Author Topic: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)  (Read 741587 times)

Offline warhawk

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1815 on: January 04, 2017, 10:22:53 AM »
Last Night's SOTD,  January 3, 2017

Razor:  Wolfman SB

Blade:  Feather

Soap: Jabonman: Lavanda

Brush:  Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic

Dessert:  Ice cube rub, refrigerated WH, refrigerated FINE Fresh Vetiver



WARHAWK
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Offline warhawk

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1816 on: January 07, 2017, 10:08:54 AM »
Saturday, January 7, 2017 SOTD

Razor: Wolfman SB

Blade: Feather

Soap:  Petal Pusher Fancies: Briar

Brush:  Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic

Dessert:  Ice cube rub and refrigerated WH




WARHAWK
Tough times don't last but tough people do!!!


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1817 on: January 07, 2017, 09:09:58 PM »


Barrister and Mann - Roam (2016)
Island Bladeworks - "Bullwinkle" | TGN Finest
Gillette Tech (pre-war) | Feather New Hi-Stainless (1)


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1818 on: January 12, 2017, 05:58:58 AM »
L&L Grooming - Puzzle
BSB-Ti | HMW Extra Dense
RazoRock Black Mamba | Feather New Hi-Stainless (1)


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1819 on: January 13, 2017, 07:50:53 PM »
Catie's Bubbles - 322
Island Bladeworks - "Bullwinkle" | TGN Finest
RazoRock Black Mamba | Feather New Hi-Stainless (1)



It's a shame a movie franchise hijacked a perfectly good superstition.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1820 on: January 15, 2017, 03:03:15 PM »
Van Yulay - Club Humidor
Rubberset 200-4 | Omega Boar
Star 1912 | Gem PTFE (1)


First, a note about the brush and the razor:

In June of 2016, I was in search of a Rubberset 200-4 as a restore host for my beloved Omega PRO48 boar knot (it was well broken-in by me, but I always hated the cheap handle).  I had already lined out the restore job to be done by Nate Singleterry.  At that point, I just needed a decent host.  Fortunately, Jeff Cantrell​ had one lying around that he'd intended to restore, but never got around to it.  He wanted to do a trade instead of cash, so I offered up a few things.  He chose a sealed Beaver WoodWright Jolly Roger gift set that I had purchased as backup.  After the deal was made, he felt like the deal was lop-sided in his favor, so he threw in the Star 1912 and some blades.  His rationale was that after reviewing my SOTD posts,  he noted I'd never commented on using a vintage SE.  He was correct.  They just looked barbaric, and I never thought I'd like one.  To my surprise, on the first go, it provided one of the best shaves of my life.  As a result, this opened up a new realm of wet shaving for me.  Since then I've picked up some Damaskeenes, but they still don't compare to the shaves I consistently get from this unassuming Star.  I find it extremely efficient and equally comfortable.  I am so grateful to Jeff for introducing me to these "gems" in vintage razors.

Now, on to the shave:

In my den, Van Yulay is one of the easiest soaps to lather, despite my hard water.  It's intuitive---boar or badger---such that each time I have mounds of bright white yogurt-y lather.  It's also one of my top favorites for residual slickness.  This combo of the uncannily smooth Star/Gem PTFE and the protection from Van Yulay means I can get BBS in 2 passes and minimal clean-up.

The fragrance of Club Humidor, specifically, is not really that of a humidor, but rather that of a manly man that probably just walked out of one after a night on the town. While there are some aromatic cedar and cured tobacco notes, there's enough citronella, leather, and amber to round out this cologne-type scent.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1821 on: January 17, 2017, 06:35:00 PM »
Cold River Soap Works "Le Chypre Sombre"
BSB-Ti | HMW Extra Dense
Above The Tie S1 | Triad Rolling Hex 316 Stainless | Feather New Hi-Stainless (1)
Stirling Soap Co. "Stirling Noir"
Guy Laroche "Drakkar Noir" EdT


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1822 on: January 20, 2017, 05:14:20 AM »
Van Yulay "Royal Oudh"
Kent V8 | Vintage Badger
Gem | Damaskeene | Gem PTFE (1)


Van Yulay has been in my short rotation for some time now.  With a collection approaching 20 Van Yulay soaps, I've sung their praises so much, I may as well be a spokesperson.  As a result, I'll just stipulate that the soap provides a luxurious, dense, protective lather that's easily built on my face despite hard water.

