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11 months agoGood to be back!!
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- 64 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: June 10th, 2023
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Prep: Splash of Cool Water
Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 Open Comb
Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (540)
Lather: Wholly Kaw Vegan - 1776
Brush: Semogue - Owner’s Club Boar (Shedder) (21 uses)
Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Full Measure of Man
䷀ General Notes
A quick shave with the Slurry lather using the Wholly Kaw Vegan base today.
Using the phone’s camera, instead of my fogged up mirror to shave.
䷀ Razor and Blade Notes
(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹540 uses›)
A little tuggy on first pass, since I skipped a day of shaving. But fine after that.
Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)
䷀ Soap Notes
(Wholly Kaw Vegan - 1776)
Them: “a summer blend perfect for saluting the Fourth of July. It is a refreshing green aroma with notes of osmanthus, benzoin, labdanum, grapefruit, artemisia, tarragon, patchouli, musk, tonka bean, cedarwood.”
Me: I did a blind shave with it first, not knowing the notes. I just know that i really enjoyed it.
Scent Strength: 4/10, present during shaving.
Lather… Likely my final verification that the WK Vegan base is very compatible with the slurry lather method.
Nice, sloppy slick slurry for passes 1 & 2. 3rd is still highly wet, but was still super slick.
Hydration: Perfect (for me)
- = 3 passes of lather
Bowl: No Bowl
䷀ Brush Notes
(Semogue - Owner’s Club Boar - Shedder ‹21 uses›)
The SOC is a great brush, espeically for the slurry lather method. This one has had a year of uses by someone else, but is not nearly as split as mine that has many less uses, but has been treated with the hair dryer.
During the Shave Feel:
Cheeks: Just a little tugging
Neck: Just a little tugging
After the Shave Closeness:
Cheeks: Close Shave
Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)
Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet
Prep: Splash of Cool Water
Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 Open Comb
Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (538)
Lather: Wholly Kaw Vegan - 1776
Brush: Stirling - Finest CravingtShaving Blue Slate 26mm (42 uses)
Post Shave: Barbedeaux - Razor Bump Therapy
䷀ General Notes
Trying the Slurry Lather again with the Stirling Finest Badger and Wholly Kaw vegan formulation. STill not quite right.
I also tried a couple of Barbedeaux products for the first time. I tried the shaving foam as a pre-shave face wash, and I hated the slime it left on my hands.
I also used the splash at the end, and did not like the nasty rubbing alcohol scent… that I’ve never experienced with folks like Stirling, BaM, Mammoth, Summer Break, Declaration, Proraso … well, anyone. And the way it conditioned my skin with the food that it has in it (hey, at least there is some) didn’t seem to be any better than any of these others. At full price, buying 2 bottles of Stirling is a way better deal, because no alc hit, and you can get scent choice (Barb is basically unscented).
䷀ Razor and Blade Notes
(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹538 uses›)
Tuggy since i was shaving off two days of growth. But after the first pass, allw as comfy. Got a close shave.
Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)
䷀ Soap Notes
(Wholly Kaw Vegan - 1776)
Them: “a summer blend perfect for saluting the Fourth of July. It is a refreshing green aroma with notes of osmanthus, benzoin, labdanum, grapefruit, artemisia, tarragon, patchouli, musk, tonka bean, cedarwood.”
Me: I did a blind shave with it first, not knowing the notes. I just know that i really enjoyed it.
Scent Strength: 4/10, present during shaving.
Lather… I’d guess I loaded for 80 swirls: 70 at start, and then a refresher later.
So I did have to go back and get more soap and a little more water, but with the Slurry method, that’s really a small thing.
But it still is not coming together how The SL method usually does. I see two possible culprits: the brush may be so dense that it doesn’t hold as much water as needed, which I think is less likely than… or that the soap just needs more product than usual. That is something I’ve experienced wtih WK in the past, but I can’t remember whether it was vegan or tallow at the time.
I’m going to change one of those variables for next time.
