Sounds like a very decent budget shaving kit to me. With ProRaso, I think you flip a coin or maybe roll some dice to pick which colour you get -- they're all good. I believe Green might be the most popular but I could be wrong. Actually it's worse now because there are seven choices instead of four -- don't forget the three new scent choices: Azur Lime, Cypress + Vetiver and Wood + Spice. I know Clint @clint64 has at least one of them and thinks quite highly of it.

Great news on the weight loss and doctor report, Neal! Keep up the good work!
Nice photo & shave, too

Sounds like a great run!

Great photo and setup for a Friday, Perry!

Perry @PLAla and Clint @clint64 -- great photos, shave reports and monthly recaps to start us all off right today!

Thank you Perry. Going for a motorcycle ride Sunday.


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Thank you Jim.


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Yesterday’s shave kinda sucked. No major mishaps (with the exception of a nick to my earlobe, which I attribute to the @PickledNorthern curse), but just not great results with the straight. It happens.

Today I’m back to my BBS above the jawline with slight stubble on the neck. Hopefully a September focus should show some improved results there. I have been rotating between straights, so I may focus on using one straight for at least a week at a time. I’m partial to my Hart Steel 6/8 and would be tempted to stick with it all month but I’ve got a custom Bismarck 6/8 coming in from @Pete123 shortly, and there is no way I’m not putting that bad boy into action when it arrives.

As for gear, I’m continuing to use the Shavemac D01, and finding the scritch to be less and less as I work it around in the ridges of my @jtspartan custom bowl. I also tried a B&M patches sample today. Meh... strawberry soap is about how it sounds. See you gentlemen in the September thread.

I had an agonizing decision to make today. Yesterday I told Alex @AlDm that I would try the Russian Gillette Rubie Plus blade that he sent me in my Canadian pre-War Tech razor and would also try the Russian Arko Sensitive cream. But today I realized this is Fat Friday, so I should be using my Fatboy and lathering up with Mitchell's Wool Fat. But then I remembered this is the last day of August, which was also Arko August... What to do?

Final decision: Try the Gillette Rubie Plus blade (or Rubie Platinum Plus according to the blade marking) in the Fatboy set on #4 for both Fat Friday and Adjustable August (and the Russian kit test), and use the Arko Sensitive cream for both the Russian kit test and Arko August. Sorry, MWF, you get let out to play next Friday...

I put a dollop of the Arko cream in my horn quaich lather bowl with a bit of water and quickly whipped up a good lather using my Semogue Owners Club cherrywood brush reknotted with an APShaveCo Tuxedo knot. Unlike the Arko soap, I got no lemon smell off the cream. The scent was faint but I thought I detected lavender. I checked the ingredients, and sure enough, it had lavender oil in it. It also had aloe vera and glycerin, which might be why it didn’t seem as drying as the soap. Glide, protection and postshave feel were all decent. I think I prefer the Arko soap stick for its incredible lather, but the cream is certainly decent.

How was the Gillette Rubie Plus? It seemed sharp and smooth. Two passes with the Fatboy left me with a DFS. The alum showed a tiny hint of warmth on my neck, which might even have been left over from yesterday, but nothing that even needed a postshave product. I certainly have no complaints about this blade. It is as good as most and better than some I have used, like the Topaz Platinums. I know some people here have disliked Rubie blades in the past (Neal @NCoxSTL for one, I believe). I wonder if these Rubie Plus ( on the package) or Rubie Platinum Plus ( on the blade) are a different model?

I finished off with a nice splash of Supply Co Lost Provence balm for the great lavender and blue sage scent.

Hope everyone has a good Friday leading into a great long weekend!

I didn't do a monthly recap in today's shave report. That's because I can't really remember what I did this month. I used some adjustables, but I think basically, I just shaved...

Programming note - Due to some technical issues that I'm still fighting the September thread will be delayed until closer to midnight. Please continue your normal conversation/admiration of shaving stuff/shenanigans here until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.

