The Scandal Sheet: Straights and other stuff

[Darth Scandalous]

I ended up sleeping downstairs with the new cat just to make sure he didn't get too lonely. He did alright. Took him a while to fall asleep, he likes to suckle on his cat bed. Eventually he fell asleep though. Later he crawled under one of the pillows and spent most of the night there. Maybe I was snoring too loud. He did get up around 4 and ate a little, scraped around in his litter box a bunch, and came back and gave me a few loving headbutts before crawling back under the pillow.

Shave today, I tried Mühle Sea Buckthorn soap which I had ordered the other day on a whim. It got here sooner than advertised. It was very pleasant. Scent is nice but light. I briefly bloomed it and didn't have any problems lathering it. It also felt soothing as soon as I put it on my face. Maybe that's the buckthorn. Performance was decent. It's not SV but it worked just fine for my purposes. It does get a little thin if you overhydrate it and the lather started to dissipate by the very end, but not badly. I also didn't load very heavily so I'm going to see if that changes over a few shaves.

I see the terms "cushion" and "protective" used a lot and I'm not completely sure what they mean in this context but I will say, I could feel the blade more on the DE pass than usual. So it may be less "cushioned" than some soaps. It was brilliant for the straight razor though, a nice balance of thin but slick. I didn't get any weepers or irritation so it's a winner in my book. But if you're afraid of feeling the razor on your skin this soap might not be for you.

Straight was the Monkhouse branded Fili, DE was the full R41 with a GSB. Interestingly the handle is less slick wet than it is dry. Not sure how that works but there you go. Splash was the lavender tincture. So far no real reaction on my skin so that's good too. Be well.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Used my Sistrum today. Second run on the Mühle soap. It was still nice. I didn't bloom it as much, didn't overwater the lather, and it was a lot more stable through the whole shave. Two things stand out after a second use. One, it seems to allow a lot more tactile feedback with both the straight and the DE. I suspect some people would call this a lack of cushion and protection. Although, I have to say, not even the idea of a weeper appeared, so I think it's actually more than adequately protective. The second thing, this is a little odd. It has nice residual slickness at first. But by the time I'm done with the third pass my skin is not slick-- some soaps seem to bond to the skin a little and create a slicker surface (SV, Stirling Beeswax, others too). This one doesn't do that. Reminds me a little of shaving with bathsoap, the way the skin reacts, I mean. But. My skin feels great and I got another very close shave. DE was the R41. GSB is behaving itself still. Finished with Bignoli Agrumi di Mediterraneo and it confirmed that I didn't overshave. I didn't use any preshave products yesterday or today, I may try smearing on some Proraso after my first pass tomorrow, just to see how that goes.

Listened to Big Band Bossa Nova by Quincy Jones today. Great album. Somehow they manage to pull off a bunch of standards with out sounding too campy. And the bass trombone playing is off the chart. Super tasty. Interestingly this is one of *three* albums by that name and all three came out in 1962. The other two are Stan Getz and Enoch Light. I'll have to listen to those soon.

Be well.

 

[huck1680]

Well, been watching Season 4 of "the Boys" on prime. Violent, coarse language, bloody and frickin' hilarious.
The cat not particularly interested.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Well, been watching Season 4 of "the Boys" on prime. Violent, coarse language, bloody and frickin' hilarious.
The cat not particularly interested.

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the new guy not only likes to sleep *under* the pillow, he likes to hang out *in* the pillow, too.

 

[Jay21]

Well, been watching Season 4 of "the Boys" on prime. Violent, coarse language, bloody and frickin' hilarious.
The cat not particularly interested.

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I love the cat, but I’m also impressed there are no clothes on the stationary bike.

 

[BigAlVista]

Well, been watching Season 4 of "the Boys" on prime. Violent, coarse language, bloody and frickin' hilarious.
The cat not particularly interested.

View attachment 1881748

Butcher's cancerous tumor? Sick. I really like how Homelander has totally embraced his nature.

 

[huck1680]

Butcher's cancerous tumor? Sick. I really like how Homelander has totally embraced his nature.

Yeah just finished watching season 4. They do leave you hanging. Season 5 is supposed to be the last...there's a whole lot of wrap up to be done.

 

[huck1680]

I love the cat, but I’m also impressed there are no clothes on the stationary bike.

Yeah, we actually use it, the wife more than me. You can see the base of the total gym beside it which is what I use with some free weights and bands.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I may be getting to the point where I can start working out semi-regularly again. We'll see. The fact that I'm entertaining the idea is a good sign that my body may be ready.

Had a really nice shave this morning. Went back to Stirling Beeswax to test a theory. Straight was the Okina, floofy Vestavia silvertip brush, and R41/GSB (3) for the cleanup. The kitty was getting some supervised exploration time and he was quite curious about the sound of me scrubbing up lather on my face.

