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Eleven Years On

I hope to meet other local members sometime in the future

When the season shifts and the weather improves, I am up for hosting a local get together on my patio. I have a good amount of space and there is a fair amount of parking when school is not in session (and good Tri-met access). Of course, it might only require room for three or four. We should start beating the bushes for local B&Bers. My knowledge is limited to:
you
@flask28
@haggis
and myself
 
Would love to gather at your home sometime @Tanuki I hear you showed @flask28 a great collection of vintage razors when you hosted him. I'm sure there's a few other members who might not be as public about their location, when the time draws nearer perhaps we can make a more public announcement.

3/17 SOTD

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First dip into the sample box from @flask28 and felt like Stirling Sheep was an appropriate choice for the St. Patrick's holiday. FaTip is loaded with a Nacet with one prior shave, lathered with the Whipped Dog badger.

I'm running short on time, so I'll need to keep it brief. Had better success keeping lightness and had a very close and comfortable 3.5 pass shave. Skin pulling to address the corners of the mouth/goatee was very helpful. Overall lots of BBS with a few longer whiskers hiding here and there. Alum had basically no response, tied it together with Nivea and a splash of Lucky Tiger balm, plus the Veg after the moisturizer set.

Stay lucky today!
 
Howdy! Sorry I've been away for a couple days. Starting with a quick writeup of today's shave before I make some notes about previous samples/shaves.

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Had been wanting to retry the '55 Red Tip after all these recent technique adjustments. It still contains a Personna Lab Blue wth perhaps 3 prior shaves. First use of the PAA Scuttle courtesy of @flask28 --which created a very satisfying warm lather. Brushed MWF with the Yaqi Silvertip. PAA Cube Original applied directly to the face for preshave, also a new addition to the routine.

Lather overall was a bit heavy, but I just added water throughout the shave and rinsed the razor frequently. This was my first time leaving on the preshave while building lather, rather than heating/rinsing with a hot towel. The PAA cube seems to increase the effectiveness of the first pass, but I'm still searching for what differences it makes for the shave overall.

Somewhere around 3 passes, I stayed conservative and did not approach some sensitive areas fully ATG. I maintained adequate but imperfect lightness in bringing the blade to bear, especially noticeable on my right goatee/chin where something still regularly misaligns with my angle/stroke direction and I lose bladefeel and don't hear the sound of shaving. When this happens, I think I unconsciously apply pressure, hunting to hear the razor working. Despite this habit, no bloodletting. Alum is detectable but not sharp, a DFS/DFS+ finish and maybe? my most successful Red Tip shave so far. Nivea and CeraVe finish (trying to use the remainder of this Nivea, it will probably be mixed into all my post-shaves until it's gone). I am likely to do some consecutive shaves with the Red Tip over the next few days.



Prior undocumented shaves:

2/18: Timeless .95 w/AstraSP, lathered Mike's Natural with Omega49. Very sparing growth. First shave with PAA Cube preshave, applied before using the hot towel. A good shave with respect to closeness, though I think lightness evaded me and I felt a lot of reaction to the alum. A couple weepers formed near the corners of the mouth, again, I think angle/stroke length/lack of flatness all contribute to problems in this area.

2/19: RR GameChanger.84 w/AstraSP, lathered Stirling Ramblin' Man sample with the RV Finest Badger. Shave was separate from shower, used the PAA Cube in the same manner. Milder 3 pass, a couple areas of nice closeness. Less reaction to alum. I do think this soap was raising some sensitivity, but the brush could also be a culprit. Skin felt very delicate even before shaving.



Had I not already tried/discovered Mike's Natural, I think I'd be very impressed with the overall performance of the Stirling soaps I've tried. So far, they seem on equal footing as far as slickness, and quality of lather, but I think Mike's has a marginally nicer post-shave feel. The Stirling Sheep soap has a very distinct animal odor, probably similar to descriptions I've read of Mike's unscented. Will revisit Ramblin' Man and hopefully have different results--and if not, I have several more samples to try.
 
3/21

Quick entry today before I return to other tasks:

Another ride with the Red Tip, lathered Stirling Gentleman with the Whipped Dog boar. PAA Cube preshave, hot towel. Dropped a fresh Nacet into the razor, not a blade that I've tried yet with the Red Tip. Loaded far too much soap, made enough lather to shave a yeti. Still adjusting to the loading with Stirling, it's much faster to load than my triple-milled firmer soaps.

