SoS: October 13, 2014 - October 19, 2014

SOTD October 19, 2014: "Oversized Edition"

Prep: Hot shower. Noxzema.

Brush: Turkish #1 "Lider."

Lather: Forever Summer (Clarkston, MI) "Michigan Wilderness."

Razor: Gillette Fatboy, set to 7.

Blade: Astra Superior Stainless.

Post: Cold water; Razorock Alum Block.

After: Echt Kölnisch Wasser "4711" After Shave.

Late post. Had to give this one more thought than usual.

For this SOTD, I figured I'd get "cute" by choosing the Fatboy paired with the Lider brush for its inaugural lather. You know, "go big or go home." What I found instead was that (a) I am still not convinced that a Fatboy shave is for me, and (b) the Lider brush is terrific, but way too big to use on the small parts of my face that I shave (see illustration).



The Fatboy just wasn't doing it for me. I got a DFS, but it felt a bit harsh. Dialed it up, dialed it down, but either way the adjustments didn't seem to make a difference. I don't think it was the soap or my prep or even the blade. It seemed to be the razor. Looking back at my previous SOTD's, I noticed that I had similar misgivings before about the Fatboy and other adjustables. Maybe I'm just a guy who likes the non-adjustable TTO's like the 40's SS and the Krona and 2-/3-piece razors like the Merkurs, Techs, and other razors with more simplified mechanisms.

As for the big Turkish brush, it is a great brush and one that someone will be happy to own eventually, I'm sure. It's just too big for me. Even though I shave my head. It would be better, I think, for someone with either a bigger face or who plans to shave themselves completely rather than someone who only shaves a small part of their face.

The best part of the shave was the soap. Being an "all-natural" artisanal soap, I did have to add a bit of glycerin to get it to lather properly with any kind of longevity, especially given my hard water here. But the lather I got after a couple of drops of glycerin was rich, thick, and slippery with a great cushion. And the scent... Wow, that was what told me I'd be using it again. It has a wonderful pine scent with what I think was cedarwood behind it, and made me think of shaving in a cabin in northern Michigan. I may get some M-bomb to add to it, and combine it with the TSD Blue Spruce aftershave for a truly wintry Michigan experience.

If anyone is interested, Forever Summer soaps has a store on Etsy. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, BTW, and in fact I didn't care much for their shaving stick (Sandalwood) and thought their Caribbean Bay puck (which is now in the Nationwide Box Tour box, en route to Ohio!) wasn't quite up to my standard... It was too "brown" a soap and had some pieces of something (Sisal? Or grains of cinnamon, maybe?) in it, and needed even more glycerin to lather properly. But I recommend their "Michigan Wilderness" to anyone who likes a pine/spruce scent.

So... For those of you who are thinking "TL; DR", the bottom line was that based on this particular SOTD, I'm probably going to unload the adjustables I have and the ginormous Turkish brush, and settle in with my non-adjustables and normal sized brushes. But the soap was a keeper.

 

Semogue 1800
Tabac stick
Knack/Fatip frankenrazor
Astra SP
Ralon Classic AS

Oh Tabac I missed you sooo much

 

That is a rather generously-sized brush, especially for use within the confines of the facial real estate depicted in your post. I would personally prefer a smaller, more easily controlled knot for those tight spots. I love my big omega boars but I have no facial hair boundaries to be concerned about so can slop on the lather with abandon!
Re: the Fat Boy— despite their seemingly broad appeal and ebay fanaticism, Fat Boys many not appeal or perform to everyone's expectations. I had one for about 6 months and managed to pull some fine shaves with the razor. There was nothing extraordinary about the performance, and I played with the adjustments for some time until I finally landed with it fairly wide-open. The razor also gave me a fair share of nicks. We departed ways eventually, as I sent it back via ebay from whence it came.