Brendan's Shave Journal

[bjh618]

Gents,

I've been on this forum for about two years now and have slowly moved from wanting to try everything to wanting just a simple setup that will give me pleasure and perform the task I want of it. I still love shaving, but I don't want to be the guy that has more stuff than his wife...


In the spirit of B&B I thought I would post my musing's as I now have the time to slowly test and work on all my stuff in order to work out exactly what I want to keep. As a general rule I will be wanting to move to a more orderely selection of one aggressive razor, one mild, one straight, a few creams/soaps and aftershaves.

To kick it off, here is a current inventory of all my stuff. Please feel free to post suggestions, advice, comments, whatever if it interests you. Perhaps I can even be of help!


Safety Razors:

- Feather Portable 3 piece travel razor
- Gillette Richwood? (New)
- Gillette Single Ring
- Gillette Blue Tip
- Gillette Flare Tip Superspeed
- Gillette Red Tip
- Merkur Futur

Straight Razors:

- Puma 5/8
- Elephant 5/8
- Kamisori
- Bengall 6/8
- Fili 3/8 – might even be 2/8th’s I forget…
- French barber frameback

Brushes:

- Omega Boar – don’t remember the specs right now..
- Omega bambino
- Semogue 2000
- Wee Scott

Soaps:

- Tabac
- Irish Moos
- La Toja stick
- La Toja bowl
- Euro Palmolive
- Arko
- Provence Sante
- Vulfix lavender
- T&H shave soap
- Wilkinson Sword stick
- Omega
- Valobra Menthol
- Speick Stick
- Lea Stick

Creams:

- Ingrams Menthol
- Connaught Cooling
- Connaught Peppermint
- Connaught Neroli (sample)
- Proraso
- Derby Lavender

Aftershaves:

- Proraso
- Alt Innsbruck
- Speick
- Nivea Balm
- Mennen Skin Bracer Original
- Aqua Velva
- Skin bracer cooling blue
- Osage Rub
- Boosters Cooling Blue
- MG5
- Masters
- Tabac
- Irish Moos
- Imperial Leather
- Imperial Leather Vertigo

 

[alex2363]

The Red tip (or futur) , thr Puma, Proraso cream, Omega soap, proraso AS.

 

[bjh618]

@Alex2363 - Thanks for dropping in mate! You have picked pretty much my favourite lineup, particuarly coming into summer I need all that menthol. The Puma is by far my favourite straight, it just wipes the whiskers away.

Shave 1:

Razor: Single Ring
Blade: Shark Super Stainless
Brush: Omega Boar
Cream: Derby Lavender
Aftershave: Imperial Leather


Thoughts:

I had been wanting to try a single ring for quite a while and managed to pick this up at what I felt was a decent price a while back. From a purely aesthetic point, I love the design, particularly the three piece design where you unscrew the bottom to load the blade. I also like the idea that I am shaving with a razor that is nearly 100 years old - I think this is a major factor in my enjoyment of this razor.

In terms of the actual shave? Derby Lavender is a great cream, one of my favourites. It is cheap, simple, easy to lather and allows a great margin for error. I am not enjoying creams as much as I used to, but this is one I definitely want to keep around, particuarly in the winter months. The single ring was able to just glide over my face in most places, however I did end up with a fair amount of razor burn on my neck. I would put this down to the open comb design being just too aggressive for me to shave with every day. I know if I had a couple days growth, this razor would really shine, but unfortunately I need to shave every day. I'll put this one away for now, and return to it if I need to.

I followed up with Imperial Leather aftershave splash. As far as I know, this stuff is only available in Australia, where you can pick it up in local supermarkets for about AUD$10. It has a great scent that complimented the Derby Lavender cream nicely, but no real soothing ingredients. Normally I can get away with this, but my face winced when it hit my neck. Again, I want to like this (my Grandad used this daily) but I'm not sure it performs adequately enough for me to enjoy it daily. Perhaps I'll put this away for special occasions, and stick with my tried and true Proraso.

 

[johna2231]

Hey there! I picked up a single ring recently and the angle this razor need to shave seems quite different from my other DEs. I didn't have much luck with it.

I won a Futur on the 'Bay the other day and will be using it for the first time tomorrow. How do you like your's?

