SoS: October 28, 2013 - November 3, 2013

01.11.2013

Prep: FitjarSoap Pre Shave Soap
Razor: Merkur HD
Blade: Q-Ball (2)
Brush: Frank Shaving Chubby Badger
Soap: Sir Palmolive Stick
Aftershave: La Toja
Moisturiser: Fitjarsoap Shea Butter Moisturiser.


The Palmolive stick was plucked out from a dark corner of my Den. I cannot remember having used this one before, but a quick search through the forum told me I had.
The experience from last time was almost as good today. The soaps performance was terrific, but the performance of the blade subtracted a few point from the overall score.
The smell was very old school and reminded me about something I cannot remember J
I just know I have smelled it before in my childhood or sometime in my early adolescence

The Q-Ball was noticeably less sharp today and also less comfortable. The result was still more than decent, and I had another close shave. But it is not always about the end result, but more about how I get there.
I will revisit this blade in a different razor sometime in the future, but for now it has been retired.

 

Friday

Face washed with L'Oreal Men Expert Hydra Energy. Scrubbed with hot wet cloth before the shave.
Mühle R89 coupled with Viking's Sword (1).
Arko Ice Mint SC, whipped with Bestshave #6 in Steve Woodhead shallow mug.
Above jawline WTG/XTG/ATG, below jawline WTG/WTG/WTG.
Ajanta alum applied for 1 minute, then rinsed off with cold water. Finished off with Nivea for Men Face Cream.

What a chilling sensation! Way to much this time a year..... But an amazing SC none-the-less. Bang for the buck and a nice subdued scent. It has clearly substituted the Proraso (which I only have for the chill), because it's just as chilling, if not more, it's way cheaper and.... better shaving performance!

My irritation/red dots below my jawline is practical gone, so it may be time to up the ante! Or keep the skin good looking, not searching for trouble.. I dunno yet

I'm glad I'm back on the Bestshave brush. Although it was rather stiff, being the first shave with it, it felt good to be back on it. I like holding the handle, I like the loft and I like that it's not so dense. The QC is so-so, but for $2,49 I don't really care. The knot works as it should and the handle I can always sand down, should the lacquer wear off.

 

True that!

 

Merkur 38C
Shark Blade
Crabtree and Evelyn vintage Brush restored by Rudy Vey with Best Badger Knot
Energy Soap
TSD Iced Energy Splash
Lab Series AS Balm
coffee-home roasted Sumatra
tunes-Dylan

 

Today's shave was great! It was also my first DE shave in about a week (I've been using a straight.) I used some some stuff that Jeff (crackstar) sent me.

Prep: hot shower, L'Oréal Face wash (sent by Jeff.)
Brush: Turkish #6.
Razor: '62 Slim.
Blade: Polsiver SI.
Cream: Egyptian Ingram (also also sent by Jeff.)
Post: cold water rinse, Krampert's Frostbite.

Man today's shave rocked. Jeff sent me a massive package of his favorite shaving creams and it got in today! I'll resize the picture and post it. He and I are very close and talk everyday. He also motivated me to try menthol again when I felt it wasn't for me. Dodi, this shave was for you!

I love my '62 Slim. In fact it's my most my favorite and reliable DE. The SI blade is perfect for it. It was so smooth in my razor and had no trouble cutting down my stubble. Egyptian Ingram is better than the British. It's colder, easier to lather, slicker, and just better. I was waiting to shave all week because I wanted to see how Jeff's favorites performed for me. The Krampert's Frostbite is a must have for anyone who loves menthol. Even if you aren't sure if you do or not, get some. It's so moisturizing and soothing on top of being a face freezer.

