Milkcrate's Musings

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 425 SE: 9 SR: 515)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Gillette Slim
Blade: Astra SP (1)
Brush: SV TSC LE Badger
Soap: Stirling Piacenza

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stirling Piacenza
Frag: none

The Process-
Very nice late morning shave. On deck today was Piacenza while I gave my brother a lesson in traditional shaving. I walked through a great three pass shave, explaining everything as I went. It was strange talking while I was shaving. I am smelling great and BBS for the win! Life is good!

So I hooked my brother up with everything he needed to get started. The Tech and Yaqi brush thanks to @Dave in KY. I originally planned on doing something else with the Stirling Deton-8, but kept it out for him to sniff. He sniffed a lot of my soaps and decided that he wanted Mike’s Natural Barbershop and my homemade Patchouli AS. I also gave him Astra SP blades, WH, a styptic and my old Dopp bag. Also told him to hit me up when he needed more blades. We’ll see how far he goes.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 425 SE: 9 SR: 516)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: H Diamond SR
Blade: none
Brush: Zenith Boar
Soap: Stirling Hipster

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stirling Hipster
Frag: none

The Process-
Very nice morning shave. Three comfortable passes and I am BBS for the win! This Zenith brush and I are having a love / hate relationship. And it’s mostly hate. Not sure yet if I’ll get rid of it or re-knot it. But it has lost its place on my shelf and been replaced with an Omega 48. I’m sure the Vulfix and Zenith brands probably make a good brush, people seem to like them. But I’m not impressed. Other than that gripe ... Life is good!

Home Front-
I was thinking about my brother and others like him this morning. The people that we get started down the traditional shaving path are fortunate. They get to avoid the pitfalls of trial and error, trying various subpar products. They are starting out with good equipment and someone that can guide them along the way if needed. Just a thought. Off to fo pick up the new horse today.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 425 SE: 9 SR: 517)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Torrey SR
Blade: none
Brush: Stirling Boar
Soap: Stirling Executive Man

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stirling Executive Man
Frag: none

The Process-
Early-ish shave today, later than my work week shave. Last Friday was my day off, but had to work on some last minute things for someone else. I really should adopt a new philosophy, “A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.” Anyway, onto the shave. Sounded like a good day for Executive Man. Ran with the Stirling boar and the Torrey. A 30 second load time whipped up a really nice, great smelling lather.

60 laps on leather and it was go time. I had sent this razor and my Three Ranners off to @uacowboy for a refresh, since my honing mojo was sporadic. Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. The soap and brush did their part and the razor brought it home. Three nice passes and I am BBS for the win! Nice job Kyle! Once again I had a bit of lather for a post shave while I cleaned my shave gear.

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Followed that up with a healthy splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Man I smell great! Life is good!

Home Front-
Got the new horse yesterday and he settled in quickly. Had lunch with a couple of the kids and that was a good time. It was a really good Tex-Mex place and the pico is a jalapeño and habanero mix ... good stuff. At the laundry now, washing dog beds. Then off to the hardware store for steel wool and some Tung oil to work on those wood scales.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 426 SE: 9 SR: 517)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Gillette Slim
Blade: Astra SP
Brush: APShaveCo Badger
Soap: Krokos

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Aramis ASB
Frag: none

It was a good day.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 426 SE: 9 SR: 518)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Torrey SR
Blade: none
Brush: SV TSC LE Badger
Soap: SV Opuntia

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: SV Opuntia
Frag: none

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 427 SE: 9 SR: 518)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Gillette Slim
Blade: Astra SP
Brush: Omega Pro
Soap: Noble Otter Lonestar (sample)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Avon Tai Winds
Frag: none

The Process-
TGIF! That's all I got on that, I am wore out. So I have had this sample of Lonestar for a few days and totally overlooked it. This was graciously sent to me by @patelliot, thanks again Pat! Off the puck this soap has a nice scent, it is not overpowering and is hard for me to describe. I can't pick out any individual notes and thank goodness I cannot smell the hay note. I have loaded and unloaded tons of hay bails in my time and don't really care to smell it again. But anyway, onto the shave. I scooped a bit out for the lather bowl and got to it. When lathering, I can still catch the scent and it whipped up a really nice lather with the Omega Pro. The Omega has been out of service for a bit and I had been using the Zenith. But the Zenith is now on my purge list, unless something changes.

