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The Scandal Sheet: Straights and other stuff

Darth Scandalous

Darth Scandalous

cajunrph said:
I have noticed that you have quite a broad taste in music. I once worked with a pharmacist at a local hospital like that. His name was also John. I was the nice John and he was the grumpy John. He'd listen to AC/DC one day then Classical music the next. One day he had some classical music playing in the pharmacy, the charge nurse from one of the floors called the pharmacy for a question and heard the music. She asked "What was that???" in a somewhat judging voice. The techs told her it was John's music, after the nurse made some less than flattering remarks about John's taste in music, he called her a "Pesant" in a condescending voice. It was quite hilarious then to see it transpire. I'm chuckling thinking about it.
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I don't like everything...even in genres that I am more drawn to, I don't listen to a lot of it more than once. But, I like a little of a lot of things.

I should dial up some AC/DC for the ride home. Highway to Hell and Back in Black are probably my favorites of theirs. Thanks for the idea!
 
Darth Scandalous

Darth Scandalous

Well, after John's suggestion, I listened to Back in Black on the way home last night and finished it this morning. It's been a hot minute so that was a nice change.

Maybe in the same vein, I decided to try a couple things this morning that have been gathering dust. First was Cremo, the regular red and white tube. It's been in the cabinet for a maybe three years at this point, at least two and a half. The other was the no-name DE OC/SB combo that my stepkid bought me for Christmas.

When I used to use Cremo I would use a big dollop and aerate and hydrate with a brush. I found it was a lot better that way than using it brushless. Only downside is that I'd use about 3 times as much as you'd really need. Not cost effective.

Today I decided instead to use it more or less like a preshave and build a lather on top of it with Stirling Beeswax. First thing, it's a little stickier than it was new, after 3 years, but I worked some water into it with my fingers and it got slick like I remember. I used my Proraso Pro boar to work up the Stirling. Honestly the Cremo didn't interfere with the Stirling but it also didn't really do much of anything. I had to use a lot of water to keep things slick, more than normal. It's possible that it doesn't play perfectly well with this soap. I've had the same experience using Stirling preshave soap with other shave soaps. It just kind of messes with the residual slickness. After the first pass I rinsed my face thoroughly and that seemed to work. From that point the shave was quite typical.

The straight was Kyoei 39, Yasuki steel, typical Japanese hollow grind. Very nice. I loaded a new Bic into the no-name razor and a few swipes confirmed that it is really, really mild. Too mild. I think my early experiences with later-in-the-day skin tenderness probably stemmed from having to overshave to get the level of closeness I want with this razor. So I called an audible and finished up with the Fatip, Treet 7 day (2). All was well there. Again, I found that if my face got too dry that any residual slickness turned into residual stickiness. Not great but splashing water on it was enough to reactivate it. Very little feedback from the Veg today so whatever I did obviously worked. My skin feels a little more moisturized than usual, which kind of lines up with what I remember from Cremo, too.

All in all, probably won't bother repeating the experiment with other soaps. And the no-name razor will probably hang out in the drawer and I will continue using the handle.

Be well, everyone.
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

Today's trip to work was U2's "With or Without You", I can handle Bono's lower notes, but those higher notes tend to crack on me. I wonder what folks think as I ride by singing "With or Without you" on the Beemer, they probably think, "It's obviously without you because you are riding solo." Haha.
 
huck1680

huck1680

cajunrph said:
"It's obviously without you because you are riding solo." Haha.
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Yes you're doing your motorcycle "HAN" Solo...BADABOOM! Here all week boys.

reface_1603146737281_969.GIF
 
Darth Scandalous

Darth Scandalous

Decided to give the Okina another run today. With new-to-me razors I like to use them a little more frequently to get to know them better before they get put into the normal rotation (whatever that is). The other day I had noted that it was a little more angle dependent-- which is probably still true-- but in looking at the blade again I realized that the bigger problem is that had a pretty sharp point. I don't get along with pointy tips, specifically on the lateral passes on the right side of my face, and unlike some fellows I don't find a sharp square point necessary for detail work (I shave with the edge, not the point, not sure how other folks do it). So a I did a couple quick strokes on the end of my arkansas stone to mute the tip and that took care of it. Pretty subtle, you can't really even see it from a distance, but what a huge difference. The shave was perfect.

Soap was MdC Rose lathered with the Vielong synth, so the lather was perfect too. DE was the Fatip/Treet 7 day (3) and that was pretty great too. I may have overshaved just a tiny bit on the right side of my chin based on Veg feedback, but my skin feels great a few hours later, so it must have been minimal.

We have clients in the office today (allegedly) so I had to dress up a little more. Actual dress pants. I even did a quick shine on my boots.

Be well, all.
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20240221_102505.jpg
 
Darth Scandalous

Darth Scandalous

Decent shave today with a Wade and Butcher that I got way back in '21, my first ebay purchase, I think. The scales were broken so I made a set that were not great, and eventually made another set that are somewhat better but still not great. But functional. I actually had cut these scales to fit a different, smaller razor but they work on this one well enough. The blade is somewhere between quarter and half hollow. Takes a nice, smooth edge.

Soap was MdC, brush is the small STF. All was well on that front. Fatip and Treet again today, I guess it's shave 4 on the Treet. No harshness but I had to work a little harder on the left side of the throat. Still, not a bad run. I will probably bin it for the sake of efficiency but I continue to be impressed by these blades.

Splash was Soap Commander Endurance. An Old Spice tribute/clone. This one goes on sticky but with a splash of water, it soaks in and leaves my skin feeling natural. I can't always manage the strength of the scent but it's working today.

