SOCTOBER 2021

[noslen]

Brush: Semogue Owner's Club butterscotch boar
Soap: Wholly Kaw 1776 + A&E Kaizen
Razor: Blackland Blackbird brass
Blade: Silver Star Super Stainless
Post: Omega Alum/Thayer's Cucumber Witchhazel

 

[hairless wonder]

Last night, I had shave #31 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was again held in place with a Fatip OC Piccolo in nickel. This was my third time trying a Fatip razor; I think I'm starting to get the hang if it.

I used Tabac (tallow) shaving soap and made my lather a little thick in the bowl then tried to thin it on my face with more water. Unfortunately, I added too much water and wound up with lather that was a little too thin for my preference. Still, since it was Tabac, I managed to get an almost irritation free BBS shave.

Prior to the shave, I showered with cold water and also used cold water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush. Additionally, I drizzled a bit of cold tap water on top of the soap.

After the puck absorbed most of the bloom water, I dumped the remaining (now filmy) bloom water into an empty yogurt cup, shook my brush to remove excess water, and picked up the soap puck in my left hand. I swirled my brush across the top of the soap for a minute before scooping up all the protolather left on the puck and transferring it to the shaving bowl where I the stirred my brush while gradually adding some of the bloom water (along with more cold tap water) to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little water to my face by hand before each lather pass. When I applied the lather to my face, I noticed it was still too dry; after dipping my brush tips into water I thinned the lather on my face with it. Unfortunately, with both lather rounds, I went to the well too many times and the lather wound up being just a little too thin for my preferences. It just missed the cushioning I like, though it had good slickness.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and barely buffed my trouble areas. With the thinness of the lather, I wound up feeling my blade a bit more than last time. Since I rode the cap and maintained a shallow angle, though, the shave was still pretty smooth.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block pass before washing it off and applying aftershave splash (Pinaud Clubman) and aftershave balm (Nivea Men Sensitive Soothing Post Shave Balm). Unlike with my last shave, I wound up feeling the alum sting. It was about a 4/10. Afterward, I also felt the sting from the alcohol in the splash.

As I said before, I'm going to aim for shave #60 with this blade. If I can manage to make lathers the way I prefer, it just might be possible.

All in all, I would give this shave a 98/100.

 

[Tanuki]

The SOC did today's prep, then was relegated to solo sentry duty with a busby of lather.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Razor: AutoStrop B1 - 1916-19
Blade: AutoStrop - “Valet” Vintage (2)
Brush: Semogue - Owner Club 24mm (Boar)
Pre-Shave: Stirling Pink Clay - Facial Bar Soap
Lather: Canada Shaving Soap - Unscented
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Reserve - Classic

 

[Tanuki]

The SOC boar did an acceptable job on both prep and shave today. I did not have to re-apply either the prep or shave soaps. And I got by with just a slight increase in Tabac usage. There is a lot more break in ahead, but this SOC is approved to solo.

It might be time to pull out my even fatter SOC boar in a cherry handle. I was going to give it away, but...

 

[tehnothing]

SOC-OCtober 15th
Face wash with PAA Mentholated Cube in the shower
A&E Slick Stick
SOC Ash Wood Finest Badger
CC Copper Bowl
Gillette New Short Comb 4 passes
Wizamet Polsilver Stainless (20)
Wolfman WR2 1.15 clean up pass
Feather One and done.
A&E Which One's Pink soap and splash
Alum
A&E Post-shave Serum + Hyaluronic Acid

Great brush. I'm impressed.

 

[TARHEEL_85]

Time for another SOCTOBER go round.

SOCTOBER Shave #3:
Brush: Semogue Owners Club, Cherry Wood Handle, 2-Band Finest Badger
Soap: Stirling Soap Co. - Bergamot Lavender
Razor: Mühle R41
Handle: Weber Classic
Blade: Voskhod (2)
Bowl: Stainless 3/4 qt mixing bowl
Aftershave: Henri et Victoria - Bergamot Vetiver

 

[JAHE]

SOTD #252/2021
16-10-2021

>> SOCTOBER / OCtober <<

Preshave: shower, frigid tap water
Brush: Semogue Owners Club 2-band finest badger
Soap: Mäurer & Wirtz ~ SIR Irisch Moos shaving stick
Razor: Fatip Open Comb Slant Chrome
Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux (2)
Post shave: frigid tap water, Nivea Sensitive asb.

A very nice and super easy shave. 3 passes, bbs on the face and dfs+ on the neck. There was no reason to chase a bbs result with the FOCS on the neck today, so I didn't.

I face lathered the SIM with the SOC 2-band finest badger today which was a great pleasure.

Happy SOCTOBER, y'all!

 

[tankerjohn]

Merkur 41c/47c Frankenrazor
SOC (of course) Boar Ash
Proraso Red
Pinaud Clubman Special Reserve

Long time Semogue fan, first time getting into the SOC. So far so good, but obviously it needs to break in to get really great.

 

[bjm]

Timeless SS 0.68 OC
Personna Platinum (7)
Fine Platinum
SOC boar

I've been using the SOC brushes for every shave this month. I use the badger on odd days and rotate through the three boars on even days. I like the boars but I really like the badger

Be well and stay safe...

 

[hairless wonder]

Last night, I had shave #32 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. Again, the blade was held in place with a Fatip Open Comb Piccolo in nickel. This was my fourth shave with a Fatip razor; I'm really loving it!

I used Tabac (tallow) shaving soap and made just about just as good a lather as I could with it. It was slick and cushiony.

