(This post was last modified: 07-27-2024, 11:21 PM by Tedolph.)
A bit of an unusual shave today:
Brush: Semogue 1305 (refinished)
Razor: Pearl "The Sleek" (modified)
Blade: SilverMax platinum SE (new)
Soap: Cella red
Pre-shave: soap bloom water
A/S: Spearhead Seaforth! Fleur de France
Saturday is usually my Yoga day and day off shaving. However, the choir was singing at a requiem mass so I had to clean up. My beard was light so I decided to skip the SR and just do a SE safety razor shave with a new blade. First pass against the grain to calm down the blade, followed by three subsequent ATG, WTG and opposite ATG passes. As usual, the Cella performed admirably with lots of residual slickness. One nice thing about the Pearl SE is that it has excellent flow though and doesn't clog. You only need to rinse between passes when you put the razor down. Definitely a BBS shave but it still doesn't last quite as long as a SR shave. Also, I note that with a SR I only do two full passes and one clean up pass to get to BBS.
I am finally mastering this razor/blade combination. The key is to be patient, use very little pressure and stay within the effective shaving angle. As with any safety razor, the safety bar lets you cheat and apply too much pressure chasing BBS. Can't do that with a SR.
I really don't like the A/S. With time and oxidation (it is more than half gone) the aroma is not noxious anymore. It does have a lot of glycerin in it so it leaves the face sticky and not refreshed. I hate glycerin in my aftershave.
All in all, a better than OK shave, but not perfectly pleasurable.