First SR shave

[GearNoir]

Shave #361 (390 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Gillette Platinum blade, RR Big Bruce brush, Parson’s Mug soap v2, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger AS, and Frankincense & Sandalwood EO to finish!

Up to bat today for a first use was Parson’s Mug soap v2!

Where to start? I think it’s important to note that both Parson’s formulas were superior to the original Monkey Puck formula. The differences between the Parson’s v1 and v2 were mostly slight except for a few things. Nothing scientific here, just sensory feeling.

The v2 lather was a bit thicker and more creamy than v1. It felt less “synthetic” than v1, whatever that means, lol (modern Williams lather feels synthetic to me as did Monkey Puck and slightly Parson’s v1). Hard to tell, but In-shave slickness was either on par or slightly less than v1 (still adequate but felt more blade when using Feather). Residual slickness was better than v1 especially with a little water. Felt like v2 was trying to up the post shave feel a bit? Felt felt right/dried briefly about 5-15 minutes after the shave, but then felt fine. V2 did not wash off as cleanly as Monkey Puck or v1 if someone was looking for that trait; I didn’t mind because it didn’t feel gross.

Slightly early work days today and tomorrow. Should be quiet and fairly smooth sailing to New Years Eve.

Have a great Friday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #362 (391 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Gillette Platinum blade, RR Big Bruce brush, Parson’s Mug soap v2, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger AS, and Rosemary/Cinnamon/Lime EO to finish!

Second and final shave with Parson’s v2 today!

I think my thoughts from yesterday are simply confirmed, Parson’s is a good artisan soap! One new bit of information that was confirmed was that it feels as if John borrowed a page from Chris’ book (not saying he actually did) for v2 and allowed the soap base a voice. Chris’ premium wagyu base is the only soap where I can smell the soap base coming through other added scents. John’s v2 now joins that group and definitely has a distinct base scent - a cross between grittled hamburger fat rendering and grittled bacon grease renderings...the meat lover in me likes it! Another confirmation I got from today’s shave is that v2 is a touch less slick in-shave than v1, though it it superior in all other areas.

Final thoughts - I actually prefer v1 but I think that most people would enjoy v2 the best. Why? That extra bit of in-shave slickness works better for me. Every other characteristic of v1 is just good enough to allow that preference. I think v1 could easily be John’s basic soap, while v2, if it could capture that sliver of in-shave slickness back, could be marketed as his premium base; as I said, it is superior in all other ways to v1.

Well done John, good and faithful soap maker! :ROFLMAO:

Off for an early day at work. I’m ready for my weekend!

Have a great Saturday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #363 (391 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Schick M Adjustable injector, Schick Injector II blade, Yaqi SF synth brush, AOS Bourbon cream soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and ADG Absolu Instinct to finish!

Couldn’t wait any longer! Had to try my AOS Bourbon from @lbkindy !

It’s been a long time since I’ve used an AOS cream and I’ve never had the privilege of a full tub. When I did use it (their Sandalwood) it was probably the best shave cream out of any I tried! It’s exactly like I remember, excellent! Of course...I loaded way too much, but I worked it up and slipped it around anyway and it was luxurious in lather and scent for sure! The scent is a rich, deep, sweet bourbon, with a touch of boozy, a touch of wood, and a touch of powder. It paired with ADG Absolu Instinct’s dry down perfectly! As much as I enjoyed it, there was one sad note to the shave...a bit of burning on the cheeks; not full blown allergic reaction thankfully, but something. I’m going to give it another go tomorrow, with a proper load, and see if it happens again. I’ll be pretty bummed if it does, I love AOS scentings and this is no exception!

I also used the cheater razor for the shave today! It’s been a little while since I used that too. I wanted to try the Schick twin blade...not bad! Great shave of course (the M is cheating!) but the twin blade wasn’t mind blowing. Loading the blade was a pain, I think the dispenser I got in a trade is a little wonky, but the Schicks are definitely smoother and sharper out of the box than the Supply (Personna?) blades. I’ll give it another go to tomorrow!

Of to our 5th Sunday service, where we all cram into one service and then have a gigantic potluck after!

Have a blessed Sunday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #364 (391 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Schick M Adjustable, Schick Injector II blade, Yaqi SF synth brush, AOS Bourbon cream soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Zaharoff Pour Homme to finish!

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

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #365 (391 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: iKon X3 slant, Astra SP blade, Sorrentino TSC 1st Anniversary badger brush, Soapy Science Citrus Lollipop soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Jean Philippe 1 Million clone to finish!

Got a text last night toward the end of watching Star Wars with the family, that my coworker’s son was super sick. She was to open but wanted to switch...so I’ve been up a couple hours and am at work already.
Today was my first use of Soapy Science ever and Citrus Lollipop was the flavor! Pretty good for the school science project it started out as! In-shave I think it checks most boxes. The lather might be a little light and not super creamy, but it’s not slouch either. It washes cleanly very easily and the scent is light and fresh smelling citrus mixed with something else I can’t put a finger on, but is great! I think the only area it falls short in is residual slickness and perhaps some post-shave goodies. Still, my skin feels fairly good!

