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Brandaves shave journal

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$10-27.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial Soap
Shave Secret Pre-shave
Arko Soap
Ever Ready C40 WD Synthetic knot
Gillette New top cap and comb + Gillette Gold Tech Handle razor
Wilkinson Sword blade (1)
Thayers After Shave Witch Hazel
Pinaud Clubman After Shave

Excellent shave today. 3 passes 1 WTG, 1 XTG, 1 ATG. The Shave Secret performed well today and confirmed that the burning on my face was in fact caused by the Mama Bear's as was my original fear. I have several soap out for delivery from Sue and will continue to use them I plan on trying out Sam's technique to burn off some of the harsh ingredients in the microwave prior to use. Hopefully that takes the edge off of them. The Arko performed even better today then it did yesterday, a superb lather this shave on all three passes. Another excellent showing by the WD synthetic. I really like it a lot. It is amazingly soft and yet with great backbone to it, hard to beat really. I have a few knots on order from The Golden Nib which includes one of their nylon knots, we'll see how the two compare. Either way the price is right on them and I could see using them often. Today was the first day using a mismatch head and handle on my razor. I decided to give it a shot since I really like the feel of the Tech handle and wanted to use an open comb today and I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I also used Wilkinson blades for the first time today and they were excellent as well. I just happened to see them in the store the other day and picked up a tuck. I might have to find a larger supply of them if they all preform as well as today's blade. It was also my first day using Clubman. I had been unable to find it in my local area and can't get it shipped to Alaska as it contains alcohol. I ran across it in a store downtown and just had to pick it up. It was great and the scent is a bit subdued compared to Old Spice which I like.

Score:
:c12::c12::c12::c12::c12:
Another top scoring shave today. I'm really dialing in my technique lately and my consistency has resulted in some truly incredible shaves. I would wager that today's shave was even better then yesterday. BBS and only 3 passes today. I think the results were reached with only 3 passes as opposed to 4 due to a hold over from yesterdays shave as well as a more aggressive razor in the rotation. Excited to go at it again tomorrow!
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Got a Fuller brush the other day and three knots on order to fill these vintage offerings.
$restore handles.jpg$fuller1.jpg$fuller2.jpg
The Fuller is getting a Black Badger knot, the Black Opal is getting a Pure Badger and the red and white Mohawk is getting a Nylon Synthetic knot all from The Golden Nib...can't wait to get some new brushes made up!
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$10-28.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial Soap
Shave Secret Pre-shave
Arko Soap
Ever Ready C-40 with WD synthetic knot
Gillette Ball end Old Type Razor
Astra Blade (1)
Thayers After Shave Witch Hazel
Pinaud Clubman After Shave

3 passes, 1 WTG, 1 XTG, 1 ATG. Today was a decent shave more time would have definitely made it better though. No face burning again this morning which convinces me that the cause of it was the Mama Bear's. Arko lathered beautifully this morning it really is a great performing soap and I am beyond happy with it especially when considering the price. The Old Type did well also, however another pass would have been welcome as I still have a bit of stubble I can feel (but not see). Still, zero irritation and overall a great shave. I have become increasingly impressed with the older Gillettes. They are all very well made and have certainly withstood the test of time in my opinion. Some of my very best shaves come for old Gillette open comb razors. The WD synthetic is quickly becoming my favorite brush. I love the way it lathers and the way it feels on my face is just great. The Clubman has also been a welcome addition to my rotation as the scent is great and it leaves my skin feeling soothed and relaxed.

