I find the bigger razors easier to handle due to the weight, I feel the weight allows me to better control the stroke and speed. With a narrow blade a small change in the distance of the spine from my face makes a big change in the angle of the cutting edge, the change of the angle is much smaller on bigger blade. I think it is more about preference and whether you prefer a lighter or heavier blade. A cautionary note for large blades with very hollow grinds is they may flex when shaving tough beards. So my sweet spot is a 7~8/8 blade with a half or 1/4 hollow grind. I also prefer a smile to my blades. I tried a few cheaper big blades before I decided to spend big $ on big blades.
Nothing like a smooth face and close shave to start the decade. The Fritz Bracht DOVO did the trick. Hot water preparation AOS Lavender PSO Barristers Reserve Lavender Savile Row 3824 Fritz Bracht DOVO #25 6/8 AOS Lavender After Shave Balm Happy shaving - Karl
5/8-ish E. A. Berg honed up yesterday and out for it’s maiden shave - it did quite well, BBS. Cream was SMN lathered with a Simpsons 59 in a 16cm Sori Yanagi bowl. A bit of SMN body balm finished off a fine shave. Sori Yanagi makes a line of stainless bowls, they’re intended to be kitchenware but the smaller bowls have straight rather than curved sides which makes them ideal lather bowls. The small 13cm bowl is sold by Aesop as a lather bowl. I saw someone’s Symmetrical Pottery bowl a couple of weeks ago, and I have one myself - a fine bowl indeed. When I measured it, I found out that it was 16cm, so why not try the 16cm SY? If it doesn’t work out it just does kitchen duty. It’s lighter than the Symmetrical Pottery bowl, won’t break of course, but it was a little bit harder to hold, it doesn’t have that ‘knob’ on the bottom. You can grab the rim without fear of dropping it and breaking it though. Overall very nice with big brushes like the Simpsons 59, we’ll just have to see what time’s verdict will be, kitchen or bathroom?
Saturday Straights' Shave Cold Water Rinse Vintage Life Morning TOST Jayaruh #30 Lee Mfg. 5/8 CWR Pinaud Clubman AS My prep was just a cold water rinse. The Vintage Life Morning TOST face lathered well with Jayaruh #30 Brush. I did two passes and a cleanup with the Lee Mfg. 5/8 razor and ended up with a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse, I finished off with Pinaud Clubman AS. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed...
Shave #58 on the Filly 14 Sub Cero edge longevity test. This edge isn’t going anywhere.... Cream was AoS sandalwood lathered with a Rooney 1/3 Silvertip in a 16cm Sori Yanagi bowl - getting used to the bowl’s larger size of the Symmetrical Pottery bowl, and it has another advantage like the SP bowl - if you’ve suffered from SAD, a large brush and bowl can burn through your excess inventory faster! AS was Myrsol Agua Balsamica (really need to get some AoS sandalwood AS).
Puma Wickham English Rose homemade brush/Maggard syn. knot This old Puma is a fine shaving razor. I harvested the wood for the brush handle on my sister in law's property in Minnesota. It's a piece of spalted Maple. Have a good one.
This W&B was an early purchase of mine. I’ve always been fond of it but today it was exceptionally smooth and close. Then I remembered that it had only been a day since my last shave (vs my usual two or three.) Hot water preparation T&H Ultimate Comfort PSO Mystic Water Brown Windsor Wade & Butcher 6/8 T&H Wellington Super Badger Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel Happy shaving - Karl
Bartmann 89 “Manganese Steel” Nice easy cleanup and hone of a large 15/16” German blade. It joins its twin for a nice Bartmann gentleman’s set. Very enjoyable shave. Enjoy your shave. Tom
Evening shave due to an early start & busy workday tomorrow! This old vintage Greaves & Sons + MdC soap = a very pleasing shave! Have a blessed Sunday, gents!
7/8 Tiger 37 Had a fantastic shave with this vintage Solingen blade .The Tiger just removed whisker with almost no effort .One of my Favorite Solingen blades .
Michael Waterhouse Custom FBU Smiler Strop Martin J. Rubin 4601 New York Muhle Fibre Silvertip XL Saponificio Varesino Cubebe Saponificio Varesino Cubebe Aftershave lotion Saponificio Varesino Cubebe Edp
TI Bison 6/8. This frenchie is one of mad favorites. Super thin bring, which always provides a clean smooth shave. Holds an edge for an eternity. Had to use a French soap to lay down the foundation. Enjoy your weekend, gents; what’s left of it
Yep, that Greaves and that Tiger are beauties! Shave #59 with the Filly 14 Sub Cero edge longevity test, trying to pile some shaves on it now that I’m very close to the end point of the other razors that I tested, a Filly 14 DT and a Cape 1000 Swedish Steel. Soap was 3P lathered with a Simpsons 57 and a dab of ABC almond balm finished up. I really don’t have a good idea of how many shaves might be left on it - it hasn’t dropped off much from shave 30 or 40.
