SOS: September 2018

SUNDAY'S SHAVE​

Razor - Gillette Superspeed (circa 1947-1952) (Re-plated in Nickel Finish by Razor Emporium)
Blade - *7th shave
Shave Brush - Custom Created Handle by an "Unknown" Artist (Fitted with a synthetic 26mm Knot by Nathan of Envy Shave)
Shave Soap - Shulton Old Spice (circa mid 60's-late 70's, fits 3.75 ounce mugs from the era)
Shave Mug - Shulton Ship Grand Turk - Tempered Glass (sold 1964 thru 1978) with Custom Lid by Nathan of Envy Shave
Aftershave - Shulton Old Spice (circa 1980's)
Deodorant - Shulton Old Spice (circa early-mid 1980's)
Fragrance - Shulton Old Spice Long Lasting Cologne Spray (circa 1980's 'tester bottle' made for store display only, extremely rare.)
"Grand Turk Ship" Shaving Stand by Desire Metal Works

 

Sunday shave

Razorock plisoft 24mm brush
Mr natty shaving Soap
Muhle r89 and feather blade

Razorock empera Aftershave
1 hour later creed Aventus

Have a great day guys

 

I agree. This is the type of bottle that I would to see the PAA Rum comes in our a jug

Sent from my SM-J327P using Tapatalk

 

Sun 30th Sept
Omega 11126 boar
Speick Active soap
Feather F11 Neo
Twin Blade
Pitralon Polar A/S Lotion

Test For Travel Razor.
As we are off on holiday soon, I thought It might be wise to pack a Razor in my carry on bag, just in case Proper
Shaving gear in Hold Luggage got delayed, as I do like a Daily Shave.

I have not really used this Razor much, so todays a learning curve.Found out immediately do not hurry it along , short strokes are best for initial clearance. The action is quite smooth compared with my memories in the distant
past of Cart Shaves, I think I must have hurried those along too much. It took some time to complete the Shave, and though the finish on the upper face was good, I was not too happy with the neck at all.

 

Good Morning Everyone SOTD 09/30/18

Schick G
Schick (6)
Synthetic
TCD White Birch & Tobacco
Cold Water Rinse, Witch Hazel
Pinaud Reserve Whiskey Woods A/S

Have A Great Day!

 

Good stuff Brian.

 

E

Excellent colors @celestino.

 

Outstanding display of fine shaving products Neal.

 

Shaves of the Week.

Saturday.
Prep: Hot towel
Pre shave: Prep
Razor: ‘The Rock’ (Rockwell 6S – #3)
Blade: Permasharp
Brush: 'Jade' (Rooney Heritage 2XL Jade)
Soap: Chiseled Face Pine Tar
Post: Cold water rinse / Witch Hazel / Chatillon Lux: Santal Auster Post-Shave Salve
Fragrance: Amouage Opus IV

a thoroughly enjoyable shave, even though I clumsily nicked my top lip.. D'oh!


Tuesday.
Prep: Hot towel
Pre shave: Prep
Razor: Weber ARC
Blade: Wizamet Polsilver
Brush: 'The Archduke' (Brad Sears Archduke 26/50 2-Band Manchurian)
Soap: London Oatcake 'Driftwood'
Post: Cold water rinse / Witch Hazel / L'Occitane Cade After Shave Balm

a good solid, protective shave today, with a new soap from London Oatcake.. my only (constructive) criticism is that I found it to be a bit lacking in the residual slickness dept.. not a biggie really, considering how well the shave went, but an improvement would be a step in the right direction.. all in all, a really good shave..



Thursday.
Prep: Hot towel
Pre shave: Prep
Razor: Merkur 34C HD
Blade: Polsilver Super Iridium
Brush: ‘Il Cinghiale’ (Zenith EURO/RX)
Soap: Swedish Witch 'Rosemary Spice'
Post: Cold water rinse / Witch Hazel / Chatillon Lux: Bon Vivant Post Shave Toner

a rather underwhelming shave, that... time for a fresh blade, methinks..

 

Phoenix Shaving | Doppelgänger (CK-6 Vegan Base)
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone Copper Matrix | AP Shave Co. SynBad 30mm
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74

​

It has been an absolute joy using Phoenix Shaving's Doppelgänger for the past 2 months, but it's been driving me crazy because I haven't been able to talk about it. While I was not in the extensive test group from its inception, I was afforded the opportunity to test and provide feedback for a couple of the late iterations of this "CK-6" base. In fact, the version prior to this final recipe had already surpassed my personal benchmark soap, such that I'd assumed it was the final version. Ultimately, this release version performed essentially the same except the post-shave was extended considerably.

