minimalist quest for the #1

[Ckmaui]

todays shave was phenomenal
the CC cream delivered what it had before a perfect post comfort when the splash hit the face I wanted (was the above Bay Rum and Lime mix)
which also leads me to the blade comparison the Gillette Black 7 O’Clock the comparison blade today was my #2 the green 7 O’Clock
in quick felt like the green 7 was sharper it also had the easy side ? which often is just that ! but again both in the end perfection

So in a tie like this my brain dump thoughts with the cost of the blacks being quite a bit more when I see them over the green 7 they would have to be lasting way longer and pushing a blade is not something I am looking for as much as if they did last 2-3x longer

 

[Ckmaui]

That's very interesting @Ckmaui! I was just mentioning preshave activity's in @thombrogan's hilarious post today and mentioned that the PAA Tube 2.0 was my second ever shaving purchase. My first purchase on my wetshaving adventure was a big bottle of CeraVe face wash from the CVS down the street. Probably because I saw @Leverspro's posts .

View attachment 1600089

Right now CeraVe bookends my day. I use it first in my preshave routine, then the PAA Tube in the shaving area, then I start lathering. I also wash my face with it right before bed. I'm feeling mixed emotions right now after reading your linked post. Well, kinda



Now I'm worried I might be ruining my shave On the other hand, reading @Leverspro say



I'm thinking I might be on the road to a new face superpower.

I'll say my skin is noticeably different, clearer, firmer and luxuriously hydrated after six months of using it. So much so, I've gotten random and semi-inappropriate comments about it from co-workers in the office . I've been attributing that change to the CeraVe mostly, but I've been slathering my face with fancy shaving soap as well so I suspect that's played a part.

I don't notice it messing up my shave, but then I've been using it pretty much from the beginning of my journey! How would I know. Hmm. I'll try not using it tomorrow and see if I can tell a difference.
And I wanted to say your posts are fantastic, they always make me chortle.

Hahaha OH the preshave thing is interesting as I say a good soap should not need it but with my neutrogena hydro gel being perfection and that is after after shave ! And if soap can do perfection why do we need after shave so the idea of preshave is something I can see being legit
as I say it seems all soaps only have so much length where for me the super slick lack in the post and the post ones lack in super slick so a preshave might bring out those ends where they fall short

for me the cerave in a preshave idea I did say I think ! Hahahah which means I need to over analyze it to death to find out but also for me a shower tends to also make me to soft in the face and my shaves seem to be less comfort in the post when the splash hits the face
in the end once I finalize my soaps I will hit up the preshave testing
I do think most can get something out of a pre shave and while the other half say they make no difference ? I just wonder if they did not test enough of them !

I do know the Proraso pre shave I have in the white I do not like the scent at all so its a no go for me

I do want to try the cube or the tube and the bar from Razor emporium and a few other preshaves once I narrow down my true #1 blade and maybe then see what the top two soaps need to improve on and find the pre shave for it

on the cerave I do say that face wash is amazingly good and one of those things in life I say I wish I found earlier ! Of course along with this shaving routine !

On your face/skin being better hahahahaha OH I can relate
I work from home so only the wife says anything ! BUT I kid you not about two weeks ago I went to the dentist for a cleaning and the hygenist lady is really nice late 40s maybe early 50s I think but she said if you do not mind me saying this what is your skin routine cause you have the best complexion and skin and I tough a lot of faces and my husband is trying to find a better routine ! She did say I hope thats OK I asked and I laughed no worries !
I said part of it is shaving with a proper razor so get a DE and learn it and finding the best products which B&B is the main reason I have ! And the Neutrogena Hydro gel works for me as a overall face lotion I use these days and I have noticed since shaving my skin is way better ! I did also say Diet I think is a huge thing and what we eat but we had a good conversation about it as much as I could with a suction thing in my mouth !

so I did laugh when you said that about workers as she popped into my head asking me that


glad the posts are fun for ya I cant write(grammar) to save my life so I just kinda brain dump thoughts !
For sure I am one that over analyzes things way to much but this new hobby is a ton of fun for me which maybe like you and other guys something many of us never thought we would be into

 

[Ckmaui]

Surprise surprise surprise in my best gomer pile voice (show was a bit before me but remember it well)

The treet ultra sharp !
OK more shaves needed but have to say was more comfy than the Green 7 ! For this shave !
Granted it had the easy side of my face so will see what tomorrow brings when I switch side and I do have a full tuck of them (10) so will see what happens but might do a go around against my nacet also see how they perform even if they only lasted 2 shaves or 3 the price these could be Ok hmmmmmmm one of those fun days when you find something that did better not worse !
Side note this was a newer blade I had not tried before (did try one quick half a while ago but was more for fun)
So yeah looking forward to tomorrow !


