Thanks again for the wonderful gift, Doug. Lathering was an easy chore but used too much soap (8 swirls of the brush on the soap) and kept spilling over on the one side that is lower than the other. See how it goes for tomorrow shave with less soap.
Saturday SOTD Razor: Schick Repeating Razor C2 Blade: Personna Injector (D6) Brush: Zenith B20 Boar 28mm Bowl: Asfreidaturns Texas Mesquite 4 1/4" Pre-Shave Scrub: Ginger Garden Enigma Pre-Shave Balm: GroomingDept Unscented Shave Soap: Southern Witchcraft Samhain Balm: Organic Shea Butter Aftershave: Southern Witchcraft Samhain
21 December 2019 * Blackbird Brass SB 101 * Wizamet Iridium Super * Shavemac D01 2-Band + Doug Korn Faux Vintage Ivory C7 * Mystic Water Bergamot/Cedar/Juniper * Unrefined Shea Butter * Bergamot/Vetiver EO
Decadent December!!! December 20 - 5th Anniversary Retro Razor - VDH TTO (Weishi) Blade - (1) Soap - Proraso Green Brush - Omega Pro 48 Post - Alum On this, my 5th anniversary at TSD, I humbly submit this retro shave for your consideration. I used the original razor I started with, a Van der Hagen TTO which is, in reality, a Weishi rebranded. It's a mild razor but it took me a bit to get used to using it after a lifetime of electric razors and carts/disposables. I used a Voskhod blade which was not my first blade. My first blade was an "Ice Tempered" Van der Hagen made by Solingen and, in all honesty, a pretty crappy blade. Came with the razor of course. I bought a 5 pack but quickly started trying some different blades. I settled on Voskhods within a very short time of beginning as my first choice. Thanks to my love of Russian Steel, a Cartel and the office of Czar was "born". The soap was my first soap purchase besides VDH. I had discovered Proraso through another forum I tried before landing here. It was much better in my view than VDH, even though VDH soaps are not bad at all. The Pro 48 brush - my second brush, actually, as my first was a super-cheap and super-shedder Tweezerman from Amazon. I don't think I even have that brush as I think I finally tossed it. Horrible brush. But the big Pro 48 worked much better and got me hooked on boars for the first year or perhaps more of my shaving career. So, there you have it. Firsts, or at least very early items from the past five years of shaving the right way. The result today? A very fine near-BBS and a fun trip back down memory lane. Hope you all have a great weekend!! Oh - for those who have asked - yes I have talked to Chris @Bama Samurai . He's alive and well in Alabama. He's working pretty much nonstop. And for those of us who have done that, we definitely understand the grind!
Perfumed by Daniel Moliere Bath Soap - Periwinkle Lane "Tam Dao" Fragrance - Diptyque Tam Dao EDP Aftershave - Klar Seifen "Sandelholz" Shave Soap - Klar Seifen "Sandelholz" Deodorant - Periwinkle Lane "Tam Dao" Preshave Oil - Lather & Wood's "Unscented" Post-Shave Balm - Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements "Mysterium Serum" Razor - Merkur Futur Blade - *8th Shave Razor Stand by RV Shaving Shave Brush by Mervyn Cadman with Synthetic Tuxedo Knot Brush Stand by Desire Metal Works Soap Bowl - Custom made by Mervyn Cadman ***EDIT - I love this Klar soap when I manage to get the perfect water content. I think this soap is best when only putting tiny amounts of water with it when lathering. The soap performs amazingly well. This soap is also one where I find a pre-shave oil works synergistically with it. When everything is done right this turns out a great shave. The BiC CP blade on the 8th shave managed to get the job done. 2 passes + a little BBS chase. No irritation to speak of. Great shave.
