SOTD December 9 - December 15

[jgreenepa]

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Day 9 of Decadent December features my gold plated British Gillette Flare Tip Rocket which delivered a DFS to both noggin and face. I know many like a Friday ‘Fat’ day, but for me it’s always a Monday ‘Mitchell’s day. Mitchell’s is my favorite shaving soap, hands down! And when salted with 5-6 drops of M-Bomb is unbeatable for me. Like many of us in this hobby I have collected many soaps, both high end (Martin de Candre) and low end (Williams), but I always keep coming back to Mitchell’s! I feel cool and refreshed, although not quite as smooth as I would like.

SOTD 12/09/19

RAZOR: British Gillette Flare Tip Rocket
BLADE: Suneko
PREP: Cold Water rinse followed by a face and dome scrub with PAA’s Charcoal-Menthol Cube Preshave Soap
BRUSH: Omega Pro48 Boar
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Snake Bite.

[jgreenepa]

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Cooooold shave on this 10th morning of Decadent December! I’m still recovering! This Cryogen soap is unbelievably mentholated! Wow! Definitely not a daily driver soap, but I can say it is a combination Arctic-like/Tear gas tunnel level of refreshing. I’ve had to keep my eyes closed for about 10 minutes after the shave from the menthol fumes! Great three pass head and face DFS with my Gem G-Bar. Ten minutes after the shave the fumes dissipated enough
for me to keep my eyes open. I’m now definitely refreshed, smooth and ready for the day!

SOTD 12/10/19

RAZOR: Gem G-Bar
BLADE: Pella SS Gem PTFE
PREP: Cold water rinse of both face and dome followed by a scrub with PAA’S Charcoal-Menthol Cube Preshave Soap
SOAP: Chiseled Face Cryogen
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash of shaved areas with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Chiseled Face Cryogen AS Splash

[John Rose]

Dec 10 SOTN

razor - Schick E3 Injector
blade - Schick (7)
soap - Williams Mug
brush - APShaveCo 24 mm SynBad
post - warm water rinse, "Pure & Natural" Alum stick, cold water rinse
AS - Pinaud Clubman

For some reason, this shave seemed a lot less rough that previous ones on this blade.
A 2½ pass BBS, no nicks or irritation.

[jgreenepa]

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After my excessively mentholated shave of yesterday, today’s was a pleasant and relaxed lavender shave, since my fragrance sensitive bride left early for a business meeting! The vintage razor I selected for today’s shave is my recently acquired 1930’s Cooper Kant Rust, a medium aggressive shaver that was not as efficient as I like, but still capable of a comfortable three pass noggin and face DFS. My favorite MWF spiced with 5-6 drops of M-Bomb provided a thick, creamy, slick and protective lather that was a pleasure to shave through as opposed to the extreme menthol fumes I battled with while suffering through yesterday‘s shave. This shave left me feeling cool, calm and refreshed, but again not quite as smooth as I would prefer.

SOTD 12/11/19

RAZOR: Cooper Kant Rust
BLADE: Suneko
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a face and dome scrub with PAA’s Charcoal-Menthol Cube Preshave Soap
Brush: Omega Pro48 Boar
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash of both dome and face with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Lavender Pour Homme

[jgreenepa]

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This 12th shaving day of Decadent December will kickoff with a brief story to introduce the vintage razor selected for today’s shave. James Neill, developer and manufacturer of the famed Eclipse Red Ring Safety Razor in Sheffield, England, sent his son Fred to New York City in the 1930s to explore business opportunities. One lasting result was a contract with the 400 Company which led to the development of the Neillite 400 (Patent 1936), a Bakelite DE razor with a storied history of shaving effectiveness. The razor was designed with a mild side and an aggressive side, although both sides are highly efficient. The Stirling Glacial Obsidian soap used this morning produced an anise scented cooling, thick, protective lather with the help of my new Jayaruh Custom Boar brush. Although lighter than I’m used to, this little Bakelite razor was amazingly efficient and mowed down that lather, and delivered a surprisingly close (comparable to my Rex Ambassador at setting 5) two and a half pass face and dome BBS. Today I feel smooth, cool and refreshed. Superb shave!

RAZOR: Neillite 400 Bakelite DE
BLADE: Suneko
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a face and dome scrub with PAA’s Charcoal-Menthol Cube Preshave Soap
BRUSH: Jayaruh Custom Boar
SOAP: Stirling Glacial Obsidian
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash of dome and face with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Stirling Glacial Obsidian AS Splash

[jgreenepa]

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Today my shave was with a 1930s era French adjustable Cage Head razor, the Famex. The tighter one cranks the handle, the less efficient the shave. I like an efficient shave and this old razor delivered a two pass near BBS. 5 drops of M-Bomb cooled off my favorite shave cream, Kapo, made in Bulgaria which my Jayaruh Custom Boar whipped into a thick, creamy, protective lather enhanced by my PAA Cube Preshave soap. Altogether wonderful shave! I feel cool, smooth and refreshed!

[jgreenepa]

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SOTD 12/15/19

My vintage shave on this 16th day of Decadent December featured the Star DE, manufactured between 1946 and 1959 in Brooklyn, NY by the Star Division of the American Safety Razor Corp. It was designed to compete with the Gillette Tech razor. I found the shave to be a bit more efficient than my Gillette Techs. It chopped through two days growth with little difficulty, and provided a straightforward DFS to both face and dome, enhanced by my favorite shave cream, Kapo, salted with my regular 5-6 drops of M-Bomb. All in all, a good solid shave that left me feeling clean and refreshed and ready for church.

RAZOR: Star DE
BLADE: Suneko
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a face and dome scrub with PAA’s Charcoal-Menthol Cube Preshave Soap
BRUSH: Jayaruh Custom Boar #374
CREAM: Kapo Fresh salted with 5-6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash of face and dome with Glyce Glycerin Soap followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Snake Bite

[John Rose]

Dec 15 SOTN

razor - RazoRock Hawk
blade - KAI Captain Titan Mild (3)
soap - Proraso Red
brush - Sterling 2-Band Synthetic
post - warm water rinse, "Pure & Natural" Alum stick, cold water rinse
AS - Proraso Red
music - streaming Gem Radio New Wave

Two things I like about the Proraso Red AS: the sandalwood scent and the ever-so-thin trace of shea butter it leaves on your skin after the alcohol evaporates.

[jgreenepa]

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SOTD 12/16/19

Mentholated M-Bomb Monday the 16th of Decadent December provided an excellent dome and face shave. The longer handle on this gold tone Gillette Black Beauty required choking up on the handle a bit to get the back of the dome done properly. This vintage Gillette is a P-1 dating to the first quarter of 1970. Set at 7, it delivered a satisfying blade feel and easily mowed down the whiskers. I’m really starting to like this Declaration Grooming Sellout milksteak-based soap. When treated with 5-6 drops of M-Bomb, it cooled and protected all shave areas very pleasantly. The result was a complete BBS that left me feeling clean, cool, very smooth and refreshed.

RAZOR: Gillette Black Beauty Adjustable
BLADE: Feather
PREP: Cold Water rinse of face and dome followed by a scrub with PAA’s Charcoal-Menthol Cube Preshave Soap
BRUSH: Omega Pro48 Boar
SOAP: Declaration Grooming Sellout salted w/ 5-6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with PAA’s Mentholated Mysterium Serum