SOTD 27 November-3 December 2022

Friday Decem*BOAR* 2, 2022
Razor: Durham Dorset
Blade: Feather Pro (Modified)
Brush: Semogue/Boar
Soap: SV 70th Anniversary
AS 1: Witch Hazel
AS 2: SV 70th Anniversary
Fragrance:
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,488

Razor: Christy Massage Bar Single Edge Razor
Blade: Personna Injector
Brush: Rudy Vey 2020 B & B Group Buy
Pre-Shave: Proraso Green
Lather: Shannon's Soaps Barbershop
Aftershave: Old Spice Classic
Additional Care:
  Thayers Facial Tonic Witch Hazel Unscented

Friday AM 2022-12-02
National Pollution Control Day


Rooney 1/3 Ebony Finest (26/52)
Art of Shaving Rose Absolute shaving cream (vintage) 
Wolfman WR2-SB/Darwin Copper
Iridium Super (1)
Ginger's Garden Rose Petals aftershave

The rose scent seems especially good on a morning with a little snow on the ground.

Pre: P.A.A. Cube 2.0 w/ Cube Dock

Razor: T.R. Cadman & Sons "Bengall"
Razor: Gillette Adjustable "Fatboy" (1958 D4)
Blade: Eddison Super Stainless (D10)

Soap: Barrister & Mann 42
Brush: Omega Boar 10005/80005
Bowl: Bluff Cove Pottery

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum No-Slip Grip System w/ Dry Dock System
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Pinaud Lilac Vegital
Post 4: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Extra-Dry w/ Hyaluronic Acid

As you know, I've been on this journey of straight razor shaving, for less than I think, 10 shaves. And up until today I've only been doing with-the-grain passes, excluding the last one or two shaves where I added in an across-the-grain pass (going from the outside in). Well, today my friends I dared to go against-the-grain! Yes, you heard me correct. I pushed into new territory today.

It was fun and actually not that different than any of the other passes. You just have to keep focused and keep a steady hand.

So truth be told, I only went against-the-grain on my neck. I didn't do it on my face. I'll get to it but wanted to leave some fun for the Fatboy seeing as I haven't used one in what feels like a really long time.

I whipped up some absolutely amazing lather with my Omega boar and some, new to me, Barrister & Mann 42 soap. I did this in my lovely Bluff Cove Pottery bowl. The smell of this lather was fantastic. It's definitely floral but is very pleasant and refined. I really pick up on the petunia scent. The scent profile as a whole is just great. I definitely recommend it if you're curious. I don't think you can go wrong with this one but if for some reason you don't like it, I'll take it off your hands.

All in all I did a four-pass shave. Three with the Bengall and one with the Fatboy. This resulted in a beautiful bbs finish. I'm very happy with this shave to say the least.

I then proceeded to top things off with the often controversial and never mistaken Pinaud Lilac Vegital aftershave. What can I say but "The Veg" loves me and I love it.

There you have it gentlemen. Another great shave in the books.

Happy Friday everyone. Enjoy your shaves!

Saturday SOTD

Z

Razor: Muhle Rocca R95

Blade: PoliSilver (Wizmet) (6)

Brush: Merit 99-5 Turquoise/Cream 26mm Heritage Gel Badger

Scuttle: Georgetown G12 Green Oribe & Purple

Pre-Shave Scrub: SheaMoisture African Black Soap

Pre-Shave Balm: GroomingDept Unscented

Shave Cream: Moon Amaretto Speciale

Balm: Moon Amaretto Speciale

Aftershave: Moon Amaretto Speciale

Saturday 12.03.22
RAZOR: Gillette ‘60 F-1 Fatboy Adjustable @ 4
BLADE: Gillette‌ Nacet
BRUSH: AP Shave Co. 24mm Synbad Fan Synthetic
LATHER: Mitchell's Wool Fat
POST: Pitralon Classic After Shave

Fine Accoutrements American Blend soap
NOS Peerless Nylon shave brush
Gillette Fat handle tech w/ Wilkinson Sword blade
Avon Black Suede splash

Shield Titanium SE Meteorite || Proline p-30 || Grizzly Bay || Grooming Dept Aion || Floid Black

SOTN Friday, December the 2nd, MMXXII

prep - shower with Caprina Fresh Goat’s Milk with Shea Butter bar soap
razor - QShave Futur clone
blade - Personna Blue (12, and done)
brush - Fendrihan Classic Pure Grey Badger
soap - stickified* Tabac
post - warm water rinse, DSA “Pure & Natural” alum, cold water rinse
aftershave - RazoRock xXx
music - Radio Kishiwada FM 79.7 ラヂオきしわだ



* Stickified = shred it, add a bit of water, and mash it into a re-purposed jumbo glue stick tube. Off-brand glue sticks are cheaper than buying a bunch of new empty tubes at Amazon or wherever.

I'm always surprised when the QShave performs better than I expect. Its best feature is that it's really convenient to change the setting mid-shave. You can even do it one-handed by simply laying the head on the edge of the sink, and turn — which is also the safest method. The QShave is the only razor that ever cut me (other than on my face), when I grabbed the ends of the head to twist it to a different setting, and it slipped, resulting in my finger and thumb pinching and sliding along the business edges. 

The bowl is plain-old stainless steel. The colours are just an accident of reflections, maybe of my hand holding the phone.

A wonderful day to enjoy a fresh jar of MdC Vetyver and a first time pairing of Fine Vetiver splashes. Of course the leading role was played by a 46/47 Aristocrat armed with a Bic CP blade. The Vetyver soap was quickly elevated into a light grassy medley that delighted the skin. The Aristocrat sprung into action with a smooth and proficient removal of the modest stubble available for today’’s shave. I did lose my way a few times on engagement angle but regained my footing towards the final pass. The result was an effective BBS that experienced a bit of early regrowth in those areas that I missed on the clean up pass.

But the surprise star for this session was the multi layered scenting from a combined Clean and Fresh vetiver splash application. The Clean Vetiver presents a bit darker with a slightly sweet synthetic finish. I have tried it a couple of times with other soaps and didn’t feel it was a fit. I purchased both of these to evaluate how well they might complement the MdC Vetyver soap. On a whim I decided to follow up the first application of Clean Vetiver with Fresh Vetiver. And the result was excellent. The Fresh Vetiver cut through some of the darker notes of the Clean and summoned an invigorating airiness that dried down into a respectable finish. I will certainly be using this combination in the future. While the resultant scent was a pleasure to experience, I didn’t find it be a solid complement to the MdC Vetyver soap notes. So my quest will continue for the optimal splash pairing of this soap.

RAZOR: Gillette Aristocrat 1946/47
BLADE: Bic Chrome Platinum [1]
BRUSH: Rudy Vey Chief Muhle STF 25mm
LATHER: Martin De Candre Vetyver
POST: Fine Clean Vetiver + Fine Fresh Vetiver After Shave