PIF - 5th ever "Shave like a man for an entire year" ~ Veteran's Day edition

[Demaskee]

The Lady of the House has made her selection through a highly scientific random draw from a perfectly calibrated pyrex mixing bowl.

The badass being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year is Cary Grant, Nominated by our winner @tankerjohn

Congrats!

Please PM me your address and let the world know your Razorock Soap and Pinaud aftershave choices.

Thank you everyone for playing. Happy Shaving!

 

[Glock]

Outstanding and fun PIF! Congrats to the winner!

 

[Toulouse]

Great PIF. Thanks Demaskee and congrats to @tankerjohn !

 

[GearNoir]

Thanks for the PIF @Demaskee! Congratulations @tankerjohn!

 

[MilkCrate]

Very nive PIF! Congrats to @tankerjohn!

 

[dmshaver]

Great pif @Demaskee, thank you for your generosity! Congrats to @tankerjohn for the win!

 

[KeenDogg]

Thanks for the chance and congrats to @tankerjohn. He!s a great guy, as are you.

Nice to see Cary Grant get in. Class.

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[Sfbagger]

Wasn't in, but I'll tell you this: I want to shave like my Uncle Allen.

B-24 command pilot over Pelelieu in 1945 at 20 years old. He knew what it was like to be shot at... went on to get his law degree at Stanford on the GI bill, supplemented by flying cropdusters. Smart, tough dude.

 

[ShavingPanda]

Outstanding PIF. The guessing and reveals have been a favourite the last two years that I have been here.

 

[Davidkimberly]

Mille grazie @Demaskee! This has been a fun ride.

 

[tankerjohn]

Wow! I'm thrilled and honored to win this one. Big thanks to @Demaskee for this extraordinarily generous PIF. And thanks to everyone who played along; it was sure a lot of fun to follow. I'm going to have to take a little more time to decide on the Razorock soap and Pinaud aftershave. But I can't wait to shave with this stuff.

Should be a little easier for me than it was for Cary with that infamously teany tiny travel razor.

I'm thrilled that Cary Grant is immortalized as this year's Badass. Y'all picked some badass badasses too, so I'd say the competition was pretty fierce. But I bet none of them made it with Eva Marie Saint.

Cheers everybody and happy Veterans Day!

 

[tankerjohn]

Okay, decisions made.

Razorock soap - American Barber
Pinaud aftershaves - Whiskey Woods and Virgin Island Bay Rum

Thanks again. Full reviews will be forthcoming.

 

[Demaskee]

The orders have been placed. Now the waiting begins....


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[JTshaves]

Congratulations @tankerjohn! Extremely generous PIF @Demaskee.

 

[Ramathorn]

Thanks @Demaskee for the funand generous PIF and congratulations to @tankerjohn for the win.

 

[lancre]

Outstanding PIF! Congrats to the winner!

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Congrats, @tankerjohn ! Another generous PIF, @Demaskee ! Well done!

 

[tankerjohn]

Gentlemen, the PIF has landed! Well, most of it anyway. Still waiting on the aftershave. But everything else is here, and I've got an ugly mug covered in 2-day stubble that can't wait to get the party started. My "year of shaving like a man" starts tomorrow morning.

 

[Scoutk21]

Nice, congrats tanker!

 

[tankerjohn]

Gentleman, first PIF shave review. First of all, I want to thank everyone for the warm wishes. I hope you all enjoy the reviews and if anyone else has experience with these products, please chime in.

For today's shave, I went with the Razorock American Barber since Jason specifically requested a review. And of course the hardware is the PIFed Merkur 37c Slant and Razorock 400 synthetic brush. Since the aftershaves haven't arrived yet, I went with my own. This one is a home blend I call Walter's Barbershop Blend, named for my neighborhood barbershop. My barber Rebecca will finish up your haircut with anything you like, as long as its Superior 70 or Clubman talc. So this aftershave is equal parts S70, Clubman, and Thayer's witchhazel.

So let's start with the soap - Razorock American Barber. Its an Italian soft soap, like most of Razorock soaps. I believe IB uses an artisan in Italy, but I don't remember which one. This soap is supposed to smell like Rive Gauche EDT, which is supposed to be the quintessential barbershop scent. Meh, okay. I've never smelled actual Rive Gauche, so I couldn't tell you how close it is to that. But to me, this soap doesn't smell like anything I've ever smelled in a barbershop. If its supposed to smell like Barbasol or warm Campbell's lather, this ain't it. But that's not to say its bad; its actually quite nice. I get a nice blend of bergamot and lavender and spiciness that I can't really describe well. The scent is quite strong, even in the lather.

... and speaking of lather... Wow, look at that lather! Very dense and creamy with minimal effort. And look at that brush! It is truly magnificent. The handle is quite heavy, maybe the heaviest I've ever handled (if you'll pardon the pun). The shape took a little getting use to, since I generally use shorter, fatter handles. The knot is very soft - the proverbial "lathering with a cloud". It wasn't completely devoid of backbone, but it sure wasn't scrubby either. I've had trouble in the past with synth brushes releasing water somewhat uncontrollably. But this one was no trouble at all. I basically wet it and shook it like I would any badger brush and as you can see, it whipped up a fine lather. It was a pleasure painting the lather on my face. The knot was just the right size.

With that nice layer of thick, protective lather, I went to work with the Slant. I must say, the combo of the Slant and Astra blade was one smooth operator. Not aggressive in the slightest. I wouldn't have hardly thought that it was even cutting whiskers, except for the very loud audible feedback from the Slant. Screeeehck! Screeeeehck! That, and the stubble filling the sink water after ever rinse. I tell you what, the Slant really mows 'em down! If you are considering a slant razor, but hesitating due to the horror stories of extreme aggression and guillotines and all that - don't. They are great shavers.

Two passes and a little touchup later, I am all ready for Sunday-go-to-meetin'. Zero irritation or weepers.

So there you have it, the first PIF shave. I'll continue to review the PIF items, as long as y'all are interested. Thanks again to everyone and especially #Demaskee. Cheers!