August Focus

The last shave of August and one of the most pleasant...
Having just come off of a Cella phase and making a comment yesterday that Cella wasn't quite as good as Boellis,
I thought I should give the Boellis a go today and discuss the differences.
There are definite similarities between the two soaps:
Both Italian-made
Both are soft and pliable
Both have an almond/cherry scent
Both are very white in color
Both load easily
How are they dissimilar?
Cella scent seemed much more prominent
Boellis has the advantage in slickness
Boellis post shave is superior
AND......drum roll please.....
NO TINGLING WITH THE BOELLIS
Winner: Boellis
Another new discovery today was the Lord's Big Ben razor blade.
I have no clue where I got this tuck, but it was unopened, so I broke the seal.
Into my oh-so precious 1941 Gillette Ranger Tech, I placed the blade.
Boom-baby.
Out-STANDING-ing shave in every way.
Shall we say: "Epic"? We shall. Epic.
The Thayer's Medicated Witch Hazel was silent.
The Boellis EdT is still caressing my nostrils as I type. ​

Excellent synopsis as always, Clint. I’ll be interested to see what replaces the Nuàvia Blu on Sundays now...

Wow. That is a blade focus Troy. Hope you’re doing well.


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Looks like a great starter set. Any of the Proraso creams will work. Green is likely the most popular.


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Thank you John.


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It's a beauty, Randy. I won't ask if you have shaved with it because I don't want to be gauche.

I also love knives. My Dad was a knife trader, and I went with him to hundreds of knife shows and swap meets as a kid. We even scoured mom and pop hardware stores across the midwest on weekends to look for discontinued knife patterns, particularly Case knives. Sometimes we'd find a treasure trove on those trips. Sometimes the store owners would even pry old knives right off the display for you. (Case knives were opened and wired onto display panels in those days.) It was more fun when they'd sell the whole display too, but that was rare.

In the 1970s, knife collecting was starting to pick up steam. I wish I had one or two of the old knives that passed through my Dad's hands - 75-year or 100-year old Russell Barlows, Remingtons, Winchesters, and more. Knives like these are now locked up in collections or museums. We once made a trip to a cutlery store in Chicago, and my Dad came home with a 100-blade mint pearl handled folder. As I understand, knife salesmen carried these knives to show different blade choices. My Dad once purchased a small collection of KA-BAR (as I recall) knives. He made arrangements to show them to a rural doctor a few hours away who was a well-known knife collector. We made the trip to his office, saw the receptionist, and went past everyone in the waiting room to meet with him in his office. He took his time to look through all the knives and purchased the whole collection.

The knife I most often carry these days is either a Spyderco or a Swiss Army. I recently picked up a couple of Barlows from www.greateasterncutlery.com. I just love the beauty and craftsmanship of their traditional folders. I'm also a fan the Case Canoe and the Case Trapper.

I'll make plans to assemble my small family of knives (maybe a dozen or so) and post a photo.

Thank you, Bruce!

Wonderful write up, Joseph!

Thank you, John!

August 31st
Canadian NEW LC w Sharp Star (3)
TGN Finest Fan / Maple
B&M Latha Sandalwood SS
Thayers
TFS Mastro Miche AS

Had a nice 2 1/2 pass shave this morning. Everything worked as it should. This Latha scent has grown on me, especially as a ‘summer’ scent. It may be called Sandalwood, but to my nose they should have named it Currant. Finished with the quality (and horribly labelled) Mastro Miche splash.

As for August, I did use my 2 Black Beauties (long and short) for the first 3 weeks of the month, at least when I was home. There were a few shaves at the lake with an Aristocrat Jr and an I1 in there, as well as one work travel trip that I took a prewar Fat Handled Tech on. The last week I did put the BBs away and used this NEW for 3 shaves as well as a Flair Tip for 3 before it. Arko only made one appearance, I believe. Looking forward to SEptember!
Have a great day all!