First SR shave

[GearNoir]

Shave #342 (378 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Wizamet blade, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL SIR Fougere tonsorial, Pinaud Special Reserve, and Stirling Glastonbury to finish!

Video is up on the Tube - GearNoir’s Shave Log!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #343 (379 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Wizamet blade, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Vito’s Extra Super soap, Barbasol PR AS, and Jean Phillipe 1 Million clone frag to finish!

It’d been a long time, months, since I used an Italian almond scented soap...so I brought out the Vito’s! Overall pretty good shave. I did decapitate and dig in to a couple growing pimples though, so that roughed things up a bit. Nothing a little alum and post shave couldn’t fix though!

Back to work in a couple hours. Should be a couple level weeks, steadily slowing down before the new year...then ramping up right away for 10 weeks of Upward basketball and super late-night Saturdays. If there’s anything I appreciate about this time of year, besides family time, it’s the slowing down. It doesn’t feel as molasses as it used to, but I still feel it. Looking forward to it!

Have a great Tuesday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #344 (379 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Wizamet blade, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Proraso Red soap, Proraso Red AS, and Czech & Speake Frankincense & Myrrh frag to finish!

Off to work early today since not much is happening later tonight.

School bus duties completed. Freshen up n 3 pass shave completed. Cup o coffee en route. Let’s do this thing!

Have a great Wednesday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #345 (380 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, RR GC .68, Wizamet blade, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Yaqi SF synth brush, CBL Money tonsorial soap, Lucky Tiger AS, and Rosemary/Cinnamon/Lime EO to finish!

Last night was nice. Came home from my early shift to a yummy hot dinner and spent some time with the whole family. When the kids went off to bed, the missus and I had time to watch some more episodes of The Office. I think we’re just over half way through the show? Its

Up a little early and off to sit in on the last senior’s morning bible study till the New Year.

Freshened up with a shower n nice shave, no incidents. Not that it’ll matter much, my boss decided that today is the day we disassemble the massive stage extension that we put up for the Christmas concert and put it back in storage till next use. It’s not hard per se...just a lot of heavy lifting.

Have a great Thursday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #346 (381 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Wizamet blade, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Yaqi SF synth brush, Monkey Pucks soap, Lucky Tiger AS, and Greet Aventus clone to finish!

Groggy morning...cup o joe in hand...

Today’s shave had two purposes: 1) Try out @imatabor ’s soap and 2) have a chance to use the Greet clone for a specific reason.

I am very excited to be able to try John’s (wife’s) shave soap. It’s very cool to be able to make your own, one of these days I hope to be able to try! Sadly, upon opening the package I discovered the puck had largely broken up into many smaller pieces and small chunks, even worse. The soap, while hard, is fairly brittle. It crumbles with moderate pressure, and is difficult to reconstitute and mold without adding water. Sadly this means I had to attempt to press some into a small bowl so I could try and lather it up. The consistency of the puck reminded me a lot of the Cherry City Shave soap sample I had a while back. I did end up working up a serviceable lather with my average load time (most soaps I load more than enough in less than 15 seconds), enough for 2 passes; I had to reload a bit for the 3rd. I think next time I’ll try loading from the hand with one of the bigger chunks.

I subjected it to my normal Feather/GC combo shave. The lather itself was nice, not airy, but it was slightly transparent. The slickness and face feel was OK. It washed off fairly cleanly. The scent was strong and fun - a combo between a fruity Bubble Yum and the way a banana Laffy Taffy tastes. With my normal post shave routine, my face is not dried out, but I didn’t feel much in the way of skin food. In its current state, which may not be entirely accurate because of my need to try bowl lathering, and some benefit of the doubt, I’d place it about on par with (or maybe just under) a classic drug store soap. Pretty good for a first iteration! My secret ninja corporate espionage guy tells me a second iteration has been created. Excited to see where it leads!

Now my blurb about the Greet Aventus clone. The first two times I used it, it was great, a pretty decent iteration of the Aventus dry down. The last couple times I’ve used it, a strange kind of harsh cumin/chili powder scent has started popping up when first sprayed and has become more prevalent. Today confirmed it, I even shook it up a bit and let a handful of full sprays out into the back yard in hopes of “clearing” the pump of whatever it might have been. No luck. Not sure if something’s gone bad or I just didn’t pick up on it before. Bummer!

