Norsemans shave diary

Friday - 05.0.2012

I received another one if Mikes Natural Soaps today. This time the coconut flavoured one. And first impression was that it smelled very nice. Somewhat similar to TOBS coconut cream, but with a slightly darker scent to it.
I know dark and is not a proper way to describe a smell. But it was the only word I could think of.

Although very tempted to boot up my lathering machine immediately, I managed to stay patient and put the soap away for a later date. I have too many soap I need to try and my previous attempts at using Mikes Natural Soaps have not given me the performance I expected.
The reason is pure and simple me, and only me.

Therefore I wanted to give the orange scented soap a third try and hoping that I would be able to crack the code this time.

And indeed I did. I used the bar as a stick and just swiped my face a few times and went to work with Frank Shavings finest badger brush.
The result was outstanding. It produced a very nice lather and gave my EJ razor a very good foundation to work on.
I also like the scent. Not too discrete, but far from overpowering. Just enough to catch a whiff or two while enjoying your beard reduction

I had a very nice shave, using only two passes. One WTG and one XTG and it was close enough to call it a DFS. Still using TSD's excellent aftershave milk, and still giving outstanding results.

The yellow Gillette is sharp and somewhat smooth, but there is something about it that prevents the jury to reach a preliminary verdict. It does the job, but I am wondering if it is slightly to rough on my skin. But then again, I am using it in a new razor, and taken into account my lack of proper technique and skill I am not sure that the blade is at fault here.

I guess my own metric based mileage may vary

Tools:

Facewash: TBS Maca Root
Razor: Edwin jagger DE89l
Blade: Gillette 7 o'Clock - Yellow edition
Brush: Frank Shaving Finest Badger
Soap - Mikes Natural Soap - Orange and friends
AS Lotion: Proraso Green now formula
AS balm: TSD After Shave Milk - Coconut and lime

 

Nice photo of the Futur there Norseman!

 

Thank you.
If You don't mind me asking, which photo are you referring too?

 

It was the photo in post #20. The brushed silver Futur with the matching brush and a tube of Proraso Red. Very nice. It made me want to buy one. Except I have one alread, LOL! I have the one with the chrome finish.

 

I do have to agree. The Futur is a "hansom" razor, and everything looks good with the Proraso Red. A lovely cream indeed.
Maybe I should take a picture of myself with the Proraso, and then showing it to the Norsewoman
Perhaps she would be similarly inclined and would like to sample the goods as well?

I would be happy to include her in this wonderful hobby

 

Sunday - 07.10.2012

I wasn't sure what soap or cream I was going to use today. So after some pondering, I remembered that I had a box of Joshua Tree Soap Works laying around.

A few weeks ago I purchased a puck out of pure curiosity. The vendor has over 3000 positive reviews on ebay, despite the fact that her shave soaps are mostly based on olive oil.
And is it one thing I have learned brownsing this forum, it is that olive oil does not make good shaving soaps.

Back on post #8 I tried to describe an earlier experience lathering this soap.
I found it generated more foam than lather, and was far from impressed. However, I promised to give it a proper test later on and actually shave with it. But up until now, I had been rather hesitant and always choosing more tempting products to shave with.



Still hesitant, I lathered up two soaps. The Joshus Tree soap and Vitos Super Crema to fall back on.

I worked both soaps for about a minute, before I transferring the brush to my lathering bowls.
I warmed up with the Vitos soap, since I suspected this one would have a longer life before it started to evaporate/dissipate.
The lather it generated was decent. Not perfect, slightly thin/wet. But still decent.
The Joshua Soap did not generate lather at all, but did produce quite a lot of foam.
When I started with the face lathering/foaming part, the foam lasted not more than ten seconds before imploding into a thin layer of foamy moisture.

I started shaving and after two-three strokes I had enough. I felt like I was shaving with only water, and was about to rinse it all off.
But I didn't and kept going. And when realising that I actually had a good two day stubble. I more or less decided to leave my prejudice behind and continue with the shave.

The result surprised me. My first two awkward strokes was put to shame and my face started to feel slick and I suddenly discover I had excellent glide.
After shaving my right side, I just had to rinse of the rest, and apply Vitos on my left side for comparison.

Here the first two strokes felt slightly better than the previous two from the Joshua soap. But had no improvement after that.
After the first pass, the Joshua side felt vastly better than the left side. Much closer and smoother

I did the same for the second pass, and also on this part of the shave had I better performance from the Joshua soap. Still a closer and smoother shave.

For the final pass I just used Joshua, and noticed on drawback. Due to the thin lather, I had problems seeing where I had and had not shaved. So I probably shaved the same location more than once, and can because of that feel a slight sting from a potential burn.

I also suspect that because of that thin lather, I do not get much in the way of protection and cushioning from this soap. But I have to use it more to say for sure.