Score:
:c12::c12::c12::c12:.5
Great shave today. No irritation and my skin looks and feels great. The only thing that could have taken my shave to a 5 would have been a bit more time. I needed one more pass to be truly satisfied with the results I think. That being said I can't be too disappointed with today's shave. Tomorrow is another day...think I might go back to the Fatboy tomorrow.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$sotd.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial Soap
Arko Soap
Made Rite 177 with WD Silvertip knot
Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip razor
Gillette 7 O'clock Yellow (1)
Thayers After Shave Witch Hazel
Pinaud Clubman After Shave

Sorry for the lousy pic this morning...2 passes today, 1 WTG, 1 ATG. Not my best shave as I was a bit rushed but not a bad one either. Still a DFS in my opinion. The Silvertip really shined this morning. Great lathering ability and super soft on the face but with enough backbone to get the job done effectively. The Arko also performed well again this morning. The Super Speed is a great razor, but two passes just isn't enough with it. I maybe could have gotten away with two from the Gillette New or Fatboy but I just find the SS too mild for a two pass shave. At any rate it did a fine job all things considered. No irritation and my face still looks great despite the lack of a truly BBS shave. Still really liking the Clubman. I have a bottle of the Pinaud Bay Rum on the shelf and have yet to use it since I am liking the Clubman so much. Its just a great subdued kind of scent which I really enjoy. I will probably give the Bay Rum a shot in tomorrows shave. The 7 O'clock did well in the SS as well.

Score:
:c12::c12::c12::c12:
Nothing particularly special about today's shave but two rushed passes with zero irritation that still yields a DFS is worth a four in my book. For me it's all about the process, look and feel of my shave. If I'm able to enjoy the process then that's a check in the box. If my face looks good, nice and clean then that's a check in the box. If my face feels nice and there is no resulting burn from my shave then that's a check in the box. Today's shave got 3 checks which means it at least qualified as a DFS for me...I know I said Fatboy would be today, perhaps tomorrow. Cheers!
 
Glad the SS delivered a DFS! But I'm with you about it's limitations as a two-pass razor: I moved away from it to a NEW LC (and now straights) precisely because I was getting irritation from having to do 3+ passes. NEW gets closer and with only two go-rounds.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$10-30.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena facial soap
Shave Secret Pre-shave
Arko shave soap
Rubberset 203 with WD High Mountain Badger
Gillette Fatboy E2 Razor set to 9
Feather Blade (1)
Thayers Witch Hazel After Shave
Pinaud Bay Rum After Shave

3 passes today 1 WTG, 1 XTG and 1 ATG. It was my first shave with the Fatboy set to 9 and I couldn't have been more pleased. I had some pretty significant growth this morning and I was beyond impressed with my first pass WTG. I had a DFS at that point. Some pretty impressive results. The Arko performed well again as did the Shave Secret. I'm gradually warming to my High Mountain Badger, I think it will break in nicely. It was my first day with the Bay Rum...I really like it but not as much as the Clubman. I think the Bay Rum would be great as a summer scent.

Score: :c12::c12::c12::c12:.8
A few weepers today and I nic'd my mole on my chin as well. Other than those few little problems a DFS with no irritation. Overall an excellent shave today. I really do love my Fatboy, its a consistent great shaver. I am gravitating toward more aggressive razors. I'm just not able to get the shaves I expect out of some of my more mild razors. That of course doesn't mean that I won't use them, as I love the diversity in my rotation. I am just beginning to prefer a much more aggressive shave.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Glad the SS delivered a DFS! But I'm with you about it's limitations as a two-pass razor: I moved away from it to a NEW LC (and now straights) precisely because I was getting irritation from having to do 3+ passes. NEW gets closer and with only two go-rounds.
I'm there too as far as the mild razors go. I am really enjoying my more aggressive razors. I have a straight I am restoring now. As soon as I'm finished I plan to have sent off for a nice honing and ordering a strop and some honing stones to get me started. Don't think I'll ever be an exclusive straight razor shaver, but I'd love to give it a shot and see how I like it.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
I said the same thing, just two weeks ago. It's a very, very slippery slope!
Oh believe me...I know the slippery slope of shaving goodies already. They just seem to get more expensive as you get into straights. I'm hoping to get started fairly cost effectively by going with the stuff from Larry at Whipped Dog. A poor man's strop kit and such. I'm sure that won't be good enough for long though. Shaving is a money pit...like a boat you shave with...
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$SOTD.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial Soap
Shave Secret Pre-shave
Mama Bear's Dragon's Blood soap
Fuller Brush with TGN Black Badger knot
Gillette Black Beauty razor
Shark Chrome blade (2)
Thayer's After Shave Witch Hazel
Pinaud Clubman After Shave

