February Favorites

February 16

Razor - 1972 (S2) Gillette Super Adjustable (Black Beauty) (9)
Blade - (1)
Soap - Soap Commander Courage
Brush - I*V 10 Mesquite w/ Hybrid The Moreau
Post - Alum

Finally got to call it a day on a busy Sunday. At least the sun came out and it was in the 50's. Back down to the 30's tomorrow. Never know until it's here.

Time to rotate razors and I went to the Gillette Black Beauty. This adjustable, set on 9, gives you the same gap that the Slim and Fatboy offer at 8. Not quite as aggressive as its older brothers, but it still does a fine job. It's well balanced and has plenty of weight. Just let that heavy head work as you guide with the handle. I used a new Rapira SS blade and it was smooth and nice. Another round of using up the Soap Commander, though I'm beginning to think the remaining ring of death is actually eternal. I chose the I*V10 brush for two reasons. Number one, I love that hybrid knot. Number two, I was fortunate enough to win its brother, the #10, in the raffle earlier. Looking forward to having another of these around to use and admire.

Three full passes and I'm good to go. My schedule tomorrow is brutal. No work but I have two doctors appointments and two other meetings. Sheesh! No sleeping in on this "day off". Have a great start to your week!

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I got the hybrid knot from Maggard.

Anodizing without dye looks nice. It's a slightly gray, matte finish. The major benefit is its hard and resists scratching. However I'm guessing most people will want them dyed.

Very nice Neal!

Nice looking Hoffritz. I considered one of those when I decided to try a slant. Pretty sure I found one on eBay and got outbid.

Can we get his ^^^ CT changed to "Pure Trouble"?

Be careful Evan. You haven't gotten your CT yet and Charlie may be watching you

Home of Felix Leiter, anyway...

If he gets to be too much to handle we just throw a shiny new watch or two his way along with some extra cookies from the Cartel. Seems to slow him down. Also, he's very susceptible to ice cream. Which reminds me......and I'll tag Charlie @wristwatchb to make sure he sees this................as well as demonstrate how easily distracted he is.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard in St. Louis reopened for the year this past Wednesday. Our high for the day was about 23 degrees but the lines were outside all day long at the windows as people got their first fix of the year.



The picture is from the summer, but every time I drove by there were at least this many people there, just in coats, hats, gloves, and all either ordering or eating the finest Frozen Custard in the land. Charlie has had it. Charlie loves it. Wanna keep him busy? Send him a case of it. Add some sleeping pills to it. He'll never notice.

very cool..

Last year's signature scent was 'Blood on Steel.'

We've all read about one another cutting skin for years. Part of the process.

Carry on

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If you learn to control an SE bevel with ease, straight razors are not a big leap from there.

Low angle attack into beard.
Skin stretching is an invaluable technique.
Learn to feel the blade against your skin.

Watch an SR shave vid. Do what they do, but just use the SE. Try and gently wipe the lather from your face under the above guidelines.

It's tedious.

It's not difficult.

With sufficient practice, this becomes ordinary, and all razors become one for you.

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Thread hijack attempt....




Have a great Tuesday

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Hey all!
Good morning to everyone!
Monday, a long day, needed a "good" quick shave. I grabbed my Cooper Monobuilt, a new Feather blade, took to work. Got a great smooth clean shave in just a few minutes. 2 passes head, 2 passes face, no issues, just like it should be. Even the lip is fine, nice!
I like my Monobuilt razors, paired with a new Feather blade, it's one of those tools that's hard to beat. I'm getting a collection of great shaving tools. Would never have expected me, migrating toward these types of blade holders, but that's where I'm at.
Everyone
Have a great day!
Enjoy!
tp

That's a fine Monobilt Monday shave, Terry!

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Great shave and report, Neal.

Thank you Patrick.


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Happy Monday Terry. Great looking shave.


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Great shave, Neal, and congrats on winning the new brush in the raffle. I lift a rather large cone of Ted Drewes in your honor!

Enjoy your day off, and I hope you get good reports from your psychiatrists...I mean...doctors.

SOTD 02/17/20

So today is the day for my first shave with the repaired Rex Ambassador. The blade now sits evenly and symmetrically with the new top cap. I will admit to bit of trepidation since the last time I used the razor it left my dome and face in pretty bad shape. A friend at TSD who has recently mastered the razor suggested starting low and working one’s way up. Matt Pisarcik, the razor’s developer said that the majority of his users shave between 2 and 3 on the dial. Since I am starting with an essentially new razor, I decided to start at 2. I like a lot of blade feel, but will put that off until I learn the razor’s sweet spot. I loaded a Voskhod, a blade I trust for testing a new shaving tool.

I began with the usual cold water rinse followed by the PAA Cube Preshave Soap. I then lathered up with MWF, my soap focus for the month. I rode the cap at 2, but was not satisfied with the closeness of the shave, so I dialed up to 3 which seemed to provide an acceptable level of efficiency, not quite as close as I like, but this outing was dedicated to relearning the razor. The first WTG pass left me with a fair bit of roughness in the usual areas and slight roughness everywhere else.. Rather than buff I chose to concentrate on gradual whisker reduction. I reapplied the PAA Preshave soap and relathered with MWF and began a careful XTG pass, again riding the cap throughout with particular care on the dome.

For my third ATG pass I dialed down to about 2.5, reapplied the PAA Preshave Soap and MWF and worked my way through the shave carefully. I ended up with two very slight weepers. One on the right side of my head and the other just to the right of the Adam’s Apple, both of which resolved after my cold water wash with the MWF brush squeezings. A test with the alum block revealed heat and slight stinging at each of the weeper sites. Witch hazel application followed and I finished with Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash. This was a very different result than my last use of this razor. I’m happy with this decent three pass DFS. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. I’m going to continue with this razor until I reach the bloodless BBS level, if possible. I feel cool, relatively smooth and quite refreshed.

RAZOR: Rex Ambassador
BLADE: Voskhod
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with PAA’s Cube Preshave Soap before each pass
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash