minimalist quest for the #1

[Ckmaui]

for the soaps decided to use the Green 7 O'Clock blades ? it was that or Nacet both are so good so just chose the green 7

these were a few that did not make it early on and coming back around to them they were just not for me

not pic is some cremo which wife uses and I have some for camping BUT that might go away
and stirling and a couple others

a huge upset to my SV was the Captains Choice Cream he had a giveaway to try and report and I already had his hard soap and said IN and glad I did
WOW the captains cream moved into my #1 spot for post comfort as in that no feeling of shaving soothing just nice post by a very noticeable amount to me even over SV
the Venture scent might be my fav so far

I will find a #2 going forward though so I have some backup in a sense and just to have some options ? but chances are will just use the #1 all the time so more a in the wings if anything happens formula change that did not work for me etc..


So starting tomorrow this is what is going to be tested since I have used some of them more than others will decide how much each gets and I have done this twice before so just wanted to test and find the ones that keep winning

for me has to be the post no feel of having shaved and no dryness
I decided I do not like any post shave burn with the feel of the splash hitting my face at all ! just that cool alcohol evaporating and of course slickness during shave etc..
but from testing before most all are slick its the post feel that varies the most
and one thing I do not like is some that leave that white residue behind which I think is more do to my hard water but not a fan of that

again like before I noticed all the artisan types all kinda perform really close !
I also kinda like some consistency and not a every month is a new formula that some artisan seem to do and really do not want to be trying to find a new scent all the time
that minimalist consistent is important but after the comfort !

 

[Ckmaui]

Congratulations on finding your best for you for this moment razor! Timeless makes happy clampers that’s for sure.

Which soaps and blades are facing down your gauntlet?

thanks
and even the razor I have a couple more BUT I need a bit of cut down and minimal then bring in one at a time and these last few are more just to for sure scratch that last itch !
and again the AC blade straight things going to try a Kai Kasho Captain after I narrow down my DE gear and doing the others again just because this is kinda fun to try

the blades somewhere over 40
will post up a pic when I pull em all out
while I did this once before I want to do it with what will be my best soaps/creams and the razor I plan on keeping and happy with
to me this is that silly getting that last tiny % and just knowing I tried everything I wanted leaving no doubts in my mind as I tend to do that to myself !

Oh brushes will be last after the soap and blades

 

[Ckmaui]

Time to narrow down the soaps/creams

all are so good its more finding the little things that bug me to set aside

what am I looking for ?
of course performance being the biggest
being clean not leaving residue is something that more bugs me not sure if its truly behind on my face hahahaha
and of course have to love shaving with it both scent and just how easy is it to work with
availability is a bit of factor something that is always out of stock or hard to get would bug me
another one is constant change like the scent not being available anymore or changing formulas to often which might be Ok or might be a negative so consistency is kinda important
the idea of history is more a fun side thing but also shows it might have that consistency of scent and formula down ! Also with the will it be around in 5 yrs ?
I think this is also why I would not mind 2 maybe 3 if I truly loved something but 2 is enough to have around and just make note of the 3rd



started with one I love scent wise equal to any of the Creed Aventus clones and that is TOBS Jermyn street ! And is a top performer
I like it has some history behind it
Also its clean does not leave any residue
I also like they have other various scents like eaton college and a couple other that have that cologne scent I tend to lean toward and available easily and doubt they are going to be changing formulas or scents all the time

 

[flask28]

Timeless Razor won for now ​

so decided to keep going forward with the Timeless Ti .68 SB and crown handle !

Congrats!! That was a very cool evaluation you did, how great to have dialed in the razor that you KNOW works for you - that's the best way to defeat RAD for sure.

 

[Ckmaui]

Congrats!! That was a very cool evaluation you did, how great to have dialed in the razor that you KNOW works for you - that's the best way to defeat RAD for sure.