Today was a 3 pass 1 WTG, 1 XTG and 1 ATG. I had a few firsts in today's shave. The first was Mama Bear's Dragon's blood soap. I was a bit worried about it as I had been getting some burning on my skin from Mama Bear's but I took rockviper's advice and nuked it for a few seconds. That seems to have done the trick as no burning on today's shave. The lather was excellent and the scent was great too, something I've come to expect from MB's. The second first was my TGN restore of my vintage Fuller handle. I really enjoyed the knot as it had great backbone and although it doesn't have the softest tips of any of my brushes, it does deliver a great lather and it felt nice on my face. Especially for the price I am very pleased with it and it should break in very nicely. Additionally I am glad I chose the black badger, I feel it complements the amber bakelite handle nicely. The Black Beauty performed excellently as expected also. I had it set to 7 for this shave and I'm glad I didn't crank it up. I didn't have much stubble and it got the job done nicely.

Score: :c12::c12::c12::c12:.7
A great shave today. I probably could have gotten a BBS but didn't feel like risking irritation so I happily settled for a DFS. My technique is really making leaps and bounds recently. Another zero irritation excellent shave. I think tomorrow I will use my recently returned Old Type from Captain Murphy and my Opal handle brush with the TGN Pure badger knot.
 

rockviper

I got moves like Jagger
After following your use of Arko for the past few days, I was going to suggest a revisit with Sue's soaps. :thumbup1:
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$11-02.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial Soap
Shave Secret Pre-shave
Mama Bear's Dragon's Blood soap
Opal #5 handle TGN Pure Badger knot
Gillette Single Ring Razor
Wilkinson Sword blade (1)
Gentleman Jon Alum Block
Lucky Tiger Face Tonic After shave

Today was a 3 pass 1 WTG, 1 XTG, 1 ATG. It was my first shave with the TGN Pure badger knot and I was extremely impressed with it, especially given its extremely modest price. It lathered excellently and splayed very well. I was able to effortlessly build a great face lather. The Mama Bear's lathered well, however I did get some skin burning late in the shave. The single ring did well for its first shave...I'm going to blame myself for the problems I encountered in today's shave which I'll get into later. The Gentleman Jon's alum block made an appearance as today I got some irritation and three weepers. It was my first use of Lucky Tiger today and I was pleased with it. The scent is a nice almost citrus and it goes on with zero burn and soothes nicely.

Score: :c12::c12::c12:
Today's shave was absolutely lousy when compared to the shaves I have been enjoying recently. I have some nasty irritation across my neck, a cut beneath my nose and two weepers besides. The burning from Mama Bear's came back again as well. I think it was using the single ring for the first time, especially coming off of a great shave with the Black Beauty yesterday...they are just very different razors and they need to be treated differently. I'm certainly not giving up on it though. It'll get another shot eventually, however I think tomorrow I will go back to an old standby and try and allow my face to heal up. Perhaps the Fatboy or a nice mild Super Speed. We'll see. Hopefully tomorrows shave will be an improvement.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$11-3.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial soap
Shave Secret Pre-shave
VDH Glycerin soap
Fuller handle TGN Black Badger knot
Gillette Fatboy razor
Feather Blade (2)
Thayers After Shave Witch Hazel
Pinaud Clubman After Shave

Today was a 2 pass 1 WTG, 1 XTG shave in order to give my face a break from yesterday's disaster shave. Today was my first use of the VDH glycerin in quite a while and I have to say I was very impressed with its lather. I almost forgot how great of a performer it is. The other culprit in that lathering success was my Fuller with TGN Black badger knot. I am really liking TGN knots more and more, and I am very happy I went with the pure badger knots. For my money those knots are the best bang for your buck in the badger market. They are a bit scratchy, but they splay exceptionally well and they have excellent backbone while producing impressive lather. I'm also glad I chose to go with the Fatboy today. It was a great choice to give my face a break. I've nearly mastered my technique with it and I know that I can get a great irritation free shave with it. The Thayers and the Clubman performed as expected...always a great end to my shave.

