OCtober 11, 2017

Paladin El Dorado
Panna Crema Nuavia Verde
Ti Wolfman WR1-OC with Darwin
Polsilver Super Iridium
Fine Fresh Vetiver
Tom Ford Grey Vetiver

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That's a beautiful brush, Jim. It is a very classy reminder of your Dad and his military service.

October 11, 2017

Razor: Gillette Flat Bottom New
Blade: Tian-Li Super Blue Blade (1)
Brush: Razorock Plissoft 22
Cream: KMF fragrance-free
Post: Alum, Listerine, WH

I received three of the Tian-Li Super Blue Blades yesterday from Andrew and decided to give one a go this morning. The razor was chosen as it is relatively mild and seems to pair well with the blades I've used it with so far. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not shave yesterday, so today was two days growth.

Impressions: The blade looks well made even if the wrapper seems to be a complete rip-off of the Chinese Gillette Super Blue Blade. Surprisingly, I felt quite a bit of blade presence, much more than I expect with this razor. The first pass did have decent reduction but was seriously tuggy. I was not expecting much, though, so I can't complain that it under-delivered. I ended up grabbing the Schick '500' for the second pass and ending with a DFS.

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this blade. It is definitely a cut or two above the usual Chinese carbon steel crap (Tian-Fu "disobedient" blade, I'm looking at you), but is still nowhere near what China is capable of producing (e.g., the Gillette Super Blue Blade or even that Pacific blade from Dollar Tree). According to Andrew, Tian-Fu themselves make better blades. It's as though they know how to make a good blade but didn't quite get it right on this one.

11 OCtober
Williams Wednesday


Pre-Shave: Hot Shower
Brush: 22mm Badger, JR #180
Soap: Williams
Razor: Valet VC2, Autostrop
Blade: Feather FAS-10 Carbon Steel(CS), Feather Seikan (1)
Post-Shave: Cold Water rinse and Stetson After Shave
Photo:


Last Night I modified and than stropped a fresh CS blade. Afterwards I got to thinking about how the blade broke on me. That the top of the E was missing and it allowed the blade to move around a bit. So I figured I would try again. I started off by taking the glue off the new blade with an old GEM blade. Because all good stories start with "Here hold my beer", Here hold my beer. I was at my bathroom vanity, I had three blades on the vanity: the GEM, the Feather that I had already modified earlier in the evening and the new Feather that I was going to try and modify in hopes of getting a better break. I had scraped one side of the blade off then turned it over to get the other side. Not paying as much attention as I should have I picked up the first Feather blade to use on the second Feather. This in it's self would not have been that bad except subconsciously I didn't want to ruin the cutting edge so I turned it around so that the sharp edge was were I placed my finger to push the blade across the other. I now have a nice cut on the end of my finger. Sorry no pics of my finger.

This morning I stropped the blade five more times before the shave as the blade was able to move around when I stropped it the night before. The Williams and JR #180 whipped up a nice lather. Now if you remember the first shave with the last CS blade it was rough. It was okay at best. OMG! Today's shave was hands down better than any shave I got from the un-stropped CS blade. It was smoother and gave me a closer shave. Three passes and it my not be BBS but damn near it. If this is a example of what is to come I will strop all the CS blades from here on. At least for the Valet. Finished off the shave with some Stetson AS and I am ready for anything the world my throw at me today.

Love the blue theme.

Great black and white photo.

I love the story behind the brush.

Jeff's Soap was my first CSRW soap as well. It impressed me.

Beautiful Old Type.

Love the photo Mark.

I enjoy reading your blade experiments.

Congrats on an experiment working out so well.

Wednesday morning October 11 - dithering

Tarnished Gillette BallEnd Old Type / Topaz Platinum (1)
Semogue Owners Club cherrywood boar brush
My Red Green Duct Tape Special frankensoap
Alum and Lucky Tiger

After selecting my razor this morning, I found myself standing before my stash of soaps and creams in a total paralysis about what to use. I finally just grabbed my big tub of Italian frankensoap. The next choices were brush and postshave products and I settled on those by choosing at random with half-closed eyes. After that, the shave went as normal.