Hydration: Dry End of Perfect (for me)
- 27 sec load with a Very Wet brush
- = 4 passes of lather
Bowl: No Bowl
䷀ Brush Notes
(Stirling - Finest in CravingShaving Blue Slate 26mm ‹42 uses›)
Firm backbone, but somewhat soft tips, as usual. Brush seemed to start out with enough water, but when I needed it in the second pass, not much was there.
During the Shave Feel:
Cheeks: Tuggy
Neck: Tuggy
After the Shave Closeness:
Cheeks: Close Shave
Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)
Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet
Prep: Splash of Cool Water
Razor: Wolfman - WR2 Solid Bar .85 Brushed
Blade: Gillette - Platinum (10)
Lather: Barrister and Mann Omnibus - Four Horsemen - War
Brush: Thater - 4125-6 Fan Ivory (9 uses)
Post Shave: Pre de Provence - No. 63
䷀ General Notes
Slurry Lather with Omnibus today, and trying a huge badger as well. I’ll load more next time, but I have full faith that these are great.
䷀ Razor and Blade Notes
(Wolfman - WR2 SB .85 Brushed ::: Gillette - Platinum ‹10 uses›)
Great combo! Just a tiny bit of blade feel, and excellent glide for the close cut.
Confirming here that for me, the Platinum works great in the Wolfman WR2 after just a day’s growth.
Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)
䷀ Soap Notes
(Barrister and Mann Omnibus - Four Horsemen - War)
Them: “War is the strangest and, in some respects, the darkest of the four fragrances. Characterized by the aromas of hot metal and gunpowder laid over the core chypre accord that represents Death, the full fragrance encompasses notes of metal, aldehydes, gunpowder, leather, citrus, resins, clary sage, and amber. The peculiar, unsettlingly clean aroma of ozone and gun oil hangs over the scent of War like smoke on a battlefield, belying the foul, elemental hunger beneath.”
Scent: The first time I used this soap, I had not heard that this soap smells like a certain herb to a bunch of people. Knowing that, the second time I used it, that still didn’t bother me. It wasn’t an exact match, and my brain was able to keep it separate, and focus on the elements of hot metal, gunpowder, resins, and moss. It seems that all those together smell like that herb, as it turns out.
That odd situation, where the sum of some parts makes something totally unintentional, reminds me of that other soap he made a couple of years ago, that smelled exactly like Copenhagen chewing tobacco.
Staying power: I did not notice anything different than other soaps by Will.
Scent Strength: 7/10, nicely present during shaving.
Lather… This soap hadn’t been used in a while. So 50 swirls was not quite enough to gather enough soap with this brush.
I loaded a bit more, and gave it a little more water too.
I had three slick passes in pretty short order, but I’ll increase load time to make the process a bit smoother next time.
Omnibus here is not going to be a problem for Slurry Lather fans, I’m certain.
Hydration: Dry End of Perfect (for me)
- 17 sec load with a Very Wet brush
- = 4 passes of lather
Bowl: No Bowl
䷀ Brush Notes
(Thater - 4125-6 Fan Ivory 35mm ‹9 uses›)
Not loading quite enough is very evident with such a big brush. It felt good, and I think proved that it won’t take much for this thing to work well with the Slurry Lather technique.
However, one thing jumps out at me. The chief advantage of the Slurry Lather is speed in your shave. For guys who are short on time, and just need to get on to the next thing. Well, a super thick/dense/big brush like this one might be the opposite of what you would normally want for speed! Takes a while to rinse out all the suds at the end of the shave.
During the Shave Feel:
Cheeks: Almost Smooth
Neck: Almost Smooth
After the Shave Closeness:
Cheeks: Near BBS - About as close as I’ll ever get
Neck: Cut flush to where I just see the tips (above average for me)
Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet
Yeah, I like propaganda too!!
I have tons of boars and all manner of badgers, but my horse collection is tiny, since so many of them are reportedly harsh.
