Milkcrate's Musings

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 366 SE: 9 SR: 420)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Solingen SR
Vulfix Badger
Stirling Hipster soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Stirling Hipster AS

The Process-
No snooze today, so I got my early morning shave on. I was really thinking about hitting the new LNHC Barber Shoppe again, but the scent of Hipster was just begging to be used. I am a big Stirling fan and familiar with their performance, but new scents can surely draw me in. So with that, Hipster got the nod. After reading the description, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, I get a nice light, clean scent that, to my nose, is nothing like the description. I know everyone's nose is different and we can pick up different scents on the same object. But once again, my inexperienced nose has nothing to offer you for a description ... but it's really nice. Grabbed a badger today just because and got after it. A 30 second load time with a damp brush and I worked up a great lather. The scent is more subtle, but held throughout the shave.

40 laps on leather and it was time for business. I went with my standard three pass shave of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Man that was a good shave! As I mentioned the performance is really good and I am BBS for the win! Oh yeah!

Wrapped everything up with a rinse and a pat dry. A glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! I got an initial intense burn for about 2 seconds when I applied the AS. So ... not sure if I was a little to heavy handed with the razor or what. I will have to revisit this. But that did pass really quickly. And the post shave feel is really nice after the dry down. Yup, I'm digging it .. just don't call me a Hipster. Life is good!

Home Front-
So, still doing the work from home thing and it has been extended until the end of the month. As we get closer to that date, we will see what happens. We have been doing the "shelter at home" thing before our Governor decided to implement it here, so it's been a few days. Thankfully we live in a house outside of town. So we can get out in the yard and enjoy the weather without having anyone in close proximity. It will be a short week because I am off on Good Friday ... yay me! Other than that just same old, same old at the moment.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 367 SE: 9 SR: 420)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Wilkinson Sword - Germany (1)
Stirling Boar
MWF soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Avon Clint AS

The Process-
Early morning shave today (with a late post) and mixed the kit up a bit for an old school shave. I am doing a comparison between Wilkinson blades from Britain (vintage) vs Germany (new). So I thought the Old Type would be a fun razor to use. All of my soaps perform well, but MWF was on deck today. And once again, a boar got the nod. I don't have any issues with building a lather with The Fat and today was no exception ... it delivered. I had a really nice lather going on.

I went with my standard three pass shave of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Not sure if it was the blade or just that I hadn't used the Old Type in a while, but the blade felt "different". Not bad or anything, just different ... I just can't explain it. Anyway, the blade was smooth and sharp, delivering a nice shave. As I mentioned, I ran it through all three passes with no issues and I am BBS for the win! Oh yeah! That was a nice shave and now I am wondering about the longevity of this blade. I'll have to circle back on that later. The plan is to use this blade for three shaves and then use the vintage British for three matching shaves and compare the two. Wrapped everything up with a rinse and a pat dry. A healthy glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! Oh yes it was ... man I dig that Avon Clint. Sometimes a vintage AS is just the right call. Life is good!

Home Front-
Nothing much new to report. Had to briefly go into the office to work on a machine. Traffic was nice and light. The building was nice and quiet too. I usually have only seen that late evenings or weekends, so it felt kinda odd. I think that's all I've got at the moment, stay safe out there.

 

[thombrogan]

Shave Count (DE: 366 SE: 9 SR: 420)

Stirling Hipster

Outstanding pairing!

 

[MilkCrate]

Outstanding pairing!

Thank you!

Have you tried a post shave lather yet?

 

[thombrogan]

Have you tried a post shave lather yet?

Slightly did last night. Some Aveeno Therapeutic after pwning my face with a bad shave. Will try again tonight more deliberately.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 368 SE: 9 SR: 420)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Wilkinson Sword - Germany (2)
Vulfix Badger
LNHC Barber Shoppe soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
LNHC Barber Shoppe Elixir

The Process-
Early morning shave today and changed out the soap and splash. Kept the same razor and blade to continue testing those. I think I may have loaded too heavily on my first shave with this soap, so I went with a 20 second load time today to see how that works. This soap appears to be really thirsty, so I kept throwing water at it and it payed off. I whipped up a really nice, wet lather that smelled great. It also has really good slickness and residual slickness as well. A big thank you to @lnhc for making this special edition soap/elixer, I am digging it.

