SOS: December 2018

Hybrid RazoRock Game Changer .84 P on Barbaros Levend Handle P / Personna Platinum / WWBW Block Party Custom / LPL Rose De Pushkar

Nick-free from this blade. Not my first LPL Soap, but the best lathering one of the three I have? Scent is a nice rose, amazing hang afterwards, but found it a bit drying, I give the nod to Eufros for the best Rose with the Rose Oud, delighted with how this blade performed with the aggressive GC, and the hang on this nice soap is a bonus.

 

Wednesday SOTD
December 5, 2018

OREN Razor
Feather Pro
Ever Ready C40 with Envy White Two Band set by @clint64
Mike's Natural Soaps Barber Shop
Stirling Soap Co. Barbershop AS

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Whoa! I don't own any Roja Dove fragrances....yet. I was throwing around the idea of buying a lily-based fragrance and I'm torn between:

Roja Dove - Lily
Tom Ford Shanghai Lily
Serge Lutens - Un Lys

I'm leaning towards the Tom Ford - Shanghai Lily. It's got a bit more complexity and depth. All 3 of those options are stunning lily-centered fragrances. What first got me started seeking out the best lily scent was when I first smelled Roja Dove's Lily at Neiman Marcus.

 

Excellent write up Matt! Vintage sounds like a real winner, its always cool when a scent can take you back to a specific time or place.

 

Gorgeous lineup Mark. What plate do you use on the OREN?

 

Thanks Clint! I'm using the 2 Dot plate. It's smoother than the 3 dot.

 

Paradigm Ti SE & Feather Pro Super
Yaqi 26mm Rainbow
A&E Spartacus soap
Humphreys Alcoholado Maravilla
Nivea Sensitive
A&E Spartacus a/s splash

An excellent late evening shave. Not much to say except that the Paradigm & Pro Super are THE pairing for me. Oh, the A&E Spartacus soap and splash are top quality and the scent is very similar to the Creed Aventus Cologne (fruitier batches) that it tries to mimic. Have a great evening and great shaves Gents.... ​

 

I agree. The 3 dot is too much blade for me.

 

Razor - Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements - Double Open Comb Ascension (316L Stainless Steel Adjustable)
Blade - *5th Shave
Brush - Satin Tip "The Purest"
Razor/Brush Stand by Royal Shave
Soap - Cyril R. Salter "Sandalwood" cream style
Aftershave - Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Sangre De Drago
Deodorant - Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Sangre De Drago
Fragrance - Bvlgari Man in Black

This time around with the Ascension I will fully screw down the handle to test what it shaves like with the lowest aggression. So far the 1/4th and 1/8th rotation have resulted in overly aggressive shaves on my neck that left irritation. The BiC Chrome-Platinum blade might not be the best blade for this razor.....or I might not have found the correct setting for it to shave comfortably. If it doesn't work out in the morning I will consider trying an Astra Superior-Platinum blade. I've found in many razors that a blade change can make all the difference. The BiC Chrome-Platinum has been the most 'universal' so far in my razors, but in a few razors it wasn't the answer, such as the 1907 Gold-Plated Single-ring Old-Type, where a Wilkinson Sword blade is 'the' hands-down winner of them all, actually the ONLY blade that gave a perfect shave in that Old-Type. And the gorgeous ABC Rhodium-plated razor hasn't found the best blade 'yet', but I'll keep searching and testing.

***EDIT - The shave came out MUCH better with the handle screwed all the way down. I still swear I can feel a lot of blade contact, BUT, clearly the results are very little irritation and it took 3-passes + a cleanup to get BBS, unlike the previous settings which were clearly more efficient with more irritation.

After having a few BiC Chrome-Platinum blades, around 8 shaves and various settings dialed in, I would rate the PAA DOC SS somewhere between an Edwin Jagger (smooth, less aggressive) and a Gillette Red Tip (more aggressive than average). When I dial in a 1/8th or 1/4th turn it's a bit more aggressive/irritating on my neck than a Gillette Red Tip. When I dial it to a full tight-down, it's aggression is a bit less than the Red Tip. Note-I use a BiC Chrome-Platinum in the Gillette Red Tip.