Have a great Tuesday all and a safe, fun New Year's Eve!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #1 (391 Open Blade Shaves) of 2020:

Gear: iKon El Jefe v1, Feather Pro blade, Sorrentino TSC 1st Anniversary badger brush, CBL SIR Fougere tonsorial soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, SV 70th AS, and Guerlain Vetiver to finish!

Decided to bring out the beast, El Jefe. It’s the first iteration with the adjustability “feature”...so after a little fiddling it was set properly and ready to go! That’ll be one of my shave goals for the new year, getting an AC SE that I can use daily if I like - General, ATT SE, or Vector I think. The El Jefe is nice, but even at its smoothest configuration, it take a decent amount of attention. Anyway, 3 moderately smooth passes with the most excellent CBL tonsorial and some skin food rich SV 70th AS...shave excellence! Going to be using the Guerlain Vetiver sample a bit more freely now that I have the monstro bottle on the way.

Last holiday day off for a little while, bittersweet, but it’ll be a day with family!

Happy Wednesday and Happy New Year all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #2 (391 Open Blade Shaves) of 2020:

Gear: iKon El Jefe v1, Feather Pro blade, Yaqi SF synth brush, CBL 50 Shades of Vetiver soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Pinaud Citrus Musk, and Rosemary/Cinnamon/Lime EO to finish!

Nice shave today. Back to work for a 3 day stretch.

Nice chill day with the family yesterday. Ended up going to Ikea and picking up some new area rugs for the dining and living room areas. Our refinance has finished and we now have an eye over next few months toward fixing our electrical and plumbing issues. Hoping we don’t have to spend every cent of what we pulled out, but if we have to, we have to.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Challenge:

Posted up to the Tube - GearNoir’s Shave Log!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #3 (391 Open Blade Shaves) of 2020:

Gear: Schick L injector, Schick blade, Yaqi Rainbow synth brush, CBL Roasted Oatmeal Stout soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Ogalalla Bay Rum & Sandalwood AS to finish!

I’ve really got to get my butt back into gear for the new year...at some point...

Decided to try two of my new acquisitions from @mrdoug - the Schick L and Yaqi Rainbow brown synth. In case you want to skim - they’re both wow!

I knew the Schick L was reportedly mild...totally true! This thing is like cruise control mild, but totally gets the job done too! 3 passes, BBS, zero irritation or battle damage. I’d have to compare it to a Schick M on setting 1 or 2, or a Tech II clone. Love it!

The Yaqi Rainbow synth (It’s actually called the Brown synth with Rainbow handle...but that’s lame). This is the first time I’ve tried a more traditional “barbershop” handle (this is like a bigger, fatter, rounder version of a Rubberset). It’s a 26mm like my RR Big Bruce but overall a much taller brush. The free loft is about the same as the Big Bruce too (where as I’d say the 24mm Yaqi SF is set deeper for more backbone), but has a totally different feel without sacrificing performance. This thing totally has gel tips! Super soft feeling, with some flop, very gentile in the skin but still can make a great lather.

In a bit early to work today and tomorrow, which will be nice. Not a whole lot going in either.

We’ve scheduled the first of our “repair” jobs to be done. One will be a swapping out of our outlets to see if it helps with our flickering lights situation in some rooms. The other is a debris and minor pest clean out in our crawl space, that way my brother-in-law can better get to the plumbing and hopefully fix our laundry machine back-up issues. Let the slow money bleed begin!

Have a great Friday all!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #4 (392 Open Blade Shaves) of 2020:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, Stirling 2-band synth brush, CBL Balsamic Oud tonsorial soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Skin Bracer, and Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee to finish!

Two more new to me items today, as well as first use of the classic Noir set up for the New Year...meaning first open blade shave of the new year too!

First up - Stirling 2-band synth. Overall a solid synth, ever so slightly different than a RR Plissoft or Yaqi. More details: 24mm, probably closer to Plissoft knot (it may actually be one, I’ve only used 26mm Plissoft) than Yaqi, fine for face lathering, just enough backbone, a gentle scritch, builds and holds lather great.

Next up - CBL Balsamic Oud tonsorial. Guys weren’t lying when they said the scent was light lol...but it’s there, it’s pleasant, it’s clean. Great CBL tonsorial performance. You can easily use any follow up AS or frag of your choice. Happy to have my hands on more CBL!

Off to work soon! Had a nice early morning rain, the rest of the weekend will be a mix of sun and moderate cloud cover. Hoping to try my first pipe smoke tonight or tomorrow!

Have a great Saturday all!

