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Fruity February

Still In GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF

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RazoRock Hawk
Feather AC Pro (23)
Pre de Provence Bergamont & Thyme
Simpson Emperor #1

Two careful, light touch, short stroke passes. A few slide strokes along the way and skin tightening here and there led to a DFS finish and no irritation. This soap has a refreshing scent...similar to Arko (which I like) but it doesn't dry out my skin. It is triple milled and I discovered bergamot is an orange fruit.
I think the blade will make it to the end of the month.

Please take care of yourself...and each other.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Another Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s decadent shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb
Personna GEM PTFE (7)
Damp washcloth aka “shave inky”
AP ShaveCo Cashmere 30mm synthetic brush
Pre-shave: Glycerin soap face wash with AP ShaveCo Cashmere and a dollop of aloe vera
Lather: Wickhams 1912 Club Cola Soap, face-lathered
Aftershave: Ulm Nom
Post-shave: hot shower
Post-shave: Mentholated Equate moisturizer

Used more soap in my pre-shave and then added a slightly larger amount of aloe vera to my whiskers before lathering with shave soap. Made my lather even wetter than the day before.

The blade cut even louder, but the popping sensation was lighter. Even though it is the popping sensation I’m chasing, a closer, gentler shave is a small price to pay for missing that mark.
 
Another Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s decadent shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb
Personna GEM PTFE (7)
Damp washcloth aka “shave inky”
AP ShaveCo Cashmere 30mm synthetic brush
Pre-shave: Glycerin soap face wash with AP ShaveCo Cashmere and a dollop of aloe vera
Lather: Wickhams 1912 Club Cola Soap, face-lathered
Aftershave: Ulm Nom
Post-shave: hot shower
Post-shave: Mentholated Equate moisturizer

Used more soap in my pre-shave and then added a slightly larger amount of aloe vera to my whiskers before lathering with shave soap. Made my lather even wetter than the day before.

The blade cut even louder, but the popping sensation was lighter. Even though it is the popping sensation I’m chasing, a closer, gentler shave is a small price to pay for missing that mark.
Your binky became inky!? I suspect that @InkStainedWretch may have had a hand in it!
 
My friend sent me two B&M soaps he didn’t like. He rated both high for lather and shave quality, but low for scent. The other was Adagio (apparently B&M has a music inspired series?). It is a menthol soap, which I liked. I 3017ed it last summer.
I can't believe someone gifted you Adagio. I've been hunting that one for a long time. I wish Will would bring it back.

I'm glad you enjoyed it though.
 
This makes me wonder if beloved ARKO! could be included in the month’s theme.

@Time Bandit ?
Hmmmm. Now that's a good question.

Am I the only one that thinks there's a limey quality to Arko?? I'm wondering, wishing I had some lime E.O. to drop into some Arko lather for testing purposes.

But to the original question... Oh heck, I'll allow it. Arko is a Fruit!

Maybe @JAHE could run a test with some orange E.O. and see how that turns out. I'm curious now.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Another Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s decadent shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb
Personna GEM PTFE (8)
Damp washcloth aka “shave binky”
AP ShaveCo Cashmere 30mm synthetic brush
Pre-shave: Glycerin soap face wash with AP ShaveCo Cashmere and a dollop of aloe vera
Lather: Wickhams 1912 Club Cola Soap, face-lathered
Post-shave: Mentholated Equate moisturizer

I rubbed a good amount of glycerin soap on my face and used slow, deliberate painting strokes with most of the pressure skewed laterally to wash my face. After a good amount of time passed, I rinsed my face and brush, slapped on a dollop of aloe vera, and lathered my shave soap in much the same way.

Reduced my pressure more than I knew was possible and shaved away. The strokes were shorter, the time was longer, the popping sensation was there, the lather got refreshed frequently. Since my third One Blade In February was on its eight use, it didn’t match well with my fledgling efforts and synergistically bonded with my ineptitude to make everything slower. Still, comfy shave.

After shaving, I skipped the aftershave and went about my pre-shower rituals. The effect of this omission was to let the remaining film of lather dry on my skin and feel unpleasant. After a shower and some moisturizer, it was good enough.
 
Still In GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF

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RR Hawk
Feather AC (24)
Muhle XL STF
PAA menthol Cube 2.0
Proraso white
Ethos Melange d'agrume

Fellow GRUME and GRUYERE-er @JKaboom started a thread here.
His question:
My question is, I see on videos that people use pre-shave products like The Cube/The Cube 2.0/Proraso, etc. So I have a couple of questions:
1) Why not then just shave with that product if it provides a good slick surface
My response:
I have wondered about this too.
Tomorrow I'll use the Cube for the first pass and see what happens. If that goes good, I'll use Proraso white for the second pass. I gotta use a fruity soap (Fruity February) so that will be for the final pass.
1st Pass: PAA menthol Cube 2.0
This stuff lathers very easy and quickly. It was slick and the results were good. I think glycerine helps BUT... the lather dried quickly. On my neck i had to splash more water to retain the slickness...(Maybe I needed more water and less product when i applied to my face???)
2nd Pass: Proraso white
This is more like a cream and it does not lather. It was thin and slick but again, I missed the hydration from good ole water...(see comment in #1)
3rd Pass: Ethos Melange d'agrume
Ethos was slick and retained hydration. This pass was mostly for show to stay in the good graces of the Fruity February crowd.