Better lightness in my razor handling today. 2.5 passes with touchup on chin and jawline. Shave was rushed, under 15 minutes total. Noticeable that the razor works more effectively at a shallower angle (probably "neutral" for this head design) than the Timeless, for example. Did feel an itching sensation around my nostrils that suggests the soap might be irritating, fortunately it did not spend much time on my face. I have not yet identified if the PAA Cube is the culprit, but I think some of these Stirling scents may disagree with my skin. Not a super close shave today, DFS/DFS- in some areas. No lasting irritation or response from the alum. HydroBoost and Nivea to close things out. Meow!
 
@Guido75 We're into big hairy animals around here, our basketball team just unveiled a new mascot:

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Wish they had incorporated a jersey into the outfit instead of that dumb lumberjack/hipster flannel, but what can you do. He definitely looks like he'd lose a fight against Gritty, the Phillies mascot... but we'd probably all lose that fight.

Excuse Me Hockey GIF
 
Had I not already tried/discovered Mike's Natural, I think I'd be very impressed with the overall performance of the Stirling soaps I've tried. So far, they seem on equal footing as far as slickness, and quality of lather, but I think Mike's has a marginally nicer post-shave feel. The Stirling Sheep soap has a very distinct animal odor, probably similar to descriptions I've read of Mike's unscented. Will revisit Ramblin' Man and hopefully have different results--and if not, I have several more samples to try.

This is exactly where I landed with Stirling. It's great, but with Mike's being just a tad more per ounce it's a tough call. Mike's post shave is something special at that price. It probably boils down to finding a scent you really love between the two. I found a favorite of out those Stirling samples, I'm curious if you'll pick the same one.

I've had both Stirling Sheep and Mike's Unscented side by side and Mike's is less pungent and more earthy than the Uncle Bob's Barn thing Sheep has going. I open the Sheep tub and automatically start looking around for chickens. Mike's is nowhere near that strong. But like @Chan Eil Whiskers noted, it's not scentless like Canada seems to be.

Although I found the sheep smell dissipates a lot once it's lathered up. Enough that I'm not thinking about it while shaving at least. I like Sheep's performance a lot, but it didn't make my top five soap list.

Isn't warm scuttle lather the best?

sit back oh yeah GIF
 
2/22

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Wow, I need to clean my mirror!

Shaving later than normal today after a nice hike, before we get some rain this weekend. As such, growth is a bit longer than typical. Red Tip with the still-loaded Nacet, 1 prior. B&M Leviathan sample lathered with Simpson X2L in the PAA scuttle. Initial notes of the soap prior to lathering--I can detect some sweetness, leather, musk... After lathering, all I get is a damp, musty smoke scent. I really don't care for it! Lather itself is thoroughly hydrated, but I don't find it to be particularly slick and the facefeel is pretty weak.

Really good lightness in my hand today. Productive and comfortable in every pass direction, though my pattern is basically southbound/XTG/XTG rather than challenging the whiskers directly in the finish. A little skin pulling helps address challenging spots on the chin and corners of the mouth. Overall a near BBS- in many places, not as close as I'd like for the amount of time this shave required. No reaction to alum, HydroBoost+Nivea finish. Glad that I could harness a comfortable and close shave from this razor, after a few consecutive attempts. My shave tomorrow will be fewer than 20 hours from now, so I imagine the whiskers will be sparing. May move an active blade into the GC.84 for a compromise in aggression.

Razors with the least amount of recent use are the Flare Tip SS and the Slim Adjustable. Unsure if I will revisit these razors in the near future or move them to the drawer. Also I need to start a spreadsheet of all these soap samples. Meow!
 
2/22

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Wow, I need to clean my mirror!

Shaving later than normal today after a nice hike, before we get some rain this weekend. As such, growth is a bit longer than typical. Red Tip with the still-loaded Nacet, 1 prior. B&M Leviathan sample lathered with Simpson X2L in the PAA scuttle. Initial notes of the soap prior to lathering--I can detect some sweetness, leather, musk... After lathering, all I get is a damp, musty smoke scent. I really don't care for it! Lather itself is thoroughly hydrated, but I don't find it to be particularly slick and the facefeel is pretty weak.

