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SOTD SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 1, 2020
Time for the comparison shave between my Gold Dollar (Black) and the Crescent City (Blue) Gold Monkey. Slash McCoy (
@Slash McCoy), honemeister and practitioner of the “Method” - a lapping films honing approach he references on his Crescent City Razors site - purchases Gold Dollar razors in bulk and hones them for resale so they are truly ‘shave ready‘. Slash has a great reputation for the stellar shaves his rehoned razors deliver. I purchased a $5 Gold Dollar razor on Alibaba and reset the bevel on a Shapton 1k and then finished the edge on my jasper stone and a pasted strop followed by a leather strop. Being retired, I spent a fair amount of time going back and forth between the jasper finishing stone and my USB microscope to ensure I arrived at the smoothest edge I could.
I then decided to shave each side of my face with a different razor. The result was a simply splendid shave. I was unable to determine which razor was preferred. They did shave differently. I was able to determine that Slash’s reputation is well earned. His razor shaved cleanly on my favored dominant (left) side. I will say that on the sharp continuum his razor was a harder sharp than mine, but I’m sure he didn’t spend anywhere near the amount of time I did going back and forth between the USB microscope and the jasper stone until my edge was gleaming. The shave on the right (non-dominant) side of my mug felt just a tad smoother, but that may also reflect wish fulfillment on my part. In any case, I have no problem wholeheartedly endorsing Crescent City razors! They’re well worth the price and a great starter razor for the new straight razor shaver looking for a cost-effective dependable starter/learning straight razor.
My dome shave featured one of my two early production (1905) silver plated Gillette Old Type safety razors. These razors have tended to be neglected due to their weight in hand. However, the three lb weights on my forearms make that issue moot. I generated two types of lathers for my morning shaves. I prefer a thinner, wetter lather for my mug straight razor shaves, and a heavier, yogurty lather for the noggin. My MrEE Monster Tuxedo Synth was happy to oblige. It’s a fabulous MWF lather machine, and easily generated both types of lather. It’s huge soft knot has great backbone and made lather generation a joy. I face latherEd my mug and bowl lathered my dome. Generating the thicker dome lather is better suited to the bowl method, but the application with this huge knot just felt great. I feel clean, velveteen smooth and quite refreshed.
RAZOR: Gold Monkey 5/8 (left Mug) Gold Dollar 5/8 (right Mug), Gillette Old Type (Dome)
BLADE: Sharp Star
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Aluminum Monster Tuxedo Synth Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Frost Byte AS Splash.
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