Score: :c12::c12::c12::c12:.8
An excellent irritation free shave, a much needed recovery from yesterday's horrible shave. My face needed the break and the Fatboy delivered as usual. Tomorrow is a new day and another shave!
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial Soap
Shave Secret Pre-shave
VDH Glycerin Soap
Made Rite 177 with WD Silvertip Badger Knot
Gillette Black Beauty razor
Shark Super Chrome blade (3)
Thayers Witch Hazel After Shave
Pinaud Clubman After Shave

Today was a nice 3 pass 1 WTG, 1 XTG and 1 ATG shave. The VDH glycerin performed beautifully again as expected. I'm really surprised it doesn't get more praise as a superb lathering soap. Granted the scent isn't anything to write home about, just a subtle clean scent. Although I really enjoy the Silvertip I think I actually prefer the Pure knots from TGN. At their price they just can't be beat for an excellent shave. Not that the WD Silvertip isn't an excellent knot, I think I just prefer the TGN pure knots more. I have been pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Shark. I honestly didn't expect much from them, but so far so good. I braced for some serious burn when I applyed the Thayers today as it usually makes its presence known, but today's shave was so comfortable there was hardly a tingle. The Clubman of course finished my shave nicely and left my skin feeling clean and refreshed.

Score: :c12::c12::c12::c12:.8
The Black Beauty is making a pretty solid case for being my go to razor for a nice comfortable close shave. I had several razors to choose from this morning and yet found myself picking up the BB again. I always seem to have my best shaves with adjustables. I'll change it up tomorrow but I'm sure an adjustable won't be waiting long. I really need to send my Slim off to Cap for a retool, it has some issues that need working out.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$SOTD.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial soap
Shave Secret Pre-shave
VDH Glycerin soap
Opal handle with TGN Pure Badger knot
Early Gillette Tech Razor
Feather Blade (3)
Thayers Witch Hazel After Shave
Pinaud Clubman After Shave

An excellent 3 pass 1 WTG, 1 XTG and 1 ATG shave today. The VDH once again lathered like a dream. I went back to the Opal TGN Pure Badger knot today, quickly becoming one of my favorite brushes. Tomorrow I think I'll go back to a synthetic for a shave however, variety being the spice of life and whatnot. My technique with the Gillette Tech is still on point as I was able to get another excellent shave with it. The Feather performed wonderfully on its third go round. In the past I've found they significantly drop off around shave 4 for me, we'll see how it holds up from here on out. A bit of burn from my Thayers today, letting me know areas where I may have used a bit too much pressure. The Clubman was a great way to finish as always.

Score: :c12::c12::c12::c12:.8
Another excellent shave today. I've had very few poor shaves recently and my confidence in my technique is steadily increasing with every shave. I think I'm ready to seriously consider an investment in a straight razor. I think it'll be a few months before I can really afford all I'll need to give it a shot in earnest, but I think I'm ready. The only thing that makes me nervous is using my off hand...but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
In other news...I got an email from Chris at RazorPlate that my Fatboy replate was complete and my Sheraton and Senator are up next! I can hardly wait to see them all shiny and new!
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$11-08.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial Soap
VDH Glycerin Soap
Mohawk handle w TGN synthetic knot
Gillette Aristocrat razor
Shark Super Stainless blade
Thayers Witch Hazel Aftershave
Pinaud Clubman Aftershave

