Shaving notes of the MaineYooper

Yeah, I think that’s where they take a laser and cauterize (ie, burn) away part of the soft pallet at the back of your throat. I’ve heard it’s as painful as it sounds and not that effective. Run above meme again for me!

Yes, now that you write that, it's what the doc told me. And said it doesn't always work. So too invasive, last resort only.

Jan 16

I had planned to return to some sort of fixed setup for a week. I succeeded with the Amakuni, but struggled with the Athena. The razor is wonderful. However, purchases made in December have arrived and try as I might to stay focused, I found myself wanting to change razors this morning.

Longtime readers will know that the Karve Christopher Bradley, specifically the B solid bar plate and to some extent the C plate, was The One for quite some time. Up until Chris released the Overlander. This November or December someone listed a stainless steel CB razor and I decided to pick it up. I had sold my brass CB last year, or maybe at the end of 2023. I didn't use it much and often seemed to nick myself.

Well this morning the C plate called to me, and I moved the Nacet blade from the Athena over to the CB and went after the whiskers. It was awesome! What a nice "homecoming." It was an effortless shave, whereas my memory of the brass C plate was of an almost white-knuckle shave experience. What gives? Is it the metal making the difference? Or has my technique improved such that the razor is mild? In any case, I loved the shave. In fact, I went back and looked when my Overlander arrived, back in January of 2023. It was the razor with a ton of buzz and hype, "shaves like a C or D plate but feels like a B plate." Kind of a fun stroll down memory lane. I am very happy to have the original Karve back in my line up, especially in a lighter format for my poor, arthritic hand!

I'd say it was most probably you Eric.  You post a lot of shaves, and it sounds like a minimum of a year has passed since your earlier CB/C experience.  That's enough time to make big improvements.

Congratulations!    

Thanks for the kind words, Mike HighSpeed!

Brush .... Morris & Forndran
Soap ..... ETHOS Vétivert
Razor .... Tatara Amakuni
Blade .... Proline P-30
Post ..... Witch Hazel w/alcohol
Post ..... ETHOS Vétivert SFS
Finish ... ETHOS Vétivert EDP

Tonight's shave was splendid.  IMO by now, the ETHOS and M&F products speak for themselves.  OTOH the Tatara Amakuni is a relative newcomer.  First of all, many thanks to my good friend Eric (aka MaineYooper) for loaning me his Tatara Amakuni razor.  I was very impressed with it, and will share my initial impressions in a bit more detail tomorrow, in the Amakuni Passaround Signup thread.


Hey Eric - Thanks again!

Lovely setup, Mike HighSpeed! The M&F badger looks fantastic. Your photographic skills are top notch, buddy. Everything shown makes me want to shave again, now!

 

Shave 18 this year
Shave 1,272 consecutive shaves to date!

Lovely setup, Mike HighSpeed! The M&F badger looks fantastic. Your photographic skills are top notch, buddy. Everything shown makes me want to shave again, now!

Many thanks Eric MaineYooper.  THe M&F badger is fantastic, and I very much appreciate your remarks about the photograghy.

This week I am using two razors, both from Oliworks, the M3teorite and the Oliblade.



I had some issues with the Sensitive Skin during DecemBoar, getting weak lathers, when I am used to creamy lathers with structure. At the time, I wondered if it was the soap, the boars, my technique, or a combination of those parts. So my initial thought is to use synthetics this week, but I may break out a badger or even a boar by the end of the week. 
Each razor, by the way, received a fresh blade so I don't have to worry about that during the week. I do plan to use both razors every day for comparison.

Today, I chose a newer brush, the CaYuen Workshops' Kryptonite with a Muhle STF XL knot put into the handle.


From my notes this morning:

I found this in another forum, and I am happy that my face confirmed the mild tray (base plate). I presume this quote is from Jorge, but there was no specific citation, just what looks like a cut and paste from an email.