July 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Understand that. I like a few of the Heritage Collections handles, not a fan of the knots used. Already replaced one gel tipped badger, the other is borderline. 2 handles I ordered blank.

PAA now has stock of the ferrules for their Switchback 400, have a couple incoming.

 

July Focus

MdC Fougère~~Simpson 90th Anniversary Astor~~Feather AS-D2/Personna 74~~Brut
Inspired by the members observing Fougère-Friday, I chose some iconic examples.
The MdC has been in my den for about 5+ years and there still remains approximately 1/2 of the jar.
The initial cash outlay of this brand is steep, but there is no denying its longevity.
The Astor manufactured some terrific lather; rich, shiny (yes) and slick.
The scent of this soap hasn't lost any of its punch and is quite strong.
The Feather AS-D2 is a razor that will never disappoint.
Even with an "end-of-life" Personna 74, it buttered some amazing toast.
The undisputed "King of Fougères" completed a fantastic-Friday shave.
I hope everyone has a great day and enjoys their weekend.​

 

Very nice, Joseph!

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Well, a very interesting and thoughtful shave this morning. Why do I say thoughtful. Because the Foamy Menthol compliments the Stephan Bay Rum in a way that is rather pleasing. I use Stephan mostly in the cold weather anyway, but..Foamy Menthol? Kinda on the cold side itself. Therefore, we see that the latter sets up the former nicely. The real test will be how these would work together in hot, humid weather. I don't want to use the Stephan TOO much before the cold weather returns, as I need it to go well with the Jeeves B.R. soap. Having said that, I have so much of the soap that I'd probably run out of the Stephan bottle ANYWAY, and have to get a new one. But a fine shave overall. I picked off the parts of Cactus Nation that I missed yesterday. Had to do a couple touchups around the areas of the chin and just over the upper lip. Maybe I'm being asked to grow a mustache again. My answer below. Top of the World Excellent for the shave combo choice itself.










Mustache answer? Yes, if pigs fly.

 

Fantastic all vetiver shave and great photo, Clint! I like classic look of the brush.

 

Terrific sandalwood shave, Pierpaolo! That song will sure get you going in the morning.

 

It's an ironic twist that you have red as the color for a cold shave. Terrific shave, post and lineup Jim!

 

Thank You, Andrew.
Not exactly a summer scent ... but I love salndalwood.
The combo is very powerful.
So the theme song ...

 

Masterful shave and nice lineup, Clint.!

 

Thank you, Joe!
The brush was chosen to go with the Black Cherry theme.

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Wonderful and elegant shave, Maestro! Brut reminds me of my younger days when I tripped the night fantastic. I haven't tried to modern Brut because I know the formula has changed.

 

Nice shave setup, Mark!

 

Nice shave, Paul!

 

Sophisticated, refined shave, Joseph! Fit for a gentlemanly emperor...

 

Terrific shave report and results, Paul.

 

Love the new brush Mark. How's it working out for you?

 

Thank you Joseph. I really like this brush.

 

I put a Turn N Shave Gel Boar in the handle but I am not sure about the knot at all. I might pull out the dremel to my T3 this weekend and harvest the knot.

 

Got my General V2 head in the mail yesterday. Not tried it yet.

 

SOTD FRIDAY JULY 17, 2020

Another great face shave from the Double Duck Goldedge. I do understand the appeal of this anachronistic approach to shaving. And it’s delivered real benefits to my safety razor shaving vis a vis skin stretching. I just really detest the whole stropping/honing thing, and knowing myself as well as I do after 7 decades of strutting the planet, it’s just not going to work for me. I’ll definitely do it intermittently, but I admit, I appreciate shave technology, and find safety razor shaving and replaceable blades much more to my liking. It really hit me yesterday, when I purchased the new Fine Accoutrements SS safety razor. I do enjoy open edge shaving, but the majority of it will be done with my Feather SS razors and my new Monsieur Henry. If I invest in a new open edge razor it will probably be a Feather DX razor. I achieved a true BBS this morning with the Goldedge which was my goal! It’s still sharp, but I hate having to strop it and want absolutely nothing to do with sharpening/honing. I’m putting it up on the shelf. It’s time to return to what I love, shaving with my wonderful collection of safety razors and my replaceable blade Barber’s razors. So am I leaving open edge shaving? Not on your life! Will I spend money on one, yes, but it will be either a Feather DX or a Kai Captain Excelia. I’m grateful for the new skill acquisition which I’ll continue working on with my Barber’s razors.

Now I’d like to sing the praises of the Seki Feather AS-D2, and it’s predecessor the AS-D1, razors that used to represent the ultimate SS razor, prior to much of the modern artisan SS safety razor renaissance. That is until a crowd of newbs to DE shaving purchased it, did not discover its very narrow sweet spot, and pronounced it “mild”! The razor, understandably, was designed to accommodate the company’s very sharp Feather DE blade. According to “Refined Shave”, a Health/Beauty blade testing organization, the Feather DE Blade is the sharpest blade on the planet by a wide margin, followed not so closely by the Nacet. Seki’s challenge was to design a blade holder that tamed their incredibly sharp DE blade. Their first effort, the AS-D1, Which had true negative blade exposure, erred too far on the side of mildness. Their second effort, however, the AS-D2 has neutral blade exposure, and is an incredibly efficient shaver for those who take the time to master it.

My health is no longer as robust as it once was, and over the past year I’ve been hospitalized twice, once for almost a week and a half. Being of Mediterranean extraction (Italian/Hungarian), I’ve always had a dense, heavy beard. My razor of choice to shear away 10 days of growth on both dome and face is the AS-D2, equipped with its signature blade. I find myself smiling when I read commentaries exhorting the heavy denseness of the writer’s beard and the AS-D2’s failure while loaded with a suboptimal DE blade (virtually any other non-Feather DE blade except maybe the Nacet) to shave effectively. This razor, when mastered, is capable of consistent irritation-free VBBS shaves, as it again delivered for me this morning. I feel refreshed, cool, clean and extremely velveteen!

RAZOR: Double Duck Goldedge (Mug), AS-D2 (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE (2)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Rabid Banana Preshave Cube
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat w/ 6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Mentholated Mysterium Serum.