Pick A Country Week 12/2 - 12/8

I hope those who celebrate had a Happy Thanksgiving and are enjoying a wonderful Chanukah!

Along with the start of a new month, a new Theme Week is here!

Have you ever given thought to how many countries produce the shaving products we use? Have you ever counted how many countries are represented in your shave den? Well take this week to find out.
It's PICK A COUNTRY WEEK!

As with all Theme Weeks, there are no set rules, but here are a few ideas for you to consider for this week's theme:

- Pick one country to focus on for the entire week. Try to use as many products from that one country as you can.

- Pick a different country to focus on for each shave. Try to match all products to that country for the shave.

- Try to use a product from as many different countries as you can for the week.

Let us know what you're using, where it's from, and, of course, where you got it! Others 'round here may just want to pick up some of what you're shaving with.

 

Well, I guess it's Italy for me this week since the (new version) Proraso red that I got in a recent trade is up in rotation for the week.

I'll cheat a bit with the ASB since I'm using Dove Sensitive these days. But, "dove" in Italian means "where." So, I'm covered.

 

I think I've got a couple options. I might go with Germany since I've got a puck of Tabac that's been sitting in my closet unopened for months. Then I can stick with the Muhle R89. I'll have to switch from the Feathers I've been using but I've got some German Wilkies and Merkur blades. Maybe it'll be a good time to give the Merkurs a fighting chance. I don't really have any German options for the brush or aftershave on hand though.

My other option is to go American. I'm thinking Hydro-magic injector with Personna blades and VDH Deluxe soap with VDH brush. Plenty of American aftershaves around.

I guess I've got until tomorrow to decide.

 

That would be hard for me because I literally have stuff from practically EVERY country on the globe!

 

OTOH, "Menthol Week" could be a year-long event for you... without repeats.

 

I'm actually going through hell trying to decide on a set-up for just tomorrow which is Menthol Monday - let alone the rest of the week!

 

Justs close your eyes and grab one. Random chance can be fun.

 

Maybe I'll start the week off with a little Syrian/Turkish shave….

 

That's some steak knife ya got there.

 

I'm sure with some Arko it'll work fine

 

Ich werde auf deutschen Rasur-Produkte konzentrieren in dieser Woche, mit einem deutschen Rasierer (Merkur 41c öffnen Comb), deutsch-hergestellt Klinge (Bozen), Deutsch Rasiercreme (Speick) und Deutsch AS (Speick, wieder).

I'll be focusing on German shaving products this week, with a German razor (Merkur 41c Open Comb), German-manufactured blade (Bolzano), German shave cream (Speick) and German AS (Speick, again).

 

I am going to try to go this route mostly......


Monday-USA Today

Prep: Hot Shower-Stirling Spice Bath Soap
Soap: Stirling Spice
Razor: ’59 Gillette Red Tip
Blade: Personna Med Prep (1)
Brush: Whipped Dog Silvertip Badger 22x48
Bowl: Jay’s Clay
Aftershave: Krampert’s Bay Rum

WTG-XTG-ATG (adjusted angle for my beard a bit)

USA today! I dropped a new Med Prep in my Red Tip, lathered up with my Stirling Spice and Whipped Dog Silvertip, and finished with Krampert’s Bay Rum.

What a great shave!

Bob

 

Monday - God bless the USA!

Prep: Hot shower, Dirigo Blue Aroostook PSO, hand strop blade
Coffee: Maxwell House, BLACK
CD: Buddy Guy ~ The Best of Buddy Guy (don't get much more down home USA than the blues!)
Soap: TSD SOTQ B4 Asian Plum
Brush: Ever Ready handle, TGN silvertip, painted and assembled in New Jersey!
DE: Gillette NEW
Blade: ASR Platinum Chrome, day 1, 3 passes
Post: Cold water rinse, Dickenson's WH, B&BW Noir, hand strop blade

 

My mostly Germany day... First time using Tabac. The scent is interesting. I don't think I quite nailed the lather today. It was a little dry so I'll give it another shot tomorrow with more water in the brush. I've heard you can't screw up a Tabac lather but as usual, I found a way . Still wasn't bad though so maybe it's true that you can't screw it up too bad.

A big surprise to me was the Merkur blades. They were actually pretty good. I've been using Feathers in my Muhle R89 for over a month now and the Merkurs actually compared pretty favorably. They weren't quite as sharp and maybe not even quite as smooth but the results were good. I'm not going out to stock up on Merkurs since Feathers are cheaper and I like them better but I don't think I'll have any trouble using the pack I've got left over from my sampler.

 

Tuesday-Italia questa mattina!

Prep: Hot Shower-Stirling Spice Bath Soap
Soap: Proraso Red Tub-Sandalwood
Razor: RazoRock Jaws OC
Blade: Personna Med Prep (2)
Brush: Omega 6792 Badger
Aftershave: Proraso Green

WTG-XTG-ATG (adjusted angle for my beard a bit)

Italy today! I had my 2nd shave with the RazoRock Jaws Open Comb. It is a great shaver: smooth, very close, nick & burn free today. I used the Proraso Red Tub Sandalwood and finished with a bit of menthol using the Proraso Green.

Vai Italia!

Bob

 

My Tabac lather was better today but still I'm puzzled. Everyone says Tabac is some of the slickest stuff you can find but I'm not getting that at all. The shave today was good so I'm not complaining but I've found Proraso & Cella much slicker.

2nd shave with the Merkur blade was still pretty good. It felt smoother than yesterday, maybe due to better lather. It was getting a little tuggy toward the end though. I skipped my usual touch up pass since the blade seemed to be catching whiskers & not slicing them cleanly. I usually end up with weepers if I push a blade like that to clean up my jawline & neck ATG. So after one Merkur blade, my verdict is they're ok but not worth the money they want for them.

 

You said your Tabac was too dry yesterday, better today, but still not as slick as you've heard folks say. Sounds like you still may need a touch more water.

Soap or cream? If you're used to creams, and if this is a puck, a bit of a learning curve may be required.

 

Tuesday - Born in the USA!

Prep: Hot shower, Dirigo Blue Aroostook PSO
Coffee: Maxwell House, BLACK
CD: The Great Blues Men
Soap: VDH Deluxe
Brush: Ever Ready 250PB with original knot
DE: Gillette Sheraton
Blade: ASR Platinum Chrome, day 2, 3 passes
Post: Cold water rinse, Brut ASB, Brut cologne, hand strop blade

 

I'm sure you're right Steve. I'm using the puck and not giving up on it yet. Like you said, probably just a learning curve. Today I kept dipping the brush tips to add water and that sometimes kills the lather since I have very hard water. Getting the water in there right from the start has worked better for me in the past so I'll try a really wet brush tomorrow and see how it works.

 

Wednesday-Hungary Today!

Prep: Hot Shower-Stirling Spice Bath Soap
Soap: Figaro-Hungary
Razor: ’59 Gillette Red Tip Super Speed Flare
Blade: Personna Med Prep (2)
Brush: Whipped Dog Silvertip
Aftershave: Figaro-Hungary

WTG-XTG-ATG (adjusted angle for my beard a bit)

Hungary today! I pulled out my Red Tip this morning. I just got the Figaro this week. I got it because I liked its cousin, Barbon, so much. As expected, I got easy, smooth, slick lather and a great shave. It is hard to beat $9.89+shipping(from the US) for both the cream and the aftershave!

Bob