Damn Comfortable Shave

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Here is one option: RazoRock tall "Dome Top" Variable Width Inkwell Stand

RazoRock Stainless Steel "DOME Top" Variable Width Inkwell Razor Stand – ItalianBarber

RazoRock Stainless Steel "DOME Top" Variable Width Inkwell Razor Stand - NEW DESIGN for FALL 2021Razor handles come in different diameters; this can be...

www.italianbarber.com

View attachment 1667083

Thank you, Kim. Much appreciated.

I knew someone would know, but I didn't know I'd have an answer within minutes.

I've ordered two of these stands, the dome and the flat top. The razors look very secure and handsome nestled within them.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thursday. Another good shave.

Shave #6 on this Wizamet SI blade, flipped, was successful.

Mergress settings were #1, #5, and fully closed. (Using the 8ths system instead of the numbers.)

I skipped shea butter last night feeling I didn't need it. I was right. My skin feels good today.






I like this razor.

Do I need a Digress to complete the aftermarket triumvirate?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Phoenixkh]

Thursday. Another good shave.



View attachment 1667642



Shave #6 on this Wizamet SI blade, flipped, was successful.

Mergress settings were #1, #5, and fully closed. (Using the 8ths system instead of the numbers.)

I skipped shea butter last night feeling I didn't need it. I was right. My skin feels good today.



View attachment 1667643


I like this razor.

Do I need a Digress to complete the aftermarket triumvirate?

Happy shaves,

Jim

I tried to find a Digress for sale just for fun.... no luck as of yet, but I didn't look everywhere. I just looked a eBay UK. I would guess they would show up there or in a UK based forum(s) site like B&B.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I tried to find a Digress for sale just for fun.... no luck as of yet, but I didn't look everywhere. I just looked a eBay UK. I would guess they would show up there or in a UK based forum(s) site like B&B.

Ah, it's not just me being chased by Big Nurse!

A few minutes ago I sent an email to The Gentleman's Groom Room in Scotland inquiring about availability and shipping to the USA.

We'll see what they say.

It's not a razor modification I've heard much at all about, and nothing much in a long time. Whether it is still being produced is an open question. On their website they say to get in touch with 'em before ordering one.

Brass, or SS, or aluminum for you, Kim?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Phoenixkh]

View attachment 1667652






Ah, it's not just me being chased by Big Nurse!

A few minutes ago I sent an email to The Gentleman's Groom Room in Scotland inquiring about availability and shipping to the USA.

We'll see what they say.

It's not a razor modification I've heard much at all about, and nothing much in a long time. Whether it is still being produced is an open question. On their website they say to get in touch with 'em before ordering one.

Brass, or SS, or aluminum for you, Kim?

Happy shaves,

Jim

I'd have to go with the brass for the contrast. <eg>

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'd have to go with the brass for the contrast. <eg>

I've not decided...

Either would be a tiebreaker.

However, today I received this email from The Gentleman's Groom Room...

Hi, Jim, so sorry but we are out of all Digress with no timeline as to when we will have any more. It has been a while since we had any for sale.

Kind regards,
Ian​

Unless I'm wrong they're the only vendor. I hope to hear I'm wrong.


Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Friday. My shave was good, but...

I've been having a small, but significant amount of itching under my chin. I've got to determine where this is coming from, and figure out what to do about it. I've not had any itching in literally years.

So, I've backed off considerably on the Mergress settings, as an experiment. Today I used settings of #1, and #3, and I did somewhat less work. (Settings in 8ths.)







Also, I found a little bit of Cool Fix remaining in an old bottle in the office, and used a little on my neck. The stuff works great. After five minutes the itching was gone. Obviously, that's not a long term solution, but it will do for the moment.

I'm a bit afraid that the cause of the itching could be multifactorial. One factor could be my recent use of a splash. I'll hold off on the Coconut Bay for a while to test that notion. I'll also go back to regularly using shea butter at night.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I've not decided...

View attachment 1667815

View attachment 1667816

Either would be a tiebreaker.

However, today I received this email from The Gentleman's Groom Room...

Hi, Jim, so sorry but we are out of all Digress with no timeline as to when we will have any more. It has been a while since we had any for sale.

Kind regards,
Ian​

Unless I'm wrong they're the only vendor. I hope to hear I'm wrong.


Happy shaves,

Jim

Ian got back with me again in response to my follow up question.


