SOS: OCtober 2018

Hybrid ATT SE2 on WCS SS 110s handle / Kai Captain Titan Mild Protouch MG / H.L. Thater 2018 SE Wild Olive / Wholly Kaw King of Oud

Third pull on this blade and while it pulled same number of passes and yielded caliber of shave expected of this blade, feel increasing, so last use at three.

 

A different DE for Sunday:

Neutrogena Men Facial Wash
Razorock Plissoft 26mm Monster
Micro Touch/new Astra Green
Bundubeard Rooibos SS
Bull Dog Moisturizer
English Leather AS Splash

Although I did get a very good shave it took too much time and effort because this razor is much too mild for me. The Rooibos soap was so enjoyable with its lovely scent, it delivered so much rich, thick lather with great blade glide. Like all the South African soaps I have this one also gives great skincare, and so does the Bull Dog moisturizer.

 

The Holy Black | Jeckyll & Hyde
APShaveCo. Elegant Emerald | SynBad 24mm
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74

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My only prior experience with The Holy Black's products is with The Club exclusive "Decadence". It's a really nice set, but I seldom use it because gourmands aren't my first choice. However, I will admit that each time I use it I'm surprised by its performance. Honestly, when a brand touts this much moxie and bravado, I find myself suspecting they're compensating for a glaring inadequacy. In my experience this deficiency is usually in execution. In reality their artisan tallow base is the real deal, loading easily and quickly yielding a thick, dense lather. First swipe and residual slickness are still above average (in a world where "average" continues to be bumped up). Post-shave is good, but I wouldn't skip a post-product.

Jeckyll & Hyde is as advertised, replete with unabashed gimmicky packaging containing a few pearls. From the box's exterior to deep within, The Holy Black managed to capture the Robert Louis Stevenson gothic along with childhood Halloween frivolity all without compromising the gritty tenacity of the brand. That said, unless the product is really special, I often skip releases such as these out of interest of storage space alone. Fortunately, the Jeckyll & Hyde products don't require a special stand à la The Tell-Tale Heart Box Set, and can stand on their own with a modest footprint. My only criticism of the packaging is with the wax seals. I know it looks cool and is certainly in line with the motif, but personally I don't like how my first use of the product forever removes the original presentation. Additionally, while the wax cleanly peeled away from one bottle, the other proved to be quite messy and wax still remains. Interestingly, the bottle that caused all the trouble was the "Mr. Hyde" splash. I could have scored along the top of the cap thereby preserving much of the wax, but to me that still betrays the original aesthetic. The highlight for me, in terms of packaging, is the beautifully detailed rendering of silhouettes and bloody skull on the ceramic soap dish lid. It is just striking artwork and a suitable centerpiece.

As to the fragrance, I will never use the Hyde EdT again. It exhibits a nauseatingly overused patchouli slammed up against a very artificial sandalwood with a sickly saccharine sweet undertone. How this could ever be described as dark, I'll never know. I did my best to wash it off, so I can make no further comments vis-à-vis dry down and longevity. Dr. Jeckyll, on the other hand, is more my style, although it doesn't particularly stand out as original. It's a pleasant clean, green, woody fragrance with gentle nondescript citrus highlights. The dry down is pleasant, but again nothing outstanding, with rather linear dry earthy vetiver and sandalwood.

Of course the "experiment" is to mix these individual fragrances in order to tailor them to one's chemistry and taste. I did add a touch of Hyde to my Jeckyll splash and I will concede it indeed contributed to the complexity across all aspects of the fragrance. The folks at The Holy Black compound did the customer right in this respect by providing ample product with which to experiment. Each splash bottle contains 8.5 oz. of product. The EdTs are 50 mL each.

As previously mentioned, there are a couple pearls immediately evident upon cracking open the crate, but I won't spoil it for those who are delaying the grand unboxing until Halloween.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with this acquisition. This was especially unique in that I was able to involve my wife with the unboxing and noted that her interest was piqued along with a little laughter due to one of the hidden gems. After that unique experience, I'm left with a nice product that looks and performs great.

 

October 22, 2018
Wolfman Ti OC (.74mm) with Hempel Ti
Feather
Zenith B27 Boar 28mm x 55mm
Soapy Science Lollipop Citrus
Myrsol Agua de Limón

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Top o de mare-nin' ta all ye fellow denizens! And great shaves to ye all...