I will not conclude anything yet, since I always get a better shave, when I have a two day stubble.
But I am surprised. Amused and surprised.

Starring in today's show was:

Facewash: TBS Maca Root
Razor: EJ DE89
Blade: Gillette 77 o'Clock - Yellow
Brush: Omega Boar and Turkish Horse from Bestshave.Net
Soap: Joshua Tree Soapworks & Vitos Super Crema
AS Lotion: Prorasos Green
AS balm: D.R. Harris Aftershave Milk

Joshua Tree SoapWork:



Slightly thin Vitos Super Crema:

 

Tuesday – 09.10.2012

Apparently there are something called having too much lather.
For the shave of the evening I had settled on GFT Coconut Cream. A wonderful cream loved and liked across the globe and the known universe.
For this build, I guess I was in soap mode when I started loading and ended up with a sizable chunk of product on the brush. Not much to be done about that, so I started working the cream.
After a little while, I had what looked like the perfect lather. Rich, creamy and smelling wonderful.
Now the negative side of having too rich lather is not a big deal, but I have to admit that it was somewhat tedious to rinse the razor after every stroke. And I suspect it also affected the performance of the blade somewhat. And that I guess make it something of a raw deal J

And talking about the blade, it was the first time I had the pleasure of using a Polsilver Super Iridium blade.
And the impression I had after three passes, was that it is a sharp blade. Not as smooth as I would have liked. But as always, that may be due to my lack of proper technique, variations in my metrical mileage etc.
I also have to admit that I occasionally suffer from Short Term Lack of Concentration Disorder, and that I often forget to use no pressure.
That may therefore be the reason for my skin feeling rather roughed up after this shave.
Although I had no nicks, cuts, bruises or weepers. I just felt slightly burned.

After three passes, I still ended up with a light DFS, so I have no complains.

Facewash: TBS Maca Root wash
Razor: Merkur 34 HD
Blade: Polsilver SI
Brush: Omega Pure Badger
Cream: Geo F Trumper Coconut Cream
AS Lotion: Proraso Aftershave – New Formula
AS balm: Nivea Sensitive AS Balm

 

Friday 12-10-2010

Tonight I finally had time for a shave, but I was in no mood for something fancy, so I went back to a few solid performers.
Mitchell's Wool Fat, Merkur Progress and a Feather blade.

Since it was my thirds shave using the same Feather blade, I was curious on how it would perform. The previous time I used it, I experienced a significant reduction in performance compared to the first use.
I loaded my soaked Proraso brush for a full minute, and went to work in my bowl. And after a minute or two, the bowl exploded with lather. I have never had that amount of lather appearing after just one minute of loading before, and I probably had enough lather to shave every person reading this thread. Twice.
In other words I had enough for six shaves
Although the lather looked slightly on the thin side of creamy it performed adequately. And after two decent passes, I had a nice CCS.
I put on some Ogallala Bay Rum aftershave, screamed in agony for a few minutes, before I applied some of Queen Charlottes Aftershave Balm. This balm was Vetiver scented, but I have to admit I did not like the smell. As a matter of fact it stunk like a hemorrhoid cream I used around my waist to shed water from my abdomen. (It worked wonderfully and I went from a size 34 to 32 inch waist )
But despite the foul odour, the balm performed great. And that's what it is all about.

Tools:

Facewash: TBS Maca Root wash
Razor: Merkur Progress, set for 1
Blade: Feather
Brush: Proraso Boar
Soap: Mitchells Wool Fat
AS Lotion: Ogallala Bay Rum with Sage and Cedarwood
AS Balm: Queen Charlotte AfterShave Balm - Hemorrhoid Scented

 

It only last for a few days, tops. And you need to wrap your waist in plastic and lay 30 min in one of those artificial sun type beds (cant remember the english word for it ) after putting on the cream.

Apparently it is an old bodybuilder trick to be used before a show or something. But enjoy

Too bad it did not work for the scalp. With two kids under the age of three I could do with a boost in hairline density.

 

Lol. did not get the joke. I had a long day yesterday and was too tired to think properly.
Yes, that was it. That's my story and I am sticking to it

Tanning beds was the word(s) I was looking for.
Thanks

 

Sunday - 14.10.2012

I was in the mood for coconut, more specifically. I was in the mood for Mikes Natural Coconut Flavoured Soap. Luckily I had a puck in my den that needed to be broken in.

The first thing I noticed when opening the box, was a sweet scent of coconut aroma spreading itself all over the room. Never have I experienced a soap smelling this powerful before, but it was not overpowering. Just a subtle sense of strong aroma, if that makes any sense. The scent itself is quite sweet and pleasant. But I suspect it is also a smell you might tire from easily.
Time will tell, I guess.

