I really enjoy visiting family up there myself. Arprior, Carp (pronounced 'cairp'), McLaren's landing, Crown Point, Carlton Place, Woodlawn... Going down to Ottawa and going to the Island park in order to watch the kayakers.. fun. Just don't tick off the geese.
Each shave is getting better and better. One issue I was having was getting the jitters while shaving. This was due to two things: too much coffee and getting nervous about getting everything 'perfect'. Tonight, I tried to focus on finding a comfortable grip on the razor and relaxing while I shaved. It came out great! I've also discovered that I kind of like shaving with cold water. Well, as cold as tap water is in Texas in the summer.
My focus this month is going to be on which razor blades I prefer for my Rockwell 6C. I went through half a sampler pack back with my Merkur 23C and it felt like the time to do so again, now that I've wizened up on my technique!
July 2017 - Time to straighten up! July 17 - Grand Blade Trials Special Edition!! Razor - Feather SS Blade - (1) Soap - Stirling Barbershop Brush - WCS Synthetic Post - Alum Good grief! How slick can a lather get?!?! I used a bit of extra water with the Stirling tonight and could barely hold the brush when the lather got down on the handle. Seriously - had to rinse my hands and dry them to even have a chance of holding onto the pain stick. Stirling - you outdid yourself on that one! The Schick P-30 provided another pretty nice shave tonight, though I hesitate to call it a great shave. I have to say, the lack of sharpness compared to a Feather or Kai blade seemed to show up more tonight. Even on an uber-slick surface I could feel a bit of drag and the irritation level was up according to the alum. Two passes without any extra work for a DFS but it seems a little warm for what I did and how I did it. I've read a couple of reviews on this blade on other forums and seen some comments that it lacks stamina over the long haul. I'll continue with it tomorrow to make sure but my gut (and face) tell me this blade lacks in the durability department. Of course, it wasn't really designed for shaving like we do with the pain stick, so it's hard to be too upset. I'll also switch to the Kai razor to see if there's any difference. A day off tomorrow. One day weekend, here I come!
Sounds like your to the point where a razor is a razor.... Yes must not commit SE abuse by leaving them too long. Great Monday shave. The feather weight cleaned upwith the Super Max cream and the 30DC brush. Finished off with Brisk AS. Feeling good and smelling old when I fired up a Meerschaum with some Engine99 for the ride to work.
Monday night / Tuesday morning July 17/18 midnightish - another old friend Gillette Slim on 3 / Topaz Platinum ( 1 ) Supply Provision synthetic brush My Red Green Duct Tape Special frankensoap Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Original Astringent I have been cycling through my Gillette adjustables and tonight the Slim's number came up. They are all nice easy razors that give me a good shave while being relaxing to use. Tonight was no exception. I visited the Delta Echo Razors website to look into getting my 3 models of Gillette adjustables done in matching coatings and couldn't find the SuperAdjustable ("Black Beauty") listed, so I emailed and asked. Jay got back to me promptly. They will do BBs for the same cost as Slims but he likes to give an extra warning about them. Apparently the aluminum sometimes corrodes inside the handle tube leading to weak spots and also sometimes where the collar is press fit on, leading to tube splits, so they aren't all ideal candidates for coating. But with that caveat, they will work on them. I expect I will be shipping tonight's Slim off with its Fatboy and Black Beauty brethren in the next week or so, and in about a month, I will display them here in matching new Black and Red "Ink" coats. Hope the week has started well for everybody.
July 18, 2017 OneBlade Genesis V2 Feather FHS-10 30 DC LE with Omega Boar Route 66 Bay Lime Twist Folsom & Co Shambala The 30DC boar is just a great brush. The handle is very ergonomic and paired with the Omega boar knot is a lather making machine. So it is no surprise that an easy to lather soap like Route 66 Bay Lime Twist just exploded into a rich slick lather. I really find this mixture of lime and bay very appealing. With a fresh blade loaded, I went with a XTG pass followed by an ATG pass. After touch ups, the result was an excellent near BBS shave falling just short of yesterday's near epic shave. I finished with a splash of F&C Shambala. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.
Jul 18 SOTD: WD High Mountain Badger MWF Gillette Red Tip Rapira PL (17) Stirling Unscented PSB Clubman Special Reserve 17 and counting. Another DFS this morning, but in reality the MWF was the star this morning. It was slick and protective and really set up this shave. I hope everyone has a great day!
SOTD July 18, 2017 Blade: Chinese Schick Razor: Personna injector Brush: Jayaruh boar Lather: Soap Commander Courage Post: Witch hazel, TSD Iced Barber Shoppe aftershave WTG, touch-up I've decided to add my small Jayaruh boar to the mix of the focus. Still working on samples but the Soap Commander Courage sample is providing stout resistance. This is shave number seven on this little sample and it's going strong. This brush needs some breaking in and I'm using it every other shave with the Soap Commander to try and achieve that. The shave was nice and easy. The boar brush does pretty well when you only soak the tips while showering. I have soaked too much of it before and it's a wet mess. Today's lather was great. Smooth and easy shave and quite comfortable. Have a great day!
Some great pics this morning gentlemen! In keeping with my focus to move through all my razors this month, I'm up to the last two DEs before moving on to the injectors and SEs. Today was the Gillette LC New. Since my last set of shaves from my other new was relatively unremarkable, I wasn't expecting anything special today. I was pleasantly surprised by a bit more aggressive, closer than usual shave from this razor. Paired with TOBS grapefruit cream and Stirling grapefruit AS, was a great way to start the day!