Did switch things up with the pre shave and post routine a bit and used the cerave for pre shave while I built my lather and then used it as a post not sure if it made a difference ? But did not seem to hurt it and when comparing the blades I know it does not matter as they both are on equal ground !
But tomorrow will just be my normal pre of just hot water and my normal just rinse the shave cream well and do the AS !

 

[Ckmaui]

This was posted in the Captains thread from the give away also but wanted it here also as CC has become my best post shave cream/soap so far and still have some more comparisons coming but do love the product and the guy supports B&B and seems like a great guy with the giveaways and just caring about things and the detail etc... so that goes huge with me also

I do love hard soaps and the idea of the brush on puck building lather but performance is first and kinda surprised the cream is doing so well (sorry brain dumping my thoughts)



my first thoughts

so the 45th Parallel I had only read some comment on it being so good like candy etc... and yeah WOW smells so good for a fun change up I am more a Venture cologne guy but do love a option
when the wife smelled it she was like OH YUM this smells so good I could eat it !

The Eucalyptus again CC hits the scent as natural and correct being from the islands we had huge Eucalyptus forests so we are both very familiar with the smell and yeah even wife was like yup smells like Eucalyptus so yeah nice and looking forward to trying this out

the Bay Rum I have already and love it as like the Eucalyptus its very natural
most bay rum soaps from the ones I have tried and the AS I have tried are like Lasagna no two are the same but the CC is very natural
I only lived in the Caribbean for a year but used to cut through the forests to get to the other side of the small island I lived on and with all the rain it does remind me more of that walk with leaves crunching under my slippers and the smell of the tropical forest after the rain and brings back memories of the huge Banyan trees I would see etc.
the other few I have tried are more like the local bake shop and the ginger cookies and spice they would sell or the bumbu the local dance hall would serve or heck even the local ginger beer so ya get the idea more leaning toward the cooking side with spice over the natural smell of what bay is

and the Venture again have used and have it in both hard and the cream and is my fav but love love Creed Aventus homage scents and that cologne smell !

I am usually not a sandalwood fan but have to say like the bay rum this is natural its not that synthetic oddity called sandalwood I am used to and again surprised in a good way ! so ran up stairs and splashed some on very light not overpowering and nice my face feels as good as it looks hahahaah OK pin in head to get back to normal size !
one thing his post products are super nice and just feel good on the face this was no exception
that said I will have to try a sample of this in the cream now also want to try a sample of the Italia but have to save something for the future fun so I am so glad he sent this sample thanks again !

 

[Ckmaui]

so todays shave was the 45th Parallel and my quick review of the scent ! As said above got it from a great give away from the @Captain Pre-Capsize Captains Choice forum

as my wife said so good I could eat it and can agree !

I imagine some decadent European butter almond cherry cookie

something about it has a familiar scent and cant place my finger on it
a very fun scent ! I am more a cologne guy so the Venture is my fav but have to say this is very fun and like the scent more than I thought I would the fact this has that more decadent smell it wont be that gimmick short term “sweet candy” scent you grow tired of

also to say or expand while its so good you can eat analogy in a few reviews here some say its like candy which I guess I could also see but after todays use I think the decadent cookie analogy works better as its yummy not this cherry candy in a candy store that makes the sweet overdone or seems like a kid thing or since I am a kid of the 80s its not some of that shiny lip stuff girls used back then its for sure more the walking into a European bakery and just ahhhhhh !

The treet ultra sharp blade moves forward to the keeper side of my razor bin and while I will narrow that down more later

 

[Ckmaui]

Today for the blade comparison

more alike than different but this is also another one I had not used before in the 43 blades or whatever I had tried before and worth using more and seeing what happens with more testing

todays Cream was the Captains Choice Eucalyptus sample I received and was quite nice has a unique feeling or cooling effect it seemed ? Not a fan of menthol but this is from their site

Unique for its camphor-like and lemony notes, eucalyptus is native to Southeastern Australia. The uplifting scent blended with a dash of spearmint will stimulate the senses for an uplifting experience.

