First SR shave

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #216:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (11), RR Game Changer .68, Permasharp Super (4), RR Big Bruce synth, CBL 50 Shades of Vetiver soap, generic witch hazel, and Fine Fresh Vetiver to close!

What’s better than two days of shaves with CBL soaps? Well let me enlighten you...three days of shaves with CBL soaps in a row!

Today I gave 50 Shades of Vetiver a whirl. This, I’m assuming, is his pre-official vendor status formula, perhaps the one he made in the soap making demo (which would make it MdC style I think)? I’m not sure. There is a slight difference in performance in terms of face feel and slickness, but make no mistake, 99.9% of shavers would still be happy to have this in their den! The vetiver scent is stronk out of the tub, like super stronk, like you’d better like all in vetiver if you were to receive something like this; I decided I do like it! Upon lathering it opens up and mellows a little to a very pleasant, fresh vetiver kind of scent.

Fine Fresh Vetiver paired excellently.

Good three pass shave today; a little more DFS on the upper lip than I like, but I’ll let it slide.

Got to sleep in a little this morning, but still very tired. Today is a late day at work due to an early evening wedding happening among other things. Going to drop the kids off for an overnighter at the in-law’s, the missus is still out until tomorrow afternoon, and I’m hoping I can get enough rest tonight to be awake for participation in service tomorrow.

Enjoy your Saturday folks!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #217:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (13), RR Game Changer .68, Permasharp Super (5), RR Big Bruce synth, GD Flight soap, generic witch hazel, Fine Platinum AS, and Fine Platinum EdT to close!

Do you know what’s better than 3 CBL shaves in a row? Probably 4 CBL shaves in a row...but that’s not what I did this morning.

Tried and true Sunday morning shave today. 3 passes, I even dared to run the risk and use the Feather for the first two, despite my going to be highly visible in the service today. It paid off! No Murphy visits, just a solid 95%+ BBS.

The GD scents I’m using are just big samples. As I’m using one at a time them I’ll mash the next on top of the last, this starting my puke puck with a quality base! First was Absinthe & Leather, going through Flight now, but that’s almost gone and has started mixing with the A&L. I think I’ll mash in Coattails next.


Moderate night’s rest after an episode of Spooks to close the night yesterday. I’m in to the 4th season and still highly enjoying it. You nevercwuite know what is going to happen, and even when you do, you just have to watch it anyway!

Helped at the traditional church service with various prayers and thanksgivings. I don’t dress up much, but it’s fun to play GQ once in a while!

Oldest has a Fortnite birthday party this early evening, I’ll be pick them up from their overnight at the grandparents’ soon, and the missus returns as well from the church leadership retreat. Should be a solid close to the weekend!

Have a blessed Sunday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #218:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (14), RR Game Changer .68, Permasharp Super (6), RR Big Bruce synth, CBL Orange Dirt soap, generic witch hazel, and Fine L’Orange Noir to close!

Sorry, no video today. The missus was tired from the long (but productive) leadership weekend and stayed home. So, no sleeping in today, I had to get up, take the kids to school and we’re about doing errands. Besides, I’m not quite ready to do a video with her having about yet.

Today was Orange Dirt day! I guess it could be in honor of me not doing the yardwork this week because of all the busyness. This is what yardwork should be like...fun and makes you smell good!

3 passes over surprisingly little growth in the last 24 hours. No Murphy visits, just a little irritation from chasing a bit.

CBL did not disappoint once I had enough of the sample portioned out. I noticed an immediate background note very similar to the Barbershop soap, a kind of muted talc. Either this is purposeful or it is something of the soap base that I am picking up on. Either way, it’s not bad! The Orange Dirt scent is marvelously subtle, a kind of cologney, blood orange/mandarin orange scent. Standard, great performance.

Of course I could use Orange Dirt and not use Fine L’Orange Noir - a perfect pairing!


Some loads of laundry, some grocery shopping, some lawn watering, and then some R&R is the order of the day!

Happy Monday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #219:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (15), RR Game Changer .68, Perma-sharp Super (7), RR Big Bruce synth, CBL Barbershop soap, generic witch hazel, and Fine American Blend to close!

Video is up on the Tube!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #220:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (16), RR Game Changer .68, Perma-sharp Super (8), RR Big Bruce synth, SC Commitment soap, generic witch hazel, and Stetson Cooling AS to close!

Normal 3 pass shave today, 2 Feather and final GC. Both blades still hanging in there. As I mentioned in yesterday’s video, I’ve been seeming to get some really good shaves the last number of days. Not sure if it’s because of the weather changes (mornings and nights are quite cold within the last week) or if it’s actually the shaves, but stubble growth has been notably less than the previous weeks. Just have to try and resist chasing more because of it!

