Rolling the Bones

[4and20blackbirds]

Wednesday shave

Prep: Noxzema
Soap: Noble Otter BarrBarr
Brush: SOC Best Badger
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #5
Blade: Shaico (#3 and binned)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> NO BarrBarr aftershave

CCS again with the Shaico blade. Tugged, but got it done. Definitely not as close or comfortable for me as an Astra SP. Interesting the Shaico was nigh unusable in the Merkur, but worked somewhat in the Wilkinson Sword. I went ahead and rolled my next blade, which will be a Vokshod Teflon. I might roll a backup, too, in case that doesn't work.

First use of the BarrBarr, which is in the original NO base. Used the Marco Method, face-lathered for a change, and had zero issues. Probably the lightest NO scent I've tried, but that may be due to the age of the soap. I was lucky that the matching aftershave, which I picked up from Reddit, happened to show up today. Good timing.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

An arrival from Reddit today:

As soon as I saw the Tallow + Steel, I jumped on it. I had the aftershave from a den-clearing buy earlier this summer and thought it was excellent and have been keeping an eye out for more. Also nabbed the BarrBarr because I already had the soap. Added the others out of curiosity and because the price was right. The Eufros is a dynamite scent. The Stirling is almost a candy-like grapefruit (very sweet) and not natural like ToBS, as I was hoping. But, hey: it’s going to be great lather and, even better, it’s mentholated!

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Thursday shave

Prep: Noxzema
Soap: RazoRock Black Bay Rum
Brush: Shavemac Pure Badger
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #6
Blade: Voskhod (#1)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Stirling Bay Rum witch hazel splash

First try with a Voskhod blade and it resulted in a CCS on my lower neck (always my challenge area) and an easy DFS everywhere else. I look forward to continuing to test it.

The Black Bay Rum produced a very typical RazoRock slick and protective lather, but the scent is not for me and into the den-clearing box it goes. It's a bay rum with zero spice (or so little as to escape my nose) and I do like some spice in a bay rum. Which is why I like the Stirling Bay Rum splash--good scent and great performance.

 

[MilkCrate]

I can’t do the Stirling Bay Rum, the soap lit me up. The AS lit me up even worse. I found and use AA Bay Rum.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

I can’t do the Stirling Bay Rum, the soap lit me up. The AS lit me up even worse. I found and use AA Bay Rum.

That’s it. I’ve got to try AA Bay Rum now. I’ve read lots of good things about it before and this was the last push I needed. Onto the buy list it goes. Thanks, @MilkCrate! Now I wish I’d picked up the set I saw on the BST a couple of weeks ago...

Which reminds me, I forgot to mention here that I’m doing the December GRUME as penance for my profligate ways in October and November.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Friday shave

Prep: Neutrogena Razor Defense face scrub
Cream: Cyril Salter Wild Rose
Pre-Shave: PAA Cube 2.0
Brush: Simpsons Astor A1 Best Badger
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #7
Blade: Voskhod (#2)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Gillette Cool Wave aftershave

Second shave with a Voskhod and DFS all around. Still finding the Wilkie to be less comfortable than expected from its looks and once again had a decent amount of feedback from the alum. Not sure it'll work with its design, but I intend to take it steep tomorrow.

I had originally forgotten that tonight was a pre-shave night and had rolled up the K Shave Worx Frosen soap which I was really excited to try since it combines one of my favorite scents, rose, with menthol. And then I realized that I needed to use a pre-shave tonight so I put the Frosen back and rolled for a pre-shave and up came the PAA Cube again. I looked back over the week and realized that the poorest lather of the week was the Salter Wild Rose (due to my error--I'd had good luck with it previously). Well, well, looks like I'd get a frozen rose after all!

With three successful runs at using the PAA Cube as a pre-shave, I'm going to declare that it confers a benefit for me. First, I like the cooling; second, there is definitely added slickness to both the first and second passes. Not that I'd use a pre-shave everyday since I haven't found it to be necessary, but this one works for me and does give a noticeable performance boost.

Thoroughly enjoyed using the Astor again. Great for bowl lathering and the knot is fantastic!

 

[4and20blackbirds]

A couple of other mail calls from this week:

Samples of all in-stock Southern Witchcrafts plus a sample of ToBS Royal Forest and a Col. Conk lime puck from Maggard’s free shipping day (just ahead of Thanksgiving). [I accidentally ordered two of the Pomona, but that’s okay because it’s a great scent.] And a full puck of SW Necromantic with matching aftershave and a puck of Fine from The Razor Company’s Black Friday sale. I had the sample of Necromantic and knew I was going to buy the full package on Black Friday. It is one of my favorite scents I’ve tried and the performance is top-notch.

