SOTD 28 March-3 April 2021

ROCNEL SAILOR 2019 / FEATHER / MORRIS & FORNDRAN / MIKE’S NATURAL SOAP / GROOMING DEPT

SOTD

Friday April 2
Warm Water
Boellis Panama 1924
CC ceramic bowl
Palladin Lotus
Razorock Lupo 95
Wizamet SI (6)
Ethos-DFS Colonia Skin Food Splash

Two Passes and touchups: BBS

The Lupo 95 is a great razor, however the handle could use a little more grip (I might try that “rubber O-ring” trick).  Nice gap and exposure to get BBS close, but it does require, and it does reward, careful technique.  The Panama is a wonderful soap, but with less cushion and slick than the newer soaps.  So again, this requires more careful preparation, and more care while shaving.  Love the scent though. This Wizamet blade is past its peak at six shaves, for me.  Shaves 3 and 4 seem to be the sweet spot for these blades and for my face.  (Still, the Wizamet blades are much better than the Personna Super + Platinum blades.  YMMV).  The Lotus (like every Palladin brush I have used) just oozes top quality and functions wonderfully.  The QC on the Palladin brushes is top shelf, all the way.  I really have grown to like the “Colonia” scent, and all the Ethos splashes I have are much nicer to my face than the other aftershaves I’ve tried so far.  Frank’s products, like the Palladin brushes, are a clear step up in quality and performance.


Happy Shaves to the Gentlemen

A nice shave for working outside as a cool blast of air passes through town this weekend. These Perma Sharp blades have been a revelation. Today’s shave was #4 on the blade and with the Yates it was still smooooooth sailing.

Friday AM 2021-04-02
First lead pencils manufactured this date, 1827


Rooney Stubby 3XXL Ivory Finest (32/52)
Floris Verbena SS (tallow) + Bulgarian Rose Absolute/Hydrosol
Wolfman WR2-SB 0.95/Triad Aristocrat Brass & SS
Wilkinson Sword 'New' (3)
Guerlain Vétiver aftershave

Friday, April 2, 2021 - Shave of the Day

Prep  ||  Cantu Pre-Shave Scrub

Brush  ||  Wolf Whiskers Black Wolf Synthetic

Soap  ||  Sir Henry's Black & Tan (sample)

Razor  ||  Blackland Blackbird v1 / Wizamet Super Iridium (2)

A/S  ||  Derby City Chop Shop Small Batch Winter Reserve

Growth  ||  47.0 Hours

After my delightful maiden voyage with Moon Soaps Sorrento, I was eager to try Union.  In the areas most important to me, today's shave did not disappoint, but neither did it blow me away, as Sorrento did.  Sorrento is in [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Moon's [/font]original, tallow-heavy base - the same as Moon's Old School.  Union has less tallow, but adds grape seed oil and menthol to the formula.  I decided to give Union a try despite my long-standing distaste for most mentholated soaps.  That was a mistake on my part, and a personal one that might not matter to you.  On the upside, the base performed very well - thick, slick, and protective - although perhaps not quite as good as Sorrento.  I'm hedging my bets in comparing Union and Sorrento because  the "menthol distraction" makes it hard to judge small differences fairly.  At any rate, I think my next stop will be Moon's Old School.  

But soap aside, the real bright spot of today's shave for me was the maiden voyage with my new brush - a Maggard 28mm SHD two band that I bought almost two years ago to the day, emplaced in a Trotter Handcrafts Figured Maple handle.  What a pleasure it was to use!  I held this knot back waiting for the right handle and an artisan who would glue the knot in for me.  The handle fits perfectly in the hand for me, the weight (light) and balance are perfect, and the early Maggard SHD is a dream.  Please note that my editing has changed all the photo colors a bit, including the brush, but you can see one of these handles in progress here in Stubble Daddy's  blog.



[font=Verdana]- [font=Verdana]Maggard 2 Band SHD (28mm) knot in Trotter Handcrafts Figured Maple handle[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana]- Moon Soaps Union[/font]
[font=Verdana]- GEM Ever-Ready, GEM SS PTFE[/font]
[font=Verdana]- Pitralon Pure[/font]
[font=Verdana]- Coty Aspen EDC[/font]

Good Friday’s Shave 
Fili 14 Doble Temple 
DR Harris Arlington 
Fluffy Industries modified Razorock 400
Master Barber Bay Rum.