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Never Ending Travel Box

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When the box has been shipped, the #10 spot opens up for another participant. The spot is open!

Who wants in on a great opportunity to try a wide variety of products???
 
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The eagle has landed!

Gentlemen, this is a BIG box!
 
Will's Never Ending Travel Box Blog

Entry #1

This was a tough week at work. We had two separate customers have equipment issues that had to be dealt with on emergency timing (I work for a company that designs and build custom food conveying equipment). By the time Friday rolled around, I was ready for a break! I was driving home when I remembered "the package" should be here today. As I pulled in the drive, excitement started to build. I walked in the door, greeted by my kids and wife. "Is it here?" I asked her anxiously.

"Is what here?" came the coy response as she greeted me with a kiss.

"You know...IT! The box!" I exclaimed, now more excited because her response told me it had indeed arrived. I've waited nearly a year for this moment, and it was finally here!

"Oh, that box...yes, it is in the trunk of my car..." I started for the door, even before she could finish speaking - reaching the knob, turning it...and then...an obstacle in my path.

"Honey? Can you come make the chicken kabobs, please?" She asks sweetly. And that reminds me of our dinner plans, where I, aka Grill Master, aka Super Dad, had earlier committed to preparing a nice summer dinner of grilled meats and veggies! So, I pause. I turn, I hesitate...and then I choose my priorities correctly...and make a delicious meal for us all to enjoy!

Later that night, as we are getting ready for bed, she brings me the box as I am reading.

"Did you forget about this?" She asks, carrying in two items...First, a glass of my favorite scotch in one of the Waterford Crystal Highballs she had given me for Christmas the year before. Second was, of course! THE BOX.

Gentlemen, I am a lucky, lucky man!

THE SHAVE:

Saturday morning I had chores. My stepdaughter had just returned home from college for the summer, and her car needed new brake pads. So while my wife took her to the market, I took care of that. Then I took my shower and prepped for my shave.

THE GEAR:
Vintage Gillete brass open comb 3-piece
Dorco Stainless blade ST-301
Proraso Pre Shave
Proraso Soap (it says Pelli Sensibili, think this is a sensitive skin version)
The Art of Shaving travel Badger brush
Proraso Liquid After Shave Cream
Custom Shave Bowl (not in the box, this one is mine!)

Photo May 27, 1 02 52 PM.jpg


I don't normally use a pre-shave, so I'm not sure I used it correctly. It seemed to dry out on my skin after application. It had a slight menthol tingle going on, but very mild. The soap had good body, and did not require any special tricks to get a nice lather. The lather did have some bubbles, but I attribute that to the brush. The travel brush is small, and has zero backbone, making the whipping process difficult.

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Proraso is not as thick as the soap I use regularly, so I was concerned about cushion while shaving. Here is my pre-shave face and first pass lather.

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Three pass shave (all WTG) with clean ups. Here is last pass lather. The lather did break down some, but retained good glide. Cushion was slighly reduced on final pass and during clean ups.

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After rinse, I applied the Proraso After Shave Cream, which is great. It has a rather mild scent, and moisturized my skin well, but without feeling greasy. My wife wasn't a fan of the scent, but the products did preform well. The vintage razor is amazingly smooth, I instantly found the angle and the Dorco blade preformed well. I'll be re-using it for the next few shaves.

No nicks, No cuts, no razor burn. A very Damn Fine Shave!

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Until next time, Gentlemen, have a great day!

-Will
 
Entry #2

Whoo, what a weekend!

Sunday morning my wife and I went for a group bike ride...38 miles starting through downtown San Antonio, out to Espada Park, then to the Alamo, then finally back to where we started. It was a lot of fun, but started to get hot towards teh end of the ride, we were ready to be finished!

Afterwards, our group stopped and had lunch at this really cool little corner diner. The whole place was an outside dining room with white crushed stone floor and black concrete pavers set in a checkered pattern. It was pretty cool and the food was delicious! I had a Bloody Mary, and it came Texas style with two strips of bacon and a jalapeno in it! :clap:

We were so worn out afterward that we came home and after showers binged watched Friends re-runs and went to bed!

Today (Monday) we got up and did chores, got the house cleaned and decided to go boating, so it was a fast shave! I decided to try the Dettol and follow it with the TOBS Luxury Aftershave Gel.

