SOS: March 2019

awesome set up and pic sir.. love that brush..

 

Thank you Gary.

 

Today
Hot Water wash
T-400/silvertip knot
Rustic Shave Soap Sandalwood
Cadet tto14
Rapira (2)
Reuzal aftershave
Nice shave, a bit close, but smellin' nice
Hope y'all did as well, or better.

 

Little Mail Call action with the arrival of my Karve CB, was waiting for the OC plates to drop before ordering.
Hybrid Karve Shaving Co Christopher Bradley C OC on Charcoal Goods Stinger 2 Antq Brass / Gillette Platinum Super Thin (Thai) / WWBW Upside Down Block Party Custom / The Shaving Soap Club Oriental Oud

Using my RR GC .84 as a guide for smooth efficient razor I ordered C .85 & B .73 Open Combs and D .98 & C .85 SB. Happy to report C open comb worked like a dream, didn't exhibit the feel I experience with the less expensive Maggard V2 OC head. Frankly it didn't feel any different than my SBs. While I might be able to get away with going more aggressive with the OC plate I got an irritation free two pass shave from the C OC on par with how my RR GC .84 performs, perhaps even marginally better first pass performance.

 

Day 3 naked soap - oriental frag focus

Grooming Department Duck Fat
Merkur 15C
Personna Red ⚁
Vladimir Ferdman blackwood
3 pass

POST
Alum
Floid
Eleven

Bentley Intense

Have a good morning


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Man Tim - that grooming department stuff is unreal

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Blackland Sabre L2 & GEM ptfe SS
Graydog 26mm Badger
WSP Olympus Formula T
Nivea Sensitive Cooling
PAA Doppelgänger Gray Label a/s splash (Aventus)
AFNAN Supremacy Silver eau de parfum

Lovely shave tonight. Wonderful evening and shaves to all.....​

 

+1, the best Artisan soap I have used to date

 

Hahaja he did go a bit crazy with the back story on this series didnt he? Agharta is a very complex scent but is a spicy floral is the best way i can describe it. The aftershave is much better IMO as the scent has great "silage" or changes and morphs a bit over time. Got this set from a trade and really like it, had to get it based on the name alone.

 

Great looking setup Guy. Ive been using my QCS Vostok sparingly, knowing I wont see it again. Same goes for my WSO “Naud”

 

RECENT SHAVES


Prep: nothing
Razor: Schick Injector
Blade: Ted Pella (1st shave)
Brush: RR Bc Plissoft
Soap: Grooming Dept- Angel
Post: Proraso Woods & Spice Balm


Had a rough time getting the right lather consistancy. It seems any time i consume even a small amount of alcohol it effects my lather skills, even a beer at a ballgame which is just a strange observation. Anyways, the scent of Angel is a nice spicy scent, where Agharta goes spicy Floral, this leans twards more of a spicy fruity scent that is very well done. Normally do not have a probem with GD soaps other than reaching the bottom of the tub way sooner than any other artisan, Mo makes some incredible soap formulas so its a small price to pay for a product of this quality.

Picked up this injector in the wild the other day for $4 so figured what the heck. Have a few other injector razors but was the 1st time with this particular model and it shaved well. Finished off with Woods & Spice balm.



Prep: Pre shave soap mix
Razor: Schick Injector
Blade: Ted Pella (2nd shave)
Brush: Razorock Plissoft
Soap: Paladin- Silk Road
Post: BW Peg Leg Nichols A/S


Had a fairly decent shave this afternoon with Silk Road. The scent is a fresh clean almost aquatic mens cologne and can not detect individual notes (good thing as im not a big fan of Anise) this scent reminds me a bit of WK Lav Sublime Concerto as both have a similar vibe. Lather went well but had to load a bit heavier than usual as this soap has a very hard consistancy, perhaps one of the hardest non triple milled soaps i have come across. Paladin's presentation is fantastic, heavy glass jar with a old school label. Finished off with Peg Leg Nichols which is nearly empty but the last little bit is very potent oil that is heavy on the menthol. My GF says she really likes this scent and commented on it a few times thruought the day which is always a good sign

 

That Master Topaz is a interesting scent, something similar to Figaro Gold. That Vintage bottle looks cool!

 

Date: 07 March 2019

Pre-shave:- Cold Water straight from the tap
Brush:- Maseto Extra Density 2 Band Finest Badger "Memphis" 26/55mm Knot
Soap/Cream:- Mitchell's Wool Fat
Razor/Blade:- Gillette Red Tip E1 1959 / Vintage NOS Gillette Bleue Extra #2
Post-shave:- T.N. Dickinson Witch Hazel Astringent mixed with Tea Tree, Lavender & Peppermint / Lucky Tiger Aftershave & Face Tonic
Fragrance:- Dolce&Gabbana Pour Homme

24 more days to go for the whole month of Mitchell's March Wool Fat shave

 

Thursday SOTD

Mongoose razor
Vulfix brush - New Forest 2 band knot
Martin de Candre “brain bowl” lavender soap
Agua Lavanda by Puig AS - not shown





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Thats a sweet razor!

