Watching my footprint and fingers

As an avid outdoors man and parent of a young child another appeal of using a classic style double edge razor is from a conservation viewpoint.  The statistics of how many disposable plastic razors are thrown out per year are astounding & immense. 

 

Shave The Earth.  

Use a double edge razor that creates minimal waste and saves money as well. Most men spend approximately $250 a year on disposable razors and shaving cream from a can – both proven equally bad for our now fragile ecosystem. After the  initial investment of buying a high quality safety razor that will effectively last a lifetime, a realistic yearly shaving cost will average $59 per year.  And if you opt for a straight razor, which employs no disposable parts other the unused lather (biodegradable for sure) that finds it's way down the drain, your cost per shave and eco-footprint both diminish exponentially.

So where do the used blades go?  Many older homes and finer hotel rooms have a blade drop in the master bath..  a small slit cut in the wall, usually inside a medicine cabinet, into which you drop the spent blade.  It takes a tumble ride and lands someplace inside the wall...there to stay until a plumber or carpenter cracks open the wall.  A quick Google search of "DE Blade Bank" will turn up numerous commercial and DIY solutions ranging from a modified soup can to a sterling silver job from Tiffany's...  

My daughter and I searched a local home furnishing store and found what we thought to be a perfect receptacle.. our piggy bank comes complete with the red ambulance graphic painted on one side and a big band-aid on the other.

While I have no idea how many blades it will hold, or what I will do with it should it ever fill up, it should provide many years of safe blade keeping along with continued amusement for us...

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...

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

~ Today's Shave, September 16th, 2010 ~

Cream/Soap: The Body Shop (TBS), Macca Root cream
Brush: Franks Shave, Finest Badger
Razor: 1954 Superspeed
Blade: Derby
Balm: Kiehl's

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.

Simplifying things a bit - Part I

What was supposed to be an attempt at cost cutting... isn't...  and this wet-shaving thing is easily becoming a money pit.  I have to take a close look at what I have, what I use and what I am just storing in an attempt to clear out some of the excess and simplify...

First straight razor shave is a smashing success!

Well.. it is a high level success.  The details can use some improvement.

Like others I don't have the inclination to go with traditional straights, though I can see them in my future. I have a collection of well over 300 straights that my dad left me, some of which I know I will eventually want to use, but I started with a Feather Artist Club RG.

As I mentioned in my first post about straights, this is, on all counts a regular straight razor in feel and execution, but it has removable blades.  This eliminates the need for the maintenance that traditional straights require.

The head of the razor opens to allow a disposable blade in your chosen flavor to be inserted.  The spring action locks securely and the blade exposure is perfectly even.  Removing the blade for disposal is as easy as inverting the head and squeezing.  This allows the blade to fall freely.  The head comes apart for cleaning.

Yesterday's shave was a BBS with a DE (Baby Butt Smooth with a Double Edge) so I wasn't working with a thick beard this morning.

I showered and whipped a big bowl of The Body Shops Macca Root shave cream because it is the slickest stuff I have and for me, it is 100% reliable. For some reason I chose my Hoffritz Pure Badger brush which is a flopper by comparison to the rest of my brushes, but something had it calling out to be a party to the experience.  I underestimate this brush...it needs to be in the brush rotation more often.

The blade I chose is the Feather Pro-Guard.  Per Feather's advertising, "By wrapping the blade in a protective cage a comfort margin is maintained between the blade edge and the skin.  The wire guard also virtually eliminates nicks and cuts."  It works as advertised.. reminds me of the Flicker razor my mom used to use. 
 
Kiehl's Men's Ultimate AS Balm was ready for post shave.

My plan was one pass and I was ready to bail out if it got dicey.  Other than this, I had no real plan.h I have read Dr. Chris Moss's book, The Art of the Straight Razor Shave,  but I felt I needed to hold this experience very loosely since I had no idea where it was going.. expectations are premeditated disappointment.

Top level report... The str8 shave is awkward for a newbie. Hold the razor this way or that? Can I see the angle of the blade?  Can I see my face?  Is that blood?  The left side of my face is impossible to reach or see. Getting around my chin and upper lip is quite challenging.

The shave lasted only marginally longer than a BBS DE shave. Still, I think I would be hard pressed to attempt this on a work day, at least not yet.

I pulled off three passes.. WTG, XTG & XTG. Zero cuts, nicks or errors, but it's far, very far, from a BBS shave. In fact, though I rate it a smashing success due to the lack of personal injury, if this were a DE shave I would consider it an epic fail given the lack of closeness. It's even, so I feel I did a decent job with coverage, but there is a nice even stubble that I would expect late in the day after a morning DFS DE shave (DFS = Damn Fine Shave; a notch below a BBS).

As I sit here, forty minutes post shave, I have zero irritation and have time to review the shave frankly, I don't know what I might do different next time.. The Pro-Guard blades are suspect. But only slightly. If they are designed to prevent cuts, there must be some compromise in closeness.  I didn't attempt an ATG pass.  Though the Macca Root is perfect for DE, it's quite thick and made it tough to tell if the blade or spine of the razor was actually on my skin.

Gotta wonder if I should push to shave two handed... now would be the time do it, before any kind of muscle memory sets in.

To the more experienced...tell me your thoughts..suggestions and comments.

To the less traveled..don't let the straight scare you. Respect it. But don't fear it.

Image is from the Nikon D3.  28-70 f/2.8 Nikkor lens.  Hand-held.  SB-800 fired into a Wescott 43" double fold umbrella via Radio Popper JRx Wireless units.  

...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...

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!

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..)