Today I broke out a Stocking Stuffer from last Christmas, my Ming Shi 2000S.

I never use DEs anymore...So I've forgotten how great this one is! And it tis exceptional.

I pulled it out for sentimental reasons. I was remembering when I first came here almost 9 years ago....Jeff was raving about the old Ming Shi. Remember @Yehuda D ? Jeff got me started back of the righteous path of TWS...}8^)). And the old Ming Shi was my first razor on my come back trail.

Fast forward almost a decade of Christmas's...and this new Ming Shi made the scene in my shave cave, as a stocking stuffer from my wife. I thought it was cool...But to tell you the truth....This guy really is a fantastic shaver, and can stand up to razors costing 6xs as much or more!

I got mine at Andrew's Shave Shop, and I highly recommend them.

Todays shave, finished with a healthy splash of vintage Old Spice...Thank you Tom (@twhite) ...

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

MONDAY'S SHAVE​

Fragrance - Creed Original Vetiver
Aftershave - Country Club for Men - Frozen Vetiver
Shave Soap - Country Club for Men - Frozen Vetiver
Deodorant - Country Club for Men - Frozen Vetiver
Preshave Oil - Lather & Wood Unscented
Post-shave Balm - Cilo Super Anitoxidant Serum
Razor - Vintage Gillette Superspeed circa 1947-1952 (re-plated by Razor Emporium)
Blade - *3rd Shave
Brush - Declaration Grooming "Fatty" in custom green color
Brush stand by Desire Metal Works
Razor Stand by RV Shaving
Soap Bowl - Vintage Dubarry Soap Bowl circa 1930's Britain

 

Thank you

 

Razor: Wade & Butcher
Brush: Simpson Duke 3 Best Badger
Soap: Razz Bocket Mango Folie
A/S: Cella

Enjoy your shave!
Tom

 

Thank you, Guy!

 

I had the urge to shave with a safety razor today and this sweet 1914 was calling to me. Fantastic shave, quick, easy, and smooth, smooth finish.

Hot water preparation
AOS Lavender PSO
Romera Wengue Chubby Manchurian Badger
Mike’s Natural Soap Vetiver
Ever-Ready 1914 “Little Lather Catcher”
GEM PFTE (2)
Half shim
Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel



Happy shaving - Karl

 

OCtober 21, 2018

PAA Ascension Twist SS & Personna Platinum Chrome #2
Yaqi Barber Pole 38mm
MWF “The Fat”
Humphreys Alcoholado Maravilla
Nivea Sensitive a/s lotion
Nautica Voyage N-83 edt

No complaints at all. Have a great evening and awesome shaves Gents.... ​

 

Monday planned SOTD

Schick B2 razor
Pantarei shaving brush
B&M 42 soap, aftershave and edt

 

Menthol Monday SOTD



Razor: GEM Junior Bar
Blade: Gem PTFE SS (D1)
Brush: Bethlehem Olivewood w 26mm HMB
Bowl: Supply Provision Marble 4.5"
Pre-Shave Scrub: MRGO Lime
Pre-Shave Balm: TSD Iced SubZero
Shave Soap: Prairie Creations DdC Alpine Snowdrift
Post: Monster Block Alum
Aftershave: Alt-Innsbruck
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Tonight's shave was with one I had used, in the beginning, and was the second razor I had restored. I had a very smooth 2 pass shave, with these vintage, generic blades. They were part of a blade lot, from a junk drawer, years ago. I believe they are probably from the early 70's. Great Razor, very very smooth shave. This is shave 3 on the blade, since I had been out of town.


Razor- Gillette Fat Boy. E-1.
Blade- TOPCO. Super Platinum
Soap-- Arko/Sandalwood Scented
Brush- Wilkinson Sword Boar
Aftershave- Shulton Old Spice. Lighthouse Decanter.