I went with my standard three pass shave of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. The performance of the soap made quick work of this shave and I am BBS for the win. I haven't had any issues with this blade yet either, which is nice. So far it has delivered a great, consistent shave. I have plenty of DE blades for now, but I wouldn't hesitate to add some of these blades to the collection. After this comparison, I may circle back at a later time and test the longevity. We'll see how it holds up for shave #3 tomorrow.

Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather, then a rinse and pat dry. A couple squirts of the elixir and everything was right as rain! I'm not sure how much to use, but two squirts seems to be fine. It starts out a bit greasy feeling, but doesn't last but just a moment. It absorbs quickly and delivers a great post shave feel. Yup, this one is a keeper. Life is good!

Home Front-
So today is Thursday, my Friday. Have a really long weekend which will be really nice. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, but I hear rumors of rain all through the weekend. We shall see. I really need to mow, but don't think it will be dry enough. I also have some things to work on around the house. With the whole self-isolation thing, it should make for an interesting Easter. Stay safe out there.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 369 SE: 9 SR: 420)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Wilkinson Sword - Germany (3)
Stirling synth
M&M Naid soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
M&M Naid ASB

The Process-
A glorious late morning shave was had today. I am on my last test shave with the German blade and then I switch over to the vintage British. The only bit of kit that I kept from yesterday was the razor and blade. That’s because I really wanted to take this new Naid set for a spin. I was warned by @Dave in KY that the soap was SOFT, but silly me read ... soft. Oh my gosh, this soap is SOFT. I way overloaded the brush and had to throw a lot of water at it. I had an awesome latherpalooza going on in here. Needless to say I whipped up a lot of creamy lather that had a nice, light apricot scent.

I went with my standard three pass shave of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Man, I had a real decadent lather going and the Wilkie effortlessly glided through it delivering an outstanding BBS for the win. I think I either went nose blind or just was focused elsewhere, because I did lose the scent at one point. But I picked it back up later in the shave. This has been a really good blade and I would certainly use them if I had them in hand.

Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather while I cleaned and put away the shave gear. Then a rinse and pat dry. A squirt of the ASB and everything was right as rain! I haven’t used a set that had a fruit scent until today. The ASB was more apricot forward than the soap too. Not bad at all and the missus approved. The dry down was great, leaving the face really moisturized and I still catch a faint whiff of the scent every once and again. Life is good!

Home Front-
The office was closed for Good Friday, so I have a lond weekend. Now what can I get done before the bad weather hits?

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 370 SE: 9 SR: 420)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Wilkinson Sword - British (1)
Stirling boar
MWF soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
Avon Clint AS

The Process-
A customary late morning shave to start the day. Went back to the setup I used for the first Wilkie, but changed out the blade to the vintage British. These next three shaves will dupe the last three to compare blades. The Fat whipped up a really nice lather with its pleasant, light scent. No surprises here and I had plenty of lather for the shave and post shave.

I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Another really nice shave and I am BBS for the win! Oh yeah! The difference in the blades was easily noticeable. The German was smooth and sharp. But it felt more rigid and had a keener feeling edge to it. This vintage blade didn’t feel as rigid and had a buttery smooth edge to it. This blade also made quick work of the shave and left my face in great shape. For me, I prefer the vintage blade. That was my first use of any vintage blade and I’m glad I had the opportunity to try it. We’ll see how it fairs the next few shaves.

Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather while I cleaned the shave gear. Then a quick rinse and pat dry. Today I hit the Witch Hazel, then a glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! Nice ... very nice! That was a great shave. Life is good!