So yeah spot on desc I reckon and had this nice feel scent sensation that I had no clue was going to happen

 

[Ckmaui]

The Minora had its final day and binned and did loose out to the Green 7 so on to the next blade tomorrow and not sure what that will be until tomorrow

the shave today was not so good not bad just the blade not being as good
and tried the CC Land Ho cream that I thought was giving me issues and had those issues again just started to have a irritating burn feel by about the second pass so must be something in it ? Again sensitive skin and it is a cream that is discontinued so just put it in the bin of misfit toys that I will sell off soon enough with some other stuff it is a fun scent and sure someone will love it
no plan on asking to be fixed or exchanged got a recent win from one of the Captains generous giveaways so more than happy with the others
so yeah had that irritation

 

[Ckmaui]

(Repeat from the 365 shaves in a year thread)
But wanted to record it in my journal about the blade !

So decided to grab the Kai and not sure if it was a bad blade so grabbed another one but yeah was NOT sharp at all and they usually are ? This is my last one so might have to get another tuck my boys name is Kai so would love to use them and when he starts (he is 14) would be fun for him to try a namesake hahahaha
the base blade is my #1 Nacet of course which is just so nice in every way

Timeless Ti .68 SB of course

the Captains Choice Crean again great stuff for me the best post feel cream I am using and the Eucalyptus sample I have might be out tomorrow I do use a bit more of this than hard soaps ? But the post is worth it for me
the sensation of it is unique and has this nice cooling effect that I am OK with while I do not tend to like menthol this is different and is quite nice !

The post was my Old Spice and Neutrogena I just love Old Spice so even used the ultra Cheap cologne they have I smell good !!!!!

 

[Ckmaui]

Did try another Kai and sadly just did not do well again ?
I think maybe it was the Woflman before they did better in so maybe they just need a more aggressive razor to bring out the good side of them ?

So yeah moving on so Gillette Goal I did not like before and yeah do not like again so its gone and on to another tomorrow

also decided to use the CC venture soap and even my base blade was not as comfy as the CC Cream
so again while focus is not on soap its fun to mix it up and does help narrow down while using that one blade I know
and does kinda make me think the CC Soap is not for me but the CC Cream is still in #1

 

[Ckmaui]

So back to the CC Cream and much better post

for blades I have used a few and know they are not going to compare but more curious which of the two is better or which one is worse

so did the Dorco today and compared these two dull tuggy monsters
more a tie than one standing out in anyway
tomorrow going to just put up the ST300 vs the ST301 since they are more alike than the Platinum one and see which one moves forward to go against the Nacet if a Tie will just choose the ST301 I reckon Main reason I do remember think it was the wolfman or my GC 84 that the dorco ST301 was not so bad ? But cant remember completely but I do know it never made that top 7 so not holding breathe





The kit for the day
Timeless Ti .68 SB
RV Muhle STF and OH love this thing after two other synthetics I had given up hope and so glad I tried this one again still want to try a couple more synthetics but doubt they will be much better maybe just different

 

[Ckmaui]

repeat the pic above with the Venture and same kit !

decided based on this thread Gillette 7 o'clock Permasharp Stainless - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/gillette-7-oclock-permasharp-stainless.636270/

got me curious again so did a Nacet vs the green 7
nacet had the easy right side
green 7 the tougher swirly mess of the left side

the nacet does seem sharper and when the splash hits the face the Green 7 was the most comfy ? these guys go back and forth sometimes but this seems to be more the norm again if I could only combine these two
so tomorrow going to switch sides and go another round and see what I think

 

[Ckmaui]

Todays setup same as before
Timeless TI .68 SB and the RV Muhle STF
did decide to push the water in the CC Cream and think I pushed it to far still did well but by the 3rd pass I knew it was to thin but decided to push it anyway

Another day comparing the Nacet vs the Green 7 and of course today the Green 7 was sharper which seems to happen as far as comfort both about the same or close enough to confuse me and could not really tell also had a bit more overall feel of the splash because of the 3rd pass cream being to thin but still a great shave
for some more on the sharpness its truly like the green 7 gets a touch sharper
and the nacet gets a bit duller
instead of the idea that the nacet just got duller to fall below its like they are going opposite ways which I think is important to know

fun side note about the post since I had a bit more tingle on the face because that thin cream I decided after the Old Spice to throw some Lucky Tiger on my face and like magic lotion it just disappeared can tell this stuff is going to deliver the perfect post feel to comfort anything that happens

I am going to keep using the Old Spice AS for the blade and soap comparison as the alcohol base does give some more feedback and want that feedback

so once again I just wish I could combine these two blades and get the best of both and I would have the perfect blade still some blades to test and not sure I will find that perfect combo of the two but having fun trying to narrow down

 

[Ckmaui]

Used my Cremo beard and scruff softener today and do think it helps a touch for the cutting not for the post when I get to the preshave testing routine will be fun to see what I end up liking

BUT today since I got on this comparing the Green 7 against the Nacet again even though they are on my top two would like to crown one the winner ? I do think its just going to come down to what is cheaper and which package I like more as they are that close and while they might have sleight variation from shave to shave its this ping pong thing they do I reckon that is a good thing as it does give me a bit of option if one stops or goes up in price ?