I wanted to put the Stetson Cooling back up on the block, to see if I should pass it off or not. It’s a great feeling juice, applies ultra smoothly, absorbs great, and has excellent cooling without being over the top. The scent though I’m still on the fence about, it’s OK...kinda Clubman-esque but no citron, a bit deeper, and more powder. Given how many AS I’ve acquired, I just don’t know if I’d want to pull it out all that often.


Work yesterday way a busy bugger. Today should be more manageable thankfully. About to go out with the missus for our weekly date morning before she has to be at work.

I did get good news yesterday; I was asked to step in for a day next week to teach the elders’ (retired persons, not leadership) bible study through a chapter of Luke. Writing that should keep me busy for a while!

Happy Wednesday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #222:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (18), RR Game Changer .68, Perma-sharp Super (10), RR Big Bruce synth, Cella soap, generic witch hazel, and Myrsol C Formula AS to close!

Welp...if yesterday was holiday feast on my face, today was bakery/sweets shop!

Blades still teetering on the brink of usability, but they pulled out a win, at least for today. 3 passes, normal split, no issues or irritation!

Cella performed beautifully as normal. Myrsol C has left me smelling like violet PEZ candies. Together, darn good shave.

Two shifts to chug though before I get a 3 day weekend. Really looking forward to it. Still have yard work to catch up on from last weekend’s slacking and lots of sleeping to do!

Otherwise work will be moderately busy before the Thanksgiving insanity. Our final Upward Basketball assessments are on campus tomorrow for kids to be properly assigned into teams once the training kicks off in the new year. The Run To Feed The Hungry teams will be on and off for the next week preparing setups, packets, and what not for the Thanksgiving morning run. This will be the first year that they’ve hosted a decent chunk of it on our campus, though we have been right along the finishing line route for many years and have always had some kind of greeting team involved. Should prove interesting funneling many thousands of the runners through our campus over the next week!

Happy Friday all.

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #223:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (19), RR Game Changer .68, Perma-sharp Super (11), RR Big Bruce synth, SS Citrus & Bay soap, generic witch hazel, and Bootlegger’s Bay Rum AS to close!

Just a quick entry today. Nice shave, off to work early, closing early, 3 day weekend, little bit of chores to take care of, time with the family...should be good times!

I hope you all enjoy your Saturday!

 

[GearNoir]

Free Shave Day:

Gear: RR Game Changer .68, Perma-sharp Super (12), RR Big Bruce synth, GD Coattails soap, generic witch hazel, Fine Platinum AS, and Fine Platinum EdT to close!

The long march of the work week is over! I’ve survived! Let the 3 day weekend commence! Up early this morning for serivces and the oldest singing in the kids choir.

Clumsy fumbling around upon wake up, so i nixed bringing in the Feather. So, just a nice, smooth shave with the GC .68. Perma-sharp hung in for another shave. Clean led up the sideburns too, as I have myself a haircut last night.

GD Coattails is about as elite as a cream can be. Classic creams wish they could attain this level! A little bit goes for miles and it lathers up like a charm. Tallow based I believe, but it easily matches the performance of Mohammed’s normal soap line.

Healthy splash of Fine Platinum AS and a couple strategic sprays of Platinum EdT, and we’re off to a solid start this fine Sunday morning.



In other things, for those that haven’t seen California news, we are once again (and have been) on fire. The smoke and haze in the air yesterday from fires hours away to the north of us (not to mention the one raging in SoCal) was enough to grey the skys and nock a fully sunny day down to well under 75%. The sky was totally red/orange/grey over half the day. Prayers that these fires get under control and for the safety of those evacuated, would be appreciated. A lot of folks are going to be homeless for the holidays.

A blessed Sunday to you!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #224:

Gear: Koken “Old Crow” Army & Navy SR, RR Big Bruce synth, Williams soap (as preshave), JoHS Turkish Bath (Barbershop), generic witch hazel, and Barbasol Pacific Rush AS to close!

Had my “Veteran’s Day” shave today since I can’t record on Sundays. Pretty decent results with the vintage SR, edge may need a refresh though.

Had a nice relaxing morning so far. Just hanging out with the family today! A little bit later I’ll begin working on my bibles study teaching for Thursday.

Video is up!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #225:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (1), RR Game Changer .68, Gillette Super Thin blade (1), RR Big Bruce synth, CBL Aquatic Oud soap, generic witch hazel, and Paul Sebastian AS to close!

