Jeff-I hope you are on the mend!! Tuesday Prep: Hot Shower-Stirling Bath Soap Soap: Tabac Razor: Gillette Slim on 6 Blade: Rapira Swedish Supersteel (3) Brush: Whipped Dog Silvertip 22mm x 48mm Aftershave: Tabac WTG-XTG-ATG (adjusted angle for my beard a bit) I pulled out the Tabac today since I just got the Tabac EdC (clearance-300ml-$7.96 delivered). As expected, the Tabac combined with the Slim and Rapira Swedish SS did well: smooth, close, nick free shave. I like the scent of Tabac, both the soap and EdC, but then I like Speick’s scent too. Not everyone is a fan of one or both. Very cold again this morning……..for us: 27 F. High will be 50. We missed the snow, ice, and sleet though. Thankful! Bob
Wednesday, January 29th, 2014 J.A. Henckels Platinum 401, 11/16 Extra Hollow, Spike Point Pre-shave: Proraso Pre-Shave Cream Soap: De Vergulde Hand Shaving Stick Brush: Plisson Pure Badger Brush Strop: Mastro Livi Loom Strop and Hand Palm Stropping Razor: J.A. Henckels Platinum 401, 11/16 Extra Hollow, Spike Point Post-Shave: Roberts Distilled Rose Water After Shave: Floïd The Genuine Aftershave
Wednesday: L'Oreal Men Expert Facial Wash #6 Horsehair Super Speed/Permasharp day 3 Ginger's Garden Ice Mint SS 444 AS Balm Thayers Witch Hazel Barbon AS Aramis Stick Deodorant Aramis EdT Finally I feel well enough to leave the house and go to work after feeling so lousy for two days. What a great shave I had with this Ice Mint soap from Irena - the lather is so RICH and THICK with a beautiful minty scent which fills the bathroom. Its cooling effect really hits you like a ton of cold bricks, and the skincare is superb. The 444 balm and Barbon aftershave felt heavenly, and I'm starting to love using witch hazel regularly.
wusthof Haslinger Marigold homemade boar Nice shave this morning. Busy day ahead again and all I'd like to do is spend a little time in the shop fooling around, maybe this weekend, last weekend didn't work out. Have a good one.
SOTD Jan 29 Prep: hot shower Razor: WW2 Gillette Khaki Blade: Feather (day 5) Brush: Vie-Long Cream: Musgo Real Classic Passes: 3 (2x WTG, XTG) Post: cold water, Dove men hydrate+ AS balm I had planned on using my Proraso white soap, but it had warmed up so I decided to try and get a lather out of the Arko Ice Mint... Still nothing so I switched to the Musgo Real and got a nice thick lather. The last few shaves with the feather haven't been the best and today was no different. Going to have to review my noted on the feather with this razor...
Wednesday, January 29, 2014 Prep: Warm shower, Cetaphil Lotion Razor: EJ DE89L Blade: Gillette Yellow (1) Cream: Gada Original Brush: Semogue 830 Post: Witch Hazel, Cetaphil Lotion Aftershave: Old Spice It seems that a snowflake fell last night and it has shut down the entire area. We in the Deep South are not prepared for such things. It looks like I will be working from home today. I have continued my string of excellent shaves today with a nice BBS shave. The EJ DE89L and I have become good friends. I see no reason to use any of my other razors unless I become tired of fantastic, extremely close shaves. I may give the EJ a day off from time to time, but I can see it being my primary razor for a long, long time. Have a great day!
Dove Men's Face Wash Kiss My Face Cool Mint Moisture Shave Frank Shaving Finest Badger '62 Gillette Slim Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless CWR Thayers Cucumber WH FD Old Spice AS Another great shave. The Kiss My Face Cool Mint face lathered richly with the Frank Shaving Finest badger brush. Two passes and clean ups with the Gillette Slim and 7 O'Clock blade left me near BBS. A cold water rinse followed by Thayers Cucumber WH and Family Dollar Old Spice AS had me feeling clean, smooth, and refreshed. Mighty fine shave...
Wednesday Morning Shave Razor: Wilkinson Sword DE Classic Blade: Treet Platinum (2) Soap: Derby Shaving Soap for Barbers Brush: Isana Men Badger Aftershave: Arko Men Ice Mint AS Cologne I couldn't like these treet blades unfortunately. I bought 100 of them from a local store and they leave nicks on my face and I can't have a close shave with them properly. I'll pass treet on my next shaves. Rapira and Derby blades suits me best, that's the lesson learnt from previous lectures. Derby lathers exactly as Arko does. But Arko's scent is much better. And finally, Arko Ice Mint AS Cologne has a nice long lasting scent which I carried almost half day long, because I frequently wash my face and hands during day. And also It didn't burn my face for minutes like Barbasol AS.