IMHO, the Cube worked better than Proraso by itself. (YMMV)
I got a DFS+ finish with no irritation and am still enjoying the menthol finish.

So yes @JKaboom, IMHO, I had a good shave with "pre-shave" products and to be honest, I think the Cube could be adjusted with more water and work just fine. I also think top tier soaps (like Ethos) are just as slick, "wetter" and incorporate water in the lather better than a pre-shave by itself.

Please take care of yourself...and each other.
Tomorrow is Semogue Saturdays!
 
Another Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s decadent shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb
Personna GEM PTFE (8)
Damp washcloth aka “shave binky”
AP ShaveCo Cashmere 30mm synthetic brush
Pre-shave: Glycerin soap face wash with AP ShaveCo Cashmere and a dollop of aloe vera
Lather: Wickhams 1912 Club Cola Soap, face-lathered
Post-shave: Mentholated Equate moisturizer

I rubbed a good amount of glycerin soap on my face and used slow, deliberate painting strokes with most of the pressure skewed laterally to wash my face. After a good amount of time passed, I rinsed my face and brush, slapped on a dollop of aloe vera, and lathered my shave soap in much the same way.

Reduced my pressure more than I knew was possible and shaved away. The strokes were shorter, the time was longer, the popping sensation was there, the lather got refreshed frequently. Since my third One Blade In February was on its eight use, it didn’t match well with my fledgling efforts and synergistically bonded with my ineptitude to make everything slower. Still, comfy shave.

After shaving, I skipped the aftershave and went about my pre-shower rituals. The effect of this omission was to let the remaining film of lather dry on my skin and feel unpleasant. After a shower and some moisturizer, it was good enough.
I wanted to ask the question already on Wednesday, but then I forgot to raise the question.

What is the "popping effect" you are referring to?

Cheers
Guido
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
What is the "popping effect" you are referring to?

When the lather is very hydrated, the blade is keen enough, and the angle it smashes into the stubble is close enough, the whisker or whiskers present a small amount of resistance that then completely gives way. It’s not unlike the feeling of a balloon popping, but on a much smaller scale.

It also means the whiskers and lather could be more hydrated and the blade could be sharper and the whisker could be attacked at a better angle. With those deficiencies acknowledged, it’s still my exit from Scraped-Face City and brings me joy.
 
When the lather is very hydrated, the blade is keen enough, and the angle it smashes into the stubble is close enough, the whisker or whiskers present a small amount of resistance that then completely gives way. It’s not unlike the feeling of a balloon popping, but on a much smaller scale.

It also means the whiskers and lather could be more hydrated and the blade could be sharper and the whisker could be attacked at a better angle. With those deficiencies acknowledged, it’s still my exit from Scraped-Face City and brings me joy.
Thanks for the explanation. I have to be more focused during my next shaves, it appears. I might have experienced the effect, but I have not consciously noticed it...

Cheers!
 
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Razor: Tatara Masamune Nodachi Ti (open-comb & safety bar)
Blade: Dorco Titan (d3)

Soap: Australian Private Reserve & Southern Witchcrafts Gravefruit
Brush: Vikings Blade White Knight
Bowl: Bluff Cove Pottery

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum No-Slip Grip System w/ Dry Dock System
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Pinaud Citrus Musk EdC

Today I wanted to use both base plates for the Masamune Nodachi so I decided to open with the open-comb and then switch to the safety bar (closed-comb) base plate. I used the open-comb for the first pass and then made the change.

The open-comb is very efficient with a moderate amount of blade feel but in this form, the razor is deceiving. You definitely want to tread lightly or risk a nick or irritation.

With my first pass completed, I could feel that I could have stopped right then and would have had a legitimate dfs. With my love for a bbs face I pressed on. I did a couple more passes and earned that bbs I was in search of. This was in no small part due to the fantastic shaving soap I used today.

The Gravefruit soap is a collaboration between Australian Private Reserve and Southern Witchcrafts, and at this point, this version of the soap is unobtainium. It's sad and unfortunate but true.

The scent is fantastic! It's obviously very grapefruit-forward but has beautiful citrus and floral notes. I pick up some, of what I think is, magnolia and jasmine along with a bit of wood mixed in. I'm absolutely sold on this scent, want a set for my den and highly recommend this if you can find some.

When done with this nice shave I slapped on some Citrus Musk aftershave/EdC and called it a fantastic Fruity February Friday shave.

Happy Friday. Take care my friends and enjoy your shaves!
 
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