Old Sarge's Shaving Journey

Cold Water Shave w/ Hot Water Lather
Pre: Aloe Vera Glycerin Soap Face Wash, Noxzema Cream as Pre Shave
Razor: Schick Type J2
Blade: Personna PTFE Injector (1st Use)
Brush: Omega Pro 49 Boar
Lather: Cella, Face Lathered
Post: Generic Reformed Alum Block, T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel, Clubman Pinaud Lime Sec EDC, Nivea Sensitive Balm

This razor was a Black Friday antique store score. BLUF...this shave will do nothing to minimize desire for future acquisitions of injector style razors! 

First time shave with an injector razor was a successful two pass affair. I started out on the first pass experimenting with my technique. I quickly realized that "riding the cap" was not the optimal angle and adjusted to a less shallow angle. Even then, I still felt like I wasn't shaving off many whiskers. I also found myself rinsing the razor more often, as the lather port area appeared to clog up more easily. The shave came into its own on the second pass while going ATG on my neck. Though I feel like the Type J2 is a mild razor with minimal blade exposure (please correct me if I'm wrong), I was able to find the sweet spot that afforded an efficient pass. I was most pleased while going ATG on my chin and mustache, it just seemed to work well. The most odd thing I realized with this razor was during cleanup. I'm accustomed to removing all blades to do a quick cleaning of the razor...no such action required here other than rinsing off and drying.

I've been using a rubber o-ring on the Omega 49 for a short while to increase backbone. I added a second o-ring and it felt even better. Before soaking the brush, I slide the o-ring's down onto the knot. During clean-up, I slide the o-rings back onto the handle for storage and to allow the knot to dry out more easily.

This was also a first time use of Cella. I found it to work just fine, nothing spectacular...just solid. I think the Italians have the croaps nailed on!

As I've previously struggled with the Gem Featherweight, I'm announcing that beginning tomorrow I will be participating in the Festival of Featherweights. This will be a week long adventure where I attempt to become simpatico with these fine razors. I'll be shaving with a Gen. I Deluxe on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday...a Gen. I on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday...and since I don't have a Gen. II I will use a Heavy Flat Top on Thursday.

Feel free to pull out a Featherweight this week and join in on the festival atmosphere!   

Great report, Sarge! And welcome to the wonderful world of injectors! You already have experienced the GEMs. I only discovered both this year, with much help from Dave in KY, who generously lent me some razors to try. For almost 5 years I only used various DE razors.

I echo what I have repeatedly heard, injector shaving is like cheating! And the GEMs are right behind them. This morning I used a Schick Type M, and got a fantastic shave, and almost effortless. Again, it has made me wonder why I reach for a DE, when the SEs seem to shave me better.

OK, I do know why: variety.

Thanks for the good read!

I'm really enjoying having my own space to record my experiences, made even better by having others to interact with! These vintage razors are like little treasures and are a joy to find and use. 

What setting did you use on your Type M? I too find myself wanting to shave with SE razors lately. But, the DE razors are beautiful also and deserve to be used. It's hard to find the right balance!

I set it at 5 and get exactly what I want. And I recently tried something someone else had mentioned, and that was to drop to a low setting for against the grain UNDER the nose. Any time I have tried ATG under the schoz, I got weepers and even nicks. But dropping the Type M to 2 gave me an effortless shave! That setting anywhere else feels like there is no whisker whacking happening, but under the nose I had audible feedback and the closest thing to a glass like finish ever!

That's a great tip! I noticed how easy it was to get right under the nose with the Schick going N to S. Perhaps the best for this than any other razor I've used.

I've really come to enjoy the witch hazel part of my post shave quite a bit. I started using Thayers first, as I got one unscented and one lavender for a good price on sale at a local grocery store. I've got the lavender stashed for the future. Later on I picked up the T. N. Dickinson's on sale at the same store. Initially, I wasn't to sure about the scent of the Dickinson's. However, over time, I've come to enjoy the Dickinson's over the Thayers and fully embrace the scent. I'm not sure why, but the Dickinson's feels better on the face...almost thicker. Not sure how to describe the sensation. I enjoy it so much that I've started to go for a second splash after the first dries off. While the Thayers almost feels watered down.

Do I have a problem?

I've really come to enjoy the witch hazel part of my post shave quite a bit. I started using Thayers first, as I got one unscented and one lavender for a good price on sale at a local grocery store. I've got the lavender stashed for the future. Later on I picked up the T. N. Dickinson's on sale at the same store. Initially, I wasn't to sure about the scent of the Dickinson's. However, over time, I've come to enjoy the Dickinson's over the Thayers and fully embrace the scent. I'm not sure why, but the Dickinson's feels better on the face...almost thicker. Not sure how to describe the sensation. I enjoy it so much that I've started to go for a second splash after the first dries off. While the Thayers almost feels watered down.

Do I have a problem?

I've been using the Thayers Rose for years. At night I splash a bunch on a cotton round and scrub my face with it. And of course sometimes I use it as a post-shave splash. Great stuff... and a wonderful scent.

I've really come to enjoy the witch hazel part of my post shave quite a bit. I started using Thayers first, as I got one unscented and one lavender for a good price on sale at a local grocery store. I've got the lavender stashed for the future. Later on I picked up the T. N. Dickinson's on sale at the same store. Initially, I wasn't to sure about the scent of the Dickinson's. However, over time, I've come to enjoy the Dickinson's over the Thayers and fully embrace the scent. I'm not sure why, but the Dickinson's feels better on the face...almost thicker. Not sure how to describe the sensation. I enjoy it so much that I've started to go for a second splash after the first dries off. While the Thayers almost feels watered down.

Do I have a problem?

I've been using the Thayers Rose for years. At night I splash a bunch on a cotton round and scrub my face with it. And of course sometimes I use it as a post-shave splash. Great stuff... and a wonderful scent.

I started off using a cotton round as well. However, I find that it sticks to any areas that still have stubble. I've got some thick whiskers and still haven't really nailed a BBS shave! I've heard that the rose smells good.

I'll have to check out Dickinson's. Does it have alcohol? The lack of alcohol is why I use Thayers.

I'll have to check out Dickinson's. Does it have alcohol? The lack of alcohol is why I use Thayers.

Sorry, 14% alcohol.