I had one of those switchblade combs. Loved it. Even pulled it on the band director as a joke when I was a Sophomore. Yeah, the good old days. I will say watching him suffer a near heart attack was comical back then. He was one of my favorite teachers too.
OCtober!!! Razor - 1918 Gillette Old Style Blade - (1) Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat Brush - 30 DC LE Post - Alum What better way to start OCtober than with the oldest OC I have along with a classic soap that existed when the razor was brand new. We'll go retro with the Fat and the Old Style and only acknowledge modernity with the synthetic brush. Add a Voskhod to the mix and we should have shaving nirvana. As much as I talk about technique I sometimes have to be reminded that it encompasses more than just the razor/blade combo. Soap/lather takes technique too and I created a huge mess when I started. MWF likes a wet puck with a dry(er) brush so I soaked the puck and after the quick soak of the Tuxedo knot I gave it three good shakes and started to load. Sounds good, except synthetics hold water like they think they'll never be wet again. I started with a sloppy, thin, drippy mess. I squeezed the brush out and just lathered over the mess on my face and managed to turn it into some pretty nice Fat lather. Not the best but definitely serviceable. Learned that lesson. Three full passes just because I felt like it and all three were smooth with no blood. This razor is a biter if you slip up but I stayed on my game there. Finished with a near-BBS and alum that was only mildly warm. I'll call that a great start to the month!! My plan is to do three shaves with each razor, keeping the same soap for all three but rotating brushes. Two more days on this combo and I'll pick the next razor. Or take a day to do something else. We'll see how it goes. But for now, the retro shave worked great! Final fun fact for today's shave - I was looking through past history on the 30 Day thread and my pictorial record. Every year my October 1 shave has been with this razor, soap and blade. The brush has changed but not the other gear.
Saturday shave: I touched up this razor and it is the first time to touch a smiling razor. The edge felt rough but was sharp. That followed through in the results with some feedback from the alum and a small weeper but I was very smooth. I will try to smooth out the edge with Crox and if that does not work back to the finishing stone. Saturday night was the annual Fireworks Festival in my neighborhood. I live along the Han river and each year we have a big fireworks show, 3 different displays each coming from a different country. People start showing up in the morning to set up tents in the good spots, allot of food vendors and a the atmosphere is very festive. Here is lousy show from my window taken with my handphone.
OCtober Focus begun Proraso Sandalwood soap 30 DC LE Cypress Cashmere Suribachi bowl & cool water Gillette Old OC Ball End handle Feather Hi-Stainless blade Alum, Three Leathers AS Grabbed up a Proraso soap I haven't used in a bit. Quick dip and several shakes set the APShaveCo knot to order for a just right lather in the textured ceramic bowl. Yesterday I polished up my OC's and noticed this handle has no splits or cracks. Guess I got lucky because I read of many that are suffering from the forced fit of the ends to the hollow barrel tube. Loaded a previously used Feather blade with the thought to swap out if it showed signs of dullness. First pass WTG, mostly N to S felt good so I followed through. ATG didn't feel quite as smooth as last month's injector shaves but I kept going. XTG didn't find much stubble to hit, and chin buffing was done without blood. After rinsing off lather the alum was sparkly like no shaves with the Schicks. No blood, but not a BBS either. The triple leather AS - a blend of one part each English Leather, Avon Leather, & Pinaud Special Reserve takes on a hint of pine needles without the heavy scent of the Clubman. With my Baseline set the rest of the month will be better. Good Shaves Y'all!
Monday Shave: I have the sample that I won for giving demonstrating how crazy behavior can allow your spouse to accept a lesser evil of acquiring shaving gear. The B&M Reserve Spice performed great and smelled just like Old Spice. This Hart Steel razor is a heavy beast which makes it easy to shave with very little pressure, just let gravity do it's thing. The edge was very smooth and sharp enough I was hoping for an epic shave and 4 passes later faceturbating reveal I did have an epic shave. Razor: Hart Steel 7/8 grind 3/4 Strop: Tim Miller Brush: 30DC LE Pre: Proraso Soap: Barrister and Man AS: Speick Scent: Old Spice
You have a collection of truly beautiful razors. However, this razor is stunning. Thanks for sharing the photos of the fireworks show.
OCtober 2 SOTD: Razorock Plissoft Brush CO Bigelow SC Gillette Old Type Stirling Unscented PSB Proraso Green AS
OCtober 2, 2017 Wolfman WR1 OC Feather Shavemac LE with DO1 2 Band Flat Top Reef Point Test Depth Witch Hazel with Menthol Cool Water EDT An excellent shave is a great way to start the work week. The D01 2 Band Flat Top has tremendous backbone and is a face lathering monster. The big ATG LE loaded and lathered the soap easily. I really enjoy the scrub of the brush while face lathering. Three passes and touch ups ended in another near perfect shave. Witch hazel with menthol followed b a spritz of Cool Water EDT and I am ready for the day. I hope everyone has a great Monday.
SOTD October 2, 2017 Prep: Stirling mentholated pre-shave soap Blade: Schick Razor: Schick J1 injector Brush: Omega Hi synthetic Lather: C.O. Bigelow cream Post: Witch hazel, Barbasol Brisk aftershave WTG, touch up Nice and easy shave this morning. The J1 worked just great and the Bigelow cream was terrific as well. It's been a while since I've used the Bigelow and enjoyed returning to it. I'm going to add in the use of Stirling's mentholated pre-shave soap for my focus. I've never used any type of pre-shave product on a consistent basis and am interested to see how it works or if it benefits my shaves. Thanks to @RyX for locating some Barbasol Brisk and working a trade with me. The scent of Brisk is very close to Skin Bracer and is loaded with menthol. Nice way to end the shave. Have a great day!
That is one good looking, and thrifty shave right there, Perry! Good stuff. (By the way, today it looks like you are a bit shy of a full tube.)