Anyway that’s enough of that. I get some early closings today and tomorrow, so off to work soon.

Have a great Friday all!

 

[kingfisher]

Chris,

Thanks for documenting your shaves. I checked out one of the videos in which you used CBL's tonsorial soap. Lather looked nice, and the shave looked effortless. You've really got a great technique with the Feather SS now.

You probably know this already, but I've also become a convert of the folding Feather SS. Had an amazing shave with it this morning. I am using Schick Prolines, which I like a lot. The only other blade I've tried is the Feather ProGuard. Not too fond of it, and I don't need the guards.

I am hoping that Santa will bring a few sample blades for Christmas, including the Feather Pros and also some of the Kai offerings. I don't have high hopes that any of these will unseat the Proline, but I want to try them just to find out for myself what works best for me.

 

[GearNoir]

Chris,

Thanks for documenting your shaves. I checked out one of the videos in which you used CBL's tonsorial soap. Lather looked nice, and the shave looked effortless. You've really got a great technique with the Feather SS now.

You probably know this already, but I've also become a convert of the folding Feather SS. Had an amazing shave with it this morning. I am using Schick Prolines, which I like a lot. The only other blade I've tried is the Feather ProGuard. Not too fond of it, and I don't need the guards.

I am hoping that Santa will bring a few sample blades for Christmas, including the Feather Pros and also some of the Kai offerings. I don't have high hopes that any of these will unseat the Proline, but I want to try them just to find out for myself what works best for me.

Thank you good Doctor! Great to hear from you Randall! I hope all is well with you and your family.

Glad you’re finding continued success with the SS. I think I have one or two what might my be Proline blades squirreled away, haven’t tried any yet though. I’ve still been chugging along with Feather Pros. I hear very good things about the Schicks though for AC style SEs, they’re like the smooth, sharp GSBs/Wizamets of the AC world.

CBL’s soaps could easily be my every day shaves forever, the “lesser” tonsorial soaps included. He’s got just enough variety of scents to keep things interesting and the quality is top notch. The tonsorial are excellent value to boot.

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #347 (382 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Wizamet blade, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL Blind Test #2 soap, Lucky Tiger AS, and Cypress/Melaleuca/Siberian Fir EO to finish!

Today’s shave was focused on beginning use of the 3 mystery test soaps @CBLindsay sent out solely in the name of shave science. The testers don’t know where the product is from or what it’s made of, but there are 4 observations we need to make for each sample, using each at least a couple of times:
- Basic lather character
- Basic post shave qualities
- Post shave feel
- Other observations

I’ll be subjecting each sample to at least 2 shaves in a row, using my normal gear to reduce variables - a RR Big Bruce synthetic, Feather AC SS w/ Feather Pro blade, and RR GC .68 w/ Wizamet blade. Each sample will be bloomed for at least a couple minutes and loaded for about 15 seconds, then face lathered. I’ll be doing a normal, basics post shave routine which includes a lather-soak, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Lucky Tiger.

Writing this up at work and forgot to take a picture of what each section should detail, so I’m winging it here.

Today’s 1st shave with Sample #2:
- Basic lather character: creamy, slightly transparent, felt slick working it up but during shave slickness felt barely adequate
- Basic post shave qualities: washed off fairly cleanly and easily, little residual slickness, hard to do no-relather spot clean up
- Post shave feel: skin felt slightly dried before post shave routine, after it felt just under “normalized”, could still feel some roughness
- Other observations: everything felt really nice until the shave started, then it just felt average, felt lesser than the tonsorial line, is put this sample on par with a classic drug store soap

Just waiting for the part now where, after this is al done, Chris comes and tells us we’re all fools and this was all the same soap of his premium line. :ROFLMAO:

Anyway...back to work!
Have a great Saturday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #348 (383 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Wizamet blade, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL Blind Test #2 soap, Lucky Tiger AS, and Dior Sauvage to finish!

