Milkcrate's Musings

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 342 SE: 4 SR: 380)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
J Allen SR
Stirling Boar
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (25)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Everest AS

The Process-
Just a quick update today, with the only change being the razor. Nice shave and I walked away DFS for the win! Life is good!

Home Front-
Since I have a 3 day work week, it's super crazy. Not much to report on the home front so far. So ... we'll see.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 342 SE: 4 SR: 381)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Henckels SR
Stirling Boar
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (26)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Everest AS

The Process-
Early morning shave today and the only change was the razor. Decided to dress it up a bit and use the Henckels to finish the work week stronk. Crap ... I forgot a pic. Anyway, my lather was a bit sketchy this morning, but that's on me. Started with a brush that had a bit too much water in it and had to work it out. Plus I had a couple of interruptions that I'll get to in a minute. 30 second load time and I beat that lather into submission. I don't think I'm anywhere near that ring of death yet, so I probably have a billion shaves left on this puck.

40 laps on leather and I am still running that JNat edge. Went with my standard 3 pass shave of WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Very nice shave but I missed just a smidge, so we'll call it DFS+ for the win! I can do better, but I think those interruptions threw me out of my groove. Finished up with a post shave lather, then a quick rinse and pat dry. Followed that with a splash of WH and a healthy splash of the AS. With that, everything was right as rain. Yes,yes it was. The Everest AS is a really unique type of scent compared to the other offerings from Avon ... I am digging it. Life is good!

Home Front-
As you know, it is my Friday ... yay me! Oh ... about those interruptions. So our bulldog let loose with her big girl bark this morning at zero dark thirty, while I was shaving. That means something is wrong. I'm in the bath room, in my pj's with lather on my face. If that is someone inviting their self into my home, odds are they are armed. Crap, I'm in the bathroom without a weapon. So I'm looking around and looking around ... then I look in the mirror. I'm holding an SR and that will do. So phone flashlight and razor in hand, off I go.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 342 SE: 5 SR: 382)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
F Reynolds SR
Semogue 610 boar
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (28)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Aramis ASB

The Process-
Late morning shave ... oh yeah. Mixed it up and went random. The typical 30 second load time wasn’t doing it for me today and I ended up going back to the puck. I don’t know, a lot of people seem impressed with this brush, but I’m not one of them. Anyway, it did take care of business in the end.

40 laps on leather and it was go time. Went with my standard 3 pass shave of WTG, XTG and ATG and I have no drama to report. Outstanding shave and I am BBS for the win! Oh yeah ... I’ll take that any day. And I definitely needed that today.

Finished up with a post shave lather, a quick rinse and pat dry. Followed that with a splash of WH and a dab of the ASB and with that, everything was right as rain. Wait ... I’m not done. Hit it with a ping of the cologne ... oh man. Now I’m done and ready to take on the world. Life is good!

Home Front-
Some errands and shopping today. Looks like we may be test driving stuff to ... most exciting. Have a great day!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 342 SE: 5 SR: 383)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
F Reynolds SR
Semogue 610 boar
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (29)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
GTB AS

The Process-
Quick entry today. I kept the same hardware and loaded the brush a bit heavier, which seemed to help. I am BBS once again and the menthol hit from the GTB splash was pretty nice ... I’m digging it. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 343 SE: 5 SR: 383)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Wizamet (6)
Stirling boar
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (30)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Clint AS

The Process-
Late morning shave and it was glorious! Mixed up a few things and got to it. Whipped up a very nice wet lather and it worked a treat. I don’t think I could have improved on that, the boar nailed it. It did shed one hair in the making of this shave.

Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. That was one fantastic shave! Just enjoying the moment and scored a BBS for the win! Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Then a splash of the witch hazel. Finished up with a healthy splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! You know it ... man oh man. Clean shaved and smelling great. Love me some Avon Clint. Life is good!

Home Front-
I think there’s a ball game on today. I may watch that.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 343 SE: 5 SR: 384)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Torrey SR
Stirling boar
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (31)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Leather AS

The Process-
Well, back to the grind so it was an early morning shave. Torrey got the nod today, just because. There usually is no rhyme or reason why I pick something. That's the fun of it. Anyway, whipped up a really nice lather this morning and got down to business. I had a nice lather going with plenty for a 3 pass and a post shave lather.

40 laps on leather this morning and found that my hinge pin really needs to be tightened up. I will have to do that this evening. Anyway, went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Very nice shave and I am DFS for the win! Nice ... very nice! I may or may not have been running just a tad late this morning. But at any rate, the SR shave was worth the few extra minutes.

