Fruity February

[tjsgarden]

Still In GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF
Semogue Saturdays!



RR Hawk
Feather DX (not in photo)
Feather AC Pro (#6 & #18)
Semogue SOC
B&M Nordost Orange

Good Day Gents
The first pass was with the Hawk and blade #6. I didn't plan on using the DX and was honestly thinking about putting blade #18 in retirement. On impulse, I picked up the DX and it was a revelation. The B&M soap was so slick, blade #18 glided across my skin as if I was using a new blade. The B&M hype is true. It is an excellent soap. A DFS+ was the results.
Tomorrow is Synthetic Sunday!

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

 

[Beto Salatini]

SOTD February 18th
GRUME February 2023
Fruity February
Semogue Saturdays


Hello friends!

Today we celebrate the first day of Carnival, this Roman festivity that Brazilians mixed with Portuguese, African and indigenous culture and created this wonderful melting pot that exists around here.

For this day, I chose for shaving a German razor, a Japanese blade, a Portuguese brush, a Turkish soap, a Brazilian alum block and an American AS. I participated in this trip along with my great friends Ben and Coleman.

Have a happy day and great shave!

 

[wes1953]

Orange Chill

 

[tjsgarden]

Synthetic Sundays!!!
Still In GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF


RR Hawk
Feather DX
Artist Club blades (#7 & #19)
Body Shop Maca Root & Aloe
Orange essential oil
Omega Evo 2.o

The Hawk razor exposes the edge of the blade quite a bit. I get above average audio feedback when using it. Todays goal was to reduce the feedback by refining my 'no pressure' technique to the extreme. The blade glided quietly and smoothly with the blade on it's 19th outing. I did the same extreme no pressure technique with the DX. All it took was two passes.

The Body Shop soap is no slouch. It was super hydrated and super slick. It has "Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract" (cucumber) in it but I added a couple drops of orange essential oil just to be safe with the Fruity February crowd. The orange extract really did brighten my mood.

I am really surprised how these Feather blades are holding up. I stropped both blades about 20 laps on my biceps.
Thanks to LJ, @LJBraaten for the stropping idea and Guido, @JAHE for the essential oil scheme to make any soap "fruity".

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

 

[thombrogan]

Another Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s decadent shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb + plastic RIGS shim
Personna GEM PTFE (3)
Damp washcloth aka “shave binky”
AP ShaveCo G5A 24mm 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

Stayed up later, went even steeper, and initially pressed harder. And scraped up my right sideburn area and upper lip. Went a little shallower and lighter for a delightful rest of the shave.

Seemingly unrelated, we finished another polyethylene bag of baked goods and that means I now have two plastic shims for my GEM and Ever-Ready brand safety razors.

 

[thombrogan]

Another Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s luxury shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb + plastic RIGS shim
Personna GEM PTFE (4)
Damp washcloth aka “shave binky”
AP ShaveCo G5A 24mm synthetic brush
Pre-shave: Glycerin soap face wash 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

Didn’t use the brush during my face wash. The less than constant barrage of water meant more clean up was needed. Otherwise, an overall gentler event

 

[tjsgarden]

Still In GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF
MdC/Muhle Monday

RR Hawk
Feather DX
Feather AC Pro (#8 & #20)
MdC Rose
Muhle XL Olive STF
Orange essential oil

It is day 20 with a blade in the Hawk I thought was done after shave #10. I am wondering how this blade will perform day to day. I know the real difference is learning to use the razor with "extreme no pressure"...and a super slick lather. The MdC Rose (with a couple drops of orange essential oil) made it easy. The second and touchup pass with the DX razor ( and blade usage #8) was just as good. Eight more days to go in February and I am thinking OBIF is doable; we will see. The MdC soap is exceptional.
Thanks LJ, @LJBraaten, I stropped the blades on my forearm today.

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

 

[JAHE]

Stirling Soap "Lime".
What an refreshing tart and juicy scent. Mouthwatering...

Cheers!

 

[Time Bandit]

Razor: Tatara Masamune Nodachi Ti
Blade: Gillette Nacet Stainless (d5)

Soap: K Shave Worx Grapelicious
Brush: Yaqi Purple Haze
Bowl: Tillamook Cobalt

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: Smilez Elixir The Blues (grooming oil)
Post 4: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Extra-Dry w/ Hyaluronic Acid

Today I felt an interest in going with both a fruity and unobtainium soap. This leads me to some wonderful K Shave Worx Grapelicious.

If you don't know this artisan business was run by a couple that started in 2015 and sadly closed in early 2022

Grapelicious was the first soap they started selling in October 2015 and was also re-released as part of their final batch before closing for good.

This soap's base performed very well. It easily whipped up into a nice quality lather. But the scent! This is an awesome grapelicious scent with a bit of barbershop added to it. The grape note is obvious and an easy win for me as I just so happened to love grape, but the subtle complexity of the added barbershop notes make the accord just so wonderful.

I did a three-pass shave with the Masamune Nodachi Ti, this time with the safety bar base plate and was treated with a highly efficient bbs shave. This was just a notch less aggressive than the open-comb base plate I used in my last shave.

Sticking with the fruit theme I applied some Smilez Elixir The Blues multi-purpose grooming oil. This stuff smells great as well with notes of Arabian sandalwood, bergamot, fern, saffron, Egyptian musk, patchouli, and blueberry. Overall it's a really good blueberry scent that I quite enjoy.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your shaves.

 

[JAHE]

It's back...
Tabac à L'Orange

A stellar shave. It's hard to imagine a more efficient shave than those being provided by the combo of my Mühle R41 GS loaded with a Feather (2).
Two easy passes wtg/atg and my skin felt like polished marble. No nicks or cuts - only that one mandatory little weeper, which I use to call "the Feather blemish". Once I rinsed my face it dissapeared.

