SOTD - December 2021

[GAW9576]

Williams Wednesday!
DE-less-cemBoar (™Wchnu)

Cold Water Shave w/ Hot Water Lather
Pre - Aloe Vera Glycerin Soap Face Wash, Noxzema Cream as Pre Shave
Razor - British Gem 1912
Blade: Gem SS PTFE (1st Use)
Brush - Omega 10290 Boar
Lather - Modern Williams Mug Shaving Soap, Face Lathered
Post - Generic Reformed Alum Block, T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel, Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue, Nivea Sensitive Balm


You gotta love when something comes together. It's like the experience of the Festival of Featherweights paid off today in spades with the best two pass shave yet. Smooth and nearly no irritation. While it wasn't perfect, I could see perfect not too far off in the distance. And to think this occurred on a Williams Wednesday!

So, what do I think the factors were that accounted for this? First off, I think I nailed the pressure aspect. Second, I've always said that I like shaving with light razors, like the Triceratops 3D printed, and this British Gem 1912 with an aluminum handle is super light. Good pressure and a light razor came together and I just allowed the weight of the head to do most of the work. And the third factor was skin stretching. I've been working on improving this, particularly with the cheeks.

This was only the second use of this Omega 10290 boar brush. It did a good job loading the lather from the puck and I'm looking forward to it breaking in some more. I was able to face lather adequately. I'm still having issues with the hydration level with face lathering Williams. I got the lather to what I thought was a good point, even some of the lather was slinging off the brush. But, when I got to the end of the first pass the lather was drying out and sticking to the underside of the blade when rinsing. More practice required.

Most folks have said that the first usage of a GEM SS PFTE blade can be harsh and that was in the back of my mind when I started the shave. However, I did not experience any harshness and in fact I think the sharpness of the blade also was another contributing factor to the success of the shave.

Looks like you and I were on the same piag with razor selection. Although it sounds like you had a more enjoyable shave than me. The razor, blade and other shave items were not at all at fault. Family matters outside the shave den were distracting the shaver.