SoS: November 30, 2015 - December 6, 2015

I don't know much about the interview of course. But I'm quite sure one thing they most likely commented on afterwards was how well shaven you were. Very professional appearance.

 

Oh you know it! LOL. Not a smoother face in the building...

 

Today, it's more of the basics.

TOBS Almond Shaving Cream
Fendrihan badger brush
Fendrihan shaving mug
Thiers Issard La Legende straight razor
Almond aftershave balm.

 

December Focus

The Twelve Blades of December!

Hard to believe we've almost put this year to bed. Wow. Where did the time go? But, here we are and as a gift to everyone here I'm offering up my shaves with twelve blades that have never touched my face, randomly paired with twelve of my DE razors. Two shaves with each setup to finish on Xmas Eve. So, sit back, get the fire burning and enjoy what I hope is an enjoyable month of further proof Technique Trumps Tools. I hope for that....my expectations aren't as optimistic.

December 2

Razor - Post War Gillette Tech
Blade - (2)
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold water, Alum, Aqua Velva Musk

Day two on the Centwin from Malhotra in India. I was pleasantly surprised by the blade yesterday. Very smooth, comfortable and effective shave, with not a lot of irritation that some Platinums will cause me. Now, in a Tech it's probably hard to have a harsh shave, though I've done it, so perhaps the shaving gods were kind in starting this month with this combo. On to day two.

BoSFat for the lather today. After three days with the Wolf Whiskers Silvertip the feel of the boar was a nice change. I will admit (amazingly) that at one point I missed the feeling of the badger. But, I do like the scritch of boar and horse so no worries. Got a great face lather as always with this combo and went to work. Again, the Centwin performed flawlessly. Smooth, effective, though it does leave enough to require a full ATG third pass. Again, that may be partly the fault of the Tech, but even after three full passes to a near BBS I only had moderate irritation. Mostly my neck which was a bit red and fired up with the alum a bit. Again, platinum in some cases reacts with me. All in all, though, a great start to the month. Blade one is done and we move tomorrow to the second blade of December. I sense a disturbance looming. It's the Prime from Dorco. The razor is the Aristocrat though so the blade will have a lot of help. Enjoy Wednesday! A new work week and era begins for me in the morning so I'm enjoying a day of freedom today. Think I'll try a new hobby.

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DEcember 2015!

This month I am focusing on a variety of DE razors and blades.



Other than my Utopia and a Feather Popular TTO...this is my entire set of DE, after paring it down throughout 2015. The threads on the zamak head of the Utopia are shot, so that razor is now a brass handle only!

SOTD - 2 DEcember 2015



DeFitch Closed Comb DE
Gillette Silver Blue (2)
La Toja Shave Stick
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Alum
TSD ISZ AS Splash under Lilac Vegetal


This DeFitch is an impressive take on the 89-type 3 piece, and is a joy to photograph as well as shave with. I would recommend this razor to those looking to give or get a "starter razor". It is a great combo of performance and price point. I feel like the aggression is about like a FB on 5-6, and yields a smooth and comfortable two pass shave like a good DE should. It pairs quite well with my fave GSB.

Have a great Wednesday afternoon!

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I decided to see what would happen if I loaded my all-time favorite PAL Injecto Matic with a modified Feather Professional Blade. I have never gotten a shave closer than what my PAL offers. I must have damaged the blade when loading or gotten a dud as it was super tuggy and a less than stellar shave. I'll try the experiment again another day with a replacement blade.

T&H Ultimate Comfort PSO
T&H Wellington Super Badger
AOS Lavender Cream
PAL Injecto Matic
Modified Feather Professional Blade (1)
Osma Alum Block
T&H Classic After Shave Balm



Happy shaving everyone - Karl

 

I can't speak for today's Super Badger, seeing as this brush comes from a slightly earlier era (notice the label), but I can tell you that it is hands down the softest brush I own.

 

My shave on Wednesday:
- Face wash with the Logona Mann shave cream (pH-neutral, I like that (y) )
- Fitjar's Fjellheim shave cream
- Mühle travel shave brush with Silver Tip Fibre
- Fatboy by Delta Echo, Feather blade
- Alum by Osma
- Musgo Real Classic after shave balm

Nice, very nice!

 

Wednesday:
hot shower w/Pre de Provence Lime Zest bar soap
Maggard Lime PSO
Gillette Blue Tip 3 passes
Croma Diamant (1)
TOBS Lemon and Lime cream in a bowl
Ever-Ready boar
Humphreys Citrus WH
English Leather Lime (vintage) AS
English Leather Lime (vintage) cologne

Didn't have time to shave yesterday so I had a few extra whiskers this morning. Not sure why I chose a mild razor but it works fine if you pull the skin taut and use a little pressure. Limey.

 

First shave with the Leresche #77 after having had it lying around on a shelf for months begging to be cleaned.

Now, the Leresche #77 is one of 'those razors' that are rumored to be one of the best designed razors out there and fetch a rather high price when they come up for sale.
I got mine for a very fair price but I think my expectations were set pretty high this morning..
I didn't shave yesterday so had a fair bit of stubble to be taken care of.

Very first impressions during the first pass (WTG): Milder than I thought it would be. Handle is too short [for me].
A couple of minutes later: Man, this thing is mild but VERY efficient. Love the feel of the head. I do wish the handle was longer.

Second pass: There was none... After my first pass I felt my face...and I felt it again..I was perfectly clean shaven. Not even any stubble under my chin which is my normal problem area.

Can this razor really be this efficient and if so why in the world wasn't this head design replicated?
I will use it again this week to see if today was just a fluke/anomaly or if there actually is something to this razor's reputation.

Now if I only could add 20mm or so to the handle....

Gear:
Leresche #77
Voskhod
Wolf Whiskers
Fitjar Shea Pleasure
Floid Blue
100+ year old silver plated shaving mug

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Very interesting razor, heretofore unknown to me. I would be curious how it would perform tomorrow? (I always get a better shave when I skip a day.)

 

Shave 2 with my C3 repeating razor. I'm dialed in on the way you position it and had a very smooth 2 pass DFS before work.

 

Hello Gents, for this 1st of december shave, it is time to ship your letter to Santa :



- GGR Highland Bothy shave soap
- Dalton brush by JMW
- Feather straight
- Wilkinson Sticky + Perma-Sharp
- LPL Lemongrass & Ginger AS

Not too bad, have a nice day !

 

Definitely a cool razor! I bid on one once but didn't get serious enough as I was unsure about how it would shave. Very nice!

 

nice, that's one of those on my radar.

 

Ha ! Finally ! Hehehe, I don't know why, but I'm glad you like it.

 

Thanks, Primo. I really enjoy these larger Omega Pros as they work quite well compared to the smaller Semogues and Omegas that I have used. However, I would never give up my 2-Band badgers!

Thanks, Mark!

 

I know you wouldn't. (Neither would I)

 

Razor: Merkur 38C Barber Pole
Blade: Wilkinson (3)
Brush: Omega 10066 Boar
Soap: Route 66 Barbershop Hop
A/S: TSD Iced Barber Shoppe

Good shave even though I still struggle with boar brushes. I don't seem to get enough moisture in the brush to build a good lather at times. Yesterday was good but today, I was back up to my old trick. Will keep working on it.

 

2 days growth, woke up late, dry shave.

•Trac II cart on generic handle

3 light, WTG buffing passes had me DFS in about three minutes. No nicks, redness or irritation to speak of but a lesser cart would not have given that result. Slapped on some Lucky Tiger lotion and was good to go. Would I do this every day? No. Would I do it again? Yep.