The Wanderer's Journey

[AimlessWanderer]

A better shave today with the Gillette Goal (shave #2), and most of the initial harshness has subsided already. However, a couple of areas did seem a little tuggy, so I reckon 6-8 shaves from this one. I also seem to have a little speedbump (spot) developing on top of the voicebox, which explains the little snag from yesterday.

I also remembered to reach for the homebrew today, instead of the store bought cheapos. No burn whatsoever, despite the high alcohol content, and the finish was slightly drier than yesterday, but also a more natural feel, which I would assume is due to the Propylene Glycol in the cheapo.

The scent was, unsurprisingly, alcohol with a hint of vinegar. However, it wasn't obnoxious, and didn't hang around too long. All the same, I think a little scent would be in order, but I haven't yet decided what.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Found a cheap UK supplier of essential oils that offers free shipping too. Bonus! As I already make my own beard oil, tache wax, and hair rinses, I've gone for five different oils to play around with. Anything that doesn't work in the homebrew aftershave will get used in one of the other concoctions anyway, or worst case scenario, in the tealight oil burner, so it's a pretty safe bet.

I've tried to go for things which I think (hope) will play with the apple cider vinegar odour, rather than just try to drown it out. The only EO I already had here was tea tree oil, which wouldn't have worked at all. I was hoping the ACV would just be enough of a lift away from "clinical" while still being skin friendly, but that didn't work out so great, so I might skip that altogether in the next batch. All part of the learning curve.

 

[Somerled]

I was playing around with essential oils a year or so ago.
Not for direct skin use but for diffusers.
I used Fractionated Coconut Oil as a base (to dilute the raw oils).
It's odourless and should be relatively cheap.
Mind giving a link for your cheap source of oils?

 

[Esox]

I've gone for five different oils to play around with

I have two from here: Spiritual Sky Perfumes - Spiritual Sky Oil

I havent tried adding them to anything yet though. This Sandalwood is pretty nice: Spiritual Sky Perfume Oil - Sandalwood Oil

They are potent being concentrate so a little goes a very long way.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I was playing around with essential oils a year or so ago.
Not for direct skin use but for diffusers.
I used Fractionated Coconut Oil as a base (to dilute the raw oils).
It's odourless and should be relatively cheap.
Mind giving a link for your cheap source of oils?

No problem, Doug. It's freshskin.co.uk

I already have some fractionated coconut oil, jojoba, and argan oil, as those three comprise my beard oil, and adding white beeswax to the blend creates my tache wax. I've also found it very effective on minor skin irritations.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I have two from here: Spiritual Sky Perfumes - Spiritual Sky Oil

I havent tried adding them to anything yet though. This Sandalwood is pretty nice: Spiritual Sky Perfume Oil - Sandalwood Oil

They are potent being concentrate so a little goes a very long way.

Oh, I know how little is needed. I just hope the bottles I've got coming are the ones with the restrictor insert, so you can easily just get a drop or two. If not, I'll use some sewing needles to dispense them.

Which other scent did you go for? I decided to start off with Sweet Orange, Rosemary, Nutmeg, Cedarwood, and Frankincense. I don't think they'll all go in the same mix as it were, but I should get one or two decent combinations with them.

 

[Somerled]

Ok, ta.
Most of the oils I have are from Fresh Skin.
SWMBO read something about the quality of some of these oils and did a bit of research and found that Fresh Skin were one of the better ones for good quality.

The fresh skin bottles I have all have the restrictor.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Ok, ta.
Most of the oils I have are from Fresh Skin.
SWMBO read something about the quality of some of these oils and did a bit of research and found that Fresh Skin were one of the better ones for good quality.

The fresh skin bottles I have all have the restrictor.

Excellent! Sounds like I made the right choices there then. Cheers, Doug

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Ok, ta.
Most of the oils I have are from Fresh Skin.
SWMBO read something about the quality of some of these oils and did a bit of research and found that Fresh Skin were one of the better ones for good quality.

The fresh skin bottles I have all have the restrictor.

Oh, and I just checked my beard oil ingredients, and they're all branded Naissance. I can't remember where they came from, but they've done me very well. I bought them last year I think, and the bottles (60ml and 100ml) are still quite full.

 

[Esox]

Which other scent did you go for? I decided to start off with Sweet Orange, Rosemary, Nutmeg, Cedarwood, and Frankincense. I don't think they'll all go in the same mix as it were, but I should get one or two decent combinations with them.

The two I have seem to be discontinued. My Sandalwood is "Indian" Sandalwood and another called "Rain" which is the closest I've found to a clean aqua type scent that I really like.

 

[Somerled]

The two I have seem to be discontinued. My Sandalwood is "Indian" Sandalwood and another called "Rain" which is the closest I've found to a clean aqua type scent that I really like.

Talking about Indian Sandalwood.
The CRS shaving cream - Indian Sandalwood, is fast becoming one of my all time favourites.
Possibly above MdC, SV, and Haslingers for me.
Scent is nice, not to heady like some sandalwood's.
It lathers up amazingly well.
The more water you add the more lather it creates.
Wonderful stuff indeed, and works well with straights.
Has your order from Connaught arrived yet Mike?

 

[Esox]

Has your order from Connaught arrived yet Mike?

Nossir, it has not!

They say we have a mail strike here but the mailman has been by everyday. It will be one month come Friday.

 

[Somerled]

Nossir, it has not!

View attachment 930415

They say we have a mail strike here but the mailman has been by everyday. It will be one month come Friday.

