Shave of the Day 2014

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Razor: Gillette New
Brush: B&B Essential
Blade: Crown
Cream: Musgo Real original
Aftershave: Royal Musk
Prep: A wash with face soap followed by a hot towel

The shave: Razor: Gillette New

I have been wanting to try this razor for a long time as it is very popular and get often mentioned as one of the must have vintage razors. I have hesitated to buy one in the past as had bad experiences with other vintage open combs such as the Gillette Senator. The senator for me was not a smooth shaver and the handle, not very ergonomic; due to it being small and thin.

Again the handle on the new is smaller, however benefits greatly from extra girth. As for the shaving characteristics I really enjoyed it. Being the first time I have used this razor I found it easy to use first go. My main like/dislike of any razor is whether it feels smooth in use. For me the Gillette New is smooth and efficient due to it being an open comb. I think with continued use the shave will only improve.

Brush: B&B Essential

To date I have owned Semogues and Omegas. The B&B essential is the partnership of two great elements. Semogues have well finished handles that have some heft, giving the user confidence that it is a quality product. Omegas have great knots that remain compact and present a sense of fullness on the face. Omegas have disappointing handles and Semogues tend to want to splay after continued use. The B&B essential on the other hand has a great handle and nice knot.

I found the brush very easy to hold and liked the extra weight and it likened to what you might get in a badger handle. The knot had a nice density that was very soft and felt full on the face. Flow through was fantastic and resulting in a very protective lather.

Cream: Musgo Real

A classic I had yet to try. A mild green cologne scent. Found it very easy to lather with a pleasant cooling sensation on the skin. For me it had better cushion to say Proraso and also left the skin more moisturized in comparison. Took two rinses to remove the residue. I believe this is on account of the lanolin which feels ever so slightly oily on cleanup. This is something I could see myself purchasing.

Aftershave: Royal Musk

Fresh sweet scent. Left skin feeling smooth. More sting than my usual Proraso green splash. For me Proraso is the better performer.

Blade: Crown

First use. Found it to be smooth however lack of sharpness resulting in tugging. Swapped it out after the second pass. Typically use Polsilvers, Feathers, Astras.
 
Brush: Aesop - a.k.a. Muhle 23mm STF2 (synthetic)
Soap/Cream: Phaemosan shaving cream
Razor: Muhle R41 (2013)
Blade: Personna Med Prep (1)
After-shave: Nivea for Men, AS Replenishing balm

Great German shave - more detail in my PCTB2 entry
 
Same as last time. Same result. P74 on 9
 
Young Buck said:
On an account of receiving a 4 kg pass around from 'YKW' I be putting up my reviews for you guys to follow.
Click to expand...
Wow. That'd cost a fortune in postage... Even here in Oz that's $30 odd but to & fro o'seas...
 
Razor: Gillette New (long comb – not in the box)
Brush: B&B Essential
Blade: Big Ben
Soap: Shaving Yeti stick
Aftershave: Proraso Blue balm
Prep: A wash with face soap followed by a hot towel

The shave:

Razor: Gillette New [Long comb]
On the back of the success with the short comb I had the opportunity to borrow a long comb. I don’t have many razors, rather I acquire stuff to use as a point of difference. Having in the past found myself tossing up on whether to pick up a short or long comb based on whether one is more smoother/efficient than the other I had no real definitive answer of which I would prefer. Again this is only the first shave and I intend on switching back and forth between the two, but found the long comb just as smooth/efficient but perhaps more unique. The long style comb acts as training wheels for the wet shaver as you search for the proper angle. Use the right angle and it will take off the lather cleanly from your face. Use the wrong angle and it will leave channels; similar to a garden rake through soil. Overall I would feel happy with either but believe if you were looking for a more unique shave the long comb might be the point of difference you are looking for.

Brush: B&B Essential
Thought I would see how it performed as a face lather. So what better way than to pair it up with a shave stick. The knot on this brush as I understand is 22/53, typically most people agree lofts should be kept below 50 and verge on a factor of 2:1. This was no different with the B&B. In use, whilst it worked ok, which did improve by placing a thumb and forefinger at the base of knot; ultimately this brush is an expert bowl latherer. As for feel whilst building lather on the face, bristles were soft and provided a pleasant scrub.

In the picture attached as you can see, the knot remains compact even after use. Also after the first use I noted unlike other boars I have tried, the bristles did not tangle, rather remaining nice and straight.

Soap: Shaving Yeti shave stick
I will start by saying I am 97% a bowl lather. The times I do face lather is usually with my shavemac fan which has a 22/48 knot and with a cream. Using a shave stick then was something foreign to me. However I persevered and was rewarded by a thick lather that was non-drying. This was perhaps assisted by the B&B, which shines when using painting strokes as it is very easy to achieve an even lather over the entire face. As for the scent this particular one has a citrus scent, that once lathered was very light but present. Overall pleasing it left the skin feeling moisturized. Similar to the Musgo Real it took two rinses to fully wash off as on the first there is a slight amount of residue which remains. Only small complaint I had with this soap was it gave me a tingling sensation on my lips during the shave whilst the lather was on my face.

