SoS: May 3 - May 9 2010

Saturday, May 8th

Hot shower
TSD Bourbon Vanilla ss
Omega 639 Havana Silvertip
D.R. Harris DE87 w/ Derby Extra
444 alum
444 ASB w/ Denim Black splash

 

Razor: Clauss Extra
Brush: Omega 599
Soap: Ginger's Garden Black Raspberry Vanilla
AS: Pinaud Clubman Musk, AII Osage

 

Saturday

Slim set at 9
Derby (4th)
Castor/Olive/Grapeseed Preshave
Arko boosted Williams
Tweezerman Badger
Cold Water Splash
Master Blue, feel freeze for 2 minutes
TSD Signature A/S
Drank Dunkin Donuts Coffee

Adding a 2 minute pre-freeze (Masters Blue or equiv) prior to applying TSD Signature A/S resulted in an enjoyable AAAHHH!!.. this morning. The 2 scents worked well together too. I found separating the 2, and allowing 2 minutes between them was MUCH more enjoyable than mixing the 2 with a single app. Lime Sec I'll mix. But freezing, for me, benefits from separation big time!! I may have found a new "freeze ritual" for menthol Monday.

 

Friday

Veleiro Pre-Shave Soap
Tabac Shaving Soap
Semogue 1550 brush
Dovo Fritz Bracht Straight Razor
Tabac After Shave Splash
444 After Shave Balm

 

Saturday:

Gillette Fatboy razor
Asco Orange blade
Rooney 3/1 brush
Charismata SS
Osage Rub
Barbasol Pacific Rush A/S

Very nice and ready to go for today.

Don't forget Mother's Day is tomorrow.

 

No photo for Saturday

But I did get my 9th straight shave with this blade, and may as well make it 10 tomorrow.
Schick adjustable with Schick blade.
Williams soap
VdH boar brush
A cheap DFS

 

I pretty much mirror the others. If the blade is known to be good, I'll use that razor until it ain't and my choice of soap or cream comes the minute I open the cabinet, with the exception of Mondays, then I KNOW it will be a menthol/menthol combination, other than that, it is all a surprise until I either pick up the bottle/brush/soap/cream or I don't. I rarely wear the same AS back to back days though. Gotta keep people guessing

 

Saturday It's the weekend! :happy069 Time for the SEs!!
bummer - gotta work this morning. Fortunately only 'til 11:00.

Prep: Hot shower, hand strop blade, soak brush
Coffee: Home roasted Costa Rica Tarrazu, hot & black
Soap: TSD Lime
Brush: Semogue 2000
Razor: Gem Featherweight
Blade: Gem, day 1, 3+ passes
Post: Cold water rinse, ice water splash, Brut ASB & AS
'Stache Wax: Wacky Tacky

Shave Rating: 4 Blades

For me, the scent of a soap is just as part of the shave as is any of the hardware. The lime isn't really doing it for me. Not bad, but glad I just got the sample size on this one. On top of that, I was a bit off on the soap/water ratio. Still got a usable lather, but I've had better, especially with TSD soaps. Again, no fault of the soap. This one's my bad. Tomorrow's soap is a favorite - TSD Wild Rose. Can't wait.

Someone mentioned earlier how, when and why things are picked out for the shave. For me, the blade remains a constant through the week. When I finish my shave, I take it out, hand strop it, then put it in the next razor for the next day. Which one? No set rotation. On Monday it will be a Merkur with a fresh blade - one of my four Merkurs - for my "Merkur Monday". Tue - Fri it's, "hmmmm... which one tomorrow?" Usually it will be one of the vintage, but I may grab another Merkur. Those are all new. On the weekends, it will be, of course, one of my SE's...."hmmm... which one tomorrow?" No set order.

The soaps are in a set rotation. What ever comes next is the one I'll use. I'm not one to divide my soaps into seasonal usage. I'll use the Bigelow, for example, just as quickly on a hot August day as I will in the middle of January.

Brushes are decided on before I step into the shower that morning. If it's going to be a boar, I'll let it soak while I'm in the shower.

 

Saturday:

Omega Wooden Handle
Goodfella/Sharp day 3
Barbon-SC :love008 :love008 :love008 :love008
Lubriderm unscented moisturizer
Barbon-AS :love008 :love008 :love008 :love008 :freezing
Black Garter-Cologne

Another wonderful shave which took me at least 20 minutes to complete. The Barbon cream and aftershave are a real treat. The cream lathers awesomely, smells great, and leaves the skin feeling very clean and smooth, and the aftershave is a face-freezer!

