SoTD for Wednesday February 4, or, from Russia with
love shaving supplies.
Pre- Clove balsam PSO
Soap- Arko
Brush- Blondie
Razor- Iskara
Blade- Voskhod x2
Rinse- Osage
Aftershave- Colorado Sage
Lotion- Kiehl's
Cologne- Colorado Sage
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Yesterday I got an excellent shave with a Russian Voskhod blade. Much better than I recall getting previously. So I decided to try it again. Today however, I decided to change up the razor. Yesterday I used my 'NEW' style Otto Roth, which is one of my top ten DE razors. In my opinion, it is perfectly balance in terms of both aggression/mildness
and actual physical balance. In other words, feels great in the hand, works great on the face. So today I thought I would introduce a randomizer. I decided to use one of my plastic Russian DEs. Don't get me wrong, these razors work well. But the construction is 95% plastic, they are exceptionally light. So technique becomes very important. You cannot rely on the weight of the razor to provide your pressure. You must have the ability to finesse your blade into the proper pressure and angle. This in my opinion makes the physical aspects of the blade come to the forefront, and is a great way to test a blade. YMMV.
This particular razor, believe it or not, is based on a design by schick. While the Schick is a short lived obscurity, the design took on new life in the Soviet Union, where razors of this type were sold under a multitude of different brand names and color combinations. I know they were also sold under various names in Turkey. I am unaware if they are the same Russian made razors rebranded, or a domestic product. I do not own a Turkish one. But if you happen to have one that you are sick of, I will happily give it a new home. Anyhow, this version of the razor is an Iskara. It only has metal doors, everything else is plastic. Sometimes they will have a metal TTO knob as well, but it doesn't bring much to the table in terms of function. The plastic is good quality. Fairly hard and it feels sort of fibery, like an industrial plastic. The first thing that leaps to mind is the plastic spools that an all weather extension cord might have... that makes sense I hope?
I lathered using my workhorse boar, Blondie, and trusty ol' Arko. You can't beat it when you need unquestionable performance. Say what you will about the scent, the stuff works great. So with those tools I got a fantastic lather and got down to business. The verdict? A+. I got a great, smooth, fast, BBS shave in two passes, neck included. I don't know what it is about the Voskhod that gives me such good results on my neck, but it makes me happy. So there it is. I had these blades written off as mediocre, but I am definitely rethinking that. With improved technique, I am often getting different results than I did the first time I used certain blades. I guess I now need to test out some Astra SPs, as I felt they were a similar, but slightly better version of the Voskhod.
Lastly, my aftershave/cologne combo for the day is Colorado Sage. I love this stuff. It is originally from the 70s, but I got a full vintage bottle in a large lot of aftershave I bought. When I looked it up to try and find more AS, or the cologne, I was dismayed to find that it was very collectable and quite expensive. So I decided I would occasionally search it up, and patiently wait for a good deal to come along. Imagine my surprise when, in the course of some non-related research, I find that it is currently being manufactured! For a scant $12 a bottle! I actually got up from my chair, and did a small victory dance. The catch is that it is unadvertised, hidden on a website not linked from the parent company, Bonne Bell's website. Basically the internet equivalent of hiding product in a dank corner of the basement of a retail store. But I found it, and I ordered it. It came
fast, so that was good. It doesn't smell exactly like my vintage bottle, but it is very, very close. And frankly, as opposed to most reformulations, I find the slight change to be for the better. So that is also good. The scent is probably exactly what you expect of something called Colorado Sage from the 70s. A nice crisp, green, woody fragrance. Subtle, but with the vintage masculine punch that is characteristic of fragrance from that time. As I said earlier, I love this stuff. And at $12 for a 4oz bottle, you can't go wrong.
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