Hi Jim, yes the Digress were made locally for our shop only.There was also a Mergress, a version of the Digress that was made in the US that may be still available. To answer the other question in your first email, Buddha Wood is probably the most popular scent of our soaps made by Wickham for our store, the formula is slightly different from the 1912 Wickham formula but the performance is very similar.

Kindest regards,
Ian


Looks like there is no Digress in my near future, but, if I read him right, my Mergress is a version of the Digress so all is well.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Saturday's shave was quick and easy. I wore my hearing aids which was interesting but unnecessary. Regardless of feedback the plan was to keep it very simple.

New Willy's blade today.

Mergress settings today were singular: 1/8 of a turn of the adjustment knob. In my system (borrowed from another member) that's setting #1.

Everything was N-S today. Just that and not much of it. It's not the best shave I've had with this platform of course but it will do for a Saturday. I'm noticing zero neck itching post shave which is very good!

I so much like this very large but only 26 mm Mozingo knot. The C&H handle suits it very well. I also used shea butter last night, the Cube to wash my face, the Tube as a preshave, and Mysterium Serum. No splash. Excellent gear all around.

A very pleasing shave.

Happy shaves to you,

Jim

 

[flask28]

I thought of you today Jim.

For the first Saturday in a while I was left to my own devices, so I knew if I tried a scent experiment and it went horribly wrong I wouldn't be torturing anyone who made the mistake of getting too close to me. I could just stew in my own noxious fumes.

I wanted to try the GD Laundry III I just received and semi-spontaneously I decided to match it with Coconut Bay. Oh boy, I thought. This could be bad!

This turned out to be a fantastic combination. The lemony, grapey fresh scent of the soap blended with the coconut, bay and lime surprisingly well.

At least, I thought so. But who knows right!? Then the worst thing happened, I got a call to go pickup my sister and my 17 year old niece at the airport. I got the call only about an hour after the shave and the scents were still pretty strong. Oh great, I thought, it's going to be a car ride of "eeewing" and cracks about how the truck smells like an episode of Miami Vice.

The 17 year old, about halfway home, actually asked "what is that nice smell, is that your aftershave?" Then my sister chimed in, she liked it too, said it was very summery and a little beachy. And both said it was super mild, they wouldn't have noticed except we were all in the vehicle together. I wasn't gassing them out of the truck either, I asked .

So I'm calling that experiment a success, if an unexpectedly high wire one. Certainly more successful than some of my other aftershave "learning" moments.

I made it past two family members with refined olfactory senses and strong opinions only by standing on your shoulders. Thank again (again!) for the Coconut Bay recommendation and the encouragement to experiment!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

⇧Nicely done, Adam⇧

Question: I'm assuming you rinsed off the soap after shaving before applying the splash. I have noticed on uncommon occasions - when I didn't use a splash or perfume & when I did rinse the lather off - that I caught little whiffs of the soap's scent later. Usually not any whiffs though. It sounds like you're saying you could appreciate the scents of both the soap and the splash. Am I right? Both?

I think maybe I used one of the earlier iterations of Grooming Dept Laundry. Probably the first.

Full disclosure/important caveat: In order to rinse off Tabac's residual scent so that it didn't lead to violent confrontations with myself and others I had to take a second shower. I believe that shower lasted ~eight to ten hours, but would have been less lengthy had I had a shower within a laboratory hood of the sort usually used with volatile, toxic, noxious substances.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[flask28]

⇧Nicely done, Adam⇧

Question: I'm assuming you rinsed off the soap after shaving before applying the splash. I have noticed on uncommon occasions - when I didn't use a splash or perfume & when I did rinse the lather off - that I caught little whiffs of the soap's scent later. Usually not any whiffs though. It sounds like you're saying you could appreciate the scents of both the soap and the splash. Am I right? Both?

I think maybe I used one of the earlier iterations of Grooming Dept Laundry. Probably the first.

Full disclosure/important caveat: In order to rinse off Tabac's residual scent so that it didn't lead to violent confrontations with myself and others I had to take a second shower. I believe that shower lasted ~eight to ten hours, but would have been less lengthy had I had a shower within a laboratory hood of the sort usually used with volatile, toxic, noxious substances.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Yes! No! Exactly.

I did rinse off the soap with not one but three cold water splashes. It was at that point I thought to myself "Wow, Laundry III's scent is pretty hardy!" because the fresh and lemon notes were still very much around 10min after the final rinse, loitering in my senses like they were at a skate park.