Prior to the shave, I showered with cold water and also used cold water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush. Additionally, I drizzled a handful of drops of cold tap water on top of the soap.

After the puck absorbed the bloom water, I shook my brush to remove some water, and picked up the soap puck in my left hand. I began swirling my brush across the top of the soap for a minute before scooping up all the protolather left on the puck and transferring it to the shaving bowl. Next, I rinsed the remaining protolather off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in an empty yogurt cup. I then picked up my brush and began to stir it in the shaving bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. I wound up with a very smooth BBS shave.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block pass before washing it off and applying aftershave splash (Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue) and aftershave balm (Nivea Men Sensitive Soothing Post Shave Balm). Because I over-buffed a bit, I wound up feeling just a hint of the alum sting. It was about a 2/10. Afterward, I also felt the small sting from the alcohol in the splash.

As I said before, I'm going to aim for shave #60 with this blade. If I can manage to continue making lathers like last night's, it's very possible.

All in all, I would give this shave a 98.5/100.

 

[noslen]

Brush: Semogue Owner's Club butterscotch boar
Soap: Stirling Green
Razor: Charcoal Goods Everyday razor
Blade: Silver Star Super Stainless
Post: Omega Alum/Thayer's Cucumber Witchhazel

 

[Tanuki]

The SOC boar did the full shave again. It probably would have made it without the large application of Tabac. Not fully broken in, but no longer needing close supervision.

 

[JAHE]

SOTD #253/2021
17-10-2021

>> SOCTOBER / OCtober <<

Preshave: shower, frigid tap water
Brush: Semogue Owners Club 2-band finest badger cherry wood.
Soap: Stirling Soap ~ Scots Pine Sheep
Razor: Mühle R41 GS
Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux (3)
Post shave: frigid tap water, Schröder und Mann ~ Majestät AS, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Aqua Creme.

A splendid Sunday shave. 3 passes, no tough ups needed. After having applied the post shave products my skin feels calm, nourished and totally soft - like oil on glas. Uber bbs.

The combo of the Stirling's mutton tallow soap, Mühle's R41 and the Neutrogena cream is nothing but exceptional. I'm quite blown away...

Happy SOCTOBER, y'all!

 

[TBoner]

Semogue SOC 2-band Finest
TOBS Cedarwood shave crm
Razorock Gamechanger .84
Lord Platinum blade day #1
CO Bigelow Dr. Galen Tonic
Fougere Nobile edp sample

 

[JAHE]

SOTD #254/2021
18-10-2021

>> SOCTOBER / OCtober <<

Preshave: shower, frigid tap water
Brush: Semogue Owners Club Mistura Taj
Soap: Proraso ~ Azur Lime SC
Razor: Yaqi Top Aggressive Double Open Comp Slant
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Germany (4)
Post shave: frigid tap water, Proraso ~ Azur Lime EdC, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Aqua Creme.


The Yaqi slant DOC head is quite a ride. My 2 passes were very efficient, but the razor felt prone to biting out of nowhere during the passes. Fortunately, I was able to finish the shave with only a tiny nick. However, the result was flawless.

Happy SOCTOBER, y'all!

 

[TBoner]

Semogue SOC TSN LE silvertip
Taylor's Cedarwood shave crm
Razrock Gamechanger .84 DE
Lord Platinum blade shave #2
C.O. Bigelow Dr. Galen Tonic
Missoni Parfum Pour Homme

 

[noslen]

brush: Semogue Owner's Club butterscotch boar
soap: Wholly Kaw 1776 + Stirling Green
razor: copper Karve w/brass OC F plate
blade: Lord Platinum

 

[tankerjohn]

Happy Monday everyone! Alright, I did the OC SOC Tabac tober trifecta today! The Trinity! The triple play! Bowled a turkey! Golfed an albatross!

The razor is a Gillette New Improved. The rest you can figure out.

 

[hairless wonder]

Last night, I had shave #33 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. Again, the blade was held in place with a Fatip Open Comb Piccolo in nickel.

I used Tabac (tallow) shaving soap and made just about just as good a lather as I could with it. It was slick and cushiony.

Prior to the shave, I showered with cold water and also used cold water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush. After I shook my brush to remove some water and picked up the soap puck in my left hand, I began swirling my brush across the top of the soap for a minute before scooping up all the protolather left on the puck and transferring it to the shaving bowl. Next, I rinsed the remaining protolather off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in an empty cup. I then picked up my brush and began to stir it in the shaving bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. I did not feel my blade; this is how I like it. I wound up with a very smooth BBS shave. That said, I wound up with a tiny weeper that disappeared on its own during some buffing (after the first pass) under my nose.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block pass before washing it off and applying aftershave splash (Stirling Spice) and aftershave balm (Van der Hagen Post Shave Soothing Balm). I felt a tiny bit of sting from t he alum block (where the weeper had been. The sting was about a 1/10. Afterward, I also felt a small sting from the alcohol in the splash.

This was my first time using the VDH balm. I saw it on sale for $3.00 at my local TJ Maxx and figured I'd give it a whirl. I used a pea sized amount of the balm and spread it across my cheeks, chin, etc. The balm was greasier on the skin than Nivea and took longer to dry down/absorb into the skin. This might be a good balm for the winter months when chapping and dry skin become more problematic. Alternatively, this could be a travel after shave balm, since it's only 3.4 oz. (96g.).

All in all, I would give this shave a 98.5/100.