SoS: June 24, 2013 - June 30, 2013

MONDAY
After a 2-day hiatus from shaving...

1. Pre: Hot shower; Lucky Tiger Lemon Wash; homemade PSO
2. Soap: Tabac, TOBS cream & dab of Glycerin in mini-scuttle
3. Brush: Semogue 830 Boar
4. Razor: Merkur 38C HD with Astra SP blade
5. Shave: 3 good passes plus touch-up
6. Post: Pinaud Clubman af & Per De Provence balm

Toasty-warm lather in the new mini-scuttle really felt nice. A definite DFS morning!
No irritation nor nicks. Great start of the week!

 

06/24 Monday
In honor of my Mom's Birthday, I miss her.

Hot shower to start the day. Facial prep RazoRock Glycerin.

 

Monday, June 24, 2013

Case, Speick, Black Beauty, SuperMax Sunrise (1), Pinaud's Bay Rum



The little Case came out swinging for the fences, after a week of standing in the shadow of its larger brother. The little guy is getting nicely broken in, and has wonderfully accurate handling and a soft-scritch feel going on that I really enjoy. The Case easily held enough lather for 3+ passes, using about half as much cream to start with as I do with the Chubby. The Sunrise blades continue to be my favorite, I haven't found another that feels as sharp and smooth as these do, and that consistently leave me with zero irritation.

 

Yes, it's holding up very well, Leo!

 

I was starting my new job today so I thought I'd get out the Gillette 1934 OC TTO, yes it has some platting loss, but it does have original case and blade holder.
Hot shower
1934 Gillette TTO OC
Bic blade (D-3)
Tabac cream
Alum block

BBS so cant really complain lol, Its quite aggressive this razor so I tend not to use too often but it looks so good even with it's platting loss.

 

Sweet looking razor great job, I'm trying to hone a wedge at the moment its a lot of steel and will take some time

 

Pre: Hot shower and warm water splash
Razor: Fromm Hair Shaper (minis the guard)
Blade: Fromm Teflon Coated Stainless Steel
Brush: Vulfix 376S Super Badger
Soap: RazoRock Napoleon's Violet
Post: Cold water rinse and home brewed A/S splash

I did my usual prep of a hot shower followed by a warm water splash before jumping on in. I performed a three pass with the grain/against the grain/across the grain shave and finished up with a cold water rinse. I also decided to experiment with a recipe that I found online for some home made after shave. Glycerin, witch hazel, and essential oil for scent. The result was a BBS shave with zero nicks, zero irritation, and very little effort. The Fromm was kind of unwieldy the first time I used it, but I seem to have gotten the hang of it. It glided along smoothly and easily and made for an effortless shave. I removed the guard and used it with a bare blade, but I would be curious to see how it shaves with it on. The small scales actually seemed to work in my favor in a few tight spots, but I would still like to see how it does when rescaled with a more traditional set. The RazoRock continues to live up to its lofty reputation and made me happy with excellent lather and a nice clean after scent. The Vulfix is a bit floppy, but good. Its soft hair make it comfortable, even for folks with sensitive skin and it gathers up water and soap like a camel preparing for a long haul. The home brewed A/S splash still stank, but instead of just smelling like witch hazel it smelled like lime scented witch hazel...ugh. it did relax my skin and leave it feeling nice and smooth, but there has got to be a better way. In spite of the witch hazel stink, I was very happy with the shave, and looked forward to continuing with this set up, it is an excellent way to close out the month.

For more details on this shave, more SOTDs, product reviews, and rants visit my blog: https://cryofthewildjabberwock.wordpress.com/

 

Look on the bright side - less than 2 weeks before the 4th of July!

 

Yesssss, that stuff is FULL of menthol!

 

Merkur Sledgehammer
Feather
Rudy Vey restored Brush with Silvertip knot
Everest Cream
TSD Iced Energy Splash
Tet-a-Tet AS Balm
music-Oscar Peterson
coffee-Home Roasted Sumatra

nice Menthol Monday Shave on a hot summer day

 

Menthol Monday at the gym:

Merkur slant
Gillette Silver Blue
Omega Mixed Midget
Gillette Menthol Cream
Green Aqua Velva

Awesome. Tomorrow might be the same again. This just works so well after a hot and sweaty squash session.

