Gillette Mach 3 vs Dovo Best Quality 6/8

I haven't used the Gillette Mach 3 for ages.  Out of the blue, I just decided to give it a try and see how it feels again.  I have been straight ... razor shaving for some time with three razors in rotation, the Dovo being my favorite.  The process is kind of elaborate and if you are in a rush like every morning every day, it's just not going to work; I actually shave in the evenings or weekends once a week or so, to enjoy and unwind.  The stropping, the lathering and the full concentration can be somewhat taxing, that's when it's not enjoyable.  The Gillette Mach 3 provides a good alternative, it's almost effortless.  I lather up and shave.  Of course that is if you have a short beard or stubble, if you have grown your beard longer than say quarter of an inch then the Mach 3 won't work that well, all the cut hairs would get stuck among the three blades and you constantly have to rinse the razor cartridge.  On the other hand, the straight razor would cut through any length of beard without getting stuck.  Unless you are an idiot, the chance of cutting yourself with a Mach 3 is extremely low and you can just shave your way rather absentmindedly without losing a nose or an ear.  And Mach 3 actually gives a very clean or even cleaner shave than my straight razors.

Finedge Ostiso

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Cheapo Shaving Soap

For the cheapo inside me. Well actually it isn't as cheap as I want it to be or think it would me. The label doesn't say anything about natural so I guess it's all tough chemical just for manly man like yours truly.

Update 1/3/2011:
Williams Mug Shaving Soap
I tried it last night.  I soaked it under hot water inside a mug while taking a hot shower.  Poured out the water, whipped up a lather with my brush without really trying as I was kind of in a hurry.  The lather was good and it didn't disappear while I was shaving.  So it wasn't all that bad.  The lather tended to leave some white residue on the blade which I had to wash and remove afterwards.  The scent was a bit hospital like if you were to inhale directly from the soap solid state but when used on shaving, it's a very faint and pleasant scent which also disappeared rather quite quickly, by morning, you couldn't smell anything.

Green Living, My Way

Or living on the straight razor edge

Before

Shaving Soap, got it creamy

Got to lather up

Strop the blade first ...

I tend to shave the sides first

Then above the lips and chin

Just like cutting grass ...

Against the grain

Not as clean as I wanted, poor eye sight and late at night all the excuses but hey, at least I didn't cut myself into pieces.  KIDS DON'T TRY IT AT HOME.

Straight Razors

The bottom one is my newly acquired straight razor, it's smaller but I think sharper and just a tad easier to maneuver on the immaculate terrain that is my face: cheeks, chin and jawlines most people would kill for. The F.H.Loeffler's Our Drummer is 5/8" while the Dovo is 6/8" and in comparison the Dovo is just bigger, longer and heavier, overall it feels substantial and awe inspiring. Is it necessarily better? I guess it depends on one's preference.

update:
1/19/2013
I think I like the 6/8 size better.  But you may think differently.

Straight Razor Shave Experience Update

WARNING:  YET ANOTHER BORING POST

I have been keeping the scales dry and clean.  The Maas cream was able to remove 99% of the patina formed on the blade, it now still has a tiny microscopic dot there which doesn't seem to get any worse.  I am anal retentive but not to the extent that it bothers me (OKAY, just a tiny little bit).  I usually shave at night as I don't have time to fuss in the morning.  I am the last one to take the shower so I have no problem leaving the razor sort of to dry in the bathroom as there won't be any additional steam from any more shower.  The following day, I store the razor away from the bathroom to avoid moisture from showers.

The soaps I got from eBay were bad despite good service and allegedly made from all natural stuff.  I could never got a nice lather out of them, at least the two that I tried and they left my skin uncomfortable.  The one I got from another vendor seems far better.  I am able to whip some nice lather out of it and it doesn't irritate.  Before I never know what real lather feels like.  I had equated lather with suds.  How wrong was I?  With the good soap I don't really need after shave lotion or balm though I am sure I can use some but it doesn't bother me even if I don't.

Stropping is not all that difficult even with a 2-inch wide stop.  Naturally I am making an x motion pulling and pushing the blade on the strop.  It's no biggie, at least that's what I thought.  I did make a few nicks on the strop initially.  I should have slowed down a bit in the beginning.  I was not in a race why bothered to act like proficient while I was just starting out.

I used to just shave with the grain or across the grain, but I am doing the against the grain more so now.  But still the underside area between the chin and the jaw on both sides of the face are like the most difficult parts for against the grain shave.

I am able to use my non dominant hand to shave, that is my left hand shaves my left face without cutting up my face.  But still most of the time I use my right hand for against the grain shave.

Straight Razor Set

Clockwise from left:  A badger shave brush, a 6/8" straight razor, a shaving mug.  Not shown is the shaving soap and strop.  Previously.

update: 11/14/2012
The shaving mug cracked pretty early on.  The quality of it is very questionable.  Anyway, I am still using it.

Straight Razor Shaving

A while ago I mentioned that I finally relented to the the temptation of getting a straight razor.  I guess this is just a natural progression of what I am.  Like taking pictures using film, then digital, then film and digital again.  I actually got a straight razor more than a year ago but it was the kind with disposable slide on razor.  I have been using it for more than a year and I haven't touched my Mach 3 Gillette for a long long time.  The thing with a straight razor is akin to film photography it's totally unnecessary and almost pretentious but that's who I am and I have no qualm admitting it.  I guess I have my own quirks and I have grown to accept and if not totally embrace them.  The thing with straight razor shaving is this:  the reward is a clean shave when everything is done right while the punishment for absent mindedness can be swift and severe.  Unlike shaving with an electrical razor or a Mach 3 which you could do while you are half asleep, a straight razor shave demands your full attention or you suffer from the consequence.  In this world full of moral hazards and actions without consequence, I find the whole ritual of straight razor shaving oddly refreshing.

Leap Year

I cannot just let this day go by without talking about it. So I got this extra day, and I really made good use of it by working extra hard. That obviously was a lie. It was just another day.

I am doing better with the straight razor, but I still cut myself. You just need to concentrate, much more so than using the other razors. If you like to live dangerously, like me, use a straight razor. Anything else is just so pussy.

Straight Edge

Due to habitual nonchalance and lassitude, I don't shave every day. If I do, I prefer a close razor shave to an electrical one. But if one hasn't shaved for days or weeks, a regular Gillette just won't cut it. I always think a straight edge razor is the ultimate tool to a clean shave. And my old Shanghai barbers have proven just that.

Last evening, out of the blue, sort of I guess, I went to a "beauty" supply shop in seedy Flushing and asked if they carry straight edge razor. And they do. The guy led me to his locked glass cabinet and showed me his wares. He showed me the cheap ones and hinted the $60 one piece solid steel ones are too expensive, like for me? And I ended up taking his hint and bought a cheap one that uses a separate razor. He demonstrated how to split a double edge razor in half and installed one half of the razor to the cheapo straight edge. I never would have thought a razor could be split in the middle and got mounted on a straight edge blade. And the way the inner cut pattern of a safety razor is designed just serves that mounting purpose. Some genius design there.

Around 12 midnight, I tried it. I shaved part of my right cheek and barely not cut myself. My left cheek, not so lucky. I made three bad cuts. Long before I was old enough to shave, I played with my Dad's razor and I shaved a piece of my chin off. Maybe deep down, I wanted to have this bad cut again ....