Milkcrate's Musings

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 234 SR: 87)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Gillette Goodwill
Omega Boar
Proraso Red soap

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Proraso Red AS

Off to a slow start again this morning, so I kept the same gear. Tried the same lathering technique with the soap (using a fairly wet brush) and loaded for 45 seconds. I think this Omega is finally starting to relax a bit, but it a good way. It is finally starting to splay, just a bit more. The lather exploded once again this morning. Had a nice, rich lather going with no blade feel. Not sure yet, but I may settle into the DE for most, if not all of the work week.

I went with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and had no drama to report. I walked away this morning with a BBS for the win! Man, sometimes these easy shaves are the best.

Wrapped up my shave with two splashes of water (just to mix things up) and a quick towel dry. A healthy splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! So, more fun times today in the world of IT. Boots on, so let's kick this pig. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 87)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Gillette Goodwill
Omega Boar
Proraso Red soap

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Proraso Red AS

Ok ... today, same same. Have a nice day!









JK ... well not really. Moving quicker this morning and got up on time. I kept the same gear again and the shave was a carbon copy of the last several days. I went with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and had no drama to report. I walked away this morning with a BBS for the win!

Blah, blah, blah ... everything was right as rain! We have our company Christmas dinner tonight and that should be a good time. We start the evening with service to others. We have buses running to: the soup kitchen (homeless), the VA hospital and several nursing homes. The missus and I will be at the VA. We deliver gifts, sing Christmas carols, etc. Then wrap up the evening with dinner and song. Have a great day everyone! Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave mail. I had a new to me Omega brush waiting for me when I got home yesterday.

It is the one with the chrome handle and pictured with my current Omega and Zenith to show the size difference. This thing is massive.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 88)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Dovo SR
Omega Boar
Proraso Red soap

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Proraso Red AS

Woohoo! Got up early enough for an SR shave this morning. Quick post this morning. I kept most of my kit except the razor. Once again I stayed with the wetter brush and loaded the Proraso heavy. It cranked out a really nice lather. I went with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and had no drama to report. I walked away this morning with a BBS for the win! Yup, yup, yup it was nice.

Wrapped up my shave with a splash of water and a towel dry. A healthy splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Speaking of rain, we have rain moving in this afternoon and they are predicting 3-5 inches. No worries, this is my short week so it's my Friday. Hope everyone has a great day. Life is good!

 

[Clay S]

Shave mail. I had a new to me Omega brush waiting for me when I got home yesterday.

It is the one with the chrome handle and pictured with my current Omega and Zenith to show the size difference. This thing is massive.

View attachment 932888 View attachment 932889

Nice looking!

I like my Omegas!

 

[MilkCrate]

Nice looking!

I like my Omegas!

Thanks! I do also.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 89)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Dovo SR
Omega Pro Boar
PdP 63 soap

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
PdP 63 ASB

Started my weekend today, so I went with a random shave. And since I was off work, you can bet I went with the late morning shave. Brought the new Omega and a new strop on deck today. I was fully expecting this brush to misbehave. I thought I would be loading for all three passes, but I was pleasantly surprised. This brush, and my Zenith, both seem to hold more water than my original Omega. No worries it’s just an adjustment in loading and lathering. Loaded the brush for 40 seconds and really could have done less. This brush has a nice splay and plenty of backbone, which is right where I like it. It also did a great job with the lather. And given its size, it covers a lot of ground fast.

The new strop is from Straight Razor Design. They were clearing them out at 70 percent off and who could pass that up? This is a leather and cloth setup and I opted for the D rings instead of handles. The buid quality of this one is really so much better than the Illinois. After using the Poorman’s, then the Illinois and now this one, I think I prefer the cowhide better too. I hit the strop for 20 laps on cloth and 20 on leather. I then went with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and had no drama to report. I walked away this morning with a BBS for the win!

Wrapped up my shave with a splash of water and a towel dry. A smear of the ASB and everything was right as rain! It’s cold and rainy today so I’m not sure what to do with myself. I could do some work from home ... nah. All the DE’s and brushes are cleaned; and the SR’s are honed. What is a guy to do on a lazy day? I’m sure I can find something to piddle with. You guys have a great day and be careful out there. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 90)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Dovo SR
Vulfix Badger
SC Sandalwood Cream sample

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Nivia ASB

Mixed it up today with a Stone Cottage sample that I hadn’t tried yet. Man, my sniffer really sucks. I smelled wax, a lightly scented wax. Smeared a small glob of the cream on the Badger and got after it. The lather was nice and the scent stayed the same. The creams do have a residual slickness if you run a wet hand back over your face. And they lather and hold water well enough.