Today was the second and final use of the CBL #2 test soap. After it dries out some, it gets a one way ticket to the Clown Puke tub!
- Basic lather character: very creamy, maybe even silky, moderate density, a little fluffy
- Basic shave qualities: little protectiveness, just-enough slickness, little residual slickness, washed off fairly cleanly
- Post shave feel: little to no post-shave feel, feels a little “rough” from the shave, skin feels slightly dried and less conditioned than normal
- Other observations: surprisingly I felt really good about the lathering today, the soap exploded into a light, creamy lather in seconds, my 15 second load got me enough for 5+ passes and I didn’t need to add any extra water today for whatever reason (bloomed soap and moderately wet brush); once again felt like almost all the “soap stuff” was removed with each stroke of the razor, barely enough slickness for a pass, cleared skin dried fairly quickly after each stroke, skin required re-wetting to coax out any leftover slickness

At church already, as the missus has coffee bar opening duties. She’s passing off the ministry to another galshe’s become good friends with who has a great gift of hospitality. Sadly, it may mean my Sunday morning free coffee/pastry supply may be cut off.

Other than that, may have to do a bit of yard work, a load or two of laundry...then chillllllll.

Have a blessed Sunday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #349 (38 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, Gillette Slim, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL Blind Test #3 soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger, and Chatillion Lux Lavande Poivre to finish!


Today was the first use of the CBL #3 test soap!

- Basic lather character: slightly thicker/more substantive lather than #2, seemed to take more water, slightly more difficult to wash off, left behind slickness layer
- Basic shave qualities: felt a touch more protective than #2, slightly slicker for passes than #2, slightly better residual slickness than #2, surprisingly lather did not feel as light/silky as #2
- Post shave feel: skin did not feel as dried or “worn” post shave, skin felt more “healthy” and “nice” than #2
- Other observations: overall, first use, I would call #3 a “better” soap right off the bat, the differences from #2 were noticeable, though still slight, soap would be categorized as likely on par with decent artisan soap vs classic drug store

Video is up on the Tube - GearNoir’s Shave Log!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #350 (385 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, Gillette Slim, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL Blind Test #3 soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger, and Le Labo Bergamote 22 to finish!


Today was the second use of the CBL #3 test soap!

- Basic lather character: slightly thicker/more substantive lather than #2, seemed to take more water, slightly more difficult to wash off, left behind slickness layer
- Basic shave qualities: felt a noticably more protective than #2, slightly slicker for passes than #2, noticeably better residual slickness than #2, surprisingly lather did not feel as silky as #2
- Post shave feel: skin did not feel dried or “worn” post shave, skin felt more “healthy” and “nice” than #2
- Other observations: overall second use confirms and solidifies thoughts, especially since my Slim shaves (used yesterday) are more rough than my GC (used today) shaves, I would call #3 a superior soap over #2, the differences from #2 were better noticeable today, soap would be categorized as likely on par with decent artisan soap

Back to work today. Christmas schedule is solidified, sadly not ideal for me, but someone’s got to do it - I’ll be closing up Christmas Eve (final service will end around midnight), we have Christmas off, then I’ll be opening the day after Christmas. Needless to say, Christmas Day will be a rush - a quick Christmas morning at home, then off to visit both sets of grandparents and sides of the family, then back home at a reasonable hour hopefully that night. At least there won’t be much happening besides the Christmas Eve services and a few of the regular meetings.

Have a great Tuesday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #351 (386 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, Gillette Slim, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL Blind Test #1 soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger, and Jean Philippe 1 Million clone to finish!

Today was the first use of the CBL #1 test soap!

- Basic lather character: not as silky as #2 but maybe more so than #3, probably most substantive/most structure of the trio, took more water than #2 but slightly less perhaps than #3, washed off a tad easier than #3
- Basic shave qualities: good in-shave slickness, residual slickness was good enough for limited light touch up (slightly improved with a little wetting)
- Post shave feel: face feels very similar to how it did for #3, maybe slightly less, a little more dry/worn from shave (both blades have a lot of shaves on them), skin still feels supple though
- Other observations: interesting to note with soap #2 & #3 - scraping #2 out of the bowl, it was flaky/semi-crumbly, scraping #3 out of the bowl, it was much more like putty and easier to manipulate, overall I might say that #3 is ever so slightly superior

Call me crazy, Insurgent smells good off the sample but once I lathered it, there’s something slightly reminiscent of the way Night Music smells off the puck. It caught me by surprise when I whiffed it lurking very quietly in the background, but it was there.