And from The Superior Shave’s Simpsons blowout, my first in something other than Best, a PJ2 in Super Badger. The handle is absolute perfection and I can’t wait to try it.

 

[Rosseforp]

And from The Superior Shave’s Simpsons blowout, my first in something other than Best, a PJ2 in Super Badger. The handle is absolute perfection and I can’t wait to try it.

I absolutely love my PJ2, once it is broken in, it is truly wonderful.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

I absolutely love my PJ2, once it is broken in, it is truly wonderful.

Good to hear! I think the PJ style is my favorite and the size 2 is spot-on for my preferences. Looking forward to breaking it in!

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Day of the Ninja shave

Prep: PAA Cube 2.0
Soap: MdC Rose
Pre-Shave: PAA Cube 2.0
Brush: Omega 81025 Boar
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #8
Blade: Voskhod (#3)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Murray & Lanman Florida Water (used as an aftershave)

I wasn't sure it would work based on the razor's design, but took the Sword steep tonight and was rewarded with a two-pass DFS including some areas that were almost BBS, all with minimal feedback from the alum. I did find the length of the handle made it harder to stay steep on my neck when going S-N on the second pass and will pay more attention to that tomorrow.

One other thing I did was shave my entire neck N-S on the first pass and S-N on the second pass. That resulted in a very close shave and I'm going to stick with that pattern for a bit. With my growth pattern there it results in, mostly I'd wager, 45 degree passes to the grain rather than true WTG and ATG.

First use of the MdC Rose sample and once again I'm glad I started with a sample. The lather was excellent (it's MdC after all), but the scent was only okay. The rose is barely noticeable and to me it smelled just slightly different from the Original scent, which I already have and love. I'll do one more shave with it to confirm, but I suspect this one will be headed for the den-clearing box.

Speaking of which, I'm going to give the Omega one more go as well, but I think it's headed out of the door, too. It is very nice, but I prefer slightly less loft and slightly more backbone than it offers. It is amazingly soft though.

First use of Florida Water and I enjoyed it, but it could really use something (glycerin?) to truly work as an aftershave.

Hope everyone was able to celebrate the annual Day of the Ninja by chucking some throwing stars or at least showing their skills with a sharp object (i.e., our razors—and if Sword is in the name, so much the better ).

 

[4and20blackbirds]

With my growth pattern there it results in, mostly I'd wager, 45 degree passes to the grain rather than true WTG and ATG.

Oops, that should be WTG and XTG.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Sunday shave

Prep: PAA Cube 2.0
Soap: Wickham 1912 English Rose sample
Brush: Vie-Long Silvertip Badger
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #9
Blade: Voskhod (#4)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Aqua Velva

A mostly steep-angled, two-pass DFS tonight. Even though I was more deliberate, the S-N on my neck for the second pass isn't truly steep as the length of the handle gets in the way. Still, a solid shave.

First try of a Wickham 1912 soap tonight and I found it to be a good soap with plenty of slickness. The scent is lighter than I'd prefer, so Salter still maintains its place as my favorite pure rose. Very much looking forward to the other two Wickham samples I have: Citrus Musk and Magnum.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Pearl Harbor Day shave

Prep: Neutrogena Razor Defense face scrub
Soap: Saponificio Varesino 70th Anniversary sample
Brush: Zenith boar
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #10
Blade: Voskhod (#5)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Pinaud Clubman Classic Vanilla aftershave

A mostly steep-angled, two-pass DFS again tonight. I could probably get another shave out of the Voskhod, but I'm noticing some razor bumps on my neck. The usual place I get them, but I haven't had them in a while. Not sure if it's the razor, the blade, or the new pattern I was trying, but will try to correct by going back to Astra SP and my previous pattern to see if I can't clear it up.

First use of an SV soap and I was impressed: easy lather, slick, and protective, and a great scent. Also first use of Clubman Classic Vanilla and I like it a lot. Vanilla can be hit or miss as a scent for me, but this one is very nice.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Tuesday shave

Prep: PAA Cube 2.0
Soap: K Shave Worx Frosen
Brush: Simpson Astor A1 Best Badger
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #11
Blade: Astra SP (#1)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Mickey Lee Reunion aftershave

Back to an Astra and back to the standard shave angle tonight for a mostly DFS in two-passes, except for the right side of my neck which was CCS.