Todays setup

So Green 7 VS Nacet once again
and the Timeless Ti .68 Sb
RV Muhle STF
and the Bay Rum Lime combo and again if you have these two try this mix !!

So about these blades
Both were super good super comfy and yeah so hard to say as they were more alike than different BUT they do have a sleight variation in the way they feel and sound I might say the Nacet seemed sharper today so the feel might have been a bit sharper better glide while shaving ? but again so close its near impossible and this is why they keep bouncing back and forth and I just choose the Nacet cause I like the logo more
the post on both was very good
and what sleight tingle I had from the Old Spice (no burn at all) was just where I did a bit more clean up and I did more clean up on the left side which was the Green 7 and still they were the same in the end so with that extra clean up if I did none would the green 7 inched out the Nacet ? No idea but will switch sides again tomorrow and see

 

[Ckmaui]

Todays comparison of the Green 7 and the Nacet the green 7 was better during shave ! And was easily noticeable and the post was about the same !

Did use TOBS and do love that stuff the smell the lather so rich and creamy good easy to work etc.

 

[Ckmaui]

Another green vs nacet day and once again the green 7 was the better during shave sharper cleaner just felt better and the post again very good but both were about equal

maybe using the Nacet for 2 shaves and call it good ?
The green 7 maybe I need to try corking since that first shave is not as good hmmmmmm

again both are great and this is the thing when they go back and forth and really hard to decide what is better as they are more different and just need to find a blade that combines the two qualities of these

 

[Ckmaui]

Same kit as above the CC Cream Bay Rum & Lime mixed
I did try rubbing some CONK I had on my face first as a pre shave just for the fun of changing things up to think I used to lead shark dives daily and now my excitement is to rub some other soap on my face before shaving to see what happens hahahahahah

so todays blade comparison

So at first I was like WOW this is really not sharp at all and was draggy but I think also my face and the conk something was up as the Nacet was also not nearly as smooth and sharp feeling as it can be ? Nacet did seem sharper but the Dorco was not so bad after a few passes seemed to get better tomorrow will be a better tell I reckon

Most likely I did not just hydrate my whiskies enough as I did a bit less than normal thinking the conk soaking into it would have done that so the Conk kinda threw off my base feel ya could say which is fine as this is more about comparing the blades and I do want to get to preshave testing so not a big deal

I also think the shave was less slick ? Maybe the ingredients of a actual glycerin pre shave are dif which I could see but since I had this figured why not I will say based of having tried this as a preshave before a few times it has never done well and todays kinda puts the nail in the coffin of trying it as a preshave !

when the splash hits the face both were about even so tomorrow my normal routine and see what happens

tomorrow the Dorco gets the tough swirly side (left) of my face so looking forward to seeing how it does !

 

[Ckmaui]

2nd day with the Dorco 301 and
not quite as sharp as the Nacet but not horrid
post was close but might give it to the dorco but really close so that was interesting ?

 

[thombrogan]

not horrid

Can’t get a better commendation than that!

 

[Ckmaui]

Another repeat CC Bay Rum Lime cream
nacet base and the dorco (last day on this)
actually kinda tied the Nacet today hmmmmm
so might come back around to another one after narrowing down some more blades

 

[SimpleClean]

The Minora had its final day and binned and did loose out to the Green 7 so on to the next blade tomorrow and not sure what that will be until tomorrow

the shave today was not so good not bad just the blade not being as good
and tried the CC Land Ho cream that I thought was giving me issues and had those issues again just started to have a irritating burn feel by about the second pass so must be something in it ? Again sensitive skin and it is a cream that is discontinued so just put it in the bin of misfit toys that I will sell off soon enough with some other stuff it is a fun scent and sure someone will love it
no plan on asking to be fixed or exchanged got a recent win from one of the Captains generous giveaways so more than happy with the others
so yeah had that irritation


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I'm sure it's somewhere in this journal, but what razor is this? It's stunning!