 

Prep: Hot Shower, Face Wash with 365 French Milled Glycerine Soap (unscented)
Pre: American Crew PSO, 60s under a hot Towel
Brush: Col Conk Pure Badger
Cream: TOBS Grapefruit (New)
Raxor: 1954 Gillette Super Speed
Blade: Laser
Shave: N-S, S-N, XTG, Blade Buffing Trouble Spots
Post: Hot Rinse, Witch Hazel, Cold Rinse, MK Men Aftershave

Another Sample cream from CJames. Lathered up nice, but I am not as wild about the scent. My wife thought it was a nice change though, so it's not a complete loss! This blade was terrible though. I have used the laser a few weeks in the past (one blade usually lasts me a week) without problem, so I am guessing this was just a bad blade, but it was really BAD! Still managed to get a pretty good shave, but a bit of irritation.

 

I notice the nice razor case you have in your Dopp Bag Rob. Very nice!

 

I notice the same thing Mike but I thought it was just me. There must be something to this. (maybe some soaps already have Glycerine and there isn't any perceptible difference when additional Glycerine is used.) Dunno????? Interesting.

 

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Fifth day with the my new Semogue, second day of SE series.​

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Dove Men's Face Wash​

Van Der Hagen Luxury Shave Soap​

Semogue 1305 boar brush​

Gem 1912 w/ Gem Personna blade​

CWR​

Dickinson's Witch Hazel​

Aqua Velva Ice Blue AS​

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The Semogue continues to perform well with the Van Der Hagen Luxury Soap. Today's SE was the Gem 1912 with ornate handle. I love the looks of this razor, and it delivered an outstanding shave today. Tomorrow will end the Soap tour with the Semogue. The Semogue will go into rotation after that, and the SE series will continue using the TOBS for my cream. ​

 

Thanks! I'm really happy with it. And hopefully no more slices in the side of my kit.

 

After a weekend of camping and only one shower/shave using a hose (no pictures will be forthcoming)....
Traveling again so...
Razor: Gillette fat-handled Tech
Blade: Astra SP
Soap: Godrej deluxe lime
Brush: Every-Ready resto w/TGN Silvertip

Cold rinse, alum block, cold rinse
Nivea balm

Ahhhhhhh!

Cheers!

 

Menthol Monday.

Prep: Hot shower, TBS Maca Root Face Wash, Alba Botanical Scrub.
Brush: Oscar's handle with TGN Grade A.
Razor: '62 Slim.
Blade: Personna Med Prep.
Cream: Super Max Menthol (first time use.)
Post: cold water rinse, Thayer's Lavender WH, Barbon AS.

First off, this cream that I am about to summarize is no reflection on anyone. It's most likely just user error and I have to figure it out. I don't know what I think of this Super Max Cream. I love the scent and the cooling effect; but I couldn't get a slick stable lather. The shave was doable, but I quit while I was behind. I'm sure the shave doesn't look close or that good, but I will sacrifice a good shave in order to keep my face intact. I am not giving up on it. I will look back and think about what went wrong. In the meantime, this cream will go on the shelf and wait its turn to be revisited by me. I will not forget you or give up on you Super Max Menthol.

 

My friend,the problem has been in the ratio cream / water! SuperMax is not the most foaming creams,but its power is in the fact that forms a very slippery layer that protects excellent and keeps the skin tight and protected. Next time, just put at least 1sm more,and you will be amazed by the results. I have a little rule,when I try a new product use more than the normal amount,after each use I use less to get the required ratio. I prefer to spend more on the product, but to be rewarded with a great shave.

 

SOTD Monday evening

Prep: hot shower, Nivea Energy face scrub, TSD ISZ PSB
Razor: Gillette Fatboy Adjustable
Blade: Super-max Platinum
Soap: Williams Mug Soap
Cream: B&BW Ocean Signature Collection
Brush: AOS Pure Badger
Shave: 4 passes (3,5,7,9)
Post: cold water, Axe Chilled ASG
Pomade: Murray's Superior
Cologne: John Varvatos Vintage

This shave was in my top 3 all time shaves. Still getting a feel for the adjustable razor, and I think I just about nailed it tonight. 3 was very smooth and mild on first pass WTG, 5 was great on second pass XTG and I could've stopped there for a DFS. Third pass RXTG on 7 and then fourth on 9, for some very careful ATG cleanup. Gillette slide on my throat is now an essential technique to get those hard to shave hairs off without blood or irritation. This cream is VERY concentrated and a nickel sized of it plus some Williams for that lather and I had some great passes. Slightly mentholated, but not freezing. Finished up with the Axe and what a smooth butt shave!