So, the reviews I've read about the PAA DOC SS being a 'gentle' razor are not my experience. Even on the least aggressive setting I feel blade contact and it shaves about as efficiently as my Edwin Jagger with a Feather blade. And mind you, the BiC Chrome-Platinum blade is not a sharp/aggressive blade.

I will not pass any final analysis on this razor until I've tested other blades. I'm curious how an Astra Superior-Platinum blade will do in this razor when tightened down all the way. The way the razor shaves seems to impart an impression and my brain is telling me "you should try an Astra Superior-Platinum for the right feel". It could just be intuition talking and it could be wrong, but next blade change is going to be what my subconscious mind is telling me to try.

The shave this morning was a near '10' if not for some feedback from the aftershave splash which indicates there was still some very minor scraping of skin going on, even on the most mild setting with a rather smooth blade.

 

12/05/18 Shave of the Day
Face Wash with The Sudsy Soapery Black Soap Made in Africa
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Dapper Doc Conditioning Shampoo Puck
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements CUBE Mentholated Preshave Soap
Crown King Lump Of Coal Artisan Shave Soap with Activated Charcoal
RazoRock Plissoft Monster Synthetic 26mm Brush
Creative Flame Pottery Stoneware Shaving Scuttle
Schick Injector E2
Schick Injector Blade - 13th Shave
RazoRock Alum Block
Homemade Lime Infused Witch Hazel
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Douglas (Fir) Aftershave / Cologne
Aqua Velva Sensitive 5 in 1 After Shave Balm
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Dapper Doc Natural Deodorant - Extra Sport Strength​

 

Tim. Another Sandalwood brother! Well done with the cream. [got it in rose]

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

5 December 2018

* Charcoal Goods Level 3 SB + Stork Ex Brass
* Wizamet Iridium Super
* AP Shaving Co. SynBad 28mm
* Mystic Water Cedar/Sage
* Unrefined Shea Butter
* Bergamot/Vetiver EO


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Bvlgari Man in Black is more like a black-pepper/tobacco that has some kind of 'fresh' vibe mixed in it. I found that Sangre de Drago goes AMAAAZINGLY well with it. It's one of only a small number of fragrance combinations I think do better together than either does alone. Another such combo is Chanel Pour Monsieur EDP + Clubman, which I think you already know fully about.

 

Great choices!

 

Decadent December!!

December 4, 2018

Razor - '46-'47 Gillette Aristrocrat
Blade - (1)
Soap - Stirling Iced Pineapple
Brush - 30DC LE
Post - Alum

Time to grab a different Decadent razor and it has to be the Aristocrat. This was the second vintage Gillette I ever bought and I got it from a guy here in the Lou who was on a different forum I joined before finding this one. I had no clue what it was but it looked good in the pictures he sent and it was cheaper than I could get one on ebay when I looked. I've never regretted it. Great condition and one of the best Gillette ever made. I paired it with the Voskhod. Yeah, you knew that blade was showing up soon when it's decadent at my house. For the lather - the 30DC limited edition brush with tuxedo knot and Iced Pineapple. I made way too much lather just because I love it so much. True decadence.

Two passes, touch ups, baby is in the house and that's the way to end a day in fine style! Wednesday's up next - hope you're all having a great week!

 

SOTD 20181205.



J&T® bamboo / Tuxedo.
Ach Brito Lavanda shaving cream.
Timeless Ti 0.68 OC / Stork Ti "Taipan" handle.
Gillette 7 O'Clock Sharp Edge (8).
Ach Brito Lavanda EdC.

 

Army-Navy Week Shave
The Black Knights of Army do have the better resume with a 9-2 record and winners of the last 2 Army-Navy games... and their uniforms designed for this game are pretty amazing - paying tribute to the soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division in WW1, the “Big Red One.”

Looking around the house, I figured the Schick Repeating Razor sounded appropriate to pay my respect to the Army Cadets... though still hoping for them to stumble on Saturday

Razor: Schick Repeating Razor C-2
Brush: Polar Metalworks 24mm Silvertip
Soap: SV Felce Aromatica
A/S: Razorock XX

Enjoy your shave!
Tom
Go Navy! Beat Army!

 

If it is Tuesday, that means its Tabac Tuesday! My lathers are getting better on hardish soaps!

Also as said in the post above, Go Navy! Beat Army!