Music... I listened to some Bach Cello suites last night and this morning. The artist was someone I'm not familiar with, whatever came up when I did a voice search. I think I have a couple other recordings of these in my digital library that I like better but this one wasn't bad.
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Darth Scandalous

Darth Scandalous

Eric_75 said:
Good morning, Matt.

Have a blessed weekend, sir.
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Good morning to you, too. Same to you!

Well, since I'm here, I may as well talk about the shave. Frameback Friday, so I chose an ugly duckling, C.W. Dahlgren, that always delivers a great shave. The scales are gorgeous, the blade has been through some things. Soap was Proraso Red, lathered with the Simpsons Emperor.

For the DE I put a fresh Cloud blade in the Fatip. These were the blades that came with the no-name DE. I recall @APBinNCA suggesting that I give them a fair shake, as they aren't too bad. I may have used one or two quite early on as I was figuring things out but I don't believe I actually tried one in the Fatip yet. As promised, they are not too bad. Smooth right out of the gate. The cutting sensation is reminiscent of the Personnas I tried, although maybe a little more efficient? At any rate, it doesn't *feel* overly sharp but it got the job done.

Splash was the Veg.

I introduced the boy child to Backwaters by the Tony Rice Unit, told him I thought he would like it. He said, "You're right. I really do like it."

Be well, all.
 
Darth Scandalous

Darth Scandalous

Catching up, not a whole lot to say. Yesterday's shave was great. Turtleshell Heljestrand MK32, MdC Rose, Oumo brush. DE was Fatip, Cloud (2). The Cloud was not exactly sharp, but still smooth.
20240224_094504.jpg

Today, Sankan 1200. Got a jar of MdC Agrumes from a friend. Love the smell. I'm not sure it agrees with my skin... I've had issues with bergamot before, but there's not much in there. We'll see. I was also in a flaming hurry. Most of the minor tingle I felt was below the jawline. I paired the Fatip with a GSB, managed to get a weeper on my throat... again, I was speeding. So it may just be that.

I took advantage of Maggard's 10% off and ordered a FOCS, as well as Myrsol Limon and 100 Feathers. I hope this soap works for me, but I guess I can use the myrsol with unscented, too. Probably will work with rose as well. Actually, I'm a little apprehensive about the splash too. I hope the menthol isn't too much. I like a little... we'll see.
20240225_112346.jpg


Be well.
 
Darth Scandalous

Darth Scandalous

I used Agrumes again today and didn't really note any skin reaction, so that's good. The lemon oil does give a little tingle in places where I may have exfoliated a little more, but that's not really the same thing. I can live with that.

I managed somehow to get a much better lather quality with my Elite Finest, and quite by accident. Not that it's normally bad, but it lacks a little compared to my other brushes. I think didn't shake it out quite as much today, and loaded a LOT. Good combo. I don't approach lathering with quite the level of a)voodoo magic or b) scientific precision as many fellows do, but I do try to make mental notes.

The straight was my Koraat, just sang its way through the shave. GSB (2) in the Fatip was very nice too. I won't be joining the cult, sadly...they're very good blades, I think, but somehow they feel slightly rough on my skin, even while the actual cutting sensation is quite smooth. It's an odd combo. Still, I don't have any qualms about using them. So.

I finished up with a dab of Nivea and then cracked open my backup bottle of Bignoli Agrumi di Mediterraneo. It's more oranges than lemons but it plays great with the remnants of the MdC scent. It has a little menthol, just about the perfect amount for me. Stirling's Island Man EDT followed, since it's supposed to hit 60 today. Low of 8 predicted for Tuesday night, though. Talk about whiplash.

The boychild and I watched Dune Part 1 yesterday (re-watch for me). Maybe I can talk him into seeing part 2 when it comes out. He liked it. Haven't convinced him to read the book, he doesn't have a lot of extra time. Although his younger sister is an insatiably voracious reader and seemed interested in the concept.

Be well, all.
 
blethenstrom

blethenstrom

Darth Scandalous said:
The straight was my Koraat, just sang its way through the shave. GSB (2) in the Fatip was very nice too. I won't be joining the cult, sadly thankfully I reject their crazy ideas...they're very good blades, I think, but somehow they feel slightly rough on my skin, even while the actual cutting sensation is quite smooth. It's an odd combo. Still, I don't have any qualms about using them. So.
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There corrected it for you. 😁
 
Darth Scandalous

Darth Scandalous

I didn't have time for photos today, but it was a very good shave. I did a little honing yesterday, a couple razors that were good, not great, on a slab of Pennsylvania slate that I got from a member here. Did things a little differently between the two razors, and the one was very, very good. Could be the technique, could just be the razors as the are quite different in most respects. But I will take the other one back to the stone soon and see if I can replicate the results.

The razor I ended up using for the bulk of the shave was my MK31, that I used a few days ago. It was as nice a shave as I've ever got from that razor. Soap was Proraso, added myrrh as usual... cold front and potential snow coming through today so warmer scents seemed prudent. The brush was a Yaqi two band.

DE was the Fatip (of course) with a new Bic. I examined the edge of the GSB briefly since my loupe was still on the sink and it was showing some signs of degradation. I'm sure I could have pushed it a little further, but why? Interestingly I went out of my way to make sure the Bic was aligned visually, and it still was more aggressive on one side than the other. Not to the point of impacting comfort, but I exploited that by consciously using one side vs. the other depending on the nature of the whiskers and landscape.

End result was beautifully smooth. Proraso red splash and a little water on top has me humming "On Green Dolphin Street" in my head.

Be well, all!
 
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