SoS; March 2018

Happy birthday!

 

Great picture, Roby!

 

March 24 SOTD:

Razor: Vanta
Blade: Sputnik
Brush: Stirling Marble
Lather: Stirling San Antonio
Aftershave: The Veg
Additional Care:
Stirling Unscented PSB

 

Great photo Jim ☺️

 

Happy Birthday Bob. I hope you enjoy the day and many more.
Steve

 

Carl Schmidt Blue Steel
Yaqui Synthetic Brush
Arko Cool Shaving Cream
Robert's Rose Water

 

Yeah I goofed. You guys have a good eye. I guess it was too late and I didn't notice I my error. I only used one scuttle. 2 hands, but only one scuttle - my go to Creative Flame. It has been my favorite scuttle and daily driver. I have a list of most of my gear and just delete what I don't use for my postings. It is easier then typing them out everyday. I try to keep some detail so folks, especially new comers, can figure out the products easier if they are interested in something. Sometimes my computer has a loose nut behind the keyboard.
Steve

 

Happy birthday!

Sent from my SM-N915V using Tapatalk

 

Thank you, buddy! Have a great day!

 

Wonderful late afternoon shave not because I slept in or anything ha haha ha. Anyways.
Shower with Ogallala shampoo/soap bar
Gillette flare
Astra SP blade
Suavecito pre-shave oil
My newly arrived Captain Joes by blackship (excellent smell and made a wondrous lather)
Restored Ever-Ready shave brush
A/V aftershave.

Sent from my SM-N915V using Tapatalk

 

A loose nut

I was just joking! I hadn't even spotted more than one scuttle

 

You also my friend. ☺️

 

I only used the Eclipse Red Ring razor for the first time this morning so my experience is obviously very limited. It is also probably a bit biased since I have wanted one of these since I started wet shaving and researching different razors. It just took awhile to come across the right offering. Obviously I will try to be objective since I came into this shave really wanting to love this razor.

My observation from the first shave are that this really is a fine, beautifully crafted razor. There is very little to any blade gap when the handle is completely torqued. The blade lays flat on top of the slotted guard base plate. It is a two piece design like the 34C. I loosened the handle just a bit, trying out the adjustable feature so that there was a slight gap. The shave feeling was a bit unexpected. I could feel the blade, although the exposure did not look aggressive at all. It was a pleasant, safe feeling of the blade. Just enough to give some feel but not that much where you feel you must really be overly careful. Perfect. This is in stark contrast with the iKon SBS I recently acquired. The solid bar side of that razor has quite a bit of gap and exposure. One really needs to be careful putting the iKon SBS against your face.

The Eclipse glided smoothly over my face with no drag. Honestly it felt a lot like my PAA DOC Grackle but more efficient and a tad more aggressive and therefore not as mild. The handle is short like the PAA and some like it, some don't. I like shorter handles and it makes the razor very dynamic and movable in the hands.

I did a 3 pass with no touch up and was rewarded with an excellent BBS shave. The head is designed well and had no issued shaving close under the nose. The razor also works well to buff as you go because of the shorter, well balanced handle. The razor could probably give you a bit of burn if you over shave (any would) because it doesn't feel aggressive. I could feel a very slight bit of rawness coming on, possibly just over shaving, experimenting to the limits, but I did not push it enough to get any razor burn. So it told me although the razor felt a bit towards mild, it was aggressive/efficient enough and was getting the job done. Like I said, the shave was very close and even and required zero touch up. It should be noted there was no feedback from the post alum application.

My initial impression is that this is a great daily driver. Very comfortable, mild to mid-aggression, but efficient. It really was a pleasure to use and and I could not find flaw. It was everything I could ask for and it felt great to use. I guess the only thing I would change is the side blade exposure since the head is narrow and the tabs of the blade stick out relatively far uncovered. This is did not interfere with shaving and I never had an issued with this style head, but I prefer the tabs covered when loading since I haven't had alignment issues installing new blades on my razors. Because it didn't effect the shave, and there were no issues loading, it really comes down to minor aesthetic preference. I can't wait to put the Eclipse through its paces and if it continues to perform so well, I would say it would be a fine addition to any den.
Steve

 

Ariana & Evans - NYC
Wolf Whiskers | Raptor | Black Wolf
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Wholly Kaw - Fougère Bouquet

​

Finally! Ever since Peter perfected his tallow goat's milk and lanolin soap base, I've been craving a release in a fragrance that I like. As one of the testers for his debut soap base, I was privileged to receive "Asian Plum" for my trouble. Not unexpectedly, it just wasn't for me, and I passed it on. I was quite willing to wait for a release more in line with my tastes, but the artisan wasn't having it. Instead, he kindly hooked me up with an advance release of "NYC", a fearless, yet elegant fougère.