I hit the SRD strop for 20 laps on nylon and 20 on leather. I then went with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and had no drama to report. I walked away this morning with a BBS for the win! That was a good shave.

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A bit of the Nivia ASB and everything was right as rain! Had the missus give me the sniff test and she really likes it. She can also smell the Sandalwood, so what do I know. I guess there is a Sandalwood in there. It’s cold and rainy again today and will be for a few days grrrrrrrrr. In spite of that ... Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 91)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Dovo SR
Omega Pro Boar
AA Bay Rum soap

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
AA Bay Rum AS

Wrapping up the random shave weekend and grabbed the Bay Rum. The lather looked good enough today, but it may have been a bit dry. I also noticed there wasn’t much residual slickness. I’ll have to pay more attention to that in the future.

I hit the strop for 20 laps on nylon and 20 on leather. I went with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and had no drama to report. I walked away this morning BBS.

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A healthy splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Visiting a senior center today, so I hope the eye patch and scent doesn’t cause any alarm. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 92)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Joseph Allen SR
Vulfix Badger
SC Santal et Patchouli sample

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Nivia ASB

So this morning I woke up on time and needed to decide what was on deck today. I don't want to plan that kinda stuff early, that would ruin the surprise. Anyway, this sounded like a good week for Patchouli. I'm not sure if I will run with the Santal all week, or switch between it and the straight up sample ... we'll see. So I smeared a glob of the sample on my brush and got down to business. I really dig this scent! Now that I say that, I may have to switch back and forth during the week. Oh ... so the lather whipped up nice and smelled great. I had a better residual slickness today and could easily go back over a few areas.

I hit the strop for 20 laps on nylon and 20 on leather. I went with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and had no drama to report. I did have a bit of cleanup because I started my shave with one eye open. Cleanup done and it was worth the chase. Today I walked away BBS and smelling great! That friends and neighbors is a win!

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A bit of the Nivia ASB and everything was right as rain! The Nivia is lightly scented so it doesn't really mask the scent of the shave cream. I really wish they made a matching AS for this scent, it does smell great. So, back to the grind this week, so let's see what it holds for us. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 93)

Pre Shave-
Hot shower and warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Joseph Allen SR
Vulfix Badger
SC Patchouli sample

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Nivia ASB

Overslept yesterday and hit snooze one too many times. So I had to go with an evening shave last night. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I loaded my brush with the SC sample of straight up Patchouli. I really dig this scent too! But I may give a slight edge to the Santal version. I whipped up a nice lather and it smelled great, but may have been touch dry.

I hit the strop for 20 laps on nylon and 20 on leather. I again went with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and had no drama to report. Put another check in the BBS column, that was a win!

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A bit of the Nivia ASB and everything was right as rain! That was a great way to wrap up the day, with a relaxing shower and shave. Yup, I dig this scent too. Thought I might get to lather up this morning and do a little cleanup before work. Nope, no need I am still good to go. Guess I’ll wrap up today with another evening shave. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 94)

Pre Shave-
Hot shower and warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Joseph Allen SR
Graydog Synth
SC Patchouli sample

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Nivia ASB

Great shave yesterday. I wrapped up the day with an another evening shave. I kept most of the same setup, but I did add the Turkish bowl into the mix. I also took the raisin bran approach and added two scoops just for grins. I ran the brush wet and with the additional soap, it just exploded. I may have to add another hook to my shave shelf to hang a squeegee on. Big, wet, sploppy mess and it was all good! Even with that, I still like face lathering better. I then hit the strop for 20 laps on nylon and went 50 on leather. I stayed with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and had no drama to report. Put another check in win column ... walking away BBS!

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A bit of the Nivia ASB and everything was right as rain! You knew it would be. Today is the end of the work week for me. Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary, so I took the day off. It's been a strange week anyway at the office. Our department has reorganized a bit and people have been moving around, reshuffled to other areas and what not. I had my last quarterly review for the year. Apparently I have done well with my assigned duties this year, but am expected to work harder and be more aggressive with projects next year. Oh yay! Anyway, enough of that mess. I think I will have to start tomorrow off with a nice Santal et Patchouli shave. Then onto some random shaves for the weekend. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 95)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Joseph Allen SR
Vulfix Badger
SC santal et Patchouli sample

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Nivia ASB

Started this day with a morning shave today. Changed just a few things and was really looking forward to the Santal. I guess it’s just the combination of all the base notes. The brighter notes fall off quickly and the dry down scent is just awesome. I would really like to add this scent to my rotation, but I would want a matching AS. I smeared a glob of the sample on my brush and went straight to a face lather. Built up a great smelling lather that was working well.

