Arko August 2021

[FarmerTan]

I used Arkoman in the stick form last night. Shave number 7 on an ancient unobtainium Polsilver in my birth quarter Tech (H2. Yeah, it's hard for me to believe it too, that I can be this old and still have an incredibly handsome face!)

Two passes. Maybe a little touch ups. BBS was obtained. I'm just now feeling stubble enough to bother to get off my Lazyarseboy and go shave, and this shave is probably 22 hours old. Incredible blade! Thank you @Grundi and @Space_Cadet !

This blade loves Arko.

But what and who doesn't love Arko? Turkey's greatest gift to the wet shaving werld, besides Thanksgiving I suppose...

 

[rbscebu]

Day 15 ARKO August

Another change of razor types this morning. I took my Oxor Chinese stainless steel shavette for a drive loaded with a Gillette Rubie half- blade (2). This was again done to keep my hand in.

This shavette cost me the same as my Chinese badger hair brush, USD 2 on AliExpress. Come to think of it, my ARKO stick also cost me about the same on AliExpress.

Face lathered with ARKO stick and Chinese guaranteed pure genuine best badger synthetic brush.

Three-pass shave (WTG. XTG + XTG).
Rinsed and finished with a splash of Wahl Bay rum mixed with witch hazel.
The result was DFS+.

​

Tomorrow it is back to traditional straight razors for a week.

 

[InkStainedWretch]

August 14

Face lathered ARKO (mashed into a puck) with my Big Red Omega boar. Shaved with the Col. Conk Major, loaded with a Shark Super Stainless. The "Major" is a heavy razor with a large blade gap. When I first got it, I found it had more blade gap than I liked. Today was a pleasant surprise: still a lot of "blade feel", but still a pleasant shave. Post shave: witch hazel and CeraVe.

 

[Kyle89]

Realized today that the last bit of Arko smashed into my wooden bowl is getting pretty thin. I think I bought this one back in February and use it decently often.

Not bad not bad...

 

[doug1066]

So, two weeks in. I have a question. Are there people who now understand why the ARKO man gives you that knowing smile and why there are some of us who are proud members of the Cult of ARKO?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GNR]

ARKO BOARKO 14: Zero Dark Thirty shave.
Nice quick shave before a week of family travel. The Barbasol Floating Head is very edgy so I had a great two pass shave.
My Omega 10049 is breaking in nicely. Finished with AV Ice Blue.
Brought a travel ARKO BOARKO set with me so I can stay deep in the Pig Pen.

 

[Roedeer]

Third Arko shave
Preshave: Hot washcloth
Soap: Arko
Brush: Men-U boar
Razor: GC.68 SB, Astra SP #7
Post-shave: Nivea Balm.

Good shaving performance from Arko, and Nivea keeps the post-shave comfortable.

 

[BaPh96]

Arko on the Down low #3 tonight.

Prewashed with Cremo daily face wash, Arko of course, Merkur 34C with Astra superior platinum (2) and a Boreal boar brush. After was alum block and Nivea cooling balm.
- excellent shave overall, face lathered, completely 3 passes with minimal irritation.
Only oddity was the Boreal brush. I broke it in a while ago and figured it would be a perfect addition to Arko events.....it's still shedding .... and the center base of the knot is a bit weird compared to other boars that I've used.

 

[Kyle89]

So, two weeks in. I have a question. Are there people who now understand why the ARKO man gives you that knowing smile and why there are some of us who are proud members of the Cult of ARKO?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Because ARKO

 

[Chard52142]

Arko Aug #7 Sun 15 SR SOTD
Soap Arko Stick
Brush Yaqi 24mm Ruby Tuxedo
Razor P Hospital Le Grelot Thiers
Aftershaves Stirling Witchhazel Orange Chill + Old Spice Original
Reliable soap with a pleasant scent and a great slick lather...
2nd shave with the razor but this time put through a short run on the 0.1um pasted balsa. The result was a slightly more keener edge but yet still as smooth. Managed 3+passes for a ccs to sas finish with a micro red spot. This is a very enjoyable razor...

 

[rbscebu]

Arko Aug #7 Sun 15 SR SOTD
Soap Arko Stick
Brush Yaqi 24mm Ruby Tuxedo
Razor P Hospital Le Grelot Thiers
Aftershaves Stirling Witchhazel Orange Chill + Old Spice Original
Reliable soap with a pleasant scent and a great slick lather...
2nd shave with the razor but this time put through a short run on the 0.1um pasted balsa. The result was a slightly more keener edge but yet still as smooth. Managed 3+passes for a ccs to sas finish with a micro red spot. This is a very enjoyable razor...
View attachment 1311929

Not sure what you are doing wrong with your balsa stropping.

After each shave you should be giving your SR 50 to 60 laps on a hanging 0.1μm diamond pasted balsa strop with intermittent short X-strokes. You can see my 0.1μm balsa strop (after about 1,000 laps) in post 579 here in this thread.

My post-shave hanging 0.1μm balsa strop maintenance is:

• 15 standard laps
• 6 short X-stroke laps
• 15 standard laps
• 10 short X-stroke laps
• End-to-end balsa strop
• 15 standard laps
• 14 short X-stroke laps
• 15 standard laps
• 18 short X-stroke laps

It's the short X-stroke laps that give a smoother shave from the edge. They are demonstrated here.

