SoS: May 18, 2015 - May 24, 2015

Wednesday 20th May



Warm shower
Hot towel
Strop Shoppe Vivace bowl lathered
Finest Badger brush made by myself
Gillette NEW DeLuxe (Made in England)
Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge (2)
Cold rinse
Thayers Superhazel
Old Spice Sensitive aftershave

 

Pre: Washed face with Stirling Spice bath soap and warm water

Soap: Stirling Bay Rum

Razor: R-89 with SI blade

Post: Thayers Rose Witch Hazel, Cocoa Butter Lotion, and Captain's Choice Bay Rum A/S

Cologne: Dolce & Gabbana

Face = BBS and Neck = DFS to BBS in places. Maybe the SI blades just work good for me. Today is the 6th or 7th shave, and I've also shaved my chest and arms with this same blade. I had one small nick between my lower lip and chin, and I didn't get that one until my touch up pass. I still want to try some Feather blades (and a few others), but SI's are probably gonna be my main blade.

 

Very pleasant shave today

Razor - Tech
Lather - DR Harris Windsor soap
Blade - Gillette silver blue
Aftershave - Nivea Moisterising balm
Brush - Pilsson synthetic

 

WEDNESDAY
Day#6 of a 7-day Series…
Three-pass smooth shave with the Valobra—which is a slick, soft soft with a slight menthol chill...

 

Me too, and not only related to shaving.

 

Very cool picture. I like the depth of focus.

 

Celestino,
This picture is one of your best.

 

MAYhem & Mercy
May 20, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Vie Long 12750
Soap - Proraso
Razor - EJ DE89l
Blade - (1)
Post - Alum, Nivea Balm

I am really struggling with this today. For one, I expected the Baili to just underwhelm. It failed in MAYhem, didn't get CCS with the Soyuz, didn't even finish the shave with the Rapira from the discomfort. So I suppose I expected something similar today. I am also aware that all of the blades have performed better in the EJ than the Soyuz so knew I would probably see at least minor improvement. Three passes and a touch up pass under the neck and I wasn't sure what I had. It was smoother in the EJ than the two Russians by a long shot. But it's spotty on the results. I've been looking at it and feeling it for over a half hour and still not sure what to think. I can see a couple of spots that look like they need work but the feel isn't as bad as it looks. On the other hand the jawline and neck feel rougher but look good. No, I haven't taken any drugs this morning that would cause confusion. Hmmmmmmm.........

Ok, consider the irritation factor. After the final touch up I did a cold water splash and picked up the alum. Man this is gonna sting.......ummmm.......wellllllllll. Very quiet alum. Quite literally no sting or burn. Anywhere. Looked around for a hidden camera. Nope, not a prank. On to the next thing I could think of. I gave SWMBO a kiss and a hug and made sure she got a good rub of my face against hers. No comment either way. Usually I get some feedback on how good it is or it's a bit rough or something like that. Did I just hear Rod Serling's voice? Ok, let's have another cup of coffee and look again. Yeah, still looks ok and I know I'm awake now. A couple of spots maybe could be better but the feel is good.

Ok, let's eliminate. Is it BBS? Nope, this is a blade on birth control....unable to ever produce a baby. Is it DFS? No, the neck takes that away. Is it CCS? Yes it......no it........well maybe......ok if I have to spend this much time judging a shave just give up and call it a pass for the blade. It's obviously close enough to drive me to the point of insanity (short trip anyway) and I'm in a generous mood. We'll feed it to the RazoRock tomorrow morning and see if it leaves me confused as well. It's Wednesday people!!

 

Thank you for your kind words, Primo! Must be the artist in me and being Canadian as I don't find it any more special than most of my other outdoor ones except for the new brush handle!

 

Razor: Dubl Duck Goldedge 5/8 Round point 1947-52
Gillette Goodwill #164 1931 (slotted center hole)
Brush: Jerusalem Olive Wood/WD Silvertip 24/48
Mug: Old Spice 1985 Cobalt Blue
Cream: Seifenglatt Shave Soap Barber Shop
Blade: Feather (3)
Post shave: Thayers Cucumber WH, Jack Black Post Shave Gel, Old Spice Lime original Shulton AS Frosted Glass 1960s

20 laps on the strop after my last shave, keeping it sharp. Lathered up the Seifenglatt with the Silvertip. Getting better and a little closer with the round point. Working on getting under my upper lip, and I'm getting better. Left side of my neck is a breeze with my left hand but my right side is a challenge. I finished with my Goodwill and only needed 1/2 pass. Still working all the angles, but getting better. Nice cucumber smell with the WH, and then some soothing JB Gel. After cleanup some vintage OS Lime. Y'all have a good one.

 

Thank you!

 

Tyr's Day/Odin's Day:

Prep: Hot shower, Neutrogena Invigorating Face Wash, TSD Jasmine Sambac preshave balm
Brush: Simpson 56 Best Badger
Soap: Ginger's Garden Grass Stain Menthol Snow
Razor: RazoRock Bamboozled RAKE OC
Blade: Bic (4/5)
Passes: WTG, XTG (7, 8/9, 10)
Post: Cold water splash, Bloc Osma alum, Dickinson's WH, Pinaud Clubman AS splash
Cologne: Xeryus by Givenchy

Same shave on Tuesday and Wednesday, after skipping Monday due to coughing. The puck is now a ring, which makes finding the water ratio trickier for me; blooming it while I shower is just not a good plan. I caught a minor nick on my Adam's Apple from operator error on Tuesday, and by the second pass today the blade was showing signs of enough wear that I retired it. DFS+/DFS shaves from the setup, though.