Was a bit behind schedule, so I went with the Gillette this morning. I went with my standard three pass shave of WTG, XTG and ATG shave with no drama to report. Had a very nice shave and I am BBS for the win! Oh yeah! I like that soap, it has a nice light scent that lingered through the shave. The soap was slick and also had good residual slickness, what's not to like? I had plenty of lather left for a post shave while I cleaned the shave gear too.

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! Yes it was. The AS didn't even come close to complimenting the soap and I should really work on my sniffer ... geez. A good shave anyway and I wouldn't hesitate to add this soap/AS set to my rotation. Life is good!

Home Front-
Well, I got out of mowing on Wednesday ... I was bone tired after work. But it was a mental and a physical tired ... most odd. We had some brief rain yesterday that pushed everything back one more day. So I should be mowing tonight and setting up a round pen this weekend. I'm sure I'll find other things to do as well. Fun times.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 427 SE: 9 SR: 519)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Three Ranners SR
Blade: none
Brush: Graydog Boar
Soap: Wickhams Cashmere (sample)

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Wickhams Cashmere ASB (sample)
Frag: none

The Process-
Very nice three pass shave this morning. I did several things different this morning too. First, I soaked my brush while I was doing things getting ready. Then I put a piece of the sample soap into the copper bowl and added a touch of water just to soften it up. Emptied that out, shook the brush out and got to it. I was thinking about all the lather porn I have seen before ... LATHER ... LATHER PEOPLE. Anyway, thinking about that and just kept on whipping. I so should have taken a pic ... OMG I had the most lather I had ever whipped up. That was some goodness right there.

Followed the three easy passes with a post shave lather. Then a quick rinse and pat dry. A smear of the ASB and everything was right as rain! You know it. Great start to the day. Life is good!

Home Front-
Well ... the missus has me doing honey-do’s today. And I’ll be throwing a pork loin on the smoker, for dinner. Can’t wait. Have a great day!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 428 SE: 9 SR: 519)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Gillette Fatboy
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Graydog Boar
Soap: Haslinger Marigold

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: GTB
Frag: none

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 429 SE: 9 SR: 519)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Gillette Fatboy
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Zenith Boar
Soap: LMHC Barber Shoppe

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: LMHC Barber Shoppe
Frag: none

The Process-
Early morning shave to start the week off. Hadn’t used LNHC in awhile, so it was on deck today. I have been reading about a lot of Zenith love lately, so I broke it back out for the redemption shave. Today was it’s day to shine! And it failed so back in the trade/PIF bin it goes. Oh well.

I don’t know why, but I went with a two pass shave today. We’ll call it DFS and leave it at that. I blame that on a rushed schedule and the brush. Anyway, I get a do over tomorrow. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 429 SE: 9 SR: 520)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Ralf Aust SR
Blade: none
Brush: SV/TSC LE Badger
Soap: Ethos Succes

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Ethos Succes
Frag: none

The Process-
Yesterday was yet another rough work day. I am currently running solo while my coworker is on vaca and the fun keeps piling up. So with that in mind, I wanted to start the day off right. You can see by my choices above, I am living large today and breaking out the fancy stuff. Dropped a bit of the Ethos into my copper bowl and got after it with a damp brush. I added water as I went building a really nice, great smelling lather. I liked this brush from the start, but I am really digging it the more that I use it.

30 laps on leather this morning. Another thing to add to the fix list on this razor is to tighten the hinge pin. In spite of the few things that need corrected, the previous owner did have a nice edge on it. I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. I had a really nice shave. The razor handles really well and just moved along smoothly removing everything in it's path. Man that was a relaxing shave ... three passes and I am BBS for the win! I had plenty of lather left for a post shave while I cleaned my shave gear.

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. I splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Oh yes it was ... very nice. I am also digging the scent of this soap, but I seem to lose the pineapple rather quickly. I do smell whatever is underneath it ... not sure if that is just the natural scent of the EOS or something else. It's I guess ... herbal? It's not unpleasant at all and I am digging that too. Did I mention the post shave feel? This combo leaves the face feeling moisturized, smooth and refreshed. You know it ... Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 429 SE: 9 SR: 521)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Waterville SR
Blade: none
Brush: Graydog Boar
Soap: Stirling Baker Street

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stirling Baker Street
Frag: none

The Process-
Happy Hump Day! Early morning shave today and things are clicking on all cylinders. Mixed the kit up today and it did indeed paid dividends. Stirling Baker Street hasn't seem much action lately, so it got the nod. Also back with a boar brush and the Waterville brush that I picked up from Matt. Went with a 30 second load time and I was ready for business.