This was my first experience with their homage to Creed's Royal Oud.  Never having smelled Royal Oud, I can't speak to the accuracy of Royal "Oudh".  However, after this shave, I'm tempted to explore this. It's an elegant fragrance without being snobby. I feel like it's appropriate for both business and casual, and with the right chemistry, would likely smell equally great on the fairer sex.  I understand concentrations and origins play a role, but despite its namesake, this doesn't really say oud to me.  Instead, I do pick up on a spicy cedar and sandalwood with a gentle thick musk mitigated by a sweet citrus that's somewhere between mandarin and lemon. The splash is more of the same, if not a bit more of the sweetness.  2 hours later, the fragrance has gotten sharper and less sweet, more of less resembling bergamot.  I also note a very faint intermittent powder that I associate with Van Yulay's splash base.

While I don't tend to gravitate to cologne-scented shaving products, Royal Oudh is a very nice fragrance that has me re-thinking that custom.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1823 on: January 21, 2017, 05:48:23 PM »
Big Easy Soaps & Tinctures "221B Baker Street"
Island Bladeworks "Bullwinkle" | TGN Finest
Star 1912 | Gem PTFE (1)


I like trying out new artisans' products.  Sometimes it feels like beta testing, but it's fun to watch them improve based on feedback.  I just experienced a new one that we should probably keep our eye on.  Big Easy Soaps & Tinctures is already churning out a very nice product.

My order consisted of soap and splash sets of "221B Baker Street" and "Flying Fortress". They were double bagged in bubble mailers and the individual products were wrapped in bubble-wrap as well.  Despite this, a small area on the bottom of one of the tubs appeared to be shattered, but since the plastic is laminated, nothing leaked.  The other tub had a crack with spidering on the side, but again, there was no loss of product. The tubs are all-plastic transparent with black lids. The tub height with lid is 64 mm.  The access diameter is 82.6 mm.  The full tubs weighed 244 and 242 grams respectively.  The soap is firm and appears to have been packed-in by hand with a very small amount of the product stuck to the outside of the tub (explaining the fragrance emanating from the mailbox).  221B Baker Street appeared to have an even off-white coloring and some of the product had crumbled and was rattling within the tub. The loose pieces were easily pressed back into the rest of the product.  Flying Fortress did have some uneven coloring with darker amber spots noted throughout. The splashes were in the standard amber apothecary bottles.  One of the bottles had the flow limiter separate, while the other one had it already inserted.  The lids were tight and secured with black plastic tape.  The labels on the both the soaps and the splashes appear to be vinyl, but the ink runs very easily when wet.  There are a few bubbles that annoy me.  The art does not showcase the company name very well, but the tubs do have side labels that clearly state the product's name and brand, that is, if it's still visible after being exposed to humidity.  Big Easy Soaps & Tinctures does need a logo, though.
























I decided to start with 221B Baker Street.  The scent notes per the artisan's Etsy page are, "tobacco, opium, and black tea."  As I loaded the knot the most forward fragrance was a bold, smoky, pipe tobacco sweetened with cherry and vanilla.  It transformed very little as the shave progressed, but it did warm a bit with notes of maple and finally incense or maybe nag champa.  I did not detect black tea, but this is my first use.  I find I pick up on the more subtle notes with subsequent uses.  It's a very pleasant fragrance, and it seems many artisans have some interpretation of this profile in their freshmen offerings. Big Easy Soaps does a good job of it, so if sweet pipe tobacco is your thing, you'll likely enjoy 221B Baker Street. 
 
Earlier in the day, I did a test lather, and I discovered Big Easy wasn't necessarily thirsty, but I could push the water a good bit before destroying it.  The degradation was gradual, however. Instead of that brittle threshold that goes from perfect lather to useless meringue, slickness and cushion gradually declined until I had light airy useless foam.  In practice, I started with a fairly damp brush that was just on the cusp of dripping. After loading the knot for around 30-45 seconds, and scalp-lathering, I ended up with more than enough usable lather for 3 head and face passes without having to add water.  The resulting bright white lather provided a dense foundation yielding good cushion, and it was slick, but residual slickness was lacking a bit.  Despite using a mild shaver, I didn't try making a pass without plenty of visible lather.  I often do touch-ups with just a wet palm reconstituting the slickness of the prior pass, but given the feeling I had, I wasn't confident doing that with my first use of Big Easy.  Post-shave was on par with many of my preferred artisans.  The paired alcohol-free splash added to that post shave.  My skin feels well-hydrated and smooth.  There is no tackiness.  Despite the rather bold fragrance, I noted no irritation.
 
