Hmmm....

SEptember 2 SOTD:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
Arko
Gem 1912
Stirling Unscented PSB
Clubman Special Reserve

Another great shave with the 1912. I may limit myself to one shave with this razor this month, as I have too many others to get through, and I feel I know this one fairly well at this point. Tried some Clubman Special Reserve this morning, which is definitely strong on the leather scent. So far, I enjoy it. I hope everyone has a great day!

Jim, another great looking Gem.

SEptember 2, 2016
Cobra Classic
Feather Pro (2)
Brothers Bristles with Sunrise Synthetic
Route 66 Perfect Storm
Witch Hazel
Floid Blue

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Another great shave this morning. The Route 66 Perfect Storm is a wonderful light scent. To my nose the scent is of a really light fougere. As usual Route 66 is super easy to work into a nice slick lather. I went with a full 3 pass shave today and took my time. By skin stretching and paying attention to my trouble spots, I ended up with a perfect BBS. Overall the shave was super close and smooth. A splash of Floid Blue was the perfect end to such a great shave. I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday.

My SE today was my no name SR! 2 1/2 passes later and I had a DFS! I love a finely honed SR.

SOTD September 2, 2016

Blade: GEM Stainless
Razor: GEM Featherweight
Brush: Omega 10049 boar
Lather: Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post: Witch hazel splash enhanced with Barbasol Pacific Rush, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up

Fat Friday! What's a shaving week without MWF? Beautiful lather and a nice shave. Maybe not quite as smooth as yesterday, but overall it feels good. I'm looking forward to this month and improving with these razors. I have a little trouble right under my nostrils and getting those pesky hairs. I need some more practice there.

The Barbasol was only $1 so it definitely qualifies for this month. It's loaded with menthol and has a nice, modern scent. I mix it with witch hazel so it's not so strong.

Have a great day!

Jim, is that after shave a copy of Skin Bracer?

Thank you. I am definitely enjoying these razors!

Nice to see you back Troy!

Perry, it is a store brand knock off of skin bracer and it has the powdery scent like skin bracer, but with a bit more menthol. I like this AS a lot and I can say it's one of my favorites! My wife likes the scent so much that she picked up two more bottles for me last month!

Did I mention that a 7 ounce bottle costs only $2.29?

I have trouble with the Gem Razors in the same spot. I've found that I come in from the outside and above my upper lip toward the center of my nose from each side. For me it works better. Not perfect but better.

SEptember 2016 SE Focus

September 1

Razor: GEM Junior
Blade: GEM by Personna
Brush: Stirling Kong
Soap: Stirling Gentleman
Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block, Jovan Musk


First shave with the GEM Junior was last night. Started the passes going WTG on the cheeks. I rode the cap and noticed it was not great reduction. So I started lowering it just off the cap and all of a sudden the thing started making a TON of noise. I mean it was loud. If you need to know what audible feedback is like, this razor definitely has some. Finished my first pass doing WTG on the cheeks and XTG on the chin and neck. Began the ATG pass and had some issues getting the blade angle right. Definitely something I will have to work on. Got to my chin and never really could get the ATG pass right. I got decent reduction, but just never seemed to have the right angle of attack. Ended with a solid DFS except for some irritation on the chin from not being able to figure out exactly how to place the razor. The alum was a little noisy, but mostly on my chin and jaw line where I knew I had struggled most with blade angle. The Jovan musk was a good compliment to the shave.

The Stirling Gentleman soap is wonderful. Typical slick lather and great feel that you get from Stirling. But the scent on this one is just amazing. A great tobacco with a touch of vanilla and musk that got complete SWMBO approval (which in the end is what matters most).

Wickham's excellent stuff JR. Easy to lather, good lubrication, and good skin care.

September 2, 2016- MARVYlous Friday

Razor: F2 Gillette FatBoy (4)
Blade: Astra SP (3)
Brush: VdH Boar
Soap: Marvy/Dove Hydrating Shaving Cream

Shave #3 with the FatBoy and the return of an old favorite- Marvy Shaving Soap! For those of you who missed MAYhem, this soap is a product of the William Marvy company, makers of Marvicide and barber poles, and is intended for sale to the trade. Apparently, barbers learn the proper use of this soap in an arcane ritual (along with the secret barber handshake) because, in the hands of mere mortals (Muggles?), it generally produces copious amounts of quickly-dissipating lather. (Think every bad thing you've heard about Williams and/or MWF and assume that that is optimistic for Marvy.)