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. A splash of the witch hazel and finished up with a healthy splash of the AS. You know everything was right as rain! Started this week off with Avon Leather ... oh yeah. Life is good!

Home Front-
Great game yesterday. I had to mostly stay at/near the house this weekend, due to that drama that I mentioned earlier. But I was able to knock out several things over the weekend. Finally got the missus into a car. Knocked out some honey-dos around the house and got to work on my sewing project. I finally got the machine figured out and got my first prototype made. BTW, the manual had some incorrect instructions. Anyway, I do need to check fitment this evening and then go from there. Most exciting.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 343 SE: 6 SR: 384)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Schick Stick
Schick blade (6)
Zenith boar
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (32)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Leather AS

The Process-
This morning I was ahead of schedule, but decided to mix the gear up and go with an easy peasy shave. The Zenith did a bang up job with the lather. It feels well broken in and soft. However, it did loss 3 hairs this morning. I did have a nice lather and there was enough for the shave an post lather.

Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. There it is right there! An outstanding shave and I am BBS for the win! Jectah ... oh yeah! Yup, I was lazy and rocked that easy peasy this morning. Nice ... very nice. Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. A splash of the witch hazel and finished up with a healthy splash of the AS. Everything was right as rain! Kept the Avon Leather to seal the deal again today. I'm not sure why I mixed everything up today, I usualy keep the same kit for the work week. Oh well, we'll see how things shake out this week. Maybe I'm just a bit off this week. Life is good!

Home Front-
Well crap ... my Fatboy was delivered somewhere yesterday, according the post office. However, they failed to deliver it to my house. Grrrrrrrr. I hope whoever has it will put it back in the mail. We've got a front blowing through today. It was 66 degrees when I left my house this morning and now it's 46. What happened to this global warming stuff? I was enjoying the 79 degree temps this weekend.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 344 SE: 6 SR: 385)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Super Speed
Wizamet blade (7)
DS Cosmetic Badger
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (34)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Deep Woods AS

The Process-
Ok, let's try this again. Early morning shave today ... you know it. I was kinda in a funk yesterday for reasons. But everything is for a season, so it's time to kick that crap to the curb. Mixed up a bunch of kit today and got down to business. An early Super Speed sounded nice, so let's do that. I also went with the DSC wall of badger, which is a healthy size brush. And it whipped up a ton of lather and then some. Had enought for all three passes and a post lather.

Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Oh hell yeah, that was a glorious shave right there and I am BBS for the win! That Super Speed just delivered in spades, with a nice relaxing shave that was spot on. I may have to repeat this tomorrow to finish the week stronk.

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Splash of the witch hazel and a splash of the AS. Everything was right as rain! Today I switched up to Deep Woods and that was the right choice ... nice scent. Today is my day. Life is good!

Home Front-
Look out cub scout ... I got nothin'.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 345 SE: 6 SR: 385)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Super Speed
Wizamet blade (8)
DS Cosmetic Badger
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (35)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Deep Woods AS

The Process-
Early morning shave today ... you know it. I had a great shave yesterday that was a realy "pick me up", so I had to do it again today. What? What?! I think I see a crack in the bottom of this soap. Can I really be breaking through? Hm .. we'll see what tomorrow holds. But for today, I had another really great lather, with this badger. It whipped up well and had more than enough for the shave and post shave.

No leather this morning, since I kept the DE. Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Yes, yes and yes! Another outstanding shave and I am BBS for the win! A very strong start to the last day of the work week. I think I had tried a couple of low end modern razors, but I really dig the vintage. They are not tools of the barbarian. They can deliver a close comfortable shave. Oh yeah!

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Splash of the witch hazel and a splash of the AS. Everything was right as rain! I'm getting used to the addition of the WH into my routine. The Deep Woods got the nod again and was applied with a heavy hand. Sniff it, sniff it. Life is good!

Home Front-
So the Fatboy is in my possession, without any package damage. It came in an oversize box and was well padded. No green corrosion, which is a good thing. But it does need some cleaning so it got a soak in Dawn and hot water last night. At first glance it's fairly clean, but there is some funk on the end caps that hasn't come off yet. It does have one fatal flaw and that is the adjustment knob isn't working. So ... it looks like more work is needed.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 345 SE: 6 SR: 386)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Dovo SR
Stirling synth
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (36)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Florida Water AS

The Process-
Late morning shave to greatness. Changed out everything but the soap and got to it. My brush was a tad wetter than I expected but it worked out well. I whipped up a metric ton of wet lather and I was flinging that goodness all over the place. Oh yeah ... it was a wet lather. Needless to say, I had plenty of lather for the shave.

