View attachment 237123
October 15th
Wet Shaving Products SS & AS - Mahogany
Brad Sears Shave Works - Archduke II w/super badger hybrid (fan)
Cooper Monobilt
Gillette Silver Blue
Wet Shaving Products Formula T SS.....awesome quick bowl lathering w/super slick cushion. Check. Mahogany fragrance (wifey super approved sweet/spicy/woody). Check. Gillette Silver Blue.....considered a great blade. Check.
Today's shave was about the Cooper Monobilt OC razor....now ~85+ years old. Wow. I get it. Great shaving DE safety razor. Loading the GSB, I cranked the bottom dial to just where the blade sits with an even gap along it's edge, about a half turn off of fully tight. First WTG pass, same as I'd do with any open edge....and I'm near DFS+ and could call it quits....but I overloaded the BSSW brush with soap, had all sorts of lather left in the knot and bowl to use. Second pass was XTG....and I'm BBS- all over, just barely some sandpaper on the right lower neck and jawline. Lather up again, and ATG on that area, just kind of going through the motions everywhere else. ATG long stroke test on the neck/jawline....slight tugging sensation, but zero irritation. Quite unusual for me with safety razors. Most safety razors, DE or SE....it feels like the razor/blade is ripping every strand of hair, and irritation is hard to avoid with this stroke. With open edges, it's no big concern unless it's a questionable edge. The Monobilt....felt like an open blade shave for that stroke. Awesome. The Cooper is also great for detail work....I'm fully face shaven, but the nostril shadows are tedious with most DE razors, the head being too large. No problem with the Monobilt. For me, overall, it's crazy efficient with little blade feel, requires just a touch more pressure than my modern DE examples (they have more blade exposure).
Conclusion: I'm going to enjoy this razor for a very long time.
@Keithmax wanted some thoughts on the Brad Sears Shave Works Archduke II handle loaded with the 3 band super badger hybrid. It was spendy, more than I've ever spent on a brush (and most individual razors honestly). No regrets at all. It's exactly as the website's description....lush. I did no break in on this knot other than a quick baby shampoo wash when I received it. It is not super high density...it's 'just right' for me. Takes a little longer loading and lathering, as it's slightly soft once damp, someone using a SHD knot frequently or a synthetic might even call it 'floppy'. Wonderful 'lush' face feel while lathering though, it will build a lather and not just move it around or 'hog' the lather like knots I received with my Heritage Collection purchases. This BSSW knot does hold a lot of lather though, it's 26mm. The only other two knots I have that might be common, would be the 24mm Shavemac, but it's a bulb and honestly smaller with less loft. Very similar soft face feel though. I also have (Keith enabled) the Darwin 'Drake Certified'. BSSW's 3 band super badger hybrid has less backbone with zero scritch like the slight scritch of the Darwin 2 band badger knot.
I was almost disappointed that today's shave was over as I finished the morning ritual with a healthy dose of the WSP Mahogany after shave.....everything worked that good.
Hope everyone has a Terrific Thursday!
Click to expand...
