Shave of the Week Society (SWS)

[Rusty Blade]

Just to be clear @MaineYooper, the SOC was just meant to give you a taste; I did not intend to get you hooked on boar brushes

Boar brushes, or should I say, good boar brushes do have a certain allure.

 

[Rusty Blade]

Darn bats...
Here is my shave kit for the coming week:

Soap: B&M Soft Heart Series Unscented
Brush: Semogue Boar
Razor: Schick Type G
ASB: B&M unscented
Wax: Lucky Tiger

I hope you all have a great week of shaves.

 

[bjm]

My setup for next week...
Gillette Tech (1961 G4)
Feather
Arko



There's some good news and some bad news on the Omega 10066 front. The amount of time for the brush to return to its dry weight in my environment has been determined; after 24 hours the weight had dropped to 41.7 grams and 41.1 grams after 48 hours. That's the good news. The bad news is it looks like the Cheapskate Challenge has been postponed until December so I will wait to perform the 30-day endurance portion of the brush test. Even more good news is this delay allows me to get back to my normal brush rotation after the month-long SOCtober event.

Sunday's shave will be the last one for OCtober, SOCtober, and the SOTMC; I think I'll finish with the Timeless Ti .95 OC (still undecided about whether to keep it or sell/trade it), of course the SOC badger because it's awesome, and the Fine Platinum (there's barely enough remaining for the frankensoap container) for lather duties. Good times!

Be well, stay safe, and be the reason someone smiles today.

 

[MaineYooper]

@Rusty Blade, you may not believe it, but I ordered another unscented soap to try!

It’s the PAA Scentsless in their premium CK-6 formula.

I sold some razors and decided to try that base, as I have heard so many love it, and the $25 price had been putting me off. But, I rationalized to myself, why not use funds from a sale to pay for it? Well, I couldn't argue with that, so I ordered it!

 

[Rusty Blade]

@Rusty Blade, you may not believe it, but I ordered another unscented soap to try!
View attachment 1354841

It’s the PAA Scentsless in their premium CK-6 formula.

I sold some razors and decided to try that base, as I have heard so many love it, and the $25 price had been putting me off. But, I rationalized to myself, why not use funds from a sale to pay for it? Well, I couldn't argue with that, so I ordered it!

Believe it or not...so did I. I ordered Bartigan and Stark "NIL" and the matching ASB. Bartigan & Stark Nil Unscented Shaving Soap - https://www.fendrihan.ca/products/bartigan-stark-nil-unscented-shaving-soap
I woke up this morning and something inside me said, "Rusty...you need another unscented soap". So I ordered NIL. Actually, I ordered two unscented soaps now that I think of it. Fendrihan has their own brand of soaps and I picked up a puck of their unscented just to give it a try. And now if we can just get rid of these darn bats...

 

[Rusty Blade]

There's some good news and some bad news on the Omega 10066 front. The amount of time for the brush to return to its dry weight in my environment has been determined; after 24 hours the weight had dropped to 41.7 grams and 41.1 grams after 48 hours. That's the good news. The bad news is it looks like the Cheapskate Challenge has been postponed until December so I will wait to perform the 30-day endurance portion of the brush test. Even more good news is this delay allows me to get back to my normal brush rotation after the month-long SOCtober event.

Interesting...when I think back not too long ago, I owned only one boar brush (crazy eh?...I mean I only owned one brush really!) and I would use it every day for a few years before it would start losing its bristles. They are tough buggers.

 

[MaineYooper]

This week's kit

The GEM Damaskene alternating with the GEM Jr.
Continue with the SOC boar (which I am really liking)
Stirling Unscented with Beeswax

These two razors are amazing, and around 100 years old now. They are, for me, so smooth and efficient. I get a drama-free and very close, long lasting shave. An injector like the Type M or I can be even better (due to those injectors getting under the nose easily), but somehow the weight, feel, or look of the old GEM adds something intangible, and to me, elevates the shave.

Or, it's all in my head, like these bats in my belfry!

 

[MaineYooper]

Believe it or not...so did I. I ordered Bartigan and Stark "NIL" and the matching ASB. Bartigan & Stark Nil Unscented Shaving Soap - https://www.fendrihan.ca/products/bartigan-stark-nil-unscented-shaving-soap
I woke up this morning and something inside me said, "Rusty...you need another unscented soap". So I ordered NIL. Actually, I ordered two unscented soaps now that I think of it. Fendrihan has their own brand of soaps and I picked up a puck of their unscented just to give it a try. And now if we can just get rid of these darn bats...

This looks interesting. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences with it.

 

[bjm]

Interesting...when I think back not too long ago, I owned only one boar brush (crazy eh?...I mean I only owned one brush really!) and I would use it every day for a few years before it would start losing its bristles. They are tough buggers.

Yeah, if I could do it all over again I would have stopped at three brushes and my shaving life would be much simpler. I recently took nine brushes out of my rotation and I plan to see how long it takes to miss using them.

