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#1695
by
warhawk
on 20 Aug, 2016 20:09
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My Happy Birthday to Me SOTD: Saturday, August 20, 2016
Razor: Wolfman SB with WRH2 Handle
Blade: Feather
Soap: Mike's Natural Soap: Lemongrass & Eucalyptus
Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic
Dessert: Ice cube rub, refrigerated WH, refrigerated FINE Fresh Vetiver
This was my very 1st time shaving with the Wolfman razor. I started my morning right with probably one of my better shaves since I discovered traditional wet shaving back in 2012. This razor is brushed stainless steel. The pics do not give this beauty any type of justice. The performance on this razor is amazing. I was able to find the correct angles easily and it delivered a great shave. It is a mild razor on my face and a mild to moderately aggressive on my head shave. This razor is ultra smooth and I already know that this will be in my main rotation of razors. Matt . . . when you are ready . . . I know that you are going to love this razor.
WARHAWK
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#1696
by
SlyCatCrossing
on 21 Aug, 2016 18:32
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Warhawk, I do keep hearing great things about the ikon slant and appreciate your recommendation! My birthday is in a few weeks soray be ill treat myself haha
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#1697
by
SlyCatCrossing
on 23 Aug, 2016 18:20
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Double SOTD!
Yesterday:
Standard razors, feather, omega s brush, proraso green, osage rub.
VERY close shave on 2 passes + touch ups. Almost as close as ATG with my 37c however ATG always gives me ingrowns so this was a nice alternative. The downside... WOW was my skin hot after this shave. My best result so far with the standard razors regardless of the hot skin though. I think this proves my thought that there are great shaves in this razor but it is very touchy in terms of technique.
Today:
37c, edge aloe shaving gel, voskhod, osage rub + AV Ice Sport.
I'm house sitting for another week. I stopped at home yesterday so I had access to proper brush and cream again but today I'm back house sitting so in using the gel, still I have to say this stuff isn't terrible. Ideal? No. Functional and reliable? Absolutely! I however have to make a statement right here and right now... I hate voskhod blades. I've never hated a blade before. I have many that I do not prefer but am willing to use and get a passable decent shave from (dorco 301 and derby for example) but, again, I have never hated a blade before. I can't get close at all with these and they skip over hairs and skin like mad. They are praised for their smoothness but they just don't work for me. It's funny though because I get along with all of the gillette branded blades out of the st pete plant (with gsb and 7oc black being my current go-to's) but these are not for me.
On a side note, I've been really enjoying personna lab blues lately and honestly got them after Cobranet's regular posts. I get a similar shave to the silver blues but at half the cost. I've gone through so many blades and finally have narrowed it down to 4 as a rotating list. Gillette Silver Blue, Gillette 7 o'clock black, feather, and personna lab blue. I realistically could probably ditch the silver blues for the personna lab blues entirely bringing me down to a rotation of 3 but I just love those damn silver blue blades! Maybe it's a mental thing at this point but the combo of 37c and silver blue blade just always give me close smooth shaves with little effort, time, or blood. I get closer shaves with the 7oc blacks and feathers of course but I do donate a few drops of blood for it haha.
I'm going to stop ranting about shave gear now and go make some cheese quesadillas with rice and beans. Have a great night and happy shaving
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#1698
by
120inna55
on 23 Aug, 2016 21:38
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Van Yulay - Soap Of The Gods "Rack Em Up" | Rubberset 200-4
RazoRock Black Mamba | Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum Black (2)
"Rack Em Up" is another beautiful scent from Van Yulay. In fact, it could become my new favorite from this artisan. Rack Em Up opens with and sustains bold notes of patchouli and leather with just enough vetiver and lavender to lend it a refined cologne scent. Around the mid-shave point, a hint of amber makes a presence. It's a bright and beautiful, but still masculine scent.
The performance is what I've come to expect from Van Yulay's tallow and clay base, yielding a rich mocha tinted super creamy lather. This is one in which it pays to take your time building a face lather. It's very durable, standing up to quite a bit of water, and I can take a slow leisurely pace shaving my head, because it just doesn't seem to be susceptible to drying out or breaking down. This is one of the few soaps that upon completing the shave, I redistribute the lather pulled from the brush onto my scalp and face. I let the lather moisturize and soothe while I clean up the gear before the final cold water rinse. The water-based splash matches the soap scent profile pretty well, and the leather and patchouli stay in the forefront.
Rack Em Up probably doesn't knock Achilles out of its spot as my favorite scent from Van Yulay, but it's very close. That said, while "Achilles" with its bold smoky bourbon accord is likely to be polarizing, "Rack Em Up" will probably have a broader fan base.