Decent shave today. It was oriented mostly toward experiencing the Aquatic Oud soap. Did my normal 3 pass split. Happen to get bit the first pass with the Feather, on the chin, coming in just a tad too steep. Thankfully it closed up pretty quickly.

The Aquatic Oud is a very nice, muted, Aquatic cologne type of scent. Decently present in the sample container but very light during lathering. Less than 2out of 5 from what I could pick up during the shave. I think I smelled the base more than I did the aquatic scent. Still, signature CBL performance though.

The Paul Sebastian paired decently. It’s a bit of a lighter Stetson IMO, not as deep.

The Feather Pro...obviously no complaints there. Just cut a little too close today! The Super Thin though was a tad uncomfortable for the first use today. I did not feel that the shave was smooth, though it did feel sharp.

Didn’t get to sleep in today. That’s OK though! I got to chauffeur everyone off to their school/work and I plan to see if I can drum up another item or two for my Rudolph buddy. Local item has been really hard, there is nothing really signature Sacramento that is fun but isn’t touristy. I also have to keep working on my Thursday teaching!

I opted still to refrain from doing any yardwork. The air quality has been in the high danger zone the last few days. Public services city wide have been offering free face masks to the public when requested.

Have a great Tuesday all!

 

[Clay S]

My prayers are with the people in California. My sister has just moved from Sacramento to North Carolina temporarily for her husbands work project.

 

[GearNoir]

My prayers are with the people in California. My sister has just moved from Sacramento to North Carolina temporarily for her husbands work project.

Thanks Clay! I’m sure, right now, just about everything is appreciated for those who are most affected, prayers and thoughts included!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #226:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (2), RR Game Changer .68, Gillette Super Thin blade (2), RR Big Bruce synth, SC Commitment soap, generic witch hazel, and Stirling Vanilla Sandalwood AS to close!

Quick entry today, as I’m about to head off with the missus on our normal date breakfast and then rush back home to try and finish this teaching for tomorrow before heading off to work.

Decent shave today. Didn’t cut or nick myself (went a little slower with the Feather). The Pro blade is calming little by little. The Super Thin on the other hand...these blades may not be for me. It might be my imagination, but even with how rigid the GC design is, it feels like the blade is micro-flexing a lot at my normal shave angle. I could also see it exfoliating skin! Needless to say, a bit of an uncomfortable final pass. It’ll get one more shave, then the bin if it doesn’t improve.

Thankful for the extra day off yesterday, though I spent a lot of it theologizing on the teaching. Kinda tired. It’s going to be a busy week with preparations beginning for Run To Feed The Hungry among other things!

Happy Wednesday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Free Shave Day:

Gear: RR Game Changer .68, Gillette Super Thin blade (3), RR Big Bruce synth, LNHC Coconut Oud soap, generic witch hazel, and RR The Stallion AS to close!

Just a quick update before I head out the door to go teach!

Decent shave today. I only used the GC with the Super Thin blade today, giving myself a little longer to sleep and then gunning for the door.

Not sure what Gillette was thinking by putting out this blade, but it’s just not for me. The closeness is decent, but the removal just hasn’t smoothed out at all. It’s not tugging but its just a rough cut. The GC helped smooth it some in the WTG and XTG, as did taking a shallower angle, but it’s not worth the effort. Into the bin it goes!

Off to teach now, a bible study for a group of elder church members, a couple hours of freedom, then back to the church for work!

Schools almost got closed today because of the continued bad air quality, but the district opted, at least for today, to remain open; they realize how big a wrench that might throw into folks’ day. So it’s indoors and decreased activities for the kids all day...those poor teachers...

Happy Thursday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #227:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (3), GEM Jr., GEM blade (5), RR Big Bruce synth, Vito’s Extra Super soap, generic witch hazel, and Bootlegger’s BR AS to close!

Back to the Feather today. Also, since I binned the Super Thin that was in the GC, I decided to bring in the GEM Jr for the final pass and cleanup. My face has gotten really dried out over the last couple of days between the colder weather and having to wear a face mask. Overall a great shave with great results (95%+ BBS, no irritation) this morning; skin feels restored, at least for a little bit.


Me and the kids this morning since school has been canceled citywide. Went out and found a new filter to put in our air system...man that old one was gross!

RTFTH sets up today on campu for info and packet hand outs for Thursday’s runners and support crews. I hope the fires get under control soon and air quality clears up for the event, can’t imagine running in that, huffing all that junk in. Still, it’s amazing to see the folks outside while I was driving around, no mask, puffing away on their cigarettes like there’s no tomorrow.

