Damn Comfortable Shave

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Sunday. A quick afternoon shave.

Today's shave was in preparation for a trip to the Kroc Center pool to workout.

Used my usual preshave products and routines but no scents beyond the soap. SV soap is hard to beat, that's for sure. Lends itself well to the SV brush.

The X1 is very hard to beat, that's even more for sure.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Monday I almost didn't shave as my quick shave from late yesterday afternoon had held up so well.

Almost didn't shave, but changed my mind and got in a very fast shave.

The Above the Tie X1 will make quick work of things.

I realize no razor will suit everyone. My guess is the X1 might be a near exception to that rule. Why? Because it begins with an AC blade, a blade which is better than DE blades, a blade which is thicker and perhaps sharper, a blade which is easier to design a razor around. Because it's perhaps a tad more efficient due to being a slant. Because it's simply a damn good razor.

I have skin which is a problem if it becomes dry, or if something irritates it. I don't want my razor to be that something. This one doesn't seem to cause my skin to become irritated.

My beard is what I'd call moderate or medium. I don't have a super thick beard. The tricky and more difficult areas are pretty hard to shave though and my whiskers are certainly old man whiskers, quite wiry, quite difficult in some areas, and nearly impossible in my soul patch area. The X1 works on 'em.

In addition shaving ATG or S-N on my upper lip is necessary. However, many razors feel uncomfortable to me when they're doing that job. The X1 feels exactly right there. Yes, there is some blade feel but it's not excessive nor is it harsh or unpleasant.

I wouldn't swear that I used shea butter last night, but I meant to and may have.

I've cut back a little on the amount of perfume I'm applying.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Tuesday. A good shave in spite of circumstances.

This morning I overslept by ~45 minutes so I was very rushed. I left the house in time to get to work on time. On the way, I realized I'd forgotten my hearing aids meaning I either wouldn't hear well all day or someone had to go to my home to get the hearing aids. I cell-phoned the office only to find out my schedule had changed which is usually not a good thing, but it gave me time to turn around for a trip back home. So the audioprothèses are where they work best.

Fortunately I had at hand a super efficient razor, one capable of quickly delivering a close, comfortable shave. Yes, there are razors even more efficient (not many) but that extra efficiency tends to come at a price. The X1 is not rough and it's not aggressive.

This is not my favorite perfume.

The bottle is great. The cap is even better as it's magnetically attracted to the neck of the bottle which appeals to me every time I remove or replace the top. It's the scent which is kinda sorta of issue.

I don't hate it, but it's my least favorite of the perfumes I purchased. There's almost an ashtray component to the tobacco scent. However, I know the scent will change over the course of the day, and I'll enjoy it more later, but at the moment I'm inclined to dislike the tobacco component.

Yes, I do consider getting rid of it.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Cal]

Tuesday. A good shave in spite of circumstances.

It sounds like you're having a Monday on a Tuesday, Jim.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Wednesday brought me a very good shave.

Today's razor? You may notice the head's color is unlike the handle's. The razor is the SS Hawk DLC. It's been around awhile but it remains a winner in my book. Would I want to use it every day? Is it better than my other AC safety razors? How does it compare with the Hawk v3? Frankly, I don't know that I can answer any of these questions, but it shaves great.

The AC blade and the AC platform safety razors are impressive.

The brush today is a Zenith Manchurian. It has plenty of presence. Not as soft as the SV brushes, it is still a very excellent brush. It is not too heavy in the backbone department but has tons of delicious scrub, and some of what I sometimes call good scritch. At least it feels that way, but good scritch is supposed to - according to me - turn into scrub. This brush is way broken in and the good scritch hasn't entirely converted, but it's all good. It is a really enjoyable brush.

After my pool exercise yesterday I applied shea butter to my skin. Applied it again right before bedtime. The weather has suddenly changed and my skin feels dry all the sudden so I might as well jump on it. Following today's shave I used more than usual of my Mysterium Serum. I'll try to stay ahead of the development of too much skin dryness.

The perfume I used yesterday is history.

Back in the spring I bought five men's perfumes during my first perfume store acquisition disorder foray. One of these, the one pictured above, remained unopened until today. I think I like it, but it's really too soon to be entirely sure.

We had no heat last night. The hot water radiators in our old house were drained during my wife's fairly recent remodeling of two bathrooms. We've had trouble finding a plumber or anyone else who knows how to refill the radiator system. Apparently one is coming this morning.






