SoS: November 23, 2015 - November 29, 2015

DOC with Personna blue
HMB 26mm Swirl handle
BWW Thomas Tew

Insane lather...BBS results

 

Saturday morning's planned shave:

Stirling Pre-Shave Soap
Large Horsehair Barbershop
Super Speed/Astra day 6
Henri et Victoria Fall's Lumberjack SS
Henri et Victoria Bergamot Vetiver AS

A great Quebecois-style shave for tomorrow morning. Man oh man, this Fall's Lumberjack soap lathers like such a maniac and does it ever smell awesome. The menthol effect is very, very mild but it can still be felt and it has terrific post-shave care. Claude's Bergamot Vetiver aftershave splash is a face-freezer which smells wonderful and has so much soothing to it. As I said once, "Quebec sait faire!" (Quebec knows how!)

 

Razor: Merkur 34C
Blade: Personna SS (6)
Brush: WDC-2 (Grandfather's) High Mountain Badger Wood Handle (Whipped Dog) 22/65
Soap: Route 66 The Perfect Gent
A/S: Myrsol Agua Balsamica

Excellent lather with this shave soap. It's a real gem. My usual 3 passes with a touch up. Great finish with this Myrsol A/S.
Enjoy your weekend.

 

Beauty!!!

 

Good luck in the Grey Cup.

 

Thanks for the idea for my A/S tonight.

 

EQUIPMENT:
---
RAZOR: DeFitch DF91
BLADE: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (2), (color unknown)
BRUSH: Parker Synthetic
SOAP: Kiss My Face Lavendar Shea
POST SHAVE: Nivea post shave Balm
AFTERSHAVE: Aqua Velva

TECHNIQUE:
---
Wam rinse/shower
cold water splash
Lathered in bowl
WTG, XTG, rXTG, TU
added water + lather between passes
Nivea Post
Aqua Velva off shaved area

Interesting shave yesterday and I wanted to document it before it got away from me. I went back to what was the norm for me a few scant weeks ago to give the DeFitch razor a test in a known environment. It was interesting in itself how much my technique and expectations have elevated in a very short time but that's the stuff of another post.

Also, I think it's appropriate to provide a little context. We were having over all four kids, their significant others, and a couple of their dogs. My oldest daughter came over a day ahead of time and had been cooking non-stop because my wife is working ridiculous hours due to a power plant outage. Some people were arriving late for various obligations, others leaving early. Like many families I Imagine, there was a degree of family drama and chaos going on. Others had showered before me and there was some unrest because of lack of hot water. Dad went last and the lack of hot water didn't bother me since I'm now used to cold shaving. But there was a fair amount of distraction, stress and a degree of hurriedness. Not the meditative shave we so often describe here.

• The Kiss My Face makes a functional lather, but it doesn't have the density I now am familiar with and doesn't provide the lubrication.
• I now think the defitch is the perfect razor for the distracted or beginner. The shave was not up to present standards but was perfectly acceptable by those of just a few weeks ago. While it was perfectly adequate to carry me through the holiday meal, I'd want to shave again today if I had something going on that merited it. The big thing is it was a bloodless shave. The DeFitch is very nearly as autopilot and foolproof as the best cartridge. It seems to me if you miss your angle, you simply miss a spot -- not get nicked.
  • I did manage to misalign the blade today in my hurry. Had I not taken a moment to check it, problems may have ensued. However, I simply loosened the head, shook it a little and the blade settled. I tighted it back up and was good to go. Basically what needs to be said in instructing a new wet shaver is to check the blade alignment. That might be a good instruction for DeFitch to include in any repackaging, but it's certainly a step that anyone should be able to follow.
• The shave was smooth. With this minimal lather and no preshave, audible feedback was quite sufficient. In short, the DeFitch paired with the Gillette 7 o'clock was perfectly up to the task and the perfect equipment for a distracted and hurried holiday shave.
• I do prefer the Nivea to Thayer's Witch Hazel as a post shave though I can see where some might prefer the less sticky feel or less lingering smell of the Thayer's.

Bottom line is I'm now ready to say that the DeFitch is a perfectly suitable, mild razor. I've not tried the other "beginners" double edged razors so I don't know how it compares, but I feel completely comfortable recommending the DeFitch to a beginner with the caveat that blade alignment should be checked.

 

Is it February already? Even so one day short, actually two as I think '16 is leap year. What happen to the 30 day straight challenge for November?

