It's the strength behind those eyes...makes it hard to walk away. And in the case of the E German women, with all the steroids involved, it's probably hard to run away.

Life is a matter of taste. Choose wisely.

It looked like that Edwin Jagger was starring in your lather tutorial too. Nice to see that brush getting off its butt and doing some actual work for a change. I was just never able to motivate it properly. Hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

I like that lather bowl! Who made it?

I also have to say that all the photos and reviews I'm seeing in these 30-Day threads for Route 66, Stirling, Reef Point and Soap Commander soaps are putting a definite stress on my NB'17...

The Rocca remains a bit of a surprise for me. It did okay with some of my favourite blades (Feather, Rapira Platinum Lux), is surprisingly good with Personna Platinum Chrome blades, and now fully exceeded my expectations with a Gillette SharpEdge Yellow blade.

Mühle Rocca R96 razor
Gillette SharpEdge Yellow blade
Edwin Jagger Silvertip Fibre brush
Dusy Kabinett soap
Pitralon Classic aftershave

Much smoother shave than I expected. One tiny nick because I got reckless (blame it on the surprise). My past experiences with the 7 O'Clock were mediocre at best, so I was sceptical about this combination. But the first stroke already proved me wrong. Still ... not quite as good as the PPCs. But Mühle obviously knew what they were doing when they designed this razor head.

I have one and it's so small it's useless. It is also pretty scritchy.

Thank you. My wife got me the bowl, so I have no idea other than from Etsy. It is beautiful, and I love her dearly for trying, but it is nearly worthless as a lather bowl. It is too narrow with high sides, and more of a minor thing, but it's slippery as ice inside. It would be fine I guess as a soap bowl if one used it as an old fashioned style mug. It makes a great, oddly shaped, oversized mug.

February 12 (Sunday) - Fatboy Focus

Gillette Fatboy on 5
PAL Gold Thin Hollow Ground carbon (39)
B+B Omega Essential Boar
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap )
Alum and Clubman VIBR

I bumped the Fatboy up 2 notches today to setting 5. I tried that many months ago and found it too harsh, so I dialled back to 3 for a comfortable shave and have stayed there ever since. Today I found that 5 had a more definite blade presence than 3 but was quite usable without any need for excessive concentration. The result was a good shave with the alum giving only a hint of sting on my upper lip. I guess a few months of Focus on riding the cap and skin stretching have really changed the way I shave! It's not really noticeable day to day, but something like this (or running the Fatboy on 9 with no blood) makes the technique improvement obvious.

I will probably split the difference and run my Fatboy on setting 4 for the next while.

The PAL blade seems to have settled back into usable sharpness and smoothness again.

I was going to use my usual Thayers to finish but at the last minute went for a hint of island spice and heat instead. The Clubman VIBR is a nice pick-me-up in mid-winter.

Great photo with excellent gear Mark.

Thanks Chris. It's a beauty.

Thanks very much Jim.

Good old practice tunes.

Most of us here are used to living on borrowed time, anyway.

You were absolutely correct

How did I forget the VIBR? No fear, it is sitting on my countertop. And as we are expecting 80 degrees today, it may be a great day to use it.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

February 12, 2017​

Mongoose B2 with Triad Ti​

Feather Pro Super (1)​

Shavemac Silvertip D01​

MdC Vetyver​

Fine Fresh Vetiver​

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A new week and a new setup. In order to avoid repetition, descriptions of the different hardware and software will only be done for their initial use this year. The razor is my my well used Mongoose batch 2. After spending months on a waiting list, I got this razor the last week of December 2014. The Mongoose was the razor I used for the first 30 day thread in January 2015. The razor is certainly big and heavy but it remains my single most used razor. In fact today's shave is the 225th time I have used the Mongoose since January 2015. The brush for the week is a Shavemac Silvertip D01. I purchased the brush used on The Shave Nook at a steep discount. The D01 knot is certainly an acquired taste with an over the top backbone and scrub. A boar brush has nothing on the D01. Initially it had a huge amount of scritch and scratch as well. However, after 45 uses the tips are crunchy dry but very soft when wet. Overall I really like this brush and knot. I hope so since I have D01 2 band flat top on the way. The soap for the week will be MdC Vetyver. This scent was a limited edition scent released around Christmas. Even though I avoided the temptation initially, I gave in when an unused jar appeared on a BST thread with a discounted price. It shares the same base as all MdC soaps so it is still very easy to lather. The difference is the scent which is earthy and spicy with green notes that open up while lathering. I have opened the jar countless times over the last couple of weeks just to smell the soap. The scent is just that good.

Now on to the shave. From the very start I could tell this was going to be a great shave. The Shavemac D01 whipped up a mountain of rich lather. The scent of the soap was pleasantly strong and increased in complexity as I lathered. I went with a 2 pass shave, XTG & ATG and almost caught the baby. It's Sunday and I have the time, so the chase was on. With very little effort I caught the little guy. I finished up the shave with a splash of Fine Fresh Vetiver which matches the MdC very well. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.

Thanks Doug! Have a good Sunday!

Beautiful photo Mark. Bob Quinn does make some great looking brushes. When I went by to pick up our Ironwood handles, they were just lined up on the shelf. I will never know how I made it out of there without buying more.

Thanks amigo! Excellent setup and write up Clint! Have a great day!

It looks like you are going to have a nice week.

That my friend is a testament to your restraint!