Milkcrate's Musings

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 251 SR: 134)
Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.
Shave-
Henckel SR
Vulfix Badger
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 36)
Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

Just a quick update today. This morning was a bit rushed, but I kept the same gear. I ran the brush a little wetter than normal and went with the 30 second load time. The puck just exploded with lather. Began whipping it up and have enough for all the passes and then some.

Went with 50 laps on the leather strop. And then onto my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Was a bit pressed for time, but had a nice shave and was BBS for the win!

Wrapped it up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. Another glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! Long day ahead tomorrow with a day conference, but should be an 18 hour day ... yuck. In spite of that ... Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 252 SR: 134)
Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.
Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Astra SP
Vulfix Badger
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 37)
Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

I got uo so early this morning that the coyotes were still prowling and the chickens were asleep. Only had time for a quick shave so I grabbed the DE. 30 second load time and right to business.

Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Very nice BBS for the win!

Wrapped it up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A double shot of the AS and everything was right as rain! Cleaned shave and smelling great for the long ride. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 252 SR: 136)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Henckel SR
Vulfix Badger
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 39)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

So yesterday, early evening I had a shower and shave to wind down the day. I also had a late morning shave today. Both were very nice shaves. 30 second load times and right to business.

Did 50 laps on the leather for both shaves. Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Both shaves were a very nice BBS for the win!

Wrapped them up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A double shot of the AS and everything was right as rain! Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 252 SR: 137)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Henckel SR
Omega Pro 48
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 40)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

Got up early for work today. Yes, I know it’s Saturday and I didn’t get my days mixed up. Had to work a bit this morning and will have to work most of the day tomorrow. Grrrrrrrrrrr! Anyway, got to start the day with a hot shower and a shave. We are now on day 40 and this soap is chugging right along. I still don’t see the bottom yet either. I was fully expecting this soap to last for two months and if so, I should be punching through to the bottom soon. I grabbed the Omega 48 and gave it a 30 second load, then on to business.

Did 50 laps on the leather. Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Outstanding shave this morning and BBS F T W!

Wrapped it up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! I clean shaved, smelling good and wirk is done for the day. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 252 SR: 138)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Henckel SR
Lather & Wood badger
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 41)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

Today is a special treat. A friend recommended that I try GTB. So I did and I’ll give a review of it and the Lather & Wood brush that I received free. I’ll also review some shave towels that the lovely missus bought for me. Where to begin? The brush. This was a give away to generate buzz for the new offering. It will retail for $30 and I’ll include a pic of my other brushes in that price range. So I pulled it from the box, gave it a bit of cleaning and lathered for 30 seconds. That was more lather than brush. When lathering, you could tell it was less dense and has less backbone than other offerings. With that said, it is useable and I was able to get three passes out of it. When face lathering, I did confirm the lack of density and backbone. And oh, that new badger funk smell can’t forget to mention that.

Did 50 laps on the leather. Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Another outstanding shave in the early afternoon and BBS too!

So about these towels. They are listed as commercial grade dish towels, and I think Herringbone. I’ll have to double check that. They are thinner than a bath hand towel, so they should dry quickly. They may also make good towels for a hot towel treatment. I mainly use them to wipe my blade when shaving and to cleanup when done.

Wrapped everything up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Speaking of the AS. The GTB is a good soap/AS combo. It has a nice scent and a very nice lather that provides plenty of slickness for a shave. Follow that up with the splash and face feel I would call it a good second shelf soap. But that’s probably because all of my soaps are physically located on the second shelf. Anyway, had to work from 8:30-2:00 today and that interrupted my morning shave. But I finally got a chance to shave. And with that, you know ... Life is good!

 

[Clay S]

Shave Count (DE: 252 SR: 138)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Henckel SR
Lather & Wood badger
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 41)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

Today is a special treat. A friend recommended that I try GTB. So I did and I’ll give a review of it and the Lather & Wood brush that I received free. I’ll also review some shave towels that the lovely missus bought for me. Where to begin? The brush. This was a give away to generate buzz for the new offering. It will retail for $30 and I’ll include a pic of my other brushes in that price range. So I pulled it from the box, gave it a bit of cleaning and lathered for 30 seconds. That was more lather than brush. When lathering, you could tell it was less dense and has less backbone than other offerings. With that said, it is useable and I was able to get three passes out of it. When face lathering, I did confirm the lack of density and backbone. And oh, that new badger funk smell can’t forget to mention that.

Did 50 laps on the leather. Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Another outstanding shave in the early afternoon and BBS too!

So about these towels. They are listed as commercial grade dish towels, and I think Herringbone. I’ll have to double check that. They are thinner than a bath hand towel, so they should dry quickly. They may also make good towels for a hot towel treatment. I mainly use them to wipe my blade when shaving and to cleanup when done.