CK-6 offers no-nonsense loading. Over the weeks of testing, I've used synthetics, boar, and badger knots, and the results are the same: a damp knot easily picks up enough product in just a few seconds. In this respect, it's quite similar to the standard Crown King base, as well as several other artisan offerings for that matter.

I typically face and scalp lather, but for testing purposes, I did bowl lather a few times. Trying to find CK-6's limits proved to challenging. I have extremely hard water which can diminish even the best of lathers. Over the years, I've tried using distilled water or adding a little citric acid to my reserve bowl, but ultimately I've learned to just load more and scrub and agitate more. Certainly, the higher performing artisanal soaps have overcome this hurdle. One of my favorites, the Barrister's Reserve base, has essentially made a mockery of hard water, such that I have to take care to avoid overloading the knot else I'll be met with an uncontrollable amount of lather. CK-6 is somewhere in between. I can load a typical amount of soap in a 26-30 mm knot that will ultimately yield enough lather for a leisurely 2+ pass head and face shave with plenty more to spare. When I use CK-6, that "more to spare" is has now become an essential element to my routine, but more on that later.

CK-6 thrives even on an unreasonable amount of water. With just a little agitation, the lather quickly expands and then stalls right at that optimal density thereby yielding a thick creamy lather that can be painted to a glassy sheen devoid of brush marks. The more water I introduce, the slicker it gets. The resulting slickness is matched by very few of the artisanal soaps I've used. I did try neglecting the hydration to evaluate the rookie factor, and I found it still performed on a spectacular level. In fact, if you like a stiffer stucco-like substrate, you can achieve this by skimping on the water, and you'll still get a very slick shave. If you do this, I recommend letting the lather rest on your skin for a bit before taking a blade to it. It won't break down, but the prolonged exposure seems to allow the buttery lather to impart its slickness. Whereas a well hydrated lather is ready to go right away. In practice, personally, I prefer a wetter lather, but CK-6 simply has a wide water range accommodating individual preferences (or even errors) without sacrificing glide. That said, this is one of the more intuitive soaps I've ever used.

If you're into doing 45 minute single-pass shave videos, then feel free to keep working the lather, but you can't over-work it and you'll be hard pressed to drown it. There are very few soaps in my den that allow me to lather my entire face and head all at one time without risking breakdown of the final areas. Being a shower shaver, even the most robust lathers are at risk of falling apart under these humid circumstances. Despite these conditions, CK-6 remains quite stable, allowing me to take my time on a leisurely face shave while the lather waits on my scalp. By the time I transition the shave to focus on my head, the lather is just as dense and slick as if I'd just painted it on.

In my experience, my hard water certainly impacts residual slickness. I discovered this in the past when I experimented with distilled water or by introducing a pinch of citric acid to my reserve bowl. It was only then that I could fully appreciate residual slickness. Times have changed, and now several current artisanal soaps offer good to outstanding residual slickness without having to jump through hoops. The residual slickness I've been experiencing with CK-6 is unmatched by any soap I've ever used. In some soaps with exceptional residual slickness, I find holding onto my brush to be somewhat precarious. Being a shower shaver, I tend to let the lather fly, so this is a real concern with lather dripping down the brush handle. CK-6 actually doesn't mess with my grip, though. It seems the residual slickness is directly related to the prolonged exposure to my skin and not passive exposure to the handle materials.

Other than perhaps the durability and residual slickness aspects, the qualities I've mentioned thus far can also be boasted by a select few other bases currently on the market. Where CK-6 leaves the pack for me is the post-shave. Just how soft can one's skin be, you ask? Consistently, after shaving with Doppelgänger (CK-6), my skin feels as if it's never sprouted a hair, nor ever had a blade dragged across it. So, Icarus does that. Catie's Bubbles' jojoba magic does it as well. As does Ariana & Evans, Nuàvia, and so on. The real leap with CK-6 is that this feeling literally lasts all day with no additional products. In fact, while my stubble is yet reemerging, my skin still feels as if I've just applied moisturizer. When using my highest performers, I smear whatever pulled lather remains on my scalp where it stays while I clean up my gear. In the case CK-6, the post-shave benefits are so luxurious that I actually account for that extra lather when loading so I can ensure there's enough pulled lather to completely cover my scalp, face, and neck. The results are an unmatched flawless and protracted post-shave feel.

