SoS: January 23rd ~ January 29th, 2012

Wednesday:

Omega Wooden Handle
Super Speed/7 AM day 4
Ice Cool SC
Svoboda AS Balsam
Obsession For Men EDT

Another super-smooth and nice shave this morning which I really enjoyed a lot. The Ice Cool cream from Bangladesh has a very nice lemony-minty scent, and it lathers like a maniac. The cooling effect is also very strong, so this cream is well-named. The Svoboda balsam does such beautiful things for sensitive skin - I absolutely LOVE it!

 

Wednesday 25th January

Hot shower and facial scrub
Proraso Pre shave cream
Feather Artist Club RG
Semogue SOC Boar Brush
Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap
Alum Block and Three Crowns Rosewater After Shave Milk
Italian Floid Original

This was a DFS+ two pass with touch up shave. Today was my first use if the Artist Club RG. This razor differs from the SS model in that it has a different head geometry and is heavier. In use it requires a shallower angle of attack. Initial impressions are favourable, although I DO think the SS is smoother.

 

Wednesday

Hot Shower
Green Marvy Mug
Omega Pro Boar
Erasmic SC
Lord L6
Gillette 7 OC - Black (2)
Cool Water Rinse
Tet-A-Tet ASB
Lolita Lempicka Perfume



I admit it, I haven't shaved in a couple days. Now that I am feeling human again, I thought I would mow down the forest. I used the Erasmic because it has excellent glide and this blade is fantastic.

Have a Happy Hump Day!

 

Sounds like we will have a convert!

 

Gillette Knack
Rapira Swedish SS
Rooney 3/3
AOS Sandalwood SC
Alum
Humphreys Citrus WH
Trumpers Sandalwood Skinfood


MPG - Santal Noble

 

Wednesday morning, January 25, 2012

Schick E2 Injector Razor w/ Schick blade (4)
Omega 10066 boar bristle brush,
MWF shaving soap w/ warm water lather,
finish w/ cold water rinse for a DFS!

 

Wednesday



Feather Injector
Schick blade
SOC Boar
Lavendor SC
Sea of Spa ASB

It was a decent shave today. I am quite the fan of the Feather injector I got from my brother. It seems a bit more aggressive than my Schick injector. The Schick blades perform extremely well in it, as they always do. The Lavendor whipped up a nice thick lather in no time. It was a 2 pass (my usual during the week) that went very well. No irritation, just pure DFS. The Sea of Spa balm is always nice to put on. It irritates my face very sightly when first applied, but soon dies off and leaves my face feeling 10 years younger! It was a great start to the day!

 

hot shower
soap: proraso green
razor: started with the feather as-d1 ended with the gillette ss
blade: astra
brush: omega badger
post: proraso as balm

once I switched to the ss it turned into a DFS.
the feather sure is smooth and does not irritate anything but it sure wont cut thru the thick areas. the gillette ss is the opposite,not anywhere remotly smooth but will mow thru anything in its path. and leave a smooth path behind it.

 

Wednesday, January 25

EJ DE86
Ladas (d3)
Preshave Oil Blend
Renaissance Man Black Amber S/S
Vulfix 404 Grosvenor
Old Spice

Got darn close to a BBS (I give it a 4.9 blades). The Ladas can get me where I want to go, but they do take an extra pass in the EJ, much like a Crystal. Fortunately, it is forgiving enough that the extra pass is no problem. I expect the Ladas to do well in my Gillette New, and in the Fatboy cranked up. Tomorrow I try the Rapira LUX for the first tryout.

 

U clearly know your stuff JK. Maybe this razor just isn't for you. I have done some googling and other's feel as u do, and others love it.

YMMV...

 

Wednesday Morning:

Pre: Hot Shower
Razor: Merkur 23c
Blade: Gillette 7`O Clock Sharp Edge (Yellow) (1)
Cream: European Palmolive
Brush: Omega Boar
Post: Thayers WH, Cold Rinse, Nivea Replenishing ASB

Was an excellent shave overall with no irritation, but one stubborn bump on my neck that I keep bothering just won't go away. I keep telling myself to wait longer between shaves to let it heal, but I have too many new blades to try!

 

I know....I was thinking "my beard is'nt that tough" this feather should do just fine......should have just stuck with the vintage razors that I knew worked great. Live and learn I guess.

