Last night, I had shave #52 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was held in place with a nickel Fatip OC Piccolo head on a gold Grande handle.
I used Proraso red shaving soap in the tub and made a good, thick, and cushiony lather.
Prior to the shave, I repeatedly splashed myself with warm water while brushing my teeth (including rinsing with mouthwash), used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush. I also poured warm water into the tub of Proraso to help bloom it.
After the water in the tub turned filmy, I squeezed my brush to remove some water from it, then dumped the filmy bloom water into an empty cup. Next, I picked up my brush and began to stir it in the Proraso tub for a minute to load my brush before removing the brush and all the protolather I could scoop into my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl where I gradually added some of the soapy bloom water to make my lather while stirring with my brush. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy bloom water to my face by hand before each lather pass.
I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble spots. I managed to get an irritation-free BBS.
I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block and felt no sting. I then cleaned my shaving gear before taking a warm shower, which washed off the alum.
Finishing up the shave, I applied some aftershave splash (Clubman Pinaud) and aftershave balm (Korres TobaccoAfter Shave Balm). Unlike with the alum block, I felt the tiniest hint of sting from the alcohol in the splash.
All in all, I would give this shave a 99.5/100.
I used Proraso red shaving soap in the tub and made a good, thick, and cushiony lather.
Prior to the shave, I repeatedly splashed myself with warm water while brushing my teeth (including rinsing with mouthwash), used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush. I also poured warm water into the tub of Proraso to help bloom it.
After the water in the tub turned filmy, I squeezed my brush to remove some water from it, then dumped the filmy bloom water into an empty cup. Next, I picked up my brush and began to stir it in the Proraso tub for a minute to load my brush before removing the brush and all the protolather I could scoop into my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl where I gradually added some of the soapy bloom water to make my lather while stirring with my brush. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy bloom water to my face by hand before each lather pass.
I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble spots. I managed to get an irritation-free BBS.
I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block and felt no sting. I then cleaned my shaving gear before taking a warm shower, which washed off the alum.
Finishing up the shave, I applied some aftershave splash (Clubman Pinaud) and aftershave balm (Korres TobaccoAfter Shave Balm). Unlike with the alum block, I felt the tiniest hint of sting from the alcohol in the splash.
All in all, I would give this shave a 99.5/100.