SOTD APRIL 26 - MAY 2, 2021

[jgreenepa]

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SOTD MONDAY MORNING, APRIL 26, 2021

Of all my vintage razors, I really enjoy shavings with my old Frederick Reynolds ‘faux’ Frameback. Unlike a genuine frameback, these “rattler” grinds followed the traditional wedge grind and predated the hollow grinds we all know and love. Unlike hollow grinds which are done vertically, these old “rattler” grinds were done horizontally. A true frameback has a separate blade fitted into a separate spine. These faux framebacks represent a solid piece of steel. The issue with many of them, mine included, is that it requires some true hone gymnastics to set an even bevel on this wavy blade. Even touch ups take longer than all my other razors, but the shave, is well worth it. It takes a good edge, but like many of the earlier steels will only hold it 10 to 15 shaves before requiring a touch up. The three pass mug shave put the baby to bed, and was followed by a correspondingly excellent two pass noggin shave with my Rex Ambassador that left me refreshed, clean and very smooth.

RAZOR: Frederick Reynolds 5/8 Rattler (Mug), Rex Ambassador
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
CREAM: Castle Forbes Lime
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Royall Lyme AS/Cologne.

[pausted]

Lea Classic soap
Semogue Caravela Mistura brush
Rockwell 6C razor (plate #4)
Gillette Platinum Plus blade
Nivea Cooling balm
Dominica Bay Rum aftershave

[TRBeck]

Semogue Mistura Taj Resin
Palmolive hard shave soap
RR Gamechanger .84-P DE
Gillette Platinum shave #3
Thayer's Aloe Witch Hazel
Guerlain Vetiver Extreme

Honestly, there's no reason for me to use any other kit. I've been on an experimentation rampage during Covid, and I'm sort of burnt out on it. I will keep Speick and the Salter hard soap alongside Palmolive, but I believe it's time to cut loose the rest. The brush...maybe a few boars hang around for posterity, but this is my favorite knot, and I'd like to use it daily. Razor is pretty well settled.

Fragrances may be an ongoing place to experiment, but I just don't ever enjoy any shaves as much as the Mistura/Palmolive ones.

[Mike R]

Tuesday

Brush: Omega 13522 Pure
Cream: J.M. Fraser's
Razor: '52 Super Speed
Blade: Astra SP
A/S: Dollar Store Splash - Blue / "Fresh Scent"
Cologne / Fragrance: Azzaro Night Time

Mike

[TRBeck]

Semogue 610 bristle
Palmolive shave soap
RR Gamechanger .84
Gillette Platinum #4
Thayer's witch hazel
Azzaro Pour Homme

[Mike R]

Wednesday

Brush: Omega 13522 Pure
Soap: Arko
Razor: '52 Super Speed
Blade: Astra SP
A/S: Skin Bracer
Cologne / Fragrance: Lagerfeld Classic

Mike

[jgreenepa]

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SOTD WEDNESDAY MORNING, APRIL 28, 2021

This morning’s shave featured my Feather DX loaded with a Feather Super and the Karve Christopher Bradley safety razor. The LE MrEE Aluminum handle fitted with a SynBad knot whipped up gobs of MWF goodness. The DX cleared away my mug stubble in three luxurious passes leaving a glassy smooth mug. I realized that this little barber’s razor is my benchmark for all my straight razor honing purely in level of sharpness.

The styrofoam peanut test, developed by my friend Bill (@Edison Carter), works well for me. The razor’s weight alone when loaded with a new Feather Super blade easily pops through the surface of the peanut. My Parkinson’s makes Lynn Abram’s thumb test of edge readiness, used by many, unworkable for me, But this one works for me. I know my bevel is set when it pops like the Feather Super along the length of the blade. It also helps isolate those sections of the edge requiring more work.

The Karve was my first modern artisan purchase after a half century with the Schick Krona. The razor is just splendid. A solid piece of CNC design engineering. Most of my DE safety razors are vintage, with the Gillette New LC and Standard models representing my benchmark for excellence in DE safety razor design. I’ve owned many modern artisan DE safety razors, but I’ve kept only three in my regular rotation, this Karve, the Colonial Silversmith, and the Feather AS-D2. Two Karve passes left me with a velveteen smooth noggin. The PAA Frost Byte capped another great shave and left me feeling refreshed, clean, cool, and oh-so-smooth.

RAZOR: Feather DX (Mug), Karve Christopher Bradley Safety Razor (Dome)
BLADES: Feather Super (Mug), Feather DE (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE LE Aluminum Handle #005 with 24mm SynBad Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with PAA Frost Byte AS Splash.

