A comfortable and close shave was a great way to finish out a difficult week.
Oro Valley and Cologne Russe are, perhaps unsurprisingly, a great combination and quite complementary.
We're halfway through BBS November and I have to say: a man could get used to shaving twice a day. It's really remarkable -- I've gone from dreading a shave to deliberately making time in my day to shave. Funny how life works like that sometimes.
A luxury shave, but only because I have to wake up early and would rather just run out the door in the morning.
I added a nickle (possibly the thickest USD coin? Maybe 2x the thickness of a dime?) to the handle to raise the loft of this knot, and felt a big difference. It's either the slight increase in loft, or the knot broke in a little bit. Or both!
Either way, this knot is back in contention for permanent (temporary) installation.
Some people see Noble Otter as a brand with lots of popular, safe scents. I see it as the brand with Batters Up and Hamami, two of my favorites, and neither very popular or safe.
Brush: Zenith 506B MB (27 mm × 51 mm Manchurian badger)
Razor: Thiers Issard Le Dandy
Lather: Boendoebaard Woesteling
Post Shave: Boendoebaard Woesteling
After Varen, I went with my other mutton tallow fougère soap for my second luxury shave. For some reason, button tallow really seems to agree with my face, and I can't get a bad shave with either Varen or Woesteling.
I somehow f-ed up the first pass - the lather was not slick at all, and not protective. I took refuge in MOAR SOAP MOAR WATER, and the rest worked better. The after-shave face feel with Ishtar is always very good, and same today. Next week, I will go back to the more exciting razors.
Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Woodshop - Aftershave
Post Shave: Goodfellow & Co. - Face Lotion - Kelp & Sea Mineral
Excellent shave. The OG Guerilla always impresses me when I use it.
I de-knotted this brush handle yesterday (it used to have a Wolf Whiskers "Super Plush", but Peter set it too deep for my preferences. I love synthetic knots, and it was a really nice one, but I couldn't get behind the low loft.
I'm auditioning replacements, and this badger knot has been sitting in my medicine cabinet for a couple of years so figured I'd try it out. It was sold to me as "unknown", but I'm pretty sure it's a Maggard SHD. It has similarities to my other SHD knots, but there is some variation between all of them.
This one fits tight, so it stays in without adhesive. I wasn't completely sold on it, but since this was the maiden voyage for the knot I'll give it some time to break in before making a decision. Ultimately, I predict it'll end up with a Maggard Synthetic in it :-).
Angelique is a lovely scent that highlights citrus and florals. In the end, I felt like a contrast, so I went with Midnigh Stag for the frag. It was an interesting contrast, for sure, but the strength of Stag completely overpowered the scent of the soap and splash.
No complaints.
The Super Speed gave excellent results this morning. This razor is a real winner as long as I remember to use a very light touch.
Brush: Zenith 506B MB (27 mm × 51 mm Manchurian badger)
Razor: Thiers Issard Le Dandy
Lather: Stirling Soap Co – Varen
Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co – Varen
Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co – Varen
Delightful morning shave for three reasons:
The freshly honed Dandy. Doubly nice because I've been missing straight razors after mostly safety razors for over a week, and because this fresh crisp edge is on point. Satisfyingly smooth and close ATG, it cleared my neck with just a few long strokes. No buffing, no touch-ups, no notes.
The Manchurian. Not just in contrast to the underwhelming Mühle Purist of the last few days, this scrubby badger with just the right amount of backbone and the comfy handle punches way above its price
I'm still working through my safety razor collection, but am almost done and looking forward to revisiting my straights. The 14er with a (now) muted tip will be the first up. I admit that I'm surprised by how much I like that razor. And it's all your fault that I have it! :)
The 14er is a flagship Böker, and if you ignore all the laser engraving and gold wash, it's a fairly conservative design. IMO, this is exactly what Böker does best; consistent geometry in good steel. I'm not surprised you enjoy it, and I sure enjoy mine 😊