 

[bjm]

This week's kit
View attachment 1355112

The GEM Damaskene alternating with the GEM Jr.
Continue with the SOC boar (which I am really liking)
Stirling Unscented with Beeswax

These two razors are amazing, and around 100 years old now. They are, for me, so smooth and efficient. I get a drama-free and very close, long lasting shave. An injector like the Type M or I can be even better (due to those injectors getting under the nose easily), but somehow the weight, feel, or look of the old GEM adds something intangible, and to me, elevates the shave.

Or, it's all in my head, like these bats in my belfry!

Agreed. I've some to think of some of the GEM razors as hidden treasures. They are truly wonderful, but don't let that information get out as I'm sure the prices will increase significantly.

 

[Rusty Blade]

Yeah, if I could do it all over again I would have stopped at three brushes and my shaving life would be much simpler. I recently took nine brushes out of my rotation and I plan to see how long it takes to miss using them.

I just did a roll call and I am thoroughly embarrassed to say I now have 29 brushes. If I could roll back the clock I would only have three. And the strange thing is, I don't know how I ended up with 29 brushes. I guess they sneak in one at a time when you are not looking.

 

[bjm]

SWS SOTD...
Timeless Ti .95 OC
Feather Hi-Stainless
Fine Platinum
SOC 2-Band Finest
Bootlegger's Lime Bay Rum



I usually save my updates for later in the week but today's shave is worthy of a mention. The razor/blade combo did not result in the blood-letting I was expecting and I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it was. I didn't experience any more weepers than any one of my shaves from last week with the PAA DOC and Derby Extra. This was a really good way to end the month and start the week. The OC and SOC events are complete, the remnants of Fine Platinum are now part of the next batch of frankensoap, I have less than a week of splashes in the current bottle of BLBR, and tomorrow I go to work on the fourth and final soap/cream targeted for completion by the end of the year. Onward and upward...

 

[MaineYooper]

Changed up the brush already! Ben, I am really leaning towards only boar brushes next month. I ordered a TGN knot and a Turn N Shave nongelled knot. I pulled a couple of Timberwolf knots to free up handles.

Sometimes it seems I am doing a Soap and Blade of the week, since I keep changing brushes and razors!

 

[bjm]

But seriously, I'm glad you were able to find a boar brush (or two or three) that agrees with you. Keep calm and shave on!

 

[Rusty Blade]

Changed up the brush already! Ben, I am really leaning towards only boar brushes next month. I ordered a TGN knot and a Turn N Shave nongelled knot. I pulled a couple of Timberwolf knots to free up handles.

Sometimes it seems I am doing a Soap and Blade of the week, since I keep changing brushes and razors!

Isn't it interesting how we go through phases with different types of products. I could write a book on all the phases I have gone through with brushes-- I was a die-hard boar brush user for four decades, then I discovered badgers, then horse, then synths. I was stuck on synths for a couple of years and the rest of the herd sat idle. Now i am back to boars. What's next? I guess this answers my question of how i ended up with 29.

 

[MaineYooper]

Back to the GEM Damaskeene pictured for this week, with the faux boar and the scuttle. This was shave #2 with the AP Shave Co synthetic boar. Scrubby with enough splay to not be pokey. Looks very much rough and ready like a new boar.

The razor is a new to me 17 tooth Clog Prug, and was used yesterday. Just the razor changed today!

Back to the faux boar. It is as Andrew described it on his website, there is no springy sproing that catapults lather across the bathroom, and it allows good flow through (not sure how to measure that, but I believe it was stated!). But.....

As we mentioned, there is no soul, no heat retention, and the softness or face feel, while great for a synth, isn't quite there for me compared to a real boar. If Ben had never gifted me one to try, I would say this brush is the bees knees, something really wonderful to add to the brush drawer. I will most likely keep it, and I did enjoy it these last 2 days. But will I reach for it often? I don't know. I suspect no, once a couple of boar knots come in, as this is a handle that is "open" for re-knotting, as I wasn't smitten by the Timberwolf knot in it.

Just some thoughts before heading to work! Have a great day, gents!

 

[bjm]

17 nubs? It seems that what you have in your possession is the Gem MicroMatic Clog Pruf (MMCP) "Peerless" razor. CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[MaineYooper]

That's what I was thinking. All brass, which is nice as it retains heat for a warm shave!

It had this in the case.

From what I could find after 1 Google search, the company made straight razors. But no photos showed anything like this. You guys know what is or was part of?

 

[bjm]

That's what I was thinking. All brass, which is nice as it retains heat for a warm shave!

It had this in the case.
View attachment 1356922

From what I could find after 1 Google search, the company made straight razors. But no photos showed anything like this. You guys know what is or was part of?

I'm probably wrong, but my first thought was the "buckle" part of a razor strop. It seems to be in good condition whatever it is. Maybe somebody in one of the straight razor forums has a clue.

 

[Rusty Blade]

That's what I was thinking. All brass, which is nice as it retains heat for a warm shave!

It had this in the case.
View attachment 1356922

From what I could find after 1 Google search, the company made straight razors. But no photos showed anything like this. You guys know what is or was part of?

It looks to me like a guard that would fit on the spine of a straight razor to make it a "safety razor". It would create a consistent angle. Quite a unique piece of history.