SoS: January 5, 2015 - January 11, 2015

today's shave
hot water wash with nivea men's
sparky's alpha omega
Proraso blue
Merkur slant
shark(1)
iced Barbasol pacific rush
today's shave. been preoccupied with a home project, sorry guys. three passes, the sharks don't feel very smooth, but leave my face smooth. finished with iced rush, just because the stripes on the package is similar.
hope y'all did as well, or better.

 

Friday's action will be as follows!

Nivea Facial Wash
Large Horsehair Barbershop
Super Speed/7 AM day 4
Culmak SS
Lubriderm Unscented Moisturizer
Pinaud Bay Rum AS

Once again I decided to use stuff which has been lying around the house for a long time, and rather than have it go to waste I think it's a good idea to give it a whirl. One thing I won't buy again is the Nivea facial wash - it's not the worst I ever used, but it's far from being what I look for. The Culmak soap is great - the scent is beautiful, it's really easy to lather, and it gives good blade glide with a nice post-shave feeling. The Pinaud Bay Rum is as traditional an aftershave as a guy like me could ask for. I'm anticipating a very enjoyable shave tomorrow!

 

SoTD for Thursday, January 8, or the day the captions ran out.

Prep- face wash with Kiehl's Face Fuel
Pre- Clove balsam pso
Soap- TSD Grey Vetiver
Brush- Certifyd with new improved knot
Razor- Probak
Blade- Treet
Rinse- Osage
Aftershave- HBG sandalwood
Lotion- Kiehl's
Cologne- TSD Egyptian Spice



I just got this Probak. It has a Gillette type handle, so I don't know if it is post merger, or just another antagonistic move by the Autostrop company. I once again urge anyone not familiar with the Autostrop/Probak blade saga to track down a copy of the old King C. Gillette book from the '70s and read up on the story. I have yet to find an account of the events online that conveys the drama, or even all the details, that occurred. Crazy stuff, and well worth the price of a second-hand book (mine cost about $5 shipped) just for that story alone...but the book is just packed with interesting stuff. But back to the shave. I have decided that I love Probak razors. Both of mine are amazing shavers, and were cheap. This one was $10, but had missing teeth. Which was perfect, because I had a head that I got in a lot that needed a handle. So that couldn't have worked out any better. Today was it's maiden voyage, and it is as good as it's deluxe brother. I seem to recall a third handle type, but I could be wrong. In any case, a great razor. A touch more aggressive than similar Gillette models, but still reasonably mild.
Today the blade was Treet. I can't recall the exact nomenclature, but they are black. And sharp. These blades are awesome. Today I actually thought I was doing something wrong because I couldn't feel the blade cutting anything. I seriously thought I was just scraping the soap off and not shaving the hair. Stopped and made sure I put the razor together right. Then I felt my cheek... smoooooth. I was pretty happy no one was watching. I was only trying for DFS, but hit BBS in two passes accidentally. Can't beat that.
The brush of the day was my Certifyd with it's handsome new 23mm black badger knot. It is amazing. I loved this brush when it had it's old mystery knot (it was just like paintbrush bristles...horse?), but now it is a lather machine. It works totally differently, and took a little getting used to. Previously, it would whip up a mountain of lather, but retained very little (also like a paintbrush). Now the bulk of the lather mountain is held within the knot. I know to you badger guys this is old hat. But to me it was weird the first time I used it. Totally unlike any other brush I use. It looked like I didn't make much lather, then I got three passes worth of soap without having to scoop up more. It was all in the knot.
And finally, today was one of the days when I realized that I go out of my way to use a ton of products shaving. I felt sort of bad about it for a minute, then I realized my face feels healthier than it has in about 15 years. I vowed to get more grooming products.
Hope your daily went as well!

 

Nice story. Cool brush and razor.

I just took a look at your My Den (in progress!). I can tell you need more grooming products.

 

8th January 2015
Kropp 6/8
Simpson 57
Cella

OK so the synthetics are good and more enjoyable to use than my horse/badger vie long brush but the Simpson is still excellent. It is neither better nor worse than the synthetics, it is different, but in a good way. ​

 

SOTD January 8, 2015

This is the seventh day of my 30-day adventure to improve my shaving skills using the Mongoose. I enjoyed another great two-pass plus touch-up shave this cold Kentucky morning. I concentrated on gently stretching the skin, much like I would do with my Feather Artist Club razor, and this helped me. The Feather blade on day four performed well.

I may wear the fancy duds I received for Christmas to work tomorrow. Happy Shaving, gentlemen!