I have plenty of wool on my bed. A wool comforter and a beautiful wool quilt my wife made me. It's not like I was cold last night. However, I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep a wink. Generally but not always my sleep is decent or even very good for a guy my age.

I'll manage today. I learned long ago that one doesn't have to sleep much or well every night. However, I don't recall ever not sleeping at all other than when I was sick and/or in pain and kept awake by that stuff.

Why I didn't sleep is as mysterious as my other questions. It's possible I was unconsciously worried about the heating system. It's possible my more strenuous than usual workout yesterday after work excessively invigorated me. It's possible Mercury is in retrograde. (Whatever that means.)

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[thombrogan]

Wishing you a happily recommissioned radiator, Jim

 

[Rosseforp]

Wednesday brought me a very good shave.


View attachment 1541924


Today's razor? You may notice the head's color is unlike the handle's. The razor is the SS Hawk DLC. It's been around awhile but it remains a winner in my book. Would I want to use it every day? Is it better than my other AC safety razors? How does it compare with the Hawk v3? Frankly, I don't know that I can answer any of these questions, but it shaves great.

The AC blade and the AC platform safety razors are impressive.

The brush today is a Zenith Manchurian. It has plenty of presence. Not as soft as the SV brushes, it is still a very excellent brush. It is not too heavy in the backbone department but has tons of delicious scrub, and some of what I sometimes call good scritch. At least it feels that way, but good scritch is supposed to - according to me - turn into scrub. This brush is way broken in and the good scritch hasn't entirely converted, but it's all good. It is a really enjoyable brush.

View attachment 1541926

View attachment 1541925

After my pool exercise yesterday I applied shea butter to my skin. Applied it again right before bedtime. The weather has suddenly changed and my skin feels dry all the sudden so I might as well jump on it. Following today's shave I used more than usual of my Mysterium Serum. I'll try to stay ahead of the development of too much skin dryness.

The perfume I used yesterday is history.

Back in the spring I bought five men's perfumes during my first perfume store acquisition disorder foray. One of these, the one pictured above, remained unopened until today. I think I like it, but it's really too soon to be entirely sure.

We had no heat last night. The hot water radiators in our old house were drained during my wife's fairly recent remodeling of two bathrooms. We've had trouble finding a plumber or anyone else who knows how to refill the radiator system. Apparently one is coming this morning.



View attachment 1541930


I have plenty of wool on my bed. A wool comforter and a beautiful wool quilt my wife made me. It's not like I was cold last night. However, I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep a wink. Generally but not always my sleep is decent or even very good for a guy my age.

I'll manage today. I learned long ago that one doesn't have to sleep much or well every night. However, I don't recall ever not sleeping at all other than when I was sick and/or in pain and kept awake by that stuff.

Why I didn't sleep is as mysterious as my other questions. It's possible I was unconsciously worried about the heating system. It's possible my more strenuous than usual workout yesterday after work excessively invigorated me. It's possible Mercury is in retrograde. (Whatever that means.)

Happy shaves,

Jim

I think Venus was aligned with Mars.

~doug~

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Wishing you a happily recommissioned radiator, Jim

Thank you, Thom.

 

[never-stop-learning]

I think Venus was aligned with Mars.

~doug~

The Moon is in the Seventh House.....

 

[Phoenixkh]

At my grandfather's gold mine in Montana... the crescent moon was on the outhouse. <eg>

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

At my grandfather's gold mine in Montana... the crescent moon was on the outhouse. <eg>

I read that the crescent moon on the door indicates it's the outhouse for women. The men's outhouse had a sun. Obviously there was more than one convention.

I might as well have an outhouse. We still have no heat. They say it'll be fixed on Friday.

I'm warm enough in my recliner at the moment wearing a base-layer, under a blanket, with a wool stocking hat. No complaints at all, but it'll be nice to have heat in this drafty old barn.

I hope you inherited the gold mine.

The Moon is in the Seventh House.

As pictured above.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Wishing you a happily recommissioned radiator, Jim

The plumber who came yesterday morning to refill the radiators is an older man and the head of the company which bears his name. Apparently he is very highly regarded. I wasn't actually home and didn't meet him, but my wife told me what he said, etc.

We have an ancient hot water boiler in the basement. He informed her it needed a lot of work, extreme servicing, and some new parts. He wondered if it has ever been serviced. I've lived her about thirty five years. I recall having it serviced at least once but not perhaps in decades. It's been reliable and perfectly functional as far as I am aware. We been warmed by it every winter.