Recovery crews have started in to some of the burn areas. One of our friends got the news last night that a her cousin and cousin’s husband were found in their burned down home. Another friend had a grandmother that didn’t make it out either. Quite sobering.

Teaching went well yesterday, and I’m already on the books for another one before Christmas! Looking forward to that.

I think Rudolph buddy gift getting is done. Just need to get it wrapped up, boxed and on it’s way now, hopefully within the next week!

Happy Friday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #228:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (4), GEM Jr., GEM blade (6), RR Big Bruce synth, CBL 50 Shades of Vetiver soap, generic witch hazel, and Man Dom AS to close!

Slept in just a bit today so I could be a little more alert for the long (read busy) shift this afternoon.

Nice shave today with the same hardware as yesterday. All the elements worked well together and the Man Dom put a nice finish on it. Not quite as close as yesterday’s, but still good.

Oldest is at a sleepover/b-day party, younger two are hanging out with me while the missus has Christmas concert practice. A nice morning sans continued smoke and air quality issues.

Happy Saturday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #229:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (5), RR Game Changer .68, Super-Max Super Platinum blade (1), RR Big Bruce synth, GD Coattails soap, generic witch hazel, Fine Platinum AS, and Fine Platinum EdT to close!

Slept in a bit since no one had to be at the early service. Got the day off to a great start with a superb shave!

Normal 3 passes split between the two razors. GD lather was luxurious and plenty slick today. Almost had a Murphy visit with the Feather on the second pass; the blade caught for a millisecond behind the curve of my back jawline, the plants aligned though and no damage was dealt. I walked away with a 95%+ BBS.

The Super-Max Super Platinum was notable in feel for the first use. It felt very near to a GSB from what I could remember. It was smooth without sacrificing too much sharpness, with the benefit of no blade wax.

Basted myself with Fine Platinum AS and EdT...feeling good!


Serivce this morning, a meeting about starting up a mentor ship program in the church this afternoon, bible study later...and possibly a trip to the Drive-in later to catch the new Fantastic Beasts? We’ll see! It’s shaping up into a good day.

Hope yours is too! Have a blessed Sunday!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #230:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (6), RR Game Changer .68, Super-Max Super Platinum blade (2), RR Big Bruce synth, William’s soap (as preshave), Catie’s Bubbles Un Jour Gris soap, generic witch hazel, and Pitralon Classic AS to close!

Good shave today!

Video should finish processing soon!

Just as a reminder, if any questions about technique or shave process come up, feel free to ask and I’ll try to help!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #231:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (7), RR Game Changer .68, Super-Max Super Platinum blade (3), RR Big Bruce synth, William’s soap (as preshave), DR Harris soap, generic witch hazel, and Proraso Red AS to close!

Good shave today after sleeping in a bit. I think the air quality is finally getting to me, or I’m falling a bit under the weather. My throat is a bit sore and scratchy, and I’m fairly tired waking up, even after a decent time of rest.

Not much to note, everything is performing near flawlessly the last few days. Even the DRH gave up a pretty good lather!

This week’s work schedule is 2 days on, 2 days off, 1 on, then back to my normal Sun/Mon off. 3 day work week, whoop whoop! A lot will be going on for RTFTH, but most every other normal weekday group is canceled for the holiday. So it’ll be a strange sort of busy I guess.

Have a great Tuesday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Open Blade Shave #232:

Gear: Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade (8), RR Game Changer .68, Super-Max Super Platinum blade (4), RR Big Bruce synth, William’s soap (as preshave), Scheermonnik Delfts Wit soap, generic witch hazel, and Myrsol Formula C AS to close!

Good shave today, topped off with a healthy “glug” worthy splash of Myrsol C. The Super-Max felt a little less smooth today. It wasn’t tugging though, just a subtle change in the way the blade felt from the last few shaves.

One thing I wanted to highlight is how awesome the glass Myrsol AS bottles are. They just fit really well in a one hand hold given how big the bottle is. I think the story is that the Myrsol line (and bottle) were thought up by an actual barber. The juice feels fantastic too!


It hit me today watching Chad’s video...tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I mean I’ve known it, but it still just sounded weird and caught me off guard. I just feels too soon!

Should be a quiet day today at work. About the only thing happening is packet handout by RTFTH. I get to go in and close early, which is nice. I do get the next two days off as well!

One more bit of good news, we’ve had a little rain! Just a light fall so far, enough to get everything wet, but I hope it continues throughout the day. It’ll really help the air.

Enjoy your Wednesday all!