 

Wednesday SOTN

Well, a surprise package arrived today from China... I seriously have a RAD problem I think. I have some really great vintage and newer razors. But I just had to try a Q-shave Futur Clone. It arrived today - hence the natural choice for tonight's shave. I'm not 100% certain the blade gap is symmetrical, but a relatively comfortable 3 pass shave was achieved. Great slickness achieved while face lathering tonight. I'll need to play with this new razor to get it just right, but happy nonetheless. ~$15-16 for an adjustable modern razor with matching stand is not too shabby. Happy shaves all!

Josh

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7 March 2019

* Muhle R41 + Stork Aristocrat 1 Titanium
* Wizamet Iridium Super
* Maseto Shaving XD 2-Band + Oscar11 Amber Barbeiro
* Mystic Water Sandalwood Rose
* Unrefined Shea Butter
* Bergamot/Vetiver EO


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It was a Barbasol shave today! Loving the menthol in this! I will be using this Barbasol for a while.
I may even have to stockpile it in case they decide to discontinue it.

 

March Madness!!

March 6

Razor - 1920's Gillette Travel Razor, Stirling Silver by William B. Kerr & Co.
Blade - (3)
Soap - Truefitt & Hill 1805
Brush - Stirling 24mm Badger fan knot
Post - Alum

Final shave for now with the Gillette Travel Razor and Bic CP blade. I'll start with thoughts on the blade on day three. As usual, the Bic blade performed perfectly. I remember a couple of years ago I was emptying out a small blade bank into my main disposal bucket and counted each of the blades by brand. Of course, the number one blade was Voskhod. Surprisingly, the number two blade was the Bic CP. Well, surprising only because everyone figured it would be another Russian. I've stopped going to the Bic as often but this three days has reminded me that I should keep some around, just to have another fantastic option should I decide I want to change up for a bit. My thoughts on this razor. What a cool little razor this one is. I'm going to dig into the serial numbers on the baseplate just to try and learn more about it, but this is a very functional, if very different to hold, little razor that shaves just like any good vintage Gillette. I'm glad I overpaid to acquire this one. Being an unusual piece it was more than worth the money in any case.

Now, to the soap. T&H 1805. It has received many negative, and strongly negative, reviews. I've used it before with some success. Last night - it lived up to its terrible reviews. So, let's give it a shot to redeem itself. Two comments were made. Joseph @Primotenore suggested a 1/4 to 3/4 ratio hot water soak prior to shaving. I'm pretty sure he is really suggesting "blooming" the soap. Ok, I don't use the term but I do "soak" a few soaps, and this one got basically that treatment since last night. There was reason for hope according to Andrew @Linuxguile because, yes, it isn't Marvy. There has to be some hope. I went to the Stirling badger given its density and thought that might give me an edge as well. So how did it go?

I shook the badger mostly dry before hitting the wet puck for the load. And, I loaded for probably twice as long as usual. The brush seemed fully ready to go. Wet my face, and started the face lather. After a fairly short time it looked like I had good coverage. So, on to the first pass. I made it through the entire shave without the lather completely dissipating. Definitely better than last night but not impressive. Maybe that's as good as it gets. I rinsed my face and went back for another face lather. Looked good again until I picked up the razor and I noticed a big round spot on my left cheek with absolutely no lather. Clearly the brush pulled all the lather off my face. I looked at the brush, saw plenty of lather in it, so I changed from lathering to painting on my face. NOW things started improve. Greatly. By painting on the lather I got not only solid coverage over my entire face but I also got some cushion and the slickness was at least 50% improved. Second pass was quite comfortable, slick, and ended with a near-BBS. The soap lasted without any problems during that pass. Nice.

Now my mind started to wonder. Maybe face lathering isn't the way to use this soap. So, without loading it any further, I grabbed one of my VDH green bowls and started to work up a bowl lather. I added a little water, worked it, got it going, added a bit more water and - BANG - a bowl full of quite nice looking and feeling lather. I swirled it up on the brush and painted my hand. Great cushion, coverage, feel, all the right ingredients including slickness. I stood there looking at my hand for a good five minutes and barely any had dissipated. Now we're definitely talking.

Obviously this is a soap that can be very nice and useful. My recommendation - get the puck super wet, keep the brush mostly dry and load up. Then bowl lather and paint your face with it. I'm a happy camper. Have a great Thursday night and a better Friday!

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