Norsemans shave diary

Yeah, paid Paternity leave - that's something I miss here. I was entitled to a full 2 days' of Papa leave as well as to 2 child care days (those latter ones are per year) so I was able to spent, with some annual leave thrown into the pot, a whol;e full week at home with my wife when our little one came earlier this summer...

I agree on No to the wet nursing for Dads, of course....

 

We have a full year of paid leave when a child is born.
Twelve of those weeks are reserved for dad, six are reserved for mother. That includes 3 weeks prior to expected birth and 3 weeks after. The rest can be divided as we choose.
As the father I can also claim ten additional days off from the day of the birth. These days are not paid, but most employers pay for it anyway. If not all, at least some of the days.
This way you do not have to dip into your vacation time (five weeks)

The twelve weeks reserved for dad came into place so that it would make it easier for dad to take this leave, without having the hassle of employers making a fuzz. And because the mothers usually claimed all of it. We also has right by law to claim an additional year of leave, but the second year is unpaid.

We also have ten days of annual care/sick days for each kid. So as a parent, you are well taken care of.

 

Yeah, I know Norsemen & their Clans are well taken care of in that department. My wife's from Finland and it is a very similar story there, and in my own country not quite as good but still better then most other countries. However, we do not live up there (sadly, in this particular case for i would have loved a few weeks Da's time wth my son). Other than that, life is fairly good here in S'pore.

 

As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

We have alot of taxes. Income tax (35-55% and upwards) 25% on all goods, except foodstuffs (12.5%) Gas is about $2.5 a litre. High taxes on Alcohol, a pint of beer on a pub cost from $10 - $15
A bottle of decent scotch whiskey is about $100 and a bottle of wine is about $12-15
But traditional shaving goods is pretty reasonable. Still expensive compared to Connaughtshaving and others. Especially since shipping domestic is way more expensive than shipping it from abroad.

It is expensive in the Norse

 

Thursday - 13.09.2012

It was time to try a new blade, and from my bucket I drew a Perma Sharp blade.
To assist me in testing this blade, I chose Vitos supreme lather machine and the Futur brothers.
I am no fan of the Futur brush. It does a decent enough job, but I had expected more.
The razor on the other hand is still considered a work in progress, and so far I like everything about it.

Once again I am still having some issues distinguishing this blade from all the other/few blades I have tried. But it did a good enough job.

After three passes, WTG x2 and XTG x1 I had a DFS

Practising the ratings as mentioned in my blade test thread (Thanks goes out to Mr. Azarius for this list )

Shave: 1st
Sharpness 3
Smoothness 3
Closeness of shave 3
Comfort 3
Pleasure of shave 4
Weepers 4
Tugging 5
Overall shave impression 3.5

Soap Rating:

Ease of Lather: 5
Thickness: 5
Slickness: 5
Protection: 4
Cushioning: 4
Scent: 2
Overall soap impression: 4.1

Tools:

Facewash: TBS Maca Root
Razor: Merkur Futur
Blade: Permasharp
Brush: Merkur Futur
Soap: Vitos Super Crema
AS balm: Fitjar AS Balm and Fitjar AS Cream

 

Sauturday - 15.09.2012

I skipped my evening shave in favour of a morning shave. Since it is Saturday and the Mrs and the Kids are out of town, I could for once take my time shaving.
I am still using the Futur set, loaded with the PermaSharp blade. The setting was set for four, mostly because I forgot to adjust it.
The soap was TSD Lanolin soap, with a Firewood scent. The scent reminded me of the Sandalwood smell from TSD Wheat Cream. Just more toned down. Good scent.

It lathred up like crazy, but with too much moisture to it. Completely my fault, since I did not load the brush long enough. But the lather was still very good, so there are no reason to complain.
I did also notice a slight stinging, but I believe that was more from the pre shave cream than the soap. First time I have experienced that, so it is too early to say for sure. But I have used this cream extensively in the past without feeling any discomfort.

The Futur brush is getting more and more annoying. When building the lathering the foam does not contain itself in the bristles, but "moves" up the handle. This is especially annoying when I start to "paint" my face and is forced to transfer the foam from the handle and onto my face and continue to use the brush from there.
A little awkward description, but I'm not sure how to describe it better
I think I will stop using this brush for a while now.