I've been on a hot streak rolling rose-scented soaps recently and was fortunate to re-roll Frosen just 4 shaves after initially rolling it, but setting it aside since I had forgotten it was pre-shave night. So, first use of Frosen was very good. Cushioning and slickness were excellent and it whipped up very fast. The scent and menthol have both faded with the years, I'd wager, but it still smells very nice and there was some cooling to it when splashing with water to rinse off the remaining traces of lather. I really wish K Shave Worx would bring this one back, or that someone else would make a menthol rose. This one would be a great candidate with which to use the PAA Cube as a pre-shave, simply for the menthol kick.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Wednesday shave

Prep: PAA Cube 2.0
Soap: Wickham 1912 Citrus Musk sample
Brush: EJ Super Badger
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #12
Blade: Astra SP (#2)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Pinaud Citrus Musk aftershave

Two-pass DFS tonight in spite of my overloading the soap with water.

First use of the Wickham Citrus Musk and it was only okay. I'm not crazy about the scent on this first use and I added too much water. So, while shaveable, there was a distinct lack of cushion and slickness compared to the lather I managed with the Wickham Rose a couple of days ago. In fact, I went so far that I had some skipping due to the lack of slickness. Ordinarily, I would have just gone back to the puck, but since this sample is in wax paper inside of a ziplock bag and my hands were wet I just rolled with it.

Also first use of the Pinaud Citrus Musk and that I like a lot and suspect that I'll like it even more if I cut it with Osage Rub, both to add menthol and to cut down the sweetness. I purchased this one on Clubman's Black Friday sale, which turned out to be a disappointing bust--they shipped only four samples and this full bottle and credited back the majority of the order claiming they'd gone out of stock on the rest of the items, including two bottles of Osage Rub. I requested they just wait until back in stock but they wouldn't do it. Not really impressed with the corporate customer service and I plan to order what I wanted from Atlanta Barber Supply once this month's GRUME is over.

First use of the EJ and I liked it, but it's not love at first use. Mainly because there is some definite flop to it. I often wonder where I'm going to end up with all of this, how many brushes, razors, etc. and I always like to see the criteria people use to maintain or cull their collection. One member I saw recently was keeping only things he loved, not just liked. If that was my criteria this one probably wouldn't make it. On the other hand, I do enjoy variety, so maybe a floppier brush will have its place in my den. Time will tell.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Thursday shave

Prep: PAA Cube 2.0
Soap: Saponificio Varesino Manna di Sicilia
Brush: B&B Omega Boar
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #13
Blade: Astra SP (#4)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Luck Tiger aftershave tonic

Two-pass DFS on my face and CCS on my neck. Minimal feedback from the alum. The SV had a great scent (though very light to my nose) and produced an excellent lather. Lucky Tiger was an excellent match for it.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Friday shave

Prep: PAA Cube 2.0
Pre-shave: Suavecito Pre-Shave Oil
Soap: Wickham 1912 Citrus Musk sample
Brush: EJ Best Badger
Razor: Wilkinson Sword TTO, shave #14
Blade: Astra SP (#4)
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Pinaud Citrus Musk aftershave

Two-passes + buffing to get to a mostly DFS tonight. Some sting from the alum to show for it.

Tonight I rolled up the Suavecito for the third time. Once again, a great scent, but I found it did nothing for the shave but add some drag to the razor. That's three strikes and it's headed for the den-clearing box. Also headed there is the Wickham 1912 Citrus Musk. I managed a much better lather tonight, but the scent is not for me. The Pinaud Citrus Musk, however, definitely is and I enjoyed using it again.

New razor tomorrow!

 

[4and20blackbirds]

And the Roll-a-Shave result is...

I am looking forward to using the Schick as I've always been fascinated by them. As far as I can tell, this is what's generally known as a Type L1 Injector though this thread, Schick Type L Injectors for Dummies, has more detail than some others and goes so far as to categorize it as a specific year and variant. From that thread it appears that this is a second variant L1 from 1972-1982, style 1.

 

[4and20blackbirds]

I'm definitely ready to put the Wilkinson Sword aside. While I did get a few decent shaves, there was a distinct lack of consistency from shave to shave and I don't think it handled the swirl on my neck very well. This one is going to sit in last place for now.

Here's how they rank today:
1. Gillette Slim
2. Parker Semi-slant
3. Yaqi Beast
4. Merkur 34C HD
5. Wilkinson Sword TTO

 

[4and20blackbirds]

Saturday shave

Prep: PAA Cube 2.0
Soap: Wickham 1912 Magnum
Brush: Simpsons 57 Best Badger
Razor: Schick Type L1, shave #1
Blade: Schick (China), #1
Post: Alum -> hyaluronic acid-> Stirling Lemon Chill aftershave

First time with an Injector and I am mighty impressed for the first shave. Smooth, comfortable, zero alum feedback, two-pass DFS. The Magnum scent is my favorite of the three Wickham samples I've tried, but I'm not sure I'd buy a full puck yet. The soap seems to have a particularly small sweet-spot for water compared to others I've tried.