BradWorld's Shave Journal

[Rudy Vey]

Halloween SOTD …. And New Brush Day!

Today’s shave features my Orange & Black Slim on 9. Scary, right!?! A Perma Sharp blade did the cutting. Fougere Gothique soap was chosen because of its dark earthy smell, as well as it’s Halloween centric Devil’s theme. The Holy Black’s Vampire Hunter splash and EDT finished it up. A+ shave today. Terrific.

For this shave, I used my new @Rudy Vey auction brush for the first time. The brush looks awesome, especially with its wonderful blue handle. It’s supposed to be a 23mm STF knot. But it looks really small. Regardless, the shave results were excellent with this brush. But comparing this to a Muhle 23 mm STF has left me questioning everything about this brush.

I have a stock Muhle 23 mm STF. I also have a 25 mm 2022 Rudy Vey Contributors Brush. I purchased the Muhle specifically as a travel brush after falling in love with the Rudy 25. I love the Rudy 25mm. It has become my all time favorite brush since I got it. The Muhle 23 is a great travel brush. But it is super floppy compared to the Rudy 25. Flings lather. Based on the auction listing, I assumed the loft would be shorter in Rudy’s brush. Plus it was a great cause, so it’s win-win.

The Muhle 23 knot just feels bigger than this Rudy 23 knot to me. Much bigger. I thought maybe the loft is set deeper on Rudy’s brush. Rudy says the “loft is about 48/50 mm”. Muhle doesn’t list the loft on their website. So I measured it as roughly 58 mm or so with my calipers. The base of the knots are similar diameter on both brushes.

The handle of the Muhle 23 is quite small. I bought it because the handle fit in my 3D printed travel tube. The Rudy 23 handle is big and beautiful! Classic shape. Great feel in the hand! So maybe the larger handle makes the knot feel small.

But then I looked at the knot itself. The Muhle 23 is bulbous and round. The Rudy 23 has more of a hybrid shape. The top of the knot comes up past the band in almost a pyramid shape. Interesting! If you line up the colored band on the knots, the Muhle sticks up much farther. The question I have for @Rudy Vey is if this knot was hand trimmed. Or was it procured as a different shaped STF knot than what is used in the stock Muhle STF brushes.

I have included some comparison pics below.

Then end results were phenomenal. This little knotted Rudy 23 STF lathers like a beast. Much less floppiness. Much more enjoyable scrub when face lathering. Gobs of luscious lather. And it held enough frothy Omnibus lather for three passes, with lots left in the brush at the end. It feels nothing like the stock Muhle version. It feels like a badger. It is an excellent addition to my den. And fills a spot that was vacant. I didn’t have a smaller knotted synth that I truly love. I do now!

So many thanks to Rudy for donating this wonderful brush to the auction. It’s a win-win for everyone.

View attachment 1548567

View attachment 1548568

View attachment 1548569

The knot size on these "23" mm knots is actually 22 mm. I have seen this in the past with the smaller Muehle knots, I have 21 and 23 with the "built-in" metallic looking ring (i.e. fixed loft) and they do not show much of a size difference. One reason I now only get the ringless knots now as I set the loft different if a customer has a certain loft requirement. The 25 STF are right on size.
The 23 delivery your knot is from had all this shape, a tiny bit pointed. I do not cut or shape knots, these are all as they come from the plant in Grmany.
I know what you say about the shape of the knot, all knots in this order

 

[BradWorld]

The knot size on these "23" mm knots is actually 22 mm. I have seen this in the past with the smaller Muehle knots, I have 21 and 23 with the "built-in" metallic looking ring (i.e. fixed loft) and they do not show much of a size difference. One reason I now only get the ringless knots now as I set the loft different if a customer has a certain loft requirement. The 25 STF are right on size.
The 23 delivery your knot is from had all this shape, a tiny bit pointed. I do not cut or shape knots, these are all as they come from the plant in Grmany.
I know what you say about the shape of the knot, all knots in this order

Hey Rudy, thanks for the response. It is so interesting the differences between your 23 mm brush, and the stock Muhle 23 mm brush. I got yours because I was not entirely happy with the stock Muhle version. Although it does make a great travel brush, perhaps the best I have used in that regard, the Muhle version will never be anything more than a travel brush. Your version of the 23 mm is a great brush, and will see action in my den without any doubt. Thanks again.

