Combining good things in a good way in good proportions will often produce a good result. Take, for example, today’s shave.
The shaving soap is Phoenix Artisan’s ultrapremium CK-6 formula, whose ingredients are especially effective for both stubble (softening it for the shave) and akin (softening it post-shave). Moreover, Planet Java Hive’s fragrance is one that I especially enjoy — coffee + honey — so I lingered in the lathering, enjoying as well the gentle feel of the Mühle silvertip pictured. (It helps that the water here is soft.) The extended lathering surely helped ease the cutting when the blade hit the stubble.
The razor is the Gillette Heritage model. Gillette wisely realized that they had no current expertise in making double-edge safety razors, so they seem to have purchased heads from Edwin Jagger or Mühle in the design those two created some years back — a very solid and well-performing design. Gillette may well have designed the handle, since it shows some lack of experience and knowledge — for example, it lacks a good grip at the base of the handle for the pass against the grain. The razor is a good performer, though, and I have in it a blade that works well for me in that razor.
My shaving technique now has been polished through years of practice, and after three passes I had a perfectly smooth face with no nicks or burn. Rinse, dry, and add a splash of Planet Java Hive