Balin's Brushes, Blades and Assorted Baloney!

[Balin]

SOTD:
Lush Kalamazoo face and beard wash
Proraso white preshave
DR Harris Twenty Nine
Tabac
WR1 .74 OC
KCG MIC (1)
Shavemac D01 Silvertip 22/46

Rating 4/5 Comfortable DFS

Thanks @lasta @Alum Ladd and @JKaboom !! I appreciate the support. I did feel odd mentioning what is going on in personal life but it was really helpful to type it out, a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Some of my post about my mother made it in to the obituary. I did edit out the shaving stuff, because the public may think I am a little nuts . My sister is flying in on Tuesday and funeral arrangements are made for next Friday. It will be good to see my sister, even under these circumstances. I have found that I am closer to my sister as I have gotten older.

Today was the first time I used a KCG MIC blade. I have a stash of PPI KCG blades I haven't used yet also. I think its a decent blade and one that I would use again if they weren't so darned expensive and if I didn't have a pile of 2800 blades needing to be used!

Cheers!

 

[Guido75]

I don't think I'd go for a CPA.

But the Cult needs you to be! (otherwise he’ll come after me again! ).

But I get where you are coming from. Having some certificate in accounting (be it receivables, payables or similar) is usually a good foundation for many other skills. So excellent work Andrew in downloading as much as you can from the L&D department!

 

[cajunrph]

Prayers for you and the family, so sorry to hear this. Yes, we are not given more than we can handle with the grace of God. Like I was in the boat on the dark body of water, the light is ahead and you will get there too.

 

[Balin]

Prayers for you and the family, so sorry to hear this. Yes, we are not given more than we can handle with the grace of God. Like I was in the boat on the dark body of water, the light is ahead and you will get there too.

Thanks man, I appreciate the affirmation.

 

[Balin]

SOTD:
Lush Kalamazoo face and beard wash
Proraso white preshave
DR Harris Twenty Nine
Tabac
WR1 .74 OC
KCG MIC (1)
Shavemac D01 Silvertip 24/50

Rating 4/5 Comfortable DFS

I had a nice comfortable shave today even though it was a bit rushed. I really enjoy this brush. I will use my original 24/50 tomorrow because I think my older versions are a bit denser and softer. I know Simpsons brushes get knocked around a bit for batch variance but being a natural product, I think Shavemacs vary a bit too.

Cheers.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Andrew, I have been away for a few days, and am just catching up on what I've missed. I'm sorry to hear of your loss, yet heartened to hear you handling it with such grace. As for the career, I sincerely hope the dark skies brighten for you soon.

 

[Balin]

Andrew, I have been away for a few days, and am just catching up on what I've missed. I'm sorry to hear of your loss, yet heartened to hear you handling it with such grace. As for the career, I sincerely hope the dark skies brighten for you soon.

Thanks Al, I appreciate your kind words and support. Life isn't always a straight line and there are challenges and detours along the way. I am starting to wonder if this might be a bit of a wake up call, that my career was not all that I am or all that I am put on this planet to do and who really knows how much time we have left?

 

[Balin]

SOTD:
Lush Kalamazoo face and beard wash
Proraso white preshave
DR Harris Twenty Nine
Tabac
WR1 .74 OC
KCG MIC (3)
OG Shavemac D01 Silvertip 24/50

Rating 4/5 Comfortable DFS

I had touched on the Shavemac batch variation on my previous post, but this shave confirmed. Using my original version of the brush it was noticeably denser and softer than the newer one I just purchased as the configurator was closing. The newer brush is no slouch mind you but I think the orginals have the je ne sais quoi that the new ones are lacking .

SOTD:
Lush Kalamazoo face and beard wash
Proraso white preshave
Body Shop Aloe and Maca
RR Irish Countryside
WR1 .74 OC
KCG MIC (4)
Chubby 1 Super

Rating 4/5 Comfortable DFS

Today was a comfortable shave, but barely so. The KCG MIC is a 3 shave blade for me. Alum and aftershave feedback was right up to the cusp of being acceptable. I am going through my soap samples this month and I thought I would DR Harris a rest and try my Body Shop Aloe and Maca root. I think this might perform better than the DR Harris. It lathered really well and was able to handle a lot of water. I might try to push it a bit more tomorrow. The slickness was pretty good too. It has a mild and pleasing scent also.

My sister arrived last night to help out with getting my mother's affairs dealt with. Its really nice to have her here. I do find I can let myself grieve a little more now that I have back up. We spent most of the day catching up. My wife comments, that my sister and I seem to have our own secret language of understanding when it comes to finishing each other's thoughts, jokes and such.

Cheers.

 

[cajunrph]

My wife comments, that my sister and I seem to have our own secret language of understanding when it comes to finishing each other's thoughts, jokes and such.

Sounds like my sister and me, for me, it was good to see my sister this weekend, even for a short time. Prayers continued for you and the family during these challenging times.

