Chinese Feather clones

slapo

slapo

It's... alive!
sɐǝɹpu∀ said:
They are sharp though, aren't they?
Best one-and-three-quarter pass shave I've had in quite a while.
And the biggest blood bath in quite a while.
Lack of concentration and getting cocky with my left hand. Entirely my own fault.
What doesn't kill you...
Click to expand...
Second attempt on Sunday then? :D

I find that a good way to watch myself is the length of the stroke. I prefer very short strokes, as it allows me to deal curvature of my face and neck more easily.
I also try to keep my breathing relaxed and synchronise stroke speed with it.
I don't use shavettes much, but when I do, this approach always works well for me.
 
sɐǝɹpu∀

sɐǝɹpu∀

riverrun
slapo said:
Second attempt on Sunday then? :D

I find that a good way to watch myself is the length of the stroke. I prefer very short strokes, as it allows me to deal curvature of my face and neck more easily.
I also try to keep my breathing relaxed and synchronise stroke speed with it.
I don't use shavettes much, but when I do, this approach always works well for me.
Click to expand...
Not Sunday, I received two GEM razors today. But soon.
I had a folding Feather SS a while ago and have shaved quite successfully with straights and Kamisori style AC razors that I had on loan.
But... it's been quite a while and I got overconfident after the first pass, switching hands. Something I would never do with SE/DE razors.
My muscle memory has obviously forgotten a few things. I'm not sure my left hand has any muscle memory.
I'll have another go soon.
 
Estariol

Estariol

Forum GOD!
Twelvefret said:
Everything you need to know and do using any type of straight blade
View: https://youtu.be/02gfN42lRew
Click to expand...
He's using a full blade Vanta. And a veeeery low angle. I don't think it went above 20 degrees. The only question i'll have to find the answer to by myself is whether i'ts possible to stretch the skin the way he does, using pinching or the thumb and index and shave oneself. But excellent pointers, because hopefully i'll have a Vanta arriving for Christmas.
 
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Twelvefret

Twelvefret

Forum GOD!
Estariol said:
He's using a full blade Vanta. And a veeeery low angle. I don't think it went above 20 degrees. The only question i'll have to find the answer to by myself is whether i'ts possible to stretch the skin the way he does, using pinching or the thumb and index and shave oneself. But excellent pointers, because hopefully i'll have a Vanta arriving for Christmas.
Click to expand...
His lathering impressed me. Straights need quality lather.
 
Estariol

Estariol

Forum GOD!
Twelvefret said:
Straights need quality lather.
Click to expand...
Indeed. It needs to be on the wetter side. I like mine when it's like eggwhites whipped with sugar (sorry if it's a bad example, i wanted to say "whipped cream", but i honestly don't know if they make it the same in my country :blush:) , creamy and sticky, on the edge of being too wet. And that's where i lose most of my time when shaving. Still not proficient enough to achieve constant quality lather.
 
slapo

slapo

It's... alive!
Estariol said:
He's using a full blade Vanta. And a veeeery low angle. I don't think it went above 20 degrees. The only question i'll have to find the answer to by myself is whether i'ts possible to stretch the skin the way he does, using pinching or the thumb and index and shave oneself. But excellent pointers, because hopefully i'll have a Vanta arriving for Christmas.
Click to expand...
I just watched the video and what he does during the second pass on his face is pretty much what I do all the time, except much slower.
If I use a shavette with a thicker spine, I just put the spine on my face first.
It works as well as he made it look. :)

Twelvefret said:
His lathering impressed me. Straights need quality lather.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it took a while to build, but it looked very nice.
I was a little surprised the lather hadn't washed out, considering how long he'd been basically rinsing the brush.

EDIT: I just watched the part again. He didn't actually have it under water long at all, he just groped the brush for a while after wetting it somewhat. Still, an interesting technique.
 
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slapo

slapo

It's... alive!
Estariol said:
...Still not proficient enough to achieve constant quality lather.
Click to expand...
Do you bowl lather?
I find that if I use a croap or a cream that can be scooped up, using the back of my thumb as a scoop helps me get a fairly consistent amount of it out. Then I spread it at the bottom of the bowl, and add just enough water to cover it. I let it sit like that while I'm cleaning the sink (I do that before every shave, as I fill it with water for rinsing), then I whip up the lather and apply it to a dry face.
If I scoop out a little too much soap, a dip of the brush in water sorts it out fast enough.

When face lathering, I just count time I'm swirling the brush against the soap, then bring it to a wet face and dip it in water a few times if it feels dry (I generally need two or three dips at least).

In either case, though, it's good to stick to a single soap for a while, just to get to know it well.
 
Twelvefret

Twelvefret

Forum GOD!
I noticed in the video the barber used a tube soap. I've only limited experience with Palmolive, but it seems to makes lots of lather using a small amount.
 
slapo

slapo

It's... alive!
Twelvefret said:
I noticed in the video the barber used a tube soap. I've only limited experience with Palmolive, but it seems to makes lots of lather using a small amount.
Click to expand...
I think it was a bulk tub of Proraso, their older design that featured differently coloured stripes for different kinds of their cream.
This looks like their older tub design:
maguiresbarbershop.co.uk

Proraso NEW Shaving Cream Tube - Sandalwood and Shea Butter - 150ml

Proraso NEW Shaving Cream Tube - Sandalwood - 150ml at Maguire's Barbershop | Proraso Shaving | Shaving Creams by Proraso | Enriched with sandalwood, shea butter and glycerin, this classic shaving cr
maguiresbarbershop.co.uk maguiresbarbershop.co.uk
But otherwise, it looks like some of their larger dose ship in a tub like the one he used:
www.salontotal.co.uk

Proraso Shaving Cream Wood and Spice | Salontotal.co.uk

✔ Proraso Shaving Cream Wood and Spice at Salontotal.co.uk ✔ Free shipping from £30 ✔ Ordered before 10 PM, shipped today!* ✔ Fair prices ✔ Securely shopping
www.salontotal.co.uk www.salontotal.co.uk

Having said that, I have never used Proraso myself, but it seems to be fairly well loved on the forums and saw it in SOTD pictures a bunch of times over the years.
 
Twelvefret

Twelvefret

Forum GOD!
slapo said:
I think it was a bulk tub of Proraso, their older design that featured differently coloured stripes for different kinds of their cream.
This looks like their older tub design:
maguiresbarbershop.co.uk

Proraso NEW Shaving Cream Tube - Sandalwood and Shea Butter - 150ml

Proraso NEW Shaving Cream Tube - Sandalwood - 150ml at Maguire's Barbershop | Proraso Shaving | Shaving Creams by Proraso | Enriched with sandalwood, shea butter and glycerin, this classic shaving cr
maguiresbarbershop.co.uk maguiresbarbershop.co.uk
But otherwise, it looks like some of their larger dose ship in a tub like the one he used:
www.salontotal.co.uk

Proraso Shaving Cream Wood and Spice | Salontotal.co.uk

✔ Proraso Shaving Cream Wood and Spice at Salontotal.co.uk ✔ Free shipping from £30 ✔ Ordered before 10 PM, shipped today!* ✔ Fair prices ✔ Securely shopping
www.salontotal.co.uk www.salontotal.co.uk

Having said that, I have never used Proraso myself, but it seems to be fairly well loved on the forums and saw it in SOTD pictures a bunch of times over the years.
Click to expand...
Glycerin seems to be a key ingredient for me.
 
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