Thanks and yup on the RAD


I am glad I never sold Off any till I really knew then gave each one I liked about 3 months solid time shaving daily and then came back around to compare so the new toy thing had also worn off

 

[Ckmaui]

Taylor of Old Bond Street Jermyn ​

The soaps I am going to go over I have been over before but wanted to come back around after a few months of mostly SV and recently the Captains Choice cream !
find those fav top 2 maybe 3 !
If they perform well enough I might use them up ? Then I think sell off and just start using what I truly love ahhhh shave nerd problems ! Hahahahaha

The first one that is one of my fav all time scents is the Tobs Jermyn street just wonderful smelling and performance
it has this great history that I know a good chance of it being around and in the same formula and I do like some of the other TOBS as well

the slickness is very good I do think some artisan might be a bit better with slickness but not sure its needed but if you do like to buff spots over a few times some of the modern artisan I feel for me and my hard water do a touch better
where this like the CC Cream does so well is the post feel of when the AS hits the face it just lets no irritation through to your face ! and the AS splash just has this nice evaporation of the alcohol which I do love that ultra comfort post

 

[Ckmaui]

Spearhead Seaforth Spiced ​

Love the scent of this stuff
to me its not old spice but a nice spice smell on its own standing and just a variant of it in that same family of some spice some floral some of that vanilla and Tonka give it a nice base

as far as slickness yeah like many other super slick artisan soaps this stuff is every bit of those and worth a try slicker than the TOBS and the CC Cream but falls behind in that post comfort feeling of no irritation gets through !
and the skin while not tight has more a I used some soap feel on it not as much dryness but it took something away a touch that a short bit of time just has to bring back ! Again I am nitpicking the fine details here

Again a main thing I am looking for is post comfort when the splash hits the face and enough comfort during the shave so the post feel is a bit more important to me with its more gentle post skin feel and less irritation over that ultra slick for follow up !

and this is where I am curious about some pre shaves ? I have tried before but did not notice much so do plan on coming back around once I get maybe top 5 soaps and see if I can bring up the slickness or the post depending on the pre shave ! But at the same time I think a great soap should not need pre shave !

If you have been curious about spearhead and like other artisan soaps my vote is try it !

if I had to choose this or TOBS I do think I would choose TOBS
based on post feel and the tradition and how long TOBS has been around
while silly part of me wonders if some of these small cottage soap makers quit will it be around ? Will it be the same formula etc...

 

[Jack Goossen]

Writing a book, are we?
Kidding. Nice to read.

 

[Ckmaui]

Writing a book, are we?
Kidding. Nice to read.

Hahahaha one with poor grammar

my brain dumps help me hope they might help others I know I enjoy reading those thoughts on things from some folks
if anything newer folks like me 2 yrs into this realize the YMMV and just buy the stuff and try it is the only way to know if you truly like it

is fun to see how the change happens and sometimes come back around to like something or stay the course with did not work

 

[Ckmaui]

RE House brand ​

so love the scent of these soaps the barber shop is amazing had gone through one tub already and bought another but might sell it or use it as regular soap ? The Element 47 is also top notch as well as the Old School (another one I have gone through a tub of)

The nice thing also is the price great bang for buck soap at $16 was $14 when I got it BUT reasonable for a artisan that can get in the $20+ range and this performs every bit the same
also its made in house and local to me and nice to support local biz but I know they have some controversy ?

Overall this will be in the sell bin as my CC and Spearhead are nicer and again my goal is that I will only use the best performing favs as said I have gone through a couple of these so was in my top but as I try more I am finding things I like even more

this is behind my CC Cream in post comfort and its behind the Spearhead Seaforth also ?

 

[Ckmaui]

Fine Accoutrements​

So as I narrow down my soaps decided Fine was in order !
Have had this a while and used it enough to know how it is also why I have not used it much recently as I have found other soaps that performed better I felt
have used this enough I know the outcome but am giving a fair shake once again

not my best post but insane good slickness like many other artisan
the scent of the two I have the American (which was today) and the Platinum though are just so so so wonderful and wish the post performance matched the scent as I would be happy BUT that AS hitting the face the bit more tingle/sting I feel is something I do not get with the CC Cream and what I am enjoying !

