Thank you, Clint!

Love the blacks, Gary! Good morning, btw...

Beautiful photo and shave report Jason.

Sounds like a wonderful start to a a Friday, Perry! Hope the weather is better there now.

Feb 7th

Proraso PS - Red
Wet Shaving Products SS & AS - Black Beard
30DC LE w/Omega boar
Rex Ambassador
Gillette Silver Blue (3)
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements ASB - Star Jelly

Meant to be shaving with an open edge today, thought it wouldn't be the best idea, turns out my self preservation instinct was right....

Started off with usual routine, hot shower, face scrub. Proraso PS Red applied all over while making a lather (no hot scuttle). Up was a new acquisition, Wet Shaving Products Formula T shave soap. I've had this formula before, but it was the Sandalwood fragrance...unfortunately had skin reaction to the AS. Formula T is an awesome shave soap, lather immediately bursts from the container after a couple of swirls with @jtspartan 30DC 2019 handle and damp boar knot. Great slick and thick lather, wonderful face feel, color is a little off white due to ingredients. Very nice. As Clint has mentioned previously, not a big fan of the soap container, it's half lathering in the container, half on your hand, had to scrape off in the bowl to complete a real lather. Wish it'd be like some of the other artisans where the container is a couple ounces larger than the included soap volume, with room to load a brush.

Broke a rule with this shave using a blade for a third time. Terry most times goes for one use with most blades, I usually go two. Wanted to see if I could stretch to three and failed. First two passes with the RA set at 6, two weepers. One on the first pass, corner of my mouth, felt a small tug, slightly seeped through the shave, no biggie other than irritation. Still feel it, like a hair pulled instead of cut. Second pass had another small red spot on the chin, no weep, just a spot. Third pass was the upper lip, chin and lower neck clean up with RA set to 1. Finished off with PAA Star Jelly, then WSP's Black Beard AS. No styptic needed for the two skin issues, they really weren't bad, just shows my mind was elsewhere.

Wet Shaving Products Black Beard.....slightly 'piratey' to me (which is how it's marketed), but not a bay rum pirate, more clove, dark tobacco and a little vanilla. Scent description includes cherry in the vanilla, but my nose doesn't get that. If I'm smelling the cherry....it's a dark cherry. While this blend gets lots of great reviews, not quite so in this household. Wifey said it's a good day fragrance, but not one for a date.....hmm. Probably not a repurchase, we'll see if it stays around.

What was on my mind? One of our high school teenagers, 99.9% a great kid, great grades, good decisions, slightly off track with focus the past week or so, 'nuff said.

Today starts a working out of town weekend for me, I'll be reading along as I can.

Hope everyone has a Fantastic Friday and weekend!

February Focus

C.O. Bigelow~~Simpson CH2 Synthetic Badger~~2011 Mühle R41/Polsilver~~Proraso Lozione Dopobarba
Last "hotel" shave for the time being, as well as most-probably, my last visit to the BSU campus.
Moral is low amongst the music faculty. Budget cuts, lower standards, lack of freedom to "be in charge"
of the classroom; everyone walks around on eggshells, in fear that a disgruntled student will make some
baseless accusation. This campus defines the phrase: "Tail wagging the dog".
90% of my former colleagues have lost their "passion". Makes me glad I left when I did.
Academia is not what it used to be friends. Welcome to the "Woke" society.
Anyway, it was still rewarding to teach a few of the singers, who were motivated and
truly excited to make vocal breakthroughs.
Now to the shave.
I have tried applying tube cream in two different manners.
1) Taking a finger full and smearing it all over my beard area, then going at it with a damp brush.
2) Squeezing a thumb-size dollop directly into the breach of the knot, then face lathering.
I have the most success with number 2. Number one lays a sticky layer of soap directly on the skin
and I find that the first pass lacks slickness and the lather gums up the razor.
The rather-stiff CH2 needs a goodly amount of coaxing to splay and "fill up" with lather.
Once that has been achieved, I can employ paintbrush strokes to refine and hydrate the product.
The R41, with all of its gnashing of teeth and ferocious growling, was easily tamed by yours truly.
Three passes and very gingerly on the neck, produced mostly a BBS.
My neck would sadly fail the cotton ball test. I won't lose any sleep over that fact.
Double-splash of the Proraso aftershave. The Eucalyptus is both tingly and refreshing.
Needless to say, I am really smelling....
good. ​

Sounds like a great soap, Clint! Is the brush breaking in well? Similar to your Zeniths?
I wonder what ‘a touch of bad boy mixed in’ to the soap adds to the scent, though...

Love the B&W, Jim. The ‘Crat Jr is a great shaver as well!

Inspiring shave and post.

Aaaaaand it's that day of the week again-here are your FRIDAY FILES:


-I do like the looks of this raffle thus far. 8 more days to "enter"....I'm in already, but might "re-enter. We'll see.
-I shampooed this morning with Clubman Country Club, as I was going to use the Clubman Special Reserve Aftershave later, but then I realized my Charcoal shampoo(Dove Men+Care)would be the better choice with the shave combination of leather goodness(+ some gunpowder thrown in). I'll save the Clubman CC for a more "direct" Clubman combination.
-I'll end on a light note. For those of you who have seen the Liberty Mutual commercial("Only Pay For What You Need"), I have to wonder if "Clyde Smitty"(Mr. P.A.A.)and that guy on the commercial are one and the same. What aroused my curiosity. Watching Smitty being interviewed at a Maggards Meet-up...that voice. I knew already they were LOOK-alikes, but the voice sealed it for me.

Even better!

Seriously, Blair, that brush doesn’t look that good in real life! Amazing pic.
Sorry about the distracted shave. ‘99.9% of the time’ is pretty amazing, though...

Excellent post, Blair.

Yes, your knot does sound more compact than mine, Joseph.
PS- today’s write up was another example of why you made the Article team...

Awesome Fat Friday shave. The ATT Atlas with the aluminum R2 plate was a joy to use this morning. The MWF was just great thick slick goo. Y'all have a great Friday!

We're only 7 days into February, but I'm already projecting that PAIN STICKS will bring up the rear in the survey. I don't see PS passing SE RAZORS.

Great shot of the soap, Danny. What does the MWF look like under the lid....something resembling Stoylin, or more like Williams?

Excellent shave! Always love to see one that someone can put together from the PIF's that are just what we do.

Terrific picture, Jason!

Paul. More like a Williams but softer. Reminds me of Fine Soaps.