SoS: June 29, 2015 - July 5, 2015

Weber hempel / voskhod

Rooney

CC blend no 5

Fine American blend



Happy 4th All!!

 

Interesting brush!

 

30 Day Rule - July 2015
July 4th
Razor - CJB/Gillette New LC
Blade - (3) Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water splash, Alum, Some improvised dancing, lots of colorful language, Nivea Original Balm

Day three and it's a rare Saturday off so lots of time to have a great shave! So what do I do with it? Make it a memorable experience that's what! After yesterday's shave I spent some extra time making sure my face was well hydrated. Showered, spent some extra time under a hot wet towel and used a brush to add water to my face just prior to the lather. Definitely felt like a slicker base. So, here comes the CJB which has done a fine job of nicking and slicing so far.

First pass was actually pretty nice on the right side. I didn't even reopen the cut on my cheek so progress there. The drag was non-existent on the wetter base so that problem seems to be solved. Went to the left side and ran into a couple of issues, mainly hand position. Using the razor as a true kamisori the pass starts by the ear on a downward stroke, but the razor is held backwards to keep the same side facing the left as did the right. A bit awkward to master but I got it in place and got the pass done. Not happy with the result but we'll let the XTG take care of that. Re-lathered and went to the XTG on the right. This stroke goes nose to ear and it wasn't bad again. On the neck it's ear to chin for the XTG. Seemed to go ok. Went to the left side where the XTG goes ear to nose and ran into some issues. Had trouble getting and holding the blade angle. Got a bit too much angle a couple of times but didn't see blood until I was on the jawline. Then, well I just screwed the pooch and did some minor butchery on my neck where that pass turns mostly ATG because of hand position. Yeah, need more work there as a couple of bloody marks showed up.

At that point I decided the CJB was done for the day, grabbed the New LC and finished the second pass then relathered an did a complete third pass. A minor nick showed up by my right ear from the CJB and the areas I had nailed on the XTG started to flair up. Rinsed well and went to the alum. Yeah, kind of what I was afraid of........hit the alum and got.........

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When the dancing and "singing" stopped I used the Nivea Original Balm. Usually it stings ever so slightly but today the overall burn swallowed that and it just felt good as it cooled down. Debating whether or not to take Sunday off from the CJB and just use the New. Only morning will tell. For now, it's a DFS and I'm good with that. One thing I did notice is that the left side is far less smooth after the CJB and before the DE. Clearly I need work on that! I'll be watching a few videos today to remind myself of the blade and hand positions as well as doing some blade-less practice with the razor. What better to do on a holiday, right?

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Great write-up!

 

4TH OF JULY SOTD



PREP: MUSGO REAL ORANGE AMBER
RAZOR: GILLETTE BALL END TECH
BLADE: LORD (2ND USE)
BRUSH: FINE ANGEL HAIR SYNTHETIC
SOAP: LEA SHAVING SOAP
POST: REEF POINT ADMIRALTY BALM
SCENT: TOBS GERMYN STREET A/S


I wanted to see how the Fine brush would do on a hard triple mill soap and it whipped up a great lather quickly. the LEA soap says it has menthol in it but it is almost undetectable. It has a very unique scent and is a great soap. 3 pass shave. had a few weepers but it was my fault for shaving too close to my nose. The Reef Point Balm is incredible. mentholated and has a strong scent that goes great with Jermyn Street. both are citrus type scents. Hope everyone has a great shave and a safe 4th of July!!!

 

Where are my manners?

Happy 4th of July to my dear friends in the U S of A!

 

Happy Independence Day!



MdC facial soap
G-3 Gillette Fat Boy
Feather blade (day 1)
Shavemac two-band silvertip brush
A.J. Murray's Lincoln shave soap
Two passes
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Pinaud Clubman aftershave

For my July focus, I'll use a Gillette Fat Boy and a Slim for my introduction into vintage wet shaving. Timing is everything: Independence Day, first time using a vintage razor (my birth quarter at that), and using a new soap made in Kentucky!

I set the FB on 3 in order to begin with a mild shave. I'll increase the setting over the next few shaves to get a feel for the range of aggressiveness. The razor is rock solid, feels great in the hand, and it reminds me of shaving with my dad's razor without the blade. In fact, I could barely feel the blade during the shave. I ended up with a pleasant DFS+ shave with no irritation, cuts, or nicks. However, it required a fair amount touch-up on my neck.

My shaving soap is locally made, and this was my first time using it as well. Depending on how things progress, I may work the companion pre-shave oil and aftershave lotion into my routine as well. It was OK out of the gate and had a very pleasant light scent. I will need a few shaves to dial it in before I can make a fair assessment.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July weekend!

 

Stay strong, my friend, you can do this...patience, focus...

 

Thanks!

...and a belated Happy Canada Day (July 1st) to all our members there!

 

Yes, I must channel my inner shaving Yoda. If I wasn't so picky and would just use both hands this isn't too difficult as I learned in April. It's being so picky with doing things the traditional way (and planning to use a traditional tool) that drives me to risk such a beautiful face to this much abuse.

 

SOTD - Saturday, July 4, 2014
All American Shave (or as close as I can get)

Cool shower
Prep: Homemade PSO
Brush: Rubberset 49-4
Soap: Stirling Ben Franklin
Bowl: Captain's Choice lather bowl
Razor: Gillette ball-end Tech
Blade: Personna Lab Blue (1)
Post: Stirling Lemon Chill WH
Aftershave: Fine American Blend

 

Another lovely brush Brian. You must have an awesome collection.

 

Belated Happy Canada Day!

 

Great minds think alike

 

Thank you for your kind words Mark , I have 18 of my own brushes in a rotation. I don't have a strict plan so whatever I fancy using comes out for the shave.
I also have 15 Simpsons which haven't got wet for a long while now, just sitting quietly in their boxes

 

So it's that time of year again when I have to say to all the wonderful Americans on this forum, " Happy Independence Day". The day we remember when your ancestors defeated my ancestors.
Anyway. Today's shave was a nice one.



Razor - Gem 1912
Blade - Gem
Brush - Pilsson synthetic
Lather - DR Harris Windsor
Aftershave - Nivea Cooling Balm

I forgot how good Windsor is. This NBJ has got me going through my Shave den using products I forgot about. It's been great rediscovery some old favourites.

 

15 Simpsons still in their boxes??? As a famous American used to say "Holy Cow!"

 

Im using Tabac again tomorrow. But the next shave i think i'll try Arko! =D

 

Sounds like this brush Did a good job =D is this soap the Lea puck or Lea stick?

I heard from a guy that the stick is great but the puck is no good

 

its the puck. I haven't tried the stick or the shaving cream yet but the puck is good stuff. it looks a lot like MWF. very hard white puck. its supost to be sandalwood and menthol. has a unique scent