Ya like Dags? My foray into wet shaving and the honorable order of aquisition
- Thread starter Dagwoodz
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- #2,483
This is about as true a statement on here...this morning's shave was a testament to it!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
LOL Criag...
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- #2,484
Wednesday, 7 March, 2018
Lisa’s Natural Herbal Creations Coconut Oud | Z-2 Gillette Flaretip Superspeed | Treet Dura Sharp (1)
Currently on Shave #464 | Straight shave still at #276
After shaving for a few days in a row, (first time doing so in a while), and missing yesterday’s after being so pressed for time, I had plenty of stubble to tackle this morning, and was looking forward to the shave. The stubble was actually distracting yesterday…the fact that I had everything laid out all day made the wait that much worse. I made sure I had plenty of time this morning, and ended up needing it in the end.
So, this Lisa’s formulation is a wonderful soap…it loads super easy (it’s the only new soap that I have that has not gotten the synthetic brush treatment), and builds a wonderful lather that is only surpassed in my den by Wholly Kaw’s donkey milk formula and Declaration Grooming. (I have some Nuavia, but have never had very good luck coaxing a great lather out of it) The scent, Coconut Oud, it out of this world good as well…there’s a reason that it’s my #7 soap just based off of preferences and #2 when you take the value into account. If you’re an oud fan, this is a must have!
I did something a little different than normal this morning, and soaked my brush in hot water (instead of cold) as well as letting my lather bowl rest in my wash bowl full of hot water. This is the first time in a while using a warm brush with warm lather, and it reminded me how truly sublime it is. Now, of course, I’m putting my bowl full of lather in a bowl full of water…and promptly dumped about 6 tablespoons worth of water into my lather…completely breaking it. So, I cleaned up, dumped a little water out of the wash bin and tried again…success! Warm lather is so nice…not something I’ll do every day, but on occasion of course.
For the razor, I was back to the Z-2 refurbished SuperSpeed, and loaded a new Treet Dura Sharp blade. I wasn’t impressed with it as the shave went, but I honestly can’t argue with the result. I completed 3 passes, and a couple instances of clean-up, and ended up with a BBS. I say that I’m not impressed with the blade, because it took quite a bit of clean-up and buffing to get to that point…the blade is not one of the more keen blades that I’ve used. But, I am BBS. I thought with the amount of buffing and clean-up that I would have a bit of feedback from the alum, but there really wasn’t any to be had….just the normal, “Yes, you just ran a razor blade over your face” tingle. I topped off with the Van Yulay Supreme Oudh (non-alcohol based) splash laced with a healthy dose of menthol, then topped off with Paladin balm infused with some Pen’s Halfeti. Glorious!
In the end, I’m conflicted about this blade…it gave a wonderful shave, but took quite a bit of work to get there. Astra SP’s, Personna Red’s, even GSB’s don’t cause me to work as much for this result. It was nice to use, but I’ll probably pass this off in a PIF in the future.
*ETA After thinking about it, I'll try this blade in a more aggressive razor before deciding to PIF it...either in my Fatboy, Futur, or 'Crat...the mildness of the Flaretip paired with the smoothness of the blade might have resulted in the multiple clean-up passes.
Have a great day everyone!
Lisa’s Natural Herbal Creations Coconut Oud | Z-2 Gillette Flaretip Superspeed | Treet Dura Sharp (1)
Currently on Shave #464 | Straight shave still at #276
After shaving for a few days in a row, (first time doing so in a while), and missing yesterday’s after being so pressed for time, I had plenty of stubble to tackle this morning, and was looking forward to the shave. The stubble was actually distracting yesterday…the fact that I had everything laid out all day made the wait that much worse. I made sure I had plenty of time this morning, and ended up needing it in the end.
So, this Lisa’s formulation is a wonderful soap…it loads super easy (it’s the only new soap that I have that has not gotten the synthetic brush treatment), and builds a wonderful lather that is only surpassed in my den by Wholly Kaw’s donkey milk formula and Declaration Grooming. (I have some Nuavia, but have never had very good luck coaxing a great lather out of it) The scent, Coconut Oud, it out of this world good as well…there’s a reason that it’s my #7 soap just based off of preferences and #2 when you take the value into account. If you’re an oud fan, this is a must have!
I did something a little different than normal this morning, and soaked my brush in hot water (instead of cold) as well as letting my lather bowl rest in my wash bowl full of hot water. This is the first time in a while using a warm brush with warm lather, and it reminded me how truly sublime it is. Now, of course, I’m putting my bowl full of lather in a bowl full of water…and promptly dumped about 6 tablespoons worth of water into my lather…completely breaking it. So, I cleaned up, dumped a little water out of the wash bin and tried again…success! Warm lather is so nice…not something I’ll do every day, but on occasion of course.
For the razor, I was back to the Z-2 refurbished SuperSpeed, and loaded a new Treet Dura Sharp blade. I wasn’t impressed with it as the shave went, but I honestly can’t argue with the result. I completed 3 passes, and a couple instances of clean-up, and ended up with a BBS. I say that I’m not impressed with the blade, because it took quite a bit of clean-up and buffing to get to that point…the blade is not one of the more keen blades that I’ve used. But, I am BBS. I thought with the amount of buffing and clean-up that I would have a bit of feedback from the alum, but there really wasn’t any to be had….just the normal, “Yes, you just ran a razor blade over your face” tingle. I topped off with the Van Yulay Supreme Oudh (non-alcohol based) splash laced with a healthy dose of menthol, then topped off with Paladin balm infused with some Pen’s Halfeti. Glorious!