Cheers, my fruity fellows!
Guido

 

[thombrogan]

Another Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s decadent shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb + plastic RIGS shim
Personna GEM PTFE (5)
Damp washcloth aka “shave inky”
AP ShaveCo G5A 24mm 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

The return of the AP ShaveCo Cashmere brush to the pre-shave face wash was a great comfort. Might’ve dumped all that extra comfort down the sink by using a little extra pressure to make long, sweeping strokes (comfortable during the shave, slightly regretful now). Well… Blade was sharp and soap was fruiy so some mission was accomplished.

Options for next shave (with/without RIGS, another razor, another razor with RIGS, shaving like a responsible groaHahahahAha…) and I’m psyched.

 

[tjsgarden]

Orange Essence Tallow Tabac Tuesdays!
Still In GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF

Feather DX razor
RR Hawk
Feather Artist Club blades (# 21 and #9)
Stirling best badger
Orange Essence Tallow Tabac

Since I am in Fruity February and Tallow Tabac Tuesdays I was in a dilemma. Guido, @JAHE solved the problem last week pairing a fruity scent with Tabac...so...I am following his excellent decision to add an essential oil with "tallow" Tabac. Two drops was all it took. The orange essence added a happy refreshing accent to the shave.

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

 

[Beto Salatini]

SOTD February 21th
GRUME February
Fruity February

Hello friends!

It's the last day of Carnival here. Three days of vacation, three days of growing a beard…
R41, Feather, Mike's Lime, Semogue 1305 gave me the best shave of February. Mr. Mulligan was accompanying me.

Have a happy day and great shave!

 

[SharpieB]

Feather blade in a Wolfman 1.65. Rough combo, hence why I don’t use Feathers often.

First time using St. James of London cream (bergamot is a Fruit!) in over a year, and it performed as well as usual. The AS balm/gel is excellent as well. Big Thater 4670/5 2-Band brush is starting to break in finally.

Azzaro Wanted by Night EDP to finish it off. Lots of orange/citrus here as well.

I consider this “fruity mission accomplished”. Even my brush is orange!

 

[LJBraaten]

Still enjoying my Mike’s Natural Lime. A few months ago when this was about the only soap available I was disappointed. I’ve come to realize that I will probably enjoy all of Mike’s soaps.

 

[JAHE]

Satsuma galore...

I needed some strokes to get used to the proper shaving angle of the Vector again but once I did so it was a nice and gentle shave. I did my regular two passes with some touchups and was ready to leave the house with a effortless DFS shave...

As you might imagine Stirling's Satsuma is a juicy take on the Satsuma fruit, but there is a underlying spicyness and the coolness of menthol in the scent. Really nice.

Cheers!
Guido

 

[tjsgarden]

STILL IN GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF...

Feather DX straight razor
RR Hawk
Feather AC blades #9 & #22
B&M Eigengrau soap
B&M Eigengrau AS
Omega 81054 boar brush
orange essential oil (not in photo)

First, the scent of this soap and after shave is intoxicating and refreshing- one of my favorites..
Second, third and fourth, this was an excellent shave, the lather was slick, the brush was smooth as silk and the blades are doing their job.. It was an enjoyable DFS+/BBS finish.

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

 

[thombrogan]

Another Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s decadent shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb
Personna GEM PTFE (6)
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

So I said to myself: Self…

I want to go back to chasing the popping sensation.

And I remembered Guido talking in the 2023 OBIF thread:

Short strokes and no pressure is the name of the game

That’s how I did it! And how I did it again last night, too.

After my pre-shave face wash, my AP ShaveCo Cashmere brush was reused to brush on a runny lather. I removed the plastic strip from the Micromatic to replace the smoothness and rigidity it provided with more blade exposure. I committed myself to hovering the blade to provide incessant chipmunk bite strokes.

And the popping sensation returned!

But it wasn’t like what I was used to with DE blades. The feeling was similar, but the sound was thinner. With the thicker blade giving the thinner sound, my guesses are the size of the apex bevel or the looseness of the modern GEM blade in the 1930s razor (which isn’t a concern in the 1912 razor, oddly). But that doesn’t matter. What mattered was the dramatic reduction in irritation and dramatic absence of weepers.

It was awesome! Inner monologue was busting out with “Spring Came Back to Vienna” as one’s does.

 

[Rosseforp]

One Blade in Fruity February
Tuesday SOTD
Daily Double

Razor: Gold Dollar 66
Razor: Karve SBD
Blade: Gillette Platinum (9)
Brush: Semogue C3 Mistura
Soap: The Wanderer
ASL: the "Veg"

The GD felt really smooth and comfortable on the WTG and XTG passes on my face, but struggled as I got halfway down my neck, so the Karve got put to use for the rest of the shave.
I had forgotten just how smooth my Karve is as it purred away while reducing my neck hair, so smooth I actually looked to see if the blade was there.
Didn't matter if I was going ATG, XTG, or WTG, the razor got quieter with each pass while staying gentle on my neck. It was freestyle city as the Karve was so comfortable I lost count of the passes.

I'm writing this about 12 hours after shaving and my face is still mirror smooth. I'm sure with a fresher blade my neck would be just as smooth too.

The Witch hazel was slick, the "Veg" felt wonderful enough for a second splash, and the Nivea balm finished off a nice comfortable close shave.

Have a Great Shave

~doug~

 

[SharpieB]

The Shavemac Beagle and the Rockwell razor aren’t fruity but the always amazing SW Pomona soap and AS are.