SoS: October 15th, 2012 - October 21st, 2012

Thursday:
soak brush/Semogue SOC 2 band/DB Brush Scuttle
warm shower
Proraso PrePost cream
Mystic Water Bay Rum SS
Eversharp Hydro Magic/Pella Coated (2)
warm water rinse
Monster Block Alum
warm water rinse
Thayer's Lemon WH
Superior 70 Bay Rum mixed with a small amount of 444

Great shave from the Hydro Magic,BBS all around.I'm really liking the Superior 70 Bay Rum,shame the scent doesn't last, still for the price not bad at all,I even like the Menthol version

 

Thursday morning, October 18, 2012

Schick E2 Injector razor w/ Schick blade (8)
Semogue 1305 boar bristle brush,
MWF shaving soap w/ warm water lather,
finish with cold water rinse for a DFS!

 

• Prep PSC
• ARKO Cool SC
• TSD M-Bomb (menthol additive)
• Mühle Stylo Shave Set - Thuja Wood
• Vifrex ASG
• GFT Spanish Leather ASL

Had to break out the German shave candy today and show it some love. This Mühle Stylo set in Thuja wood is probably the nicest set I have. I haven't really used it too much. The main reason is the brush. Although the brush looks very nice, it is somewhat awkward to use. It is very slippery when wet and the shape is funny. There is no ridge on the end of the brush so it usually ends up sliding down into the lather bowl. Once the handle is covered in lather it is impossible to hold on to. But... it is nice. The brush is very heavy and I really like the Mühle silvertips. Nice big squishy brushes that feel terrific!! I bought the ARKO Cool because I thought it had menthol in it. Doh!! Thankfully, we now have resources like crackstar's list of menthol products to prevent similar screw ups in the future. No drama though as I had the M-Bomb on hand and four drops added a very nice chill to the ARKO "Cool".

I lingered a bit today enjoying the fine shave of the Mühle head. After the third pass, I squeezed the remaining lather out of my brush and gently massaged my face. It was very smooth and only a couple of very quick touch ups were needed. Overall, a very smooth and comfortable BBS shave and a great start to the day.

Cheers, Lyndon

 

Thursday - another day closer.

Prep: Hot shower, AoS pre-shave oil
CD: Ron Kenoly ~ Jesus is Alive
Coffee: Home roasted, fresh ground Malawi Mapanga AA, BLACK
Soap/Cream: Woods of Windsor + a squirt of KMF unscented cream as a booster, + 3 drops M Bomb
Brush: Ever Ready 200T with original knot
Razor: Sheraton
Blade: Astra SP, day 4, 3 passes
Post: Cold water rinse, ice water splash, Dickenson's WH, B&BW Oak, hand strop blade
'Stache Wax: Steve's Own

I like the scent of the Woods of Windsor, it just doesn't lather up that great, thus the reason for the KMF unscented.
The Sheraton is a bit mild, but overall not a bad shave.

 

Razor : Parker 33R
Blade : Polsilver (2)
Soap : Barbus
Brush : 30 mm Custom 2 band
AS : Boosters Polar Ice & Osage Rub

2 Pass BBS. Got the hang of this big heavy Parker tonight I found the balance point for me is a little more in the middle of the handle then I would normally use. The Barbus soap exploded with lather almost instantly great cushion and slide, very acceptable skin care no drying of the skin at all. I love the scent but could see it being a little much for those who do not like Williams or arko and other Mediterranean or eastern European soaps.

Almost used the fatnash brush tonight but I will give all of my first go with the soaps out of the box with a brush I know how to use first so there is not that extra variable hindering my review.

 

The week runs like crazy... Yet another DE shave, just no time for the straights, and I don't like the idea to rush the good shave.
Merkur 23C/Feather
Vie-Long horsehair brush
Soapy SC
Cold water splash
Mayor Energy Platinum AS splash
DFS, I just wish to have a little more time. The Soapy cream is very nice, really like it!

 

• The Shave Den PSB
• Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna SS
• Frank Shaving - Fan Shaped Brush (Finest)
• Vintage Gillette Canadian Silver Tech
• Derby Blade (1)
• Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna ASB
• Aqua Velva Musk ASL

I have never shown the Derby blades any love before, LOL! But today I thought I would give the Derby another go. I followed swarden43's advice and tried palm stropping the blade before use. It seemed to help and the Derby paired with the Tech got the job done. The Derby isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed but the shave was pretty good. Just one very small nick at the corner of my mouth. The C&S soap was the first triple milled soap I bought and the first few times I used it I only got mediocre lather. Of course, I was not loading the brush with anywhere near enough soap. However, lots of soap and water produced a fine lather today. The C&S after shave balms are interesting. The Sandalwood balm is very different from the Siena balm. The Sandalwood balm is very runny while the Siena one has a thick buttery consistency. The ladies will tell you that C&S produce some of the best hand creams out there. Siena ASB reminds me of a thick hand cream. I would imagine that this ASB would provide exceptional skin care in dry climates or during the long cold months of winter.

