Lots of fabulous SOTD photos today. Great job fellas!
First use of a stainless GEM blade today. As mentioned yesterday, I’ve only ever used the carbon blades from CVS. The one selected today was the regular GEM-branded Stainless (Not the PTFE coated). First impression? Meh. Certainly not as smooth right outta da gate. I’ve read posts in the past where folks recommend palm stropping, or some other kinda witchcraft with the stainless GEM blades. So, before someone suggests that, the answer is a firm “NO!”. I put that in the same category of silliness as blade-flipping and blooming. There is no need to subject oneself to making something work when there’s zero reason to.
For the most part, I’m a believer in not only TTT (Technique Trumps Tools), but also a razor is a razor, and a blade is a blade. So long as everything is mechanically sound, you should be able to get a decent shave with any razor/blade combo. That doesn’t mean there won’t be favorites - either with razors or blades - or a certain combo. That’s part of the point (and fun) of sampler packs. Let’s see what we like before making a bulk purchase.
I’ll try another shave with it tomorrow. If there’s no improvement, it’ll get binned and something else will replace it.
Rant aside, the ending result was yet another Ridiculously Awesome Shave (RAS). I didn’t say the blade didn’t work, just that it wasn’t as smooth as a CVS carbon GEM. During the shave, a few “greed weepers” appeared during the ATG pass, however they were gone by the “close of business”.
The tub of Grooming Dept. “Soap” has reached the end. There’s a tiny scrap left. That’ll get move over to the tub of Grooming Dept. “Melody”. From what my uneducated olfactory senses tell me, it’s the same basic scent, with a few other scent notes added.
Using Jason’s
@jtspartan creation (30DC LE brush) is always a pleasure, and it gets pulled into duty fairly often. Not only is it a stunning handle, the SynBad knot is delightful to face lather with. Whatta craftsman he is - and a fine gentleman (with good taste in CL aftershaves) too!
Speaking of aftershaves. Yesterday and today there was no use of post-shave products. Livin’ life on the edge, my friends.
Enough yammering from me. Have a wonderful day, guys! Hope you enjoy!
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