 

[BradWorld]

Today’s shave features a brand new soap on a brand new base. It’s an Orange soap from KMON Krafts. And I am the only one to have ever shaved with it so far. Really good. Really slick. Really orangy.

The Charcoal Goods Gen 2 Level 3 is a beast.

The Rudy Vey 2022 STF is an amazing brush.

The Holy Black Vampire Hunter is amazing too. It’s only issue is that it was a limited run. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

 

[BradWorld]

Today’s shave is brought to you by the color Orange.

KMON Krafts Orange Soap
Paladin “Orangey” Le Perla Tigris Lotus
B&M Nordost Splash - burnt orange scent
Wizamet Blade. Not orange. Silver.
British Flat Bottom Tech with a Charcoal Goods copper Anchor handle. Looks almost orange.

Todays shave was a good lesson in (a) how our memories of things nostalgic can get romanticized, and (b) how much better highly engineered modern razors shave versus vintage stuff.

I love vintage Gillettes. I love the Flat Bottom Tech. And last week I shaved with an RFB. I even mounted both razors to a super cool Charcoal Goods Copper Anchor handle to improve the performance (which it does).

But lately the bar has been going higher and higher with new modern razors. Both aesthetically and performance wise. As cool as vintage razors are to use and collect, they just can not compete. After focusing on Charcoal Goods, Wolfman and Blackland razors, these vintages do not provide the same level of comfort nor closeness.

The exception during the past couple weeks has been the Slim. I had a wonderful Slim shave the other day. I cranked it up to 9, and did three standard passes. The results were good. Very good. Not Wolfman good. And not Tradere OC good. But good.

But back to the good stuff. The British Flat Bottom is a great example of the Tech format. It’s smoother than the standard Tech. And it might be a little more efficient as well. But overall it’s a capable and fun razor. It got a shave that breaks into DFS territory today. But I do feel a bit of scruff starting to form on my jaw line already, and it’s only been a few hours.

 

[BradWorld]

So today was the day I finally tried a Ti Blackbird. I went in with an open mind. I gave the Ti Bird every opportunity to succeed. I really did. And you know what? It was a great shave! That’s right. I said it. A great shave!

I got this Ti Bird off the Contributor’s BST the other day. Yes, that is a thing. Contribute to the site and you not only get that nifty contributor badge, but you get a special BST where you don’t have to wait 14 days, and get access to special stuff.

I digress…. Got this the other day. It shipped quick and I got it last night. It’s the older Machined version, which is no longer available. But the prior owner hand polished this Bird. And boy does it shine. Looks amazing.

Loaded up a Wizamet blade with one Tech shave under its belt. Did a standard three pass shave, with some light buffing in a couple spots.

The results were A+. Near BBS. Nice and close. I do think this thing provides better results than the Brass or Stainless version. But maybe only because it is more nimble and so effortless to use.

I bought this razor because so many people crow so hard about how much better the Ti Bird is than the Brass and SS versions. I doubted it would hold true for me. I love big heavy razors. I don’t like light razors at all. Well, this razor isn’t that light. It’s not aluminum light. It’s not Tech light. But it is much lighter than the Brassbird.

I have had a love-hate relationship with the blackbird since it’s inception. I got the original black oxide blackbird during the initial kickstarter campaign. Got the SB, and when the OC plate was released, got that too. It was too much razor for me at the time. Those first runs had a super sharp safety bar. And even sharper OC plates. You could probably cut yourself without a blade loaded. It was so sharp. So much so that it was changed for later runs. Rounded it a bunch.

I sold that first Blackbird. The blackest of Blackbirds. I used to call it the Darth Vader razor. Then my technique evolved. I learned how to shave steep. I learned how to use aggressive and hyper efficient razors. All was good in the world. I started craving to try a blackbird again. So I had to get another. And I did. The brass one. I like it. Now this Ti Bird might be even better. I’ll keep it in the rotation and see how it goes. But for now it passed its initial test flight with flying colors. I get it now.

I also went back to an Excelsior base B&M soap today. Full Measure of Man. What a great smokey, manly scent. What a great base. The fact that Will was so compelled to actually move forward and away from this base is mind blowing. It is so good. Soft Heart is amazing, but was short lived. Omnibus is amazing. But it is not a traditional base. It’s gooey and highly structured. Sticky even. Excelsior is your traditional thick and rich lather. The kind you whip onto your fancy brushes to make them look good in your SOTD pics. It’s great stuff. But Will made Omnibus and discontinued Excelsior. No worries, I have lots to hold me over. Regardless, FMOM did the trick today. Super slick lather. Very good aftershave splash. Awesome smells. I still feel moisturized 5 hours later. I still smell it too. Great stuff!

