A few lamps in the house still have an incandescent. The one on the wardrobe does. 'Warm' LED's, especially if they are dimmable, seem to be the closest to incandescents. Florescents, even those supposedly labeled as 'soft white' remind me of Room 101 from Orwell's 1984. I think what is really irreplaceable in some of the photos, though, is the patina of the wood. That just comes from age. I used to make quite a bit of furniture as a hobby. Walnut furniture for the living room. Cherry accent pieces that are now in the bedroom and dining room. 1/4 sawn oak stuff to match the antique dressers, etc. Then kids came along, and the time to do that went 'poof'. I have focused more on house renovations for the past several years after we moved into a turn of the century home. As you know, I returned to my lathe this past year, and have really enjoyed it. It is quite relaxing to me. Lathework is much more conducive to being a husband/father as I can whip downstairs for an hour or two here or there. I don't really have a full shop anymore, anyway.
October Totally Distracted Shave Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood soap B-400 brush - Omega #98 boar Osaka Suribachi ceramic bowl Ming Shi 2000S Adjustable Personna Lab Blue blade (2nd) Alum, Avon Wild Country AS Focus abandon! Open combs out the window. Well, not that, but I set them aside to triumph over my new toy. Technique trumps tools? Attacked the hard soap with a still stiff boar knot and went to the textured bowl for a luxurious lather. Reset the Futur clone to a higher setting - 4-1/2. Taking short buffing like strokes on my WTG pass yielded satisfactory first pass reduction. Applied slightly wetter lather as the first dose tried to dissipate for my slower learning process. Keeping the same setting and feeling more confidant my ATG pass continued to reduce stubble, but with less audio feedback. Another soap up with the scritchy boar bristles and I could tell I was making headway. XTG action found little beard to catch. Not being one to chase the baby I stopped there. Alum was pleasantly quiet. No burn from the vintage alcohol based AS. As I was cleaning up the gear I noticed the adjustment had slipped to 4.75. There's no clicking, just a smooth resistance when turning the whole handle in relation to the base & cap. Final results rival a Fat Boy on Nine shave! I'm considering this razor as my NOVember choice now. Good Shaves Y'all!
Thank you Andrew. Thanks for the well wishes. I hope it was just something I ate. I took Doug's advise and stayed home today. Doh. Senior moment. No need for a picture, I should have known you were using the Valet Autostrop.
My local 2nd hand store has a few Avon containers that have some juice left in them. I might test the waters with one or two. Great photo and write up as well!
As I suspected, just needed to sneak up on the right setting for my beard. I hope you move many through your shop Andrew. It's everything I hoped for. Clint, I'm a sucker for Retro-Future/ Steam Punk/ Art Deco styling. To top that it's a well built clone of the Merkur that I chose not to buy. Getting it dialed in is going well. Thank you Jason. Some of the Avon bottles have been around for decades. Give them a shake and pop the top. Only one I know of that's reported to "turn". I'm well stocked at no more than $5/bottle for the scents I like. Still seeking some I haven't sniffed yet. Avon didn't get experimental, they copied others scents.
Thanks Jim. I purchased that statue when I was about 10 years old at a flea market for 50 cents. I just thought the guy looked funny...I did not then appreciate what people do to themselves over a weekend to earn such a Happy Monday. It has set on my shelf for years. I think I'll name him Jim.
Thanks Jason. I had a fantastic time with my kids today. I see many of them each week, and they really touch my heart. Quite honestly, they are a lifeline for me.
OCtober!!! October 30 Razor - 1918 Gillette Old Style Blade - (2) Pre-Shave - Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap from Stirling Soap - Truefitt & Hill 1805 Brush - 30 DC LE Post - Alum Next to the last shave for OCtober and it's the same setup as last night just with the LE brush. Lather was a bit better tonight thanks to what I learned last night. More water makes T&H happy! I think at some point I'll give it a shot with either badger or boar or both to see what they do as well. Not saying my synthetics aren't working, but curious to see if there's a better option. Two passes and slides to another BBS and the alum was even quieter tonight than last night. Dialed in baby! One more shave with this setup and then off to something totally different for NOVember!!
Distinct possibility, Jim. Took me some time to work up to warp nine on the #195. This past month I've totally tamed the infamous Fatip. Riding the cap isn't a magic trick. It is a Technique and we all now what proper technique does.
I considered the Qshave (same thing different name) for NOVember as well. It's a fun razor to shave with if a bit intimidating as you take those numbers higher.
Using a setting "me" shave can't be all that bad. I've always had perfectly smooth and comfortable shaves. Always.
