SoS: December 1, 2014 - December 7, 2014

Friday 12/05/14

MDC


slim adjustable
voskhod blade

Only 32 passes this morning, but it resulted in a DFS.

 

I would hope after 32 passes, you'd achieve some level of smoothness!

 

SOTD
December 5, 2014

Prep: Hot shower. Axe Shield Face Wash
Razor: iKon SC102 Slant Head/iKon Handle
Blade: Gillette 7 o'clock Yellow
Brush: L'Occitane Plisson
Lather: CWSW Savon #1
Post: Alum. Dickinson WH
Aftershave: 4711. Axe Shield Sensitive
Go out and get it!

 

SOTD ~ Friday, November 5, 2014


Hot-warm shower, Mike's Natural Bath Soap - Pumpkin Spice
Mergress Long Handle
Ladas - #1
B&B Omega Essential Cosmic Boar
Barrister and Mann - Bay Rum
Alum stick, Witch hazel+, Aloe Vera Toner
Barrister and Mann Kyovu - Bay Rum
​

Today's shave was cosmic. I took my time today, enjoying it all. The sound of running water, it splashing onto my face, the sound of my brush in the mug, the smell of the lather. Ahhhhh! It's great to be alive. The visuals were awesome too. The gold leaves in the brush handle appear limitless, the classic OS Mug, the piles of lather, the handsome guy in the mirror. The sound of my whiskers getting sliced off is music to my ears. It turned out as good as it started. A BBS two pass shave with clean up. Have a great shave today!

​

 

5 December 2014

The Racer R314 is a somewhat aggressive razor that when coupled with a smooth blade allowed me to achieve a very nice 2 pass BBS shave.

​

 

Friday

Prep: soak brush, wash with glycerin soap
Soap: Barrister & Mann unscented
Brush: Oscar11 boar
Razor: Feather AS-D2
Blade: Super Iridium
After: Cold rinse, CeraVe lotion

Smooth, comfortable shave. The B&M soap leaves my face feeling great on a cold day.

 

SOTD Friday 12-5-2014

Cadet OC/Ikon Bulldog w/Astra SP
Noxema
Musgo Real SC
GT Scuttle
Semogue 820 Boar
Dickinson's WH
GB Body Lotion
Pinaud Lime Sec EDC

 

Last night's first shave with the Shick Injector!

 

LOL! NICE

 

It's considered a relatively mild OC (my only other DE comparison point is the notorious FaTip, so it's definitely more mild than that). Once I got through the learning curve of how much pressure, at what angle, I was supposed to use, it's been a very comfortable, easy shaver that only bites when my prep or attention is off, or when the blade should have been changed before I started.

 

Proraso Green soap face lathered with an Omega Mighty Midget, 3 passes with a Feather in an Ikon Slant.

Alum block and finish with a delightful splash of Lilac Vegetal. I just had a premonition this was going to be a Veg type day.

 

Rockin' the Lady again this morning Gary; love it! (my birth year)

 

Shave of the day

Pre- Hot shower

Soap/cream- Proraso Sandalwood and shea butter

Brush- Omega boar 10810

Razor- Gillette Slim adjustable(5)

Blade- LADAS(3)

Post- Cold water rinse, Speick aftershave and Nivea aftershave balm

 

SoTD. Friday, Dec 5, or, failed today's Gemology exam.

Pre- Clove/menthol pso
Water- very hot, soap/ cold, shave
Soap- Bearded Jack, Grey Vetiver
Brush- Erskine
Razor- Gem pushbutton / Gillette twist
Blade- CVS / Bic platinum
Rinse- Osage
Aftershave- Pinaud Vanilla
Lotion- Kiehl's Close Shave Squadron
Cologne-Realm



So, today the shave went awry somehow. I still am not sure what the deal was. might be as simple as a technique correction... it started out as my intended 3rd day of Gem razor try-outs. Today, the Pushbutton was up. It is a cool little razor. And as the head is very similar to the G-Bar, which I loved, I assumed clear sailing. Not so much. I generally start on my neck,, and work up. Within the first half of my neck routine, I felt like something was poking me. Kind of how a hair clogged razor feels. Assuming that was the issue, I stopped to rinse, and blood revealed that I had in fact given myself 3 teeny nicks. Surprised by that, I started the second half of my neck, this time vowing to be a bit more aware. Immediately, a fourth nick! I stopped, looked the razor over for issues... nothing obvious. Looked the blade over. Nothing there. Decided to revert to Safety Shave mode. I have a Gillette Twist waiting to be torn apart, so I decided to give it a spin. Put in a Bic Platinum, also a new experience, relathered and started over. This time, it went great. The Twist is exceptionally mild, and it gave excellent results paired with the Bic blade. I don't have a lot of long handled razors, but so far the ones I have, I enjoy. Although I generally hold my razor quite near the head, the longer handles do cause me to hold it lower to maintain balance, it gives the proceedings a different feel.
In any case, I have yet to figure out why the Gem was a cut fest. I had to get out of the house immediately after shaving, so I won't be able to do the detective work until late tonight. On the bright side, the four nicks were micro sized. All but one sealed and stopped bleeding immediately. The last required a touch with the styptic pencil. I guess the odds were increasing that sooner or later a Gem was going to let me down. They can't all be perfect... Although I am willing to try and check that theory out!

 

I thought about you Bruce when I chose the brush this morning. Since I have two brushes with the Lady on them you might just see her twin come into view soon.

 

Was the blade out of place with the blade stops?

 

No. That is the first thing I checked. After finding out the hard way with my OCMM that the stops can wear down to ineffective little nubbins, I have gotten a wee bit paranoid about checking that the stops are working.

 

Friday December 5, 2014



A Perfect Italian Shave​

An impeccable shaving soap and a superlative straight razor for a perfect Italian shave. Boellis Panama 1924 is the closest soap to the glorious P.160, having the very same ingredients, producing an excellent and superior result. Mastro Livi Grifone finds in this extraordinary shaving soap an incredible mate for a superlative shaving. Boellis Panama 1924 and Mastro Livi Grifone: what a couple!​

• Pre-Shave: Proraso Green Cream
• Soap: Boellis Panama 1924 Shaving Soap
• Brush: Omega Bristle 89
• Bowl: Chinese Cheap Bowl
• Strop: Mastro Livi Travel Loom Strop and Hand Palm
• Razor: Mastro Livi Inox "Grifone", 9/8 Full Hollow, Livi Snake Point
• Post-Shave: Argan Oil
• After Shave: RazorGuy Bay Rum Aftershave

 

Sweet looking razor!

 

I have shaved with my pushbutton gem a few times, it's about due for a turn in the rotation now, but I remember no issues like this, but not wonderful shaves either. From what I've read they don't have fantastic reputations.

Also SE blades sometimes have small barbs on them, I have a cork that I run the blades through to catch them before they cheese grater my face. Could've been the situation with your blade. Maybe.