SoS: March 5th, 2012 ~ March 11th, 2012

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Prep: Hot shower; Yardley bath bar
Lather: RazoRock XXX - face lather
Brush: Simpson's Commodore X2
Razor: Gem OCMM
Blade: Ted Pella PTFE (3); 2+ passes
Post: Cold water rinse; Krampert's Finest Bay Rum

Stubble destruction from the OCMM this morning. I considered using my E2 injector on my 2-days of growth but decided against it. The OCMM rewarded me with a 2-pass + touchup BBS.

 

Thursday morning, March 8, 2012

1912 Gem Damaskeene w/ Gem Blade (3)
Omega 10005 boar bristle brush,
MWF shaving soap w/ warm water lather,
finish with cold water rinse for a DFS!



Back to a Schick Injector in the morning!

 

The Muhle R41 is a beast! I need to work on the amount of pressure I use, but I did get a DFS this morning!

 

Thursday Morning!

Pre: Hot Shower, Tabac Cream + Glycerin
Razor: Merkur 23c
Blade: Personna Lab
Cream: European Palmolive
Brush: Omega 10005
Post: Thayers WH, Cold Rinse, Captain's Choice Bay Rum

An excellent shave it was this morning. I was expecting big things from the famed Labs, and I was not disappointed! I was a bit aggressive with it, so I got a bit of burn, but that was my fault. The Captain's Choice that went on after burnt like awesome! Excellent aftershave!

Have a good one all!

 

Wednesday, March 7th - late night shave
Prep: Hot water rinse, Nivea Face Wash, Jack Black Beard Lube
Razor: Merkur 38M
Brush: Vulfix 660S Super
Blade: Ladas (3)
Soap: Mystic Water - Lavender
Post: Witch hazel scented with Tabac cologne
AS: Arber ASB from The Body Shop
Frag: Tom Ford for Men

I don't recall where I read it, but somewhere it was suggested that Jack Black Beard Lube makes a great pre-shave and I have to agree. It's a great way for me to get rid of what I have left over from my cartridge days.

This is the second Ladas blade I've tried. In my blades exploration, I normally try a new blade brand by using 2 blades, 3 shaves each. Blade1, Shave 1 (B1S1) was a wonderful experience with the razor gliding across my face as if there were no blade at all. B1S2/S3 were completely difference experiences. While I got a great shave, there was great tugging and irritation. A review of Ladas review showed I wasn't the only one to experience a great first shave followed by mediocre shaves. I was about ready to sell or trade the 299 blades I had left. It then occurred to me that my preferred blade, the Personna Super "lab", is so forgiving that I had been increasing my use of pressure. For B2S1, I went back to the "no pressure" mantra and again the razor glided across my face. The big question was, though, what about B2S2/S3? It turns out that while I did noticed a degradation in shave comfort, it was minimal as long as I remember not to use pressure. The result was still a near BBS. I'm going to try one more blade in this test, but it appears that I can keep my supply of Ladas after all, but they won't bump the Personna Labs as my favorite.

I'm cycling through my Mystic Water samples and it was time to try the Lavender. This is my first lavender and it very pleasant. My wife even liked it and she said that lavender normally makes her nauseous. As much as I enjoyed it, I think when it comes time to buy some pucks, it will be the Lily of the Valley, Prospect Creek, and perhaps Mysore Sandalwood.

Arber ASB is very soothing and moisturizing, but greasy. I'm using a sample and will not be buying it.

 

Thursday 8 Mar 12
Hot Shower
Gillette Slim Adjustable + 7 o'clock Blue
Simpsons Berkeley
EJ Sea Buckthorn Cream then switched to Williams
Cold Water Rinse + Old Spice Pure Sport

BBS this morning, had 2 revisits as well but with different results. I saw my tube of leftover EJ cream and thought hey why not...then after the first pass I realized why I haven't revisited it - as moisturizing as using an alum stick. So I eyeballed my Williams (Non Vintage) that I've always had issues lathering and said "Can't get worse" I was right. The Williams exploded with loads of creamy moisturizing lather that felt fantastic. I'm putting it back into my random soap rotation now that I've had such a good experience with it. I even popped it into my Old Spice Mug that was empty so it's ready for use!

 

Thursday's Shower and Shave
Hot shower with a bar of Amber Bath Works

Next in the brush line-up was the Parker Badger, another puck of mystery brand shave soap. The Parker easily lathered the soap into whipped mounds.
Today's razor a Gillette Super Adjustable LH, (Thanks JoAnn, for correcting my id) Dailed it down to #7 and it was day three for the Trig. The #7 setting was a more comfortable shave. Three passes and a few touch-ups.
Post shave polar water splash, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Kananga Water.

:wave:were happy to give this DFS a 10, for its smoothness.

Everyone have a great day be blessed.

 

Thursday - another day closer

Prep: Hot shower
CD: Harvest ~ Might River
Coffee: Home roasted, fresh ground Kenya Safari Ridge, BLACK
Soap: Tabac
Brush: Vulfix 406, The Burlington
SE: Gem Jr. 1912 with the big, fat, black bakelite handle
Blade: Gem, day 4, 3+ passes
Post: Cold water rinse, Osage Rub, Pinaud Clubman AS, hand strop blade

Shave Rating: 5 blades

Man, oh, man. What a great shave. No complaints with any of it; not a one.
Always love it when the Tabac comes around.

 

That razor looks fun! Is it a good shaver?

 

Good for you! Congrats!

 

Thursday
Brush: Vie-Long Horse
Soap/Creme: TOBS Avocado
Razor: Merkur Futur
Blade: Astra SS
Pre: Hot Shower & Poraso Pre/post
Post: Poraso As Balm
Hair Groom: Jeris
Result: BBS

 

Thursday...

Prep: hot water splash, hot washing cloth
Music: Racoon, Live at Chassé Theater, Breda
Brush: DVH boar
Soap: Palmolove shaving cream classic
Razor: Gillette Old Style OC
Blade vintage Punktal blade, rehoned and restropped in Allegro mod. L
Shave: 3-pass + touch-up
Post: hot water rinse, cold water rinse



Good and comfortable shave. DFS+ It's nice when a plan comes together!

Have a nice day, all!

 

Thursday's Shave:

Prep: Hot Shower
Razor: Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Treet
Brush: ER 200 w/ TGN 24mm finest
Soap: Vin. Williams
Post: Aqua Velva

 

Err..Maybe not the best, but it's always fun. The only injector that I have been able to get a really good shave from has been the adjustable. They are smooth enough, they just don't seem to give as close of a shave as my others. (I do use them as a "go to" if my skin is irritated though)

 

La Toja Manantiales soap
Semogue Limited Edition 2011 Finest Badger size 1, #1
Dorko Casa Gil straight razor with golden tang and shank
La Toja Aftershave balm

 

Thursday

Gold Dollar 66
Tabac Stick
Vie Long Brush
Alum
Old Spice Whitewater

My test to see if the edge of this razor would hold up continues, after 5 shaves it still feels freshly honed.

 

Hard to imagine Ozzy in platform shoes with a glitter ball, huh?

Wait a minute...you're too young to remember Sabbath