I hit the leather for 30 laps this morning and it was go time. I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. That was a very nice shave! The razor has a very nice, smooth edge that is sharp. I didn't realize until much later after the shave that I had actually nicked my ear on the ATG stroke. Never felt it. So yeah ... it was a nice shave and I am BBS for the win! I'll take that all week long. Had plenty of lather left for a post shave while I cleaned my shave gear too. Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. I healthy splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! I am ready for the day. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 429 SE: 9 SR: 522)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Waterville SR
Blade: none
Brush: Semogues Boar
Soap: Fine Santal Absolut

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Fine Santal Absolut
Frag: none

The Process-
TGITHMF! A great shave was had today

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 430 SE: 9 SR: 522)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: 1940’s Gillette Super Speed
Blade: Astra SP
Brush: Graydog Boar
Soap: Haslinger Marigold

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Florida Water
Frag: none

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 430 SE: 9 SR: 523)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Waterville SR
Blade: none
Brush: APShaveCo Badger
Soap: Stirling Gentleman

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stirling Gentleman
Frag: none

The Process-
Late morning shave today and I needed that sleep. Back with a straight and Stirling. Spurged with a 30 second load time and got to it.

40 laps on leather and it was go time. Went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. An excellent shave and I am BBS for the win! Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Followed that up with a splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! You know it. A great start to the day. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 430 SE: 9 SR: 524)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Waterville SR
Blade: none
Brush: Graydog Boar
Soap: Stirling Deton-8

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stirling Deton-8
Frag: none

The Process-
A very nice late morning shave. I did soak the boar instead of just wetting it. I also dropped my load time down to 20 seconds and whipped up a really nice lather.

Hit the cotton for 10 laps and the leather for 60 laps. I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Very smooth three passes and I am BBS for the win! Still had a bit of lather left for a post shave while I cleaned my shave gear.

Finished up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Followed that up with a healthy splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Another great start to a new day. I am clean shaved and smelling great. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 430 SE: 9 SR: 525)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Waterville SR
Blade: none
Brush: DS Cosmetic Badger
Soap: WSP Gaelic Tweed

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: WSP Gaelic Tweed
Frag: none

The Process-
A nice shave this morning with no rush for once. I had a bit more time today and really enjoyed the shave. Who am I kidding, I enjoy most shaves. Gaelic Tweed hasn't been used in a bit, so it got the nod. I thought I would take a play from Chris' book and lowered my load time to 20 seconds and whipped up a nice, yet thinner lather. It did smell great though. I forgot that this brush can be a lather hog. But even with that, it did a bang up job.

Hit the cotton for 10 laps and the leather for 40 laps. I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. Well ... maybe a smidge of drama. I had a hard landing and knew it when it happened, but luckily it didn't draw any blood. Other than that, it was smoothing sailing. Had a nice smooth shave and I am BBS for the win! Since the brush is a lather hog, I had plenty of lather left for a post shave while I cleaned my shave gear.

Finished up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Followed that up with a glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! Yes it was. I am clean shaved and smelling great. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 431 SE: 9 SR: 525)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Razorock Mamba 70
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: SV/TSC LE Badger
Soap: SV Stella Alpina

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stella Alpina
Frag: none

The Process-
Early morning shave with mostly new kit. A new razor, soap and AS. The razor did very well and delivered an effortless BBS. The soap smells nice and lathers well. This is a weaker scent and the AS will pick it up a but. Very nice shave. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave mail.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 433 SE: 9 SR: 527)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Black Diamond SR
Blade: none
Brush: Graydog Boar
Soap: MWF

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Avon Clint
Frag: none

The Process-
Had a very nice shave this morning. Mixed the kit up a bit and brought out The Fat. I haven't used it in a bit and it performs very will for me. I did have to bloom it because it hasn't been used lately. Loaded for 30 seconds with a damp brush and had plenty of nice, slick lather to work with.

10 laps on cotton and 50 on the leather again today and then onto business. I went with my standard three passes of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. That was a very nice, smooth shave and I am BBS for the win! I haven't timed it yet, but I think I have knocked a bit of time off my straight shaves. Anyway, I had a bit of lather left for a post shave while I cleaned my shave gear.

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. A glug of the AS and everything was right as rain! Man, I really dig the scent of that AS. Another great start to the day and we are wrapping up the work week. Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 433 SE: 9 SR: 528)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Black Diamond SR
Blade: none
Brush: Graydog Boar
Soap: Fine Santal Absolut

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Fine Santal Absolut
Frag: none

The Process-
Great BBS shave and ready for a day of work outside. Life is good!