I decided to use the big Lider brush this evening. I had only used it once before, but did not take a liking to it. However, since three times is the charm I have a few more tries left before I can make a final judgement.
The same can be said for the blade. The Polsilver Super Iridium. The only time I have shaved with it, went pretty well. But I was left with a rough like feeling on my skin, and was not overly impressed with it.
This was the second shave, and I was looking forward to give it another go.

As always I started soaking the brush while taking a shower. Then I loaded the brush for a minute, before I start working the lather in my bowl.
The soap lathered wonderfully, and the brush did a good job.
Moving on to the face lathering stage, the brush started showing its full potential. And to me, it was not a good thing.
Not bad, but still not good. I think the loft is too big and cumbersome. The bristles themselves, is surprisingly soft. Still not badger soft, but for a boar brush this large, I had somehow expected a rougher sensation.

When I started shaving, I immediately took notice of the "no pressure" rule of shaving. Last time around with this blade, I did not. And it felt much smoother and comfortable this time
The Polsilver started to live up to its reputation and I enjoyed a fine shave with three nick free passes. For my no-pressure effort, I was rewarded with a DFS.

After a quick rinse I put on some of Thayers Witch Hazel followed by a few drops from my new bottle of GFT Skin Food. Unfortunately this one did not live up to its reputation.
Five minutes after I applied a (too?) generous amount on the face, I got the botox sensation again. My face felt sticky and icky, before transforming into a virtual clay mask.
Now an hour after the shave, the feeling has subsided. But not disappeared.

For all I know, it may be the astringent properties of the Witch Hazel. But I have used that one in the past without experiencing this sensation. No big deal, but I just don't like it.
No matter, I'll just put on some Nivea cream later on

Tools:

Facewash: TBS Maca Root
Razor: Merkur 34 HD
Blade: Polsilver SI
Brush:Lider
Soap: Mikes Natural Soap - Coconut scented
AS Lotion: Thayers Witch Hazel
AS balm: GFT Skin Food

 

Monday - 15.10.2012

Today I wanted to try a shave stick, and it was the famed La Toja stick that tempted the most. Apparently this is supposed to smell really good, but I only smelled soap. A pleasant old fashioned soap smell. But nothing to write home about. Kind of like Tabac, actually.

As per the Shave stick act of 1932, I just swiped the stick a few times over my face, and lathered with my Frank Shaving finest badger brush. This is a very nice brush, but I would not mind if it had a little more backbone. But it gets the job done.

I used the EJ DE89l for the shave, and a yellow Gillette 7'o Clock blade. It was my third time using this blade, but from what I have read this blade is usually good for a good 5-8 shaves before being retired.
My experience this evening is not so certain of that. No tugging, resistance or anything like that. But still felt it could be a little more smooth. And I started to have some irritation in my second pass.

The La Toja soap started out a little dry, but since this was my first attempt with this soap I am as usually more to blame than the product I am using.

All in all, after a three pass shave, I was awarded with a DFS.

I used Ogallala Bay Rum aftershave. The version with Peppercorn and airplane gasoline. The sting it gave me was wonderfully painful, and this poison is really starting to grow on me.
The bay rum scent is not too bad either. But since Ogallala and TOOBS is the only version I have smelled, I might not know better. The former is nonetheless much better than Taylors version. But is supposedly not as good as the Captains Choice. Need to get me a sample of that one

The british Bulldog mens pampering brand was my favorite up until I started old school wet shaving. But now it is not working quite so good anymore. I wonder why?

Anyway, here's Johnny:

Facewash: TBS Maca Root
Razor: Edwin Jagger DE89L
Blade: Gillette 7 o'Clock
Brush: Frank Shaving Finest Badger Brush
Soap: La Toja Shaving Stick
AS Lotion: Ogallala Bay Rum with Peppercorn and something else
AS balm: Bulldog AS Balm

 

Been busy lately. I've had time for two shaves, but little time to write.

But I've had the pleasure of using a Personna Lab blade for these two shaves, and so far I like it. The first shave was just with a one day stubble, and shave number two was a two day stubble. Hopefully, shave number three will not be a three day stubble, but I do not know yet.
The blade was both sharp and smooth. Not Feather sharp, but at least as sharp as the yellow gillette, and also smoother. Good blade, and I am considering ordering a 100 pack.

The cream I used was the old faithful The Body Shop Maca Root cream and a new addition to my den; the Erasmic shave cream.
The Erasmic cream proved to be a wonderful performer. Thick and slick lather. On a whole different league than the Erasmic shave stick, which was a big disapointment. It was also very cheap.
The stick smelled better, though.

At the moment, I can not for the life of me remember what I used to shave with.
But I let the pictures speak for themselves.