Hanging balsa means that you are holding the balsa strop at one end with your non-dominant hand using your thumb and index or middle finger, letting the strop hang down. You then strop up and down, spine leading. This way you should be stropping with even less pressure than just the weight of the blade.

The most common reason for diamond pasted balsa stropping not working for people is too much pressure and/or too much paste.

 

[Chard52142]

Not sure what you are doing wrong with your balsa stropping.

After each shave you should be giving your SR 50 to 60 laps on a hanging 0.1μm diamond pasted balsa strop with intermittent short X-strokes. You can see my 0.1μm balsa strop (after about 1,000 laps) in post 579 here in this thread.

My post-shave hanging 0.1μm balsa strop maintenance is:

• 15 standard laps
• 6 short X-stroke laps
• 15 standard laps
• 10 short X-stroke laps
• End-to-end balsa strop
• 15 standard laps
• 14 short X-stroke laps
• 15 standard laps
• 18 short X-stroke laps

It's the short X-stroke laps that give a smoother shave from the edge. They are demonstrated here.

Hanging balsa means that you are holding the balsa strop at one end with your non-dominant hand using your thumb and index or middle finger, letting the strop hang down. You then strop up and down, spine leading. This way you should be stropping with even less pressure than just the weight of the blade.

The most common reason for diamond pasted balsa stropping not working for people is too much pressure and/or too much paste.

Yes, Sir, I am doing exactly as per your instructions...for the razors on pasted balsa stropping. There are 3 razors including this, that have just been received and they were from a jnat hone so just before I put them on the full progression...I wanted to shave on the jnat edge a few more times to try and feel the difference...
Those razors that went through the full progression and after each shave really did have improvement on the edges...
Thank you for your advice...

 

[Sotiris_A]

Arko shave #10-15:

Feather DX
Feather super pro (17-22)
Arko stick
Omega 10018
Aqua Velva

Happy Arko shaves everyone!

 

[ajkel64]

Arko August Shave number 15. Still Arko all the way.

 

[Galaktus]

Arko August day 15:
Weck Sextoblade, Fromm (2)
Arko (82)
Olivewood synthetic brush
Clubman Lime Sec.
Another great shave!

 

[zoidberg]

Arko August.

15/8/21

Soap - Arko Hydrate Cream
Brush - Yaqi Plissoft 24mm
Razor - Fat Handle Tech
Blade - Polish Polsilver (7)
Post - Witch Hazel
AS - Superdrug Forest Fresh

Second use with the Arko Hydrate Cream, I probably didn't use enough shaving cream so the lather didn't have as much cushion as I usually like but it was well hydrated nonetheless, but it is a strange lather in some ways, it's one of the few shaving soaps/creams I have come across which contains alcohol so it feels a bit strange when the lather sits on the face but it lacks a little slickness, but it's fine nonetheless.

The Arko Hydrate cream has a fairly pleasing mild fougere scent to it, it pairs well with the Superdrug Forest Fresh splash.

The Polish Polsilver is still performing like it is brand new, impressed with the lifespan of the blade.

 

[Contact_vs_Feedback]

Arko August with Boar

Arko
SOC Boar in Cherry
Bic Chrome Platinum
Lupo 95
Witch Hazel



I'm getting better at loading the brush and even with a big, dense brush as SOC I had ample lather for 3 passes.

Bic blade and Lupo 95 is a good combination, but the blade doesn't last ne very long.

 

[Multum in parvo]

9th Arko shave
For once I must be doing something right - the 3rd BBS in a row…
Merkur 34G, Bic Astor (3rd use), Shavemac 2 Band, Pitralon Classic Pine
Shavemac‘s 2 Band is scrubby, easygoing and a pleasure to use. I’m looking forward how it will compare to Simpsons 2 Band Silvertip (Commodore X1) that should arrive next week.

 

[LMcC]

Razor: Post War Fat Handle Tech
Blade: Feather (3)
Brush: Sea Glass / PAA Nexus
Soap: Arko
Aftershave: 4711

Arko August SOTD.
Good morning! Very nice shave today. Great lather thanks to Arko and the Sea Glass brush. I may be getting used to the Arko scent. The Feather blade produced some nice results, but already feels like it’s dying. On to something new tomorrow. BBS. Finished with 4711.

9/10

 

[BradWorld]

I agree shaving sticks work well but it's not the most comfortable way to lather for me. That is why many of us just mash the shaving stick into an empty soap puck container and load our brushes from the newly created soap puck. It's much more comfortable for me going that route.

i also agree. Shaving sticks work great. So do shaving bowls. But for me, I thoroughly enjoy the process of loading a brush from the tub and face lathering. Saying that, however, I truly think Arko works best from the stick, applied directly to the face. My first Arko years ago was the little red plastic tub. Didn’t care for it. Didn’t use it much. Got a stick. Loved it! Now Arko stick is my primary travel soap. And I travel a lot. Especially before COVID. The stick format is a perfect travel companion. But at home I prefer to use something else. But given the amount of travel I undertake, Arko gets plenty of action.