SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Top of the morning to ya! Post pics and descriptions of your daily shaving gear and accessories!
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Mike R
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SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by Mike R »

Monday

Brush: Omega 13522 Pure
Cream: Taylor - Sandalwood
Razor: '54 Z2 Super Speed
Blade: Super-Max Platinum
A/S: Barbasol Pacific Rush
Cologne / Fragrance: Goodfellow #7 - Spiced Ginger and Rum

Mike
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TRBeck
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by TRBeck »

Shavemac 2-band silvertip brush
Homemade sandalwood EO soap
Rockwell 6S double-edge plate 5
Personna Medical Prep blade #1
Lucky Tiger Aftershave & Tonic
Yves St. Laurent Live Jazz EDT

This brush really is tremendous. The homemade soap is great. What a shave.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
jgreenepa
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by jgreenepa »

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SOTD MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020

Great shave yesterday with the Le Coq Cage Head and two stacked blades. I really enjoy shaving with a different razor every day. With my face and noggin practically healed, I decided to shave with my Eclipse Red Ring. I really enjoy this razor. It’s an incredibly efficient English design from the late twenties/early thirties, and always delivers a great shave. I decided to shave with Tabac since I’m out with the TR6 with some friends later, and hopefully the open air cockpit will help to dissipate the scent, so SWMBO doesn’t suffer.

The Eclipse Red Ring razor head design has been copied by modern artisans. Any owner of the Occam’s DE need merely compare the aggressive baseplate to the baseplate on the Red Ring. The Red Ring is a two piece design whereas the Occam’s is a three piece, but one immediately sees the similarity upon comparison. In any case the Red Ring is a highly efficient, some might say aggressive design, one I like a great deal, as it always delivers awesome shaves. This shave was exactly as expected! Two and a half (WTG, ATG, ATG) passes later I was in BBS land with some alum-revealed slight heat around the healing Adam’s Apple area, but otherwise cool, clean and refreshed on both dome and face. Great shave!

RAZOR: Eclipse Red Ring
BLADE: Suneko
PREP: Ice water rinse
BRUSH: Rearden Razor 316L SS Synthetic
SOAP: Tabac
POSTSHAVE: Iced water wash with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Thayers Lavender WH and Royall Lyme AS/Cologne Splash. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum
De Gustibus Non Disputandum
jgreenepa
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by jgreenepa »

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SOTD TUESDAY MAY 5, 2020

I really enjoyed my Single Ring shave two days ago. The Gillette Old Type I used dated from the first year of production (1905), and is an excellent shaver for most, but just a decent shaver for shaky old me. The major issue I have with safety razors is their weight. Because of my Parkinson’s, whenever I shave with a lighter safety razor, I’m forced to concentrate on managing my tremors while at the same time concentrating on shave technique. When I had the opportunity to shave with Tom’s (@twhite) heavy (156 grams) brass adjustable razor (TAR) on his pass around, the weight freed me up to just concentrate on technique, and resulted in stupendous shaves. In that same spirit, I remembered my Gillette ’Big Fellow’ (1920 production) which is essentially a Gillette Old Type on steroids. The Gillette Single Ring Old Type weighs in at 51 grams which makes it difficult for me to shave as smoothly as I prefer. The ‘Big Fellow’ is 31 grams heavier at 82grams. The greater weight coupled with the excellent balance, about 3/4” below the head, just worked for me. The ‘Big Fellow’ was produced from 1919 through the early thirties.

The software for today’s shave included Talbot Shaving’s ‘Marlogue Wood’ Soap salted with 6 drops of M-Bomb and Barrister and Mann’s ‘Fern’ AS. Accompanying hardware consisted of Alpha Shaving’s T-400 Tribute Brush and Creek Road Pottery’s TSB Shave Bowl. THE 26MM Badger fan knot whipped up a decent lather, but it definitely took a fair bit of time. This is probably the thirstiest soap I own. It was hard to believe the amount of water necessary for a decent lather in my new shave bowl courtesy of a group I belong to on FB. The shave worked well, although the scent from the soap (eau de lumber mill) was not my cup of tea. Despite the scent, the soap after excessive hydration, did deliver a thick, yogurty lather. The razor was a pleasure to use. It felt great in hand and delivered a ‘no-brainer’, bloodless BBS after 2 1/2 passes (WTG, ATG, ATG), where the last half pass was simply some ATG buffing. I feel clean, cool, smooth and refreshed!

