SoS: January 19, 2015 - January 25, 2015

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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!

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

 

SOTD, Wednesday 1/21/15

Continuing me "research" on the Rapira Platinum Lux blades. First 3 shaves were with a New Standard and were very close and fairly comfortable. But it didn't seem to last and I had a "5 o'clock shadow" at 3:30. So, now we're changing to a new Rapira and a new razor, my Long Comb NEW. The Magagrd soap lathers so easily. In a matter of seconds I've got more than I need! It's great and the light citrus scent is pleasant. It's slick, but seems to dry out fairly quickly though.

Razor: Long Comb NEW ($9 antique shop find)
Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux
Brush: Semogue 1520
Soap: Maggard Limes & Bergamot
AS: Barbasol Pacific Rush Same old stuff...I'm addicted.

 

Charlie, thank you for your very kind words!
Actually, I am waiting on a new Shavemac Silvertip 2-Band knot to set into it. This WSP knot is quite nice, but it is a shedder and so I need to replace it. It is only temporarily set for now until the Shavemac arrives.

 

Well the phone gets all the photo credit - Hopefully I can find my way to AZ one day to experience those mountains in person.

 

Menthol Tuesday. First shave with Proraso. Great lather.



Prep: Warm shower, Anthony Logistics Glycolic Face Wash
Lather: Proraso
Brush: Badger & Blade Essential Boar
Razor: Gillette NDC Super Speed
Blade: PolSilver Super Iridium #1
Post: Cold Rinse, Jack Black Double Duty Face Moisturizer

Have a great week gents.

 

Thanks Herm! This old French razor is about as simple as it gets but provides a great shave.

 

Nice find for $9. bucks Herm! Congrats and happy shaves!