Overall my first use of Big Easy Soaps & Tinctures was a pleasant one, and none of the aforementioned dings will prevent me from using it again.  I would imagine a slight tweak to the base, improving residual slickness and post-shave would allow them to compete with my top 5 favorites. The label issue is one that seems to plague many new artisans, so I expect that will be ironed out soon.
 
Soap ingredients: tallow, stearic acid, coconut oil, castor oil, kokum butter, shea butter, cocoa butter, avocado oil, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, distilled water.
 
Splash ingredients: witch hazel extract, aloe extract, vegetable glycerin, chamomile extract, tea tree oil, essential/fragrance oil


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1824 on: January 22, 2017, 05:26:02 PM »
Big Easy Soaps & Tinctures "Flying Fortress"
Rubberset 200-4 | Omega Boar
RazoRock Black Mamba | Feather New Hi-Stainless (1)

This is a very good performing soap!  Flying Fortress is tobacco, leather, gunpowder, and something that smells like a cross between helicopter exhaust and Hoppe's No. 9. Very cool!


Offline warhawk

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1825 on: January 22, 2017, 07:14:17 PM »
Sunday,  January 22, 2017 SOTD

Weber DLC w/ Bulldog Handle

Bolzano Superinox

Barrister&Mann 42

Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic

Ice cube rub,  refrigerated WH,  and refrigerated 42



WARHAWK
Tough times don't last but tough people do!!!


Offline warhawk

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1826 on: January 22, 2017, 07:17:08 PM »
@120:  Hi Matt: I enjoy reading your reviews on your shave soaps. Keep em coming!!! Love the pics!!!

WARHAWK
Tough times don't last but tough people do!!!


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1827 on: January 22, 2017, 07:52:20 PM »
Sunday,  January 22, 2017 SOTD

Weber DLC w/ Bulldog Handle

Bolzano Superinox

Barrister&Mann 42

Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic

Ice cube rub,  refrigerated WH,  and refrigerated 42



WARHAWK
You love that Weber, don't you.  Kind of like I love my Black Mamba.  FYI, RazoRock is bringing back the Black Mamba.  Will be tweaking the geometry a bit, although I can't imagine what could be improved on it.  He's also talking about shipping it with their titanium Halo handle.  The Black Mamba is in the near future, but they're also bringing back the Baby Smooth, and I believe it's supposed to be this week.  Both of these razors are expected to be at a lower cost.  I'll be picking up another Black Mamba for sure.  I sold off my Baby Smooth.  It was too mild for an every-other day shaver.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1828 on: January 24, 2017, 09:24:33 PM »
Dr. Jon's / Beaver WoodWright - "Bandit"
RazoRock 400 | Noir Plissoft
RazoRock Stealth Slant V4 | Astra Superior Platinum (1)


I'm not the ideal person to critique a synthetic knot since my only synthetic experience is solely from the first generation L'Occitane Plisson brush.  I've used it a handful of times, and it's a nice performer.  My only complaint with the Plisson is its relatively small size that's not ideal for me as a head-shaver.  Being out of the loop with regard to synthetic knots, I see that options have dramatically increased since the early Plissons.  Personally, I've been fortunate that, regardless of knot material, my very small collection of brushes all perform very well.  Sure, each one has nuances native to its composition, but I essentially choose my brush at random, confident it will get the job done.  In fact, of my very small collection of brushes, the only one I rarely pick up is the small Plisson, and that is only due to its size.  I never minded the floppiness that some faulted it.  The "Noir Plissoft" knot in the RazoRock 400 feels just as soft as my Plisson, but the backbone is unbelievable.  This may simply be the expectation of modern synthetics, but it was a complete surprise to me.  I was able to put it through the paces, and it handled splay and scrubbing just as well as painting.  It felt like it was dispensing the lather, and it held enough for 3 head and face passes.  Overall, the RazoRock 400 aesthetics are spot on.  I applied the o-ring just to break-up the color and I like the result.  I didn't use the brush prior to the o-ring, but I do like how it feels on my finger tips. I won't go so far as to say it's a functional improvement on grip, but it does at least give that illusion.  The material doesn't feel or look cheap.  There are no seams in the handle, and the 71 gram dry weight is comfortable.  "RazoRock 400" is embossed and painted black on the bottom of the brush handle only.  RazoRock refrained from emblazoning a logo on the side, so its statement is made by the striking school bus yellow contrasting against the pitch black knot. (Some have called this "butterscotch", but to my eye this has a little more red in it.  However, I'm not the authority on that.)