CC Cream I can get in Success which is that creed aventus homage same as the Platinum
still prefer brush loading off a hard puck over cream ! But performance trumps that brush loading !

one thing I notice is how some soaps truly get that light thick canned foam suds whatever ya call it off the puck and not just load the brush but do seem to have some kinda sudsing help ingredient and I do notice those never perform for me as much as the thinner wet ones

I do tend to like that dense wet shiny even if thinner looking soaps to describe like a pudding or yogurt vs whip cream or canned shave foam as a rough analogy as those light airy foamy just do not work for me

if one likes that thick sudsing all over off the puck with a squeezed brush this could be the soap for you and if you like amazing I mean truly amazing scents that are strong enough to really notice when shaving again this could be for you !

Tomorrow going to do some face lathering and see how that goes for fun

 

[flask28]

I like how this guy just showed up for the party.

 

[Ckmaui]

View attachment 1575284

I like how this guy just showed up for the party.

YUP
and Nacet are one of my fav blades so kinda like the Nacet Aligator I was thinking when I pulled it out

got the little guy and a bunch of others when I was backpacking Guatemala in the 90s
as I lived in Honduras for a year back then

 

[Ligeti]

Thank you so very much for sharing your journey!

 

[Ckmaui]

Thank you so very much for sharing your journey!

Thanks for reading my brain dump thoughts and the comment to

it is strange though as I like to read others thoughts on stuff like shaving strange in a interesting how shaving of all things can turn into a hobby to

 

[Ckmaui]

recent brain dump thoughts !

I decided as I write this I might jump to finding my blades first and do the soap more after that !
really want to go down the straight artist blade razor test and wanted to try the Kai Kasho Captain !
want to give a few soaps the chance with the Kai KC since they might perform a touch different ?
so this thought is part of the reason to kinda switch my narrow down focus

todays shave with the following man again was so good its what I want at the end of the day just this ultimate comfortable post with no feeling of tingle burn sting whatever when the splash hits just the cold cool evaporating and that is it ! I do not like that burn feel at all IMHO any sting just reveals you scraped a blade across your face and should not be there YMMV if ya like that hahahaha


FOMO reasons in my head hahahahaha
the prices have really shot up on the Nacet and the Green 7 which have been my fav blade and while I have about 40-50 other blades to test again all but about 7 have failed so do not expect any difference but I just want that %100 I gave them all a solid try !
that said I still have quite a few of each of those 7 or so that made the first round and have maybe 500 blades I can use well enough while not my favs they work OK

I so want to buy like 4 packs of the Nacet and the Green 7 while on sale BUT I reckon they will go on sale again and the huge reason to wait is the Kai Kasho Captain razor before I dump to much more into DE blades ? if I end up loving the straight style of the Kai so much more and want to go down that path ?


where I am at as of todays shave !
Blade - Green 7 O'Clock VS the Nacet
do think I like these a touch better than the Nacet with some more side by side shaves using the Navet and going back and forth the first shave the Nacet has a sleight lead then the next shave is a draw then the Green 7 has the sleight lead ? really makes it hard to say which is better wish I had the first shave of the Nacet the follow up of the green blade


Soap - Spearhead Seaforth Spice vs the Captains Choice or CC Soap
the spice is so creamy thick wet lush well ya get the idea love the way it works up ! this edged out the CC harder soap but the CC Cream is still in #1 spot
I do wish the Spearhead had a touch better post feel but its so close the slickness and the way it works up is where it took the lead I feel ?

Brush - RV Muhle STF
OH so wonderful and as I have been saying I will try a few more but cant see them getting better ? but maybe will see some that are just a touch different but in no hurry on the brush comparisons

AS - Old Spice OH the classic and Neutrogena pulls it all together
yeah this is my #1 go to post did a touch of comparisons while I love Pinaud Clubman think I am done with the Pinaud and just use it up ! not sure I care to put money into nicer AS either as I have said again rather put that into some EDT/EDP instead but need to try a few more splashes maybe to narrow down but have so much I love this like the brushes is will do later

 

[Ckmaui]

while my focus has changed to the blades till I order the Kai Kasho Captain (KKC) I will slowly cull my other things to get to that minimal setup I want and did some culling today !

