Except for a weekend fling with Speick cream, I've been sticking with Valobra menthol for October. I really like the slick lather that I can build with the soft Valobra. Scent isn't anything to write home about, but I find it mildly enjoyable now that I associate it with the terrific performance I get out of this soap.
Since I knew I'd be face lathering, and would have the tub of soap open by the sink for reloading, I used my Vulfix Strand (boar) for the month. I was kind of wondering if it would develop a bit larger bloom. By the end of the month, I was able to get it loaded enough for 3 passes (and a last coat that I just rinse off).
I enjoy sticking with one soap for a month. I was finishing a tube of Proraso before this, and that took a bit over a month. By the end of both months, I was pretty ready for something new. I aquired a tube of Speick cream mid-month, and spent a long weekend enjoying that. Very nice scent. My 6 year old daughter said it smelled "clean" and "man-ny". I'll take that as a good thing.
I am looking forward to a switch. Right now I intend to go with MWF for two months, until the new year. We'll see if I make it. I'm sure I'll throw in a few flings along the way (I'm longing to use La Toja cream).
During October, I developed an appreciation for Proraso splash. Very, very nice feel on my face after that. During my MWF month(s), I intend to use Trumpers coral skin food, or just a bit of Thayer's astringent. I'll stick with the "Strand" brush for now.
I've been working through a pack of red Personnas. Not my favorite blade, but not bad. My first few shaves are not the best, but the next several are fine. I get a week or two out of each blade, so it'll be a while before the pack is gone. Next will be something sharper. Super Iridium, or 7 o'clock green (Indian). But that's a ways off, so I'm not going to worry about that for a while.
I continue to enjoy a slow rotation. I spend less time stressing about what I'll use next, and more time enjoying what I'm using.
Enjoy your shaves, everyone!
Bruce
That was the month that was...
Don't give me too much credit for patience. I finished the Proraso, but the Valobra has along way to go. After a total of about two months of use, it looks almost the same as when I started. I'm moving on to MWF long before I've finished the Valobra. I'll go back to it maybe in Spring.
I have used MWF before, but never for more than a week. I'm looking forward to an extended period of use to see what the lanolin does for me. I've never used the Valobra stick. If it's like MWF, I need to give that a go.
I had forgotten about Feathers. I have a pack that I got from my first sampler from Giovanni. I was scared to use them when I was first starting out, but I may put those at the top of the list to try when the red Personnas are done. Thanks for the suggestion!
I did try a couple Derby blades right when I was starting out, and they didn't appeal. I will try them again sometime, though, now that my technique is at least sound.
My favorite blade these days is the Crystal. Not as sharp and close a shave as some blades, but I find the shave to be very comfortable. And the Crystals seem to last a long time for me. Most blades I swap out after at most a week (and the last few shaves are a bit "tuggy"). But the Crystals last me two weeks.
I'll add to this thread as I go with the Fat. And I'll let you know when I get the Feathers out.
Bruce
I have used MWF before, but never for more than a week. I'm looking forward to an extended period of use to see what the lanolin does for me. I've never used the Valobra stick. If it's like MWF, I need to give that a go.
I had forgotten about Feathers. I have a pack that I got from my first sampler from Giovanni. I was scared to use them when I was first starting out, but I may put those at the top of the list to try when the red Personnas are done. Thanks for the suggestion!
I did try a couple Derby blades right when I was starting out, and they didn't appeal. I will try them again sometime, though, now that my technique is at least sound.
My favorite blade these days is the Crystal. Not as sharp and close a shave as some blades, but I find the shave to be very comfortable. And the Crystals seem to last a long time for me. Most blades I swap out after at most a week (and the last few shaves are a bit "tuggy"). But the Crystals last me two weeks.
I'll add to this thread as I go with the Fat. And I'll let you know when I get the Feathers out.
Bruce
Well, I've been enjoying MWF for a couple weeks. The scent is just a marvelous way to start a morning. This may sound strange, but I love the way my Vulfix Strand feels as I load the brush. I'd never encountered the difficulty that some others report in developing a lather with MRF, but I did have one problematic morning. I was pretty stressed about work one morning, and I just really attacked the soap with a brush that was a little too wet. The resulting lather was too foamy. When I realized what was happening, I slowed down and let the lather relax (or was that me) before I went to my face. Other than that, it's been wonderful.
Brush
I still think the Strand is just a bit too small, but it's serving well, and, since the soap is right there, and I face lather, it's easy to just load a bit more soap for the third pass. I think I'll stick with the Strand for soaps, and use a larger brush for creams.
