SoS: December 8, 2014 - December 14, 2014

10 Dec 2014
Pre- Corn Huskers
Soap - Zi Peppino
Brush - Plisson synthetic
Razor - L3 Slim Adj (3)
Blade - Red Personna (1/4 pass)
Astra SP (2 3/4 passes)
Post - Razorock Alum
T.N. Dickinson's WH
AS - Pinaud Clubman Lilac Vegetal

Plisson whipped up great lather from the Zi Peppino. I started the shave with new blade/razor combo. As it turns out, for me, the Red Personna's are BRUTAL in my slim adjustable. Barely made it through 1/4 of the first pass with just left side of face and chin and had to stop. Switched to my go to blade Astra SP's to finish the first pass. I was able to do a touch up 2nd pass that the personna attacked. and rest of face normal passes. There was no blood letting but there was tugging/pulling/scraping resulting in the worse irritation I have experienced since i started DE shaving. Lesson learned on that particular combination for me.

 

Wednesday
hot shower
Muhle HJM black Fibre v2
Proraso PPB
Proraso SC (green tube)
Rhodium Plated Slim/Personna Med (3)
cold water rinse
Monster Block Alum
cold water rinse
Tend Skin
The Penguin mixed with a pea sized amountof 444
Thierry Mugler A*Men Pure Coffee
Pretty smooth shave,face and dome BBS!

Stay frosty,my friends!

 

Palmolive classic shave stick
Semogue 2000
Knatip frankenrazor
Gillette Platinum whites (1)
ALum
Pitralon Classic



At first i thought I would give my lathering bowl a chance, since I don't remember the last time I used it. I got my Palmira soap, and started lathering, it started off good, but as many times in the last year or so, I just can't get decent lather from that soap any more (it used to be my "go to" soap for quite a long while), said screw it and face lathered Palmolive. And it worked like a charm
A nice 3 pass BBS shave on 4 days of growth. The white plats proved themselves once again as wonderful blades in all of my shaving gear.

 

Glacial Mojito?? Was that a custom order? That doesn't sound familiar for some reason.

 

How would you rate the razor's relative aggressiveness? It's a beautiful piece of work.

 

Ok. I could not wait any longer. I had to know.

Menthol Tuesday late posting

Before going any further, today was an unintended result from a post on a Secret Santa thread. Long story short version is that @ram57 sent some Yeti Snot and Glacial Glacial Obsidian. It was either a PIF gift or a dare, probably both in reality. I used Yeti last week on Menthol Monday. This Monday it was TSD Iced Subzero. The Yeti experience is succinctly described here. Menthol definitely has a fan club around here. I avoided it when I was really new to DE, for fear that I couldn't feel my razor. now though I have found menthol is a fave. Yesterday, it was time for Obsidian...

Utopia 3pc
Crystal Personna Blades (Israel)
Stirling Glacial Obsidian
TSD 2x Iced Barber Shoppe AS Splash

This ended up being a nice DFS on two passes. The Stirling got whipped into thick lather and provided a smooth shave.

And now for the verdict. I rate mentol two ways. How cold on the skin and how aromatic, they are two different things. Yeti is much more aromatic and tear inducing than Obsidian, at least in the samples I have. I feel like Glacial Obsidian is way colder on my face, but much less aromatic. Yeti is a much more pure menthol feeling. It all makes me wonder if there might be a bit of batch variance in these soaps. I almost find the Anise scent of the Osidian to be a bit much...however I thought the soap provided good performance and skin care...so, if you are new to wet shaving and haven't tried either of these, they are both very cold and a nice shave to boot. My other fave menthol soap is TSD Lanolin Iced Subzero. After the shave, the TSD Iced Barber Shoppe kept the cool going for another half hour...just like I like it!

Respect the Yeti...

 

Today's shave made up for the terrabad one I had a few days ago.

Razor: OC Micromatic
Blade: GEM SS Coated
Soap: 3P
Brush: L'Occitane Plisson
A/S: Zirh Tonic and Stirling's SDM Balm
(and no, not sure how the Gold Bond bottle snuck into the picture)

It was a very pleasant and clean shave. Once again I feel more and more drawn towards the dark si....I mean the Single Edge side.

 

Yum, Veg.

 

I'm only two shaves in.
excellent shaves both days. I was smooth til way later in the day, by five I normally feel stubbly.
I'd rate this razor, a little, just alittle, milder than my 39c.
about on par with the fatboy on 9, with more weight.
a little more than the Matador.
way milder than the fatip Grande.
more aggressive than the single ring and the new standard.
as a side note;
the r41, feels good in the hand, but I could see where it could be a little slick.

 

12/10/14
Late posting of this morning's shave. I'm in grad school and this is finals week, so I stayed home from work to finish a couple of papers for my computer final tonight at 6.

New SC
Ladas
Omega 10066
Klar's Kabinett
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

It is nice to shave during the daylight hours.

 

After being spoiled the last 2 weeks using the Mongoose, I asked myself how in the world could I top those shaves?? Well, I had no choice but to make an "Executive Decision"...paired with the legendary Personna 74, and dialed up to 9.

My soap of choice was spanish holiday by cattie's bubbles and finished with some fine and nivea balm.

This experience just confirmed that I don't need to break the bank in order to get a BBS shave. This setup trumped even my best shave with the Mongoose. So, as much as I really wanted one in the den, I think I'm going to save my money for now.

What a day...what a shave...now off to the mailbox to see my new arrivals.

 

Prep - Shower / Almond Soap
Razor - Gillette Rocket HD
Blade - Astra SP (#7)
Brush - Omega 20106
Soap - Arko / Proraso Green / Glycerine
After - Alum / Witch Hazel
Result - BBS

First time with the Rocket, and sadly I didn't get the best shave. Very smooth but very unusually, irritation on my moustache area and right lower neck. I usually prep with Kyle's Method of pre-lathering before steaming but I just went with the warm shower tonight, which I now know wasn't enough. I usually wield my trusty Slim Adjustable set between five and seven but I guess I just need to give myself more time with the much loved Rocket, which is a beauty. The weight is perfect too.

 

I definitely respect the Yeti as it's a menthol lover's dream come true. What I found from the Yeti however, is that it somehow lacks in post-shave care. It seemed to do only one thing which is it left my face feeling frozen stiff whereas the Obsidian not only froze and still freezes my face - it leaves it feeling very, very well-defended against dryness and irritation. The Yeti on the other hand seemed to leave my face a bit dryer than I would have liked. The Obsidian also lathers a lot easier and slicker whereas I had to put in some effort in order to get the desired results from the Yeti's lather. To me, both soaps are very tear inducing but I find the menthol power from ALL my Glacials slightly more intense than the Yeti, but the difference is VERY slight.

 

I am lucky, my skin is not as sensitive to dryness. I did find the Glacial Obsidian much easier to lather. The water is very very hard at my location near Denver, CO, USA. I think Yeti might do better in softer water. I will try them both again and try to focus on how my skin feels afterward. They are both potent face freezers and pleasing in different ways to me. I love this menthol stuff!

 

Good luck on your test.

 

Good luck on your final!

 

I forgot to say thank you, it is a beautiful razor.

 

My sentiments, exactly!

 

Thanks. The papers are done and the final is a presentation so I think I am ready.

 

Thanks. The papers are done and the final is a presentation so I think I am ready.