Cheers, Lyndon

 

Prep L'Occitane Cedarwood Soap
Razor Vintage Japanese Kikuboshi Orion
Brush Simpson Chubby 1 in Super
Cream Simpson
Alum & Witch Hazel
L'Occitane Baux Balm
Penhaligon's Castile EDT

Jamie


A great two pass BBS shave from the Kikuboshi Orion.

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Jamie... your killin' us here!!! That razor looks so good I want to lick it, LOL!
(The scales, not the blade.)

 

Friday: A Cracky Wacky Ticky Tacky Menthol Extravaganza!

Turkish Horsehair
Super Speed/7 AM day 3
Iced Subzero SS
Diana Sport Menthol Balsam
Osage Rub AS
Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui EDT

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS - JoAnna's Gold Medal winning Iced Subzero soap delivered its awesome lather, its intense freeze, and its great post-shave care. The Diana Sport balsam and The Rubby Dub Dub prolong it so beautifully - my face will feel frozen until the evening. I could not have enjoyed this shave more. Sorry for not showing any pictures today.

 

5/8 T.I.
Acca Kappa
26mm brush
Kramperts Bay Rum

Very nice shave this morning. With a little luck I might have a "new" straight arriving to do a little work on this weekend. T.G.I.F. Have a good one.

photo hosting sites

 

Friday's shave:

Martin de Candre scented shave soap
Mühle Basic #02 shave brush with Silver Tip Fibre
1955 Gillette Super Speed 'Heavy'
Rotbart ‘Extra Dünn’ blade (3.)
Bloc Osma alum
Speick Men after shave

Crappy shave, I assume because I was dead tired and also the Rotbart blade having lost a bit of its sharpness.

 

Friday morning, October 19, 2012

Schick E2 Injector razor w/ Schick blade,
Semogue 1305 boar bristle brush,
MWF shaving soap w/ warm water lather,
finish with cold water rinse for a DFS!

 

Friday:

soak brush/Thater 4292/6 2 band,fan
hot shower
Proraso PrePost cream
Rose Of Bulgaria SC (face lathered)
Gillette w-1 SS/Rapira Swede (3)
warm water rinse
Monster Block Alum
warm water rinse
Thayer's Rose Pedal WH mixed with a lil Robert's Rosewater
Rose Of Bulgaria splash mixed with a small amount of 444

Wonderful shave today,Rapira Swedish is still going strong,if I didn't write it down I never would have thought this was the third face and head shave.Looks like it'll make 5.Have a great weekend everyone

 

Shave of the Day (SOTD) Friday October 20, 2012​

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• Prep: Brush soaking in cold water, face wash with Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Anti-Blemish Cleanser, luke warm shower
• Razor: 1945 Shavety First Shake Sharp Razor
• Blade: NOS 1961 Gillette Super Blue Blade (7)
• Brush: Semogue 820 Boar
• Cream: Lea Mentholated
• AS: English Leather
• Post: Cold Water Rinse, Double Splash Of Aftershave

Day number seven with the Shavety First Shake Sharp and the Super Blue blades that is on tour from Ryan (PLANofMAN).

If a modern manufacturer was to produce a single edge I would hope that they would produce a razor similar to this. By using DE blades it offers the wet shaver a far greater selection than what is available with a SE, plus the blade can be turned around for the other edge to be used.

This is my seventh shave on one edge. Mind you, I am using one of the greatest blades ever produced at the moment, but lets talk modern blades. Even if a person was only able to get three shaves per edge, a pack of 100 blades would last you over sixteen months.

Another great shave with the Shake Sharp. Two and half passes with minor buffing on the neck gave me another BBS shave.

 

Last night's shave
Pre: Hot shower, no preshave
Razor: Gold/Champagne Lady Gillette
Blade: Astra (2)
Brush: Fatnash black handle silvertip badger
Cream: Geo. F. Trumper Rose shaving cream and De Vergulde Hand shave soap
Post: TSD blueberry witch hazel

DFS

 

Jeff, I understand what you're going through - my first 2 shaves of this week were also lousy because I was using old, dull blades. Not a smart move on my part. Although I ended up quite smooth, I was getting irritated badly. From now on, no more than 6 shaves from a blade for me unless the blade is so bad that I need to change it sooner.

 

This was yesterdays shave. I am going to start just keeping a written journal without pictures unless I get something new because I pretty much keep the same stuff in rotation.

 

I want to use my Soapy (M'il'n'iy) cream over the weekend, but I cannot find it - it indeed is wonderful stuff!