Wrapped everything up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Speaking of the AS. The GTB is a good soap/AS combo. It has a nice scent and a very nice lather that provides plenty of slickness for a shave. Follow that up with the splash and face feel I would call it a good second shelf soap. But that’s probably because all of my soaps are physically located on the second shelf. Anyway, had to work from 8:30-2:00 today and that interrupted my morning shave. But I finally got a chance to shave. And with that, you know ... Life is good!

View attachment 953920

Sounds like I made the right choice on taking a pass on the brush. I like backbone.

I tried some microfiber dish towels I just picked up from Ross. They are comfortable, and once I figure out the moisture, should be great for hot towels. They weren't bad today, but a little less water and they would be great!

 

[MilkCrate]

Sounds like I made the right choice on taking a pass on the brush. I like backbone.

I tried some microfiber dish towels I just picked up from Ross. They are comfortable, and once I figure out the moisture, should be great for hot towels. They weren't bad today, but a little less water and they would be great!

Yeah, the brush is kinda lackluster.

That’s good to know on the microfiber.

 

[Clay S]

Yeah, the brush is kinda lackluster.

That’s good to know on the microfiber.

I'll bring one next week.

 

[MilkCrate]

I'll bring one next week.

Cool

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 253 SR: 138)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Voskhod blade (5)
Zenith boar
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 42)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

Today I was a bit behind and I am going to blame it on my weekend work schedule and not being able to sleep in. Anyway, I decided to give the GTB a run this week after a recommendation from a friend. He also mentioned another soap that he heard about called Ghost Town Barber, so I will try that one next week. Anyway, here we go. Since I was pressed for time, I grabbed the Old Type. It's still loaded with the last Voskhod blade that I have and it's on shave #5. Went with the Zenith today to get my boar fix. The Lather & Wood brush from yesterday was kinda lackluster, so I had to break out something better. Gave the brush a 30 second load and it cranked out a really nice lather.

Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Once again the Old Type just delivers and I walked away with a BBS for the win! That's what I'm talking about. Used my new towels this morning and they are doing fine. I wasn't sure when I felt how thin these towels are, but they will dry quickly and I think these are going to work for the long term.

Wrapped everything up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Time to go play in traffic. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 253 SR: 139)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Henckel SR
Zenith boar
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 43)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

Woke up a few minutes early this morning and had plenty of time for a shave. I usually stay with a single soap/as combo during the work week, so I am steady rocking the GTB. Hit the soap for 30 seconds and cranked out a nice lather. This brush is relatively new, so the bristles are not white tipped yet. But out of the box it was softer than the Omega, so I am curious to see what it will be like when it completely breaks in.

Hit the leather strop for 50 laps and then got down to business. Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Oh yeah, I am rocking the BBS for the win! I may have mentioned in another post that I only ran this razor up to my 12k stone. Although not as sharp as the other razors, it shaves nice and is comfortable. I may rock the 12k edge a bit longer and see how things go.

Wrapped everything up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Clean shaved and smelling great! I am ready for the day, I think ... well maybe. Half way through this busy week, so it's all downhill now. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 254 SR: 139)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Voskhod blade (6)
Omega Pro 48
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 44)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

A quick update for today. I was pressed for time this morning, so went back to the Gillette. Today also seemed like a good day for a boar ... so Omega it is. Hit the soap again for 30 seconds and was off. I can't believe I have 44 days on this soap and haven't punched through to the bottom yet. I think it's close ... maybe ... kinda ... sorta. Anyway Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Easy, peasy, rocking the BBS for the win!

Wrapped everything up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A double slap of the AS and everything was right as rain! Today shouldn't be as busy today at work, thank goodness. Hopefully things will wind down a bit and let me get cause back up. I may play around with a redesign of part of my shaving shelf this weekend. We shall see. Life is good!

 

[Clay S]

Today also seemed like a good day for a boar ... so Omega it is.

Everyday is a good day for a boar, unless your having to pack it away for travel, and then I might carry it I a pocket and strop it on pant's leg, palm, and other slow/non-moving objects close at hand

 

[MilkCrate]

Everyday is a good day for a boar, unless your having to pack it away for travel, and then I might carry it I a pocket and strop it on pant's leg, palm, and other slow/non-moving objects close at hand

I started out with boar and will always have them in my rotation.

 

[Seveneighth]

Shave Count (DE: 253 SR: 139)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Henckel SR
Zenith boar
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 43)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

Woke up a few minutes early this morning and had plenty of time for a shave. I usually stay with a single soap/as combo during the work week, so I am steady rocking the GTB. Hit the soap for 30 seconds and cranked out a nice lather. This brush is relatively new, so the bristles are not white tipped yet. But out of the box it was softer than the Omega, so I am curious to see what it will be like when it completely breaks in.

Hit the leather strop for 50 laps and then got down to business. Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Oh yeah, I am rocking the BBS for the win! I may have mentioned in another post that I only ran this razor up to my 12k stone. Although not as sharp as the other razors, it shaves nice and is comfortable. I may rock the 12k edge a bit longer and see how things go.