 

Razor: Joseph Rodgers & Sons 5/8
Brush: Plisson HMW 12
Soap: Valobra Shave Stick
AS: Castle Forbes Lime Balm
Cologne: Musgo Real #2 Oakmoss

 

Hot Shower
Diane Shavette
VDH Boar
Arko Shavestick
Brut Splash On

Great shave! BBS in 2 passes

 

If I'm going to take a photo, I take it the day before, and then use what I photographed. In fact, I just took a photo for tomorrow's shave. If I change my mind, I won't use the picture.

If I don't take a picture, I just record what I used after the fact.

 

hot shower

merkur progress
feathers
generic badger
ingrams
c&e nomad

...and a little clubman talc to finish it all off

 

Saturday, May 08, 2010

Razor: Merkur 23C
Blade: Astra Superior Platinum Keramic
Brush: Vulfix VS/5 boar
Soap: Erasmic (in the little black tub)
A/S: Generic Witch Hazel, Pre de Provence Balm

A strange shave this morning. Although I was shaving with a new blade, it seemed rather rough right from the beginning. It turned out that the blade I had installed was an Astra Keramic (from a long-ago sample), not the Astra Superior that I thought it was. I don't want to condemn the Keramic, because I'm sure it works fine for many shavers, but it is not the blade for me. I felt that this shave was going to be a bad one but oddly enough, the shave turned out to be DFS+, with no nicks, weepers, or lasting burn. The Erasmic soap face lathered well with the boar brush and, other than my lack of fondness for the scent, performed well. Maybe it was the Pre de Provence balm that saved my face from discomfort. My first order of business tomorrow will be to change the blade in the 23C back to an Astra Superior or an Iridium. Then, happy days will be here again!

 

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Razor: Merkur Futur
Blade: Super Iridium
Brush: Simpson's Ehsan
Pre-Shave: Musgo Real Glyce Lime
Soap: Speick Shave Stick
A/S: Alt Innsbruck

I really do not reach for the Speick shave stick as often as I should...it is amazing stuff. I enjoyed a BBS shave and the Speick moisturized my face leaving me with an incredibly smooth and happy face. The Alt Innsbruck was the perfect finish to the perfect shave.

 

Saturday

Razor: GEM Micromatic
Blade: Pelle SE (3)
Brush: Altesse Badger
Soap/Cream: Tabac
A/S: Pinaud Clubman

 

I have two questions and a request.
1. I have no clue what hand stropping is. I'm finally gonna ask. What is hand stropping? Sounds dangerous.
2. How is the Gem Featherweight? I have lots of SE razors-Micromatic, G-bar,
Gem-Jr, 1912's galore. Which would you compare it to I find the G-bar very gentle and the Micromatic aggressive.
3. One day I'd like to exchange coffee's. I'd love to try some of your home roasted in any flavor, I love the concept and hope to do it myself one day. I'd send you some Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso-the best coffee I've ever had. My local Whole Foods gets it freshly roasted. I brew in a stove top espresso maker so would only need a few tablespoons to try it. I'd send you what what you'd need for 1 or 2 servings, or more if you're interested.

Thanks

 

While I may not be Steve, no cool mustache :mad:, I hope you don't mind if I answer a couple of these for you Danny.

1. Hand Stropping thread here, and a fantastic video by our very own Dave below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogq4wfpT7hc

2. The Featherweight is mild, very much along the lines of the G-Bar in my opinion.

3. I don't do coffee.

 

Saturday May 8, 2010

Brush: KBBSBB
Blade: Red IP (2)
Razor: 69 super adj. 7/7/3

Soap: Mama Bear Czar's Choice Spring Citron Sage
Splash: TSD Iced Lime
Milk: TSD Lime
Cologne: D&G Light Blue

 

SOTD Saturday May 8, 2010

Razor: 5/8 Solingen Mehaz
Soap: Ogallala Bay Rum and Sandalwood
Mug: Ceramic Clipper
Brush: Medium Badger
ASB: Dickinson's Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Ogallala Bay Rum and Sandalwood
Cologne: Ogallala Bay Rum, limes and peppercorns

Just got the Mehaz back from Glen with a beautifully honed edge. It took a scarry sharpe edge and shaved like a dream. I bought this about 8 years ago and it was advertized as a Dovo second, due to a cosmetic blemish. (small stain on the blade tip just under the spine) I was hopeing that the blade would be quality metal like the Dovo's but I wasn't sure. I think, I might have gotten lucky with this cheapy but it depends on how it holds this edge with use. We shall see.
Beautiful shave kits shown by all this morning Gentlemen! Thanks for sharing! :happy005