Followup doctor’s appointment from some bloodwork today, then in a bit early to work. Going to be a slow, rainy day, and I’m OK with that!

Have a great Wednesday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #352 (387 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, Gillette Slim, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL Blind Test #1 soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger, and Humorous TDH clone to finish!

Today was the 2nd and final use of the CBL #1 test soap! Yesterday’s findings mostly confirmed, though today’s shave was slightly better than yesterday’s.

- Basic lather character: #1 had probably the same amount of protection/cushion as #2, but with better slickness, structure not as silky as #2 but more substantial than #3, washed off a easier than #3, not as slick or residuals slick as #3
- Basic shave qualities: decent in-shave slickness, residual slickness was OK enough for limited light touch up (slightly improved with a little wetting)
- Post shave feel: face feels very similar to how it did for #3, maybe slightly less, a little more dry/worn from shave (both blades have a lot of shaves on them), skin still feels supple though and finishes normalizing quickly enough for me
- Other observations: interesting to note with soap #2 & #3 - I will say that #3 is noticeably superior because of its slickness and residual slickness

For anyone counting or who hasn’t, this sets #3 at the definite top, #1 in reasonably close second, and #2 definitely, solidly last for shave/face feel preference.

Off to work in a bit.

The oldest had his last high school preview visit this morning and has settled on his top two choices for next year. Both have decent MESA-ish programs, which is what he’s interested in. Apparently these days, no one really goes to their neighborhood school anymore. Everything is planned out. It’s both silly and sad. Silly because having to plan a school path from birth to graduate school is ridiculous. Sad because it partially due to education funding and lack of quality education at some levels.

Anyways...have a great Thursday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #353 (387 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Wizamet blade, Yaqi SF synth brush, CBL Roasted Oatmeal Stout soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Old Spice to finish!

Truly a nice shave experience to get back to one of CBL’s premium bases after those 6 days of trial testing! I did make one boo-boo on my shave test posts, I only used the Slim one time, I just forgot to switch the text back to the GC after.

Going in early today for work; it’s gonna be pretty dead this weekend except for a memorial and Sunday services. Going to have to find a nice project to keep everyone busy.

News is official from some out of state family, one of my sisters-in-law, after a good 10 years or so in Tennessee, their house is sold and they are on the road with their moving truck, headed to CA. My wife’s family is ecstatic that it’s finally happened. They’ll be here by Monday hopefully!

Have a great Friday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #354 (387 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Wizamet blade, Yaqi SF synth brush, CBL 50 SoV soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Fine Platinum AS, and Fine Platinum EdT to finish!

Off to work soon, for an early day!

Refreshing shower n shave this morning. Keeping with just the GC probably through tomorrow. Time to change the Wizamet though I think. Trying to become more comfortable with doing less cleanup occasionally. It’s really a pain to get everything on the mustache area and the chin without roughening your the shave a bit; and with my hair/skin combo, even if I walk away BBS, I still have a slight shadow. Also trying to get over my miserly ways of not using nice things on work days. Who says a custodian can’t smell good?!

Family has the sniffles and coughs...trying not to succumb.

Two days off after this, then I work Christmas Eve (we have 4 services that day - 5, 7, 9, and 11), then Christmas off, followed by 3 days back at work. Looking forward to the big C-mas day!

Have a great Saturday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #356 (387 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Sputnik blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL Cherry Blossom & Bamboo soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger AS, and Mr Burberry frag to finish!

Ended up staying home from services since the family isn’t feeling well. So everyone got some rest at least.

