Shaving notes of the MaineYooper

Yea Eric!

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DecemBoar 23



The Yaqi Romulus is visiting from Kentucky for a week before moving on to warmer climes after the New Year starts. Very close with no irritation, and no blade feel. I will use it a few more times and will most likely try a different handle on it, as the one shown can be quite slick. That handle would be my only concern after the 1 shave. I went with the Proline because those blades were my favorites in the Vector. The Vector gave me too much blade feel and resulted in irritation if I shaved consecutive days with it. When I got a titanium version, the Prolines would not seat properly, and I tried so many other blades, none of which worked as well as memory said the Prolines did. I eventually bought a Hawk, some Prolines, and things seemed right again!

This tickled my funny bone!



Today was the on-loan-to-me Yaqi Romulus, 5th shave on a Schick Proline P-30, SOC cherry boar, and PAA Scentsless. Big donut hole in the soap now. After using up this one, I may settle back into some sort of soap rotation again.

Missed noting the special day yesterday, but Sylvester and Tyler pointed it out to me!



Back to today, DecemBoar 27



Moved the Proline P-30 to the RR Hawk v3. This was the 6th shave on this blade. Everything else was the same as yesterday's shave, which was the same blade in the Yaqi Romulus. What I noted today was that the Hawk had a little more blade feel. I will use the Romulus tomorrow to compare, and if time allows, I may even move the blade AFTER using the Hawk for one WTG pass on one side, and the in the Romulus for the other. This feeling really surprised me, as the Hawk always seemed "tame" to me, but after 2 consecutive days with the Romulus, the Hawk felt like it was more blade forward. Still comfortable, just that I was feeling something I was not expecting.

Today's shave set up



The following is from an email to a friend, but has some thoughts on the Henson Mild V2 that Paul (mrdoug) asked me about.

The Henson Mild was used today, 3rd shave on a Personna PtCr blade, and the brush was the Maggard mixed badger/boar knot set in a Stirling Soap brush handle. The soap, PAA Scentsless, is now located as a ring around the outer edge of the tub. I was surprised with how easily it loaded, taking no more time than I usually load. Could it be the soap? Seems like the Mike's soap wouldn't load well unless I reformed the ring into a disc. Or maybe this mostly badger hair brush loads better than boars or synths. Whatever, it was a nice shave. That Henson is really a great shaver for not needing much user input! This is how I usually nick myself, getting too carried away thinking that the razor is harmless! Same red spot appeared on the XTG pass below my nose, right above my lip and almost at the corner of my mouth. Must be how my skin is contoured there, so I need to pay attention to making a different face when I shave that area!"

The Schick injectors Type I and Type M are razors that I can zoom around my face with almost reckless abandon. This morning's use of the Henson Mild had me feeling that same way! The Overlander is similar but not quite as reckless. For transparency, I should say that ALL of my current razors are mild to mild/modrate as for blade feel, so all are very comfortable to my face. Some need more attention, but none leave me irritated. This has been my goal now for the last couple of years: Close and Comfortable shaves, with no white-knuckling needed. In my own acronym, an RCS result, Really Comfortable Shave that is very close. I gave up on DFS and the like, opting for comfort and closeness. As Mike HighSpeed has in his signature, Technique trumps tools. It took me a while to both get technique and to learn the truth of this adage. Others may love blade feel and enjoy those razors deemed high efficiency, but my face doesn't get along with them. And again, Mike has a great point in his sig line: Skin care trumps skin repair. Having rosacea, I need to care for my skin or pay the price. I've been told that I learn to like (or endure, in my thinking!) high efficiency razors if I'd use them more and "toughen up" my face. For me, that would most likely lead to lots of skin repair and problems. 

All the above to say that technique has enabled me to use tools that some may pooh-pooh as too mild and get a long-lasting smoothness without irritation. And for me, the Henson Mild V2 has been a very welcome addition to my small arsenal of modern DE razors! 

The V2 has rounded corners on the baseplate, which can be seen the photo above. This is the feature that moves the AL13 ahead of the Overlander for the "reckless abandon" factor. At certain angles under my jawline, I can get "poked" by the Overlander due to that corner of the baseplate being more pronounced.


Anyhow, it was good to think about this and record some thoughts. Thanks Paul mrdoug for the request for a review!

Thanks Eric MaineYooper.  I appreciate the mention, even though the "technique trumps tools" motto is not original with me.

Another superb lather from PAA Scentsless! I tell you, as I finish up a soap and experience great lather, I am soooo tempted to buy a replacement tub ASAP! But that would defeat my 2-prong goal of reducing soaps and using up soap that is over 2 years old. 

Mixed badger/boar knot in the Stirling handle (originally sold as closeout boar brush as Rod didn't care for the knot, I think Dave and I decided it wasn't a knot for shaving but to be used to brush off counter or bar tops!!). Speaking of Dave, he did the final clean out of the old knot and made the socket ready to accept this knot. Thanks again Dave!

By the end of 2023, I have used up 4 of the 8 soaps purchased during 2021. One of the four left is the Canada Shaving Soap, which is a large tub of hard soap, so it will be around for some time. Of the other three soaps, two were purchased in August, 2021, and one in December, 2021. So they are next. Not sure if I will continue my monthly use ups, or rotate a bit to enjoy the bountiful tubs I still have. What I do know is that it really seems to take a long time for some of these to get used up! And being unscented, why did I order so many different brands?! Fear of missing out of a great base? Yeah, that could be.

Another superb lather from PAA Scentsless! I tell you, as I finish up a soap and experience great lather, I am soooo tempted to buy a replacement tub ASAP! But that would defeat my 2-prong goal of reducing soaps and using up soap that is over 2 years old. 

Mixed badger/boar knot in the Stirling handle (originally sold as closeout boar brush as Rod didn't care for the knot, I think Dave and I decided it wasn't a knot for shaving but to be used to brush off counter or bar tops!!). Speaking of Dave, he did the final clean out of the old knot and made the socket ready to accept this knot. Thanks again Dave!

By the end of 2023, I have used up 4 of the 8 soaps purchased during 2021. One of the four left is the Canada Shaving Soap, which is a large tub of hard soap, so it will be around for some time. Of the other three soaps, two were purchased in August, 2021, and one in December, 2021. So they are next. Not sure if I will continue my monthly use ups, or rotate a bit to enjoy the bountiful tubs I still have. What I do know is that it really seems to take a long time for some of these to get used up! And being unscented, why did I order so many different brands?! Fear of missing out of a great base? Yeah, that could be.

Hey. Nothing wrong with a good stock of soaps, especially if they are scentless and hence stable. Regarding the fear of missing out on a good base... why not. There are a lot of excellent artisans out there. I'd say it's good to know which you prefer. Buying them at one time... also, why not. The way the economy is going, they're not getting cheaper. You locked in a good price on soaps you knew you wanted to try. Well done, in my book.

As you can see, I can justify anything. Lol. Just know, it doesn't mean I'm right. Heck, my track record isn't so good.

On that line of thinking, I'm really having trouble telling myself I don't need another razor. I might have to try the mild Henson. Temptation is real (and evil). Lol. So, can you compare it to the Overlander - or maybe you did? I need to reread your review. A memory is a terrible thing to lose.

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The 365th shave of the year as well as the 31st shave of DecemBoar.



I decided to stick with the Canada Shaving Soap for the week, and switch to a favorite razor that is well over 100 years old now. The GEM Damaskeene is a smooth shaver for me and it sparkles at me every time I open the razor box, so I decided to start the year with my oldest razor and my newest brush!