RAZOR: Gillette Big Fellow (1920)
BLADE: Suneko (2)
PREP: Iced water rinse
BRUSH: Alpha Shaving T-400 Tribute 26mm Two Band Badger
SOAP: Talbot Shaving and Maol Grooming Marlogue Wood
POSTSHAVE: Iced water wash with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Thayers Lavender WH and Barrister & Mann ‘Fern’. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum.
De Gustibus Non Disputandum
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TRBeck
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by TRBeck »

Late posting today:

Omega 80005 boar brush
Musgo Real shaving soap
Rockwell 6S on plate #5
US Personna Medical #2
Thayer's Original splash
Prada Luna Rossa spray
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
Actor07
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by Actor07 »

Today May 5, 2020. Original Tradere 2nd Gen OC Razor; Personna 74 razor blade (30)
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Mike R
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by Mike R »

Tuesday

Brush: Omega 13522 Pure
Soap: Tabac
Razor: '54 Z2 Super Speed
Blade: Super-Max Platinum
A/S: Vintage Avon Spicy
Cologne / Fragrance: Grey Flannel

Mike
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Mike R
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by Mike R »

Wednesday

Brush: Omega 13522 Pure
Soap: Tabac
Razor: '54 Z2 Super Speed
Blade: Super-Max Platinum
A/S: Vintage Avon Spicy
Cologne / Fragrance: Aramis New West

Mike
jgreenepa
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by jgreenepa »

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SOTD WEDNESDAY MAY 6, 2020

I had intended to shave with a different razor this morning. But yesterday’s shave was so great that I felt the need to repeat! The Big Fellow is a highly efficient shaver that delivers what has turned out to be an effortless BBS. Yesterday’s soap, however, was awful for me scent-wise. I know it’s quite popular with some folks, ‘eau de lumberyard’ just doesn’t do it for me.

I really like Soap Commander ‘Honor’. Especially after adding 6 drops of M-Bomb. Following my iced water rinse, it paired beautifully with the Jayaruh Custom Silver Badger Rosewood brush to generate a thick, cooling, yogurty lather. Two and a half passes (WTG, ATG, ATG) put the baby to bed with the final half pass again just consisting of some selective face and noggin buffing. Another effortless, bloodless BBS with some very minor heat revealed with the alum block below my Adam’s Apple. I feel clean, cool, smooth and refreshed.

RAZOR: Gillette Big Fellow (1920 vintage)
BLADE: Suneko (1)
PREP: Iced water rinse
BRUSH: Jayaruh Rosewood Handled Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Soap Commander Honor w/ 6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Iced water wash with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Thayers Lavender WH and Fine Accoutrements Platinum AS. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum.
De Gustibus Non Disputandum
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Mike R
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by Mike R »

Thursday

Brush: Omega 13522 Pure
Cream: Trumper Sandalwood
Razor: '54 Z2 Super Speed
Blade: Super-Max Platinum
A/S: Aveda
Cologne / Fragrance: Joop

Mike
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TRBeck
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by TRBeck »

Shavemac Finest 23/48*
Speick shave soap stuck
Rockwell 6S on plate #5
US Personna Med Prep 4
Lucky Tiger A/S & Tonic
CdG Vettiveru edc spray

*About 7 years ago, I bought a Shavemac Finest with a knot that was nominally 22/48 and probably closer to 24/48 in reality. It was incredible: silvertip feel, backbone from the pure badger mixed in, excellent flowthrough.

Naturally I sold it.

I bought another Finest - two, actually - later but didn't strike gold; they were just too scritchy.

Last month I decided to take a flyer on trying the Finest again. The brush arrived yesterday. I ordered this at 23/48, and while I haven't measured it with calipers, it looks almost identical in diameter to a 24mm 2-band I have from Bernd. Regardless, it lathers brilliantly. Now, what I'm not sure of yet is facefeel. It's not as scritchy as the ones I rejected previously, but I'm not sure yet if it's as soft as that old 22/48. I need to give it some time to decide how my face responds. This is generally the case with Simpson Best hair for me, and sometimes with other badgers.

Today, the feel was just right: enough backbone to give feedback to the face, but not a wall of badger and not too flexible. Good shave.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
jgreenepa
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by jgreenepa »

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SOTD THURSDAY MAY U, 2020

Ok, I admit, I’m really enjoying shaving with this Gillette Big Fellow. For today’s shave I selected Declaration Grooming Sellout Soap. It’s one of their milk steak soap bases, and really generates a wonderful, rich skin-toning lather that stays with one for the rest of the day. My grandson bought me a little Kent Synthetic brush, which was identical to one I received as a gift. I PIF’ed that brush, but did enjoy using its replacement this morning. The Kent had decent backbone, but fell a little short on water retention. Since SWMBO complained about my use of the Fine Platinum AS yesterday, I selected Chiseled Face Natural, a refreshing scent-free AS. The 6 drops of M-Bomb pumped up the Sellout sufficiently to guarantee the kind of cooling lather I enjoy.

