March 8, 2016 The month of March with my two Schick E razors. Hot Shower Razor: Schick E2 (US) Blade: Schick (China) (3) Soap: Saponificio Varesino - 70th Anniversary Brush: Rubberset 400-4 TSD Witch Hazel AS: Saponificio Varesino - 70th Anniversary Two-pass shave - XTG, ATG Just pay attention to angle, pressure, and each stroke and this razor delivers. I chose to go on the chase as a gift to my birthday gal - Mrs. Firefly. We’re off for our day and she’ll appreciate ol’ baby face! Cheers! RT
Thanks, J.R. I haven't yet tried them, but I do sniff them a lot. I find from the website that Trade Winds users don't come right out to mention the name, but say that "All CF producsts are great" or words to that effect. You don't go for the stag, eh? Guess I'll see for myself. It does appear to be pretty strong. Some users said they skipped the samples and went right for the full-sizes. Well, come to think of it, I did that!!!
Since I'm still new to wet shaving, I don't have enough to compare scents with. I went for CS and route 66 samples to get a better idea of what I like. I will say all CS and Route 66 products are great, but midnight stag scent just isn't for me. I don't think I like the super menthol of cryogen either. Not saying they are bad by any means, I got an incredible shave using stag, one of the best I've ever had. And cryogen is great if you like the super menthol. I haven't given up on it yet, just not sure I like it.
My issue with CF's Cryogen is-I can see how it's pretty chilly(the menthol), but, does the menthol cut off the general fragrance? By the way, all CF's I want are the aftershaves-for now anyway. I see Route 66 stuff all over the place here-must be good.
Planned Day 69 - 90 Day Intro to SR 8 March 2016 Ralf Aust 5/8 L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic Route 66 - Lumberjack Alum TSD ISZ AS Splash Pinaud Citrus Musk Headed out tonight again, so I will be doing this shave in a couple hours. Feeling great, my mouth is all better... Now all I need is a great shave to top off basically a free vacation day! And if you haven't already heard... Route 66 is so good we are out of superlatives to describe it. Just get some! 50F and gloomy, I am going to treat myself to an ultra rare daytime nap, I think that's very exciting! Soft rain still falls over the prairie, other than that...all is quiet in Colorado. Have a terrific Tuesday!
Razor: Gillette Super Speed Black Tip (X3) 1952 Blade: Wilkinson (3) Brush: Jayaruh JR #45 Walnut Honey Comb Handle. Knot is an Ace 24/70mm Synthetic. Soap: Route 66 Bourbon Jungle A/S: Route 66 Bourbon Jungle (test) Excellent brush!!!
March into Artist Club Blades March 8 Razor - Feather SS Blade - (1) Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip Soap - Tabac Post - Cold Rinse, Alum, Nivea Original Balm, Aqua Velva Musk Next blade in line for comparison is the Kai Captain Original. This would be the third blade in the Kai brand, starting with the Kai Pro Touch MG, then the Mild, then the Original. The next up would be the Kai Sharp which I assume is on the same level as the Feather Super Pro. Feather's progression runs from the Pro Guard, to Pro Light, Pro, and Pro Super. There are those who think, though, that the guard blades should be ranked above the Pro Light as it is apparently milder than any of the other AC blades. I haven't tried one but I see that opinion as widely held. I also haven't tried a Kai Sharp but plan to do so at some time. This month I'm only focusing on two Kai's and two Feathers. The Kai Mild is done for the month, the Kai Original is up. One interesting note (to me, and no it doesn't take much to interest me) is how difficult it was to find a picture of the Kai Original blade. There are lots of pictures of the Pro Touch MG and Mild, but the Original is a bit scarce. I take that to mean that it is not used as frequently as the milder versions. Lather today brought to us by Wolf Whiskers and Tabac. I did my usual weekly head shave first and settled in to try the Kai Original. Lather was perfect, and I felt quite relaxed and ready to go. The first pass on the right side was extremely smooth. We're talking smooth enough that I checked halfway through to make sure I had remembered to put the blade in. The Mild was a smooth blade but this thing is on its own level. Went to the left side and had a bit of difficulty on the pass but only because my left hand seemed a bit shaky. Not sure what that was all about but I got it under control and got a good pass there as well. Again, smooooooooooth. As I prepared to re-lather I noticed one small nick on my right cheek low and toward the goatee. Didn't feel that happen but that's an area I tend to have issues in with the pain stick. I went another pass and worked XTG and picked up bigger nick on the jaw line near the chin on the right side. There's the extra sharpness of the blade showing its teeth. I'm doing nothing different from my passes with the Mild blade but I'm getting the nicks. The forgiving nature of the Mild is not shared with its more ferocious cousin. Left side continued with no problems and I managed a full three passes with only those two nicks and a DFS finish. Not bad at all. Alum was noisy and hot on my neck. Again, say hello to a sharper AC blade. I suspect I was a bit heavy handed, probably from the week with the milder blade that allows more pressure without penalty. I'll be loosening my grip on the handle and letting the head weight do all the work tomorrow. Having Spring weather here today, 70s and rain on the way. Makes you think of enjoying some more summer like activities! Japanese style!