This ended up being more long-winded than I'd intended, but I need to comment on Dr. Jon's Bandit (a joint venture with the artisan previously known as Beaver WoodWright).  In previous reviews, I've commented on the extremely soft consistency of "Bandit".  I found it was much softer than other Dr. Jon's freshman offerings (Dr. Jon's recent formula is firmer than any of these).  I was told this was due to the fragrance/essential oils used and that it was unavoidable.  As a result, I simply adjusted water and I was careful with loading.  Now, probably a year out, the soap has firmed up at least to the consistency of the rest of its contemporaries but I noted the same, robust fragrance.  So, if you have this in your den, and you haven't used it in a while due to the excessive soft consistency, I recommend you check it out.  In my case, it no longer acts like a cream.  Bandit was a limited run, but I've seen the sets still for sale either on Dr. Jon's or Blackship Grooming at a reduced price.  I purchased 2 sets when they first came out, and my backup is still in the shipper.  I really like this fragrance, so I'm happy I still have plenty.  I'm even more encouraged that despite the additional curing that happened with time, there was no sacrifice of fragrance.  Despite not sharing a single note, I found L&L's "Puzzle" very similar to "Bandit".  It is a delight to say the least.

Finally, about the RRSSV4.  This was my favorite razor for a long time.  I haven't used it as often lately, and I really can't say why, other than a little more care is necessary to avoid bites.  I have bailing wire stubble on my neck, and the Stealth can make it BBS in 2 passes with zero irritation.  I have other razors that have the edge on shorter stubble, but for longer growth, nothing competes with this slant.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1829 on: January 27, 2017, 04:57:35 AM »
Jeeves of Hudson Street "Turkish Bath"
Island Bladeworks "Bullwinkle" | TGN Finest
Star 1912 | Gem PTFE (1)

Bryon Postlethwait, proprietor of Jeeves of Hudson Street, reached out to me requesting that I test aftershave splash he's working on.  It turns out I'd never used Jeeves of Hudson Street products, so I decided to purchase a soap to go with the splash sample.  There are just so many very talented artisans to wade through, Jeeves just wasn't on my radar. It's a shame, really, that I've been missing out on this outstanding soap.

I found Jeeves to be one of the easiest soaps to dial-in, promptly providing dense paintable lather.  The glide was superb with residual slickness that rivals my benchmark favorites. In fact, the clean-up pass was easily achieved using only damp finger tips due to the slickness.  When trying a soap for the first time, I try to smear the lather pulled from the knot onto my freshly-shaved scalp and face, leaving it while I clean up my gear.  In my experience, this prolonged exposure is a good, albeit non-scientific, way to determine if there's going to be any irritation from the fragrances.  I have such sensitive skin, there are many of my favorite soaps that I simply cannot do this with due to eventual irritation.  With Jeeves--specifically Turkish Bath---there was zero irritation or discomfort.  After rinsing and drying, my skin felt the way it feels after applying whipped shea butter---extremely soft, supple, and an almost silky powdered feel.  There was truly no need to use a post-shave product, but that was the whole purpose of this shave, so I couldn't skip it. 

Ultimately, I'm glad I didn't omit the splash, because it added a pleasant aspect to the overall shave.  There's enough bite to make no mistake it's an alcohol splash, but I found it to be milder than most.  This could be attributed to the preceding optimal shave, however.  I'd forgotten this was mentholated, but I was soon reminded.  The cooling was a step above that of Folsom & Co. or Wholly Kaw, but less than Fine's Snake Bite.  It was a very comfortable cool without the associated numbing effect experienced with more intense menthol splashes.  The use of glycerin in the splash was done quite well, allowing me to distribute the product all over my scalp and face without it evaporating immediately.  Less than a minute after application, I could no longer detect any residual wetness, but my skin felt even softer and silky.  I've already contacted Bryon, telling him the splash is a winner in my book, and I hope he doesn't change a thing about it. 

Turkish Bath is their barbershop fragrance.  It's a powdery citrus that, at first, is a little more powder than I would normally choose for myself, but it did grow on me.  The splash sustained the fragrance, and after about an hour it sharpened up quite a bit and became more complementary to my chemistry.  This shave actually happened last night, but I intentionally held off on finalizing my impressions so I could have a better idea as to the longevity of the splash fragrance.  I was still getting a pleasant, full complement, scent 4 hours later, but then I went to bed.  I would say the longevity is what one should expect from a scented aftershave splash.

This was a serendipitous opportunity for me because if not for testing the splash, who knows how long it would have been before I'd have been exposed to Jeeves of Husdon Street soaps.



 



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