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#1699
by
SlyCatCrossing
on 24 Aug, 2016 05:38
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@120inna55: first off, your SOTD posts are always awesome. I don't use tallow products so unfortunately most of what you show is off the table for me but I still love seeing and reading about your set ups. I do have a question, I keep seeing you put (2) after your blades. So does this mean you actually stack two blades in your razor (which I have heard of before) or do you use two blades as in 1 for head and 1 for face?
I only use a blade one time regardless of price because that has drastically cut down on bacterial pickup for me leading to small post shave white heads. Even when I used carts I would use them once and toss them so even feathers at a once and dump are still cheaper.
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#1700
by
120inna55
on 24 Aug, 2016 05:48
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@120inna55: first off, your SOTD posts are always awesome. I don't use tallow products so unfortunately most of what you show is off the table for me but I still love seeing and reading about your set ups. I do have a question, I keep seeing you put (2) after your blades. So does this mean you actually stack two blades in your razor (which I have heard of before) or do you use two blades as in 1 for head and 1 for face?
I only use a blade one time regardless of price because that has drastically cut down on bacterial pickup for me leading to small post shave white heads. Even when I used carts I would use them once and toss them so even feathers at a once and dump are still cheaper.
The number following the blade indicates the amount of times the blade was used. In this case, the "2" indicates this was the second time I used this blade. I rarely go beyond twice, but not because of bacteria. I don't have natural baldness and my hair is thick and coarse. Shaving my head and face, 3 passes each, dulls the blade considerably. As a result, I can't get more than 2 shaves comfortably from a DE blade. I don't mind it because they're cheap. 6 is my limit for Artist Club SE blades, and so far, 3 seems to be my limit for rib back SE blades (for vintage SE razors).
Regardless, I remove the blade from my razor immediately after use and I hit it with a mist of isopropyl alcohol (I keep a 2 oz. pump-spray bottle in the restroom). Then I let the blade air dry on a magnetic knife bar that I have mounted under a shelf in my restroom. No problems with pimples.
The stacking of blades to which you're referring is called shimming. This is done by trimming off the sharpened edges of a blade and placing a usable blade on top. Some people may use 2 or more "shims". This practice is done to incrementally increase the blade gap and provide a more aggressive or efficient shave. If you have a razor that you love, but just wish it were a little more aggressive, this is an effective way to accomplish it. Since the shims don't actually contact your skin, you can reuse them multiple times. They essentially just raise the base plate. Some folks use other material such as gift or credit cards cut to size, but I find trimming off the sliver edges to be the most straight forward method. At the moment, I can think of only one razor that I've done this with. It's the PAA DOC. I find there are so many other razors in my collection that perform as is, that I just don't use the DOC anymore---shimmed or otherwise.
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#1701
by
SlyCatCrossing
on 24 Aug, 2016 14:09
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Wow, great response! I have found most of my preferred blades can actually give me a good 2-3 full shaving sessions before I would NEED to toss them but I do prefer to once and done since it has, again, drastically reduced those dumb little whiteheads (they rarely ever occur now). I Still don't mind the cost but I am envious of you getting double the shaves as me haha. I too keep a small misting bottle of 91% ISO on the counter next to another one that is plain store brand witch hazel. The ISO cleans off my razors and the witch hazel cleans off my skin. I also give the razor head a quick blast after loading the blade but before beginning actually shaving. I've worked production lines so I dont even want to know what kind of crud is on those blades when they get wrapped. For the bacteria statement, I'm a brewer by profession who is literally running an entire production facility on his own so I have to have a keen eye for bacterial contaminant possibility which has, in turn, become a degree of OCD around my home lol. I have no legitimate clue if that is the actual cause of said whiteheads but I can confidently say 91% ISO razor rinses helped a ton and finally once and done blade use basically eliminated it for me.
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#1702
by
Cobranet
on 24 Aug, 2016 19:00
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37C,Proraso Blue,Lab Blue blade,VDH Badger brush,Witch Hazel and Aloe gel for post shave. My Grey shaving cup.
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#1703
by
SlyCatCrossing
on 25 Aug, 2016 05:49
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Awesome! I had a vdh boar that wasn't terrible for the price but my only complaint was it took about 1-2 months to break in then was used up and shedding like crazy by about month 9-10. It also took FOREVER to dry...I'm talking still damp by the next days shave. How do you like your vdh badger? If that one starts to fail you ever I highly suggest you check out the omega a brush series. They range from $6-$11 depending on size and dry in minutes, also they are sooo soft
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#1704
by
warhawk
on 26 Aug, 2016 09:54
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Wednesday Night SOTD, August 24, 2016
Razor: Wolfman with WRH2 Handle
Blade: Feather
Soap: Van Yulay: Achilles
Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic (butterscotch)
Dessert: Ice cube rub, refrigerated WH, refrigerated Achilles Cologne
Special shout to my good friend Matt for the Van Yulay shaving soap and cologne. Thanks for your
generosity. This was my 1st time with this product. The scent of the Achilles is very strong and polarizing. Matt warned me to not judge the scent without shaving with it first.