 

Proraso and a Frankenrazor

Prep: Warm face wash with African Black Soap
Proraso Green Crema pre Barba
Soap: Proraso Sapone Pelli Sensibili
Brush: HIS Synthetic
Razor: Merkur Classic 33c head paired with Maggard m10 handle
Blade: Gillette 7 o'clock Sharp Edge Yellow (1)
Shave: WTG, XTG, XTG (ATG on cheeks)
Post: Proraso Crema Liquida Dopobarba
Proraso Green Crema pre Barba
AS: Kramper's Finest Frostbite
Edt: Tabac

Excellent DFS! No irritation or burn. My neck has not felt this good in a while! I decided to try combining my two favorite razors so far - I guess I should have done this on Halloween! The extra heft of the Maggard handle was still balanced in my hand with the Merkur head. Interestingly, the Maggard head did not fit on the Merkur handle - it was a little tight, so I chose not to force it.
The Proraso Pelli Sensibili provided great comfort and face feel, but the lather was lackluster. This was my first time with it, so that could be my fault.
I was talking with the man I bought the HIS brush from, and he said that he stopped trying aggressive razors because he is satisfied with milder ones and the comfortable shaves even with extra passes. I might be leaning that way - the extra time and passes might actually be a plus for me, since I really enjoy shaving. The scent, the control, the glide of a good razor - sometimes I'm disappointed that I've finished so soon.
Have a great Saturday, and Go Green!

#traditionalshaving #gogreen #msuvsuofm #proraso #merkur33c #maggardm10 #krampertsfinestfrostbite #SOTD

 

Saturday

Prep: Hot Shower-Stirling Ozark Mountain Soap
Soap: TOBS Avocado Cream
Razor: ’66 Gillette Slim
Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Green SS (6)
Brush: Omega 10066 Boar
Aftershave: Barbon

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

4th shave with the Gillette 7 O’Clock Green SS in the Slim. TOBS Avocado Cream today. The 4th shave with the Greenie was better than the first 3. Another smooth, close shave: nick & burn free. I finished with a cool blast of Barbon.

Bob

 

Saturday:

L'Oreal Men Expert Facial Wash
#6 Horsehair
Super Speed/Rapira day 6
Italian Palmolive Menthol SC
Anherb AS Conditioner
Aqua Velva Ice Blue AS

What a wonderful face-freezing shave this was - the Italian version of Palmolive Menthol feels like standing in front of an air conditioner when it's on full blast, and the scent, lather, and skincare can't be beaten. The Anherb and Aqua Velva felt so nice and frigid and I'm surprised that the Rapira blade is still holding up sp well.

 

Saturday:
hot shower
Maggard Cherry Sandalwood Vanilla PSO (sample)
Parker 80R
Lord Super Stainless (3)
VDH boar
SRD Vanilla soap (sample)
T&H 1805 AS balm (sample)

This is what my shave looks like most days, lots of little sample packages.
I really like this particular scent of Maggard's excellent PSO so I'll probably end up getting a full size. The Lord Super Stainless on the other hand isn't going to make it through a full 5 shave test. It's pretty much just an average blade for me with the 80R so eventually I'll give it a try in a different razor.
I'm not a huge vanilla fan but I really like the SRD soap sample 12 pack I got quite awhile back and I'm still working through it. I melt them into glass condiment containers that have plastic lids and then float them in the warm sink water between passes. They make a great lather so eventually I'll get full size pucks of my favorites.
Last but not least I got the final squeeze out of my T&H 1805 sample. It's a mild scent so it doesn't grab me like their Grafton or Trafalgar but it's starting to grow on me so maybe eventually I'll get some more. Feels great to use a balm now that the air is a bit drier and my skin needs the moisture.

 

Saturday:

Prep: Hot shower, Crown Co. Supreme Glide Preshave Lotion
Brush: Beeline Boar
Soap: Ginger's Garden Coffee Jasmine Glycerin
Razor: Merkur 41c 1904 OC
Blade: Sputnik (3)
Passes: WTG, XTG, ATG
Post: Cold water splash, Dickinson's WH, Pinaud Clubman AS

Wonder of wonders, I actually learned from a previous mistake. My lather started out too wet, so I decided to toss it and start over. With the right ratio for the lather and attention to detail, I got another near-BBS shave today, though again the Sputnik gives me more irritation than other blades I like. I'm still very much on the fence about the Clubman scent, but I know my face needs some of the aftercare of an aftershave, and I know it gets too saturated if I use an ASB every day.