The theory I was checking, was that the new, stock R41 handle might be impacting the tactile feedback of the razor. I had mentioned with the Mühle soap that I was feeling the razor and blade more than I anticipated, but what I didn't immediately think about was the new handle combo. After today's shave, I can say the handle does have more feedback than the other ones I was using. It's not a bad thing, but it's funny how our perception of smoothness is colored by what we're feeling in our fingertips as much as what we're feeling on our skin. But, that's not the whole story, I'm pretty sure the soap made a difference too. Because I was pretty recklessly aggressive in my cleanup pass and it didn't feel dangerous at all today. I still like the Mühle soap, enough that I think I'll use it regularly. Also the Stirling leaves just a little bit more skin conditioning smoothness.

I tested out the third and final tincture, the lemon one. It felt great, and unlike the lavender, seems to have just a little skin conditioning of its own. Scent was light and fleeting but no burn at all at 75% abv. After it had soaked in I threw some Myrsol on top, for a little more lemon/menthol blast.

I went looking on the music app for the Enoch Light and Stan Getz bossa albums. They don't exist there as such but I found re-released versions under slightly different names. Enoch Light was a hard pass. A little too cheesy/campy. The Stan Getz album I found is actually a combo of Jazz Samba (with Charlie Byrd) and Big Band Bossa Nova that I was looking for originally. Now that, that was very nice. Some really great arrangements on the big band album, and of course Getz and Byrd really complemented each other in the more intimate textures of the Jazz Samba album.

 

[huck1680]

That's cool. My dad was a huge jazz fan...me, not so much. I do have some of his collection. I should download it so I can put it onto a USB stick which I can use in the car. Thanx for reminding me.

 

[Eric_75]

That's cool. My dad was a huge jazz fan...me, not so much. I do have some of his collection. I should download it so I can put it onto a USB stick which I can use in the car. Thanx for reminding me.

I'm the only one in my family that likes jazz.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I'm not smart enough for jazz... not mature enough for Classical...

 

[thombrogan]

mature enough for Classical...

Disney, Looney Tunes, and Woody Woodpecker got me into opera before I could read or write.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Disney, Looney Tunes, and Woody Woodpecker got me into opera before I could read or write.

Everything I learned about physics, and ethics, I learned from Looney Tunes.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Had a very nice shave again today. I went back to the Sea Buckthorn soap. Didn't bloom it this time, which meant I had to work a little harder to load it but the scrubby little TGN badger was up for the task. I tried the trick I do with MdC sometimes, which is to use Proraso preshave after the first pass. That worked very well. Still had the nice skin soothing feel of the soap but the residual slickness didn't drop off as the shave progressed.

The straight was my MK 3, brilliant again today. For the DE I loaded an Indian Astra SP into my favorite New SC. I've only used one of these blades so far and it was in January, according to my journal here. I'm not quite ready to commit to Tuck At a Time, but I've been a little annoyed by the random open tucks in the drawer so I figured I'd use them up.

I remember the last Astra I used feeling a little rough on the first shave and improving on the next. This one wasn't like that at all. It was very smooth, and sharp enough. Managed to get about as close to BBS as I ever get and without my skin paying for it.

Finished with the Veg. Very light tingle.

Since I was in a latin mood after listening to Stan Getz I went back to Open Sky by Stephanie Jones. Still great.

Be well.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Forgot to mention, I also managed to do a little weightlifting last night. Loaded everything with "an abundance of caution" as they say in the public sector. Based on the way I feel today, I'm optimistic that I can repeat it again on Friday.

 

[thombrogan]

Congrats on the smooth shave and on fighting gravity on your own terms!

The biggest danger in strength training is forgetting you’re no longer 20. True story

 

[Darth Scandalous]

The biggest danger in strength training is forgetting you’re no longer 20. True story

I didn't really do any serious strength training until I was 42

But unfortunately I have to remind myself I'm no longer 42...even though it was only 5 years ago. Although, there was a point probably 3 years ago where I was (successfully) doing a program that is probably better suited to someone half my age. In some ways I'm grateful that I can't do that any more, because it was pretty grueling, physically and mentally.

 

[Eric_75]

you’re no longer 20.

I'm glad I'm no longer 20. I was using a Gillette Sensor and Sensor Excel then.

 

[cajunrph]

Forgot to mention, I also managed to do a little weightlifting last night. Loaded everything with "an abundance of caution" as they say in the public sector. Based on the way I feel today, I'm optimistic that I can repeat it again on Friday.

My back has decreased to the point that it hinders me from getting into position to do any chest work. I used to be able to sit on the bench with two 80lb dumbbells and roll down to start my workout. Sheeeiidddd, just the thought makes my back hurt. I am a decade up on you and those days are gone for me. I do have a rowing machine if only I can dig it out of what has become a storage room.

Congrats on your successful exercise session, and here's to many more in the future.