Anyway, he won't refill the radiators until the system is fully serviced. He and his guys will return with the parts and expertise needed to recommission the entire system tomorrow.

For now everything's turned off or at least the pumping system is turned off. The pump circulates the hot water generated by the boiler.

It all sounds pretty simple until you look at it. Then it looks very mysterious to me. Perhaps there are YouTube DIY videos but I'd rather pay an actual expert with experience.

Life is an adventure.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[thombrogan]

Dang, man!

Hoping all gets fixed and the radiator provides enjoyment to you soon, but the contents of that tale really put the “sehr” in “¡Ach! ¡Es wird sehr teuer!”

I wish you the greatest of luck in this endeavor and commend you on trusting the outfit that lives and breathes the resolution you need over trusting a diy tutorial.

 

[Rosseforp]

For now everything's turned off or at least the pumping system is turned off. The pump circulates the hot water generated by the boiler.

It all sounds pretty simple until you look at it. Then it looks very mysterious to me. Perhaps there are YouTube DIY videos but I'd rather pay an actual expert with experience.

Our unit is in the attic, the A/C and heater is a combined unit that runs on gas and electric. There was a note attached to the unit saying it was serviced in 2016 when we moved in last year.
I have had the A/C guys out a few times to check it out and do some minor repair work, as it is a complete mystery to me also. I might add that our attic is really only a crawl space, there is not enough room to stand up even in the center, and there is fiberglass insulation all over the place. Not what I would call a nice work environment.

Wishing you good luck with your heating system!

~doug~

 

[Phoenixkh]

My grandfather had lots of stories..... but no gold. I don't know what became of the mine after he passed.

We had our AC/Heating system replaced a couple years ago now. Our is also gas heat and electric AC. It works a lot better than the old unit... about half the cost per month and the HVAC guy installed a bigger system so we get better air flow.

 

[Rosseforp]

My grandfather had lots of stories..... but no gold. I don't know what became of the mine after he passed.

We had our AC/Heating system replaced a couple years ago now. Our is also gas heat and electric AC. It works a lot better than the old unit... about half the cost per month and the HVAC guy installed a bigger system so we get better air flow.

I'm gonna be looking into replacing our system also next year, as the A/C unit really ups the electric bill along with poor airflow.

~doug~

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

You guys are the best.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thursday. I forgot to post my morning shave until just now.

The SE2 seems a bit unnecessarily harsh to me. Some is blade feel. Some is the teeth. I don't plan to use it again.

I think the ATT razors I've used in OC and CC are better without the teeth. (And I'm generally a fan of OC razors.)

Used my usual preshave products and routine with two applications of shea butter yesterday, after the pool and again before bed.

Of my perfumes this is my favorite. It just seems very warm to me. (Whatever that means.)

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Friday. Plumbers at the house. Handyman at the house. New brush.

Brand new and unwashed this Mozingo brush certainly doesn't look like it has a big knot, but it does. I washed it yesterday afternoon with Dawn and hand lathered it. I towel dried it better than I usual do because I hoped it might be close enough to dry to use this morning. It was. (That's kinda amazing as my house had no heat last night.)

Last night when moving the blade from the SE2 to the X1 I dropped it in the sink. Just in case the fall had damaged the edge a new blade was installed in the X1.

The X1 delivered a very good shave with ease and without drama. Excellent razor!

One use of the Mozingo is enough to offer a few initial comments. I'm assuming it will change a bit over a few shaves. In person and brand new this knot has a flat top shape. Far from my favorite knot shape.

(I knew before purchasing the Mozingo what the knot's shape would be, but from the photos on their website you can't determine the shape of the knot so be warned. Most reviews of the Mozingo rank it with the Varlet and similar super top tier brushes none of which I've ever used.)

My photos of the unwashed brush fail to capture the shape well enough. My skills are poor.

Anyway, washed the shape is much more of a fan. I like the shape. It is a huge fan, too. I've not put the calipers to the knot. It's nominal size is 28 mm. I believe it has to be every bit that large.






The Mozingo has loads of backbone but it's certainly not too stiff. It's not in the league with a DO1 two band in backbone stiffness. It's not in the league with my copper Zenith Manchurian at least when the copper was brand new; the Zenith had the backbone of a dinosaur. The Mozingo is close enough for government work.

The face feel exhibits plenty of presence. It may become softer of course, but initially it is not what I'd call a knot marked by softness. Tons of scrub. Functionally sound as are all good brushes.

I like it, but it doesn't blow me away.