Stay smooth!

 

[Hannah's Dad]

 

[SgtCrppls]

So today was the day I finally tried a Ti Blackbird. I went in with an open mind. I gave the Ti Bird every opportunity to succeed. I really did. And you know what? It was a great shave! That’s right. I said it. A great shave!

I got this Ti Bird off the Contributor’s BST the other day. Yes, that is a thing. Contribute to the site and you not only get that nifty contributor badge, but you get a special BST where you don’t have to wait 14 days, and get access to special stuff.

I digress…. Got this the other day. It shipped quick and I got it last night. It’s the older Machined version, which is no longer available. But the prior owner hand polished this Bird. And boy does it shine. Looks amazing.

Loaded up a Wizamet blade with one Tech shave under its belt. Did a standard three pass shave, with some light buffing in a couple spots.

The results were A+. Near BBS. Nice and close. I do think this thing provides better results than the Brass or Stainless version. But maybe only because it is more nimble and so effortless to use.

I bought this razor because so many people crow so hard about how much better the Ti Bird is than the Brass and SS versions. I doubted it would hold true for me. I love big heavy razors. I don’t like light razors at all. Well, this razor isn’t that light. It’s not aluminum light. It’s not Tech light. But it is much lighter than the Brassbird.

I have had a love-hate relationship with the blackbird since it’s inception. I got the original black oxide blackbird during the initial kickstarter campaign. Got the SB, and when the OC plate was released, got that too. It was too much razor for me at the time. Those first runs had a super sharp safety bar. And even sharper OC plates. You could probably cut yourself without a blade loaded. It was so sharp. So much so that it was changed for later runs. Rounded it a bunch.

I sold that first Blackbird. The blackest of Blackbirds. I used to call it the Darth Vader razor. Then my technique evolved. I learned how to shave steep. I learned how to use aggressive and hyper efficient razors. All was good in the world. I started craving to try a blackbird again. So I had to get another. And I did. The brass one. I like it. Now this Ti Bird might be even better. I’ll keep it in the rotation and see how it goes. But for now it passed its initial test flight with flying colors. I get it now.

I also went back to an Excelsior base B&M soap today. Full Measure of Man. What a great smokey, manly scent. What a great base. The fact that Will was so compelled to actually move forward and away from this base is mind blowing. It is so good. Soft Heart is amazing, but was short lived. Omnibus is amazing. But it is not a traditional base. It’s gooey and highly structured. Sticky even. Excelsior is your traditional thick and rich lather. The kind you whip onto your fancy brushes to make them look good in your SOTD pics. It’s great stuff. But Will made Omnibus and discontinued Excelsior. No worries, I have lots to hold me over. Regardless, FMOM did the trick today. Super slick lather. Very good aftershave splash. Awesome smells. I still feel moisturized 5 hours later. I still smell it too. Great stuff!

Stay smooth!

View attachment 1551564

Great looking razor my friend

 

[Leverspro]

Interesting. I came here to see your thoughts on the Excelsior base and saw your thoughts on the TiBird. Nice acquisition! I may revisit Ti someday. The Vector interests me most, but I just can't bring myself to wanting more razors right now. Presently exploring the GEM format and it's looking very promising. Glad you like the TiBird.

 

[BradWorld]

This was my second shave with the Ti Bird. Really great shave. I much prefer the tactile feel of a larger and heavier razor. I do. I can not deny that. But the results with the Ti Bird are excellent thus far.

Pretty near a full on BBS today. Not quite. But close enough for me. I have a really hard time getting a full cotton-ball-tested BBS, as I have some trouble spots with swirling flat stubble growth that are near impossible to get completely smooth. But this shave is super close. Everywhere but a few small spots on my jaw line are BBS smooth. Even those trouble spots on my neck are smooth today. Very pleased.