1/29/2014 Face Lathering Week Prep: Hot shower with L'Oreal Men Expert Facial Wash Razor: Muhle R41 2013, H Boker & Co Master Razor straight razor with worked spine Blade: Astra (4) Brush: #6 Soap: Speick After: Home made ASB (1/2 Witch hazel and 1/2Aloe with vitamin E) After Shave: Speick after shave Everything worked well together this morning. I face lathered the Speick this morning and it lathered up easily. A refreshing finish with the Speick after shave and I ended up with a Darn Fine Shave ++. I am very impressed with the shave that the R41 gives me.
Wednesday Face Latherers' Week Pre: Hot shower, homemade vanilla-orange PSO Razor: Ikon Slant Blade:: Feather Hi-Stainless (day 3) Brush: Simpson Chubby 1 (2-band) Lather: RazoRock XXX Shave: Two passes (WTG,XTG), some touch-up Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block, Black River Bay Rum AS Day 3 using the Ikon Slant & Simpson, & Feather blade. A few small nicks this morn in the area that always gives me trouble (chin & throat), but overall a near BBS two-pass shave, again. My usual DEs are either the R41(s) or the Futur, all considered quite aggressive and for me, excel at two-pass shaves. This Ikon would fit well into this group. Great combo of the Chubby & the wonderfully-scented XXX = excellent lather! Happy Humpday, all!
Razor: Mergress XL Blade: Personna Medical (D6) Brush: Omega 11126 boar Bowl: Dirty Bird 1.5 Scuttle Pre Shave Soap: Nivea Energy Face Scrub Pre Shave Balm: TSD Iced SubZero Shave Soap: Tabac Post: Monster Alum Block Aftershave: Tabac Maiden voyage with the Omega 11126 boar and this was almost perfect out of the box. Perfect balance of firmness and soft tips and of the 3 boars I have tried so far but the Semouges (SOC & 830) are still new and require a little more breaking in period. Disappointed though that when I was finished de-funking the brush and was wiping it down, the painted Omega logo started to rub off.
Wednesday (one does not simply write "Wednesday", without saying "wed-nes-day" in your head everytime!) Prep: Face washed in Matas face wash. Razor: '61 Gillette 195 Adjustable on "3". Blade: Gillette Platinum (3). Brush: Shavemac Silvertip 20@46mm in custom handle. Lather: Speick SS grated in bowl. Shave: 3 passes adjusted for grain. Post: Alum, cold water and Proraso Cutting Edge ASB. My first shave with the Fatboy. I found it a very smooth shaver. Nice weight/balance and easy to maneuvre. The Gillette Platinum on its third shave plowed through it all with ease. This instantly became one of my favorite razors! It was so easy and smooth I slacked a bit on pressure technique - some places it feels slightly. Never slack even though the razor seems easy That was the last of my Speick SS. I wont be getting it again, although I really love it. There are others I love equally and I want to try something new this time. Also my first shave with my new brush! Initially I thought it would be prickly - it felt like that when dry. But man is that soft as silk when lathered up! And quite the backbone also. Smaller loft than I'm used to but I think I'll like it when broken in. It wont replace my boars and horse though - I like'em all in their own way. My Den is finally settling with stuff I love - gone is most of what I didn't like.
Wednesday morning, January 29, 2014 Schick E2 Injector with Schick blade (3) Semogue 1305 boar bristle brush, Arko shaving soap with hot water lather, finish with cold water rinse for a CCS!
SOTD Wednesday 1-29-2014 5/8 Bengall, Full Hollow, Spike Point Proraso PSC Tabac SC GT G4 Scuttle Omega Pro Barbershop Boar Dickinson's Witch Hazel Nivea Replenishing ASB Pinaud Virgin Island Bay Rum
Patrick, The mug is called the Bill Bowl, from dirtybirdpottery.com. The semogue brush is available from most any online shaving supply website. Nick
Prep; shower Razor: ER 1924 Blade: GEM SS Brush: HIS Lather: Proraso red tube post: Pinaud possibly the WORST shave I've ever had. Normally i use the ER flat against the face and experience wonderful smooth close shaves. This time I used the original instructions. YMMV but IMO these instructions are wrong! They say to hold the head at about 45 degrees from the face. I got the "buttering toast" sound I did not get while head flat against the face. As I was cutting my 2day goatee I was getting nothing but tugging and scraping and irritation. At least I got that nice sound . In the end my chin felt raw and bloody. I finished off my sideburns with the method I normally use (and thats recommended by other SE razor instructions)-flat against the face. This more acute angle cut the hairs smoothly with no irritation.
Nick, I got that brush after seeing yours. The best brush buy ever. Love it. I am recovering from two bad shaves with my ER24. I used the against the face method. I was going to recover and try the original instructions later. Now I don't know.
I use very short strokes and stretch my face. No pressure. Flat against the face. I take a long time during the whole shave. first time some irritation. By the third shave I mastered it and realized I could never go back to a DE. Of course YMMV and I think BirdLives uses the original instructions and has good results with them. or maybe another SE is right for you? Feather Weight, Jr, etc... the 1924 is one of the most aggressive SEs. More than the OCMM IMO. Lets just hope some of the more experienced SE users can give you some tips.
I get excellent results with my Clog-pruf and Bullet tip, but the ER24 ate me up. It may be just this particular razor. I will give it another chance. Later...
