Shaving notes of the MaineYooper

Dave mentioned, in his video today, There Are No Rules. I believe it was about using Aqua Velva that may not have been manufactured in the same time period as the vintage Williams Shave Cream that was used earlier. That statement resonated with me. Now this may be silly, but it is what is going through my cognitive gray matter right now. Well, that and I wonder if cake is good for supper?

Anyway, for some years now I have sort of been using a set up for 7-10 days, varying maybe brushes as the days went on, but keeping razor, blade, and soap the same. The idea was to learn your kit by using it consistently for a week. I stretched to 10, as my DE blades could easily do that, especially if I skipped a day shaving on occasion. 

But lately, I have been feeling sort of confined, and, in the words of Freddy Mercury and Queen, I wan to break free!

So this birthday week was to be Razors from the 60s, of which I have a small number of DE and SE options, and seemed kind of fun. Two years ago in July, I did something similar to celebrate 50 years since Apollo 11 went and landed on the Moon, enjoying the idea of using razors that the folks involved in getting to that goal might have been using.

And yesterday I received to packages, a new Semogue SOC boar in cherry wood, gifted to me by a kind gent in another neighborhood, and a Gem Micromatic open comb. The Micromatic is in really nice shape, and after a quick dishsoap scrub with a soft tooth brush, was all shiny. It got a Barbicide dip, and was good to go. I had already planned to do an early afternoon shave with a Type M injector, but now I had this new MMOC (at least I think it is) winking at me.

I switched it up, feeling a bit twitchy somewhere in the back of my mind, but enjoyed the shave. This is the second razor that is an open comb that the teeth of the comb don't bother me at all! The first was the NEW LC that Paul mrdoug gifted me (which is also on deck this week, even though it isn't a 60s era, but I wanted to use it again!). Just a bit ago, I watched Dave's video, and near the end that statement I opened with was said. The clouds parted, angels sang, and I screwed my head on a little tighter! There are no rules, just shaving and enjoying this one-time chore!  Thanks Dave in KY for that wisdom!

Edit: forgot the shave details!
GEM Micromatic, most likely from the mid-30s, as it is shiny silver, not gold
Personna GEM (3)
House of Mammoth Z
28mm 2BED in Aurora Borealis (a Trotter Handcrafts handle)

I consulted the world renowned culinary cake expert (pictured below) and cake IS an appropriate dinner.

Dig in Eric!

Sent from my Speak and Spell using Tapatalk.

Are you not getting your notifications on pm? MaineYooper ?

Are you not getting your notifications on pm? MaineYooper ?

Hey Keith!

No, I have not had any PM notifications since last night around 9pm. I just checked my PM messages, and that is the last that I received. Did I miss one from you?

Are you not getting your notifications on pm? MaineYooper ?

Hey Keith!

No, I have not had any PM notifications since last night around 9pm. I just checked my PM messages, and that is the last that I received. Did I miss one from you?

My PM is kind of looking different on the telephone than it was also.

Others have reported not getting various notifications, so I check the Latest Posts tab and the mailbox when needed!

Others have reported not getting various notifications, so I check the Latest Posts tab and the mailbox when needed!

Aah, I thought maybe you were ignoring me because I wanted to borrow $100,000 to buy a Titanium Wolfman razor.

Dave mentioned, in his video today, There Are No Rules. I believe it was about using Aqua Velva that may not have been manufactured in the same time period as the vintage Williams Shave Cream that was used earlier. That statement resonated with me. Now this may be silly, but it is what is going through my cognitive gray matter right now. Well, that and I wonder if cake is good for supper?

Anyway, for some years now I have sort of been using a set up for 7-10 days, varying maybe brushes as the days went on, but keeping razor, blade, and soap the same. The idea was to learn your kit by using it consistently for a week. I stretched to 10, as my DE blades could easily do that, especially if I skipped a day shaving on occasion. 

But lately, I have been feeling sort of confined, and, in the words of Freddy Mercury and Queen, I wan to break free!

So this birthday week was to be Razors from the 60s, of which I have a small number of DE and SE options, and seemed kind of fun. Two years ago in July, I did something similar to celebrate 50 years since Apollo 11 went and landed on the Moon, enjoying the idea of using razors that the folks involved in getting to that goal might have been using.

And yesterday I received to packages, a new Semogue SOC boar in cherry wood, gifted to me by a kind gent in another neighborhood, and a Gem Micromatic open comb. The Micromatic is in really nice shape, and after a quick dishsoap scrub with a soft tooth brush, was all shiny. It got a Barbicide dip, and was good to go. I had already planned to do an early afternoon shave with a Type M injector, but now I had this new MMOC (at least I think it is) winking at me.

I switched it up, feeling a bit twitchy somewhere in the back of my mind, but enjoyed the shave. This is the second razor that is an open comb that the teeth of the comb don't bother me at all! The first was the NEW LC that Paul mrdoug gifted me (which is also on deck this week, even though it isn't a 60s era, but I wanted to use it again!). Just a bit ago, I watched Dave's video, and near the end that statement I opened with was said. The clouds parted, angels sang, and I screwed my head on a little tighter! There are no rules, just shaving and enjoying this one-time chore!  Thanks Dave in KY for that wisdom!