But of all the research I did, the XS Zenith was by far said to be the softest horse option.
Whichever of the hairs is softer (maybe the mane), if it is increased too much, the brush is truly floppy.
Prep: Splash of Cool Water
Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 Open Comb
Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (531)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (56 uses)
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
䷀ General Notes
The last shave of Austere August for me! I started two days late, so I’m finishing my 31 shaves two days late.
It was a great month, and super fun to play around with the Slurry Lather.
And Stag… is always a winner.
䷀ Razor and Blade Notes
(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹531 uses›)
Same: a little tuggy on first pass, but other two were just fine and I got a good shave.
Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)
䷀ Soap Notes
(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)
I just love all the aspects of this scent!
Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.
Lather… Standard slurry lather. super slick and wet on pass one, a mature and still slick one on pass 3, and a mix of the two on pass … two.
very nice.
Hydration: Perfect (for me)
- 2 sec load with a Very Wet brush
- = 5 passes of lather
Bowl: No Bowl
䷀ Brush Notes
(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹56 uses›)
As usual with the slurry lather, and this brush, the soft and wide spread of the tips felt great on pass one. Then the rest of the process went great as the lather developed. This method helps the strong core backbone of the brush not see quite so dominant.
During the Shave Feel:
Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
Cheeks: Close Shave
Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)
Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet
Prep: Splash of Cool Water
Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 Open Comb
Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (530)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (55 uses)
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
䷀ General Notes
Austere August Bonus Day for me since I started late.
This is consecutive shave num 30 with the Midnight Stag.
The slurry lather just feels so good with this brush. I just did a regular slurry work-up today and enjoyed the speed and feel of the lather.
䷀ Razor and Blade Notes
(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹530 uses›)
Same as usual for AA: First pass just a bit tuggy, second was nice, and third felt very smooth and comfy. Cutting reasonably close, for such a used blade.
Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)
䷀ Soap Notes
(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)
I just love all the aspects of this scent!
Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.
Lather… Same for a good slurry lather: super wet, but amazingly slick on the first pass; a bit more together on the second pass; and a third pass of mature lather that felt great and performed well.
Bowl: No Bowl
䷀ Brush Notes
(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹55 uses›)
Brush and it’s big patch of soft tips shone nicely as I continue with the AA setup for just two more days.
Slurry had it working gently at first, and then managing the built up lather well on the second and third passes.
During the Shave Feel:
Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
Cheeks: Close Shave
Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)
Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet
- Prep: Splash of Cool Water
- Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
- Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (529)
- Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
- Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (54 uses)
- Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
- Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag
Austere August: Day: 31
MRTNG’s Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge䷀ General Notes
Going to do a slurry lather today as well. But I am going to work the lather a bit longer on the face during each lather stage.
I learned that if you overload by a hair, but keep it quick, you may finish your three passes before you get to the drier lather.
䷀ Razor and Blade Notes
(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹529 uses›)
Same: First pass has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel fine and give a reasonably close shave. 4 pretty quick passes.
Because I loaded for a little too long, and didn’t add more water on the fourth pass, it was a little less slick than the first 3, but it did get the job done anyway. But I could feel a bit of drag in my razor.
Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)
䷀ Soap Notes
(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)
I just love all the aspects of this scent!
Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.
Lather… Today was to see what happens if we spend a little longer lathering than we have been usually. Notice not loading, but just working the lather on the face for longer.
Because of the extra working, the lather became mature/homogenous in the second pass instead of the third. It stayed that way in the third, but a funny thing happend with the fourth.
Apparently I had loaded for a little too long. If I had stopped at just 3 passes, I wouldn’t have noticed the lather getting a bit too dry. But the fourth let me know it wasn’t quite as slick. I could have just sprinkled/or dipped to get some more water, but I just went with it.
Was a nice lather for 1-3.
