Arko August 2020

[epipeman]

Kit: Fatip Piccolo, Derby Premium (3) , Arko, Omega S10083 S-Brush Pro.

A much better shave today. Arko was excellent as usual. I shall, of course, use nothing but Arko for the rest of the year. Thanks to all for this great thread!

 

[BigD]

Well Everyone,
It was a great 31 Shaves with the Arko. Part of me is sad to see it go, and part of me is happy to use other nice things. Thank you @FoolishMortal for organizing this. I had a ton of fun. Take care everyone.

 

[Owen Bawn]

ARKO-SHARKO-OVERTIME
With several shaves left on the Shark SS blade in my razor, and with a brand new Simpson Manchurian M6 to break in, I used Arko again today. This little brush is going to require a few uses to break in! A lovely knot, with plenty of backbone, but it just ate soap. I swirled on the mashed Arko in the mug for 30-40 seconds, added some water, and gave it another 30 seconds, but the brush just wasn't cooperating. Load it, start to face lather, and the soap disappeared. Back to the mug after each pass. Certainly not a crisis. Part of it is that the knot is small, part that it is unused, and part is most certainly due to my unfamiliarity with the brush and its personality. Good news is that it felt great on my face. A half dozen more shaves and she'll be fine. We'll both be fine. Finished up with Booster Island Bay Rum. Such a light, clean scent. Not a clove bomb.

 

[bluesman 7]

And after 30 Arko shaves (I missed shaving one day) the stick measures 51.7 mm. So I used exactly 1 cm. An Arko stick measures ~8 cm which means that at my current usage a stick should last me 8 months.

Doh!!! Somehow I misread my vernier caliper (how embarrassing, I thought of not even correcting the post). The correct dimension after 30 days is 48mm. So 1.37 cm in a month and close to 6 months/stick at that rate of usage.

I'm going to use Arko for another month as penance. Well, also cause I like it.

 

[Rosseforp]

Tuesday, September 1

SE1 Proline(13)
Simpson PJ2
ARKO! Shaving Stick(mashed into a puck)
ARKO! Aftershave Cologne
ARKO! Maximum Comfort Cream

It has been 120 hours since I shaved, ala @JoWolf , now that I am retired, I can shave when I wish.

I only shaved 10 times last month, and they were all ARKO!

Thanks to @FoolishMortal for hosting ARKO! AUGUST this year

I made the razor stand from a chunk of 6AL 4V that was just, laying around

 

[Alohawyatt]

Shave: 25
9-1-2020
Soap: ARKO stick in a repurposed deodorant..
It started out with 14 grams.
Razor: Fatip Piccolo OC
Blade: Dollar store blade (26)
Brush: Omaga 49
2 pass some touch up DFS.
​

I'm going to 3017 the Arko Deodo... I pulled the remaining soap out of it and started using it as a soap sample. By putting what I think is one shave worth pressed in the bottom of a bowl. Then lathered it that way. I should have three more.

 

[JoWolf]

Tuesday, September 1

SE1 Proline(13)
Simpson PJ2
ARKO! Shaving Stick(mashed into a puck)
ARKO! Aftershave Cologne
ARKO! Maximum Comfort Cream

It has been 120 hours since I shaved, ala @JoWolf , now that I am retired, I can shave when I wish.

I only shaved 10 times last month, and they were all ARKO!

Thanks to @FoolishMortal for hosting ARKO! AUGUST this year
View attachment 1148715
I made the razor stand from a chunk of 6AL 4V that was just, laying around

Beauty razor stand.

 

[Rosseforp]

Look what finally made it from Madrid today

 

[Owen Bawn]

It is finished, lads. I just had a shave using Cella.

Arko-Sharko
has gone darko.

 

[MrBeez]

Aye matey

It is finished, lads. I just had a shave using Cella.

Arko-Sharko
has gone darko.

Aye matey that may be true. But every now and then you better take a peek starboard for you may see some fins headed your way. I highly recommend keeping some Arko handy. It calms them sharks down right away!

 

[ksblazer]

Shaved at work today. Here is what I keep in my locker for those times.

The design has faded off of the stick and just foil now.

I think I have had that stick in my work locker for about 6yrs now. Still lathers like a champ.

 

[Roedeer]

Tried using a Wilkinson puck again, that I had lying around (UK retail soap). I was right the first time around, that stuff is not going to work for me.

Good container, though; I could easily get 2 sticks of Arko pucked in there.

 

[FarmerTan]

Shaved at work today. Here is what I keep in my locker for those times.

View attachment 1149456

The design has faded off of the stick and just foil now.

I think I have had that stick in my work locker for about 6yrs now. Still lathers like a champ.