Really good lightness in my hand today. Productive and comfortable in every pass direction, though my pattern is basically southbound/XTG/XTG rather than challenging the whiskers directly in the finish. A little skin pulling helps address challenging spots on the chin and corners of the mouth. Overall a near BBS- in many places, not as close as I'd like for the amount of time this shave required. No reaction to alum, HydroBoost+Nivea finish. Glad that I could harness a comfortable and close shave from this razor, after a few consecutive attempts. My shave tomorrow will be fewer than 20 hours from now, so I imagine the whiskers will be sparing. May move an active blade into the GC.84 for a compromise in aggression.

Razors with the least amount of recent use are the Flare Tip SS and the Slim Adjustable. Unsure if I will revisit these razors in the near future or move them to the drawer. Also I need to start a spreadsheet of all these soap samples. Meow!

It took me a while to dial in B&M, it wants A LOT of water. Maybe more than any other soap I've tried. But I'm with you, I never even shaved with Leviathan. I took one smell of it and was "nope." I barely got it into that tube :)

Maybe you'll like one of the others enough to get to know the B&M base over a few shaves, it's worth the effort!
 
it wants A LOT of water
Thought I gave it enough, but perhaps more was needed. I also think it didn't load as easily as Stirling/Mike's, despite having that similar softer-soap texture. Perhaps I didn't bloom the soap sufficiently. Maybe I'll try another Omnibus-base tomorrow... in a flavor that doesn't evoke an ashtray :biggrin:
 
Two shaves to log:

Yesterday 3/23, heading out of the house earlier than normal, shave was a little hurried (but not rushed). Wanted to give the B&M Omnibus base another try, this time with Atomic Holiday lathered with the Yaqi Tuxedo. Growth was very sparing so I reached for the RR GC.84-P and loaded the Nacet from the Red Tip, 2 prior shaves.

Despite the soft texture of the soap, I allowed the soap to bloom while showering and doing preshave routine. It resulted in better loading of the brush. Scent is much fruitier and livelier than I was expecting, added a lot of water and had a better lather than my attempt with Leviathan. The scent is good, but is a big departure from my usual classic barber/shaving scents. Adequate slickness and cushion but I'm not wildly impressed.

Two and a half passes, started with XTG outside-in pattern. A moderately close and comfortable shave overall. Could have gotten closer results at the back of the jawline. Soap rinses very clean, but doesn't provide much lingering comfort. Alum gives a very mild response.



Today, 3/24
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FaTip Friday, same loaded blade; a Nacet with 3 shaves prior perhaps? Lathered Cella with the Whipped Dog badger. Great lather today with a good balance of hydration, slickness, and a little cushion. 3 passes without much touchup, I think the Southbound pass was probably unnecessary in hindsight. I thought I possessed a light touch, but the alum told me another story. However I have a very thorough shave, with a little skin stabilizing near the chin and corners of the mouth. BBS- overall, still missing some whiskers near the lower lip. I opened a couple tiny weepers handled easily by the alum, which feels a long way from neutral, but not terribly sharp. Nivea + HydroBoost to conclude.

Overall I think I tended a little steep, and a more aggressive first pass might've been sensible. And of course, if I had shaved with less pressure I could've avoided all these pitfalls. Clearly it's been a few days since I handled the FaTip.

Sleeting, hailing, raining, and snowing here! Hopefully we return to sunshine after this wet weekend. Be well!

EDIT: Noticed I've been marking the wrong month on a bunch of recent entries! Wow! It's almost the end of March!! What's wrong with me??!?
 
Three shaves to log:

3/25 Timeless with loaded AstraSP, I think it had 3 prior shaves. Lathered Stirling Sharp Dressed Man with my old Omega 49 boar, enjoyed the scent but encountered difficulties with lather later in the shave. Pass number 2 all the suds had collapsed and there was literally no bulk remaining in the brush or bowl. Source of the problem was somewhat mysterious but likely culprits: did not start with/load sufficient soap, added too much water when building lather, left too much water on my face between passes. Unwisely tried to shave the second pass, hoping that a light touch would make everything still workable. Certainly my touch was not light enough, opened a number of weepers. Many whiskers still remaining so in preparation for a touchup, I put some Arko on the brush. Cleaned up modestly well, but I had lots of lingering razor irritation and a very pronounced presence from alum. Physically I was quite tired and should have chosen a less challenging razor or more familiar soap. DFS+ish with some closer spots, probably the least comfortable shave in recent memory.