I paid more attention to a fully steep angle today. The first shave two days ago was just a free for all with the angles. I have had two other Blackbirds, so there was zero learning curve for this one. So on the first shave I just let go and shaved however felt natural. I even tried a few different strokes at varying angles to see how they felt. That first shave was mostly steep, but I wasn’t strict about it, and experimentation with the angles was in play. Not this shave. I paid strict attention to using a steep angle, and it paid off. Smoother, and closer.

The Ti Bird worked really well with the vintage Brit London Bridge blade! Super smooth and super sharp. What a great blade. In the top tier of blades I have used… ever! It beats most of the other vintage blades as well. I’ve enjoyed these blades in a variety of razors. But the difference in smoothness between the modern Wizamet from Ti Bird shave 1, and the British London Bridge is enormous.

The Death set was terrific as well. Great performance, great scent! Loving the Death so far.

And the Rudy Vey STF has made all of my other synths obsolete. It’s the equal of my favorite badgers as well. Amazing brush. My #1.

All around fantastic shave today.

 

[Leverspro]

Hmm, interesting to hear your thoughts on the TiBird. Glad you like it. Have you ever mixed up your 'Birds? i.e. used your brass, SS and Ti razors to make a mixed metal shaver? I have the brass SB and have no real interest in the Ti, yet I wonder what a Ti OC plate would be like in the brass razor.

 

[BradWorld]

Hmm, interesting to hear your thoughts on the TiBird. Glad you like it. Have you ever mixed up your 'Birds? i.e. used your brass, SS and Ti razors to make a mixed metal shaver? I have the brass SB and have no real interest in the Ti, yet I wonder what a Ti OC plate would be like in the brass razor.

Nope. Never mixed the blackbirds. Probably won’t. Sorry.

 

[BradWorld]

Went to WAR again today. And I liked it!

I don’t know why. But I woke up today wanting to use the B&M Four Horsemen WAR today. It was calling to me. Never has there been a more globally hated soap scent. Even Arko has its fans. But not this. Just me!

In reality, though, this soap smells pretty good when you whip it up. And it smells great post shave when you add in the matching WAR aftershave splash. It’s dark and manly. Tones of dirt and gun powder. And that smell when burning off that layer of char leftover from the last time you used your BBQ. Okay, yeah…. It’s not a pretty smelling combination. No perfume or flowery scents here. But it’s dark and manly. And makes me think of good things. Like campfires, working on a dirty greasy v8 motor in a muscle car, shooting guns, and watching some good down home mud wrestling.

The Wolfman 1.15 was excellent as usual. The brush of choice today was a one-off Wolf Whiskers Tuxedo. Great brush! Overall an outstanding shave today!

 

[flask28]

Way to embrace WAR! Shave 10 times with War and you get a metal for heroism I'm pretty sure. Everyone's been so scared of it It's like I expect people to say their brush melted using it.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Brad, I wanted to mention how much I enjoyed your very thorough evaluation of Vintage Gillette razors the other day... comparing the Techs, Super Speeds, Rockets, (US, Canadian and British), etc. I've only used British Vintage razors, only owning one US product, the 1953 Y2 Super Speed @luvmysuper so generously PIF'd me a while back.

I felt hmmmmm "gently corrected", if that makes sense. I've been repeating what I've read here but I have zero frame of reference, having only used a couple of British Vintage Gillette razors and not owning and/or using their US counterparts. It was nice to read a more careful review of the various offerings. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.. and with me, in particular.

 

[BradWorld]

@Phoenixkh , it’s my pleasure. My hope is that I help people in some small way on here.

 

[BradWorld]

Broke out the Tradere OC for Blackland Thursday. Love that razor. It’s at the top of the heap for me.

Platinum blades are super sharp and very smooth. I think these newer light blue box versions are better than the other ones in the dark blue and white boxes that looks like the GSB branding.

42 is my all time favorite. But despite the better performance of this omnibus version it doesn’t smell nearly as good as the prior versions. Not as sweet. Not as strong. It’s not bad, mind you. But it’s not as amazing. The post shave face feel, however, is over the top with the addition of the 42 balm and aftershave splash. I will be feeling my face all day.

Excellent results today. DFS++. Stay smooth!

 

[never-stop-learning]

So today was the day I finally tried a Ti Blackbird. I went in with an open mind. I gave the Ti Bird every opportunity to succeed. I really did. And you know what? It was a great shave! That’s right. I said it. A great shave!

I got this Ti Bird off the Contributor’s BST the other day. Yes, that is a thing. Contribute to the site and you not only get that nifty contributor badge, but you get a special BST where you don’t have to wait 14 days, and get access to special stuff.