blades today again the Nacet and the Green 7 are in a tie I think I like pretty sure this is my thinking that the 7 i a touch better during the shave and the nacet a a touch better at post ? that said I would rather have a touch better post but they are so stinking close ? so might be more of a wait and see thing and will try some other blade to compare tomorrow

well todays culling down

my Pinaud Clubman and VIBR goes in the sell box ! incl a new 12oz bottle of Pinaud I had in waiting as well !

why ? I for sure get an allergic reaction some times using it I notice I get some burn and skin turns red and itchy for a short bit not always but often enough while it goes away and my Old Spice never does this as do a couple others that never do this !
SO decided while I love the regular Pinaud its not worth it for me with my allergies ! my allergies are pretty severe had anaphylaxis shock 2x in my life with which was not fun and if I eat certain foods I do get them really really bad and have had skin issues major sinus issues etc.. my recent diet change with no junk has helped a lot BUT if my clothes get washed with certain brands of laundry soap I get this horrid itchy red rash skin or certain shampoo or bath soaps I also suffer so me being sensitive to "stuff" is nothing new and I also want to make it clear I am in NO WAY saying its the products fault as to many to long have used it for any one newer reading this ! its NOT Pinaud its me

I have had allergic reactions with some of the Stirling again so many use it no issues but some have had issues so again not the product just some of us have allergies like no Pinaud or cats for me
and will be testing for more !

and the soap from today the BAUM.BE goes in the sell box !
why? just decided so many other great soaps I like more perform better for me and prefer the scent for me

my thinking on blade testing might change this time also
I used to do 2 random blades against each other and then winner moves forward but this time I am going to just put up the new blade to test against the Nacet or Green 7 if it CAN beat the the Nacet or Green then it will move into a WOW bin to cull down more otherwise it goes back to my misfit box and the theory being my 14yr old will be shaving sometime soon will see what he likes for a while and if he wants to try a bunch of other blades I will have those on hand !
I do plan on trying a tatara at least so will also do a round of ALL my blades with those to find its best blade for me !

 

[Ckmaui]

SO the blades I am going to be comparing testing

I thought I had a few more ? but 43 with a couple of them like the Feather being the dif package the lord dif package both egypt made the back has a dif marking though and not sure on the persona ? going to try to find out on that as we all know the persona is so confusing !
also the Astra Stainless I have two wrapper types one with printing and laser etched which folks say are the new ones and the older ones which are printed blades and older had double wrapping which I also had but used up

the Wilkinson sword(German ones) and the Permasharp I forgot to put in my original pic so if those two on the bottom look funny cause I pasted them in the Bolzano are the German ones now harder to find and more $ but way better than the current Egypt ones

---

the persona confusion hahahaah correct me if I am wrong please

the top is just the Persona Platinum you can get them in this plastic and as I understand also in the bulk 100 pack but they can have a dif printing on blade and a dif wrapper ? have also seen the little card on top have the red silver bar with red writing or red packaging ? and folks say they are all the same blade inside dif packaging

the middle Crystal Comfort made in Israel (no longer made) I think ? not sure but pretty sure and have seen some printed with made in Israel and some not printed but the same pat no and edge print etc..and the tuck had the made in Israel on it kinda plain blue cover card on the tuck

bottom for sure are the hospital ones (have seen this wrapper on the comfort coated in photos also ? but the blade inside of course does not have the hospital use on it and blades have the word super on them ? these also have really gone up in price

 

[Ckmaui]

green 7 O'Clock(top blade) vs the yellow 7 O'Clock(bottom blade) = the green 7 wins

I can say I prefer the Green 7 or the Nacet sure I could compare more but think I won't this was my last blade from the tuck and from yesterdays shave with proper lather and todays they are a very nice but just prefer the Green 7 or the Nacet still

 

[Ckmaui]

the blade comparison today was the Voskhod blade vs the Nacet
have used the Voskhod through a full tuck and they are comfy but not as sharp as I would like during shave is not quite as nice as the Nacet but the post is about the same

So tomorrow I will just move on to the next one I do plan on giving most the 2 shaves at least but this was pretty clear and since I have used them enough I figure just get on with it ! OH and it started on my easy side and if it cant do that as well I know for sure the outcome !

And as said before I have been through all my blades a bunch already so this is more just giving them one last chance hahahahaha