Tuesday - 16.10.2012



Thursday - 18.10.2012



Erasmic lather:

 

Saturday - 20.10.2012

I just love those feathers.
I had my fourth shave with this blade today, and it was still very sharp and smooth.
Of course, using the Merkur Progress on a 1.5 setting didn't hurt. But it was still surprisingly good, given the blades reputation
Another interesting factor was that I used the Proraso Pre cream on the left half of my face, and that product has always improved my shave in the past.
But not this time. This time it felt slightly worse than the right side. Still a pretty good shave, but still an interesting reduction in quality.
Probably just a coincident.

I used:

Proraso Sandalwood Shaving Cream - Last time I experienced some burning on the face. This time, nothing. Hooray
Merkur Progress set on 1.5
Feather Razor Blade - Fourth Shave
Frank Shaving Finest Badger brush - My absolute favorite
Proraso Aftershave - New formula
Proraso Aftershave Balm - Old formula.

 

Sunday - 21.10.2012

Decided to start my shave stick week early. And since I have neglected the world famous Arko stick lately, it was only prudent to start with this one.
Not a fan of the smell, but it does not bother me either. And by now most of the smell has been "aired out" also.

A quick swipe or two across the face is all it takes. A few more swipes with the piggy brush, and hello Darth Santa.
An amazing product this stuff, and despite the fact that the lather was a bit dryer than perfect, it still delivered a perfect result.

Still using the Progress on a 1.5 setting with a feather loaded. This time for its fifth shave. Still sharp and somewhat smooth. But I did get a few nicks here and there.
And against my better judgement I also went ATG for my final pass. This proved to be effortless and gave me a BBS on the whiskers. No doubt about it, since I have changed a few baby diapers today.

But just in case, I did get a bit overboard with by post shave routine. I used both Thayers Witch Hazel and Proraso Aftershave splash in an attempt to reduce any irritation. And topping it off with Fitjars Kjakesmurning. A nice aftershave balm that I also tend to neglect.

Cliff notes:

Merkur Progress
Feather
Proraso brush
Arko Stick
Thayers McGonagall Hazel
Proraso Aftershave Lotion
Fitjars Kjakesmurning

 

Monday - 22.10.2012

Derby is no Arko, that's for sure. Still a good performer, but the lather it gave me was thinner and less of it.
Of course, the fact that I was using a smaller brush, a brush where I forgot to shake out the excessive water, might have something to do with it.
But I will not divulge that. Its stupid to forget to shake out the water

Nonetheless, the Derby did provide an interesting shave. I used a Merkur HD razor, and a Polsilver SI blade. It was the fourth shave with that blade, and it did a decent job.
The shave itself was a 2.5 pass shave, where the left side got an additional third pass.
Still, I did only end up with a CCS on that one, while the right side was a nice DFS.

Used the L'Occitane aftershave splash for my post shave routine. That splash is very boring. Its like I put scented water on my face, but I still think it works.
I followed up with my absolute favorite smell in the whole aftershave universe. The TSD Milk scented with lucious coconut and refreshing lime. It smells like a million Kuna, and brings me right back to the Dalmatian coast. My favorite summer destination.

The End.

Cast of Characters:

Derby Shave Stick
Merkur HD
Polsilver Super Iridium
L'Occitane Verdon Refreshing Face Splash
The Shave Den Aftershave milk - Coconut & Lime

 

Tuesday - 23.10.2012

​

On either side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the wold and meet the sky; And through the field the road runs by To many-towered Camelot.​

Camelot is not Arko. It lathers like Arko, and it performs like Arko. But it does not smell like Arko.
The scent is old school, and smell like someones uncle, but with a feminine twist. Not unpleasant, but not sliced bread either.
The scent was discreet enough that I forgot all about it during the shave. And it did not stink out the whole bathroom like Arko and Derby either.
In other words, I like this stick.

The razor of choice was the EJ DE89L, and the blade was a yellow Gillette 7 o'clock. If I had any good sense of humour, I would refrain from saying that due to previous use, it is now closing in on 8 0'clock. Sadly my sense of humour is seldom particularly good.

After three passes, I was left with a DFS minus. And that's good enough for me.

Post shave routine was to apply some witch hazel, a dab of Prorasos finest AS and a nickel sized amount of D.R Harris' aftershave milk.
Granted, I have never seen a nickel, but you get the idea.
The milk from the good D.R has too much of a medicinal smell to it for my taste. Kind of what they used to put on baby bottoms in the seventies to prevent sores and diaper outbreaks. Now I do not remember much from that part of my life from that period, but the scent it still triggers that kind of a mental image.

Anyway, its still a pretty good milk. Thicker than other AS milks I have, and a perhaps a better choice for the coming winter.

Going forth to Camelot I was joined by these friends:

Edwin Jagger DE89L
Gillette 7 o'clock - Yellow version.
Omega Pure Badger Brush
Thayers Witch Hazel
Proraso Aftershave Lotion - New Formula
D.R. Harris - Aftershave Milk