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

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2295 on: February 29, 2020, 06:21:19 PM »
West Coast Shaving | Chypre (Jojoba Cream)
Kent V8 | Vintage Badger
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74
Stephane Humbert Lucas 777 | Ô Hira



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2296 on: March 04, 2020, 05:52:17 PM »
Catie's Bubbles for Razor & Brush | Black Bergamot
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone 322 | AP Shave Co. SilkSmoke 28mm
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Catie's Bubbles 322 Extrait



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2297 on: March 07, 2020, 07:20:26 PM »
Black Ship Grooming Co. | High Seas
Cadman-Beau | Synthetic
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE


For some reason, I haven't used a Black Ship Grooming soap for quite some time.  Perhaps this solid performer has just been outshined by the elite line-up in my den, but even by today's standards, the artisan formerly known as Beaver Woodwright was never a sub-par performer.  One of my favorites was Captain's Pipe, but unfortunately that fragrance gives my wife a headache.  I remain on Black Ship Grooming's mailing list, and they seem to have struck the sweet spot in that their periodic emails are frequent enough to keep me looking, and not enough to force me to unsubscribe.  The most recent email featured "High Seas" and boasted their "new Limited Edition" soap base.  That was just enough to entice me, so I ordered the set.

I won't even attempt to compare this to a prior base, since it's been so long since I've used one.  As per my usual behavior when trying out a new base, I test lathered High Seas the evening prior to putting it into practice.  The dry tub soap is soft enough such that I can dent it with my finger, but it will begin to crumble.  It loads into the rather floppy badger knot of my vintage Kent brush just as easily as it does into a stiffer synthetic.  I found palm lathering to be fairly intuitive, and the water requirements are clearly evident.  You won't get a presentable lather until you hydrate it well enough.  This is actually not a mark against it.  There are some soaps I use routinely that yield a nice looking lather and perform acceptably with a modest amount of water, but they actually transform to stellar performers when you attempt to drown them.  PAA's CK-6 is one of those bases.  I've seen several shaving videos in which the CK-6 is just not wet enough, yet the user sings its praises.  While they're enjoying the product, they have no idea what they're missing.  This is why it behooves the wet shaver to test a product's limits prior to using it. But I digress. This new base from Black Ship Grooming makes its requirements known.  When it ceases to have that spackley texture and becomes more uniform in appearance, you can add a touch more water, then stop.  This lather can be broken with too much water, but you get plenty of warning.  With very little work, it achieves a luxurious creamy, dense lather with an iridescent luster.  The primary slickness is what I expect from any soap, but the residual slickness is approaching top tier level.  The post shave is on par with most of the upper level artisans, and that is to say it's outstanding.  I will note the inclusion of lanolin in this base is the only thing that keeps this from being a vegan product.

The fragrance of High Seas is deceptively light both off the dry tub and initially when lathered.  It gathers strength in a peculiar fashion as the shave progresses.  It's a fairly linear aquatic fragrance with the crisp green evergreen wood essence pushed to the forefront.

The splash is not your standard alcohol fare as the alcohol is present, but it's light.  I suspect water is the main carrier in this splash, and I can see some sediment despite the frosted glass bottle.  There is a light menthol presence which absolutely complements the fragrance.  Otherwise the fragrance profile matches that of the soap, except the conifer is even more prominent and transforms to a gentle, non-medicinal tea tree in the dry down.

This was a very enjoyable, pleasant, shave courtesy of Black Ship Grooming Company's new base.  I'm not sure why it's marketed as "limited edition" as I can't see why it shouldn't be a standard offering.  "Limited" says "short-term" to me. Perhaps the artisan desires to keep the business model as primarily vegan offerings.  If this is the case, he could simply call this lanolin product "special edition" and use it for such releases.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2298 on: March 11, 2020, 05:21:10 AM »
Barrister and Mann | Terror
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone Hallows | AP Shave Co. SilkSmoke 28mm
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Roja Parfums | Elysium



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2299 on: March 13, 2020, 10:02:13 AM »
Los Jabones de Joserra | Noir
Ariana & Evans Retro Shaving Brush | Synthetic 24 mm
Ever-Ready SE | Delta Echo | Gem PTFE



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2300 on: March 15, 2020, 06:53:57 PM »
Barrister and Mann | Le Grand Chypre
Leo Frilot Krakoa | AP Shave Co. Gelousy SHD 28mm (A1)
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74
Stephane Humbert Lucas 777 | Ô Hira



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2301 on: March 18, 2020, 07:53:39 PM »
Phoenix Shaving | Black Bot
Ariana & Evans Retro Shaving Brush | Synthetic 24 mm
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2302 on: March 22, 2020, 06:54:22 AM »
3/22 Day SOTD
Catie's Bubbles | 322
Leo Frilot Krakoa | AP Shave Co. Gelousy SHD 28mm (A1)
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2303 on: March 25, 2020, 04:51:04 AM »
Catie's Bubbles | Confiant
Leo Frilot | Infinity | MAC Metalworks Synthetic 28mm
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE



