The Scent of Juniper for me is a typical scent for the autumn and winter time, especially from the kitchen were it is a common ingredient in stews and other delightful meals. But also the crisp scent of juniper that reminds me of the woods, great relaxing and calming scent.
The soap is quite firm and can have a good amount of water so you can hydrate the soap how you like it. Slickness and cushion is outstanding, the ever ready razor whit the gem personna blade on it’s eleventh use had no trouble cutting the whiskers.
The aftershave is nice scentwise, the scent of juniper is there but not overpowering just a nice scent whit a woody undertone. Postshave feel after the shave is really nice comfortable.
Razor : Yaqi SLOPE 316 SS Torsion slant razor - Mfg 2023>, mild to tame mid range depending on blade. Interesting design with a sloping safety bar with a torsion twist on the blade making it a genuine slant IMO. Had a great shave this morning. Blade : Kai SS extra wide(7) sharp and smooth with excellent longevity. Soap : TOBS Sandal wood, nice herbal scented Sandal wood, 6-7/10 strength with excellent lather qualities. Brush : Yaqi " Orbital ring" 24mm boar bristle hair. Excellent lather generator, nice splay scrubber, soft split end tips + great lather painter. Pre shave : (Dedicated Cashmere synthetic)Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser with a dollop of clear Aloe Vera on the cleaned beard area. Prep : Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups. WTG + ATG + pickups. Post shave : Ogallala Bayrum & Sandalwood + a dollop of Geo F Trumper skin food. Results : or CCS,DFS,BBS + no irritation + no weepers= Had a close comfortable shave this morning with my Yaqi Slope slant with a Kai SS extra wide blade.
After 5 days away, today I gathered possibly my favorite items for shaving: MdC Fougère, Semogue SOC Mistura, Greencult 2.0 plate IV (curious to know the performance of the new OC plates), Gillette Silver Blue (4) and Brut.
At the moment of my death, I will remember this morning and smile…
Razors - Shield Avenger Titanium and Alpha Shaving Works Claymore Evolution
Blade - Schick Proline P30
Brush - Oumo Pandora Starry Sky
Soap - Denton Majik The Grays in Flannel
Per personal request I went ahead and did a little comparison between the Shield Avenger and the Alpha Claymore Evolution. Note that this is subjective and my observations.
The Shield is much lighter than the Claymore in that it’s made from titanium. The posts for the blade are two small metal dots on the base plate. The handle knurling is visually pleasing but a bit on the slippery side when hands are wet with soap. The Claymore, made from steel, is much heavier. The blade posts are on the top cap and much more substantial. The knurling on the Claymore is also much more grippy when hands are wet, and the skinny section at the bottom allows for a solid grip. From a visual standpoint the Shield comes across as a no nonsense tool. The Claymore has more styling going on like the scalloped safety bar and the more pronounced knurling - all functional features. In terms of looks, I prefer the Claymore.
The Avenger has more blade feel and is a comfortable razor. The blade feel of the Claymore is less than the Avenger, but in terms of comfort, it takes the win. First pass was WTG and the Avenger took off more stubble than the Claymore. Second pass was ATG and the Claymore started to catch up. The Avenger did give me a bloodspot in my upper lip area. Third pass was across the grain and by then both razors started to tie as both sides of my face were equally smooth. The side of the Claymore did need a clean up pass under my chin. In terms of efficiency and aggression, the edge goes to the Avenger. So appearance and shaving comfort goes to the Claymore, while aggression and efficiency goes to the Avenger. In the end both got the job done albeit in a different way. Alum block revealed hot spots from both razors, but more so from the Avenger.
The Oumo ST-1 knot was amazing. The tips were as soft as any synthetic knot I’ve tried, but it also had good backbone and when splayed it was abrasive enough to exfoliate with. Usually with soft knots if you break backbone they are too gentle to be used to exfoliate - not so with this knot. Denton Majik soap was very creamy and slick. It had a complex floral scent which was pleasing and a strong scent strength.
Lather: Stirling Soap Company Hot Apple Cider
Brush: The Wet Shaving Store Faux Horn
Bowl: Fine Accoutrements Fine Lather Bowl
Aftershave: Stirling Soap Company Hot Apple Cider
You might be asking yourself why there's a big bottle of Apple Cider in the background. Well, I had the bright idea of building my lather using actual apple cider instead of water. I wanted an even stronger apple note to go with the "hot" cinnamon note that I think is pretty strong itself.
It's hard to say how much I succeeded in increasing the apple note but I imagine it had an effect to a degree. Nevertheless, I thought it was fun to experiment. I mean why not, right?
Thy Sextoblade requires extreme care and attention to detail but the reward is equally great. With the fantastic slickness of the Stirling lather, I had no issues with this shave. All I can say is I just love the feel of my face after a shave with this razor.
- Razorock Game Changer with 1.05 plate
- Lord Super Platinum blade
- B&M O, Delight soap and balm
- Semogue SOC Mistura (Badger and Boar) brush
- Dior Homme Parfum