There will be plenty of documentation out there by way of the artisans as well as more professional reviewers explaining the details as to why this base performs the way it does, so I won't even attempt it. In the midst of testing, there were some comments from the artisan that suggested CK-6 may never come to fruition due to cost. As of this writing, I believe this is still a concern. I doubt the artisans will switch over their entire line to this base, but I can certainly see it maintaining a place in their catalog as a premium line much like Declaration Grooming's Icarus and Barrister and Mann's Reserve.

Again, as of this writing, I don't know what the final cost of CK-6 will be, but I do remember in the not-too-remote past paying hefty prices for the likes of Martin de Candre and Nuàvia, while current artisans churn out products that meet or exceed the performance of those at a fraction of the price. Given the current volume of talented artisans in the community, certainly from a pragmatist's perspective, a luxury-level wet shave can be achieved on the cheap. However, when I consider performance benchmarks for a soap, I do not incorporate cost into the equation. Nor do I consider packaging, marketing, fragrance, or customer service.

With that in mind, here are my benchmark ratings of CK-6:

• Ease of loading: Unsurpassed
• Ease of lathering: Unsurpassed
• Water range: Unsurpassed
• Density: Unsurpassed
• Primary slickness: Unsurpassed
• Residual slickness: Unequaled
• Durability: Unequaled
• Post-shave feel: Unsurpassed
• Post-shave feel duration: Unequaled

Given these results, after several weeks of using this base under various conditions with various hardware, CK-6 is the current pre-eminent benchmark soap base title holder in my den. This is the best all-around performing soap base I've ever used...for now.

More pics:

​

 

Date: 30 September 2018

Pre-shave:- Cold Water straight from the tap
Brush:- Proraso Professional 27/57mm knot
Soap/Cream:- Declaration Grooming ~ Original
Bowl/Scuttle:- Captain's Choice
Razor/Blade:- Rockwell 6C 'R6' / Vintage NOS Gillette Super Stainless (spoiler) #7
Post-shave:- Thayers Witch Hazel & Tea Tree Oil / Lucky Tiger Aftershave & Face Tonic / Lucky Tiger Face Moisturizer

 

Excellent pictures and review Matt. When you hear the price let us know.

 

SOTD 20180930.



Semogue 1250.
Eufros “Edén”.
Vintage Gillette Old Type.
Asco Super Stainless (red wrapper) (5).
Jan's Splash "Neroli/Myrrh/Frankincense/Lavender".

 

Good picture and lineup Jan.

 

An almost perfect, in depth review Matt...scent please?

 

Hi Friends,

i'm back. I'm so sorry, that i haven't been here for a looooong time. I had so much Stress at work and in my private time, that i could only do the things which has been needed the most.

But i promise, to pop up here more often and regularly. I thought so many times of you guys and the Forum...

So, you missed a few shaves, but here is my SotD from today. 30.09.2018


Razor: Swing / Blade: Polsilver Super Iridium / Soap: Tabac / Brush: Plisson Synthetic / Aftershave: Tabac

What a great shave. The Swing is a Razor, which i use very rarely. Since today, this will definetly chance. Great great Razor!!! The shave with it was very direct, without beeing aggressive. The combination with the blade was very gentle and toroughly.

I will not say anything about the Soap or the Aftershave. Tabac is one of the best brands out there (if you like the scent). Performancewise there are not many better brands.

So, this is it for now. I hope all of you are doing well and everything is fine so far.

It feels so good to be back again.

Take care friends.

Greetings
Thorsten

 

Great photo and good to see you back Thorsten.

 

Pre: Warm water face wash
Brush: WDC-8, 24mm Maseto Finest
Soap: OSP Bay Rum
Razor: Colonial Brass General
Blade: Feather Pro Super
Post: Warm then cold water rinse, Razorock Black Bay ASL

Happy Shaving one and all.

 

I was actually reviewing the soap base specifically, hence the reason I didn't comment on the fragrance, but your point is well taken.

If I understand correctly, Phoenix Shaving's Doppelgänger line will clone some modern, mainstream fragrances. This is a move that's simply atypical of Phoenix Shaving, but apparently there have been so many requests, they relented. Each of the products in the Doppelgänger series will be identifiable by label color scheme with the only mention of the intended clone coming by way of the product page. I'm pretty sure that's how this is intended to roll out, but I may have it wrong. Please wait for official information from Phoenix Shaving. The tubs that I tested / reviews were "black label" as pictured. The Black Label corresponds to their clone of Dior's Sauvage.

I hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the clarification. While I am not a purchaser of PAA products, I find their product line to be extensive and interesting and well-marketed.