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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2304 on: March 28, 2020, 06:30:24 PM »
Cyril R. Salter | French Vetiver
Island Bladeworks | Stoya | Elite Razor Manchurian
Gem Damaskeene (1914-1915) | Gem Jr. Elite "Ivory" Handle (ca. 1906) | Gem PTFE
Catie's Bubbles | Revolution | Before & After Shave
Talbot Shaving | Authors Ridge EdT



About a week ago, amidst one of my SOTD posts in which I was singing the praises of Catie's Bubbles' Haitian vetiver-loaded 322, a fellow wet shaver challenged me to give Cyril R. Salter's French Vetiver a try.  While he admitted he'd never experienced 322, he owns a vial of Haitian vetiver essential oil and found that CRS French Vetiver was "the closest [he had] smelled to the pure EO." Intrigued, I picked up a tub.

I've stated on several occasions that 322 is my all-time favorite fragrance.  I'm so enamored with this fragrance that I have back-ups of the parfum extrait.  Given this, any competitor starts well behind the line in any endeavor to strum that olfactory chord for me.

Unlike this fellow wet shaver, I do not own a Haitian vetiver EO sample, so I can't make the direct comparison as to the accuracy of either 322 or CRS to the "pure" EO.  Rather, this is intended to impart my impression of CRS French Vetiver to 322. 

French Vetiver opens with the expected earthy grassiness anticipated with any singularly vetiver fragrance.  At least initially, the earthiness is clean, if that makes any sense.  As opposed to being damp, dark, and swampy, it's more closely related to dry earth that's free of any decaying vegetation other than perhaps oak leaves. It then moves to even more grassiness and less earth to the point of smelling like Bermuda hay and warm unshelled peanuts in burlap. As the shave progresses, the fragrance has a brief transitional element that is reminiscent of sun-baked dirt emanating chalky minerals and salt. Holding onto this salt, the fragrance abruptly becomes wet, and even dank, with impressions of thick green moss and smoky seawater-rich tarry black peat.  To a vetiver head, you're sold, right?  No?  Well, then now you're getting the idea of how Haitian vetiver deviates a bit from other varieties.  CRS's French Vetiver doesn't dress this up, and as a result, some will find this repulsive.  In much that same way a Highland single-malt scotch aficionado may rebuff an Islay.

So how does French Vetiver compare to 322?  In a word, marginally. But in all fairness, it's an apples-to-oranges comparison.  322 never claimed to be singularly Haitian vetiver.  I've stated previously that with 322 it was love at first whiff, but I would not be surprised that the enormous Haitian vetiver presence immediately turns off some users that may have otherwise come to appreciate it if not love it. (Again, forgive the scotch comparison, but the same thing often occurs in this realm.  Subsequent "tastes" uncover previously obscured elements as the subject develops a taste for something they'd previously detested. Hence "acquired taste".) 

Compared to French Vetiver, 322 is darker right off the bat.  It's also sharper on the top end and carries a distinct bloody-plum richness evocative of Merlot or Syrah wine which is no doubt the perfumer's incorporation of black currant and patchouli.  322 also has a woodiness that has a resinous element making it less distinctly oak and more cedar.  This aspect almost completely chokes out the warm peanut, salt, and dusty burlap vibe I detected in the French Vetiver.  As complex as my French Vetiver description may be, 322 has much more dynamic range and depth, although as I alluded earlier, a patient nose may be necessary.

I warned you earlier that I'm biased in favor of 322 given my unnatural love affair with it.  The reality is I don't dislike CRS French Vetiver at all, but even if I wasn't intentionally making a mental comparison, just using it made me long for 322 as it imparted just enough common elements to remind me of what it was missing.  One more very important disclaimer despite the glaring one that I have a long-standing experience with 322, is that I use the extrait routinely.  I would dare say that this alone taints my brain's interpretation of the soap because the extrait is a far better medium.  I suspect that had I never used the extrait I most likely would not have been able to extract so much, even from the 322 soap.

As to the performance, Cyril R. Salter is a cream and it performs similarly to Art of Shaving's products, and that is to say it's a solid performer.  As per my usual pattern, I test lathered with a couple different knots the evening before putting it into use.  The lather building is fool-proof as far as creams go. It's fairly easy to break the lather with over watering as well as super hot water.  When optimized, it yields a dense, creamy lather.  If you get any fluffiness, you've over watered.  Slickness, both primary and residual, are both good, but nowhere near the artisan pack leaders.  The post shave is moisturizing, but again, nothing to which I'm accustomed in the artisan realm.  As specifically compared to Catie's Bubble's Luxury Cream, CRS quite simply can't even compete.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2305 on: April 01, 2020, 04:27:29 AM »
Soapmakers of Awesometown
Leo Frilot Krakoa | AP Shave Co. Gelousy SHD 28mm (A1)
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Barrister's Reserve | Classic
Gillette | Sun Up