It may grow on me. My guess is it will grow on me, but that's only speculation. We'll see. Don't get me wrong. If it stays exactly like it is now it will be a brush I like having in my rotation, a brush which won't gather dust. If it improves as expected it will be a top tier favorite, but it's not an instant mind blower in the way my SV brushes were.

The handle is stunning.

Unwashed the shape seemed perhaps a little wonky, but washed it's fine. I suspect from looking down on the knot that it has an extra dense knot by any standard but it doesn't feel too dense or excessively dense or too stiff. It splays just fine. It loads and lathers nicely. I think the flow through is good, but not as good as the SV brushes. (Not that I care all that much about flow through.)

I've read the Mozingo knots are slight gelled. Perhaps they are. I'm not sure what it means to say a knot is gelled. Yes, I get it refers to a chemical treatment of the knot. However, the SV knots have the "gel clump" look to a small degree, but SV says the knots are not gelled.

To me, a gelled knot is like the AP Gelousy. Man do I hate that knot! (At first I didn't but it went rapidly downhill in my estimation of it.)

This knot doesn't seem gelled to me, going by the feel, but it clumps a little in a way similar to the SV knots. The Mozingo didn't feel crusty to me this morning, dry.

My skin is a little dry but that's the weather and not my shave.

Happy shaves to you,

Jim

 

[Eric_75]

Friday. Plumbers at the house. Handyman at the house. New brush.

View attachment 1543026

View attachment 1543025

View attachment 1543016

Brand new and unwashed this Mozingo brush certainly doesn't look like it has a big knot, but it does. I washed it yesterday afternoon with Dawn and hand lathered it. I towel dried it better than I usual do because I hoped it might be close enough to dry to use this morning. It was. (That's kinda amazing as my house had no heat last night.)



View attachment 1543017


Last night when moving the blade from the SE2 to the X1 I dropped it in the sink. Just in case the fall had damaged the edge a new blade was installed in the X1.

The X1 delivered a very good shave with ease and without drama. Excellent razor!

One use of the Mozingo is enough to offer a few initial comments. I'm assuming it will change a bit over a few shaves. In person and brand new this knot has a flat top shape. Far from my favorite knot shape.

(I knew before purchasing the Mozingo what the knot's shape would be, but from the photos on their website you can't determine the shape of the knot so be warned. Most reviews of the Mozingo rank it with the Varlet and similar super top tier brushes none of which I've ever used.)

My photos of the unwashed brush fail to capture the shape well enough. My skills are poor.

Anyway, washed the shape is much more of a fan. I like the shape. It is a huge fan, too. I've not put the calipers to the knot. It's nominal size is 28 mm. I believe it has to be every bit that large.



View attachment 1543034


The Mozingo has loads of backbone but it's certainly not too stiff. It's not in the league with a DO1 two band in backbone stiffness. It's not in the league with my copper Zenith Manchurian at least when the copper was brand new; the Zenith had the backbone of a dinosaur. The Mozingo is close enough for government work.

The face feel exhibits plenty of presence. It may become softer of course, but initially it is not what I'd call a knot marked by softness. Tons of scrub. Functionally sound as are all good brushes.

I like it, but it doesn't blow me away.

It may grow on me. My guess is it will grow on me, but that's only speculation. We'll see. Don't get me wrong. If it stays exactly like it is now it will be a brush I like having in my rotation, a brush which won't gather dust. If it improves as expected it will be a top tier favorite, but it's not an instant mind blower in the way my SV brushes were.

The handle is stunning.

Unwashed the shape seemed perhaps a little wonky, but washed it's fine. I suspect from looking down on the knot that it has an extra dense knot by any standard but it doesn't feel too dense or excessively dense or too stiff. It splays just fine. It loads and lathers nicely. I think the flow through is good, but not as good as the SV brushes. (Not that I care all that much about flow through.)

I've read the Mozingo knots are slight gelled. Perhaps they are. I'm not sure what it means to say a knot is gelled. Yes, I get it refers to a chemical treatment of the knot. However, the SV knots have the "gel clump" look to a small degree, but SV says the knots are not gelled.

To me, a gelled knot is like the AP Gelousy. Man do I hate that knot! (At first I didn't but it went rapidly downhill in my estimation of it.)

This knot doesn't seem gelled to me, going by the feel, but it clumps a little in a way similar to the SV knots. The Mozingo didn't feel crusty to me this morning, dry.

View attachment 1543018

View attachment 1543019

My skin is a little dry but that's the weather and not my shave.

Happy shaves to you,

Jim

I love the handle, Jim.