Aftershave: Proraso Blue
Perhaps oilier than the white ASB in terms of texture, I found this to be slightly more effective in comparison. In terms of smell it was a bit medicinal but somewhat lacking personality. I have smelt medicinal smells in the past and liked them. Martin De Candre original comes to mind, which is sharp lavender scent. This however was too bland for me.

Blade: Big Ben
First use. Found it to be smoother than the crowns, however lack of sharpness resulted in tugging.
 

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Fatboy
PJ Special vintage
TOBS Sandalwood
PSS

Decent enough, bit rough with the aftershave thrown on. Might stick to Feathers in the Fatty, and leave other blades for the smoother 30C
 
Razor: Merkur 37C (Not in the box)
Brush: B&B Essential
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Cream: Speik
Aftershave: Proraso Green Splash (Not in the box)
Prep: A wash with face soap followed by a hot towel

The shave:

Razor/blade : Merkur 37C with Gillette Silver Blue (1st use)

As it was time to use one of the more popular blades I wanted to see how it performed in my own Merkur 37C. I have used silver blues in the past albeit some time ago. These blades are often referred to as a sharp and smooth. Well in my 37C it was certainly sharp; clearing most of one day’s growth to a DFS in one pass. Slants are great for achieving a DFS very efficiently and only really require a prudent technique as you strive for the BBS (not so much because you cut yourself, far from it but mostly just to maintaining overall comfort on the surface of the skin). The blade in use feels very smooth, hiding its sharpness very well. It is only during the post shave treatment that sharpness reveals itself as the aftershave hits the skin. Overall I think with the right products and a gentle touch silver blues in a slant are a killer combo. I am writing this review a good 8 hours after the shave and I still have BBS over 30% of my face with the remainder a DFS.

Using various blades I have to conclude there are 3 categories, of which I will I expand on the last 2.
1st: Crap blades
2nd: The DFS
3rd: The BBS

The DFS is the super sharp blades which place importance on achieve a comfortable, quick and close shave. Consisting of two passes; with and across. Due the sharpness the skin suffers from performing repeated passes chasing the BBS. E.g. Feather, Silver Blue.

The BBS is a reasonably sharp blade that is super smooth. As hair grows in all directions to achieve a 100% BBS all over, repeated passes must be performed in all directions. Comfort being the main priority as no matter how sharp the blade, multiple against the grain pass must be performed for each direction of the hair growth. E.g. Astra and Voshkods.

Among the many factors the choice of blade may be as simple as deciding on the results you seek and the time you have to shave.

Brush: B&B Essential

Again this brush performed flawlessly. Returning it to the bowl, once again this brush felt at. Holding enough lather for 4 passes (I stopped after 3) this brush will serve any bowl lather very well. Performing the circular scrub or the slip slop painting strokes this brush builds up the lather well and lays it on thick. I also find getting the water ratio right relatively easy. This could be a combination of the products used as well as it being a boar. My badgers hold a lot of water, so I have developed my own techniques to ensure a thick bubble free lather.

Cream: Speik

This stuff has probably been the easiest cream to lather to date from my own experiences. With little effort this stuff explodes. And it doesn’t just explode into a mass of bubbles, but rather shaving dough. The cushion on this stuff is amazing and leaves the skin feeling soft. The scent is pleasing and if this was your daily runner I don’t think you would feel at all cheated.
Where I think this stuff falls short is slickness. Musgo Real is comparison is the better performer in this area and I can’t help but feel whilst there were no nicks or cuts the shave could have been less stressful on the skin if the razor was left to glide better. Pairing it with a blade like an Astra however could get around this.

Aftershave: Proraso green splash

This is my daily driver and have found it to work very well. If you have had a bit of rough shave this stuff will cure it, however in order to get to heaven you’ll have to go through hell. Any abrasiveness from the shave will be immediately identified by quick burst of fire followed by a pleasant cool down = ). Pull off a perfect shave however and you’ll just experience the later so it’s a gamble; but I take the gamble each morning.
In colder weather you may want to follow up with a balm to give protection to the freshly shaven skin.
 

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Compared to the essays that many are posting here my drab SOTD offerings seem somewhat lacking but in any case:

Shave No 10 with the P74. Still going strong.
The rest:
BS re-knot
Tabac cream
 
Pjotr said:
Compared to the essays that many are posting here my drab SOTD offerings seem somewhat lacking but in any case:

Shave No 10 with the P74. Still going strong.
The rest:
BS re-knot
Tabac cream
Click to expand...

I hope to try a 74 one day. 10 shaves is nuts. I get that using my feather straight.
 
Young Buck said:
I hope to try a 74 one day. 10 shaves is nuts. I get that using my feather straight.
Click to expand...

Just wait for the next vintage blade pass around/travelling box. Most will give you upwards of 6-8 shaves. The best in my view to date is the Schick Plus Platinum. Can easily get ten out of one of those. The P74 looks like it'll surpass that but time will tell.
 
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