 

6/8 Torrey
Synergy SS
Omega knot
Pinaud V.I. Bay Rum
Easily my best shave of the week. The Torrey may look plebeian but it shaves like Man of War runs. Have a good one, off to work I go.

 

Saturday - Shave Stick Week

Speick bowl lathered with Vie Long 12603
Fatboy on 6 with Rapira (1)
3 passes, cold water rinse and finish with Lab Series aftershave spray

The Rapira didn't seem as smooth to me as the Astra SP's, but they are definitely a bargain at $6.50/100 at Bestshave.net. The Speick made a fantastic lather, it's a good soap.

 

SOTD Saturday 11-2-2013

11/16 Loeffler & Sykes, Half Hollow, Spike Point in Black Walnut
Proraso PSC
Tabac SC
GT G4 Scuttle
Semogue 820 Boar
Dickinson's Witch Hazel
Nivea Replenishing ASB
Jovan Musk ASL/Cologne

Just rescaled the Loeffler and Sykes "Columbus" razor from those ugly white (yellow) plastic cane scales to these 100 year old Black Walnut scales. Since the razor is a little over 100 years old, I tried to keep the materials in that same range. I used a salvaged lead spacer and repined with brass pins and washers. After the rescale I ran it through the hones and polished the blade. After all the nice things I did for this razor how do you think it repaid me? Yep, it sliced my thumb when I was wiping it off. Ouch! It did reward me with an excellent shave though so, all is even. I have an early start today; doing a screening clinic for the Shrine Hospital in Portland. We have about 95 kids to screen today for various treatments so, it will be a very busy day for sure! Have a great week end Gentlemen!

 

Saturday
hot shower
Semogue 620/DB Brush Scuttle
Proraso PSC
Mama Bear's Ye Olde Barbershoppe stick
OCMM/Pella coated (2)
warm water rinse
Monster Block Alum
cold water rinse
Thayer's Cucumber WH
WM Neumann 1911

Great 2 pass face,1 pass dome for BBS all around !!!!

 

Barbasol Razor
SuperMax Tiger (Super Plat)
Chubbz 3 (Rubberset / Omega 23x50)
Arko SS
Alum
Superior 70

Feeling good. The Barbasol razor feels like a refined R41 to me and is definitely one of my favorites. I am also really developing a fondness for these little scrubby brushes. They have a great face feel(not really luxurious) and load quickly with enough lather for my normal shave. A year ago, the Semogue 1800 was considered small, but now it is my largest brush in current rotation.

 

65’ K2 Gillette Slim / Rhodium (Wide Open)
Ladas (d2)
Ever Ready Boar 100T
Palmolive Stick/MWF -Face Lather
Witch Hazel Splash
Stephans Bay Rum

 

Happy weekend gents!!

 

Razor: 2013 R41 head Cadet TP 30B blk/gld handle
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (D3)
Brush: 30mm HMW Silvertip
Soap: Mikes Hungarian Lavender
Post: Monster Alum Block
Aftershave: Floid Amber

 

Prep: Hot shower
Pre shave: home made PSO vanilla
Brush: 23mm silver tip badger
Razors: Boker straight, Gillette OC 1904?
Blade: Viking Sword (3)
Soap: Tabac
Post: home made ASB
After shave: Tabac

Another Darn Fine Shave. I got the Gillette in a razor bundle from the bay. I identified all of the other razors, but this one is eluding me. If you have any ideas I would appreciate it.

 

"No time shave".

Gillette Classic Foam.
Schick Quattro.
Spice AS.

Two passes WTG, no irritation. As close as it gets without trying for a BBS. Not too shabby.

Have a great weekend everyone!