3/26 Knowing I need to allow my skin some recovery, I used the prewar Fat Handle Tech with its loaded Nacet, a couple prior shaves maybe 2 or 3. Lathered MWF with the TGN Finest badger. Again I encountered a little (but less disastrous) lather collapse, I tried my original lather bowl instead of the PAA scuttle to see if it had any influence. Again I think I've gotten into the habit of adding too much water when building, and introducing more water between passes. More conservative plans for the shave, only 2 passes without much touchup. Better (but always improvable) lightness in my razor application. No response to alum. DFS- left some noticeable stubble at the back of the jawline

3/27 Put a new AstraSP into the Timeless and lathered Mike's Natural with the new Omega 49 boar. Much heavier loading of the brush, slower introduction of water and I conclude with a lather on the modestly heavy side--but I needed a reset from these super thin lathers. Better lightness in my touch today, with a couple judicious uses of skin stabilizing I have a very thorough shave while keeping pretty comfortable. Some trouble areas are addressed well (mustache, chin) while others are longer than I'd prefer (corners of mouth) but it's basically a BBS- all around. Alum is detectable but not pronounced. Much happier with today's results.



Will get these lathers dialed eventually. I need to be cautious about using these soap samples on days I need reliable shave results, or don't have time to fully reset. Despite all the samples, I just had a tin of Pre de Province 63 arrive. Hoping that it works for me. Meanwhile I have officially retired Tabac from my rotation, with so many other options I don't need to risk the irritation anymore. Will be PIFing/Gifting that Tabac at some point soon.

Meanwhile I'm taking a 1-night vacation this week, so I'll have a hotel shave I need to plan for. Probably will take a cart, we have a box of Gillette CustomPlus 3-blade kicking around. Likely to bring Arko and the Yaqi Tuxedo.
 
Three shaves to log:

3/25 Timeless with loaded AstraSP, I think it had 3 prior shaves. Lathered Stirling Sharp Dressed Man with my old Omega 49 boar, enjoyed the scent but encountered difficulties with lather later in the shave. Pass number 2 all the suds had collapsed and there was literally no bulk remaining in the brush or bowl. Source of the problem was somewhat mysterious but likely culprits: did not start with/load sufficient soap, added too much water when building lather, left too much water on my face between passes. Unwisely tried to shave the second pass, hoping that a light touch would make everything still workable. Certainly my touch was not light enough, opened a number of weepers. Many whiskers still remaining so in preparation for a touchup, I put some Arko on the brush. Cleaned up modestly well, but I had lots of lingering razor irritation and a very pronounced presence from alum. Physically I was quite tired and should have chosen a less challenging razor or more familiar soap. DFS+ish with some closer spots, probably the least comfortable shave in recent memory.

3/26 Knowing I need to allow my skin some recovery, I used the prewar Fat Handle Tech with its loaded Nacet, a couple prior shaves maybe 2 or 3. Lathered MWF with the TGN Finest badger. Again I encountered a little (but less disastrous) lather collapse, I tried my original lather bowl instead of the PAA scuttle to see if it had any influence. Again I think I've gotten into the habit of adding too much water when building, and introducing more water between passes. More conservative plans for the shave, only 2 passes without much touchup. Better (but always improvable) lightness in my razor application. No response to alum. DFS- left some noticeable stubble at the back of the jawline

3/27 Put a new AstraSP into the Timeless and lathered Mike's Natural with the new Omega 49 boar. Much heavier loading of the brush, slower introduction of water and I conclude with a lather on the modestly heavy side--but I needed a reset from these super thin lathers. Better lightness in my touch today, with a couple judicious uses of skin stabilizing I have a very thorough shave while keeping pretty comfortable. Some trouble areas are addressed well (mustache, chin) while others are longer than I'd prefer (corners of mouth) but it's basically a BBS- all around. Alum is detectable but not pronounced. Much happier with today's results.



