I like the noise of the Sharks too, PJ. Reminds me of the SE sound. I busted out the GEM OC MicroMatic today because it's been quite a while since I used an SE and it'd been 4 days since my last shave, so I wanted a good one. Really nice result on my face and around the jawline, but I got a bit antsy around my neck. I cut horizontally from adam's apple to ear to go with the grain on both sides of my neck, I had a couple of goes and gave the SE up. Felt far too sharp for my liking, I'm surprising I didn't cut myself. I think the blade might be a bit dodgy, I didn't change the old one out so it might have already had a few shaves. I finished off with the 34C and an original Super Iridium to avoid irritation on my neck, they're a really good combo. So similar to the Polsilver Super Iridium, but with less noise.
I managed to get into Mustafa Center in Singapore for 20 mins on the way back to Melbourne, and sadly, almost all of the three rows of shaving kit is Gillette branded goop and carts. Few diamonds in the rough though. A reasonable selection of Omega brushes, mostly variants of the same. I picked up a No. 49 because all the others were tiny, and I bowl lather. It was $10. My old man got an 80266 with a stand for $8.50, and a tube of Omega shaving cream for $4.50. I was going to pick up a Kai shavette, but I had some doubts about getting it past security in my carry-on and didn't want to waste $15 to find out. They had some Gillette Yellow/Greens and Dorco blades, Supermax and Godrej cream too. A few other creams I didn't know and a couple of equally unknown aftershaves. A couple of cheap straights. Big selection of fragrances, but more expensive by far than the online places or duty free. I wouldn't particularly recommend going there, I suspect they've dumped some of their shaving stuff because what was on display didn't really match with some people's experiences from last year and earlier this year. Had a big hunt for Proraso because it was supposed to be there, but no joy. It's crowded in there even in the middle of the day, they sell everything. Literally everything. If you're in Singapore without a better idea, you could find worse ways to spend 20 mins.
I tried the No. 49 out tonight, and it's very big. I bowl lather, so the big handle is better for me and it worked well. Gave it a go with the Mike's Natural Soaps Orange, Cedarwood and Black Pepper. Worked pretty well, I expect it'll take a few goes to get it working at potential. I'm still trying to get the amount of water needed for MNS exactly right, I scrapped my first batch of lather today because I let it get too watery. Second time was better, I'm going to persist with the No. 49 and MNS for a couple of weeks to get them both going. The brush feels great on my face, pleasantly harsh and scrubby. I hope it doesn't soften up too much when it's broken in.