Feeling froggy so I hit the leather for 60 laps. Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Oh yeah ... that was great shave and I am BBS for the win!
Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and dry. Splash of the witch hazel and a healthy splash of the AS. Everything was right as rain! Great setup this morning and the FW was the right call. Life is good!

Home Front-
Starting the weekend with a strong push. I have punched through the soap with a quarter sized hole. It’s all downhill now. On the Fatboy, I wasn’t sure if it was gunked up, broke or overclocked. I read you can push in the red spring above the numbers and if the adjuster moves better then it isn’t broke. I did that and was able to move it one click either way. Released the spring and now it is working fine. I guess there is still a bunch of gunk inside to clean out. I’ll get it, but now I know it works.

On the sewing project, I got my prototype done. That was a test, now I need to make a couple for real. I am making a couple of razor pouches, that hold 5-6 razors each. I had the extra felt laying around from a speaker box project. I was inspired by the ones that @Spider made in the mystery pass-around. After that, I have some left over vinyl. That will be a tool pouch for my car. Good stuff.

 

[MilkCrate]

 

[MilkCrate]

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 346 SE: 6 SR: 386)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Fatboy
Wizamet blade
DSC Badger
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (37)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Clint AS

The Process-
Late morning shave ... you know it. Got the Fatboy cleaned up and functional, so it got the nod today. Wasn’t sure where to set it, so I went with #4. Grabbed the wall of Badger and whipped up an impressive lather. Ran the brush a tad wet and had a sloppy good time.

Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. An outstanding shave and I am BBS for the win! That was a really smooth shave. Not sure if it was the dense lather I had going or the razor adjuster was too low, but I had no blade feel at all. In spite of that, it mowed everything down with ease. Man that was a great shave! Have I ever mentioned that I really dig the vintage razors?

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and dry. Splash of the witch hazel and a glug of the AS. Everything was right as rain! Great easy peasy shave and that Avon Clint is intoxicating. It’s going to be a great day. Life is good!

Home Front-
A couple of errands today and then I brought work home. Had some to do yesterday and knocked it out quick. Today most of the day will be work

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 346 SE: 6 SR: 388)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
J Allen SR
Stirling synch
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (39)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
GTB AS

Today, same same all the way around.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 347 SE: 6 SR: 388)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette 195
Wizamet blade
Stirling synth
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (40)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
GTB AS

The Process-
Happy Hump Day! Picking them up and knocking them down ... hit the big 40 on the puck today. Early morning shave ... yup. I may or may not have been running just a tad behind schedule today. And with that, a DE got the nod. I did bump the adjustment up another notch, just to see how it behaved also. Normal lather routine of a 30 second load time with a slightly damp brush. Once again, it resulted in a really nice lather. I did find that I had a small chunk of soap buried in my brush and it fell out when face lathering. Hopefully the rest doesn't break apart too bad as it's winding down.

Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. An easy peasy shave was the right call. It was an outstanding shave and I am BBS for the win! Man, I needed that relaxing shave this morning and it was a great way to start the day. Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and dry. Splash of the witch hazel then a glug of the AS. Everything was right as rain! For whatever reason, that menthol hit hard this morning ... nice and cold. GTB in the house! Life is good!

Home Front-
Yesterday was a rough day for me. Woke up at 2am and couldn't go back to sleep. Ending up working on a project, that I brought home from work, until shave time. By the end of the night, I was beat. It's a short week, so one more sleep and a wake up. Then my weekend starts. Lots to do in the next two days before I can rest, so.... It's a wet mess outside today. Y'all be careful out there.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 348 SE: 6 SR: 390)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
F Reynolds
DSC Badger
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (43)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Florida Water AS

The Process-
So ... late morning shave today and changed the kit up a bit too. Getting tired of the 3017 thing, so I went with a 2 minute load time ... JK. The soap is really breaking apart now and there’s not much left. For the last remaining shaves, I moved it to the Turkish Copper Bowl of Doom. I would guess maybe 3 shaves left.

40 laps on leather. Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Outstanding shave and I am BBS for the win! Oh yeah! A nuce relaxing shave and the Reynolds took care of business.

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and drip dry. Splash of the witch hazel then a glug of the AS. Everything was right as rain! Winner winner chicken dinner right there. Digging the Florida Water. Life is good!