SaveSecret PS oil & LPL Le Savon du Barbier Vulfix Medium Super Badger & Suribachi bowl Torrey 5/8 round point & Pinaud Lilac Vegetal I took a few minutes and touched this blade to the stones. Little or no hone wear encouraged me with hope of a decent bevel. Dubious hones and questionable skill still gave a decent shave. I weeper on my chin that was quiet by alum time. No DE clean up. Left a little stubble on my chin. I'm no baby chaser. Big handed splash of Ed's finest and done!
It's March 8th already, huh? I guess I better post up my focus for March as well as a February wrap-up. Yes, I've totally been slacking. So February ended as a disappointment. I had high hopes for the New LC and for whatever reason it really didn't work out. I started out thinking it was giving me a comfortable shave and by the end, I just wasn't getting the quality of shave as I was hoping for. Maybe it was the blades? I don't know. What I do know is I used both Voskhod and Polsilver blades and was counting on both as "go to" blades. I'm hoping it was a matter of poor pairing. Besides that, I'm now thinking Voskhods may be inconsistent and Polsilvers may be too sharp for me, so that kind of sucks. MWF had no surprises for me -- it's great. No scent means you can pair it with any aftershave and that's great. Post shave is wonderful. I came out of the month thinking differently about synthetic brushes. While I still think they are the best all around option, I simply don't enjoy them as much as other (namely, boar) brushes. Also, I thnk I like slightly smaller synthetics. While I like 26mm - 28mm boars, I think 24mm synthetics are about the right size for me. I think I'll be looking to move my Stirling Kong shortly. So on to March. Here's the plan: Gillette Red Tip Rapira Swedish Steel Whipped Dog 30mm high mountain badger Chiseled Face Sherlock soap and aftershave. Gillette Old Type and Treet blade for around the goatee if needed Three shaves in and it's going well! The Red Tip and Swedish Steel are working out great so far. I'm on shave three with the blade and I think I'll push it to see how far I can go. It's refreshing not to be a bloody mess at the end of a shave again. The Red Tip is a lot better than the New around the goatee -- I've got a lot of confidence using it. But that being said, I screwed up the last shave so... we'll see. Obviously, the TTO head doesn't give you the unmatched view of the Old Style. I've found my first badger! The 30mm Whipped Dog is a lot of fun. However, if I need to shave every other day, I don't think it will dry out quickly enough. I'm thinking about getting a Vie Long horse hair because I want to try one, but ultimately I don't think it makes a lot of sense going back and forth between the two. I love Chiseled Face and the Sherlock scent. I was starting to think that modern soaps couldn't provide the post shave that classics did, but prolonged use of Chiseled Face is convincing me otherwise. Another conclusion I'm heading towards is that Sherlock aftershave lasts a whole lot longer than my classic aftershaves. So that's about it so far. I'll take the time to snap a picture here at some point.
I would shave today but my shave yesterday was so good that I don't need one today. I have a solid DFS still 24 hours later. I'm amazed.