 

TRIBUTE SHAVES


Prep: shower with CF Sherlock, pre shave soap mix
Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Blade: Pol-Silver
Brush: Everready 600 synthetic
Soap: Reef Point Dragons Blood
Post: Reef Point Dragons Blood balm


Nice shave yesterday morning. These 2 shaves are a trubute to these artisans that to my understanding are going out of business. Sad really since both RP and LG make some of my favorite balms, which may be due to the sweet almond oil (since both have a healthy dose) but anyways, will be sad to see both of these talented artisans kick the bucket. I want to wish both these guys luck in all future endeavors. RP interpretation of Drgons blood is deep incense, and was one of the earlier soaps i picked up once starting wet shaving, so it holds a special place in the den. Shave went well with no issues. Finished off with matching balm which felt nice and soothing.



Prep: shower with SC Respect bath soap
Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Blade: Pol-Silver
Brush: Maggard 30mm synthetic
Soap: Local Gent Fields & Streams
Post: LG Fields & Streams balm


Fantastic shave this morning. Love the unique scent of F&S, it is a mix of coffee and sage, unlike anything else on the market. Soap has a high content of avacado oil which may contribute to the top notch post shave. No nicks or anything, very happy with todays results.




Prep: shower with CF Sherlock bath soap
Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Brush: Maggard 30mm B&W synthetic
Soap: Ellegant Rose- Woodland Spice
Post: Proraso Woods & Spice balm

Almost forgot to post Fridays shave. This was one of those shaves where everything is clicking, not only was there no issues, but it was a perfectly refreshing shave experience. Woodland Spice has a cinnimon forward type scent but without the burning that can sometimes come from cinnimon based scents. it also paired beautifully with the Proraso balm, which is by far the best Proraso scent IMO, it just defines the fall season. Lather quality is impressive to say the least. Hope everyone is in good health and getting A1 shaves!

 

Thanks for the review! Lakewood looks like they offer some decent products. Have heard they recently had a formula change which may contribute to the lack of reviews ( just a guess) but anytime it gets mentioned it seems to be positive which is a good sign.

 

OCtober Oleo and Odd Balls!!

October 21

Razor - Gillette New SC Deluxe
Blade - (3)
Soap - Stirling 2018 Fair Debonaire
Brush - Stirling Two Banded Synthetic
Post - Alum

Fun day today as I used a Floating Holiday at work to attend the Fair Debonaire in downtown STL. Great venue at the Schlafly Tap House and they had a full set of taps on the bar in the room we were in. I wanted especially to meet Rod and Mandy from Stirling and had a great conversation. Iced Coffee will be back - and improved - next year. They have a few new things going on in addition to the new line of Eau de Toilette they recently released and it was a fun time. Rod follows us here and had the same basic comment about our humble thread that I hear from most of you. Basically - "that thread is out of control". But in a good way.

They had produced a limited edition soap for the event today, the 2018 Fair Debonaire soap and after shave. So when it was time to shave tonight there was no doubt what soap would be up. I believe he said it is a tobacco/vanilla scent and it is very nice indeed. Of course, being Stirling, the lather was incredibly easy and rich. Slick, protective, the usual. I gave it three passes with the haunted SC and I'm pretty sure I heard the razor murmur its approval as well. Near-BBS for the finish and I'm a very happy camper. I did a composite shot for today's shave including the bow tie I purchased at the event as well. Vintage material, hand sewn and created by a very nice lady who took the time to demonstrate how to tie it. I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure I'll mess it up at first.

Have a great Monday and start to the new week!

 

22 October 2018

* Charcoal Goods Level 3 SB + Stork Ex Brass
* Wizamet Iridium Super
* WSP Original 2-Band + Oscar11 Aquamarine C7
* Mystic Water Lavender
* Unrefined Shea Butter
* Bergamot/Vetiver EO


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Hey. What do you think of Ellegant Rose shaving soap? I'm considering trying out their soap.

 

Good Morning from Germany my Friends,

here is my Sunday Shave:


Razor: Fatip Grande V2 // Blade: Derby Premium // Soap: Saponificio Varesino Stella Alpina // Brush: Shavemac 23397 // Aftershave: No Label Aqua di Parma // Scuttle: Robert Becker

A nice shave. The blade felt a little scratchy, but it could be, that it was only my skin which has been irritated a bit.

The soap is stunning with it's wonderful scent and a lather with outstanding glide and cushion.

The homebrewed Aqua di Parma clone paired very nice with the soap. As post-shave i've used a few drops of native Olive-oil.

This is it for now friends. Have a great time, enjoy your shaves and take care.

Greetings
Thorsten