Blade
I've continued to use the red Personnas. Still not my favorite blade, but not bad enough to give up on. I think when the current blade is done I'll switch to a sharper blade so I can see how the Fat works with that. Haven't decided if that should be a blade I know, or if I'll go for the Feather for the first time.
Post Shave
I've been trying to see how minimal I can go with the Fat. Some days, I use just some witch hazel (with a few drops of EO). Some days I use just some Trumpers coral skin food. Some days, my face feels like it wants more, and I use some shea cream my sister gave me.
I'll be away from home for Thanksgiving, and I think I'll take some La Toja cream with me and have a fling with that for a few days. Other than that, I'll be sticking with MWF until Christmas. (It's quite exciting that I've actually worn a small dimple into the soap! I'm making progress!)
I'll keep adding to this thread as I go...unless I'm boring everyone...in which case I can go back to lurking.
Bruce
Brush
I still think the Strand is just a bit too small, but it's serving well, and, since the soap is right there, and I face lather, it's easy to just load a bit more soap for the third pass. I think I'll stick with the Strand for soaps, and use a larger brush for creams.
Blade
I've continued to use the red Personnas. Still not my favorite blade, but not bad enough to give up on. I think when the current blade is done I'll switch to a sharper blade so I can see how the Fat works with that. Haven't decided if that should be a blade I know, or if I'll go for the Feather for the first time.
Post Shave
I've been trying to see how minimal I can go with the Fat. Some days, I use just some witch hazel (with a few drops of EO). Some days I use just some Trumpers coral skin food. Some days, my face feels like it wants more, and I use some shea cream my sister gave me.
I'll be away from home for Thanksgiving, and I think I'll take some La Toja cream with me and have a fling with that for a few days. Other than that, I'll be sticking with MWF until Christmas. (It's quite exciting that I've actually worn a small dimple into the soap! I'm making progress!)
I'll keep adding to this thread as I go...unless I'm boring everyone...in which case I can go back to lurking.
Bruce
No, no - very interesting. One warning though - I've been using the same cake of MWF for the last 18 months (only pausing for travel) and I reckon I won't finish it for at least another couple, although the bottom of the bowl is now pretty visible. Still, two years of excellent shaves is pretty good value for my 15 quid, and I still have the bowl to use afterwards!tryAgain wrote:Other than that, I'll be sticking with MWF until Christmas. (It's quite exciting that I've actually worn a small dimple into the soap! I'm making progress!)
I'll keep adding to this thread as I go...unless I'm boring everyone...in which case I can go back to lurking.
Bruce
Cheers,
Owen
Owen
Owen, thanks for that. I should be thankful that I have a long way to go on my puck. I've always wondered how long one would last.
I had my fling with La Toja last week (4 days of use). I was really looking forward to it based on my memory of the first couple times I tried it. I have to say, while I like the cream, it didn't live up to my memory, and I found myself actually looking forward to getting back to the Fat.
My face actually feels better now, after a few days of successive Fat.
I think I might be getting an interesting product or two at Christmas, so I may switch to another product for a while at that point.
For now, though, I'm loving my steady use of MWF. I've even gotten used to finishing up with a little coral skin food many days. I usually like a shea-based balm as a finishing touch, but I'm getting good results with the skin food following the fat.
I have several other products I really enjoy, so I don't intend to stick with only MWF for life. I'm happy with long duration rotations right now, though, and especially happy with MWF at the moment.
(While I was away, I switched out a red personna that was a little long in the tooth, and put in a Crystal, which was all I had with me. I really like the Crystals much more. I will go back and use up my reds, but I don't love them at all.)
Anyway, onward.
I had my fling with La Toja last week (4 days of use). I was really looking forward to it based on my memory of the first couple times I tried it. I have to say, while I like the cream, it didn't live up to my memory, and I found myself actually looking forward to getting back to the Fat.
My face actually feels better now, after a few days of successive Fat.
I think I might be getting an interesting product or two at Christmas, so I may switch to another product for a while at that point.
For now, though, I'm loving my steady use of MWF. I've even gotten used to finishing up with a little coral skin food many days. I usually like a shea-based balm as a finishing touch, but I'm getting good results with the skin food following the fat.
I have several other products I really enjoy, so I don't intend to stick with only MWF for life. I'm happy with long duration rotations right now, though, and especially happy with MWF at the moment.
(While I was away, I switched out a red personna that was a little long in the tooth, and put in a Crystal, which was all I had with me. I really like the Crystals much more. I will go back and use up my reds, but I don't love them at all.)
Anyway, onward.