 

[VBH37118]

Shave #4 (392 Open Blade Shaves) of 2020:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, Stirling 2-band synth brush, CBL Balsamic Oud tonsorial soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Skin Bracer, and Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee to finish!

Two more new to me items today, as well as first use of the classic Noir set up for the New Year...meaning first open blade shave of the new year too!

First up - Stirling 2-band synth. Overall a solid synth, ever so slightly different than a RR Plissoft or Yaqi. More details: 24mm, probably closer to Plissoft knot (it may actually be one, I’ve only used 26mm Plissoft) than Yaqi, fine for face lathering, just enough backbone, a gentle scritch, builds and holds lather great.

Next up - CBL Balsamic Oud tonsorial. Guys weren’t lying when they said the scent was light lol...but it’s there, it’s pleasant, it’s clean. Great CBL tonsorial performance. You can easily use any follow up AS or frag of your choice. Happy to have my hands on more CBL!

Off to work soon! Had a nice early morning rain, the rest of the weekend will be a mix of sun and moderate cloud cover. Hoping to try my first pipe smoke tonight or tomorrow!

Have a great Saturday all!

Parker srx cold water with feather half blade and bar soap, horse hair brush

 

[GearNoir]

Parker srx cold water with feather half blade and bar soap, horse hair brush

Nice, simple, effective!

 

[VBH37118]

After many different set ups and trying different techniques over 47 years, I seem to like the simplicity of it

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #5 (392 Open Blade Shaves) of 2020:

Gear: Schick M Adjustable injector, Schick Twin blade, Stirling 2-band synth brush, Stirling Agar soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Fine AB AS, and Fine AB EdT to finish!

At church already, so I’ll be brief.

First use (pretty sure) of Stirling soap today. I recently received a tub of their Agar scent. It is a curious one that’s for sure - off the tub I only get a sweet musky kind of conglomeration but once lathered you the scent strings put into sweet, slightly cologne, with a deeper background line of wood and what I perceive as cured tobacco. As for performance, I can easily see now why Stirling is a baseline artisan soap for some folks...solid all the way around!

3 quick passes, post shower, with the ‘Jectah and plentiful application of Fine AB AS and EdT...then it was out the door with the family.

No real plans today. Maybe I’ll have that first pipe later!

Have a blessed Sunday all!

 

[VBH37118]

Same to you, sounds like a well rounded routine for a Sunday morning.

 

[GearNoir]

Same to you, sounds like a well rounded routine for a Sunday morning.

Thank you sir! I try to do my “classier” shaves on Sundays...live it up a little!

 

[VBH37118]

5th straight razor shave of 2020. First shave with a parker srw , perma sharp super half de blade. Cold water, one pass plus touch up, yardley bar soap ccs bbs in some parts. Just a side note the srw seems to shave closer than the srx, though the metal locking arm is made better on the srx , who knows.

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #6 (393 Open Blade Shaves) of 2020:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, Schick L injector, Schick blade, Yaqi Rainbow brown synth brush, DG After the Rain soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Speick AS, and Guerlain Vetiver to finish!

Video will be up later today on the Tube - GearNoir’s Shave Log! Post shave, skin feels pretty good!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #7 (394 Open Blade Shaves) of 2020:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, RR GC .68, Gillette Platinum blade, Stirling 2-band synth brush, CBL Money tonsorial soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Pinaud Citrus Musk, and Rosemary/Cinnamon/Lime EO to finish!

Back to work today. This last weekend was good...it actually felt like a weekend off.

Blade in the GC was feeling a little rough, took a peek and I found that I had been mistaken, it was not a Wizamet, but a Gillette Platinum. It definitely needs changing! Otherwise great shave sailing.

Upward Basketball season started this last Sunday and the evening practices schedule will start settling in this week.

Here we go!

Have a great Tuesday all!

 

[VBH37118]

7th 2020 shave with Parker srw with shark ss blade. Very nice shave, first ever with shark ss. This blade seems to get Adam’s apple the closest of all other blades including feathers.

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #8 (395 Open Blade Shaves) of 2020:

Gear: Feather AC SS folding, Feather Pro blade, Schick L injector, Schick blade, Stirling 2-band synth brush, Stirling Christmas Eve soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Bootlegger’s Bay Rum AS to finish!

Classic Dad move...first day back to my morning turn to take the kids to school...misremember the time to get everyone up...by an hour early! :ROFLMAO:

So how to kill the extra time? Popped on part of Flight of the Navigator for the kids while they ate breakfast and did my shave in peace!

First time use of Stirling Christmas Eve - good lather; scent is like a mash of holiday things, I mainly get Christmas tree and cinnamon pine cones with a little powder. Nice scent!

Wednesday night youth group and bible study groups start back up tonight at the church, along with pizza dinners. It’s nice to have the campus buzzing with activity during the week again. Should be fun!

Have a great Wednesday all!