SoS: June 20, 2016 - June 26, 2016

A well laid out shave photo.

 

Awesome picture and razor.

 

Thanks Douglas!

The razor is one of my favorites!

I could easily use daily for the rest of my life.

 

Thanks amigo!

 

Thanks Rob. I sure missed my regular routine instead of shaving with the Trac ll. Best wishes.

Bill

 

Heck of a shaver too! I popped in a 70 year old Gillette Blue Blade and was astonished at the quality shave I got.

 

Jolly Good June!

June 21

Razor - Swan
Blade - (1)
Soap - Proraso
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Post - Cold rinse, Alum, The Veg

Welcome to the normal First Day of Summer! Yeah, ok, so the Solstice was yesterday as it sometimes is, but today is more the traditional day. And, it's also my anniversary. Five years ago we were out on the lake having our handfasting and around 4:30pm a thunderstorm rolled in. We were out on a point set up in our cabin tent with a smaller tent for her daughter who was with us. Have you ever ridden out a severe thunderstorm with 80 mph winds in a cabin tent? It's an experience you should try at least once. Two motor homes were severely damaged near us.....we were fine and that's how this marriage started. Every year since we've had a major storm on our anniversary and it's cloudy and humid right now. We shall see.

Today is the culmination of a dare by @Drygulch to try the Swan razor. It is listed as a Japanese razor so you might think that the quality would be close to a Feather SS since it's kind of, well sort of, well similar enough to say it's close to the same idea. However, it's a pretty cheaply made zinc razor that looks strange, feels less than safe really, but has to be tried. As I mentioned before, the cap on the razor isn't exactly tight, even with the blade in it. Here are a few pictures to give you the idea of the design.



Here is a view of the cap off.



Notice the spring clip that holds it on. As I said, not exactly NASA level engineering on the fit. The blade, however, fits nice and doesn't seem to have any play.



It might be possible to shim the blade to create a tight fit, but not sure there is enough room without risking breakage of the spring clip or even the blade. As for the gap and angle....this is the best I could muster.



Yes, that is a serious amount of gap, and since the blade bends little if any when loaded it's a bit of a straight edge with sort of a guard within reach at the edge. The handle is knurled a bit near the head but not on the rest of the handle. So I'm thinking a close grip with thumb and fingers to keep it steady.

Soap is Proraso with the BoS to insure a slick and lasting lather. No mistakes on that today.

I found myself feeling like I had a pain stick in my hand. I had thought it might be more of a TSR feel, but not sure why. Pain stick technique all the way with a twist.....you can't grip the slick handle. Using the thumb/finger method on the head end produces blocked views and awkward angle adjustment. Not using the knurling makes it slick and twisty in your hand. I finally adapted my pain stick grip with thumb underneath, fingers on top and tried to use my pinky to control the roll. First couple of strokes were bad. Not bloody bad, just no real reduction, dragging, skipping as I tried to adjust the angle. This is a safety razor head at the end of a stick. Finally got the cap aligned to ride like a normal DE and managed to get a first pass done on the right side and neck.

Switched to the left hand and boy am I weak on that side. My left hand is barely useful on pains and straights. On this thing I might as well have chopped it off and rubbed my face against the blade on the floor. I did finally manage to adjust and keep it in position enough to get a pass done. Went back for XTG and managed to work down a bit more. Did my ATG passes with both hands and had CCS. Calling it good enough for a day off.

With the Voskhod in the razor a CCS would normally be a FAIL! However, with this razor I'll take it. Very squirrelly in my hands, and holding angle with the cap to get the right result is a challenge given the smooth and small diameter handle. The only thing that saved me slicing myself was my experience with the pain sticks. I kept the blade rotated into enough of an angle to avoid any slicing. You learn to do that with totally bare machine sharpened steel on a stick.

This was actually a fun shave. When it was properly aligned it actually did pretty good work! If you could perfect the grip and all you could learn to do some fine shaves with this, I think. When properly aligned it made the Voskhod feel like a Voskhod. When off by a hair....bring on the Rapira because it's the only other razor I know that can make a Voskhod rough.

 

Classic WW2 news reporting. I use the Gillette Gel as a travel A.S. And hey, you sprung out a new dog on me!!

 

I have 5 dogs, just in case I need a 5 dog night, some snowy winter night. I`ve posted that cross eyed dog before, I guess you just missed it. Thank you for commenting on the war news. I was beginning to think no one was interested. I have a lot more papers to show. Best wishes.

Bill

 

I'm an old-school history buff.

 

I`m just old. But I like nostalgia, I can wallow in my younger days for hours.

Bill

 

Razor: Gillette Adjustable (5) Fat Boy (G3) 1961.
Blade: Gillette GSB (6)
Brush: Fendrihen Silvertip Black Handle
Soap: Synergy Shaving Soap Bay Rum
A/S: Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Very good 3 passes and a clean up today. Everything performed as expected to deliver a DFS.

 

Wednesday morning:

Neutrogena Men Facial Wash
Razorock Plissoft 26mm Monster
Junjie/Astra day 3
Stirling Black Ice SS
Lucky Tiger AS Cream
Folsom & Company Black Powder AS

Back to my wonderful Stirling soaps - although the Black Ice is nowhere near as bitterly-cold as its "cousin" which is the Glacial Obsidian, don't think that it's not cold because trust me, it IS. An awesome latherer, a great black liquorice scent with brilliant skincare like ALL of Rod's soaps. That Lucky Tiger a/s cream and the Black Powder aftershave splash have lots of extra menthol cooling to them with brilliant post-shave care. The Black Powder smells marvellous!

 

Wednesday's


Dove Men Face Wash
TOBS Grapefruit
Jayaruh #61
Schick M Adjustable
Schick Injector Twin
CWR, Asma Alum Block
T.N. Dickinson's WH
Mennen Skin Bracer

The TOBS Grapefruit Shaving Soap face-lathered well with my Jayaruh #61 Synthetic brush. Two passes and touch ups with the Schick M Adjustable razor with a Schick Stainless Twin Injector blade gave me a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse and alum block, I finished off with T.N. Dickinson's WH and then Mennen Skin Bracer After Shave. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed...

 

Wednesday's Planned Shave

prep-Nivea 4 Men Energy Bodywash(in hot shower)
shave-Rise Super Foam regular
razor-Gillette Sensor 2 Pivot + DisposeABLE
a.s.-Aqua Velva Ice Blue

 

Well done! I've never seen one of those razors before!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Prep - Woods Of Windsor Cedar Woods soap / Pre-lather / 3 min steam
Razor - Gillette Slim Adjustable
Blade - Personna Lab Blue (#3)
Brush - Shavemac Raptor 26/52 DO1 3 Band Bulb
Soap - Phoenix & Beau Obsidian
After - Frozen towel / Brut Original A/S
Result - Ridiculously Smooth

 

Wednesday Planned SOTD



Razor: Schick Repeating Razor C2
Blade: Schick (D2)
Brush: Simpson Duke 2
Bowl: Dirty Bird 1.5 Scuttle
Pre Shave Scrub: MRGLO
Pre Shave Oil: Homemade Rosemary Mint
Shave Soap: Fine American Blend
Post: Monster Alum Block
Aftershave: Fine American Blend
​

 

nice photo!!!

 

Thank you Paul!