For some reason, the Ball End Old Type feels a bit lighter and more nimble in my hand than the Single Ring Old Type, even though a comparison of the two suggests their overall weights are nearly identical. Maybe the distribution of weight is just slightly different. I did notice that the Ball End felt slightly less aggressive - not as much blade presence and less of a sense that it was just waiting to bite me.

I was in a hurry today, so I did just a single diagonal pass and called it good enough. The one-pass result is somewhere in DFS territory actually. My face feels nearly perfectly smooth as does my neck but there is some slight roughness on the underside of my jaw. It is certainly good enough for any normal social interaction and the alum was perfectly silent. The Lucky Tiger gave a pleasant orange finish to the shave.

It's nice to know that while not all scents would complement each other perfectly, I can grab any combination of stuff in my den and expect a good shave now. I can make any razor or brush in my rotation work, the blades are mostly known quantities, and all the soaps, creams and postshave products left in my stash work well for me. The only unknowns are a couple of tucks of blades and about a dozen soap and cream samples that I have not yet tried.

Thanks Clint. I never get tired of telling it.

I liked it a lot. It will be awhile before I buy more soap, but it’s on my list for when I need more soap in 2021

Thank you Charlie. I love using it and think of my Dad every time. And I love telling the story of the brush and the ship

Jim, I love hearing the story about your Dad. Please keep telling it.

My Dad also served in WWII in the Aleutian Islands on Kodiak Island. He was the Company Baker, and he was also part of a three-man team assigned to use a machine gun. Although the Aleutians are located very close to Japan, his unit thankfully never saw any action. My sister has some of his cookbooks, and the recipes were sized to serve 250 men. I hope to visit the Aleutian Islands someday. From the photos I've seen, it looks like a beautiful place.

My Father-in-Law served in Japan at the conclusion of WWII. In addition, I have Uncles that served in the Pacific and in Europe during WWII. My Bride's Dear Uncle served in The U.S. Navy. As I recall, his unit was assigned to escort Merchant Marine ships. Both my Dad and my Bride's Uncle told me many stories of their time in the service.

My Brother-in-Law served in the Air Force during the Vietnam era and for a time afterward. He enlisted, completed Officer Training, rose to the level of Captain, and retired from the USAF after a 20-year career. He specialized in communications.

I'm thankful and consider myself blessed to have this heritage of service in my family.

OCtober Focus Old School

Vintage Williams Stick soap
Omega Pro #10098 Boar brush
Osaka Suribachi & cool water
Fatip Piccolo, Personna LB blade
Alum, Three Leathers AS


No better day than Wednesday for a Williams lather. Moistened the old Omega brush in my bowl, dumped the tap water, and scrubbed the stick of soap across the textured surface. Poof! Lather happened. Three careful passes that are becoming comfortable procedure followed by chin buffing took care of two days of stubble. Alum was quiet as I could ask for, and the blend of Vintage Avon & English Leather boosted by the power of Pinaud S.R. went on smooth.
Good Shaves Y'all!

Thank you Clint, but the experiment continues. The point of this was to see if stropping would prolong the life of the blade not just make it better. Making it better was just an added plus.

Congrats. It is a nice feeling to know that you've mastered the process enough to expect a good shave with all your hardware and software.

Great photo. Bravo.

Razor: Blackbird OC Delta Echo Razor Finish
Blade: Personna Tungsten 74 (3)
Brush: 30 Day Crew w/ LS 2 Band
Soap: Cold River Soap Works Jeff's Soap
A/S: Folsom & Co. Shambala

The TSD 30 DC brush is working perfectly, along with the CRSW Jeff's Soap. Blackland Blackbird (Blue Bird ) provides an excellent close comfortable after the Delta Echo Razor finishing. Folsom & Company Shambala is a great finish.

The brush looks fantastic with the 2 band knot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you Clint. It works as well as it looks.

Had to put some hot water into my Rte 66 (Cavendish)...looked a little dry.

What is you Florida Water enhanced with, Keith?

No shave today, but I took morning and evening rides along a bike trail in Pensacola Beach. My Bride and I got folding bikes earlier this year, so we pack them around in our trunk. A few days back, we saw Hurricane Nate up closer than we wanted (no problems, though), and now we're fixin' to head home.

I guess you all had to work today.

Love the vintage look with some awesome vintage gear, Rick. What was the AS bottle originally?