I then hit the strop for 20 laps on nylon and went 25 on leather. I stayed with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and have drama to report. I have drama. Great first pass, second pass started to weaken. On the third pass, BOOM the lather collapsed into a milky mess. I pressed on and had that crap all over my razor and running down to my elbow. Well ... I said drama, but I didn’t cut myself. Ended up BBS on my cheeks and DFS on my next. So scratch a tick mark into the crap shave column.

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A bit of the Nivia ASB and everything was NOT right as rain! Man that was a really disappointing shave. Anyway ... it’s my wedding anniversary so let’s turn that frown upside down. Cold front moved through so it’s nasty outside. We’ll see what the day holds. At the end of the day, it’s just a shave ... Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 235 SR: 96)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Joseph Allen SR
Omega boar
Tabac

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Tabac AS

Late morning shave today kept the razor but changed out everything else for the random shave weekend. I haven’t used Tabac in a bit so I thought I would break that one out. I will probably keep it for John’s Birthday shave tomorrow also. Since the boar runs wet, I loaded the soap for 40 seconds and got down to business. It cranked out a really nice , slick lather and had more than enough for three passes.

I then hit the strop for 20 laps on nylon and went 20 on leather. I stayed with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and have no drama to report. Today was a much better shave and I walked with a BBS for the win! Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A healthy splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Weather is better today and we are putting up the tree and decorating the house for Christmas. I know, I know, we got a late start. Anyway, a good way to spend the day. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 236 SR: 96)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Gillette Slim (I1)
Voskhod blade(1)
Graydog Synth
Tabac

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Tabac AS

Morning shave today and I brought out the Slim for John’s Birthday Shave. I haven’t used the Slim in a while and that is a shame. It was my second razor and my first vintage. And it is one great shave. Kept the Tabac today and grabbed the Graydog. I loaded the soap for 40 seconds and got down to business. I could have loaded a bit less. It cranked out a ton of slick lather and it was great. I had more than enough for three passes.

I stayed with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and have no drama to report. Just a nice, relaxing BBS Shave.

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! No set plans today, we’ll just take it as it comes. Life is good!

 

[Clay S]

Shave Count (DE: 236 SR: 96)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Gillette Slim (I1)
Voskhod blade(1)
Graydog Synth
Tabac

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Tabac AS

Morning shave today and I brought out the Slim for John’s Birthday Shave. I haven’t used the Slim in a while and that is a shame. It was my second razor and my first vintage. And it is one great shave. Kept the Tabac today and grabbed the Graydog. I loaded the soap for 40 seconds and got down to business. I could have loaded a bit less. It cranked out a ton of slick lather and it was great. I had more than enough for three passes.

I stayed with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and have no drama to report. Just a nice, relaxing BBS Shave.

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! No set plans today, we’ll just take it as it comes. Life is good!

@Graydog makes some beautiful brushes. Slims are great razors. 4 more for your century!

 

[MilkCrate]

@Graydog makes some beautiful brushes. Slims are great razors. 4 more for your century!

Yes sir, the Graydogs are a work of art. I am honored to have scored one. I wouldn’t take for my Slim, it will always have a place in the rotation. Getting really close to that century mark. It may be going by quicker because I haven’t been watching it

 

[Clay S]

Yes sir, the Graydogs are a work of art. I am honored to have scored one. I wouldn’t take for my Slim, it will always have a place in the rotation. Getting really close to that century mark. It may be going by quicker because I haven’t been watching it

Sorry for bringing it to your attention then




















Not really that sorry though.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 236 SR: 97)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Boker SR
Vulfix Badge
SC Vetiver & Vanilla

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Nivia ASB

Morning shave today ... oh, I may have forgot to mention that I am burning my last week of vacation. So I may just go random. When I received my Stone Cottage samples, I mentioned to my wife that they had soap bars and what not. So I then had to place another order. They also had some original formula creams with a deep discount. So I picked this one up.

I loaded the cream for 30 seconds and built a nice lather. It was a decent shave, but not awesome. I’m not a frag head and that gives me trouble with knowing what a scent is or what it should smell like. I guess I just smelled Vetiver because I didn’t smell vanilla. I stayed with my standard three passes: WTG, XTG and ATG and have no drama to report. I did manage to pull out a BBS, so that’s a win. With that said, the soap made me work for it. It does not seem to have any residual slickness. That may be on me, so I’ll give it a few more shaves to confirm.

Wrapped up with a splash of water and a towel dry. A splash of the ASB and everything was right as rain! Post shave feel was nice, so there is that. Was able to get away for a bit and pick up a Christmas gift for the missus. She has an appointment tomorrow, so I should be able to finish shopping while she is out. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Sorry for bringing it to your attention then




















Not really that sorry though.

Man, you crack me up! I just figured it was like a watch pot!