Edit: forgot the shave details!
GEM Micromatic, most likely from the mid-30s, as it is shiny silver, not gold
Personna GEM (3)
House of Mammoth Z
28mm 2BED in Aurora Borealis (a Trotter Handcrafts handle)

Your welcome Eric, I stole it from here
https://youtu.be/Y3VMc82gX5I

Today I broke out the pre-War Gillette Tech, which I had been neglecting for months now. I moved the Rapira Platinum Lux (6) over to it, selected a cashmere knot (which happened to be in the Trotter Messier handle) and got my shave on with House of Mammoth Z.

I was taking things easy with a late morning shave. Yesterday, the MMOC did a bang up job. I was super impressed with how stubble-free I remained, right up to mid-morning, then I could tell it was time to shave. I wanted a mild razor and those butterfly wings painting lather on my face, just in case there was any irritation that I was unaware of (hey, sometimes after a new to me razor's first use, my face lets me know it during the next shave!). But all was well. Or almost. The blade seemed a little tuggy, or "stingy" to make up a word. Only on its 6th shave, is should be better than that. But a cold water splash and some Stirling unscented balm, and I feel closely shaved and refreshed!

I have a shave project going on that I will document more on as it nears completion, but for now I will describe it a bit, and those in the peanut gallery that are so inclined can chime in! 

So in that place known for inexplicable banning, I had commented on a post about how soft a guy found his boar brush. I had an Omega Pro '49 from my first month wet shaving, and while I could get an occasional great feeling from it, often it felt poky, scratching, and scrubby, three things I have banned from my shaving.  A nice guy who participates in the weekly shave setup thread I mentioned earlier PM'd me and offered, for free, a Semogue SOC boar in a cherry wood handle, new in box. After the initial surprise, I had to check which forum I was on!! That kind of thing has been a DFS hallmark for me, never at The Other Place. Oh, lots of great help, but not pieces of kit! (Though to be fair, this same guy earlier offered to send my something else, free, to try. Maybe he lurks here at DFS, or goes by a different username!)

After spending some time researching how to break a boar in, I decided to do some Kevy Shaves did a video on. I opted not to try the 3 day refrigerator path, and instead am doing a 5 day load and lather in a ribbed bowl or hand for 10 minutes. Then try a shave and repeat or modify or whatever as needed. But I am assured by the gifter that Semogue boars are very soft once broken in, and he hopes I find that to be true, if I can get through the break in period. I had worked with that Omega for some time and even though I could see split endz, I wasn't feeling pillowy cloud-like softness. And then I discovered SynBad knots and the rest is history. I cannot find the Omega. I hope I passed it on rather than binning it. 

That's what's cooking in the shave lab now, breaking boar!

Hope your day goes well. This is my sunday, as I work the weekend. Take care all!

I find that Omegas do take longer to break in. I have a Semogue 620 for a travel razor and it is nicely breaking in. The Zenith I have broke in the quickest and is super soft. The tall loft makes it splay a bit more than I like, but it’s a great painter. It’s currently in my BSTP box.

Today I broke out the pre-War Gillette Tech, which I had been neglecting for months now. I moved the Rapira Platinum Lux (6) over to it, selected a cashmere knot (which happened to be in the Trotter Messier handle) and got my shave on with House of Mammoth Z.

I was taking things easy with a late morning shave. Yesterday, the MMOC did a bang up job. I was super impressed with how stubble-free I remained, right up to mid-morning, then I could tell it was time to shave. I wanted a mild razor and those butterfly wings painting lather on my face, just in case there was any irritation that I was unaware of (hey, sometimes after a new to me razor's first use, my face lets me know it during the next shave!). But all was well. Or almost. The blade seemed a little tuggy, or "stingy" to make up a word. Only on its 6th shave, is should be better than that. But a cold water splash and some Stirling unscented balm, and I feel closely shaved and refreshed!

I have a shave project going on that I will document more on as it nears completion, but for now I will describe it a bit, and those in the peanut gallery that are so inclined can chime in! 

So in that place known for inexplicable banning, I had commented on a post about how soft a guy found his boar brush. I had an Omega Pro '49 from my first month wet shaving, and while I could get an occasional great feeling from it, often it felt poky, scratching, and scrubby, three things I have banned from my shaving.  A nice guy who participates in the weekly shave setup thread I mentioned earlier PM'd me and offered, for free, a Semogue SOC boar in a cherry wood handle, new in box. After the initial surprise, I had to check which forum I was on!! That kind of thing has been a DFS hallmark for me, never at The Other Place. Oh, lots of great help, but not pieces of kit! (Though to be fair, this same guy earlier offered to send my something else, free, to try. Maybe he lurks here at DFS, or goes by a different username!)

After spending some time researching how to break a boar in, I decided to do some Kevy Shaves did a video on. I opted not to try the 3 day refrigerator path, and instead am doing a 5 day load and lather in a ribbed bowl or hand for 10 minutes. Then try a shave and repeat or modify or whatever as needed. But I am assured by the gifter that Semogue boars are very soft once broken in, and he hopes I find that to be true, if I can get through the break in period. I had worked with that Omega for some time and even though I could see split endz, I wasn't feeling pillowy cloud-like softness. And then I discovered SynBad knots and the rest is history. I cannot find the Omega. I hope I passed it on rather than binning it. 

That's what's cooking in the shave lab now, breaking boar!

Hope your day goes well. This is my sunday, as I work the weekend. Take care all!

We're going to get to see pictures of the breaking in process, right Eric?!

Sent from my Speak and Spell using Tapatalk.