The performance of this soap base is beyond reproach, placing it among my favorite artisanal soap bases. In fact, it really needs an establishing code name to further validate it among the others. All kidding aside, this soft-ish soap loads easily from the tub with a damp brush, but it's not so soft as to cause concern for digging out hunks or accidental overloading. Undeterred by my hard water, it has a fairly wide water tolerance range. Face lathering (scalp lathering, in my case) is easy, and a usable lather is quickly forthcoming, but introducing a moderate amount of water showcases the real performance chops of this soap. The lather is creamy and dense with an iridescent sheen. First-pass glide is effortless, and the residual slickness easily holds up against the most elite artisanal soaps that I routinely use. The post-shave feel is also exemplary.

With the exception of Declaration Grooming's new Icarus base having recently assumed the mantle as my benchmark soap, I've given up on trying to rank soaps in a meticulous manner such as naming them second and third place. Ultimately, there are about six soap bases that, while all of them are on the same performance level, each of them does it by shining in different aspects without failing in the others. This soap base is among these top-performing soaps. I don't know how this crowded group impacts the individual artisans' bottom lines, but I do know as wet shavers, there's no reason to use anything other than a luxury performance soap. I remember a time when that level of performance meant paying upwards of $70 USD to import a soap---a hurdle that's completely unnecessary in the current climate. Now, we're left up to subjective aspects such as fragrance and even packaging.

In terms of that subjective fragrance, NYC is a winner for me. Off the dry tub, I detected tangerine and something close to tomato leaf or green pepper. This is certainly not what I experienced as soon as the damp brush began stirring up the fragrance in the shower. NYC opened with a rather sharp and bold bergamot and woody lavender. Despite the perplexing green pepper off the dry tub (not the way to assess a soap's real fragrance), this is one of the least herbaceous fougères I've used. This sharp--approaching bitter---citrus gave way to woody lavender about midway through the first pass. Progressing from there, the fragrance became more woody and slightly darker as the characteristics shifted from sharp to slightly creamy, and finally a very subtle powder which prevented this darkening from becoming bleak. This is very much a wearable fragrance, so it's my hope Peter offers at least a matching splash. As it was, I'd already chosen Wholly Kaw's Fougère Bouquet as a finisher. I'm a fan of Fougère Bouquet, but the floral component completely dumped the masculine fougère vibe I was getting from NYC. Until there's a proper pairing, I think Chatillon Lux's TSM Fougère would have worked better, and to a lesser extent even some artisans' interpretation of Drakkar Noir would suffice in a pinch.

 

03/25/18 Shave of the Day
Face Wash with Crabtree & Evelyn Indian Sandalwood Triple Milled Soap
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Lime Ginger Tea Tree Conditioning Shampoo Puck
Billy Jealousy Hot Towel Pre-Shave Treatment
I Coloniali Mango Shave Soap
Wolf Whiskers RCE# 47 Custom Fluted DWW-3 25mm Black Wolf 3rd batch Synthetic hybrid/fan knot
Creative Flame Pottery Stoneware Shaving Scuttle
Eclipse Model W Red Ring Razor (1938)
Bolzano Superinox Blade - 2nd Shave
RazoRock Alum Block
Thayers Lemon Witch Hazel Astringent with Aloe Vera Formula
Crown King Captain Smythe's Reserve Oak Barrel Aged Bay Rum & Leather Aftershave/Cologne
NIVEA Men Sensitive Cooling Post Shave Balm
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Lime Ginger Tea Tree Natural Deodorant - New Sport Strength ​

 

Excellent write up as always. This sounds like a great soap - another to add to the list of must try!
Steve

 

Thanks!

 

Sunday's Planned SOTD



Razor: Ever-Ready Streamline
Blade: Feather FHS (D7)
Brush: Declaration Brushworks Washington 25mm
Scuttle: Georgetown G12
Pre-Shave Scrub: Lisa's Spicy Lime Patchouli
Pre-Shave Butter: Mickey Lee Lime
Shave Soap: APR Coolabah LE
Post: Monster Block Alum
Aftershave: APR Coolabah LE

​

 

Today's shave was with a Japanese Razor, Made of Swedish Silver Steel. I had a very pleasant 2 pass shave, that left me BBS. Zero issues.

Razor- Japanese "Old Cherry".
Brush- Stirling Boar
Soap- Arko/Sandalwood
Aftershave- Pinaud Clubman