Shave of the Day Thread - 2016

[Korbz]

Brush: RR Disruptor 22mm
Soap: BW Davy Jones
Razor: Rockwell 6S (2)
Blade: Permasharp Super (4)
Post: Speick

Another nice shave... currently debating buying Aladdin's Spice from BW or Cologne Russe from B&M... arghhhh

 

[Sxot]

Razor: Weber Polished Head on Bulldog Handle
Blade: Astra Superior Stainless (3)
Brush: Vintage butterscotch Simpson H2 boar
Soap/Cream: Mike's Natural Shaving Soaps - Barbershop
Aftershave: Ogallala Bay Rum with Limes and Peppercorns

How could you beat the Mystic Water Sardinian Honey? Well you can't, so you don't try - you go with a reliable stable, top performer, Mike's

Astra still going strong, Mike's great, Ogallala sensational.

Happy hump day!

You seem to be liking that boar! Very thin but seeming still has great performance?

 

[GregP]

Blade: Coles el-cheapo Twin-blade disposable
Soap: (formerly Fauldings) Shave

For various reasons, a surprisingly reasonable shave in the shower, using the glass door as a mirror.

Normal shaving will resume at the earliest opportunity

 

[eggbert]

Quick, someone help out GregP in his hour of need.

Blade: Coles el-cheapo Twin-blade disposable
Soap: (formerly Fauldings) Shave

For various reasons, a surprisingly reasonable shave in the shower, using the glass door as a mirror.

Normal shaving will resume at the earliest opportunity

Too late - we've lost him.

 

[Draco Noir]

ace Wash : Musgo Real Lime Soap
Pre-Shave : Razorock Peppermint Pre-Shave
Brush : Plisson Synthetic
Soap : Catie's Bubbles Un Jour Gris
Razor : Susumasa Frameback
After Shave : Alum, Top Seven Balm, Musgo Real Orange Amber EDC

Frameback Frolics :

The Plisson managed to produce a very decent lather from the Un Jour Gris. The nicest thing about this soap is its fragrance - really enjoyable and strong enough to last all shave.

Today's razor is something less common - a frameback made under the highly regarded Suzumasa brand name. Quite a few razor manufacturers both Eastern and Western had a frameback or 2 in their lineups, but they don't seem to have been particularly popular. It's easy to see why they would have been appealing to the manufacturers : cheap to make, requiring a minimum of extremely high quality steel, and capable of brilliant shaving performance. That's how it played out for me today - brilliant performance for a brilliant shave. The frameback is a bit disconcerting at first because it sings like a full hollow ground blade, yet it has zero flex, totally unlike a full hollow ground blade. It shaves like a beast though - very close indeed, but fortunately with a high level of shaving comfort. I acquired the Suzumasa because I loved the beautiful patterning etched into the razor's spine (oh, and because I believed it would be a brilliant shaver as well).

Today's fragrance was Musgo Real's excellent Orange Amber EDC. This is good value for money, and has become a real favourite in my shave cupboard

 

[TomG]

Pre: Musgo Real Lime Oil Soap, Myrsol Antesol and Emulsion
Brush: Savile Row 3824 Silvertip
Soap: Tabac
Razor: Feather AS-D2
Blade: Feather (3)
Post: Myrsol Antesol and Emulsion
A/S: Myrsol Limon
Cologne: Acca Kappa 1869

Worked hard on the Tabac puck, and got a lovely slick lather than lasted well for three passes. Great slickness allowed easy clean-up buffing for a really close shave with minimal irritation.
I have noticed a steady improvement in skin condition rotating through the various Myrsol face tonics - good stuff.
I've finished my Musgo Real soap, so cracked open a new bar in the Orange Amber scent. Having said that, I like the glycerine MR pre-shave soaps for both their performance and for their very subtle scents which do not effect the scent of the shaving soap.

 

[SpeedyPC]

@TomG welcome to the Tabac family it my favorite soap during my rotation and a lot of shavers say it smell like an old lady handbag

 

[Sxot]

ace Wash : Musgo Real Lime Soap
Pre-Shave : Razorock Peppermint Pre-Shave
Brush : Plisson Synthetic
Soap : Catie's Bubbles Un Jour Gris
Razor : Susumasa Frameback
After Shave : Alum, Top Seven Balm, Musgo Real Orange Amber EDC

Frameback Frolics :

The Plisson managed to produce a very decent lather from the Un Jour Gris. The nicest thing about this soap is its fragrance - really enjoyable and strong enough to last all shave.

Today's razor is something less common - a frameback made under the highly regarded Suzumasa brand name. Quite a few razor manufacturers both Eastern and Western had a frameback or 2 in their lineups, but they don't seem to have been particularly popular. It's easy to see why they would have been appealing to the manufacturers : cheap to make, requiring a minimum of extremely high quality steel, and capable of brilliant shaving performance. That's how it played out for me today - brilliant performance for a brilliant shave. The frameback is a bit disconcerting at first because it sings like a full hollow ground blade, yet it has zero flex, totally unlike a full hollow ground blade. It shaves like a beast though - very close indeed, but fortunately with a high level of shaving comfort. I acquired the Suzumasa because I loved the beautiful patterning etched into the razor's spine (oh, and because I believed it would be a brilliant shaver as well).

Today's fragrance was Musgo Real's excellent Orange Amber EDC. This is good value for money, and has become a real favourite in my shave cupboard

Framebacks.... I don't like the look of them because they scream "price driven short-cut". Interesting you say it has less flex than a hollow. Given a hollow has more steel to it (larger cross section, I don't understand why).