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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2306 on: April 04, 2020, 05:09:54 PM »
Zingari Man | The Blacksmith
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone Copper Matrix | AP Shave Co. SynBad 30mm
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74
Bulgari Man | In Black



The Blacksmith is an r/Wetshaving exclusive and my first experience with a Zingari Man product.  In terms of fragrance, it's inspired by the popular men's fragrance Bulgari Man In Black.  I blind bought both The Blacksmith and In Black at the same time since the profile (amber, spices, rum, leather, guaiac wood) would very likely be in my wheelhouse.  The Blacksmith arrived several days before In Black, so I spent a few days applying the matching Zingari Sego After Shave Balm as a post-shower moisturizer.  I'm really impressed with The Blacksmith's fragrance. The soap and balm smell the same to my nose, and I feel like the soap is lightly scented which seems appropriate for this kind of fragrance. An authentic warm, weathered leather is a prevailing undercurrent, but it never overrides the other notes.  A dark, spiced rum with judicious sweetness makes a respectable sustained presence.  For you rum-heads, think smoky Brugal Leyenda as opposed to syrupy Captain Morgan Private Stock.  Otherwise The Blacksmith allows the booze to burn off, leaving a bed of spicy warm amber in the dry down.  And that dry down lasts just a little bit longer than it takes to get dressed. Certainly, a balm is never intended to be a fragrance offering any notable longevity, but it absolutely left me anticipating the Bulgari EdP that influenced it.

Unfortunately, Bulgari Man In Black is a bit of a disappointment. The leather just smells fake.  The spiced rum is done well, but I detect a musty iris note that I do not experience in the Zingari The Blacksmith balm or soap.  It's almost as if Bulgari is trying to impart musk while being determined to avoid anything animalic.  This is purely subjective, of course, and I admit both iris and orris have been a personal point of contention with other fragrances.  The bottom line is, while The Blacksmith and In Black share similarities, I find The Blacksmith to be a more pleasant fragrance.  In the future, I will probably complement this set with Zoologist's Rhinoceros.

In terms of performance, Zingari Man's Sego tallow base is immediately competitive with the top artisan soaps.  Customary preliminary test lathers reveal this base demands relatively large amounts of water.  Anything short of this yields a serviceable, dense lather, albeit suboptimal.  At this stage, you can almost double the water to experience a truly luxurious, creamy, glistening lather. In practice, Sego is remarkably slick on my skin but it doesn't carry over to slippery gear as can sometimes be problematic for a shower shaver with an all-metal razor.  Residual slickness is equally impressive, permitting low-risk revisiting of areas devoid of visible lather. Not surprisingly, the post-shave is very nice as well, making a post product redundant.

I'll probably always prefer splashes---alcohol or otherwise---over balms, but the Sego balm is an extraordinary product.  As previously noted, I used this balm for a few days prior to using the soap.  The results on non-shave days clearly make my stubble softer, but also make my skin feel the same way it feels when I've just shaved with the Sego soap. For best results, your skin should be fairly damp as you apply a very small amount of balm.  I found a single-pump dose was more than adequate to cover my scalp, face, and neck.  I assume face-only shavers may need to distribute the excess to their arms and hands which is hardly a negative.

Speaking of negatives, I always have to do this unfortunate part with my inaugural use of an artisan's product.  Fortunately, these are minor.  The balm pump mechanism is finicky.  Initially, I could not get it to prime.  In fact, with my first two uses, I had to remove the pump and apply the product directly from the stem.  Ultimately, I fiddled with it, disassembled it, and finally got it working correctly.  The soap's label seems to have fallen victim to shipment and handling battle wounds as evidenced by scratches, feathered edges, and scuffs. Had the art been a lighter color, it would not have been so photogenic. As it is, the faux texturing in the image obscures these imperfections with some biased photography. (The balm's label is flawless, by the way.) See, I told you they were minor.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my introduction to Zingari Man products both in terms of fragrance execution and performance.  I congratulate r/wetshaving for using your platform to introduce this artisan to more wet shavers.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2307 on: April 06, 2020, 06:49:19 PM »
Phoenix & Beau | Luna
Wolf Whiskers | Raptor | Black Wolf
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Roja Parfums | Elysium


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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2308 on: April 10, 2020, 04:53:35 AM »
Lather Bros. | King of Klaws
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone Copper Matrix | AP Shave Co. SynBad 30mm
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74
Initio Parfums Privés | Oud For Greatness



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2309 on: April 13, 2020, 05:34:10 AM »
Ariana & Evans | Kaizen (beta)
Ariana & Evans Retro Shaving Brush | Synthetic 24 mm
Ever-Ready SE | Delta Echo | Gem PTFE



 



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