Black Friday won't have helped either.
Clogs up the postal system with parcels.

 

[Esox]

Black Friday won't have helped either.
Clogs up the postal system with parcels.

According to the news here there are dozens of tractor trailers lined up and waiting that arent being processed, but the bills seem to make it through! lol

 

[Somerled]

According to the news here there are dozens of tractor trailers lined up and waiting that arent being processed, but the bills seem to make it through! lol

Oh, they never loose them, or delay getting them to you.
If they need to pay you then thats a different story.

 

[Esox]

If they need to pay you then thats a different story.

Yep. Better pack a lunch, gonna be a long wait lol.

Hopefully my order gets here this week. Nothing has ever taken more than 20 days from Connaught or Maggard, who also has an inexpensive international shipping option.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I spy metal at the bottom of this tub

Which means there's only half a gazillion shaves left on this soap...

Third shave on the Gillette Goal today, and I thought I was having an off day. The stubble just wasn't clearing, but the blade didn't particularly seem to be struggling. Then suddenly the razor stopped abruptly, and the razor was almost pulled completely out of my hand. I winced, anticipating the ouch, and wondered how bad this would bleed...

Nothing! It had just come to a stop on bristles. I lifted the razor off, smeared some lather with the left hand, and tried again, only to be met my another abrupt stop in the same place. I tightened the grip on the razor, and drove it through the stubble to finish the shave. I don't think that's ever happened to me on shave #3 before.

Blade flipped. Lets see how it copes tomorrow.

I gave the face another splash of the homebrew today, but I think I'll wait till the essential oils come in before using it regularly. Once that had dried, I decided to try the new balm too.

I didn't need any balm, surprisingly, despite having to be heavy handed with the razor, but wanted to try it anyway. It's a little heavier scented than the Nivea Sensitive, but nothing that I'd consider would interfere with me using an EdT. It absorbed well and left a nice finish (although I was annoyed to find several areas where there was a little stubble left). Good enough for two and a half quid, but I'd probably go back to the Nivea next time. I'll get a better impression the next time I actually need a balm.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

The 4th shave on the Gillette Goal today, and the first shave after flipping. There was still more effort needed to drive through the whiskers than I'd expect of a blade this young, but at least it didn't slam the brakes on like yesterday. There was also quite a bit of clean up work required, and even then, I aborted the shave before achieving full clean up, as irritation would have ensued.

I got an acceptable "stop at home" shave, but this is really quite a disappointing blade. I certainly would have wanted to switch blades during this shave, if there was somewhere I had to be. I think we'll call this one done. I'm sure I could stretch it out for the sake of count chasing, but why bother? This is not one that I'll be looking to stock up on.

Next blade... hmmm... maybe not! I'm going to purposefully leave the test queue alone for a while.

I have a Fatip Grande inbound from Doug, so a change of plan is in order. Using a new razor with a new blade, I won't know which differences are due to the blade or to the razor.

For tomorrow's shave, I'll use a blade which I'm very happy and familiar with, probably a Wilkinson Sword Classic. I'll use that to "datum" myself in terms of the kit that I'm used to, and then transfer that same blade to the Fatip and do my regular shave routine with that, so I get a like for like comparison, and can be sure to discern characteristics specific to the Grande.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Updated tally

Shaves Per Blade:

11 - Shark Super Chrome
32 - Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow
19 - Wilkinson Sword Classic
5 - Derby Extra (Retest needed)
13 - Polsilver SI (13 bad shaves!)
15 - Derby Premium
10 - SuperMax Blue Diamond Titanium
10 - Gillette Nacet
23 - Astra SP
12 - Polsilver SI (Retest)
14 - Gillette Silver Blue
34 - Feather
14 - Derby Extra (retest)
10 - Silver Astor ( vintage)
13 - Kai
6 - Zaza
6 - Zaza (retest)
9 - Gillette Super Thin
9 - Silver Star (red)
4 - Gillette Goal

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Over the last couple of days, a few minor blade purchases have come through the letterbox.

Having such good results with the SharpEdge blade, I wanted a few more of those in the drawer, but didn't want to be making any more bulk purchases. So, 15 of those will do very nicely.

Likewise, I stumbled across a couple of deals for the other two blades, which I'd wanted to try, but didn't want to commit to bulk, nor pay high prices or shipping costs for single packs. I got the Plats and the Indian Gillette Wilkies delivered for the cost of a pack of 5 over the counter blades from town.

The Indian Wilkies and Plats are both belades which "should" work for me in theory, but I haven't tried yet, so one each of those will be going in the test queue, along with sample blades from Doug's very kind PIF.

I've been meaning to do a PIF of my own for some time, but it hasn't happened yet for various reasons. I've passed on a few things to "real world" friends, and Doug has taken the Empire set off my hands, but I think a proper PIF is in order for the new year.

Not only will this make me feel better about the generosity that I've received since I've been here, but it will also let me pass on things that I know will be neglected here to a better home. I've already decided the Parker 22 Interceptor will be moved on. There's only space here for one TTO razor, and that space will be given to my birth year Gillette (which I still plan on "upgrading" when time allows me to do a little machining).

Slowly but surely, I'm getting a clearer picture of the kit I want to move forward with, and what stuff I'm happy to be rehomed. I've strayed a little from the level of minimalism I enjoy, and I'm glad I did open myself up to trying one or two other things, but I'm mindful that I do want to be more streamlined again by this time next year.