Home Front-
The day started out with clear skies and sunshine. Then the thunderstorms quickly moved in. Hm ... now to figure out what to work on. Stay safe out there!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 371 SE: 9 SR: 420)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Wilkinson Sword - British (2)
Vulfix Badger
LNHC Barber Shoppe soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
LHNC Barber Shoppe ASB

The Process-
C’mon it’s the weekend, you know it was a late morning shave. Mimicking the previous German test and changed up the soap. The soap loaded up easy enough and whipped up a really nice lather. Sometimes I use the Vulfix because it doesn’t use as much soap as the DSC, but the DSC has a better, softer knot. Hm.

I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. I had another great shave and I am BBS for the win! I’ve got this soap dialed in now and the slickness and residual slickness are spot on. Man that was nice. I’m not interested in “cushion”, I’m dragging a blade across my face so I want slickness. And I got it. I’ll have to try this with an SR after these tests. Anyway, the Brit did a great job and does better for me than the German. In addition to a better feeling shave, I had less stubble the next morning with the Brit. So there is that.

Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather while I cleaned the shave gear. Then a quick rinse and pat dry. Then I hit it with a couple of squirts of the ASB and everything was right as rain! Yes it was. Great post shave feel also ... I’m digging it. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 372 SE: 9 SR: 420)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Old Type
Wilkinson Sword - British (3)
Stirling synth
M&M Naid soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
M&M Naid ASB

The Process-
Ok an early(ish) shave this morning. Last Friday was my scheduled day off, but it fell on a company holiday. When that happens, your day off moves to the next business day. And here we are. Wrapping up my testing of the Wilkie blades. Another run with the Naid and it did a bang up job. It whips up a nice creamy lather, that has a great light scent that carries through the shave.

I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. That was nice ... very nice! I had a really nice shave and I’m BBS for the win! That was a fun comparison, but I have to give the edge to the British blade. Both shave well, but the Brit just has a smoothness that the German couldn’t match.

Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather while I cleaned the shave gear. Then a quick rinse and pat dry. Then I hit the ASB for a squirt and everything was right as rain! I didn’t think I would like it at first, but I’m kinda digging that Apricot scent.Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 372 SE: 9 SR: 421)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Solingen SR
Zenith Boar
AA Bay Rum soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AA Bay Rum AS

The Process-
Early morning shave and back to the grind. I don't know, but it just felt like a Bay Rum day to me. So Atomic Age got the nod. And the Zenith is on desk as well. Just the smell of this soap, off the puck, is awesome. Hit it with a wet brush and got to work. I whipped up a nice, wet lather that smelled great. I also had plenty for a shave and post shave.

40 laps on leather this morning and it was go time. I didn't realize until I used a DE for the last 6 days that I really missed an SR. I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. That was a great shave and I am BBS for the win! I could probably hit this razor on the balsa a bit, but it was a nice silky smooth shave. Yup, I'll take it. The ironic thing is this German steel has a better feel than the German Wilkie blades.

Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather while I cleaned the shave gear. Then a quick rinse and pat dry. I am working from home, so I indulged in a glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! Arg ... you know it was! Great post shave feel and I smell great. Life is good!

Home Front-
Well, I got the shelves for the bathroom stained, but I am still waiting on them to dry. The front that came through brought colder temps and a lot of humidity. Hopefully they will be dry today and I can put some Poly on them to seal them. We are still well and getting by and we have groceries, what more can you ask for? I think that's all I got for ya today.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 372 SE: 9 SR: 422)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Solingen SR
Zenith Boar
Stirling Deton-8 soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Stirling Deton-8 AS

The Process-
Quick update ... BOOM!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 372 SE: 9 SR: 424)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Renolds SR
DSC Badger
PAA Sangre de Drago soap (sample)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather

The Process-
Another late morning shave. I decided to set the alarm an hour later than my normal schedule and it was glorious. Once I awoke, I read various news sources and enjoyed my coffee way too long. So here we are with a late morning shave. Thank goodness for the "stay at home" thing when you might miss a morning shave. Anyway, decided to grab the Sangre de Drago today and take it for a spin. It is a sample, but a large sample so I have been able to enjoy it many times. Went with the DSC today for a nice messy shave. Added a bit of the sample to the copper bowl and got to it. I whipped up a really nice lather, adding water as I went. And I had plenty I tell you. I really dig this brush, it has bloomed out rather large and makes quick work of lathering.