How do you like the Lime Sec? Always been tempted by that one....

I finished Arko-Sharko month. My last shave was Sunday. I used the same blade, ratty brush, Frankenrazor, and incredibly handsome face for a total of I THINK 12 shaves is all.


Retirement means never having to say you're sorry.........to your BOSS for not shaving! ...but don't get too excited. You do have to answer to your mean ole War Department for why you is so homely!

She actually LIKED my choice of aftershave tonight: classic Clubman, quite possibly the best of all the old timey fragrances!

 

[ksblazer]

How do you like the Lime Sec? Always been tempted by that one....

I finished Arko-Sharko month. My last shave was Sunday. I used the same blade, ratty brush, Frankenrazor, and incredibly handsome face for a total of I THINK 12 shaves is all.


Retirement means never having to say you're sorry.........to your BOSS for not shaving! ...but don't get too excited. You do have to answer to your mean ole War Department for why you is so homely!

She actually LIKED my choice of aftershave tonight: classic Clubman, quite possibly the best of all the old timey fragrances!

It's a sweeter candy like lime. Kind of smell like what a lime Skittles candy tastes like.

Sent stays on me for a good 2hr or so. Aftershave feel is Pinaud (Clubman) like.

So I like it. Especially in the summer time.

I look forward to retiring. But I got another 15-16yrs to go still.

 

[FarmerTan]

It's a sweeter candy like lime. Kind of smell like what a lime Skittles candy tastes like.

Sent stays on me for a good 2hr or so. Aftershave feel is Pinaud (Clubman) like.

So I like it. Especially in the summer time.

I look forward to retiring. But I got another 15-16yrs to go still.

Thanks for the reply! I was forced into early retirement by my cardiologist. (I have to blame SOMEONE, lol!) My unsolicited advice is this: psychological readiness is more importantly than financial if you love your profession. If you hate it, retire ASAP. I have FINALLY quit feeling sorry for myself, but it was a 2 year process.

 

[Rosseforp]

Thanks for the reply! I was forced into early retirement by my cardiologist. (I have to blame SOMEONE, lol!) My unsolicited advice is this: psychological readiness is more importantly than financial if you love your profession. If you hate it, retire ASAP. I have FINALLY quit feeling sorry for myself, but it was a 2 year process.

Dave you are SO right. I loved my job right up until the last 2 years. A really bad manager was to blame.

Spoiler: How bad of a manger was he?

I'll have to start a Bad Manager post for that. Lol

I had planned on retiring this November, a week after my 65th birthday, as that would have been my 35th year with the company.
So when the Site Manager called me into the office to tell me business was moving from SoCal to Florida last September, and wanted to know if I was on board, I took the severance package

Of course, the War Department hasn't quite adjusted yet...........

 

[MrBeez]

Well, I drew a wild card and went with the Semogue 2000 today. It was a throwback to my early days wetshaving with the 2000, Arko, a Red Tip, and for good measure some Thayer's to complete the ca. 2009 experience. The 2000 is not to my tastes these days, but it's objectively a phenomenal brush. Great shave.

A few things I have learned from a month with Arko:

1. Although I have used Arko extensively in the past, I never realized how much water it could truly take on. I got my slickest ever Arko shaves this month as I kept pushing the water amount.

2. Arko is not picky about lathering technique. Start with a sopping wet boar or a mostly dry synth or anything in between. It loads easily (softer than a milled soap) but not too easily (harder than a croap or artisan soap) and its lather is malleable, so even if it's too airy or watery or pasty at first, it can be adjusted on the fly.

3. The scent really does become far less noticeable with use. I don't think it diminishes so much as it becomes familiar. Because it's not identifiable as tobacco or rose or anything really distinct like that, even though it's potent, it doesn't wallop you in use.

4. I still think Palmolive is better as far as budget sticks go (it's actually my favorite soap, period). However, the difference in performance is not as great as I once thought. Arko has more coconut oil, which makes it a shade more drying and its lather a bit more airy, but they are both stellar options. I let Arko slide out of the rotation for a while, and it is most assuredly back to stay.

This has been a fun month, and I will gladly do it every single August. 31 killer shaves.

Just to pick up on your first point about the amount of water - I also discovered this during Arko August. I was amazed at how much water the lather could take. In fact, I think I've been using too little water in general with Arko and even other soaps. We all have our preferences in terms of consistency, but I think I have discovered that I actually prefer a thinner, slightly more watery lather than I thought I did. I have also started bowl-lathering the last few months, which in my opinion, allows you to take on more water because you don't make the same amount of mess as you do if you keep adding water while face-lathering.

I think using one soap for an extended period of time, like we all did in Arko August, forces you to really dial in the things that I thought I already knew!