-
fallingwickets
- Clive the Thumb
- Posts: 8813
- Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:59 am
Sheepskin toga.tryAgain wrote:Is there a special outfit I get to wear?
Guess one of these days I ought to try the fat in a serious way.
Gene
"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress."
Mark Twain
"People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people."
Alan Moore
"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress."
Mark Twain
"People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people."
Alan Moore
Wellies, a wool cap, waxed cotton coat, wool sweater,Gene wrote:Sheepskin toga.tryAgain wrote:Is there a special outfit I get to wear?
Guess one of these days I ought to try the fat in a serious way.
Not like this fella on the right ....
But this fella .....
I can guarantee he's wearing wellies and wool trousers or work pants.
-
fallingwickets
- Clive the Thumb
- Posts: 8813
- Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:59 am
Man - You guys are really scaring me! This thread is disturbing - it might start a trend. Such discipline is anathema in SMF world (except for maybe Wendell and his fat).drumana wrote:Hey Bruce - this is my first read on this thread. I'm digging the idea of sticking to one set up for a month. I personally may or may not have the discipline to execute it though...I did have a 3 month stint with MWF a while back and have fond memories of it.
Regards,
Andy
Andy
Despite my best intentions, I can hardly make it 5 days in a row with any one given soap or cream. It's predictable. I start having randomly occurring "fragrance memories" of other delicious products, and then usually start getting antsy, so I'll reach in and grab another and that's usually the way it goes. As an example, I ignored one, name doesn''t matter, for so long, I had kind of taken it off my "favorite list" for no reason I could identify if required to, and then a couple of days ago just grabbed it and had a marvelous shave. The spark is always there, it seems like it just subsides for a while, then surges back to the top. It's a game my mind plays, and I'm enjoying it.
Gary
SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
Well, that went better than expected!
I kept with MWF until Christmas day (two months), with only the previously mentioned break for a few days of La Toja cream.
I was thinking I might receive a tub of Cella for Christmas, and I did. Part of me has been really looking forward to trying out the Cella, and part of me thinks that's really silly, since I'm enjoying the MWF so much. I really think I could just stop and use MWF from here on out.
But, of course that's not what's happening.
My plan is to stick with the Cella for a month and then decide what to do. So far, I like the Cella, and I like it more with each use (either I'm getting used to it, or it's lathering better as it gets used, or something). As much as I enjoy using it, though, I can't say that I like it more than MWF.
I weighed the Cella at the start. I'm interested in how quickly I go through that.
I weighed the MWF (with the nifty ceramic bowl, since the soap was stuck in there pretty well) around Thanksgiving, and again on Christmas. With one month of use, I dropped the weight from 374g to 372g. If a new puck is 150g, then I used a 1-2% of the soap. That's with 4 uses a week, since I do use a different kit three days a week at the gym (been working through a Palmolive stick since early summer). For me, though, that puck will last a very long time. And I think that's a very good thing.
For post shave, I found I needed nothing more than a splash of Thayer's after MWF. I'll see what I like after the Cella.
If anything, I'm looking forward to even longer cycles in my rotation at this point. Don't know if that was because of the fat, or because I'm just looking for more stability. We'll see what happens with the Cella!
Happy New Year, everyone!
Bruce
I kept with MWF until Christmas day (two months), with only the previously mentioned break for a few days of La Toja cream.
I was thinking I might receive a tub of Cella for Christmas, and I did. Part of me has been really looking forward to trying out the Cella, and part of me thinks that's really silly, since I'm enjoying the MWF so much. I really think I could just stop and use MWF from here on out.
But, of course that's not what's happening.
My plan is to stick with the Cella for a month and then decide what to do. So far, I like the Cella, and I like it more with each use (either I'm getting used to it, or it's lathering better as it gets used, or something). As much as I enjoy using it, though, I can't say that I like it more than MWF.
I weighed the Cella at the start. I'm interested in how quickly I go through that.
I weighed the MWF (with the nifty ceramic bowl, since the soap was stuck in there pretty well) around Thanksgiving, and again on Christmas. With one month of use, I dropped the weight from 374g to 372g. If a new puck is 150g, then I used a 1-2% of the soap. That's with 4 uses a week, since I do use a different kit three days a week at the gym (been working through a Palmolive stick since early summer). For me, though, that puck will last a very long time. And I think that's a very good thing.
For post shave, I found I needed nothing more than a splash of Thayer's after MWF. I'll see what I like after the Cella.
If anything, I'm looking forward to even longer cycles in my rotation at this point. Don't know if that was because of the fat, or because I'm just looking for more stability. We'll see what happens with the Cella!
Happy New Year, everyone!
Bruce