Anyway, here are the stats for todays shave:


PermaSharp Shave: 2nd run

Sharpness 4
Smoothness 3
Closeness of shave 3
Comfort 3
Pleasure of shave 3
Weepers 3
Tugging 5
Overall shave impression 3.4

Soap Rating:

Ease of Lather: 5
Thickness: 4
Slickness: 4
Protection: 4
Cushioning: 4
Scent: 4
Overall soap impression: 4.2

Tools:

Facewash: TBS Maca Root
Razor: Merkur Futur
Blade: Permasharp
Brush: Merkur Futur
Soap: TSD Lanolin Soap
AS Lotion: Prorasos Green
AS balm: Prorasos white Liquid Balm

 

Sunday - 16.09.201

Last shave before I start blind testing blades, and also the last shave using my Futur for a while. It's bin enlightning.
But it also was a few first. It was the first time for a while that I used a cream. It was also the first time in a while since I used a TOBS. But the real first was that it was the first time I tried the Mr. Taylor cream. And my first impression was that it smelled too much, and not very good. It smelled like a teenager who has stolen his fathers cologne, and like most teenagers he has put on too much. I remember, I have been there.

Apart for the stench, it lathered up nicely into a thick creamy substance. Despite the fact that I used the worlds worst cup for the job. These cups, that almost every brand in the world has in their selection, are way too small. I feel like I am unclogging toilets when I use this crap (pardon my french)

But the shave itself went fine. The razor was set to three for the occation, and I feel that is a much better setting for me. And maybe even that might be too much.
No tugging or pulling and a somewhat smooth shave. As always, the left side needs more work than my right side, but I do not mind.

I did 3.5 passes. one WTG and two XTG, with the last one being more slightly more on the ATG side of the scale.

My aftershave lotion of choice was the Ogalla Bay Rum with Sage and Cedarwood. On the bottle it says to shake it properly before applying. And I finally figured out why.
These bottles are the home of thousands of small nano sized Leprecauns. And when you shake it, they get really pissed. So they take out their small velding tools and go crazy on your pores.
Luckily they are not very good at it, and the velding seam (?) is not very strong. So the usual scream from a man in agony is usually sufficient to open them up again and prevent permanent danger. Just like the designer of this aftershave intended. Good stuff IMO


The ususal:

PermaSharp Shave: 3nd run

Sharpness 4
Smoothness 3
Closeness of shave 3
Comfort 3
Pleasure of shave 3
Weepers 5
Tugging 5
Overall shave impression 3.7

Soap Rating:

Ease of Lather: 5
Thickness: 5
Slickness: 3
Protection: 4
Cushioning: 4
Scent: 2
Overall soap impression: 3.8

Tools:

Facewash: Musgo Glycerine Soap
Razor: Merkur Futur
Blade: Permasharp
Brush: Muhle Silvertip
Crem: TOBS Mr. Taylor
AS Lotion: Ogallala Bay Rum with Sage, Cedarwood and angry leprechauns
AS balm: Nivea Sensitive AS Balm

 

So just because I'm curious and am interested in travelling, what country are you from?

 

You beat me to it, but yes. You are correct
I am from Norway.
The land of fjords and taxes

 

I thought Norway was correct too but didn't want to make an assumption. I would like to visit there someday!

 

Maybe I am a closet Detroitian? I do drive a Ford, and pay a lot of tax. Especially since cars are taxed through the roof.

You'd be most welcome. But expect to pay a lot for most things. That's the primary complaint most tourists have. Everything is so expensive.

For instance, ordering a pizza delivered is about $65
One night in a hotel is from $105 (cheap) to $175 (normal)
A Big Mac is about $7.50
And finally, a 4 pack of Gillette Fusion cartridges is about $40

The upside is that the local girls dig english speaking tourists

 

Frode, just for the sake of curiosity, besides Fitjar, what other creams and soaps are available in Norway? The reason I ask is because except for Palmolive sticks and the Classic cream, it seems that the Scandinavian countries I visited (Denmark and Sweden) have nothing.

 

I live 3 hours away from Chicago, so Norway is similar in price terms. But I love your blonde haired/blue eyed women, and won't act like an obnoxious American over there.

 

Reading this makes me happy. I always thought that Norway was the most expensive place in the world, more or less.
But if both Chicago and New York are priced the same, maybe we're not so bad after all

Nothing much. Not in the regular stores, anyway.
We do have a few webshops with a decent selection. And the local Body Shops have their selection of creams.
L'Occutane has a few shops around, and I found some Erasmic products in a "cheap-mart" store chain.

But that's about it, I think