An actually good shave

I thought yesterday’s shave was okay if not particularly smooth, but when The Wife arrived to take me to the doctor, she pointed out a series of cuts on my chin and lower lip—small nicks that I had not noticed right after the shave but that had left a series of small blood clots: unattractive and a pretty clear indication that it was not in fact a very good shave. Two obvious possibilities: the Parker head doesn’t work well for me; or I need to learn the head. I am going to try it a few more times, but I couldn’t face it again so soon, so I picked up my Edwin Jagger lined DE8x model (I cannot remember all the model numbers and have given up trying) and shaved with it today. I could tell the difference in comfort from the first stroke: this razor is for me much better than the Parker. Of course, I’ve also shaved with it more, but I have to admit that I’m inclined to believe that this head is better designed for a close comfortable shave.

The lather was made by the Mühle silver fibre bruhs, which I like quite a bit. It has the same softness—fluffiness, almost—of the Mühle silvertip badger, and is equally good at generating and holding lather. Lather today comes from Kell’s Original Energy shaving soap, a fragrance I like a lot. I took my time loading the brush—I can’t believe how briefly I brushed the soap a couple of years ago—and got a very nice lather with that terrific Energy fragrance.

Three very smooth and comfortable passes with no nicks (a fine thing) and a splash of D.R. Harris Arlington, and I’m ready for a busy day: walk, grocery shop, make grub, Pilates, rip the rest of Don Quixote, and so on. But the house is clean—and I have a new grandson. He’s a very handsome guy, just over 2/3 the size of Megs.