Interesting Journey

Thoughts and input on anything related to wet shaving or men's grooming.
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mike
Posts: 284
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2005 7:34 pm

Interesting Journey

Post by mike »

I joined smf in 2005. At that time I purchased some Colonel Conk shaving soap based a review by Chris Moss. He considered it the gold standard back then. I
Also bought some Coates cream based on a review by Gordon. Next came a Gillette adjustable, which was very popular in 2005. Since then I have purchased and used
countless brands of soaps, creams, brushes, razors and blades.
After 12 years I have ended up pretty much where I began. The only soap I now use is Col. Conk and Coates is my primary cream. I still use the Gillette Adjustable with Persona hospital use blades. I primarily use a brush that has a knot from the Golden Nib, although I do have a few high end brushes. It's funny that after all these years I have basically come full circle.
Mike

~ Beati Pacifici~
Gene
Posts: 1508
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:58 am
Location: Buda, TX

Re: Interesting Journey

Post by Gene »

Interesting post.

Some of the items I liked best when I tried them after I found this site are no longer available (Coates in the big tubs) or were reformulated and went south before I got the chance to try them.

The red tip Gillette that I bought when I decided to get back in the DE shaving game I still own (it's a birth year razor, so I will keep it for sentimental reasons). I pull it out to use it every now and then, but frankly, I like my DE89L better than anything. Same for my regular brush. And, lastly, the consumables I like best were not what I first tried when I found SMF, but were items I found after lots of trial and error. They are a very small handful of creams and soaps that are still available from any of the vendors we all utilize.
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
brothers
Posts: 21514
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Re: Interesting Journey

Post by brothers »

For me, the result of the journey has been quite an education and an enjoyable experience. I've located the stuff that works best for me, and now I can anticipate a delightful shave every day. There is still one challenge that I continue to pursue enthusiastically --- using up as many shaving soaps and creams - one at a time - as I can before the day comes when shaving is no longer an issue.
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
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fallingwickets
Clive the Thumb
Posts: 8813
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:59 am

Re: Interesting Journey

Post by fallingwickets »

bought some Coates cream based on a review by Gordon.
I still think to this day that Gordon is a visa/mastercard mole :D :D :D

clive
de gustibus non est disputandum
CMur12
Posts: 7461
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2006 8:41 pm
Location: Moses Lake, Washington, USA

Re: Interesting Journey

Post by CMur12 »

It's good to hear the thoughts of a true Old Timer! :D

My first couple of years here were characterized by feverish experimentation and the expenditure of large sums of money. Then I started consolidating, adding the occasional new product after that. Out of concern that favorite expendables would be discontinued (primarily blades) or reformulated (soaps), I built up great cache of preferred soaps and blades.

Razors: My favorite razor for a long time was the Gillette Tech with the short, thick handle. Though since then, I have settled on the Mergress (on its lowest setting) as my primary razor, followed by the Schick Krona.

Brushes: My favorites are made by Semogue, a tiny family-owned factory in northern Portugal. I like their badger brushes better than any others, though lately I have been best served by one of their boar brushes, the 1305. Most boar bristle make me think of straw, but the Semogue 1305 and the 830 are made of a unique grade of boar bristle that I find extraordinarily effective and a pleasure to use.

Soaps: I'm very sensitive to fragrances, so these have to be unscented, very lightly fragranced, or scented with EO. My favorite commercial soaps are Valobra hard soaps (Valobra Shave Stick, the newer Valobra cake soap in unscented, and the old AoS) and Cella. I also like artisan soaps, such as Mike's Natural scented with lime. I liked Tim's Soap, too, while it was available. I now have a mega-stash of Valobra, in the three forms listed above, as well as some Cella, Mike's, and others.

Blades: I actually do pretty well with most blades, except Feathers. My favorites of Personna Med Prep/Hospital Use, Tíz (a blade a friend brought me from Iran), Perma-Sharp Super, Gillette Rubie, Treet Dura-Sharp (PTFE-coated carbon steel), and others. I think the best blades ever made were the Personna 74, of which I have a small supply.

Nowadays, I tend to stick with what works, doing very little rotation of tools.

- Murray
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TommyDawg
Posts: 337
Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:44 pm
Location: Pepperell MA

Re: Interesting Journey

Post by TommyDawg »

I think the circle, or progression of our interest is similar for most of us. It can actually be paralleled with other hobbies or interests... Start out ignorant, discover things of interest, dive in, enjoy vibrant discussion with others, try new things, get diagnosed with RAD, SCAD, BAD, RBAD, and so on. Then eventually settle into a routine of things you find you like the most, etc, to complete the circle. I am to the point where something new may catch my eye, but I keep it pretty low key these days and stick to my Diplomat, ball tech, or toggle, Feather or Rapira blades, and a few creams. Although... I could use a new brush.... :D
Thanks for the interesting post! Hope everyone is doing well!
Tom
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fallingwickets
Clive the Thumb
Posts: 8813
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:59 am

Re: Interesting Journey

Post by fallingwickets »

Although... I could use a new brush.... :D
yup, thats some circle you've got going there LOL

clive
de gustibus non est disputandum
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