Ignoring my better judgement, I decided to experiment with the Coconut Bay. At first, the aftershave dominated 100%. It wasn't until I was trapped with myself in the truck that I began to notice I was still getting a little of the Fresh and grape/lemon notes from LIII, like oil seeping up from the ground around my grass hut full of coconuts.

But surprisingly the two products didn't clash. I was super worried I was going to be walking around like the Toxic Avenger and would have to take a Dawn bath to detoxify myself. But I got very, very lucky.

These are two scents trying to really nail the vibe of summer, perhaps that's part of why the combo is working for me.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Yes! No! Exactly.

I did rinse off the soap with not one but three cold water splashes. It was at that point I thought to myself "Wow, Laundry III's scent is pretty hardy!" because the fresh and lemon notes were still very much around 10min after the final rinse, loitering in my senses like they were at a skate park.

Ignoring my better judgement, I decided to experiment with the Coconut Bay. At first, the aftershave dominated 100%. It wasn't until I was trapped with myself in the truck that I began to notice I was still getting a little of the Fresh and grape/lemon notes from LIII, like oil seeping up from the ground around my grass hut full of coconuts.

But surprisingly the two products didn't clash. I was super worried I was going to be walking around like the Toxic Avenger and would have to take a Dawn bath to detoxify myself. But I got very, very lucky.

These are two scents trying to really nail the vibe of summer, perhaps that's part of why the combo is working for me.

Beautiful.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Sunday my shave was simple, quick, and easy. Hearing aids were involved.

Yesterday's new Willy's blade was flipped and moved over to the Opgress. The setting today was 1/8 of an adjustment knob rotation. Nothing else. Just a very simple N-S shave.

Today's brush was for Kim @Phoenixkh, to make sure I agreed with what I told him about the D01 two band. I do. It's a very nice brush if you like that sort of thing which I do, but saying it's soft would be impossible for me. It's soft when I'm painting, I'll say that.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy using the D01. It might be a tad rough for some guys to use everyday. I think I could manage it, but I have other knots I like better.

I'm trying to decide whether to order Mike's Barbershop. I have just a sample - thanks to a couple of members - but I might acquire a tub. (Mike's is offering it for sale at the moment.)






No scent was applied post shave.

I've had better and more complete shaves which were more towards the BBS standard, but today's shave suits me just fine. A Damn Comfortable Shave trumps a close shave any day.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Phoenixkh]

Thx, Jim. Rudy's installation of the ShaveMac Two-Band Silvertip 28mm should show up tomorrow. I'm going to try it and see I want more of the same... or one of his own Manchurian knots he imported in one of the other ones he's reknotting for me.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Ordered Mike's Barbershop. Had my wife sniff the lather remaining in my container after I shaved. (The soap itself had been moved from the little sample container to a regular size, empty Maggard's tub.) She said it smelled minty. I asked her if she could appreciate the scent of patchouli; she couldn't.

I can't say I know how to describe a barbershop scent, but this soap is definitely in that category.

(I know barbershop when I smell it.)

My favorite Mike's soap so far is Coconut. I seem to be acquiring a good little collection of his wares.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thx, Jim. Rudy's installation of the ShaveMac Two-Band Silvertip 28mm should show up tomorrow. I'm going to try it and see I want more of the same... or one of his own Manchurian knots he imported in one of the other ones he's reknotting for me.

Rudy's Manchurians are nice, Kim.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Guido75]

I LOVE Mike’s Barbershop! Moved a refill puck to my enamel lather cup this morning. I to find nothing that resembles what I would label barbershop. To me it’s much more fruity and fresh.

My son (also a DE shaver) walked into the bathroom when I was pressing it into the cup and immediately said “wow that smells nice!” I have 4 pucks in total so I need to do a nightly count to see if one hasn’t mysteriously disappeared on me! And if so, so be it. I vicariously enjoy his journey!

Enjoy!

Guido

 

[Phoenixkh]

I don't know what Barbershop should smell like but I have to say... I love Acca Kappa Barbershop..... it is lightly scented so I do have some mild face irritation but I use it off and on... It has the most luxurious lather when compared to all the great unscented soaps I have. It's the only scented soap I have left... though I guess you could say Baume.be has a very light scent, but it doesn't affect my face at all.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Monday. Good shave.

Same setting as yesterday - 1/8 of an adjustment knob rotation - and about as much work as I usually do.

Forgot to flip the blade.

Cube/Tube and Mysterium Serum. No splash.

Happy shaves,

Jim