All the Flare Tip love. I used mine this morning plus Astra SP with great results. Got my Shave Den Lanolin soap and used it as well. The differences between the Gentleman Jon glycerin soap, the Ginger Garden Tallow soap and the Shave Den Lanolin soap are pretty crazy.

I think the glycerin was the easiest to lather, requiring the least amount of water and loaded super fast. Good for quick shaves before work.

The tallow seemed to take me a couple shaves to dial it in. Not using enough water at first after using the glycerin soap for a month left my face feeling dry like I just washed it. After getting used to it it leaves my face feeling amazing and the most soft post shave.

I've only used the lanolin soap once but I treated it like the tallow with a bunch of water. It left my face a little less soft than the tallow but it felt...thicker. Almost like it needed even more water than the tallow but didn't dry my face or make the razor "stick" while shaving like the tallow did with less water than required. It almost felt like I wasn't shaving at all. I think I almost enjoyed the actual shave more with the lanolin but I just love how soft my face feels post shave after the tallow Octavia Noir. It's like ridiculously soft face.

Still have to try the Arko but I have not used a stick and not sure if I should try it with the time constraints before work.

I'm going to have to experiment a lot more with soaps!

Happy shaving everyone!

Good news the stick is actually easier and faster


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Great job on the brushes, Jason. They have all come out great! You definitely have talent!

Great picture, Doug!

That's an excellent first lathe project for you, Steven. Let me know how they turn out...

About 1/2 way through the handles, my wife asked me "why are you making them all the same with the same dark tops, isn't that kind of boring?". I had to explain the LE concept to her...

Hey, it could be made like the Catholic Church's incense.

I just may! Found a ton of pen blanks! ;-) I need to win an auction with a bunch of the little caps to fit.

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Pens are an excellent project. Just be aware that you will need a mandrel for the blanks to be mounted on, and they're not all necessarily the same diameter.

Party pooper!

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Not my intent. Just letting you know if you're buying them without specs, you may end up spending a few quid more to get everything you need...
PM me if you want to talk about it

Monday June 26 - night shave with cactus

Gem 1912 SE / Gem PTFE (? )
30DC LE Cashmere Maple brush
Dirty Deeds Arroyo Cactus soap
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Original

After long and careful deliberation I decided to use my Gem 1912 SE tonight based on the fact that it was the only razor in my rack that already had a blade in it.

The Arroyo Cactus is clearly a plant scent but quite unlike the usual soap scents. Sort of sweet but a bit pungent. It's quite pleasant and the soap produces a good slick lather. It seems to be a fairly hard soap and based on tonight's usage, I expect the 1/4" thick puck slice to last well into July. I am going to use it exclusively until it's gone.

Two passes brought me to a DFS approaching BBS with no signs of sting from the alum. A month's Focus clearly did wonders for my abilities with a Gem-style SE and I can now get a clean shave from my 1912s any time I decide to use them.

Hope everybody had a good Monday and are started on a great week!

Im teasin! But while thinking about it I thought it could be a neat idea for people with broken/split handles. Plus they would be a bit heavier and could be made in any length. A way to update a classic!

Also it's not my lathe but I'm sure I can use it whenever I want. I just have a steep learning curve to pick up.

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I think Jayaruh had a wooden handle project for a ball end on the site awhile ago. I'll try to find it for you.
Found it, but can't seem to copy the link- It is called 'two new NEWS' from March.

Arko stick application is super easy. Peel the wrapper off one end to reveal about 1/2 inch of the stick. Wet your face, and rub the stick on your stubble. Only takes a little pressure and a couple scrubby passes. Then apply your damp, shook out brush. Poof! Lather explosion. Don't stand too close to any other brushes or they will spontaneously lather as well. Shave brushes, tooth brushes, toilet brushes...
The stick is quite soft. It can be cut up and pressed into a bowl or mug. If you find the scent too strong there are procedures. Using a cheese grater from the kitchen shred the whole stick, spread it out in a suitable container, let it sit and de-scent. Then you can add E.O., cologne, AS, etc for other scents but the same great performance.

Went a couple days without shaving and was all geeked up to use the straight last night, but my wife advised against it since I was "tired" - I think this was code for "you had a couple cocktails with dinner and I don't trust you with a razor". Heeding this unwarranted advice meant I skippped last night's shave (which would have been stellar), for a straight razor shave this morning that I just wasn't feeling up to. A couple nicks and a lot of blood later, I had to spend several minutes coloring in gashes with a steptic pencil to slow the bleeding. I'm talking "win the Shavey uninspiring pic category with an epic walk off homer" kind of bleeding. Two follow up passes with the Slim easily converted this to a DFS+ in the end and trimmed off the extra unneeded skin flaps, but lesson learned. When you're feeling it go for it; when you aren't DON'T! Think I may return to the DE for the next few days.

I just put up a soap PIF in Freebies if anyone is interested.

My Lisa's Natural Somali Rose came in today and I cannot wait to use it tomorrow. She also sent me a sample of her Cedar and Saffron bath soap (I had told her it was a favorite scent) and will put it to use tonight.

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Ouch. I'm laughing, but with empathy.

Lesson learned. Let those wounds heal and jump back on it this weekend. We all cut ourselves, don't beat yourself up over it. Besides....chicks dig scars.

So the usual suspects again today for this weeks razor focus led with of course a '65 Flare tip
I had forgotten how mild the Flare tip is it's a nice razor that's incredibly light and small. The nice thing about it is how easy it is to maneuver around the jaw line and under the lip the down side is it's really small which isn't my personal preference but still a great irritation free shave a little sting from the Alum a razor this light is easy to apply too much pressure with.


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