He was right. This was my very 1st soap in which the scent completely changes like a Transformer machine. I am not as descriptive of describing the scents as Matt. However to make a long story short....the scent improved as I loaded the soap with my Simpson brush. Love the scent and the performance was great.....super slick and thick.
WARHAWK
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#1705
by
Cobranet
on 26 Aug, 2016 21:05
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Awesome! I had a vdh boar that wasn't terrible for the price but my only complaint was it took about 1-2 months to break in then was used up and shedding like crazy by about month 9-10. It also took FOREVER to dry...I'm talking still damp by the next days shave. How do you like your vdh badger? If that one starts to fail you ever I highly suggest you check out the omega a brush series. They range from $6-$11 depending on size and dry in minutes, also they are sooo soft
I like the badger brush, but I prefer Boar brushes. I like the stiffer bristles better. I like the soft feel of the badger brushes but I like the scrubbing action of the stiffer brush and after using one for a while it will feel nice and soft on your head/face anyway. I hang my brushes on a stand after use and they dry out in a couple of hours....of course I live in Nevada and it can be in the 100s F here and for the most part pretty dry as well so maybe that has something to do with it.
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#1706
by
120inna55
on 26 Aug, 2016 22:53
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Mystic Water - Vanilla Sandalwood
BSB-Ti | HMW
Above The Tie S1 | Triad Rolling Hex
Gillette 7 O'clock Black (1)
Barrister and Mann - Beaudelaire
Mystic Water is a soap that for some reason has eluded me. A good friend kindly gave me 2 pucks, and tonight was my first opportunity to try it. Needless to say, I've been missing out on an outstanding soap. This was an excellent shave, but it didn't come without it challenges. If I understand it correctly, this is the latest soap base formula from Mystic Water. Initially, I really struggled to get any semblance of density. As I face lathered, all I could come up with was a thin, watery, substance with visible bubbles. It's a tallow soap, so I started with a barely damp knot and I loaded what I believed to be more than enough product to achieve 3 face passes. My experience with this HMW knot is that rarely will I have enough lather for subsequent 3 head passes, so I anticipate reloading for the dome shave. Regardless, I was getting nowhere despite small, incremental dribbles of water directly on the knot. Undeterred, I started over before even attempting to shave with this poor excuse for a lather. I then had a slightly more moist knot, but I decided to use tepid water. I had started to sense I was getting a little brush burn on my neck, but I still proceeded to face lather for the second time with the knot loaded to capacity. This yielded a much better looking lather, but it was still on the thin side. I proceeded with the shave and instantly recalled my first experience with Dr. Jon's (Bandit). The appearance was deceiving. My skin felt like it had been buttered. The slickness was unbelievable. Everything was smooth sailing henceforth. I achieved a very comfortable 3-pass face shave followed by an equally comfortable head shave after reloading. I note that the residual slickness rivals that of probably any other soap I've used. The Vanilla Sandalwood was a perfect balance and just smelled elegant. I finished with Barrister and Mann's Beaudelaire, and it paired quite nicely bringing said elegance down to earth, if you will.
I look forward to using Mystic Water again, and hopefully, I'll remember to adjust my process to accommodate this unique soap.
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#1707
by
Cobranet
on 27 Aug, 2016 17:28
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37c,Proraso Blue, Merkur blade,VDH Boar brush,Witch Hazel and Aloe gel for post. Used my Green shaving bowl. I used my main razor....the 37c with a different blade for the first time since I got the razor and I have to say.....I got the same great shave as with the Lab Blues. I guess that you can get real variations in the quality of shaves if the blades are very different as far as being sharp or dull or just plain crappy quality but this makes me think that the razor is most of the reason for a consistent shave along with good technique. I will stick to the Personna blades because I know how they shave and know that I can get a great shave with them regardless of which of my razors I use but I think that any good quality blade will work for me.
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#1708
by
SlyCatCrossing
on 28 Aug, 2016 16:54
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Cobranet, since you are starting to explore different blades I'd be happy to send you a free sampler from the mass of various blades I have. If you are interested just PM me an address.
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#1709
by
Cobranet
on 28 Aug, 2016 18:10
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I appreciate the offer, but I'm sticking with the Personna blades. The only reason I used the Merkur blade was I was tired of moving it out of my way in the medicine cabinet. Thank you though. My shave for the day.....37c, Lab Blue, Mudder Focker, Witch Hazel and Aloe gel.