 

Actually Mark,I'll be showing a lil love to the Ranger Tech,I don't yet have a Milord but I've been searching for one

 

2 pass BBS with lots of menthol. Ingram Extra Cool and Stirling Lemon Chill witch hazel are a perfect match. My hands are still tingling from the menthol.

 

Day 7 - Thirty Days with Merkur 34c (Jan 1-Feb 4 [No shave on Saturdays]) BSG 1-8-2015

Hot Shower and Prep - Neutrogena Men Invigorating Face Wash, & Wm. Neumann & Co. Peppermint Leaf Bar Soap
Razor Merkur 34c
Blade Astra SP (1)
Brush - Plisson Synthetic
Lather - Poraso Green
Post - Warm & cool water rinse, Nivea Men Razor Defense Post Shave Lotion

Two pass NS - SN with a few touch ups ATG in the trouble spots. Decent DFS.

 

Yea I think most of us would take that shave any day.

 

Friday's


Nivea Men's Face Wash
ARKO Extra Performance
Wild Cherry STB
Schick M2 Adjustable
Personna Injector
CWR, Asma Alum Block
Thayers Rose Petal WH
FD Old Spice AS

The ARKO Extra Performance face-lathered well with my Wild Cherry STB Brush. Two passes with my Schick M2 Adjustable and Personna Injector blade gave me a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse, alum block, and a final cold water rinse, I finished off with Thayers Rose Petal WH and then Family Dollar Old Spice after shave. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed...

 

9 January 2015 Planned Shave

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Shave of the Day

Shave 4 of 30 Days with a Straight



Prep: hot bath, Shea butter Black African soap
Razor: Morley 5/8 straight
Brush: New Forest 2204 badger
Lather: Stirling - Naked and Smooth
Shave: 3 passes; WTG, XTG, ATG + Cleanup
Post: Stetson Cooling Moisture

Put an exclamation point next to this shave, it was fantastic.

In my continuing adventures with perfecting technique with a straight, I keep making progress. It is feeling more natural every time I shave now.

The Stirling soap is simply one of the best soaps I've ever had the pleasure of putting on my face. The fact it was unscented even may be a plus. One less scent to cause possible irritation, in theory.

I could just tell from the smooth sweeps of the blade that this was gonna be a great shave and I was right. I achieved near perfection, BBS quality.

 

Friday planned shave

First time using P160 and Floyd Blue together. Should be a great match. I picked up the black handled flare tip for $8 (shipping ended up costing more than the razor).

 

Evening Shave for Tomorrow
A mentholated shaving experience starting with the TSD menthol PS balm
The 'menthol' effect in the Valobra pales compared to some heavily-mentholated soaps such as the Stirlings, but it more than makes up for that deficiency with a thick, dense lather.
A smooth 3-pass shave with the Beau Brummel!

Have a blessed Friday, all!

 

Friday's Planned Shave
Razor: ATT R-2\Tradere Handle
Blade:Rapira Swedish SuperSteel (2)
Brush: TGN Cream w 26mm HMB
Bowl: Georgetown G12
Pre Shave Scrub: SPAtopia Dead Sea Scrub
Pre Shave Oil: Shea Moisture
Shave Soap: Mike’s Hungarian Lavender
Post: Monster Alum Block
Aftershave:Agua Lavanda Puig


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Friday Morning Shave
Razor: Gillette Red Tip
Blade: Astra Superior Stainless (3)
Brush: Vie-long White Horse Hair
Soap: Proraso Eucalyptus
AS: Barbon
EDT: Pino Silvestre Gold Edition

It was a close, refreshing shave. Barbon AS also smells and feels good.

 

Friday! Day #8 of the 30 day BSG challenge

• Music: Joe Jackson & Friends, Heaven And Hell
• Prep: hot washing cloth
• Brush: TGN a grade silvertip badger in Oscar11 handle
• Soap: Cella
• Razor: birth quarter Gillette Slim (@ 4, 5, 6 & 7)
• Blade: Derby #5
• Shave: 3-pass + touch-up
• Post: cold water rinse, Jeris Musk for Men

A very nice and close shave!

 

SOTD
January 9, 2015

Prep: Hot shower. Axe Shield Face Wash
Razor: RazoRock Stealth Slant
Blade: Astra SP
Brush: L'Occitane Plisson
Lather: Mike's Natural Hungarian Lavender
Post: Alum.Thayers Lavender WH.
Aftershave: Floid Black
Everything came together perfectly.
Go out and get it!