After a cold shower, the shave began with a nice ice water rinse of both mug and dome shaving surfaces. The icy cold mentholated lather felt great felt great. The Big Fellow just feels good in the hand. Historically, the razor was developed for larger men’s hands. At 6’3” I guess I qualify. I’d loaded a Feather blade into this Old Type on steroids. It made short work of my whiskers in that first WTG pass. With continued use I've grown more confident in this razor. The wide sweet spot made whisker obliteration easier with each shave. My second ATG pass led me directly to bloodless BBS land. On that second pass, the shave strokes were shorter, but more confident. My face and dome both felt velveteen smooth, cool and clean.

RAZOR: Gillette Big Fellow (1920 vintage)
BLADE: Feather (1)
PREP: Iced cold water rinse
BRUSH: Kent Infinity Synthetic
SOAP: Declaration Grooming Sellout (Milk Steak Base)
POSTSHAVE: Iced cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and Chiseled Face Natural AS Splash. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum.
De Gustibus Non Disputandum
jgreenepa
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by jgreenepa »

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SOTD FRIDAY MAY 8, 2020

After three great shaves with the Gillette ‘Big Fellow’, I decided to pull out a somewhat neglected razor in my Den, the LaResche 77. LaResche (a French Company, originally Swiss) patented the 77 in 1935. The silver plated brass LaResche 77 is known for its rather unique guard bar (like shark jaws) built into the upper cap of the head. The razor head is a bit wider than a typical razor head resulting in both a positive and a negative. The negative is that some users complain that it makes it more difficult to shave under the schnozz. Not an issue for me as I have a full goatee. The positive, however, and the big selling point as far as I’m concerned, is the large sweet spot provided by both the extreme curvature of the head and the large gap provided by its unique guard bar. Finding the correct shave angle is easy, and the shave delivered is extremely efficient. The head and face shave I get from the razor are always exquisitely close, yet irritation-free, which is surprising given its looks. This is one of the smoothest shaving razors in my den.

There really aren’t many of these razors available. I feel very fortunate to own one. Some complain that it is overly aggressive, but most of these complaints trace to damaged razors that have been dropped. Given the exaggerated curvature of the safety bar, dropping it and bending the head throws off the shave angle which can turn the razor into an unknowing assaultive tool. A friend in my local shave meetup had one with a bent head. We discovered the issue after comparing it to mine. Some careful realignment restored it to its former capability. He couldn’t believe the difference in the shave. I had the same experience with a damaged Rex Ambassador which the good folks at Razor Emporium repaired.

Now back to the shave. After a shower, I began with an iced water rinse. Next I selected my Viking Silvertip Badger along with C.O. Bigelow shave cream enhanced with 6 drops of M-Bomb. The lather produced by this Proraso manufactured product was delightfully cooling to both noggin and mug. The LaResche 77 mowed my whiskers right down to the skin line. The amazing part of that first WTG pass was the smoothness of each stroke. It literally felt like I was was just sweeping the lather away. One final ATG pass led right to BBS land. Thayers Lavender WH followed by Chiseled Face Natural AS Splash and a finish with A&E Post-Shave Serum was the icing on the cake. The result was a smooth and cooling, relaxed shave that left me feeling incredibly refreshed.

RAZOR: LaResche 77
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium (1)
PREP: Iced water rinse
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
CREAM: C.O. Bigelow
POSTSHAVE: Iced water wash with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Thayers Lavender WH and Chiseled Face Natural AS Splash. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum.
De Gustibus Non Disputandum
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TRBeck
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by TRBeck »

Shavemac Finest 23/48 brush
Homemade blue cypress soap
Rockwell 6S razor on plate #5
Personna Medical Prep blade
Thayer's Original Witch Hazel
Victorinox Swiss Army Classic

The Finest performed admirably today, although I'm still working to see what its lather-holding capacity is. I had plenty for two passes plus a third lather-only pass (part of the ritual), but not such abundance as I usually do.

In use today the brush reminded me of what a Kent BK4 can do. This is a bit more densely packed, but with equally good flowthrough and better face-feel (both a touch more backbone and, for me, less prickle than the first half dozen shaves on a BK4). I will use it a few more times before giving any sort of real review.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
jgreenepa
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by jgreenepa »

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SOTD SATURDAY MAY 9, 2020

My new/old Ronson Self Sharpening Safety Razor (1930s vintage) finally arrived from British Columbia. It was scheduled to arrive this last Monday, but with COVID19 delays showed up 4 days later. It’s in remarkably good condition for an 85 - 90 yr old razor and included a NOS unused blade. One of my FB shave brothers with a remarkable vintage safety razor collection owns one as well which he declares to be his favorite razor.

Now I’ve known about this razor, but avoided them because of the blade usage issue. Now I guess I could hone and strop the included blade, or could modify a modern blade by nipping out a gap in the blade tabs as I do with my Gibbs, but my clever friend has been using injector blades very successfully. So after some FB Messenger tutorial sessions from my patient teacher, I felt ready to go. Before use I cleaned and sanitized it and loaded a Proline Injector blade as instructed.