THE GEAR:
Vintage Gillete brass open comb 3-piece
Dorco Stainless blade ST-301
Satin Tip The Purest Synthetic (not from the box)
Dettol Shaving Cream
Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Luxury Aftershave Gel
Custom Shave bowl (not from the box)
Photo May 29, 1 33 18 PM.jpg

THE SHAVE:

Well, I must say, I was pressed for time so hopped out of the shower, got my synthetic brush wet and squeezed out an almond sized amount of cream in the brush. A bit of water in the bowl and I was swirling! This cream makes a pretty large amount of lather, but I was a little worried, because it was a "light" foam, not very dense. I was worried about the cushion...
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Here's what the pre-shave face looked like (two days growth)
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After first pass lather, I was hopeful, because the glide was awesome! My brush was very slick over my face so I was confident it would be good!
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Well, I'm not sure if it is because of our hard water or what, but right away I had pulling, and I could tell the cushion just wasn't up to par. Glide was also non-existent for me, the razor was tugging the whole time, even on second and third pass. Cream held up ok, I was worried it might collapse but it didn't. I was disappointed, because others have had great results with this cream, so I am going to blame the hard water. YMMV when using this product!

I had irritation and a few weepers on my neck after pass three (I should have quit after two as the shave was not comfortable...)
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My skin started to dry out right after I rinsed, so I quickly added some of the TOBS Aftershave Gel...and MAN! That stuff saved the shave! Instant relief and moisturizing! The wife wasn't a fan of the scent (she said it smelled like old man), but the feel was fantastic! Afterward, we we on the boat skiing and tubing and my face felt fine the whole time, even in the lake water. This is a great product, and I'll be looking into buying some.
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Lastly, today being Memorial Day in the U.S. I wanted to just say how thankful I am for the brave men and women who served our country and paid for our freedom. As a Veteran, I salute your service and will always be grateful!

Have a great night,
Will
 
Entry #3

Good morning, Gentlemen!

Today we are back to the grindstone...

5:09am alarm, feed the dogs, ya da ya da, you know the drill...After yesterdays irritation, I wanted to keep things mild this morning, so went with a mild blade and the QCS Green Tweed cream and my favorite WH.

THE GEAR:
Muhle R89 Grande (not from the box)
Derby Extra Blade
Whipped Dog 24mm Silvertip (set to 50mm loft in homemade Zebrawood Handle, not from the box)
QCS Green Irish Tweed Type Handmade Shaving Cream
Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera (not from the box)
Custom Shave bowl (not from the box)
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THE SHAVE:

Hot shower to start and today I used some Neutrogena face wash as prep. While in the shower I left my brush to soak in my bowl, and added a small amount of water to the tub to bloom the cream (which does resemble a croap as others have mentioned before). Then, shook out the excess water in my brush, tipped the jar empty as well, but with a glistening surface, and swirled in the jar to load the brush. Probably only took about 10 seconds to load the brush sufficiently.

While making the lather, I did add some water, but the cream built a nice, dense lather quickly, and was not all that thirsty. The smell is difficult to describe...I would say it smells clean and fresh....and Irish! My wife noticed the scent from her vanity and also commented that it was pleasant. The lather looked great, so at this point I was excited!
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Pre-shave face (less than 24 hr growth, still slight irritation on lower neck)
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First Pass lather (so thick and creamy! :001_cool:) My excitement was not misplaced. I was rewarded with great cushion and superb glide. This was going to be a great shave!
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Third Pass lather (not as much volume in the lather as first pass, but the glide and cushion remained constant throughout the shave)
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Three passes and I was feeling great. Went ahead and did touch ups, rinsed and added a splash of Thayers Cucumber. This was a great shave to recover from the irritation of yesterday!
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I am so sad that QCS closed for good this past December, as their product is quite good. I would have bought this for sure. It just goes to show we need to support the artisan makers, lest they go belly up!

I leave you with this thought to start your day, as it certainly gave me perspective when I read it a few moments ago:

Your beliefs don't make you a better person, your behavior does #walkthetalk

Until next time, Gentlemen, make it grand!

-Will
 
Entry #4

Good morning, Gents! Thanks for the well wishes, I do hope these comments are helpful!

This morning we have meetings with clients, so I was very cautious and selected RazoRock P160 as the soap I would be using as I have heard excellent things about it and was excited to try it!