John

 

[Luc]

 

[wimbouman]

^---- What Mr Luc says

My suggestions:

Safety Razors:

- Muhle R41

Straight Razors:

- Kamisori

Brushes:

- Wee Scott

Soaps:

- Euro Palmolive
- Arko

Creams:

- Proraso

Aftershaves:

- Aqua Velva

 

[bjh618]

@Luc, yeah yeah! I'll do my best to post some pics of my upcoming shaves then!

 

[alex2363]

Bjh, you did not list blades, in this case you should try a different blade in your Single Ring and try it as a daily shaver then...maybe a feather and use cold water shaving to prevent irritation.

 

[alex2363]

Luc, how can you be so mean to your own country mate..lol

 

[Luc]

@Luc, yeah yeah! I'll do my best to post some pics of my upcoming shaves then!

I still don't see any pictures!

Luc, how can you be so mean to your own country mate..lol

Nah, that's not mean, that's a regular conversation!

 

[bjh618]

I still don't see any pictures!

Yeah sorry I took a few but for some reason can't upload them. Stay with me though and they will come - hopefully before you reach Canada

@Johna2231 - I know what you mean about the single ring. I'm going to persevere until I know for sure that I have my technique 100% before making a final call. With regards to the futur - I love it! It is a very different razor to your typical de and everything you have probably read about it is true - weird loading mechanism (though not dangerous as some would lead you to believe), aggressive, big, heavy with audible feedback. My advice is to start on the lowest setting and use the weight of the razor to do the work.

@Alex, I'm pretty much using Shark's, Derby's and Feather's now as I have been through all the others. I'll definitely give the others a go, and report back. I hadn't considered cold water shaves though. What is your opinion on the potential benefits?

 

[bjh618]

Shave 2 (Sat):

Razor: Elephant 6/8th's Square Point
Brush: Omega Boar
Cream: Bigelow
Aftershave: Mennen Skin Bracer


Thoughts:

I picked up the Elephant from another B&B member about a year ago, but never got round to trying it. I wanted to get my technique down-pat before I gave it a go, out of fear of spoiling this beautiful looking razor. I love the etching that is on this blade (and I'll get pics asap Luc ) so had high expectations for it. Unfortunately it was disappointing. I need to be in the mood for using a straight and about halfway through the shave, I knew it was not going to be my day. The Bigelow was working fine - another thick and cooling lather typical of Proraso cream - but my Ele wasn't. One quick p*ssed off pass was all I managed before throwing in the towel. I had a borderline SAS, which I finished off with Mennen Skin Bracer. This was the redeeming aspect of the shave - lovely menthol hit that sticks around for a little while. Im not a fan of the scent, but considering how it faded after an hour or so, I can learn to live with it. I got this particular bottle from the world's largest Kmart (on Guam no less!) so will use it, but not replace it.

 

[Luc]

Argh! Sure you can upload! In the advanced editor, scroll down and click on manage attachments. Is it like a dumbo etching or a real elephant?

 

[Sledgehammer39]

I really like the Flare Tip Super Speeds!

 

[bjh618]

@Luc - I do know how to upload! It's more a case of my connection constantly dropping because I am in a suburban 'black hole' (only two ISP's would actually hook me up, and I aparantly chose the worst one). The ele is a small engraving of an ele and the razor itself is stamped Hagen - any ideas (aside from a photo )

Shave 3 (Sun):

Razor: Feather Portable
Blade: Shark
Brush: Omega Boar
Cream: Bigelow
Aftershave: Osage Rub


Thoughts:

I thought today would be a nice relaxed shave - nothing special or out of the ordinary just comfortable. I was wrong! Woke up, read the idea of a cold water shave and thought 'how bad can it be?'

Not bad at all actually! Splashed my face with cold water, lathered up with Bigelow again and had a BBS - no irritation and my first in months (normally I get mad razor burn on my neck if I'm rushing). I'm actually really impressed. I didn't want this concept to work as I enjoy the warmth of a conventional prep, but I think it is worth a few more runs. The shave itself felt different - as though the razor was working harder, not slicing the hairs as easily had I prepped with hot water. I could feel the blade pull in a couple of places as well, but I ended up with zero irritation, so I assume it works!

Feeling cocky I decided to finish off with Osage Rub - boy oh boy does this stuff freeze! I was in actual pain upon first application - not from a poor shave, but from the menthol hit. Once it died down I was left with a nice, smooth shave and carried on my sunday. Osage Rub is a nice product, but not being available to us Aussies, I will use this sparingly and not replace it unless I make a trip o/s.

