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What did you use today? +Rate the shave 1-10 (10 best)

Tabac soap
Parker silver tip badger brush
1967 Gillette Slim adjustable razor
Gillette Nacet blade
witch hazel
Phoenix Shaving Galactic Aloe Vera Gel
Chiseled Face Trade Winds aftershave

First time use of the Slim razor and Nacet blade. Very nice. The Slim was comfortable in the hand and handled well. It was definitely heavier than the 1965 Super Speed I have normally used, so, out of curiosity, I weighed them. The Super Speed was 2 oz. The Slim was 2.5 oz. The 1960 Fatboy that I set aside today to use the Slim was 2.8 oz.

8.9/10

The Slim / Nacet combo is one of my favorites.
 
Razor -- Bevel, I think I'm going to use this for a while out of principle. It's a nice razor, but a bit overpriced -- hence the principle of getting my money's worth. Kinda like a slightly more efficient 34c, that looks like the offspring of a DE-89 and a Tech. And the best part, no overhang! Well, if that is important for you. For me it means that getting the alignment correct is more of a challenge, but it is doable.

Blade -- Euromax Platinum (1) These blades are nice, and noticeably sharpen up with use

Cream -- Arko Hydrate, a decent cream that smells a lot like Irish Spring soap, and has a nice menthol kick. Although I can see menthol heads finding it a little lacking in that department.

Aftershave -- Aqua Velva 5 in 1 balm.

8/10. Overall, I'd say the shave is DFS, DFS+. The cheeks are pretty much BBS with a little stubble to be felt in the sideburn area ATG. Jawline is clean. As usual the neck has a little remaining stubble with some marginal bumps (it is rare for me no never have any, although they settle down with time). The mustache, as usual is a bit shadowy with minimal visible stubble if inspected closely.
 
Razor: Edwin Jagger 3ONE6 SS, Knurled Handle (first use)

Blade: Feather (1)

Brush: Yaqi Moka Express Two Band Finest Badger 26mm (first use)

Bowl: Captain's Choice Copper

Lather: B & M, Barrister's Reserve Fern Shave Soap(first use)

Post: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel,
B & M Barrister's Reserve Fern Aftershave Splash (first use)

Three passes to a fine finish with no nicks or weepers or razor burn. BBS on all except the bottom band of my neck where I didn't go ATG. I like the heft and SS and the looks of the 3ONE6. I can't say it gives a better shave than the DE89 but it's certainly not worse and the DE89 is one of my favorites. The 3ONE6 came with a pack of Feather blades so I used a Feather. It paired very well with it.
The Yaqi Two Band Finest is excellent. It's a 26/55. It has a HD feel but nicely soft.
The Barrister & Mann Barrister's Reserve Fern Soap made a wonderful lather. The scent was great and the lather was slick.
The matching aftershave on top of my favorite Witch Hazel was a wonderful finish.
9.5

Have a great day everyone [emoji106]
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A solid shave today on a 48-hour beard:

Merkur Progress/Feather blade (2)

Proraso Green cream (German razor, thus Italian cream; with the Japanese blade, an "Axis" shave)

AP Shave Co. synthetic brush

Pre-shower: Stirling SDM aftershave; post-shower, Assured lotion, Fine Green Vetiver AS

No workout today. After a quick face wash, I spread a little Proraso on the phiz, then loaded by brush and face-lathered. I'm experimenting with setting my adjustables lower for the first pass and higher for later passes, so today, pass 1, WTG, setting 4; pass 2, ATG, setting 5; cleanup, XTG, also on 5. The result was a smooth face and throat that push the borders of BBS. The Fine Green Vetiver aftershave is fast becoming a favorite, too.

Verdict: 9.6.
 