THE GEAR:
Muhle R89 Grande (not from the box)
Derby Extra Blade
Whipped Dog 24mm Silvertip (set to 50mm loft in homemade Zebrawood Handle, not from the box)
RazoRock P160
Dickinson's Hydrating Toner (not from the box)
Pinaud Clubman AS (not from the box)
Custom Shave bowl (not from the box)
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THE SHAVE:

The morning started like most, showered, washed my face while my brush and the soap were soaking/blooming in water at the sink. I have a few empty tins and take a small amount of the soap, smear it on the bottom and then bloom that as I would a regular puck. After my shower I got started lathering. The P160 was pretty thirsty, and took a while to get to a good lather. The lather was soft and fluffy, not dense. This kind of makes me nervous, because I have learned that my skin really needs a decent amount of cushion, especially on my neck. The scent is different lathered than the soap was in solid form. It's very mellow, almost non-existent. A lightly sweet smell, but very, very faint.

RazoRock P160 Lather (fluffly, voluminous clouds)
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Right away we ran into a problem...the lather broke almost instantaneously after contact with my skin. Either A) I added too much water B) My ration was fine but my water (San Antonio has notoriously hard water) is too hard for this soap C) It didn't like me...

Any which way I wasn't going to be able to shave with this stuff unless I wanted to audition for the mummy and show up to work wrapped in bandages...
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So I called a quick audible and grabbed my synthetic and some Fine American Blend. Fine makes a, well, fine soap if you've never tried it before!

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That's a Fine lather...Nice, thick - like yogurt!
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Three passes, touchups and I have so much left over I could shave a Chihuahua! (but I don't think the Chihuahua would appreciate the effort...)
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THE VERDICT:

Well, things didn't quite go my way to start out the shave, but a quick audible and I was back on the right path.

About the P160 then...I'm going to try it again, but will wait til the weekend when I can spend more time on trying to dial it in. I have had difficulty with RazoRock's The Dead Sea as well, which smells divine, but I can't get to make a stable lather. It may be that my water is not suited for this soap. But, Your Mileage May Vary!

PRO TIP: When it's your turn with the box, have a stand by ready when you are trying new soaps, especially when shaving before your workday starts!

Have a great day, gents!

-Will
 
Derby blades are pretty mild. They probably aren't as sharp as some of the super sharp blades out there like the feathers, etc. but I think they are very smooth. If you want to be a one pass guy and like aggressive razors, you probably wouldn't like them.

I have sensitive skin, not so much on my cheeks or chin, but on my neck esp near adam's apple area. I've learned things that work for me to overcome this and still get very comfortable shaves, such as shaving with lukewarm water (hot water increases circulation close to the skin, softens skin and increases chances for nicks), and using milder blades with the ability to take another pass or do touch-ups.

In that regard, I think the Derby is definitely a serviceable blade. They are readily available at Sally's beauty supply for pretty cheap, so that's also a plus.

For the record, my favorite blade is a Personna Lab Blue blade. Just as smooth, and a touch sharper than a Derby.

Cheers,
Will
 
Entry #5

Good morning, Gents!

Yesterday was a big day. The owners of my company closed the sale as planned and so this morning I find myself preparing for my "first day" at work! It's a bit of a surreal feeling, even though I am very excited about the plans the new owners have to help our company grow!

As I was looking through the box last night planning this morning's shave, the Petal Pusher Fancies Black Tea seemed interesting. PPF has an interesting back story as a company, and is a pretty interesting case study on internet marketing. Google it sometime if you like going down rabbit holes. I looked into availability and it appears this soap is discontinued.

The puck looked fresh, and smelled interesting, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

THE GEAR:
Muhle R89 Grande (not from the box)
Derby Extra Blade (Day 5)
Satin Tip The Purist 24mm synthetic (not from the box)
Petal Pusher Fancies Black Tea
Dickinson's Hydrating Toner (not from the box)
Custom Shave bowl (not from the box)
Photo Jun 02, 5 48 36 AM.jpg

THE SHAVE:

My wife had today off, so I had to be extra quiet this morning. After my shower I wet my brush and started loading my brush. It loaded well, and the proto lather seemed pretty slick. The soap was pretty thirsty but the lather was thick, dense and slick. This is a really nice bowl of lather! At this point, I was really excited to get it on my face!
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Pre-shave face (24 hours growth)
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First Pass Lather (OMG this stuff went on so nice! Look at the cushion!)
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Third Pass Lather (No degradation over time, just as thick as first pass!)
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THE VERDICT:

All done and feeling great!
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This is a really good soap. It's a shame you can't buy this anymore because I probably would if I could. The good news is that it appears the folks at Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements are the same as those who created PPF so you may find similar performance with their soaps. The blade is starting to dull slightly, so I'll be trying a different one on my next shave. One thing I appreciated about the Derby is that is a an audible blade, if you shave in a quiet room like I do, you get really good feedback while shaving by listening to the feedback of the blade as you go. For post shave, the Dickinson's Enhance WH is quite nice, the Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin E condition the skin really well! It's unscented, so you could easily follow up with your favorite AS.

