View attachment 240660
December 8th
Noble Otter SS & AS - The Night Before
HC - CMON Deluxe 77-4 w/Zenith Boar
J3Customs 7/8 Kamisori 'Corrosive'
Zingari Man ASB - Unscented
Original plan was to use the J3Customs Smiling Kamisori used yesterday for 5 days in a row....not going to work out, I dinged the edge with a fingernail as I was moving it around for the image. Can see the slight edge deflection under bright light, and even better under a jeweler's loop. Oh well, finishing hone time for it. Chose another blade to take it's place for the week. Derek calls this 'Corrosive'. Square tang, wrapped in blue/black leather cord with bamboo woven in on the top/bottom to help with grip. Another super beefy shaver, a quarter hollow grind, spine starts off very thick, makes the blade have more heft....shaves like a near wedge.
Loaded the transferred Zenith knot directly in the tub. Noble Otter's soaps (at least the two I have) are noticeably firmer than most artisan soaps. Definitely not a true puck or triple milled, but a good bit of moisture is removed. I believe their process may have some extra drying/curing after loading the containers, as the soap is very flat, and slightly pulled away from the outer edges. Started with a very damp brush, sticky goopy lather starts happening quickly. Overloaded the brush til the entire knot was showing soap, some overflowing out of the container. Scooped it all into the shaving bowl, started whipping, slowly adding about a teaspoon or two of water. Rewarded with a super thick and creamy yogurt looking, shave bowl overflowing lather after about a minute. This edge is straight from Derek's finishing, not stropped on the first shave, only a very light stropping immediately before use today (~10 laps linen/leather). Scaringly sharp....2 weepers, one above the lip, one below. Nothing major, stopped as I was shaving. 3 full passes, super smooth results everywhere. A few squirts of ZM's after shave balm massaged in, followed with the matching NO after shave...and ready for a Tuesday.
Awesome holiday fragrance, not a heavy sillage, aroma stays close on skin though. Released this past Friday. Reading their IG announcement...they had me at pink peppercorn, balsam fir, sandalwood, vanilla. The other notes just add to the experience. Their scent description: Pink Peppercorn, Balsam Fir, Mistletoe, Rosemary, Amber, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Frankincense, Myrrh
Hope everyone has a Terrific Tuesday!
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