Shave of the Day Thread - 2016

[TomG]

I hear you @Mark1966 - I'll always have a puck of Arlington on hand as a minimum. How do you find the F/extra?

 

[Anthony Hunter]

Just having a mini ultramenth break as the 2 weeks of the dry season approaches

Ha ha, you must be from either Darwin, or anywhere north of townsville or Broome. I am in Townsville and i swear it got down to about 18 degrees the other night. Froze my chuddies off. I think i saw an eskimo hitching a ride to Brissy.

 

[Mark1966]

I hear you @Mark1966 - I'll always have a puck of Arlington on hand as a minimum. How do you find the F/extra?

Love all the Myrsol options. Very different but all great IMHO

 

[Lifes a Peach]

I certainly agree, @alfredus - it's really evocative. @Lifes a Peach has really captured a feeling in the shot with a great interplay of elements like transparency, reflection and shadow. Nice work, king of the orchard

Thanks for your kind words, my friend.

 

[bald as]

You

have

a

Darwin!

I was more impressed he has a Personna 74

 

[eggbert]

I was more impressed he has a Personna 74

Even I have a couple of them, and I am a renowned cheapskate.

Some Darwin razors, however, are another kettle of fish entirely.

 

[Osman]

20160615_082335 by tvrepairzone, on Flickr
Preshave: Musgo Real Glyce and Proraso red preshave cream
Razor: Merkur Progress
Blade: Personna Med Prep
Brush: Semogue 1305
Soap: Saponificio Varesino Felce Aromatica
Post Shave: Gummy Balm and Saponifici Varesino Felce Aromatica AS
Three pass shave. The progress went to 2 and felt more aggressive. It was still a smooth shave but I was pretty clean and smooth after 2 passes. Will try it with another blade before I go beyond the 2 mark. The soap is superb as expected and finished off with its own after shave which is like a cross between a splash and a balm. Overall a pleasant and enjoyable shave experience. The learning continues.

 

[Psmith]

Preshave: Blind Barber Facewash
Razor: iKon DLC Slant 'The Dark Knight'
Blade: PSI (1)
Brush: Simpson Duke 2
Soap: B&M Cheshire
Post Shave: Alum, Thayers, Myrsol Limon

The Dark Knight Rises!
Today I tried a different approach with the slant. I used a steeper angle than usual, or rather, I went with the angle that produced the loudest cutting sound. My best shave yet with this razor. Now that I've learned a light touch maybe the idea is to go with the steepest possible angle rather than the shallowest angle that will cut. As @Osman so wisely said

The learning continues.

B&M Cheshire and Limon A/S = Earl Grey tea with a slice of lemon. Perfect.

 

[Sxot]

Pre: Occams Lime
Brush: Chubby 2 Best
Strop: Kanoyama #30'000
Blade: Parker 567
Soap: Shaver Heaven - Vanilla Oak
Post: Thayers / PAA - CaD

Where to start? Chubby is awesome. It's the Duke 2, but more of the same goodness. I'm enjoying this brush for sure but I am glad I didn't get a 3. This is plenty big enough for me. Lathers well, good flow though soft density gives some scrub if you need it, just the tips for soft cushy painting of lather.

I can get a very good edge now with my vintage Jnat & two slurry stone but I wanted more so I have been taking a blade or two back to the hone to refine my technique. I'll put some detail into this with a question on HOTD thread. Edge was better, no irritation and BBS bar a couple of hard to clear spots on my neck. Still think it can be better though.

SH V3 Tallow... wow. So this the first lather for me with V3 but straight away I noticed the extra ease, or speed the lather builds. I start with a brush that has been shaken dry, and load with adding tiny bits of water as I go. This normally takes about three minuets where I go to my face and finish it up buy building a bit more volume. Today I was moving to my face in half the time, maybe less. Resulting lather was the same dense, glossy, slick goop that I got on previous versions, just in much less time! Well done @Anthony. Unfortunatly the light isn't right to show the gloss in the lather - but it is there. This photo is after three passes and clean up.

Finished with Cad - the Mrs Favourite. Gotta keep "Her Indoors Happy".

Shave on!

 

[Nightguard]

Brush: Simpsons M7
Razor: Merkur 37c
Blade: Gillette Black
Soap: D.R. Harris Sandalwood
A/S: D.R. Harris Sandalwood

Quick and easy two pass shave today. The Gillette Black and Slant combo is great, no irritation and a near BBS result.

