Shave of the Week Society (SWS)

[Rusty Blade]

Here is my kit for the coming week starting tomorrow:
Soap: Zingari Man Unscented
Brush: Omega boar
Razor: Assorted straight razors. The one in the pic is a Wacker 7/8 with horn scales. A Christmas gift from my wife a few years ago.
ASB: Zingari Man unscented
Wax: Lucky Tiger
My SRs were calling out to me this week. It was time to put them through their paces. And I have the time for more leisurely shaves. As an aside, my new NIL unscented soap arrived this week (Bartigan & Stark). Its in the batter's box warming up for next week. Hope everyone is well.

 

[Rusty Blade]

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

View attachment 1354686

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.

...btw...what is the Cheapskate Challenge?

 

[bjm]

...btw...what is the Cheapskate Challenge?

The first AFFCC was held in April of this year. The idea was to put together a shaving kit with a budget of $30 to cover everything required for the entire month to include the razor, blades, soap, brush, aftershave, and anything else. The next one is the AGOCC and it looks like it may be in December.

 

[bjm]

My setup for next week...
Gillette 195 Adjustable (1961 G4)
Nacet
Arko



This is one of four birth-quarter razors I've had for a few years that I have never used; it's time to see what I've been missing...

 

[Rusty Blade]

I've been reflecting on an earlier post wherein I replied to @bjm about using boar brushes for 40+ years, one at a time, every day, until each one died a natural death. I recently took out one of my Omega brushes that I had not used for a while and I noticed how stiff it was even after soaking it while I showered. And it occurred to me that brushes, like shaving soaps soften up, or break in, with repeated use. Years ago when I only used one brush they became very soft with everyday use. In my photo this week I have an Omega boar that I plan to use every day for this week. Just wanted to pass along that pearl of wisdom (they happen infrequently lately). That was it, carry on.

 

[MaineYooper]

This week's kit has some new stuff! In the upper left, there is a PAA brush warmer, or brush scuttle, but designed to hold a loaded brush, but not to build lather. In the winter months, I love warm lather! Below it is my newly returned Colonial General V2 head, polished to my specifications by a skilled friend up north in Quebec. Sure is shiny, and I am hoping that it will glide even better now. The soap is one whose base formula has been very positively reviewed for several years now, but the price seemed too high for me. But after the sale of some stuff, I decided to splurge on it!

Razor: The General V2 head on a Timeless titanium handle.
Blade: Schick Proline
Soap: PAA Scentsless, CK-6 formula
Wood handled brushes, clockwise from upper right, Cashmere, 2BED, and SynBad (all AP Shave Co synthetics). Handles are all from Trotter Handcrafts, and are dyed, laminated birch, cocobolo, and maple.

May we all have some great shaves this week, stay healthy, and be happy. And as Ben said last week and I am stealing this week, let's make some one's day this week!

 

[Rusty Blade]

View attachment 1358690

This week's kit has some new stuff! In the upper left, there is a PAA brush warmer, or brush scuttle, but designed to hold a loaded brush, but not to build lather. In the winter months, I love warm lather! Below it is my newly returned Colonial General V2 head, polished to my specifications by a skilled friend up north in Quebec. Sure is shiny, and I am hoping that it will glide even better now. The soap is one whose base formula has been very positively reviewed for several years now, but the price seemed too high for me. But after the sale of some stuff, I decided to splurge on it!

Razor: The General V2 head on a Timeless titanium handle.
Blade: Schick Proline
Soap: PAA Scentsless, CK-6 formula
Wood handled brushes, clockwise from upper right, Cashmere, 2BED, and SynBad (all AP Shave Co synthetics). Handles are all from Trotter Handcrafts, and are dyed, laminated birch, cocobolo, and maple.

May we all have some great shaves this week, stay healthy, and be happy. And as Ben said last week and I am stealing this week, let's make some one's day this week!

Very nice setup. Fine looking brushes and I agree warm leather on a cold winter morning is wonderful. I must break out one of my vintage scuttles.

 

[MaineYooper]

Very nice setup. Fine looking brushes and I agree warm leather on a cold winter morning is wonderful. I must break out one of my vintage scuttles.

Yup, cold mornings the past few days, below freezing!

 

[MaineYooper]

Quick check in to say, Wow! That CK-6 formula is something else, easy to lather and easy to overload, if that is even possible! I found the 28mm fan SynBad to be almost too big, in that there was so much soap and I needed to keep adding water to get the consistency I like. But it was great! This week will tell. I am updating my Soap Note to include this, the Black Tie #13, and the final verdict on Lakewood Soap, as well as a cost comparison.

 

[MaineYooper]

Here is a table I put together just now, showing the unscented soaps I reviewed, the price per tub, and the price per ounce. I was surprised by a few!

SOAP	WEIGHT (oz)	PRICE	COST/Oz
Ethos	4	$34.00	$8.50
House of Mammoth	4	$22.00	$5.50
Canda Shaving	6.2	$32.00	$5.16
Scentsless CK-6	5	$25.00	$5.00
Haslinger	2.1	$9.00	$4.29
Hub City	4	$17.00	$4.25
Zingari Man	5	$21.00	$4.20
Mystic Water	4	$14.15	$3.54
Noble Otter	4	$14.00	$3.50
Lakewood	5	$17.50	$3.50
Black Tie #13	4	$14.00	$3.50
Mike's	4	$12.00	$3.00
Shannon's	4	$12.00	$3.00
Stirling (any)	5.8	$14.00	$2.41

 

[bjm]

Nice work, Eric! Most of my soaps are scented even if their fragrance is lost on me due to my schnoz being on the fritz, but I appreciate the effort you put into creating the list. I have quite a bit of Haslinger and Stirling in my stash so it's good to see where they fall in the ranking. Thank you.