 

Hehe, just hope I didn't exaggerate the no pressure thing.
By the way, my father-in-law thinks I've gone mad shaving with this old stuff, but since his retirement he has grown a beard, so that excludes him from any further discussion.

 

Wednesday:

Dovo Natural
EJ Best
VDH Luxury Scented
Alum Block
Witch Hazel
Afta Fresh Balm
Old Spice After Shave
This is my second go around with the VDH Luxury soap and I've got to tell ya it's not very luxurious to me. I feel it doesn't lather as well as the standard VDH Deluxe or Glycerin. This soap is going to the bin, or I'll use it as a face wash soap but, no more shaving with it as it has struck out.

 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012. Good Morning!

Morning Coffee: Hills Brothers Original Blend
Prep: Wash face with Musgo Real Glyce Lime
Razor: Schick G1
Blade: Schick
Soap: Palmolive Classic
Brush: D.R. Harris H2 (Rooney 1/2)
Scuttle: Dirty Bird 1.5
Post: Cold water rinse followed by some Pitralon Classic

 

Today was not that great....I have never used Astra blades before and I must say I am quite disappointed... The first pass was "tuggy" .... and if a brand new blade can't hack my 2 day growth (I only shave every other day).. it is not worth my time....I gave it the benefit of a doubt and finished my shave with it but as soon as I was finished... the blade went straight to the "Used Blades" container due to irritation... however everything else I used was awesome. The first time I used the Dublin Tweed stick from Mama Bears was today and it delivered quite well!! Smells great and lathers quite nicely!!

Todays shave:
Tunes-Pandora/Dean Martin Radio
Morning Beverage-Ice cold Coca-Cola
Prep-Hot Shower
Face wash w/ Dove Extra Fresh Bar
Hot towel
Shave Stick-Mama Bears Dublin Tweed
Brush-Col. Conk 904 w/Beech Wood Handle
Aftershave-Barbasol Brisk
Razor-Merkur 34C
Blade-Astra Superior Platinum IMO this blade does not even deserve honorable mention.

 

Gillette Rocket HD+Gillette Wilkinson :: Vulfix 404 :: Mama Bear's SS :: Weleda ASL :: Acqua di Parma EdT

 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

1. Prep: Hot shower; Yardley bath bar
2. Coffee: Locally roasted, fresh ground TN Blend w/ cream
3. Lather: RazoRock XXX - face lather
4. Brush: Simpson's Commodore X2
5. Razor: Merkur Classic (33C)
6. Blade: Astra SP (1); 3 passes
7. Post: Cold water rinse; Aqua Velva; Styptic; Kiehl's Balm

1st shave w/ an Astra SP and I wasn't impressed. It definitely didn't tug and pull like Derby, Merkur, or Wilkies for me, but it was a far cry from the sharpness and smoothness of the Voskhod, Med Prep, and Feather. It seems that this blade works well for many others but it's just not quite there for me. I feel like my technique with the Merkur is vastly superior than it was just last week but this blade still managed to actually nick me on the left side of my jaw which required my first use of some styptic in quite some time. While most of my face did get a good result, my jawline and under my chin are still a bit rough as the blade had a hard time getting through the stubble here. I'll revisit this blade down the road as it's not bad enough to get rid of immediately, but it's definitely not on the top of my list

Shave Rating - Another meh shave. God Bless!

 

So apparently neither of us liked our first try with the Astra SP. My first go with it was this morning too and it was serviceable, but no where near as enjoyable as other blades have been. Well I guess I can't trade these Astras off to then!

 

Wednesday

Prep: Hot shower, soak brush
CD: Petra ~ Rock Block
Coffee: French Roast, BLACK
Soap: Speick, grated/pressed into bowl
Brush: Omega 49, The Red One
Razor: NDC (late 40's) Gillette SS
Blade: Gillette Super Thin, day 3, 3+ passes
Post: Cold water rinse, Brut ASB, Brut cologne, hand strop blade

Shave Rating: 4 Blades

Gotta get back to roasting my own coffee. Otherwise this would have been a five blade shave.
I was impressed with the razor/blade combo. Usually the SS is a tad mild for my taste. Worked great today, though.