SoS: April 6, 2015 - April 12, 2015

Arko April Focus - CJB Kamisori
April 12, 2015 - Week 3 Day 1
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Arko
Razor - CJB, 1959 Superspeed
Blade - (2) (1)
Post - Alum, Styptic, Cold Towel, Dr. Carver's Magnanimous Post Shave

Back to the CJB. Two weeks left to master this thing. I think taking the short break was helpful as the first pass went very well. My left hand is still less effective than my right but that is just the curse I have to bear. Second pass was better, but my neck is really the problem area. I have learned that my beard grows up at an angle on my neck which is why the Gillette slide works so well with a DE. With the CJB, though.....another story. I decided to try a diagonal downward path on the neck, almost a Gillette slide maneuver. It actually worked fairly well except maintaining angle is difficult. Picked up a small weeper on the right side, one on the left side under the earlier cut, and three under my chin. My plan was to do a third pass S-N on my neck but I bailed on that, loaded a Bic Chrome Platinum in my SS and finished my neck with that. The Bic was in respnse to @Jasman during a chat we had last night. It was very smooth and effective for the pass I used it on.

I'm feeling confident I can get this down, at least to the point of a decent two pass shave. If I accomplish that I'll call it a successful month!

 

Sunday:
hot shower w/Mistral Black Amber soap
Maggard Sweet Orange PSO
Gillette Bulldog 2+ passes
SuperMax SP Tiger (3)
Musgo Real Orange Amber cream in a warm bowl
Semogue 1305 boar
Thayers unscented w/aloe
John Varvatos Artisan Black cologne

Maiden voyage for my 1920 Gillette and about what I expected. Usually the angle on the older Gillette's doesn't suit me as well as the post war razors but it won't keep me from giving it a run now and then.

 

Certainly more of a 'smile' to the Wosty blade than a typical blade, but nothing as challenging as the big smiley of some other razors, such as the Rodgers…

 

today's shave
hot water wash with dove+ care
rubberset 400
Cella
wade& butcher 6/8 full hollow
shavecraft 101
Ladas(2)
pinaud musk
sorry for the late post. church today and I dally'ed around with my shave too long. I used the 400 to whip up Cella, always a favorite of mine. I made a two and two passes shave with a straight and the ikon, very nice shave resulted. finished with clubman musk.
hope y'all did as well, or better.

 

3P
Plisson Synthetic
Soap Commander Passion
Merkur 37c
Vintage English Wilkinson (1)
Alcolado Glacial
Trumpers Skinfood

 

Hows The floid black? I love the floid blue.[/quote]
I really like the Floid Black, citrus-y, woodsy with a light powdery scent. I have RazoRock Baby Blue, Floid Blue knockoff, the black is more masculine.

 

SOTD 12 APRIL 2015


Prep:
Hot shower.
Neutrogena facial soap.
Proraso sensitive pre shave cream with menthol.

Main Shave:
Tabac SS.
EJ DE89L.
Astra SP Blade.
TOBS Badger brush.

After:
CW Rinse.
Alum stone.
Nivea sensitive after shave lotion.
Tabac EDC.

Comments:
Great shave today. The Tabac shave soap is luxurious and rich and provides a fantastic cushion for the razor.
3 pass shave achieving BBS with very minimal irritation - technique is definitely improving. Feeling smooth and refreshed ready for the week ahead.

 

Arko April!!

SOTD 12 April 2015



April 12, Day 12, (day 5, blade 2), the mighty mighty MTO!

Have a Great Sunday!

​

 

April 12 SOTD:

Homemade PS Oil
WD Silvertip
Stirling Barber Shop (sample)
FB w /Gillette Silver Blue set on 5
Clubman AS

A rushed shave as we were running late for church, but it wasn't to necessary after yesterday's shave. Got another one in with my son, though.

 

SoTD, Friday, April 10, or, Treet repeat.

Pre- BBC oil
Soap- La Pere Lucien
Brush- New Forest
Razor- oxblood Treet
Blade- '94 Gem super stainless
Rinse- Osage
Aftershave- Fine Vetiver
Balm- Kiehl's



This was one of my many nearly lost SoTDs. Friday is a gym day. This particular day, I was running way behind, and had actually decided not to shave. But then realized that I had the time to do it after all... but just barely. I used the previous day's setup, with whatever else was in quick grabbing distance. I set up for a picture, but forgot to take it until the next day. Here it is.

 

12 April

​

 

SOTD - Sunday, April 12, 2015

Shower
Prep: Homemade PSO
Brush: Simpsons Duke 3
Cream: Speick
Razor: Weber PH Wave
Blade: Voskhod (3)
Aftershave: Speick ASL

 

SoTD for Saturday, April 11. Or, the return of SINGLEMANIA!