 

Planned SOTD 11/28/15



Razor: Duvert fréres N°19 frameback
Brush: Stirling Synthetic 26mm
Bowl: Lady Sea Creations 5"
Pre Shave Scrub: RazoRock GLO
Pre Shave Balm: Proraso Sensitive
Shave Soap: Mickey Lee Drunken Goat
Post: Monster Alum Block
Aftershave: Small Batch Shave Tonic​

 

@Boojum1 Thank you.
@Karl G Cobra Classic Razor ,Thank you.

 

GOOD SATURDAY MORNING TSD!!! 11/28/15 SOTD

Razor-Schick Adjustable
Blade-Schick(3)
Brush-Badger
Lather-Neutrogena
Post Shave-Cold water rinse,
Witch hazel,Nivea PSB

A nice smooth shave this morning almost BBS but not quite.
I had razor set on 6 again felt like a middle of the road shave
in terms of aggressiveness compared to my Gillette's.
All in all another great shave!

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

 

Strop Shoppe - Special - Apple & Cinnamon / Zenith 505AK EXTRA - Silvertip / Polsilver SI / Mekur 34C HD / Floid Blue

 

SOTD -- November 28, 2015
Prep: Rusty Blade blend pre-shave oil
Razor/Blade: Gillette Canadian Heavy Tech / Astra SP
Brush/Soap: Semogue / Santa Maria del Fiore
Aftershave: Witch Hazel/coconut oil
Mustache Wax: Badger

The Santa Maria del Fiore croap is a really nice product. Fragrance is a bit strong for my liking, but the lubrication and lather qualities are wonderful. I have been reading up on this croap (it has the consistency of Cella or Proraso in a tub...maybe a bit thicker) and some guys are lathering directly from the jar and others scoop out a bit and face, bowl or hand lather. I did a combination of hand and face lathering. I started a small almond size glob in my hand and then once it was lathering well, I move it to my face and continued lathering until I got it to the consistency I like. Fragrance tends to last. Good moisturzing properties. Nice way to start a Saturday morning. Enjoy the weekend gents.

 

November 28

Feather Artist Club SS
Feather Super Professional (1)
Semogue 830
MdC scented
Two passes plus touch-ups
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and CC Bay Rum

Goals
Further develop my two-pass shave technique by practicing the basics
Break in and get more experience with the Semogue 830
Get more experience with MdC

A great shave with the Feather AC on two days of growth, and my first shave using a Super Pro blade. I could initially feel the additional blade exposure, but I focused on my technique, took my time, and the shave went fine. Two passes (WTG and ATG) plus touch-ups for a near BBS shave and no blood or irritation. I think Clint would describe it as one of those "scary close" shaves you get with a Super Pro blade. I plan to use this set up into next week and then switch over to my December set up.

Have a great weekend!

 

Go Green!
The Spartans control their own destiny - win today and they will be in the B1G championship game. Either way, this has been a great season and a great decade.
I shaved with my Lime frankensoap again today, but added a sample of Catie's Bubbles Mile High Menthol to the mix. The results are excellent! Smooth easy shave with a welcome cool. The soap is made of Maggard's Limes and Bergamot, to which I added samples of Reef Point Sublime, and Cold River Soap Works Citrus, and now CBMHM. My Spartan Bronze brush made super thick lather effortlessly.
Astra SP worked perfectly with der Futur, and PAA Lime Ginger and Tea Tree wrapped things up nicely.
Prep: PAA Ice
Soap: Frankenlime
Brush: Brothers Bristles Spartan Bronze
Razor: der Futur
Blade: Astra SP (3)
AS: PAA Lime Ginger Tea Tree

 

•Pal Adjustable
•unknown loose blade with two round holes in it...Eversharp?
•Palmolive cream

Good 2 pass shave, close with no nicks. Just gotta keep that Pal on low setting or it ain't my Pal anymore.

a/s: vintage English Leather Timberline, like this one, not the new junk...

 

As the Quebecois say "Tabarnak, c'est bon!" (Damn, that's good!) What an awesome soap this Fall's Lumberjack is - it gave me so much rich, thick lather and perfect blade glide for an excellent shave. It also cools ever so slightly and feels so good after a shave. The Bergamot Vetiver aftershave hit me with one hell of a menthol punch and a nice scent. Oh, by the way, Rod's pre-shave soap set the stage for this wonderful shave by leaving my face nice and clean as well as my stubble well-softened.

 

Saturday, November 28, 2015

RR Black Mamba
Feather #1
Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic
MDC Fougere
Dickinson’s +Menthol, Myrsol Metilsol, Whipped Shea Butter
Fine L’Orange Noir

 

S2 Triad / Voskhod

SOC

Reef Point Submariner

Floid SE