 

[Rusty Blade]

Here is a table I put together just now, showing the unscented soaps I reviewed, the price per tub, and the price per ounce. I was surprised by a few!

SOAP	WEIGHT (oz)	PRICE	COST/Oz
Ethos	4	$34.00	$8.50
House of Mammoth	4	$22.00	$5.50
Canda Shaving	6.2	$32.00	$5.16
Scentsless CK-6	5	$25.00	$5.00
Haslinger	2.1	$9.00	$4.29
Hub City	4	$17.00	$4.25
Zingari Man	5	$21.00	$4.20
Mystic Water	4	$14.15	$3.54
Noble Otter	4	$14.00	$3.50
Lakewood	5	$17.50	$3.50
Black Tie #13	4	$14.00	$3.50
Mike's	4	$12.00	$3.00
Shannon's	4	$12.00	$3.00
Stirling (any)	5.8	$14.00	$2.41

Nice table, very informative. Now you just need to add another column that rates quality. I generally dont worry too much about price of my soaps. My most expensive soap is MdC. I paid $65 for it about 6 or 7 years ago. I believe it is made of kryptonite and I hear it's good for a couple of years of regular shaves. Thanks for your efforts Eric, much appreciated.

 

[MaineYooper]

Nice table, very informative. Now you just need to add another column that rates quality. I generally dont worry too much about price of my soaps. My most expensive soap is MdC. I paid $65 for it about 6 or 7 years ago. I believe it is made of kryptonite and I hear it's good for a couple of years of regular shaves. Thanks for your efforts Eric, much appreciated.

Yes, if I saw this table, I would want a quality column, too. But it's so subjective that I question its usefulness. There are soaps others rated highly and I didn't get along with them. Several creams are in that category and I will probably never try another cream, as I just haven't had any luck with them. And more importantly, I don't think I could rate them from best to worst for myself! 2 or 3 ratings categories are probably the best I can do.

 

[Rusty Blade]

Yes, if I saw this table, I would want a quality column, too. But it's so subjective that I question its usefulness. There are soaps others rated highly and I didn't get along with them. Several creams are in that category and I will probably never try another cream, as I just haven't had any luck with them. And more importantly, I don't think I could rate them from best to worst for myself! 2 or 3 ratings categories are probably the best I can do.

I understand your concern, however, as the King of Unscented your opinion on quality and performance is highly valued!

 

[MaineYooper]

I understand your concern, however, as the King of Unscented your opinion on quality and performance is highly valued!

Thank you, Rusty, I appreciate that thought and title. I will put on my thinking cap and see what I can do!

 

[Rusty Blade]

Here is my shave kit for the coming week starting tomorrow.
Soap: Bartigan and Stark "Nil"
Razor: Schick Type G
Brush: Assorted boar brushes
Post: NIL ASB
Wax: Lucky Tiger
The clocks have changed, the evenings are getting longer and the morning frosts are telling us that my old friend winter is coming soon. Such a nice time of year. Hope are all well and safe.

 

[bjm]

My setup for next week...
Gillette Super Speed (1961 G4)
Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge
Arko Shaving Soap Stick



The month of first-time shaves with birth-quarter razors will continue next week with the Flare Tip. Using the 195 "Fat Boy" was a real pleasure. I started on a setting of 4 because I didn't know what to expect. I soon found myself turning it up to 7 (and my shaves up to 11 as a result) and left it there for the rest of the week. I quickly realized I had waited far too long to experience the comfort and joy afforded by the Gillette 195 adjustable razor. Oh my!

To you and yours, please be well and stay safe...

 

[MaineYooper]

The set up kit for this week:
Razor: Schick Type I, the Hydro-magic
Blade: sChick
Soap: Shannon's Soaps Nil
Brush(es): feeling astro-spacey for the line up!

Clockwise from bottom: Cities from Space (28mm Timberwolf knot), Supernova (24mm SynBad knot), and Aurora Borealis (28mm 2BED knot). All handles from Trotter Handcrafts (he has an Etsy store!)

On the soap front, I didn't realize Nil was up in the rotation. Fortuitous, as I had just finished a week with the highly regarded CK-6 formula soap from PAA. So while not a head-to-head same-day comparison, it is pretty close! And Shannon's wins for slick, easy to make lather! But the PAA made more lather faster, and thus required more finagling on my part to get it where I wanted it. So, a tie, given I am not "dialed in" yet with the CK-6. But the take home message: Shannon's Soaps Nil, in its original formula (which I believe is still the ONLY formula), stands up amazingly well to the well-engineered an more expensive PAA CK-6 Scentsless formula. Both are going to be enjoyed while in my soap drawer!

Have a great week, folks!

 

[bjm]

My setup for next week...
Gillette Slim (1961 G4)
Astra Superior Stainless
Arko Shaving Soap Stick



Of all my birth-quarter razors, the Fatboy and Slim are the two I anticipated the most. I have a few Super Speeds and a lot of Techs, but these are my only adjustable Gillette razors and I had never used either of them. Be well and stay safe...

 

[MaineYooper]

My setup for next week...
Gillette Slim (1961 G4)
Astra Superior Stainless
Arko Shaving Soap Stick

View attachment 1365600

Of all my birth-quarter razors, the Fatboy and Slim are the two I anticipated the most. I have a few Super Speeds and a lot of Techs, but these are my only adjustable Gillette razors and I had never used either of them. Be well and stay safe...

Never used?! No wonder it looks so minty new in the photo! A pre-war Tech and my birth-quarter Slim are the only Gillettes I kept. Very enjoyable razors, indeed.