 

Love the Old Spice Mug! And your Furniture!

 

Had a really nice shave today and felt as if I am progressing with the straight razor (some details about today's shave here).


Razor: Thiers-Issard No. 17
Razor II: Gillette Blue tip for clean-up ad under the nose.
Brush: SOC Boar
Soap: Arko
Pre-Shave: Myrsol Emulsion
A/S: Myrsol Emulsion

​

 

SOTD 5-20-15

PRESHAVE: Face wash with soap and warm/hot water
RAZOR: Wolfman WR1-DC Polished (dual comb) with Bamboo handle
BLADE: Astra SP (3)
SOAP: Mitchell's Wool Fat
BOWL: VDH
BRUSH: VDH Boar
POST: Rinse with warm/hot water to get soap off and then some cold water rinses/splashes and pat try.

Comments: Today I had a two day growth also because I wanted to have the same growth for today's shave while using the CC side only as I did on the 18th when I used the OC side only! The shave was awesome but I could feel that the Astra SP was either getting a bit duller for only day 3 with it or the CC isnt quite as efficient as the OC one but very, very close! I still managed to get a BBS but with three passes and hardly any touch up instead of the two passes and some touchup with the OC side! I only used the CC side of the Wolfman and again it was still an incredible shave! Soap was very good too as this is only the third time I used MWF! The lather, protection and feel throughout the shave and the post shave feel was so great that I didn't even use the Alum block as I feel absolutely no irritation at all and didnt get any weepers/nicks. A great shave today and the Wolfman CC side and the MWF proved to also be a great combo! All I can say is WOW, what a razor and soap!!! My hats off to Wolfman and MWF!!!

Today pic is the same as the one on 5-18-15 as my camera doesnt want to cooperate but I used the exact same setup! Just used the CC side for today's SOTD.

Please feel free to leave comments on any items us
ed as I enjoy reading them to see what others say about the gear I am using/trying out! Of course, YMMV!

Thx

 

Dang, I wanna try a straight so bad! Been looking but not sure what I am looking at or for! Nice razor there!

 

Wednesday's Shave

Prep: Hot shower w/ Grandpa's Pine Tar
Soap: Arko
Brush: Omega 13522
Razor: Eversharp Schick G1
Blade: Schick
Post: Witch Hazel, Nivea Sensitive Balm
Scent: Tommy Bahama Very Cool

Same as yesterday but passes were WTG & XTG. Decent shave, still figuring out the injector.

 

SOTD - Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Shower
Prep: Homemade Citrus & Cedar PSO
Brush: Rubbermade 49-4, TGN finest
Soap: Tabac
Razor: Weber PH bulldog
Blade: Voskhod (3)
Aftershave: Dominica Bay Rum

 

Brush Focus: Day 20/30
Brush: Frank Shave Brush, Rosewood, Best Badger 22/55
Gillette Super Speed, Red Tip (1955- A-3)
Gillette Platinum Blade (6)
Soap: KO Shave, Cool Blue
Bowl: KO Shave
A/S: Captain Choice, Bay Rum
Old Spice Coffee Mug.(soak brush)
The Frank Shave brush performs very well and is one that will stay in my rotation. Loads soap great and with a little water added along the way make an excellent lather. I also like the KO Shave Cool Blue soap. The Gillette Red Tip is a great razor. The Gillette Platinum Blade is a solid blade. I like the Captain Choice Bay Rum even though my wife is not fond of it. Outstanding 3 pass shave tonight.

 

SOTD - “Tail-Wagging Wednesday”

60 yo newbie’s 2nd shave with traditional shaving.

After a fairly successful, first ever single-blade wet shave on Tuesday, I awoke with great anticipation for this second shave. (like a puppy returning the ball to the master.)

Prep: Pre-Shave Oil - The Art of Shaving
Morning, Steaming Hot Shower
Face Cleanser - CeraVe - Hydrating Cleanser (borrowed from SWMBO)
Razor: Gillette Tech “Fat Handle”
Blade: Astra Stainless
Brush: Omega Pro 48
Soap: Arko Stick
Aftershave: Proraso Post Cream (White)

I probably shouldn’t add too many variables to my new regimen, but I decided to add a pre-shave oil to my routine - which I applied prior to showering. As the last part of my shower, I used the CeraVe to lightly wash my face, dabbed dry and then reapplied the pre-shave oil prior to lathering.

Not happy with the lathering of my first shave, I also changed from bowl lathering to face lathering. I used my self-formed puck of Arko, and with an almost dry brush, loaded it up with soap without building a lather in the bowl. - Huge difference. With the water on my face and a few drops of water sprinkled onto the brush, the lather worked up very quickly on my face.

Though at times I didn’t even feel any whiskers being cut, the first pass WTG was so good, that I took a chance and went right to a 2nd pass ATG. My face needed a little touch up after the 2nd pass, but that was it.

After clean-up and some after shave, my face felt as good after a shave than I could ever remember.

I still have a long way to go with my razor work, especially upward strokes on my entire face and specifically on the skin right on and below the jaw line. (It’s worth noting that the really delicate places - upper lip, mouth and chin - are exempt from this new-found passion due to a beard. But their time may come once I perfect my technique in all the other spots.)


My Den of Samples and Pyrex