Shave 1.jpg

Pre
Face wash with Neutrogena Liquid Facial Soap
Soap/Cream
GFT Sandalwood Cream
Brush
Zenith Manchurian Badger
Bowl
Captain’s Choice Copper
Razor
Feather AS-D2
Blade
Feather
Aftershave
Thayers WH & Neutrogena Triple Protect
Fragrance
Jimmy Choo Man Intense
Rating
10/10
Comments
Back to the Feather/Feather combo for the 10th shave. The blade is still going strong. The Zenith with its backbone had no problems making a nice lather. It still surprises me that even with continual use this cream has remained harder than the usual cream. Until recently, I had not used this cream in a few years. However, it still performs great. A nice, BBS shave. Have a good one, B&Bers/
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
MicroMatic Monday 3rd AnniverSaRy (July 22)of collecting shaves, thoughts and the odd laugh.

Razor: Gem 1912-Mfg 1921, nice mid range, well built, this one was NOS with the gold wash still in tack.
Blade: Gem Personna SS PTFE(3) excellent blade, very sharp, great longevity, smooths out nicely & predictable.
Soap: Razorock The Dead Sea, nice different scent with excellent lather qualities.
Brush: Yaqi Artic sky 24mm synthetic, excellent lather generator, heavenly cloud like soft tips, nice scrubber + great lather painter.
Pre shave: Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser + a dollop of clear Aloe Vera gel on the cleaned beard area.
Prep: Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups. WTG + ATG + pickups.
Post shave: Razorock The Dead Sea with witch hazel + a dollop of Nivea balm with a few drops of HA.
Results: 10/10 or CCS, DFS, BBs + no irritation + no weepers = :a17:excellent shave with my Gem 1912 with a Gem coated blade.

Sunday Schick shave July 22nd 2021.jpg


Have some great shaves!
 
Pre Shave: Warm Shower, Stirling Unscented Pre Shave Soap
Razor: GEM G-Bar
Blade: GEM PTFE
Soap: Stirling Barbershop
Bowl: Black Stirling Collapsible bowl
Brush: Simpson's Trafalgar T-3 synthetic
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Stypic Pencil, Thayers Unscented Witch Hazel, Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm, Proraso Red AS
Rating: 9.75/10 Excellent 3 pass BBS shave one touch up needed. opened one prior weeper, No cuts or irritation. Wonderful shave. Nice smooth shave with the G-Bar.
 
22-July 2021 Shave
Razor:
Colonial General Razor
Blade: Feather ProGuard Blade (20)
Brush: Omega Professional Boar Brush
Pre-Shave: Warm Shower and Musgo Lime pre-shave soap
Soap: CRSW Limonthol
Aftershave: Witch Hazel, Cremo Unscented AS Balm, Aqua Velva Ice Sport
Rating: 9/10

The shave: Back on track. One day's growth. The Colonial General was again smooth and comfortable.
 
A solid shave today on a 48-hour beard:

Merkur Progress/Feather blade (2)

Proraso Green cream (German razor, thus Italian cream; with the Japanese blade, an "Axis" shave)

AP Shave Co. synthetic brush

Pre-shower: Stirling SDM aftershave; post-shower, Assured lotion, Fine Green Vetiver AS

No workout today. After a quick face wash, I spread a little Proraso on the phiz, then loaded by brush and face-lathered. I'm experimenting with setting my adjustables lower for the first pass and higher for later passes, so today, pass 1, WTG, setting 4; pass 2, ATG, setting 5; cleanup, XTG, also on 5. The result was a smooth face and throat that push the borders of BBS. The Fine Green Vetiver aftershave is fast becoming a favorite, too.

Verdict: 9.6.

There was a thread from a while back that recommended the same concept - increasing the blade gap through the passes with the ATG having the highest.
 
There was a thread from a while back that recommended the same concept - increasing the blade gap through the passes with the ATG having the highest.
I think that was the one that inspired me to try it with my Slim last week, and now with the Progress. I used to do it that way, then shifted to high-lower-even lower. But I'd never tried starting with a medium number, instead of the lowest, and going up.
 
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Soap: Stirling Coconut Lime
Razor: Wade and Butcher open comb DE
Blade: Gillette Rubie (2)
Brush: Trafalgar T2
Aftershave: Witch Hazel / Lilac Vegetal

2nd shave with a Gillette Rubie. I don't know where this blade lies on a sharpness scale compared to other blades, but I could have gotten away with a 1 passer + cleanup on 2 days growth.... ..sharp.