 

[Balin]

SOTD:
Lush Kalamazoo face and beard wash
Proraso white preshave
Body Shop Aloe and Maca
RR Irish Countryside
WR1 .74 OC
Super Blue 1
Classic 2 2 band

Rating 4/5 Comfortable DFS

SOTD:
Lush Kalamazoo face and beard wash
Proraso white preshave
Body Shop Aloe and Maca
Crann Bethadh
WR1 .74 OC
Super Blue 2
OG Shavemac D01 Silvertip 22/46

Rating 4/5 Comfortable DFS

SOTD:
Lush Kalamazoo face and beard wash
Proraso white preshave
Body Shop Aloe and Maca
Clubman Milk
WR3 .35 OC
GEM 3
Shavemac 2 band 24/48

Rating 4/5 Comfortable DFS

Its been a busy few days but here are my shaves. The Super Blues do feel quite a bit like KCG MIC to me. Today is a relaxed veg on the couch day. The grey weather matches my mood and energy levels which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Cheers

 

[Jay21]

I’m a firm believer that many blades are simply different names for different markets slapped on the same piece of sharpened steel. It doesn’t make economic sense to make so many different grinds because they have to do so many machine retoolings.

 

[Balin]

SOTD:
Lush Kalamazoo face and beard wash
Proraso white preshave
Body Shop Aloe and Maca
Clubman Milk
WR1 .67 OC
Rubie Plus 1
Shavemac Unique 2 band 24/48

Rating 5/5 Comfortable BBS

I had a great shave today. They have been few and far between lately. All of the gear clicked and I ended up with a BBS result on 2 passes. For @mcee_sharp I chose the brush to match my blade tuck . I don't think I have used a Rubie in ages and I had forgotten how much I enjoy the blade. It was smooth and sharp and not the least bit harsh. I am looking forward to May when I can stop using cream samples. This month has shown me that I prefer harder soaps or croaps where I can load right from the tub. I think next month will be Murphy and MacNeil Crann Bethadh.

My mother's funeral was Friday, and alot of the heavy lifting has been done with getting her affairs completed. The fog is lifting. My sister is still visiting until Tuesday so we may have a few loose ends to tie up tomorrow. Tonight the kids are coming over for a BBQ, and a few laughs and memories.

Cheers.

 

[mcee_sharp]

@Balin and THAT is what makes you an artist and an artiste.

 

[huck1680]

After my dad passed away, it was me and my 2 bros who took care of everything. That man had more stuff and there was more arriving daily. He loved to order things. There was a 12 place dinner setting that arrived and I wound up gifting that to a friend who had a good sized family.
On a slightly more humorous note, my dad would also get newsletters and such from various companies, businesses etc. mainly because he probably bought something from them.
One was from Kreskin...the "mentalist" or whatever you'd call him. Anyway Kristin and his company wanted to know if dad wanted to re-new his subscription to whatever he'd been subscribing to.
We were amazed that Kristin didn't know about dad's passing, we thought he would've sent condolences because he would've known being a world famous "mentalist" and all.
"...the 72-year-old still performs more than 200 shows a year". I guess maybe he was too busy to realize dad was no longer going to "reach out" to him. Anyway we decided to not bother letting him know about dad because eventually the universe would clue him in.
Anyhow my friend, enjoy the reminiscing with family and friends. The memories become better and better.

 

[cajunrph]

Prayers sent your way my friend.

 

[Balin]

SOTD:
Lush Kalamazoo face and beard wash
Proraso white preshave
DR Harris Rose
Tabac
WR1 .67 OC
Rubie Plus 2
Classic 2 Super

Rating 5/5 Comfortable BBS

Another really comfortable shave with this gear! I finished up my Body Shop cream yesterday so I went with some DR Harris Rose today. It was definitely Rose scented but it didn't linger long. I think the DR Harris may be slicker or I wasn't adding enough water to the Body Shop cream.

My sister flies out tomorrow and I will miss her. It has been great having her around to help with settling my mother's affairs. She plowed through some of the tasks I was dreading and now there is not much else to do except a bit more paperwork which should be complete this week. She will be coming out again in September for my eldest son's wedding so it should be a happier visit.

Cheers.

 

[BigAlVista]

Andrew, you've had a rough month that nobody deserves. I hope you are able to find moments each day that can give you a brief reprieve from the losses.

Have faith. Things will get better.

 

[Beto Salatini]

Be well, dear Andrew.

 

[Balin]

Andrew, you've had a rough month that nobody deserves. I hope you are able to find moments each day that can give you a brief reprieve from the losses.

Have faith. Things will get better.

Thank you sir! Things are improving daily. I was digging for some documentation today and realized that, I am going to be way better off leaving this company. I think this will end up being a blessing in disguise .

Be well, dear Andrew.

Thanks Beto! I'm still plugging along .

 

[lasta]

Hi Andrew, a lot has happened the past little while...but at least here on B&B, I can still feel your humorous side shine through. Keep up the positivity!

I'm in middle of a lay-off myself, so I can understand the feeling of uncertainty.

Maybe I'll even find myself back in Canada. We could arrange our first real-life cult meet-up!