 

[Osman]

20160706_081838 by tvrepairzone, on Flickr
Preshave: Musgo Real Glyce soap and Proraso sandalwood preshave cream
Razor: EdwinJagger DE89
Blade: Personna Med Prep
Brush: Vie Long Horse
Soap: Dr Jon Anne Bonny
Post Shave: Top Seven Emulsion and Dr Jons Anne Bonny AS
Three pass shave. This is a lovely bay rum scent with a touch of black tea. Good lather with good performance. The scent is strong throughout the shave and it is great to finish with the matching scent after shave.

 

[alfredus]

Pre-Shave: Cypriotian Olive/Argan Oil soap, cold water
Razor: Supply Provisions Single Edge Medium
Blade: Personna Injector (2)
Brush: Rudy Vey Shavenac
Lather: Mike's Bay Rum
Post-shave: Alum, Barrister & Man Kyovu Original, Australian Emu Oil​

Starting to slowly understand the razor, but still think that I have to go with the milder plate. The Shavemac knot is really sensational, especially when loaded with Mike's. The resulting lather was superb (picture here) and all in all it was a nice shave.

 

[Draco Noir]

Framebacks.... I don't like the look of them because they scream "price driven short-cut". Interesting you say it has less flex than a hollow. Given a hollow has more steel to it (larger cross section, I don't understand why).

@Sxot - in some cases I could agree with your "cheapo" accusation. In others, not so. The best framebacks sell for prices just as high as comparable straights, because they are great performers. Leaving aside emotional responses, the frameback is an elegant engineering approach to making a straight razor that manages to avoid many of the traditional manufacturing problems (warping from heat treatment is a good example), while providing superior performance.

As for the flex issue, the piece of steel that provides the cutting edge is only about 11mm tall, with a totally rigid spine constraining any possible movement. It's also very possible that a different type of steel is used - the blade in the frameback doesn't need hand hammering or to put up with belt or wheel based grinding, and doesn't need heat treatment after it's attached to the spine. All these different requirements may well create different metallurgical opportunities. I can say that the blade on the Suzumasa is very hard, and that it takes an unusually keen edge.

If anybody knows more about the frameback, please chime in and share what you know with us all

 

[TomG]

@TomG welcome to the Tabac family it my favorite soap during my rotation and a lot of shavers say it smell like an old lady handbag

Thanks @SpeedyPC. It seems it is a scent that polarises opinion, but I find it clean, masculine old school. It has certainly stood the test of time.

 

[TomG]

20160706_081838 by tvrepairzone, on Flickr
Preshave: Musgo Real Glyce soap and Proraso sandalwood preshave cream
Razor: EdwinJagger DE89
Blade: Personna Med Prep
Brush: Vie Long Horse
Soap: Dr Jon Anne Bonny
Post Shave: Top Seven Emulsion and Dr Jons Anne Bonny AS
Three pass shave. This is a lovely bay rum scent with a touch of black tea. Good lather with good performance. The scent is strong throughout the shave and it is great to finish with the matching scent after shave.

Nice scent combo going on there, @Osman.

 

[Osman]

Nice scent combo going on there, @Osman.

Thanks @TomG . This is quite a nice bay rum I think in part because of the black tea. Also nice to be able to use the matching after shave. The end of the day and I can still get a sense of the scent on me , so a good quality product.

 

[SpeedyPC]

Early in the morning I'll be shaving.
Pre-Shave - Shower & Proraso White
Brush: - Whipped Dog Silvertip in Black Resin Handle 24/48mm knot & loft
Lather: - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Razor: - Muhle R89 with a iKon Bamboo Handle
Blade: - Polsilver Super Iridium (2)
Post Shave: - Alum Block / The Stray Whisker Aftershave Balm
Fragrance: - Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male EDT

 

[bald as]

2 pass and very nice shave. Under time constraints this evening so used an SE and a nice shave. Straight shaving has really focused my mind on technique and especially pressure or lack of it and when you convince the brain the razor really doesn't need much help to cut the whiskers you get a great result.

24mm short handle whipped dog silver-tip in a scuttle.
Mike's again
Easy DFS

 

[silver]

Pre: GFT Lime Skin Food
Brush: Chubby 2
Soap: MdC
Razor: Standard
Blade: Feather
Post: Alum, Witch Hazel, Ogallala Lime and Peppercorn

Great lather created with the Chubby 2.
Although I do feel that the vegan soap does some what lose out to the lanolin and tallow soaps that I adore so much. Killer scent though, absolutely amazing.

Finished the shave with extraordinary zen-ness. Ogallala is just fantastic, burns a little when applied, but glorious skin feel after wards.

 

[GregP]

Quick, someone help out GregP in his hour of need.
Too late - we've lost him.

You aren't that lucky But then I wasn't very lucky with my so-called shave I guess...was a bit rushed this morning and had to make do. Not so long ago, that was my standard shave - It's surprising how much you get used to a proper shave, whipping up a nice lather, nice 3-pass shave and cleanup without the rush. Tomorrow should be back to a proper blade and soap

 

[Korbz]

 

[Mark1966]

Razor: Weber Polished Head on Bulldog Handle
Blade: Astra Superior Stainless (4)
Brush: Vintage butterscotch distressed Culmak reknotted in TGN Finest
Soap/Cream: B&M Roam
Aftershave: Ogallala Bay Rum with Sandalwood

Astra SS still performing OK but probably only one more shave in it I'd suggest.

Roam is a great lather, even is scent is polarising.

The Bay Rum and Sandalwood has a warm sweetness about it - nice.