Wrapped everything up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Clean shaved and smelling great! I am ready for the day, I think ... well maybe. Half way through this busy week, so it's all downhill now. Life is good!

You have been using that Henkel with a 12k edge for over a few shaves now. It sounds like it is holding up well. How does it compare in your mind to the balsa edge?

 

[MilkCrate]

It has held up well and that's really what I was curious about. Could I reduce to a smaller kit and still get great shaves, which were comfortable. I find that I can. Now I'm kinda wondering about just a barber hone and a strop, but that's for another day.

The 12k edge is really smooth and it is more forgiving than the balsa edges. You can hide some bad technique with a 12k edge, if that makes sense. You have to be more mindful of your angles and pressure with the balsa edges. The thing I found odd was that the higher up the balsa progression, the more the edge smoothed out for me. Running a razor up to .1u is wicked sharp but is still a comfortable shave for me. That sharper edge is smooth, but is different and maybe a tad less smooth than the 12k. But I do find that the balsa edges do give me a longer lasting shave though. Hope that helped.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 254 SR: 141)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Henckel SR
Omega Pro 48
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 46)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

A couple of quick updates. Used the Omega boar last night and the DSC badger this morning. Running my brushes a bit wetter and they both cranked out a really nice lather. Easily enough for 3+ passes. I think I’m getting close to the bottom and my be there in a few weeks.

Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. But I missed some on my chin and around the Adams Apple with both shaves. So back to back DFS for the win. Not sure if my angle was off or blade is fading. I’m gonna go with my angle was off.

Wrapped everything up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A double shot of the AS and everything was right as rain! Several errands to run today, including taking the dog to the vet. Sitting in Dallas now waiting on my granddaughters softball game to start. Have a great day! Life is good!

 

[Seveneighth]

It has held up well and that's really what I was curious about. Could I reduce to a smaller kit and still get great shaves, which were comfortable. I find that I can. Now I'm kinda wondering about just a barber hone and a strop, but that's for another day.

The 12k edge is really smooth and it is more forgiving than the balsa edges. You can hide some bad technique with a 12k edge, if that makes sense. You have to be more mindful of your angles and pressure with the balsa edges. The thing I found odd was that the higher up the balsa progression, the more the edge smoothed out for me. Running a razor up to .1u is wicked sharp but is still a comfortable shave for me. That sharper edge is smooth, but is different and maybe a tad less smooth than the 12k. But I do find that the balsa edges do give me a longer lasting shave though. Hope that helped.

Why would you consider a barbers hone? I looked into them for a bit but couldnt work out how to ensure a good one and concluded that a 12k might be a better bet if I was going to spend the money. So you see an advantage in a barbers hone?

 

[MilkCrate]

Why would you consider a barbers hone? I looked into them for a bit but couldnt work out how to ensure a good one and concluded that a 12k might be a better bet if I was going to spend the money. So you see an advantage in a barbers hone?

I don’t see any kind of advantage yet, just kinda batting the idead around. There are a lot of things I haven’t tried yet, so I’m kinda looking at things with new eyes. But since I have a set of lapping film and a set of the Naniwa stones, I might be really disappointed with the Barber hone.

Sometimes I throw out random thoughts that I an thinking about and then search through the forum to see what others have discovered.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 254 SR: 142)

Pre Shave-
Warm water splash to shave.

Shave-
Dovo SR
Omega Pro 48
Ghost Town Barber soap (3017 - Day 47)

Post Shave-
Warm water splash
Ghost Town Barber AS

Great shave this morning with the Dovo and the Omega. Luckily I had a few minutes to spare and was able to shave with an SR. I think I'm getting closer to opening up a hole in this soap. The center is significantly lighter than the rest of the tub. Hit the soap for 30 seconds and cranked up a nice lather. I find this soap does have good slickness and you can feel it when trying to stretch skin. I may need to try the alum on the fingers trick to get some grip. Not sure when I will buy any alum, so I'll probably just keep doing what I am doing and press on for now. But at least I know that option is there.

Hit the leather for 50 laps and was ready to go. Went with my standard three pass shave of: WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. This razor has the Method edge on it and is noticeably sharper than the Henckel. To keep these edges smoother, you simply just drop your angle a bit more and all is well. That's what I did and walked away to a BBS for the win!

Wrapped everything up with a splash of water and a light towel dry. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! I have a goatee and in the past did not lather it. But something I have been trying the last few weeks is to lather my whole face. I thought I would try it and see if the skin food that's in the these products will have any benefit to hair. It actually seems too. I am noticing that the facial hair that I do keep is softer than it has been in the past. Luckily with my load times, I have enough spare lather for that. And also a post shave lather while I clean my equipment up.

Had a lot going on this weekend with several errands and the eldest granddaughter's softball games. She is on her High School team and moving into the Select teams also. In addition, we had the youngest granddaughter stay over Saturday night and leave late Sunday evening. At the end of the day, it was nice to wind down and take a breath before starting another busy work week. That's all I have for today, stay safe out there. Life is good.