. the blade is on day five so it isn't the sharpest thing, and the open comb is a notch more aggressive than other closed comb razors so by all rights, this shave should have bordered on miserable, yet the shave is just superb.  I threw away the Bluebird blade...probably had a few more shaves in it...

Note to self... iKon Deluxe Open Comb, with Bluebird blade...  Grade-A shave!!

Suggestions for your first Double Edge razor

I've received a few emails about which razor is best for a beginner and where to find one.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, YMMV.  What works for me, might suck for you so Your Milage May Vary when it comes to what you consider best.  But that being said, there are some guidelines for the beginner..

Keep in mind, I am still a beginner with but a few months of wet-shaving under my belt.  This possibly makes me a perfect resource as I can merely parrot what I am learning as I learn it from the more experienced folks.

Let's start with the options for the men..

This is a nearly endless list guys.  You'll have to sort through some of this on your own because your price range is a factor, but you can bet that spending more doesn't necessarily get you a better shave.  In fact, the cheaper options can yield an awesome shave.  Take the 1954 Gillette Super Speed I bought second hand and featured a few days ago in my Shaving on the Cheap post.  Amazingly, this thing cost me under $16 and it's "vintage".  It is an excellent whisker whacker; lightweight and well balanced.  Easy to load with it's top opening silo doors.  It's quite mild as far as DE's go, and can be found in relative abundance on ebay, and at flea markets.

Also priced at the low end is the Feather Portable..  It's super light weight and lacks some of the glitz other razors have, but that makes it no less of a good shaver and at $19 it cheap enough.. and new.

The Weishi Safety Razor has a decent following.. also under $20 and with an all metal construction.

If you fancy something a little nicer, Merkur has a line of double edge razors that is sure to please.  There are a few different handles to choose.  Models feature either a standard head, open comb design, the more aggressive slant bar heads as well as the Progress and Progress XL, which allow you to adjust just own mild or aggressive your shave is.

Want to step up to some real luxury??  Consider the Pils all stainless steel double edge safety razor.  It's got a real futuristic look and is reported to be one of the best DE's money can buy...but save your coins, this baby comes in at almost $250!

Mentioning Futur-istic, the Merkur Futur is a wonderful razor, albeit less conventional in looks and design.  I have one in the satin finish and love it!  It's adjustable and quite large compared to other DE's but it's most unique characteristic is the sound it makes.  You can actually hear the whiskers being sliced off...it has to be heard to be believe.  It's adjustability makes it a great first razor, but be fore-warned, navigating the big head of this razor around your nose and upper lip is a real challenge!

If I had to pick just one razor to recommend it would have to be the Merkur Progress.  It's been around for many many years and is likely one of the most popular adjustable razors.  Since you can dial your choice of blade exposure (less blade exposed = milder shave, more blade = more aggressive shave) it's a razor you can grow with and it's solid construction means you'll likely be passing it on to a future generation.  It's priced middle of the road at about $55.  A limited number of these razors go through a high level of modification to tighten the tolerances in the adjustment system and replace the cheesy plastic TTO knob... the result is The Mergress.  I shave with a Mergress XL which has a longer handle...I have zero complaints and if pressed could live with just this razor.

I haven't scratched the surface of what's available and it's tough to go wrong if you stick to a regular safety razor.

Ladies...stay tuned.  I have some recommendations for you as well!

Today's Shave...

I've been keeping a log of each days shave..  I don't post each one here, maybe I will..

~ Today's Shave, September 15th, 2010 ~

Cream/Soap: C.O Bigelow/Proraso
Brush: Franks Shave, Finest Badger
Razor: iKon Deluxe, OC / Bulldog Handle
Blade: BlueBird
Balm: Kiehl's

This turned out to be a wonderful shave and it's simplicity is what prompted my project of cleaning out my shave den.  The Frank Shaving Brush is just awesome and a bargain.  It's  a Pure Badger hair brush with a well made acrylic handle that cost all of $9.  C.O Bigelow/Proraso is a famous cream used in barber shops world wide.  It's got a wonderful menthol/eucalyptus burst and is super slick.  The iKon razor and Bluebird blade are a great combination and at this point my shaves are super smooth and completely irritation free.  Ironically, the soft spots on neck, either side of the adam's apple, that had given me trouble with irritation for my entire life, are now the most enjoyable spot to shave..

Nikon D3, 28-70 f/2.8 lens.  Mounted on a Burlhbach Ash table top tripod with a Really Right Stuff ballhead.  Nikon speedlights fired via Radio Poppers, through Wescott 43" umbrella's.

...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.

Entry into Wet Shaving.. not just for the guys!

One reason I chose wet-shaving is I am tired of the cost of modern cartridge razors, especially given the inferior results I get from using them.  Close to $20 for a ten pack...razor burn included.

The other reason, as noted already, is the closeness and comfort of a wet-shave has to be experienced to be believed.  Friday I was out shooting at dawn at a race track near Cape May, New Jersey, so skipped the morning shave.  Saturday I had a full day of growth to wack and I was really looking forward to the shave.  I slipped a new Wilkinson blade (cost about 45 cents) into my Merkur Futur razor, lathered with a iKon Silvertip Badger hair brush and a wonderful semi-soft soap from Italy, Cella di Parma and got to it.  Cella has an intoxicating scent of Amaretto..you almost want to sip it.

My shave involved three passes, as most DE shave do...one with the grain of my beard (WTG), one across the grain (XTG) and the last against the grain (ATG).  This is a routine I dare not do with a cartridge razor or I would be covered in blood and in pain for days.

Not only was I blood and irritation free, but my face was as smooth as a baby's butt.. We call it a BBS shave...Baby Butt Smooth.  So smooth that a pass with cotton ball against the grain leave not a wisp of cotton.  But to really get a feel for how good this shave can be you have to check it's smoothness after a few hours.  At 10PM, my face was smoother that it would have been immediately after shaving with a cartridge!!

Not every shave has to be a three pass.  I often do a two pass WTG and XTG which yields a damn fine shave (DFS).  Multipass does take a little longer to do than a one pass cart shave in the shower, but the daily ritual of shaving is no longer a chore.

Saturday's shave..  Merkur Futur adjustable double edge, iKon Silvertip Grade A brush mounted in a custom turned stainless steel handle, Cella di Parma, a drop of natural glycerin for lube, and Kiehl's After Shave Balm.  Image from my iPhone, processed using Lightroom v3.

My last post was, sadly, off the mark in that I failed to make comment that wet-shaving isn't just for the guys!!  Ladies, I encourage you to consider ditching you Venus or Soleil, stop swiping your hubby's Mach III (he'll appreciate that even if he doesn't convert to a DE) and try using a DE..  There is no shortage of DE razors made just for you!  Some sport shorter handles, others smaller heads, and a few with a curved head that better fits all the curves and hollows of your body!