Was reminded today why my little tuck of Sputnik’s only had one blade out of it used...they are just middling. Feels smooth out of the wrapping, but lacks the preferred sharpness. It had a little trouble with the chin stubble but I got through it. Actual shave results were good, just some of the strokes felt off or a little rough. The missus said nothing too powdery today, so I went with one of her favorites, Mr Burberry, for the finishing touch. Another purple/blurple scent, better than Sauvage though I think; I’m surprised she hasn’t commented on that one.

The family had a great time at a Christmas party for my mom’s side of the family hosted by one of my cousins, despite being a little under the weather. That side of the family goes overboard in generosity for the kids. They’ve all come from very little and most have built themselves success at some level or another. All the kid cousins in attendance got electric Razor scooters among other fun things. Pretty cool!

Luckily my cousin doesn’t live overly far away, because everyone forgot a bunch of stuff there...so we have to drive back for a short visit pretty quickly. I guess it’s fine though ultimately, I don’t get to see them at the annual events much because I’m usually working.

Have a blessed Sunday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #357 (388 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Sputnik blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Parson’s Mug soap beta v1, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger, and Cypress/Melaleuca/Siberian Fir EO to finish!

First shave and thoughts with a beta puck sample from a new artisan - Parson’s!

Video is up on the Tube - GearNoir’s Shave Log!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #358 (389 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Sputnik blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Parson’s Mug soap beta v1, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger, and Dior Sauvage to finish!

Another good shave with the Parson’s v1, reinforced my thoughts from yesterday about this being just a good “git er dun” shave soap. Intrigued to try the v2!

No chance of reaching 400 open blade shaves this year now. It’s all good; finishing the last 10 or so after the new year will start me off strong. I think I’ll swap out this terrible Sputnik though and load a Gillette Platinum to finish this year with the GC.

Working on using up this Sauvage sample. It’s nice but not a bit for me. If I can salvage the atomizer without issue, I’ll load it up with my TF Oud Wood sample which has been waiting in the wings.

Heading in to work late this afternoon, since I have to stay to close up after all the Christmas Eve services wrap up (last one ends around midnight). It’ll be a fairly easy night though since nothing else is really going on.

Have a blessed Christmas Eve all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #359 (389 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Gillette Platinum blade, Sorrentino TSC 1st Anniversary badger brush, CBL Oud Minerale soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Speick AS, and Tom Ford Oud Minerale to finish!

Got home at about 1:30 this morning, finally fell asleep around 2. Up at 8 ish for the kids and presents for our family.

A bit rushed to get out the door and on the road this morning...but I wouldn’t dare step out without my special shave! Anniversary brush started shedding again; I’ll give it some time, then try and replace the knot I think.

Got some nice scores for Christmas including some AOS Bourbon shave cream, some starter essential oil items and scents, and a nice canvas dopp bag!

Not looking forward to my opening shift in the morning, but looking forward to spending the rest of this day with family!

Have a blessed Christmas Day all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #360 (389 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Gillette Platinum blade, RR Big Bruce brush, Parson’s Mug soap v1, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Skin Bracer AS, and MK Cityscape to finish!

Been up a few hours and already at work for the opening shift. So dead...so quiet! Good!

Used Parson’s Mug v1 for the third and final time today for a quick 3 pass, post shower. It’s just a solid, reliable basic artisan soap! It’ll get scraped out of the mug some time after work and moshed into the Clown Puke tub, then v2 will be loaded up for tomorrow. Interested to see what differences may be in store!

Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind day, but it was a good time with family and both sides of extended family. The kids made out like bandits of course! I got some nice stuff that I’ll try to post later - a nice backup dopp bag, a nice starting selection of essential oils, some jojoba carrier oil, some pipettes and glass vials/roll-ons to dispense into, and the AOS cream from my Rudolph buddy!

We also brought home our new-to-us doggie. She is a shorter haired, brown/black Dachshund named Nohea (pronounced like “no hair” but without the “r” sound, it’s Hawaiian for handsome or pretty). The introduction to the other two dogs went really smoothly; we were surprised but very relieved. My sister-in-law couldn’t keep her in the move back to CA, so we volunteered, well, the missus volunteered as she’s really wanted one...our second dog (German Shepherd/Collie mix) was supposed to have been a Dachshund.

Anyway, post is long enough!

Happy Thursday all!