SOTD 20-26 March 2022

HLS Smart 2 OC
Jurgen Hempel Handle
Astra SP
Yaqi Boar
MDC Original Soap
Aloe Vera
Phoenix Shaving Pineapple Bay Rum

- Grooming Dept Unscented Pre
- APShave Co 24mm Tuxedo
- Santa Maria Novella
- Carbon Shaving Cx-Ti 0.68
- Rapira Platinum Lux (1)
- Aqua Velva
- Grooming Dept Hydrating Gel

CG L3 | Prometheus 28mm | McDuff’s | Perma Sharp

3.22.22

Wednesday AM 2022-03-23
National Chip & Dip Day


Rooney Stubby 2 Porcelain Finest (24/50)
Crabtree & Evelyn Mysore Sandalwood shaving cream (vintage) 
LASSC BBS-1
Wilkinson 'Light Brigade' (14)
Chanel Égoïste Platinum aftershave

23 March 2022

GEM Jr
Personna PTFE (4)
William's Mug Soap 
Stirling with the apshaveco Luxury mixed bulb

An outstanding shave! Nice old school vibe and everything works well together.

Razor: Rockwell T2
Blade: Gillette Rubie Plus
Brush: Simpson Captain 2 Best Badger
Pre-Shave: Proraso White
Lather: Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood
Aftershave: Maurer & Wirtz 4711 Aftershave
Additional Care:
  Thayers Facial Tonic Witch Hazel Rose Petal
  Imperial Leather Talcum Powder

SOTD: 22/03/2022

Razor: Alpha Shaving Works, The Bandit, Solid Bar
Blade: Astra SP, 1st use
Brush: Shedeleven Spalted Scottish Hawthorn AP Shave Co G5C 26mm Fan
Bowl: Captains Choice Copper Lather Bowl Standard Bowl
Preshave: PAA Cube Unscented Soap
Soap: Proraso Wood And Spice Cream
Aftershave: Proraso Wood And Spice Cologne
Balm: L’Oreal Men Expert Reinforcing Aftershave Balm
Additional Care: Osma Laboratoires Alum Block

This was my first shave with Alpha’s new razor the Bandit and I have to say I’m very impressed. The weight and finish is brilliant, I didn’t think I’d get on with the handle despite how good it looks but it was one of those handles that just felt ‘right’ from the off. The razor has some serious heft to it, maybe as much as my brass Hone, but is really so well balanced that it never feels heavy or a chore.
The shave was close, efficient and smooth, it has a little blade feel but a lot less than say the Blackbird, however its still nearly as efficient. The Blackbird can be, as I like to put it an exfoliater or top layer remover, this isn’t in that realm at all, but it definitely gets close enough to lightly ‘rub’ the top layer. However I never felt it was going to bite at all. In fact It was strangely the opposite.
My Adam’s apple and surrounding areas always a difficult area for me to shave efficiently but this was surprisingly close in those areas and I was shaving straight over in one motion by the final 3rd pass. I rarely do this with any razor bar the Leaf Twig or Masamune. It goes straight into a special set of razors for me for that alone.
I used a Astra SP with this but feel once I’ve worked through this it may benefit from a sharper blade, but I’ll test this later in the week.
I love the razor’s look and more importantly how it shaves. Depending on the price, (hell maybe even not on the price) I want this in my Den. One shave in its rare I react and decide one way or another on a razors performance but this really does hit the mark for me. I have no reason to overdo the praise either it’s a pass around and other than trying it out early I gain nothing. I’m just very impressed on the first use.