Hydration: Dry End of Perfect (for me)
- 3 sec load with a Very Wet brush
- = 7 passes of lather
Bowl: No Bowl
䷀ Brush Notes
(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹54 uses›)
Same: Comfortable soft tips that do flex some, but that are supported by a base with strong backbone. As with all young boars, I look forward to the tips splitting with more uses and getting softer with use. I am generally using a hair dryer to gently treat the tips and age them just a bit faster than normal.
During the Shave Feel:
Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
Cheeks: Very Close Shave
Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)
Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet
Even a blind squirrel will find an acorn every once in a while.
- Prep: Splash of Cool Water
- Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
- Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (528)
- Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
- Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (53 uses)
- Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
- Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag
Austere August: Day: 30
MRTNG’s Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge䷀ General Notes
Let’s do one of my standard bowl lathers.
䷀ Razor and Blade Notes
(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹528 uses›)
Same: First pass has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel fine and give a reasonably close shave. 3 quick passes.
Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)
䷀ Soap Notes
(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)
I just love all the aspects of this scent!
Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.
Lather… Working up a lather for me in my typical bowl-lathering fashion, which I don’t think I’ve done this month.
Lather was pretty nice for this base. Not luxurious, and not excessively slick, but did the job fairly well.
Hydration: Perfect (for me)
- 4 sec load with a Lightly-Wet brush
- 24 ml (4.9 tsp) added to build the lather
- = 6 passes of lather
Bowl: Roger Quintero 3D Printed Bowl
I use the XL version of this bowl.䷀ Brush Notes
(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹53 uses›)
Same: Comfortable soft tips that do flex some, but that are supported by a base with strong backbone. As with all young boars, I look forward to the tips splitting with more uses and getting softer with use. I am generally using a hair dryer to gently treat the tips and age them just a bit faster than normal.
Since today was about a more typical bowl lather for me, I sure felt the brush’s backbone more, since I spent more time in splay!
During the Shave Feel:
Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
Cheeks: Close Shave
Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)
Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet
The Pers 74 I tried was a totally different type of blade than any of my modern ones, after maybe 15 uses. It operated by a different set of rules.
Of course, later I would find that it had a defect: that the center holes were not drilled exactly center.
I have always wanted Reddit WS to change to a longer duration for the smaller question auto-threads. So I’m all for a weekly question thread.
And yep, keep the SOTDs daily. fine with me.
I use an app to take the shave data that I’ ve typed in and render it for either Youtube or reddit. I recently added lemmy and mastodon sections as well, so I don’t mind continuing to post in all of them.
However, if I only have a discussion in one, and then later want to find it, it’s a bit of a hassle to figure out where the discussion was.
maybe an epic nerd coincidence? :-)
cool. thanks!
thanks for the info
- Prep: Splash of Cool Water
- Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
- Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (527)
- Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
- Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (52 uses)
- Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
- Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag
Austere August: Day: 29
MRTNG’s Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge䷀ General Notes
Confirming easy pickup of lather from a ring-of-death/dying soap tub with the Slurry Lather method. Yep, worked fine.
䷀ Razor and Blade Notes
(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹527 uses›)
Same: First pass has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel fine and give a reasonably close shave. 3 quick passes.
Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)
䷀ Soap Notes
(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)
I just love all the aspects of this scent!
Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.
Lather… Wonderful slurry lather today, from 8 sec of loading.
Again, it seems that if you have a slim ring of soap left in your tub, a wet-load technique like the Slurry lather will make it easy to load up in short time.
Hydration: Perfect (for me)
- 3 sec load with a Very Wet brush
- = 5 passes of lather
Bowl: No Bowl
䷀ Brush Notes
(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹52 uses›)
Same: Comfortable soft tips that do flex some, but that are supported by a base with strong backbone. As with all young boars, I look forward to the tips splitting with more uses and getting softer with use. I am generally using a hair dryer to gently treat the tips and age them just a bit faster than normal.
During the Shave Feel:
Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
Cheeks: Close Shave
Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)
Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet
So… a while back you were kinda regretting the purchase of that XS horse. Now that you’ve had so many uses, has that opinion changed?
You’re not going to have too many soap buddies with War!!