SoS: January 19, 2015 - January 25, 2015

Tuesday's Shave



Music: Mississippi Delta Blues mix
Prep: Hot shower w/ Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap
Lather: Arko
Brush: Omega 13522
Razor: '46 - '50 Gillette Heavy Gold Tech
Blade: Shark Super Stainless
Post: Witch Hazel, Nivea Sensitive Balm, Pinaud Clubman

Same kit as yesterday. Not as nice of a shave. Started off good but I felt a bit rushed today so I ended up with a good shave but a bit of irritation. Might skip tomorrow. If I don't skip, I might roll with 2 passes instead of 3.

 

"Can I get some coffee with that razor?"

This morning's shave.

Razor: Gillette Ranger Tech '41
Blade: GSB (unknown number...maybe 3rd-4th use)
Soap: Arko
Brush: L'Occitane Plisson
A/S: Stirling's Bay Laurel splash

 

SOTD - Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Hot shower
Prep: Lime PSO
Brush: Plisson/L'Occitane synthetic
Soap: Stirling Grapefruit
Razor: Weber Wave
Blade: Gillette 7 O'clock Black (5)
Post: Nivea Men Sensitive PSB
Aftershave: Fine American Blend

- Don

 

That is one heck of a nice kit right there, Guy! I hope that the shave was equal to it.

 

Thanks Don. The shave this morning was super smooth and right now it is 4:30PM in Boise and I can barely feel the whisker nubs. Going to use the same setup tomorrow but change out the MdC Fougère with MdC Original scent.

 

Tuesday 20th January

I got a bunch of new products from Amazon today, so I tried a few out with today's shave.

Hot Shower
Kyoku Exfoliating Facial Scrub
Dermalogica Close Shave Oil
Dreadnought Shaving Cream
Perfecto Pure Badger
Rapira Swedish Supersteel
Merkur 34c
Kyoku Razor Repair Balm

Overall a good shave. Two passes, first WTG then XTG/ATG. I got one small razor burned spot under my chin, but nothing major and no weepers. This was my first shave with the two Kyoku products and the Dreadnought.

The Kyoku scrub reminded me at first of the St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I never really liked the St. Ives, but the Kyoku was somewhat better. It's not as thick as the St Ives and has a much, much better fragrance (one of the things I dislike about St. Ives). The fragrance is flowery but not feminine, it's very gender neutral, and I enjoyed it.

The Dreadnought Shaving Cream is just awesome! I really really like this stuff. The Fragrance is very subtle, but clean and modern. It lathered like a champ. The jar says to use an almond size drop, but I'm sure I had two-thirds or half that amount on the tips of my brush and it was enough for my two-pass shave and it could have easily gone for a third. When I was finished shaving, but before rinsing, my face has a nice slick feel to it. It reminded me of the slick feel that some of the cartridge razors with the lubricating strip leave. It was quite pleasant and I will always be keeping a jar of this around from now on. Good stuff!

The Kyoku Razor Repair Balm had an interesting fragrance. Oddly enough it reminded me of my favorite Indian restaurant. Haha It didn't smell like curry or anything like that, it was a clean smell, but for some reason that Indian restaurant smell kept popping in my mind. It gave a nice cooling tingle from the witch hazel, especially on the rough spot under my chin. It's a very thick balm. At first it felt very moisturizing, but after several minutes it was clear that this isn't a moisturizer, but it doesn't feel drying. It did a good job of soothing my face though.

I really like trying new products. I have been seeking the best products for my face and shaving for quite some time, and that is what ultimately led me to DE shaving. Dreadnought is one of my new faves.

 

Planned Shave for January 21, 2015

On day 20 of my 30-day journey, I plan to continue using my Mongoose razor, Feather Pro blade, and Kent BK4 brush. This kit provides some of the most consistent and best shaves I've ever had. Over the last few days, I've rediscovered the benefits of using alum in my post shave routine.