[TRBeck]

Barbear Classico Semogue Mistura
Palmolive hard shaving soap stuck
Razorock Gamechanger .84P razor
Gillette Platinum (new) shave #5
Grand Bay Rum with witch hazel
Dunhill cologne spray & a/s balm

[pausted]

Bufflehead soap
Semogue Caravela Mistura brush
Colonial General razor
Kai Captain Original blade
Dominica Bay Rum aftershave

[TRBeck]

Shavemac 24/50 22-band silvertip
Cyril Salter lavender shaving soap
Razorock Gamechanger .84 razor
Gillette Platinum (new) shave #6
Thayer's witch hazel splash (aloe)
Monsieur de Givenchy EDT spray*

*Spring perfection, this one.

[TRBeck]

Semogue #620 bristle
Proraso shaving soap
RR GC .84-P DE razor
Gillette Platinum #7
Thayer's witch hazel
Eau Sauvage Parfum

[jgreenepa]

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SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, April 30, 2021

End of the Month Reflections

Welcome to Mitchell’s Wool Fat Fatboy Friday! It’s a bright sunny day here in the western Philadelphia burbs, and the perfect day for a great dome shave, albeit with the bulky Gillette TTO FB head design. Fortunately, for me, my goatee gets me an upper lip pass, so no issues! I also do enjoy shaving the mug with the Boker & Co. French Point. This little razor just works for me, particularly in the toe down neck pass that can be tricky with a larger blade. One of my good shave buddies is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new Kravchenko shave hatchet. This will be his second, the first came from another artisan.

There is no question that they’re beautifully crafted. I prefer the traditional 19th century vintage lines and blade sizes of a classic straight razor like my little cast steel Boker French Point. I can’t attribute this shave hatchet, cleaver-looking aesthetic trend to millennial tastes, as my son, a fifty something and a very well-respected almost eighty something straight razor forum admin are fans as well. But that kind of variety of taste is why I enjoy this hobby of ours so much. I expect at some point, I’ll attempt a shave with one of these whisker cleavers, but until then I have more than enough traditionally sized straight razors to keep me well-occupied.

The shave this morning to the background refrain of my favorite super group, all musicians of my age, the Traveling Wilbury’s “End of the Line”, was uneventfully superb. The key to a great straight razor shave is taking one’s time and really “being there”, focused and involved. It’s almost a form of meditation for me in the mornings. It’s one of the two times of day for this old retiree that’s all mine! The ‘Honey Do’ list disappears. My favorite shave soap, the variety of shave tools that change each day, and that wonderfully smooth, clean, cool, and refreshing result set the tone for the rest of the day. The other time is when I’m working on my TR6.

RAZOR: Boker & Co. Sheffield Cast Steel French Point (Mug), Gillette Fatboy
BLADE: Kai DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Rearden Razor 316L SS Tuxedo Synth
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with L’Occitane Cade AS Balm.

https://youtu.be/UMVjToYOjbM

[TRBeck]

Semogue Barbear Classico Mistura
Palmolive hard shaving soap stuck
GEM Micromatic Clog-Pruf SE razor
GEM PTFE-coated blade shave #??
Thayer's witch hazel w/aloe splash
Terre d'Hermes Eau de Toilette

[brothers]

Yesterday's shave:
Strop Shoppe Solsetio soap - now depleted - good but out of business
Zenith boar brush
Schick Slim Twin razor
Superior 70 mentholated splash

[TRBeck]

Semogue SOC Mistura - ivory
Homemade sandalwood soap
GEM Micromatic Clog-Pruf SE
GEM PTFE-coated shave #7?
Grand Bay Rum/witch hazel
Solo Loewe eau de toilette

I think this was shave 7 for this blade. It felt just slightly less smooth than yesterday. Normally shaves 2-6 with these are perfect, and then shave 7 is a little less smooth but still solid. After that, for me, things drop off significantly. Anyway, great shave today.

[CMur12]

Sunday night:

Razor: Parker injector, adjustable
Blade: ASR

Brush: Semogue 1305
Soap: Mystic Water Lime

Lather made on top of the soap
Three passes

Aftershave: Cold water rinse and Supply "Crisp" Healing Post Shave

I just got this razor and used it for the first time, tonight. My concern was whether it would be adjustable to a mild enough level. At "1" (the lowest setting) and "2", I could sling it with abandon - typical of a very mild razor - even when not yet fully comfortable with the shaving angle for an injector razor. I moved it up to three, which required a little less abandon, but was still mild and probably a better setting for me. Tomorrow's shower will probably show me how good a shave I got, but my impression so far is that it was pretty good.

This razor is made of stamped metal and cheap plastic, similar to the Schick Injectors, though the Schick product felt a little more substantial and better finished. The Parker however appears to be a very good shaver.

- Murray