 

[Draco Noir]

Face Wash : Lime Menthol Glycerine Soap
Pre-Shave : Proraso White Pre-shave
Brush : Thater 2 Band
Soap : I Coloniali
Razor : Jerry Stark 6/8 Spanish Point
After Shave : Alum, Myrsol Metilsol, Lipikar Balm, Musgo Real Orange Amber EDC

After giving me two brilliant shaves in a row, I thought the Jerry Stark 6/8 razor deserved another outing - this time with the best support team I could assemble from my shave cabinet. The brush was a pretty easy choice, but the soap proved quite a bit harder. The fact that the I Coloniali has seen a lot less use than Mike's, Mystic Water or MdC clinched its spot. Needless to say, a spectacularly good lather ensued : loads of cushion and glide, and superhydrated and glossy. An excellent start

I knew from the last couple of days what to expect in the razor department, and that's exactly what I got - another silken smooth shave with excellent comfort and a nearly perfect end result. I finished off in much the usual way, and ran with Musgo Real's Orange Amber EDC as my fragrance for the day. I'm definitely a happy camper after a shave like today's

 

[alfredus]

Cool photo.

Thank you @TomG - kinda stumbled across it

Pre: Occams Lime
Brush: Chubby 2 Best
Strop: Kanoyama #30'000
Blade: Parker 567
Soap: Shaver Heaven - Vanilla Oak
Post: Thayers / PAA - CaD

Where to start? Chubby is awesome. It's the Duke 2, but more of the same goodness. I'm enjoying this brush for sure but I am glad I didn't get a 3. This is plenty big enough for me. Lathers well, good flow though soft density gives some scrub if you need it, just the tips for soft cushy painting of lather.

I can get a very good edge now with my vintage Jnat & two slurry stone but I wanted more so I have been taking a blade or two back to the hone to refine my technique. I'll put some detail into this with a question on HOTD thread. Edge was better, no irritation and BBS bar a couple of hard to clear spots on my neck. Still think it can be better though.

SH V3 Tallow... wow. So this the first lather for me with V3 but straight away I noticed the extra ease, or speed the lather builds. I start with a brush that has been shaken dry, and load with adding tiny bits of water as I go. This normally takes about three minuets where I go to my face and finish it up buy building a bit more volume. Today I was moving to my face in half the time, maybe less. Resulting lather was the same dense, glossy, slick goop that I got on previous versions, just in much less time! Well done @Anthony. Unfortunatly the light isn't right to show the gloss in the lather - but it is there. This photo is after three passes and clean up.

Finished with Cad - the Mrs Favourite. Gotta keep "Her Indoors Happy".

Shave on!

Glad you like the Chubby @Sxot - the 3 has only a marginally larger knot (+2mm) - but the handle is supposed to be more ergonomic. Nice lather shot as well

 

[saku39]

Razor: Kamisori western grind (10)
Brush: Stirling 22mm synth
Lather: Maggard Orange Menthol
Post-shave: Alum, Thayers Lemon Witch Hazel

FRAT version below

Tenth shave with the Kamisori. After only doing a WTG pass yesterday but getting so much out of it I was really excited and couldn't wait for today's shave. I did a 3 pass shave and found that I was able to significantly improve every pass as opposed to previous shaves. This really confirmed yesterdays experiment was a success as the technique and efficiency of each pass has greatly increased. While this hasn't changed the end result of a BBS shave it certainly felt like my skill level with the blade has increased exponentially as a result. This is reflected in a nick free completely BBS shave with no hint of a whisker anywhere!

Reflecting on this shave is kind of bittersweet as I've come to the sudden realisation that I've reach a point where now any improvements I make will likely be much more gradual and occur over a long period of time. I can't expect to have those great wow moments where I can see massive wholesale improvements from one shave to the next.

In saying that though I am really quite pleased with myself and have an immense feeling of satisfaction having progressed to this point far more quickly than I thought was possible, while there is still a long way to go I know that now it just comes down to repetition and time. It goes without saying (but I will anyway) that without Sensei @Draco Noir, knowledge and the confidence he instils in me there is no way I would be anywhere near this point so quickly and I really appreciate everything he has done and continues to do for me. I never thought I would have a shave mentor but I couldn't have asked for anyone better.

The exciting thing is while I continue to consolidate everything I've learnt with the straight is that I am going to start learning a new skill with Sensei @Draco Noir and that is how to hone. This is still very much in the infancy stage but it is something I am really looking forward to.

FRAT: Three pass nick free completely BBS. I've come to the point where the improvements I make are going to much smaller and gradual that only come with time.

 

[silver]

Pre: GFT lime skin food
Brush: Shavemac 177
Soap: MdC Fougere
Razor: iKon B1 Slant
Blade: GSB
Post: alum, witch hazel, Myrsol Agua Balsamica

Started off with the wet method. It is indeed the best method for me, with the MdC. Achieved the slickest lather I have ever achieved with Mdc. Resulting in a fantastic shave. Usually the slant bites a bit. Paired a GSB with the slant, and in addition to that I had great lather to back me up. This again highlights that it's not the tool that is the shortfall, is the fool.