Pre- BBC oil
Soap- La Pere Lucien
Brush- Semogue 830
Razor- Gem blank back 1912
Blade- vintage Gem Blue Star carbon
Rinse- Osage
Aftershave- Fine Vetiver
Balm- Kiehl's
Cologne- vintage Tonga



For a very long time, I have been searching for a blank back 1912. And I kept not finding one. At least not a nice one. Then one day while poking around in my showcase, looking for a razor for the day... I realized I already had one. Oops. In my defense, I bought this razor based on it's very complete (outer box, paperwork, cloth bag, metal case) packaging. Unfortunately, the seller decided to mail the 100+ year old item by simply taping brown paper around the vintage box. You heard right- no box, not even a padded mailer. Just a layer of paper to protect the fragile box. This, quite obviously, resulted in the absolute destruction of the outer box. And although the cloth bag and metal box were ok, the loss of the box angered me greatly. And this razor never really got a good looking over. So... oops, again.
So, how is the blank back 1912 you ask? Different feel than it's brothers? Maybe. Maybe not. If there's a functional difference, it is subtle. The only real way to check would be to go on a 1912 binge. I am willing to take that risk. Woohoo, SINGLEMANIA II!

 

I am truly amazed how some things are shipped. It seems to depend on what else the seller is into and they sometimes know absolutely nothing about what they are selling. Mostly good news for the buyer, but with some side effects that are not always to the good.

 

Sunday evening, April 12, 2015
(Happy Birthday Dad RIP)

Gillette NEW LC (Fat Handle)
with Astra S.P. blade (1),
Omega Pro 20102 Boar bristle brush,
Lather-up with CRSW Fougere Moderne,
Finish with water, Witch Hazel
and Pinaud Clubman for a CCS!

 

SOTD: Sunday, April 12, 2015 (from earlier today)




A Baume.be trifecta - this combination is one of my favorites and very hard to beat!

• Razor: Edward Parry (Sheffield) 7/8 near wedge, bone scales
• Brush: Excalibur Rustics redwood burl 30mm superfine 2-band badger
• Mug: Straight Razor Designs scuttle
• Prep: Nivea Energy Face Scrub
• Pre: Baume.be Pre-Shave Gel
• Cream: Baume.be Shaving Cream
• Post: Baume.be Aftershave Balm

 

Shave Plan
Menthol Monday, April 13, 2015

• Shower, Sea Salt Soap, Neutrogena Face Scrub, Cold Rinse
• iKon Shavecraft 102 Slant with UFO Titanium XL
• Polsilver Super Iridium #3
• Doug Korn Blue & White D-7 TGN Silvertip - 27X52mm
• Krampert's Frostbite SS
• Cold Rinse, Alum Block, Cold Rinse,Witch Hazel+ Menthol, Gold Bond Green Lotion
• Krampert's Frostbite Aftershave

 

SOTD 4-12-15

Razor: Muhle R89 head on a Maggard MR1 handle
Blade: Platinum Lux (3)
Soap: Cella (sample from brick)
Bowl: Steel
Brush: Tweezerman
ASB: AOS Sandalwood after shave balm

Preshave was just face wash with warm water and post shave was rinse with warm water then some cold water splashes and pat dry!

Shave was great, an easy DFS all the way and almost a BBS except for jawline and some areas on neck. No nicks or irritation anywhere.

Razor: Decided to tryout the R89 head on the MR1 handle as I have had the head around for awhile now from a trade deal. It matched up with a Platinum Lux produced a great shave. I was very impressed with the shave!

Blade: I like this blade alot. I like it just as much as my go-to Astra SP.

Soap: Tried the Cella sample that I got from a great guy on a forum, who just sent me an ounce or so to try out last month. I have only tried it once or twice before I put it down and away to sample other soaps that I received in trade deals and from PIF's. The Cella works great! I loaded the brush and then transferred it to the steel bowl to whip up the lather and I am sure it contributed to the great shave I got today so I must praise it right along side of the R89 head and Platinum Lux blade.

Please feel free to leave comments on any items used as I enjoy reading them to see what others say about the gear I am using/trying out!

Thx.

 

My first shave with a real blade. a double-edged.

Unwrap the black chrome Weishi twist-to-open. Oooh. I peruse the daunting assortment of 60 blades and figure they are gonna last a year on this fine, blonde, facial fur. Intimidated, I load a no-name blade that came with the razor.

Then discover Nivea shave cream is very pressurized - it shoots across the sink like an excited adolescent. That stuff foams. And foams. And ... I need Thing 1 and Thing 2 to clean up this mess. Finally wipe up all the foam so it does not look like Atlantic City after a storm.

Use too much shave cream. It ends up above the eyes and in the nose and ears. They could use it. As you get older the hair stops growing from your head and starts growing from your ears and nose. Way TMI.

I rest the head of the razor on the skin and rock it forward until the blade makes contact and gently take a few experimental swipes. Oh, this is nice. Very relaxing. Finish without bloodshed (which I know will not happen every time). Splash on some generic witch hazel from the pharmacy, keeping it simple, keeping it real.

Frustratingly, the razor came in a cardboard box, not a plastic case. Even those ubiquitous Gillettes in the '60's came in a cheap plastic box. Nuts. I stuff it back into the box so an unsuspecting family member does not grab the wrong end.

This is fun. I picture it as the guy equivalent of a mini-spa, a facial treatment.

More to follow.,
Doug

 

Welcome to SOTD, Epimetheus. You should know better than anyone that, once you open the box, it's almost impossible to get the things it contained back inside in their original condition, or ignore that which came out.