The scent of this soap is really nice, it smells like a hot cup of tea. I enjoyed it so much, that this morning I actually made some tea afterwards instead of my usual coffee. I was very British this morning!

Happy Friday, everybody!

-Will
 
Entry #6

Just checking if these write ups are actually helpful to anyone? I'm kind of hearing crickets so if not, I'll just play with the box a couple more weeks and pass it on.

I had a very busy weekend, it was hot and humid on Saturday when I had some outside chores, and on Sunday morning what started out as a nice mornign for a bike ride digressed at about mile 20 into a downpour of rain. We got slammed for about twenty minutes and then got to finish the ride in a steam sauna humidity effect. not pleasant!

Kids really wanted to go skiing so we braved the cloudy skies and gave it a shot. a few sprinkles but then the clouds parted and we actually had a pretty god time!

This morning I had full on 3-day growth, so went with my Maggard V2 Open Comb head using a custom handle I designed and 3D printed nearly a year ago. I went with the Voshkod blade, something I'd not tried before! Also making a first appearance on my counter, MDC unscented!

THE GEAR:
Maggard Open Comb V2 with 3D printed short handle (not from the box)
Voshkod Teflon Coated Blade (Day 1)
Whipped Dog 24mm Silvertip (set to 50mm loft in homemade Zebrawood Handle, not from the box)
MDC Unscented Soap
Nivea MEN Original Replenishing Post Shave Balm
Custom Shave bowl (not from the box)
Photo Jun 05, 5 37 23 AM.jpg

THE SHAVE:
Popped in the shower this morning while soap and brush were blooming as per normal routine. Stayed a little longer because that hot water was feeling extra nice on my sore back this morning! Once out, shook off my brush and loaded it. The MDC loads very nicely, it's gets to a thick cramy paste state which is when I like to stop loading. you can hear the sop surface change from wet to pasty. That's when I stop loading. The bristle of my brush stick together, and there's a good amount of sop ready to go. Next, a splash of water in the bottom of the bowl and swirly swirly we're off. This is good stuff. Really good stuff. a very think, dense, slick lather was built quickly. I add small amounts of water as I build the lather until I get the right sheen and volume in the lather.

This lather looks great!
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First Pass Lather, nice and creamy. Razor had a bit of tugging, as it always does on first pass with such thick stubble, but cushion was very good so I came through first pass nick free. Always a plus!
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Today was a 4 pass shave to get all the growth cut down. Passes 2 and 3 were uneventful. The "Unscented" soap has a very slight scent...to me it resembled lemon grass, and was very pleasant. Cushion and Glide are great. Blade feels sharp and smooth.

Pass 4 Lather...zero degradation in lather quality, although it has dried just a touch. I could have added a bit of water and swirled prior to application on my face here, but didn't. The last few strokes were not a slick as a result. This is mostly due to San Antonio hard water, not the soap.
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After a rinse I put about a nickel sized amount of Nivea in my palm, rubbed both hands together and then rubbed the product into my cheeks and neck. Very soothing and a light scent. Nivea doesn't smell strong, but it is scented. I think you would be able to add a cologne without conflict, but when I use Nivea (I own a bottle of the sensitive skin line) I don't add any thing else.

The face only a mother could love...
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THE VERDICT:

THe MDC was a really nice soap. Would I buy it? There is the rub...I was only able to find it at one online retailer, who claimed to be the sole source outside of the shop in Paris, or the factory. The price for the 200g jar? $69.95....

Although it was a pleasant shave, I wouldn't buy it because, I get similar results from less expensive soaps. And SWMBO doesn't let me display much stuff in the bathroom anyway. I don't think I'll win any popularity contests by owning some MDC...and there are upgrades to my bike, my boat, and other things my kids would rather spend that money on. Not a knock on anyone who loves it, buys it, etc...Just stating that for me the performance did not equate to the price point, and I don't think any soap could justify that kind of price, to be honest. At the base of it, we have to remember this is soap we are buying...As we love to say however, Your Mileage May Vary!

Have a good Monday,
Will
 
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