Achieved a fantastic irritation free shave, not as close as I would normally have, but it's good enough. Rather that than razor burns and nicks. Great smelling soap and great performance too. Stellar.

 

[Dale.Whiley]

20160614_082408 by tvrepairzone, on Flickr
Preshave: Musgo Real Glyce and Proraso Red Preshave cream
Razor: Merkur Progress
Blade: Personna Med Prep
Brush: Shavemac 177
Soap: Strop Shoppe Carnaby
Post Shave: Gummy Balm and Old Spice AS
Three pass shave. Bought the progress more than 16 months ago when I first starting DE shaving and used it for a couple of weeks then put it away. Just could not figure it out and it was a poor choice for a beginner. Moved to a Edwin Jagger DE89 which was just so much easier to use. Saw it sitting in the cupboard so decided to give it another go. Set on 1.5 it gave me a very comfortable three pass shave with no nicks or cuts. Quite mild on this setting but happy to get through a shave with the razor. My technique has improved enough so I can now use this razor with confidence.

Go the Old Spice

 

[Maxime D.]

Pre-shave cream: Proraso White
Razor: Schick Krona
Blade: Gillette Thin V-1 1975 @3
Cream: Nivea Sensitive
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Sport

WTG, Double XTG (L to R, then L to R), ATG + touch up, easily in my top 10 of the year. Loud feedback from the blade, less sharp than previously but definitively smooth, a got barely any feedback from both alum and AF.

 

[Mark1966]

Razor: Weber Polished Head on Bulldog Handle
Blade: Vintage Schick Super Platinum (6)
Brush: Vintage butterscotch distressed Culmak reknotted with TGN finest
Soap/Cream: Mike's Natural Shaving Soap - Barbershop
Aftershave: Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Some mornings you just want a shave that is familiar, comfortable and warm. This morning was one of those mornings -

 

[Sxot]

Razor: Kamisori western grind (10)
Brush: Stirling 22mm synth
Lather: Maggard Orange Menthol
Post-shave: Alum, Thayers Lemon Witch Hazel

FRAT version below

Tenth shave with the Kamisori. After only doing a WTG pass yesterday but getting so much out of it I was really excited and couldn't wait for today's shave. I did a 3 pass shave and found that I was able to significantly improve every pass as opposed to previous shaves. This really confirmed yesterdays experiment was a success as the technique and efficiency of each pass has greatly increased. While this hasn't changed the end result of a BBS shave it certainly felt like my skill level with the blade has increased exponentially as a result. This is reflected in a nick free completely BBS shave with no hint of a whisker anywhere!

Reflecting on this shave is kind of bittersweet as I've come to the sudden realisation that I've reach a point where now any improvements I make will likely be much more gradual and occur over a long period of time. I can't expect to have those great wow moments where I can see massive wholesale improvements from one shave to the next.

In saying that though I am really quite pleased with myself and have an immense feeling of satisfaction having progressed to this point far more quickly than I thought was possible, while there is still a long way to go I know that now it just comes down to repetition and time. It goes without saying (but I will anyway) that without Sensei @Draco Noir, knowledge and the confidence he instils in me there is no way I would be anywhere near this point so quickly and I really appreciate everything he has done and continues to do for me. I never thought I would have a shave mentor but I couldn't have asked for anyone better.

The exciting thing is while I continue to consolidate everything I've learnt with the straight is that I am going to start learning a new skill with Sensei @Draco Noir and that is how to hone. This is still very much in the infancy stage but it is something I am really looking forward to.

FRAT: Three pass nick free completely BBS. I've come to the point where the improvements I make are going to much smaller and gradual that only come with time.

Bloody hell mate. If you get get 3 pass, BBS, nick free and zero irritation (although you don't actually say no irritation) in 10 shaves you are some sort of shaving unicorn! Well done.

 

[Sxot]

Thank you @TomG - kinda stumbled across it



Glad you like the Chubby @Sxot - the 3 has only a marginally larger knot (+2mm) - but the handle is supposed to be more ergonomic. Nice lather shot as well

Handle suits me just fine. It is slow to dry though. It's been raining here and with humidity up it was still slightly damp this morning.

 

[eggbert]

Razor: Weber Polished Head on Bulldog Handle
Blade: Vintage Schick Super Platinum (6)
Brush: Vintage butterscotch distressed Culmak reknotted with TGN finest
Soap/Cream: Mike's Natural Shaving Soap - Barbershop
Aftershave: Captain's Choice Bay Rum

Some mornings you just want a shave that is familiar, comfortable and warm. This morning was one of those mornings -

It was a really chilly 24.3 today here.
AC turned off, and windows opened - means you can smell all the bushfires around. Can't win.

The red squares are within the last 24 hours, while the blue marks are within the last week. And this is just the beginning of bushfire season.