thank you Joe..was a fine shave as well.

Awesome shave and pic Joe.how well does the candle lather?

Aug 20 SOTA

Good afternoon.

Schick I-1 Injector
Ted Pella Injector Blade (12?)
Rockwell Synthetic Brush
Stirling Spice SS and AS
Old Spice Cologne
Stirling Alum Block
Modessa Witch Hazel
Beard Growth: 24hrs



I decided to make it a Stirling Spice and Schick Sunday shave. Here's today's lather:



Did a 3 pass shave that gave me a trouble free BBS result. The alum feedback was slight. Witch hazel and the matching aftershave was refreshing. Did get some alcohol burn but I expected it with this aftershave. Finished with an application of the original Old Spice Cologne. This is what I call a very nice and easy shave. Take care.

Thanks Gary

Thanks Joe.

Thanks guys!
Just got home to grab a bite and heading back out.


tp

21 August 2023 Anything Goes August

Taking a break from the mini August focus for a spell



Italian flavoured shave today using the Proraso cream as a preshave while lathering up. Worked out fine, since it is likely to have similar ingredients to the pre-shave anyway

The Italian made Lo Storto worked like a charm, the Sapone da Barba stayed moist for the duration of the 3 pass shave, minimal touch ups were needed. No damage despite being only a 23 hour shave
Rinfrescante went on harmlessly enough and the the Cypress and Vetiver Cologne has set the mood for a refreshing day ahead

Still only August down here, but spring is not too far away, the doves are busily building a nest in our conifer out back, the mornings are not so chilly, the days are getting lazily longer

Looking forward to a Magic Monday, have some great shaves!

Terrific shave and setup Chris! I am sure you ate looking forward to your Spring, but I certainly am not looking forward to my Fall.

awesome shaves and pics gents.

Thank you Joe. I will just chalk it up as an outlier.

It is a superb latherer. Thank you Gary.

Wonderful shave Chris. Opposite effect up here in the north. It is still warm but that will be changing soon enough. Much to Joe, @Trigger, dismay.

Easy does it. Well done Joe.

Don't remind me. Lol!

Thanks Joe.

Glad to help. Might also work for April, when some places have trouble with spring run-off...

Maybe not a long enough pre-soak to fill the boar and badger bristles enough so they didn't soak up all the soap-laden water?

I think the mixed knots don't need to be soaked beforehand as much as a straight boar brush does, but they need more time than a straight badger knot. The mixed are somewhere in between - except when they aren't of course. Come to think of it, sometimes mine has just been changeable and weird.... The really nice thing about Synthetics, of course, is they don't need any fuss at all - they're just dip and go.

thank you Joe, Spring is always nice, until we get to February and 40 degrees Celsius, then it will be our turn for bushfires......

Thanks Gary

Thanks Joe @JACarbone! well if I was a dome-shaver (and I am not) it might be a cue to give it a rest for a while and cultivate some insulation

Even just getting a haircut in Winter leaves me cold, so I often just forgo a haircut or two

Or Joe @Trigger could just wear some headgear, Beanies work well too. Lol!

Sunday evening August 20 - Allegedly Adjustable, All Sample, Slightly Aquatic August

Prep: cool water face wash with MdC handsoap (lavender/fougere/vetiver/thyme)
Razor: Supply 2.0 injector with SE comb plate / Supply Black Label (7-9ish)
Brush: Simpsons Chubby 2 Synthetic
Bowl: Jason's maple walnut with lather buttons
Soap: Barrister & Mann Waves soap sample
Post: rinse, alum, rinse, Lucky Tiger Face Tonic

Day 2 on this sample. I lathered up the remnants of yesterday's almond-sized dollop stuck in the bottom of the lather bowl. As suspected, most of the soap was still remaining when I was done, so I scraped it up and returned it to the sample jar. I have enough left for a dozen shaves or so at some future date.

I would classify this scent as "pleasantly inoffensive". It doesn't make me want to inhale deeply to savour its heady aroma, but neither do I want to reach for a gasmask to avoid it. It's just sort of there. If this were my only soap, I certainly wouldn't mind using it all the time, but I am not going to rush out and buy more either. Maybe call it a "Meh".

Performance was fine, of course, as to be expected of the B&M Reserve soap base.

Last shave was yesterday, so just mild stubble to trim. Two passes with no errors. Alum was a bit warm in spots - probably from my unaccustomed two shaves of two passes back-to-back. But no nicks, weepers, smudges or razorburn.

Overall a good Sunday shave.

Next shave will be a new sample. I have been looking at my 33 samples. I am very familiar with TOBS shaving cream, so the only question with the 13 TOBS samples is the scent - performance is not in issue. The same is true of the 8 DR Harris cream samples - I have used DR Harris shaving cream before and found it works well for me. Ditto today's sample of B&M Reserve base soap.

The only samples where I really don't know about performance as well as scent are the Taconic I tried first, and the 6 Fendrihan creams and the 4 Marram Co ones. The Taconic was excellent.

The Fendrihan creams are "Made in England". They are most probably made by Creighton. I have read that Creighton's facility also produces the creams for TOBS, Truefitt & Hill, GF Trumper, DR Harris and St James! No doubt it produces each cream to each brand's specs for ingredients and quality, but still... Assuming this is true, the Fendrihan creams' performance will no doubt be similar to that of TOBS and DR Harris.

The only true dark horse is the Irish Marram Co creams. They were a fairly new company just starting to produce creams a few years ago when I bought the samples and I haven't heard much about them since. I will likely move on to them next since they are the most interesting samples for testing. After them, the Fendrihans. I may just smell test all the rest...