40 laps on leather and it was down to business. I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. That was a nice smooth shave. I had a ton of lather going and the razor made quick work of it. Today I scored a DFS+ for the win! I had a bit of trouble in the normal problem areas, but don't know if that was me or the razor. I'll take the heat on that one and it was still good. Wrapped everything up with a bit of a post shave lather while I cleaned the shave gear. Then a quick rinse and pat dry. No AS today and everything was right as rain! Yup, you read that right. I don't have anything that matches or is close, so I just wrapped it up there. It was all good though, it gave me a few more minutes to enjoy the scent. And the post shave feel with just a soap only was very nice. These artisan soaps have so many skin food ingredients, it's hard to go wrong. Life is good!

Home Front-
Planned on being in a Zoom meeting tonight, but an emergency outage at work will have me working instead. That sucks. Got kinda lazy last night and just chilled, so no progress on the shelves. Hopefully I'll get the poly finished up tonight, depending on the outage. A few other things to work on, but those will wait until the weekend. Be safe out there.

 

[MilkCrate]

Mail call

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 372 SE: 9 SR: 425)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Henckels SR
Stirling synth
Ethos Succes soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Ethos Succes AS

The Process-

I shaved.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 373 SE: 9 SR: 425)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Slim
British Wilkinson (4)
Vulfix Badger
Ethos Lavender Supreme soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Ethos Lavender Supreme AS

The Process-
I guess my shave notes yesterday were a bit lacking, so let me try again. Early morning shave because one of the dogs needed a pre-dawn potty break. What's wrong with that dog? Anyway, so I was up early and thought I would get my shave on. I stayed with the Ethos brand again today and the missus was kind enough to let me try her Lavender. I have not tried a Lavender before. I did purchase Mike's Hungarian Lavender on a BST one time, but unfortunately I only smelled saddle soap. What?! Maybe it was old and lost it's scent or something. Don't know, but couldn't smell it. Anyway, this one has a pleasant, light scent so I threw a bit into the copper bowl and got to it. I will say that this soap feels a bit firmer in the tub than the Pineapple does. The Vulfix did a good job of whipping up lather and I really want to like this brush. But it has a few prickly hairs that really drive me nuts. Great lather none the less and I had plenty for a shave and post shave.

I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. That Brit Wilkie is still going strong and delivered an effortless BBS shave. That was outstanding! The performance of the soap is very nice and had plenty of slickness too. I did become nose blind to the scent at some point and picked it back up later in the shave. Man I dig this Gillette Slim, it just delivers. Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather while cleaning shave gear. Then a quick rinse and pat dry. A glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! But ... you knew it was. To my untrained nose, the AS starts with a green type scent. The Pineapple AS did the same thing as well yesterday. The green scent does fade and the original frag comes through. I'm not sure of the longevity yet, I will have to pay more attention. I will say that I don't get a lot of projection from either AS, but that could be my nose. I can still smell it on me, but I think these scents would require you to be really close to smell them on someone. Anyway, that's my first observations. More to come with use. Life is good!

Home Front-
Thunderstorms rolling through at the moment. Uh ... I will probably do some ... ya know ... stuff.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 374 SE: 9 SR: 425)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Gillette Slim
British Wilkinson (5)
TSC Synth
CC Venture soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
CC Venture AS

The Process-
Early morning shave today and thought I would go with CC Venture. This is a set that I haven't used in awhile, so it got the nod. Love the scent and the soap works really well. It lathers quickly and will produce volumes of lather. The only grip I have is the scent strength, I would like it to be cranked up a notch. But, it is what it is and that's just my preference. Also broke out the TSC brush today. This is a synthetic knot and holds a ton of water. Mine has a lot of backbone and I have some difficulty with trying to splay it. I imagine it will loosen up with use, so here we are. Whipped up a nice lather and got down to business using painting strokes.