I've enjoyed seeing all the creative SOTD photos this month from everyone! Have a great wōdnesdæg!

 

Day 17 - Thirty Days with Merkur 34c (Jan 1-Feb 4 [No shave on Saturdays]) BSG 1-20-2015

Hot Shower and Prep - Nivea Men Sensitive Skin Face Wash
Razor Merkur 34c
Blade Astra SP (5)
Brush - Plisson Synthetic
Lather - Proraso Green
Post - Warm water rinse, Maggard Razor Alum, wait 30 seconds then cool water rinse, WH, RazoRock Problem Solver Lime AS Splash, Gold Bond Ultimate Men's Essentials Lotion

Two Passes WTG & ATG plus a few touch ups. Had some irritation on neck but it cleared up pretty quick during the morning. Really need to add some focus to my neck area - My main trouble spot. - Overall a good shave

 

That was a wise $10

 

Clint, your photo is awesome! I've been following your posts, and the Mongoose seems to be working well overall for you. I think you will like the Feather Pro blades once you switch over to them.

 

Here are my shaving plans for Wednesday:

Nivea Facial Wash
Large Horsehair Barbershop
Super Speed/7 AM day 2
Arko Shaving Stick
Lubriderm Unscented Moisturizer
Sir Canada Cedar AS
Pe-Re-Ja Lemon Cologne

I owe myself more shaves with my Arko stick because it's so good. To me, it's the best shaving product ever to come out of Turkey. To me the scent is great, we all know how easy it is to get rich, luxurious lather, and the skincare is also top-notch. The Canada Cedar aftershave was sent to me a long time ago from someone in Germany, and I still have about half the bottle. It smells and feels very nice with a good refreshing effect. The Pe-Re-Ja cologne is well-known in Turkish barbershops, I believe. I'm expecting a very enjoyable shave in the morning.

 

I had the same thoughts today. I've been deliberately using Arko more and more lately simply because of how good it is.

 

Your brush is stunning! I bet it performs even better than it looks!

 

Charlie, thank you. I have samples of the Kai Guard and Feather Guard plus a full pack of Feather Pro. My goal next month is to take a week with each blade and see how it goes. I have saw how you've progressed with the pro blades so my expectations are pretty high.

 

SOTD January 20th 2015

Beard Prep: Olive oil bar soap, hair conditioner, hot towel
Razor: Merkur 34C
Blade: Astra SP (2)
Brush: Omega 13109 Pure Badger
Soap: The Copper Hat Shaved Ice
Post: Cold rinse, Thayers WH Original
A/S: Proraso White balm

A much better shave this time around. Still got 2 nicks around my chin and upper lip. This Astra blade is giving me some serious trouble!

 

I've been spoiled with SE's and most recently an injector shave. It was time to bring it back to DE, and I reached for the smooth operator...the Shavecraft 102. I really can't go wrong with this razor, it's mild, smooth, but really effective for me. I recently picked up this B&M Black Label soap in a trade (Thanks Chuck), and it is just one of those intoxicating scents. If you're a fan of Hallows or Lavanille, you will understand the similarities of how complex this scent can be. The packaging looks better in person than what you see on the web, and the amount is a generous 5.5 oz instead of the normal 4 oz.

Overall a very pleasant shave for the evening, and I'm happy to have this top performer in the collection.

Have a good one Gents...

 

Love the Pic Jon! Very nice background.Those Mountains look mighty familiar. That be Tucson AZ for sure.

 

Wednesday's


Nivea Men's Face Wash
Williams Mug Shaving Soap
Wild Cherry STB
My Dad's Schick E3
Personna Coated SS
CWR, Asma Alum Block
Thayers Lemon WH
Barbasol AS

The Williams Mug Shaving Soap face-lathered well with my Wild Cherry Silver Tip Brush. Two passes with my Schick E3 and Personna Coated SS 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 Barbasol after shave. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed...

 

The Plan for 21 January!

​

 

Beautiful razor. I love those older styles, the just look great!