SoS: December 4, 2017 - December 10, 2017

Gillette President
Blue Bird
Mix of soaps for 1st pass
Barbasol Sensitive 2nd.

2 pass BBS.

These new Blue Birds I ordered recently are rougher than I recall, tho platinum in blades always strike me as rough (and maybe these are some kind of well done knockoff, I don't know). But pre-shave I stropped this one on a belt and it made a huge difference. Much smoother. Good blade.

 

Nice selection of gear - I chose Gondolier for tomorrow just by coincidence. 2 Michigan guys on the same wave length.
Speaking of which, my office is near the Silverdome and I felt the blast today at 4. It really shook the ground!
Steve

 

Wow! My wife said she felt it in northern Troy!
Gondolier is so good I've considered buying Mont Blanc cologne, which supposedly it's inspiration.

 

Good set-up and photo, @Dver42

 

Date: 05 December 2017 "SOTD"

Pre: - Cold Water straight from the tap
Brush: - Yaqi Sagrada Familia Tuxedo Synth. 24/53mm knot
Lather: - Route 66 ~ Bourbon Jungle 5x
Bowl: - Captain's Choice
Razor: - Fatip Testina Gentile Close Comb
Blade: - Gillette Nacet #5
Post: - Thayers Witch Hazel / Lucky Tiger Aftershave & Face Tonic
Fragrance: - L'eau D'issey Pour Homme

 

Occam's Razor 3 dot & Schick Proline #2
Maggard B&W 30mm
Grooming Dept. After The Fire
Humphreys Alcoholado Maravilla
M&R Rose Water
Nivea 2in1 lotion


A good, clean and smooth shave today. A single ATG pass and minor touch ups and buffing on the chin, BBS was restored. 2 straight solid shaves and this razor is making a case to hang with my regulars. But, still going to give it a few more shaves and see how it goes. The soap was mahvelous! Have a great evening and shaves Gents... ​

 

Crown King - "Cane! Northpole Barbershop"
Wolf Whiskers | Raptor | Black Wolf
Radio 1912 | Gem PTFE

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How is it I'm just getting around to trying the Crown King base? I'm apparently oblivious even to Smythe's marketing. I'd assumed it was all the same PAA base, which is a nice performer itself. However, Crown King performs markedly better for me. In all aspects (ease of lather in hard water, density, first-pass slickness, residual slickness, and post-shave) CK is easily competitive with my top 5 favorites artisanal soaps, with possibly an advantage with respect to the post-shave.

Cane was a good choice for today because, despite being December, the high temperature today was 85°F here in East Texas. The soap offers a pleasant crisp cooling effect falling just short of cold, and it's fragrance is a very accurate singular peppermint candy aroma. The splash's cold effect is a bit more powerful, but still pleasant to me. The splash loses a bit of its candy cane identity in favor of a nonspecific and unsweetened mint. It's a relatively short-lived fragrance that can be completely attributed to the very nature of the note. I've used the splash twice, now, and each time just as the fragrance fades I pick up on a peculiar but faint sense of thawing iced aluminum.

This Crown King base was truly a surprise to me. I have Black Bot en route as well as another CK soap in my cart while I await the release of Magi in the same base.

 

Shower shave #2 to get rid of the dome irritation I had prior...

PdP No 63 lathered up on my Muhle V2, Feather (2) in the C4 Super Speed, Thayers Rose and AV 7in1 after. 2 pass CCS.

 

Thank you very much - you are too kind

 

TUESDAY'S SHAVE​

Razor - Edwin Jagger "Kelvin"
Blade - Rapira Swedish Supersteel *5th shave
Shave Brush - Da Vinci Uomo "Synique"
Razor/Brush Stand by Royal Shave
Soap - Ginger's Garden "Aventus" Vegan Formula
Aftershave - Fine "Platinum"
Deodorant - Lucky Girl Boutique's Pure Body Delights "Monarch"
Fragrance - Creed "Aventus"

 

Razor: Koken Barber Supply Co “Army and Navy”
Brush: Razorock Plissoft Bruce
Soap & A/S: Soap Commander Motivation

Gearing up for this weekend...
Go Navy! Beat Army!

Enjoy your shave.
Tom

 

Decadent December!!!

December 4

Razor - 1959 (E4) Gillette 195 Fatboy
Blade - (1)
Pre-Shave - Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap
Soap - Tabac
Brush - Jayaruh #46
Post - Alum

I had already decided that the second razor for Decadent December would be the Fatboy. It's a birth year razor and I'm dialing it to 6, which is the optimal setting I've found for my shaves. I can go more aggressive, but the idea is decadence. Pair it with my favorite NOS blade - the Sharp Star from Mostochlegmash in Moscow, and it should be epic. I hadn't decided on the soap until we got into a bit of discussion earlier about the slickness of Tabac vs Stirling. Well, I've used a Stirling soap this month, and Route 66 after starting with MWF, so it's probably Tabac's turn anyway. The Fat and Tabac have been in my top two spots although Stirling has rivaled Tabac for me. We'll put aside the whole discussion and my new task of figuring these two out in order and just enjoy a great soap tonight.

Adding to the decadence - the Jayaruh #46. Nothing like holding a stylish and perfectly turned wooden handle that you know was just a plain old block of wood before @Jayaruh crafted it. The Maggard synthetic knot makes such quick work of loading and produces mounds of lather. On top of the pre-shave - with that little menthol kick just right for Menthol Monday - this was an epic lather. Slick. I mean slick. Did I mention slick?

Two passes, touch ups, quiet alum, and if it's not the baby it will do 'til the baby gets here. Another awesome shave. I'm liking this month. A lot!

​

 

Nice looking setup!

 

Thank you.

 

Good Morning Everyone! SOTD 12/05/17

Schick G
Schick (4)
VDH Boar
VDH Luxury
Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block
Gillette Cool Wave A/S

A Terrific Tuesday Shave

Have A Great Day!

 

Magi sounds epic

 

Ylangsday
Outstanding shave today with Clarity and Ylang-Zu balm. They are not a direct scent match, but they do compliment each other, as they share a Ylang-ylang note. The lather was thick and slick, and the Rockwell blade continued to be smooth and comfortable in the 6s. The balm is liquid enough to go on easy and absorbs quickly without using much or feeling greasy.
Prep: Van Yulay PSO
Soap: Van Yulay Clarity
Brush: Brothers Bristles Silver Surfer
Razor: Rockwell 6sR6
Blade: Rockwell
AS: Van Yulay Ylang-Zu Balm

 

SOTD 20171205.



J&T® model "Minimalistic" wengé / finest 2-band.
Arko Men "Fresh" shaving cream.
Schick type O injector (copy).
Personna S/S PTFE coated (7).
Arko Men "Cool" ASB.

 

December 5, 2017
OneBlade Genesis
Feather FHS (3)
Tres Amigos Elite Ironwood with Envy White
Jeeves of Hudson St. Bay Rum
Captain’s Choice Bay Rum

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Tue. 12/5/17



A fine three pass shave this morning with the Schick Xtreme3. I am smooth and refreshed. Enjoy your day friends. ☺️