Really gave this shave my best effort but still ended up with a few weepers. This blade just isn't for me but I will utilize it if I need to shave a weeks + growth and decide not to use a straight razor.

8/10
 
Sunny Thursday Morning Shave:

Gillette Tech pre-war model w/ Super Knurl handle
Personna Med Prep (6)
Omega 11137 ash wood boar brush
PAA Ice Cube 2.0 pre-shave soap as stick
RolandH homemade shave soap
Dickinson's witch hazel
La Toja aftershave

Clean, close shave; DFS+

Excellent results with latest version of Roland's homemade soap.
 
Thursday morning budget software shave- two-pass, rating 9/10, no nicks, no weepers, just a touch of irritation, likely from yesterday, overall a CCS, still felt different shaving with the OneBlade:

Pre-shave: shower w/ WSP Lavender Tea Tree soap
Razor: OneBlade Hybrid- second use- I knew more of what to expect this morning, so that was a plus. I also noticed a bit of sting under my chin when lathering, where I had buffed yesterday, probably overdid it; today just did my usual two-passes and stopped. This razor is very easy to use, in some ways sort of idiot-proof, but maybe it shaves not quite as close as other blades with the same strokes. It may just be the nature of the blade. I'll do some more reading in our forums and see what I can learn.
Blade: Feather FHS-5 (2) the shave feels fine, but I felt like the blade wasn't cutting as cleanly as the AC blades I'm accustomed to do; perhaps a sort of scrape rather than a clean cut? The blade didn't feel like a worn DE tugging, or even like a dull AC blade, it felt different. I haven't used one of these blades in many years, so I'm not sure what to expect. My reading so far indicated that these blades may wear quickly, but two relatively easy shaves- four passes plus some clean-up, would be disappointing
Brush: Omega Jade Boar- oh, so satisfying; it whipped the ARKO into a frenzy this morning
Soap: ARKO- I know it's not long until August, but my little aged stick just beckoned to me, and knowing ARKO so well let me concentrate more on the razor/blade performance
Post-shave: cold rinse, then Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue AS in furtherance of the budget software theme; that is a glass bottle that I have refilled over the years. It's so disappointing that so many budget splashes are now sold in plastic. It's easy to understand, cheaper, less weight, no breakage, but still a bummer. I looked it up and it seems that glass bottles were abandoned February 1, 2010 :o15: .

Be well all, the weekend is approaching!

PXL_20210722_164315728.jpg
 
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Philips Norelco S1560 with Trader Joe's Shave Cream and Proroso AS Balm (white).
Comfort 9/10, closeness 6/10

After 3 days of struggle with the 1959 Tech, I did my weekly electric shave.

Interesting how individual results are. I have had the most irritation with two very mild and light razors (Henson Al13 - since given away to my son, and now the Tech). My best shaves have been with the Merkur 34C and RR GC 68. Both mild, but heavier. Probably both a bit more efficient, so fewer strokes?

Would stepping up in efficiency be better for irritation?

The 34C is locked and loaded with an Astra SP for tomorrow.
 
20210721_091129.jpg

Today is the actual anniversary date of the Micromatic Monday thread and to commorate this event I have chosen this well worn bullettip. It shows a lifetime of wear, yet the TTO mechanism works perfectly. The safety bar shows some erosion, but this does not affect the shave. It can still provide many years of great shaves. It is truly a gem of a razor!

Razor: Gem Micromatic Gold Flying Wing Guiding Eye
Blade: Personna GEM PTFE Stainless Steel Blade
Brush: Simpson Commodore X2 Best Badger
Pre-Shave: Proraso White
Lather: Fine American Blend
Aftershave: Mennen Skin Bracer
Additional Care:
Thayers Facial Tonic Witch Hazel Unscented
Imperial Leather Talcum Powder
Rating Ten
 
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