In the end, I’m conflicted about this blade…it gave a wonderful shave, but took quite a bit of work to get there. Astra SP’s, Personna Red’s, even GSB’s don’t cause me to work as much for this result. It was nice to use, but I’ll probably pass this off in a PIF in the future.
*ETA After thinking about it, I'll try this blade in a more aggressive razor before deciding to PIF it...either in my Fatboy, Futur, or 'Crat...the mildness of the Flaretip paired with the smoothness of the blade might have resulted in the multiple clean-up passes.
Have a great day everyone!
Great read and shave. I do miss the feeling of a hot shave, but I don't miss the irritation.
Great read, shave, and picture Josh!
Lisa makes some great soaps and the Coconut Oud is on my want list.
Lisa makes some great soaps and the Coconut Oud is on my want list.
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- #2,488
Thanks Don...I haven't had too much an issue with the irritation from warm/hot lather, but you do have to pay more attention to how much it is drying out through evaporation. And some soaps just don't play well with heat at all.
Thanks Chad...it's definitely a wonderfully crafted scent!
No...no Craig...it should be on your NEED list...lol. Thanks!
Terrific shave and photo, Josh! I will say that I never got too deep into trying out different blades. Once I figured out that Feathers worked so well for me, I only ever tried different blades just to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Except for a couple razors, almost every time it has been a relief to return to the Feathers.
Great shave and pic, Josh. That is a fantastic soap for sure.
- Thread starter
- #2,492
I'm always interested to try new blades, though I have yet to find one that gives me the combination of comfort and efficiency as Personna's or Astras.
Thanks Eric!
Thanks Dave!
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- #2,493
Wednesday, 7 March, 2018
Saponificio Varesino Tundra Artica | Hartford Cutlery 5/8” Extra Hollow Ground
Currently on Shave #465 | Straight at #277
I was originally going to shave with the SuperSpeed again this morning, but opted to go with the straight, grabbing the Hartford Cutlery instead. There was a minimal amount of stubble this morning, a testament to yesterday’s shave, but just enough to justify running a blade over it. Up for today was Saponifico Varesino’s Tundra Artica. I have almost a love / hate relationship with SV…it’s a soap with a wonderful array of scents, but it’s one that works best with a face lather, which is not something I normally do. Of course, this morning I was on auto pilot and started the bowl lather and didn’t realize what I was doing until it was too late. I was able to coax out a decent enough lather, however, just not as good as it would have been had I face lathered.
The Hartford Cutlery was still nice and keen, though I’ll probably take it to the stones for a quick refresh on a light tomo slurry followed by some water laps just to refine the edge just a tad. Three passes went by with no incident, and just two spots of blood from a couple of zits. I took care of the neck with the ‘jectah and walked away BBS. A little of the matching SV aftershave and followed by some Paladin Balm infused with some Bond No 9 New York Oud finished things off nicely. There was a little bit of lingering irritation which, as of the writing of this post 45 minutes later, was dissipated. Great start to the day.
Have a great day everyone!
Saponificio Varesino Tundra Artica | Hartford Cutlery 5/8” Extra Hollow Ground
Currently on Shave #465 | Straight at #277
I was originally going to shave with the SuperSpeed again this morning, but opted to go with the straight, grabbing the Hartford Cutlery instead. There was a minimal amount of stubble this morning, a testament to yesterday’s shave, but just enough to justify running a blade over it. Up for today was Saponifico Varesino’s Tundra Artica. I have almost a love / hate relationship with SV…it’s a soap with a wonderful array of scents, but it’s one that works best with a face lather, which is not something I normally do. Of course, this morning I was on auto pilot and started the bowl lather and didn’t realize what I was doing until it was too late. I was able to coax out a decent enough lather, however, just not as good as it would have been had I face lathered.
The Hartford Cutlery was still nice and keen, though I’ll probably take it to the stones for a quick refresh on a light tomo slurry followed by some water laps just to refine the edge just a tad. Three passes went by with no incident, and just two spots of blood from a couple of zits. I took care of the neck with the ‘jectah and walked away BBS. A little of the matching SV aftershave and followed by some Paladin Balm infused with some Bond No 9 New York Oud finished things off nicely. There was a little bit of lingering irritation which, as of the writing of this post 45 minutes later, was dissipated. Great start to the day.
Have a great day everyone!
I love the scent of Tundra. Great shave and read, Josh.
Nice shave Josh. Great picture
Same here, Josh; at least with the water at my house.
Great read and paid Josh! 
Great read and shave Josh!
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- #2,499
Thanks Eric!
Thank you Don!
It works well if I face lather, but is only as good as an ok soap (tier 2 box 5 or so) if bowl lathered. But the scents are awesome.
Great read and paid Josh!
Thanks Rich!
Thank you Craig!
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- #2,500
A late night and later wake up, combined with a lack of stubble led to a no shave Friday for me...which is ok, because it will be an even better shave tomorrow. Typical day out here, nothing too crazy...hope everyone has a great Friday back stateside!