 

[Luc]

 

[bjh618]

Photos - Finally!Unfortunately it's a poor pic of my straights, but you can see the Ele razor (middle row - left). I am yet to try the Kamisori, but am really looking forward to it. The American Barber frame-back (middle row - right) I used a couple of times but felt it needs a hone, so have left it until I can send it off. The Puma (bottom row - left) is my go to straight. I am not a fan of the scales and may replace them, but my god, what a beautiful edge on this one. The last two (the Fili and Bengal) are both honed by Oz, and I am very happy with both of them. The Bengal was a gift from my wife and will never be sold, but this makes it hard as I wanted to keep only one or two straights.... Second pic is all my software - all the usual suspects. Pretty much everything I have accumulated over two years and have opened almost none of them Shave 4 (Tues):Razor: Feather PortableBlade: SharkBrush: Omega BoarCream: BigelowAftershave: Osage RubThoughts:I used the same setup for the second time today and experimented with technique. Hot water prep again as the temp has dropped here and I just enjoy it more. Today I want to talk about the Omega boar Im using - a 11150 Rosewood handle boar, 25mm knot, 55mm loft. I've been breaking this in for a couple of weeks now and this one has finally hit the sweet spot. The handle looks nice, feels great in the hand and is identical to my first boar - a zenith I was stupid enough to sell when the knot fell out! I've got a couple of Omega's and I love them for their simple, honest performance. I have always sought value rather than luxury with this hobby and Omega brushes fit the bill nicely. I am saying this with a Semogue 2000 unboxed in the background though, so I may be eating my words!Another piece of underrated kit is the Feather Portable. Its a mild razor and I am putting this one up against my blue tip to decide which one to keep. I love the feather and think it deserves a lot more praise that it gets on here. As a simple, every day razor it fits the bill nicely. If Feather started producing these again I'd be all over it in a heartbeat. My particular model I purchased as a gift for my Dad who wanted to try DE shaving. I gave it to him and never heard anything else until I found it in his house covered in hair, dried blood and rust (he had left the blade in there). Turns out he was dry shaving with it... That's not unusual for my Dad, he has always done that and seems happy to continue cutting his face to buggery, but seems to prefer a Weishi as his weapon of choice, so I pinched the feather back, cleaned it up and used it properly The actual shave was quite good. Nothing special, just nice and simple. I left my face wet after cleaning up and applied the Osage Rub hoping the residual water would dilute it. It did, but not enough to take away that menthol burn. I think I'll be reserving this sample for crazy hot days and moving on to something new now. Next shave I'm going to rotate a few things - any suggestions?

 

[bjh618]

Shave 5 (Fri):

Razor: Blue Tip
Blade: Shark
Brush: Omega Boar
Cream: Bigelow
Aftershave: Proraso


Thoughts:

Had a few days growth going on here and was in a real hurry so I didn't experiment today. Simple set-up that I knew would get the job done - with the exception of the blue tip.

This is a very, very mild razor and loaded with a Shark I get a really smooth shave when shaving every day. Unfortunately it just isn't up to the task of knocking off 3 day growth. No pulling or tugging, but 12 hours later and I need another shave. I'm sure loaded with a feather the blue tip could shine, but today it was very mundane.

Now the hard part. I'm pitting the blue tip up against my Feather portable to decide which one to keep. I'm leaning towards the portable as I enjoy it simplicity, but realistically they both give me a decent shave. Thought?​

 

[bjh618]

Shave 6 (Monday):

Razor: Bengall 5/8
Brush: Omega Boar
Cream: Bigelow
Aftershave: Proraso


Thoughts:

This one is a bit of a boring shave. I stuck with my tried and true Proraso cream/splash and concentrated solely on the Bengall. I've used this a few times in the past and as mentioned before, will never part with the razor. It does not cut as smoothly as my Puma, but well enough to warrant a place in my rotation. A very relaxing shave today.​

 

[Luc]

Shave 6 (Monday):

Razor: Bengall 5/8
Brush: Omega Boar
Cream: Bigelow
Aftershave: Proraso


Thoughts:

This one is a bit of a boring shave. I stuck with my tried and true Proraso cream/splash and concentrated solely on the Bengall. I've used this a few times in the past and as mentioned before, will never part with the razor. It does not cut as smoothly as my Puma, but well enough to warrant a place in my rotation. A very relaxing shave today.​

I found that a Bengall is some sort of a sure shave. It doesn't beat a Puma for sure but it's still a nice edge that I wouldn't sell either. I currently have 5 Bengalls in my small rotation and like them all!