January 2 SOTM

Good morning.

Straight Razor Shave #596
Henckels Friodur
Parker Synthetic Brush
Captain's Choice 45th Parallel SC and AS Stirling Alum Block Personal Care Witch Hazel Beard Growth: 42 hrs



Decided to break out my Friodur for my first straight razor shave for this year. Three error-free passes gave me a nice, close comfortable shave. I went with Captain's Choice 45th // shave cream to make a quick face lather. I purposely made a slick and thin lather because I just wanted to make a fast shave. Yes, I know that conventional wisdom states to take your time with a straight, but I didn't go super fast with it. Lol!
The alum treatment was evident with the feedback, but it wasn't terrible. Finished with applying the witch hazel and the matching aftershave. Have a good day gents.

Excellent first shave of the year Barry. Happy New Year to you as well.

Awesome shave, Troy. As I was reading your post, I was thinking of the little engine that could.

fine thursday straight shave Joe.

Terrific Thursday shave Gary.

Thank you Joe.

thank you Joe.

Thanks Gary.

Nice brush.

It's here! The JR #456 arrived today and it is a beauty. The lighting in the picture brightens it up well, but the actual color is a bit darker than the picture and it's fantastic. Couldn't be better. The dark synthetic knot matches perfectly and I've scored another great find with this adoption. Thanks to @Jayaruh as always for sharing his craftsmanship with us.

Now, a slight confession. What made me pick this particular brush? Well, certainly the design of the handle. Fits well in the hand. Perfect feel. The synthetic knot. I do enjoy my synths. And finally, the number. 456. Squid Game baby. Player 456.
Yes, I will be using this brush for today's shave so you'll see it again soon.

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January 2, 2025

Jillette January

Razor - Gillette New LC (Delta Echo finish)
Blade - Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum (1)
Soap - Stirling Port-Au-Prince (Mutton)
Brush - JR #456 synthetic

Moving forward from the 1918 we next come to the New LC, which was introduced in 1921. There's no way of knowing when mine was made, but we can say this is the next oldest razor among my Gillettes. I had this one refinished by Delta Echo Razor Works for that unique gunkote finish and color combo. It's always been a great razor and the modern finish doesn't diminish the classic razor one bit. Paired it with a Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum blade. Another Russian made blade that is excellent.

Dug through my Stirling collection and discovered the Port-Au-Prince mutton tallow soap. Fantastic scent, but I can't find the scent profile as it's not listed on their website. Sent a message to Rob & Co. asking about it. The more mutton soaps we can find the better, IMHO. Used the new JR #456, now affectionately known as "The Squid". (See above post) The brush really fits nicely in the hand and is a beauty to look at as well. The synthetic knot produced more than enough lather in a very short time.

Two full passes. The New is a marvelous shaver, very effective and comfortable. I've been in on a discussion on a different forum about the New razors, and everyone agrees they are one of the best Gillette ever made. Smooth, no pressure shave produced a fantastic finish in two passes and a touch up or two. Great shave to relax for the evening with.

Snow is inbound for us this weekend. We're hearing anywhere from 8 to 24 inches. Stay warm out there!

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Congrats on your new addition Neal. I own 2 of Jim's brushes and they are definitely a work of art.

Excellent shave Neal. As far as Stirling's Port au Prince shave soap, I have read it is an acquired taste. It's quite a strong scent.

Stirling describes the soap thusly "Earthy, grassy, and pungently sweet Haitian Vetiver combined with a small but uplifting kick of Lemongrass. Made with spa-quality French green clay. (Essential Oil)".

Thanks! Vetiver, yes! I couldn't think of the word but that's it. Yes, it is a strong scent but one I always had an affinity for. I noticed on their site that the only Muttons currently available are Sheep, Scots Pine Sheep and Electric Sheep. Now for a strong scent - go Electric. That one is unforgettable.

SRS # 212

Rating: 5 / 5

Razor: Union Cutlery Banty 9/16”
Brush: Semogue Torga C5
Pre-Shave: Pears Soap - Mint Extract
Lather: Punta Gorda FM Citrus Blend
Aftershave: Floïd The Genuine
Additional Care:
Maggards Alum
Nivea Sensitive Balm
Thayer’s Witch Hazel - Original

Nice setup Joe. I assume the shave went well.

Some selection of Gillettes, cool

and more, cool!
If it was I woudn't remember how to match the razors and cases ! Lol!

Awesome shave Gary

Yes

I have surrendered to some of my razors, but am keeping an eye on them

Great looking shave again Barry, nice to see more use of the Maca root too

Great way to celebrate back to work Gary

01 Jan was the same as 31 Dec 2024

02 Jan 2025

I will be popping in again from time to time: Just shave January I guess

This will give me an opportunity to try some new things

Firstly: I skipped the pre-shave gel. I did use my normal 3x 30 seconds hot water soaks but decided to not use a pre-shave product today. I was surprised by the result

Also it was time to get back to face lathering, so I hauled out the La Toja shaving stick I have had for a while. Decided on the Semogue OC Cherry finest badger, thinking this would hold the lather nicely, and opted for the trusty Gillette 1947 Aristocrat. I found a tuck of Astra greens lying around and used that, day 1
Usual post
ASL Imperial Leather
Guerlain Pour Homme EdP

Phew this blade is sharp, or am I imagining that? Could just be it feels different because I omitted the pre-shave product, but 2+ passes resulted in super smoothness.

The La Toja shave stick is new, I “forgot” to wet it, so it didn’t feel like it actually did anything or that anything was applied to the face. Oh well, let’s try and see what happens: I can always go back to another soap or cream. Shook the Badger brush dry, bit of a squeeze to get most of the water out and hit the face. The La Toja appeared out of nowhere, going from looking like there was nothing on the face to a full lather. Almost no scent but performed really well. Just enough lather for 2+ passes, but did need to wet the brush for the 2nd pass and the touch ups, meaning the lather got thinner and thinner, but still worked a treat

No bowl, one less thing to clean up, I was quite impressed

Have some great shaves in the year ahead

03 Jan 2025

La Toja again. Wetter this time, resulting in better lather
Can always apply some more to the face for subsequent passes
The Guerlain is nearing the end: still smells delightfully woody/burnt campfire if you like, soon to reach the bottom of the Ocean, it has lasted 2 years despite liberal use
Astra on day 2 was super sharp and smooth too
Think I felt a nick but no blood, need to ease up a bit
Alum was barely there
I think I like the shave stick thing, and look forward to more!

Another glorious start to a fresh day, another lesson learnt

Hope you all have a great Friday and weekend ahead.

Thank you Chris.