Today was kind of a 2 1/2 pass shave 1 WTG, 1 XTG and one a partial pass going a bit beyond touch ups which sort of mixed XTG and ATG. I was a pretty lackluster shave actually. The lather was okay but for some reason I just wasn't able to spread it out as well. The synthetic, while I was initially really excited about kinda failed me today. The pure badger's I've been using recently have exceptional splay which provides and excellent face lather. The synthetic however does not. While its tips are very soft it simply does not splay hardly at all. I'm not even sure if it will break in so to speak in order to achieve this ability. I believe that a larger synthetic is likely to not have this issue but the 20mm is just a very small knot. The Aristocrat performed well enough I suppose. It didn't blow my socks off with its showing but lets just say it took the hair off.

Score: :c12::c12::c12:.9
A pretty lackluster shave. No weepers or irritation, just nothing great about it really. I think the poor performance of my brush really lent itself to my razor under performing as well. I'm hoping that tomorrows shave will be better.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$11-15.jpg
SOTD 11-15-2015
Neutrogena Facial Soap
Shave Secret Preshave
VDH Glycerin Soap
Made Rite 177 brush with WD Silvertip
Gillette Sheraton razor
Feather blade (1)
Thayers Witch Hazel Aftershave
Fine American Aftershave

3 pass shave. 1 WTG, 1 XTG and 1 ATG. Two firsts this shave I'll begin with the razor. The Gillette Sheraton well exceeded my expectations. I was so impressed with it that I cannot understand why there weren't more of it's style produced, or at least for a longer period of time. All three passes were extremely comfortable and close. As a matter of fact today's shave was one of the closest I've ever had. The other first I had today was the Fine aftershave...I've wanted to get some for a long time and finally got my hands on some (a real feat in Juneau). I was extremely impressed with it. You can't smell the Menthol (at least I can't) but you can sure feel it on your skin. The feeling of it is excellent and the smell is great too, if a bit strong initially.

Score:
:c12::c12::c12::c12::c12:
No other way to rate it. One of my best shaves ever. BBS five all the way...I can only hope that my Senator performs as well.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
$11-19.jpg
SOTD
Neutrogena Facial Soap
Shave Secret Pre shave
Gillette Red Tip razor
Astra Blade (2)
Mama Bear's Dragon's Blood Soap
Fuller Bakalite handle with TGN pure black badger knot
Thayers Aftershave Witch Hazel
Fine "American" Aftershave

Two pass, 1 XTG and 1 ATG + touch ups. My second shave with the Red Tip and I am still very impressed with it, I can see why people like them so much. I gave myself a little nic just below my nose and another small weeper on my neck. My own silly mistakes and no fault of the razor. Other then those two tiny mistakes it was an excellent shave. I am still very happy with the Fine Aftershave. The scent is fantastic and it leaves my skin feeling great. I will of course be rotating Clubman and my Shulton Old Spice into the rotation but the Fine is my new favorite. I'd like to try some of the other scents as well. No irritation from the Mama Bear's this morning which was nice also. I've found that a really thorough rinsing between passes does well to keep the burning away. The Fuller Pure Badger knot continues to be my go to brush as I continue to be impressed with it despite its modest price tag. I have a pure black badger 30 knot in the mail from Larry and I can't wait to give it a shot. It's going in my custom avatar brush which is soon to be revealed.

Score: :c12::c12::c12::c12:.8
Another great shave today. The two small nics I got were minor setbacks and by no means ruined the experience or the shave. The Red Tip is a great shaver and will be a staple in my rotation for a long while I'm sure.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Now that I'm back on B&B more consistently I think I'll get back to posting some shaves here. I kinda miss it...don't know why I stopped really. I just read all of these and enjoyed the wild ride I was on dialing in my shaves. I've grown a lot in understanding since then...as well as picked up straight razor shaves on occassion. Once I dial in my honing they will make an even more regular appearance.
 
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