I digress…. Got this the other day. It shipped quick and I got it last night. It’s the older Machined version, which is no longer available. But the prior owner hand polished this Bird. And boy does it shine. Looks amazing.

Loaded up a Wizamet blade with one Tech shave under its belt. Did a standard three pass shave, with some light buffing in a couple spots.

The results were A+. Near BBS. Nice and close. I do think this thing provides better results than the Brass or Stainless version. But maybe only because it is more nimble and so effortless to use.

I bought this razor because so many people crow so hard about how much better the Ti Bird is than the Brass and SS versions. I doubted it would hold true for me. I love big heavy razors. I don’t like light razors at all. Well, this razor isn’t that light. It’s not aluminum light. It’s not Tech light. But it is much lighter than the Brassbird.

I have had a love-hate relationship with the blackbird since it’s inception. I got the original black oxide blackbird during the initial kickstarter campaign. Got the SB, and when the OC plate was released, got that too. It was too much razor for me at the time. Those first runs had a super sharp safety bar. And even sharper OC plates. You could probably cut yourself without a blade loaded. It was so sharp. So much so that it was changed for later runs. Rounded it a bunch.

I sold that first Blackbird. The blackest of Blackbirds. I used to call it the Darth Vader razor. Then my technique evolved. I learned how to shave steep. I learned how to use aggressive and hyper efficient razors. All was good in the world. I started craving to try a blackbird again. So I had to get another. And I did. The brass one. I like it. Now this Ti Bird might be even better. I’ll keep it in the rotation and see how it goes. But for now it passed its initial test flight with flying colors. I get it now.

I also went back to an Excelsior base B&M soap today. Full Measure of Man. What a great smokey, manly scent. What a great base. The fact that Will was so compelled to actually move forward and away from this base is mind blowing. It is so good. Soft Heart is amazing, but was short lived. Omnibus is amazing. But it is not a traditional base. It’s gooey and highly structured. Sticky even. Excelsior is your traditional thick and rich lather. The kind you whip onto your fancy brushes to make them look good in your SOTD pics. It’s great stuff. But Will made Omnibus and discontinued Excelsior. No worries, I have lots to hold me over. Regardless, FMOM did the trick today. Super slick lather. Very good aftershave splash. Awesome smells. I still feel moisturized 5 hours later. I still smell it too. Great stuff!

Stay smooth!

View attachment 1551564

Nice razor Brad!

 

[never-stop-learning]

Hmm, interesting to hear your thoughts on the TiBird. Glad you like it. Have you ever mixed up your 'Birds? i.e. used your brass, SS and Ti razors to make a mixed metal shaver? I have the brass SB and have no real interest in the Ti, yet I wonder what a Ti OC plate would be like in the brass razor.

Nope. Never mixed the blackbirds. Probably won’t. Sorry.

I tried it and found the experience to be less than satisfying.

 

[BradWorld]

I tried it and found the experience to be less than satisfying.

Hey David. This is where you and I differ in an otherwise very comparable viewpoint on shaving gear, software, and technique. I prefer very much to keep my high end razors with matching head components, and matching handles made by the same artisan as the head. All bets are off when it comes to vintages and lower end modern razors. I swap those things around with wreckless abandon. But I leave the high end artisan stuff intact. I would never use a blackbird with a non-matching handle , or swap/mix metals. I would never think less of anyone for doing so. But it's not the way I roll.

 

[never-stop-learning]

Hey David. This is where you and I differ in an otherwise very comparable viewpoint on shaving gear, software, and technique. I prefer very much to keep my high end razors with matching head components, and matching handles made by the same artisan as the head. All bets are off when it comes to vintages and lower end modern razors. I swap those things around with wreckless abandon. But I leave the high end artisan stuff intact. I would never use a blackbird with a non-matching handle , or swap/mix metals. I would never think less of anyone for doing so. But it's not the way I roll.

On my Blackbirds, I keep the cap and plate matched.

Due to nerve damage in my neck (fractured it in two places in a motorcycle wreck when I was 15 years old), I really like larger diameter handles that don't weigh a bunch. It's significantly more comfortable in hand and allows me to grip the handle and control the razor.

So I use Doug's GTx handles or larger diameter Timeless and TiBam Titanium handles.