I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. That Brit Wilkie has still got! It once again delivered a great, effortless shave and I scored a DFS+ for the win! That's not on the blade, that's on me. I'll take it, that was still a really nice shave. Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather while cleaning shave gear. Then a quick rinse and pat dry. A glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! Yup ... digging this scent. Very nice way to start the day, with a relaxing shave. Life is good!

Home Front-
Thunderstorms passed and we are rolling along. Our poor horses can't catch break. It just doesn't stay dry enough for any of the mud to dry up. Once the ground crusts over, it rains again. Finally got that shelf put up. My gosh, it shouldn't take that long to stain and poly a few shelves. But it's done. Back at work today and the workload has settled down a bit. Not sure if that's good or not, but we sha see. Just a few things to knock out at the house later today. I also need to get out to the shop and try and work on a few things.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 374 SE: 9 SR: 426)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Solingen SR
Stirling Boar
DG Darkfall soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
DG Darkfall AS

The Process-
Early morning shave today ... you know it. I usually use a soap/AS set for a work week and do random stuff on the weekends. I’ve noticed while working from home, I am random all the time now. But it’s all good. So DC was on deck today, just because. I’m still on the fence with this one and I think most of the sweaty goat *** smell is gone. Most of it anyway, so it’s sitting open for another day to see if that does the trick. Anyway it whipped up a good lather and I got down to business.

No leather this morning. I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. I had a wet lather going on and had a great shave. I scored a BBS for the win. I’ll take those all week long please.

Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather while cleaning shave gear. Then a quick rinse and drip dry. A glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! This AS has a menthol kick to start and then fades away. Leaving a warm spicy scent for the dry down. That part of the scent I do dig. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Life is good!

Home Front-
Not much to report yet. Here are some picks of my shelf upgrade. Before it was 2’ tall and 1’ wide. I went with an industrial look and it’s 3’ wide. That should work.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 375 SE: 9 SR: 428)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Solingen SR
Semogue boar
Stirling Hipster soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Stirling Hipster AS

The Process-
Nailed it.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 375 SE: 9 SR: 429)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
Dovo SR
Vulfix Badger
RR The Stallion soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
RR The Stallion AS

The Process-
Mid morning shave today, just because. For some reason I was really indecisive on what scent to go with today, which is odd for me. But eventually, The Stallion got the nod. I think I’ve only used it once or twice because I’m not real sure about the scent. I think part of it may be too powdery for me and the scent smells heavily synthetic. Like the scent they put in an industrial cleaner to mask the chemical smell. Or maybe my nose is odd. Anyway it lathered very well. I used the Vulfix which I am back and forth on because it can be prickly. I’ve read that’s normal for low end “pure” badger. But today it did well for me. I was also trying something new as far as adding water to the brush that worked very well.

40 laps on leather and it was time to get down to business. I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Well ... maybe just a little. I did get a small nick on my Adams Apple, but the bleed stopped with a quick rinse. Other than that it was all good and I’m BBS for the win! The soap base does fine for an SR shave. Wrapped everything up with a splash of water and a pat dry. Followed that with a glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! You know it folks. The AS has a slightly different scent to it. Maybe not as harsh smelling as the soap. But it lit me up. The missus looked at me and wanted to know what went wrong. I guess this maybe a reaction or something because I am all red. In spite of that, I’m ready for the day. Life is good!

Home Front-
Got my clippers honed up and I’m no longer a Chia pet. Have a mower repair and then mowing. And I’m sure a few other honey-do’s will pop-up. Have a great day