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SOTD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MARCH 3, 2021
This morning’s shave featured an all Japanese shaving tools focus, and represented a supportive shave for my good friend, Clint, on his first AS-D2 outing. In that spirit I grabbed my own AS-D2. The Seki Feather AS-D2 was one of the first stainless steel safety razors and represents an engineered design improvement over its predecessor, the AS-D1, an altogether too mild safety razor with an exaggerated negative blade exposure resulting in a very mild shave. The AS-D2 was one of, if not the first safety razor to be constructed of marine grade 316L stainless steel via a CNC process. There were other stainless steel CNC built razors at the time (cf original Tradere), but they represented the use of other stainless steel alloys for the most part.
This razor was designed for “riding the bar” and featured a very narrow sweet spot that promoted a much more acute shaving angle taking full advantage of the hyper sharp Feather DE blade it was engineered around. I have a relatively thick heavy whiskers and used my AS-D2 a year or so ago to reduce almost three weeks of whisker growth following a hospital stay. It took it down like a champ, leaving me dolphin smooth. It required no extensive buffing, only an experienced knowledge of its very narrow sweet spot. Those who dismiss it as a “mild” razor just never learned the proper angle to shave with it. This morning it effortlessly sheared away my dome stubble in my usual two ATG passes.
In keeping with my Japanese shaving tools theme I selected the Tanifuji Airi 11/16, the first Japanese straight razor in my humble collection. My son, Ben, a straight shaver of several decades experience, has a very large Japanese silver and Tamaghane steel straight razor collection (100+). He provided me with this first razor after honing it on his then newly complete jnat progression. It was my first whisker-melting, Japanese silver steel shave. I now own two others, and am on the hunt for others guided by my son’s expertise. This morning, after a quick refresh last night, this petite little gem blazed through my mug whiskers in three slow, delightful passes, leaving me clean and refreshed with that delightful velveteen, porcelain smooth skin feel result I seek in every shave I undertake.
RAZOR: Tanifuji Airi 11/16 (Mug), Feather AS-D2 Safety Razor (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Rooney Ebony Pure Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Pre de Provence Bergamot & Thyme AS Balm.
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