In general, there appear to be two main ways to use this soap: 1) The @DDuckyMark approach- very gently, using painting strokes, or 2) Add cream and go for SuperMARVYlather. I chose to go with the second approach, putting a small dollop of Dove shaving cream on the puck before loading and working it. The result was an obscene amount of lather with good lubrication and staying power. IIRC, the Dove cream does not really lather a lot by itself; instead, I think the Marvy benefits from the additional Glycerine in the cream.

The shave itself was very smooth. Two passes to a DFS and no complaints from the Alum.

Wishing you all a MAVYlous day!

Shave 18
Omega 10098
Art of Shaving Sandalwood Soap
Ceramic Suribachi bowl
Gillette New Long Comb
Astra Superior Platinum Blade.
Fine Accoutrements Santal Absolut Classic After Shave

I accidentally got the best DE shave I've ever had this morning. I'm going away for a week tomorrow and had no plans to shave today, but I saw the bottle of fine sitting next to my AoS soap and decided to give this combo a go. I loaded up the big boar with that silky smooth soap and did a standard two pass N/S and E/W shave. I wasn't concentrating on anything, just enjoying the lather and subtle aroma of the soap while I shaved and when I rinsed and applied the aftershave, my skin was very soft and very smooth. I could feel some stubble on my chin, but other than that, could have been best shave ever. Solid DFS. Review on the soap and aftershave to come.

Fantastic. That's what you want. The shave and the results just happen automatically. It means that your muscle memory is getting fully developed.

Back in July, I did a week on the supermarket Israeli blades (which you hit on Monday with the Walgreens ones) and 3 days on the Personna Red for comparison. All shaves were on a Slim at a setting of 5. The supermarket blade was a bit rough at first though with excellent reduction. The Red seemed smoother from the get-go, though both delivered excellent shaves.

I'm very curious to see how you find this blade on the higher settings. The Personna blades seem like odd ducks to me... almost more like an SE blade. I actually wonder if something in the low setting of the Slim (gap or angle, perhaps) is negatively affecting the blade.

Next week, I'll probably try the supermarket blade again in sympathy with you. Also, as it was the blade I started with, it will be a good 1st Anniversary shave.

SEtember Focus

Gingers Garden Tallow & Omega #248, suribachi bowl
@twhite 's Adjustable Schick Pass Around & Chick blade
Alum and Murry & Lanman's Florida Water



First shave with an adjustable Single Edge razor. I installed a fresh blade and set the unit at middle of it's range. Lathered up with one of my favorite soaps and found my angle of attack easily on my cheeks. Not so much on the neck area. No blood, but a little irritation and I've had smoother shaves. Going to fiddle the adjustment and adjust my estimation of where the cap really is. All those DE shaves last month has me relearning SE's.
Good day, Gentlemen!

I packed away all of my extra soaps and brushes to ensure that I stick to just one each during my focus.

Has anyone else done this before?

I know myself, and I don't want to cheat...lol.

SEptember 2, 2016

Shave #2 with the 1912 Gem



1-pass shave (ATG)
GEM PFTE blade (2).

Yesterday’s shave with this same setup was so good that I knew I could get by with a one-pass today. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Note to @wmbjr - William, I’m noticing the same issues you speak of regarding blade angle, as it appears we're using the same GEM. In getting to know this razor I’m starting out with an exaggerated “ride the cap” angle. I then drop the razor handle down slowly until I begin to get that incredible feedback and try to hold it right there. I notice that doing this in repeated slow, short strokes helps me learn the angle more quickly.

When I get to those trouble spots like my chin, I stay in the exaggerated “ride the cap” position to get a better feel for the ATG in that position on the chin. As I do this repeatedly, almost like buffing, I do get some reduction and the confidence to adjust the angle ever so slightly. I figure that in time I will get to the point where I feel more comfortable to expand the angle. (my 2 cents...ymmv)

For those of you that have mastered this razor - Any suggestions regarding different blades to try?

Cheers!
RT