Will get these lathers dialed eventually. I need to be cautious about using these soap samples on days I need reliable shave results, or don't have time to fully reset. Despite all the samples, I just had a tin of Pre de Province 63 arrive. Hoping that it works for me. Meanwhile I have officially retired Tabac from my rotation, with so many other options I don't need to risk the irritation anymore. Will be PIFing/Gifting that Tabac at some point soon.

Meanwhile I'm taking a 1-night vacation this week, so I'll have a hotel shave I need to plan for. Probably will take a cart, we have a box of Gillette CustomPlus 3-blade kicking around. Likely to bring Arko and the Yaqi Tuxedo.

First, have a great mini-spring break vacation! That's a good idea to get out of dodge for a little bit - and it'll be fun to setup a wetshaving travel kit!

I had the same challenges you are with those samples. It took me 2-3 lathers with a base to kind of figure out how to get it there. At least. Although you have a decade more lathering experience than I do!

But maybe the newish Omega is fighting you too some? My boars had poor 2nd pass lathers till they were broken in some. 20 shaves or so?

I hope you get good weather!
 
Thanks for your note @flask28 —as it turned out, weather changed our destination from the desert (which would have necessitated a drive over mountain passes experiencing blizzard conditions) to the fair city of Seattle, where the weather is dry and comfortable (thankfully!!!)

I agree that each base behaves differently and I’m probably changing too many things to fully “dial in” my technique. I should stick with one base for a while—once I’m back home. The brush I used with Sharp Dressed was my old Omega, so I’m very confident it’s my technique and no fault of the brush. When I received it from a generous B&Ber in 2012, he estimated it had given him 1000 lathers… I’ve had at least that many shaves with it since.

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I’ll write more details later, but suffice to say cartridge razor shaving is the least satisfying part of this trip. Ciao!
 
Trip was great, wish it could've lasted longer!

Had two shaves (3/28 & 29) with my travel kit. Haven't shaved with a cartridge in ages, first shave produced a couple weepers but I had some close spots, on the longer side of DFS. Second shave I tried using absolutely no pressure and it was more comfortable, but scarcely an SAS+ overall and I was looking pretty stubbly throughout the day. Cartridge shaving is miserable and I can't blame anyone for keeping a beard, if they think using a cart is their only option. On the positive side, these shaves were quick and Arko does a fine job.

Today 3/30, grabbed the Timeless with an AstraSP that had 1 prior shave. Used the Whipped Dog badger to lather Cella, PAA Cube preshave and hot towel prepared my longer whiskers very effectively. Lather was slightly heavy but it didn't interfere with my awareness of the blade. Did 2.5 passes with an especially comfortable and effective first pass. Pretty good attention to lightness and careful, gentle shaving. Kept my angle shallower in the final ATG touchup on the mustache, with excellent results. BBS with a spot of light irritation at the base of the neck, the only place with any reaction to the alum. HydroBoost and Nivea for the finish,

I've almost killed the Nivea... I might dilute what remains with Thayer's so I can use every remaining drop in the bottle. Such a relief to thoroughly and comfortably remove my stubble today. I'll return to the soap samples on Sunday, I will try to stick with a single base/brand so I can better adjust to the specific qualities of each.
 
A couple shaves to log:

3/31 Reached for the GC.84 with the loaded Nacet, I think it has one prior shave. Lathered MWF with the RR Plissoft 400, I always have a tendency to overload this brush--this shave was no different and I made enough lather to shave a bison. Growth was very sparing, I didn't have incredible lightness but managed to remove whiskers pretty effectively. Only did 2.5 passes, another very successful mustache strategy with very close results. Overall this razor always gets me 85-90% of BBS, but it's that last bit of stubble it struggles to handle around my chin and jawline, especially. Still, happy with the outcome... Alum is practically undetectable.

4/1 FaTip Grande Chrome with the loaded Nacet, I believe 3 prior shaves. Lathered Mike's Natural with the Yaqi Silvertip. Lather was on the heavier side, but throughout the shave I notice the FaTip has some positive synergy with lathers of this texture--the hollow handle and head of the FaTip seems to retain water after rinsing, which gets deposited on the skin when the razor is brought to action. Better lightness than yesterday, very delicate touch under the jawline. My concentration does slip, and as I head southbound on the neck I errantly turn my wrist, open a couple modest weepers--a good reminder to stay attentive. Good removal from 2.5 passes, little response from Alum. BBS-/DFS+ in most places.
 
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