I'm betting on one of those classic 30 Day lines........"other than the rough gash on my neck caused by the rusty patch I couldn't hone off, this was a fine DFS in two".
I thought I was just being paranoid but someone was following me. I might as well come clean and report three shaves. The brush for this focus is my travel brush, a Vie Long horse hair brush. I just came back from some R&R in Macau.... well since the private eye probably reported everything there was no resting but allot of relaxing. Three shaves with the Vie Long horse hair, three shaves with a PAL hollow grind vintage blade courtesy of John ( @Screwtape ), Prismatic razor and Super Smooth soap. I use this brush for travel because it is versatile, cheap to replace and fits into my travel tube. The blade seemed to flex allot and was hard to get lined up in this razor so I want to give the blade a try in some different razors. The shaves were good but not great due to flexing and lack of sleep and too much relaxing. Either way these are some really cool blades that make allot of noise. They also contributed to me walking away from the tables with some cash in my pockets. I have to attribute my luck to something so why not the very cool blades.
Back home, not rested but very relaxed. I came home to find a new Koraat custom waiting for me. Ulrik does awesome work and he is the fast working artisan in shaving. The next brush up for the focus is a Simpson Tulip 3 in super, one of my favorite brushes. This is a big soft brush that makes tons of lather and is generous in releasing the lather. Since today was the maiden voyage for the Koraat "Splash" I loaded up some Castle Forbes. I added a little to much CF and makes enough lather for 7 passes. The first pass the later was a little to thick and the blade felt like it was catching a little bit but with the second pass I go the lather good and wet and the edge was smooth and sharp. 4 passes plus and extra pass WTG and done. Just a slight tickle from the alum and long lasting BBS. Irritation A Closeness A+ Smoothness A Sharpness A
Works for me. Black jelly beans and licorice are my favs. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
Looking at its architecture, I have a sneaking suspicion that the true reason they called that heap "the Winter Palace" was because it was total hell trying either to heat it in winter or to stay warm in it.
Same experience as yesterday; Personna Platinum Chrome blades are unbelievably smooth in the Mühle Rocca razor. I will keep on testing this month with different blades, but I believe that I found a great match.
February 9 (Thursday) - Fatboy Focus Gillette Fatboy on 3 PAL Gold Thin Hollow Ground carbon (36) B+B Omega Essential Boar The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap ) Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Original Astringent The PAL blade felt a bit rough today even after being honed. It stung a bit while shaving my throat, and the alum was a touch hot there afterwards. The Thayers cooled everything off again with no residual irritation. However, I have the feeling that the blade is going to be gradually increasingly rough from now on. If this was the Great Depression and I was desperate to save every penny I could, I have no doubt I could continue to use the Stanford 5 - Second Sharpener to eke out the blade's life and possibly double the shaves I have on it now. The shaves would be serviceable but increasingly less comfortable. However, it isn't the Great Depression and I am not that desperate to save money, so I'm calling this one now. Some time in the next few months, I will run another PAL in my Rockwell 6s and see if it will run smoother for longer in a 3 pc razor. For now, however, I am going to spend the rest of the month shaving with something that has had the purity of its steel edge adulterated with teflon and similar vile coatings that force one to endure a superbly smooth and comfortable shave. A PolSilver, I think...
36 is a Hell of a run. Sort of a let down that you are packing it in. I was going to get fan club shirts printed.
Well I haven't actually dumped the blade into the bladebank yet so I could still change my mind. I suppose I could try running it to 40 and see what it's like then. After all, what's the worst that can happen? And the next time I try one, I will try honing it with one of those Twinplex sharpeners that look like a school pencil sharpener and see how that compares to the Stanford.
SOTD February 9, 2017 Blade: Chinese Schick Razor: Schick I1 injector Brush: Artisan badger Lather: Soap Commander Passion Post: Witch hazel splash enhanced with Speick aftershave, Nivea sensitive balm WTG, touch-up Nice shave this morning. I was inspired by @PickledNorthern to pull out my tub of Soap Commander Passion. Easy, generous lather. Great post-shave feel. Soap Commander is top-shelf soap in terms of performance. Fine results in the end. Have a great day!
February 9, 2017 Gillette Aristocrat Jr 1949 Feather (1) “Amigos” Elite Ironwood Beehive with Envy White Czech and Speake Oxford & Cambridge Fine Lavender All things considered the shave this morning was much better than yesterday. The brush is a joy to use with great ergonomics for face lathering and the knot provides the desired scrub. As the week has progressed, I have dialed in the soap. The lather is super slick and protective. I am a little let down by the scent strength. I enjoy the scent more if it were a little stronger. With a new Feather loaded the Aristocrat Jr. provided a reasonably smooth 3 pass shave. I did have to work harder than normal to get to my usual near BBS. I hope everyone has a great Thursday.
February 9 SOTD: Stirling Synthetic Brush Mama Bear Bay Rum SS Merkur Futur Stirling Unscented PSB Mountain Mike's Bay Rum AS Another shave with the Futur set on 2.5, and another easy DFS. It was a great start to this day. The Mountain Mike's Bay Rum is a different scent than my other Bay Rum AS, and I find it pleasing, but it definitely fades quickly. Since it is made with rum, that may not be a bad thing as I head off to work. I hope everyone has a great day!