Home Front-
Nothing yet ... stay tuned.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 349 SE: 6 SR: 390)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Adjustable 84
Astr
DSC Badger
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (4)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Spice AS

The Process-
So ... late morning shave, but you knew that. I mixed the kit up just a bit because I had to try this razor. Scored this from @dangerousdon and it is really nice. It was set on setting 6, so I’ll try that. The CBL is now in the copper bowl and I hit it with a wall of badger. Whipped up a nice lather and got to it.

Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. That was a great shave! No blade feel and I am BBS for the win! I won’t go on again about how awesome the vintage razors are ... but they are awesome! Easy, smooth shave with no nicks or irritation. So what’s to be improved upon?

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and drip dry. Splash of the witch hazel then a healthy splash of the AS. Everything was right as rain! The Spice is a very nice scent, never tried it or Old Spice before. The missus hates Old Spice, so I may have to keep my distance. Life is good!

Home Front-
My dg ate it.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 350 SE: 6 SR: 390)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Adjustable 84
Astra SP (2)
Stirling Synth
CBL Sir Fougere Tonsorial soap (45)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Spice AS

The Process-
Early morning shave ... yay. The only setup change that I made this morning was to swap out the badger brush for the synth. And looking at the copper bowl I have one shave left. That's ok, I am almost there and I am really digging this Avon Spice. So I loaded up and got to it, whipping up a nice lather. I'm still not sure about the feel of this synth. Hmmmmm.

Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Another great shave and I am BBS for the win! Yup, I'm really digging this new razor and will probably use it the rest of the work week. I could go on and on (again), but I'll keep it short. It was a really nice shave and a great start to the day. Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and drip dry. Splash of the witch hazel then a healthy splash of the AS. Everything was right as rain! You know it. That spicy, powdery scent is rather nice. I think I'll use it the rest of the work week. Life is good!

Home Front-
So ... short work week, which is good news and bad news. The good news is that I have a 3 day work week. The bad news is that I have to cram 5 days of work into those 3 days. Somewhere in there is building 2 new system environments and doing a presentation. Grrrr ... I don't do presentations. But I guess I will this week. The reason for the short week, is that I am burning vaca from last year. It's use it or lose it by the end of March, so ... No updates on the missus yet, hopefully soon. And the days are starting to warm up nicely with 73 degrees yesterday and 75 today. I'll take that any day. That's all I got at the moment.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 352 SE: 6 SR: 391)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Reynolds SR
Stirling Boar
PAA Bay Rum soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
PAA Bay Rum AS

The Process-
Late morning shave and it was glorious. I was not violently woken up by an alarm, just a nice gentle awakening. What to shave with today? Decisions ... decisions, let’s go with the Bay Rum. Had my brush soaking in a mug of hot water while I had my coffee. Loaded the soap for 30 seconds and got to it. Man that whipped up a ton of great smelling lather.

40 laps on leather and it was all business. Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. A fantastic shave and I am BBS for the win! Man that was really nice and relaxing, with the heavy scent of Bay Rum wafting through the air. No light fragrance here.

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Splash of the witch hazel then a glug of the AS. Everything was right as rain! I couldn’t help that glug, the restrictor is very generous. Great post shave feel and I smell amazing! Past the missus at the coffee pot and said “Sorry, I hit the AS a bit hard.” She replied “No you didn’t”. She’s a keeper. Life is good!

Home Front-
Just a lazy day today. I got my work finished up, so nothing pending. I have a few projects around the house to knock out, but plenty of time.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 352 SE: 6 SR: 393)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Solingen SR
Stirling boar
Stirling Agar soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Stirling Agar AS

The Process-
Late morning shave and it was very nice. Changed out a couple of bits for this shave, but wanted to give the Agar another run. Changed over to the Stirling brush today. That Zenith is in the same camp as the Vulfix. A low end, hand tied knot that sheds like nobody’s business. Grrrrrrrrr. Maybe you have to buy the higher end brushes from those vendors for the hair to stay in it. Who knows? Anyway, the Stirling has stopped shedding and does a bang up job on the lather. A 30 second load time and it was shave time.

40 laps on leather and it was all business. This razor hasn’t seen much action, I’ve had it in my Dopp bag. It’s a NOS razor I picked up on the bay. No makers mark, just Solingen. It wasn’t shave ready, so I honed it up on lapping film and pasted balsa. Very nice, super sharp edge yet smooth. Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Awesome shave and I am BBS for the win! That’s the ticket right there. I am still working to get this type of an edge using my stones.

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Splash of the witch hazel then a splash of the AS. Everything was right as rain. I did still get that funk smell when I first applied the AS but it faded quickly. Thank goodness! After the dry down, the scent is nice and warm. And you know the post shave feel with Stirling is really good.Yup ... I’m digging it. Life is good!