I began the shave with an iced water rinse following my shower. The MrEE brush’s hybrid Badger/Boar knot whipped up a gorgeous, thick Pannacrema Nuavia Blu lather enhanced with 6 drops of M-Bomb. At 77.6 grams, the razor feels good in the hand. The 3/4” head and 2 5/8” handle seemed awkward at first, but as my friend instructed, it shaves at the same angle as a Gem. The Proline injector blade is both smooth and sharp, and made short work of the facial whiskers in two careful passes (WTG, ATG).

The head shave was a bit problematic, not due to the razor, but rather to user error. The razor has a generous sweet spot, but is quite head heavy. As a result I ended up with two minor set down errors. The first as I attempted an ATG pass on the left side of my dome, just above the ear, and the second at the back of my head as I started a WTG pass. Don't get me wrong; I really like this razor. I plan on shaving with it for as long as it takes to master. Most of my focus will be on mastering the head shave, as the face shave ended up an easy BBS. My head shave despite the two nicks worked out as a solid DFS. The challenge with the noggin are the hills, valleys and curvature as I work toward a BBS. In any case I feel clean, smooth and refreshed.

RAZOR: Ronson Self Sharpening Safety Razor
BLADE: Schick Proline B-20 Injector
PREP: Iced water rinse
BRUSH: MrEE Brush 007
SOAP: Pannacrema Nuavia Blu
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and Fine Accoutrements Lavender Pour Homme AS Splash. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum
De Gustibus Non Disputandum
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TRBeck
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by TRBeck »

Shavemac Finest 23/48
Palmolive shave "stuck"
Rockwell 6S on plate 5
Personna Medical Prep
Thayer's Original W/H
Luna Rossa Carbon edt

The Shavemac really came into its own today. Huge volume of lather, virtually no scritch, felt great on the face. It really did remind me of a perfect hybrid of the classic Kent BK4 and a Simpson Best. I'm still reserving judgment until I have it a few more days, and I will then post a review.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
jgreenepa
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by jgreenepa »

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SOTD SUNDAY MAY 10, 2020

It’s a beautiful sunny, but cold day here in the Philly suburbs. It’s day two with the newly acquired Ronson Safety Razor. Since it’s single edge Sunday, it’s more than appropriate for me to continue my Ronson shave journey. Today my focus is on the dome, since I experienced two minor set down errors there during yesterday’s shave. The Ronson performed beautifully on my mug during that shave, but it’s the noggin that’s my focus today.

The Ronson weighs in at roughly 78 grams and most of that weight is concentrated in the head. The 2 5/8” handle is shorter than I’m used to, and yesterday I shaved with my grip just below the oversized head on this razor. That grip worked beautifully on the mug, but not so much on the dome. So today I tried gripping the end of the handle, which is the way I shave the dome with my Gems.

After my shower and iced water rinse, I whipped up a generous, thick and shiny lather with my Alpha Shaving 26mm two band badger T-400 Tribute brush. The Fine Snake Bite lather was surprisingly slick and delightfully cooling on both face and head. The new grip took a bit of getting used to, but worked beautifully in letting the weighty head of this razor do the shaving work on the dome. I gripped the razor just below the head as I do yesterday for the mug scrape.

The change-up worked well on the noggin. That sharp Schick Proline Injector blade mowed through the stubble with the new adjusted grip like a broom through dust, sweeping everything cleanly away. I found that the key to success was short careful strokes which worked particularly well ATG on the back of the dome. Bending forward over the sink allowed the razor head’s weight to do the job bloodlessly for the most part. I did reopen yesterday’s nick on the back of the dome, but only because I purposefully overshaved that area. Great shave overall, BBS on the face and DFS+++ on the dome. Another two pass(WTG, ATG) shave leaving me feeling clean, cool, smooth and ready to face the day.

RAZOR: Ronson Safety Razor
BLADE: Schick B-20 Proline Injector
PREP: Ice water rinse
BRUSH: Alpha Shaving T-400 Tribute w/ 26mm Two Band Badger Knot
SOAP: Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite
POSTSHAVE: Iced water wash with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Thayers Lavender WH and Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum.
De Gustibus Non Disputandum
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TRBeck
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Re: SOTD May 4 - May 10, 2020

Post by TRBeck »

Shavemac Finest 23/48 badger
Cyril Salter lavender hard soap
Rockwell 6S double-edge razor
Personna Medical Prep shave 1
Lucky Tiger aftershave & tonic
Prada Luna Rossa EDT spray :D

Some days there's a little extra time and a little extra quiet and the light is slanting through the bathroom window just so and the shave is just perfect. Today was such a day.

I will probably post a review of the Shavemac tomorrow. Spoiler: I like it.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
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