Shave of the Day Thread - 2016

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Well, the Mrs can't keep her nose out of the tub, and is very keen for a post shave kiss and cheek rub. So, pretty good! I don't quite make out the Arabica in there so I was a little disappointed. NOTE: I have a dull nose that doesn't pick up on subtleties. I do like it though. At the end of the day these sorts of things are very subjective, up to personal taste etc. I would say if you like the sound of the scents, then get it. It's available as a $10 SnD too so you just can't go wrong.

@Sxot sound like a pussy cat call getting your attention, don't forget to say thank you to @Anthony and his magic making soaps :p;)
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Face Wash : PAA Menthol Glycerine Soap
Pre-Shave : Myrsol Emulsion
Brush : Shavemac Silvertip
Soap : Mystic Water - Jeff's Lavendar
Razor : Brucke
After Shave : Argan Oil, Tom Ford Venetian Bergamot

Just perfect. I not sure what more I could even imagine to ask for....
 
Soap - Mystic Waters Jasmine (courtesy of @alfredus )
Razor - Ikon #102
Blade - Astra SP (1)
Brush - Semo 1800
Bowl Lather - 2 pass wtg/xtg
Post - Thayers & Speick

First try of Mystic Waters thanks to a sample sent from Alfredus. I was going to use distilled water, but realised that if I ordered some I probably couldn't be bothered to do that every time I used it, so decided to go real world and just use tap water. Using the Merkur Man method, no troubles at all with producing a great lather. Probably not as cushiony as some of the vegan soaps, but slickness was just short of Stirling (I find tallow based generally provide better glide for me). Cushion I would put at 7 to 8 / 10 (Caties and Shaver Heaven 10), and Glide 9 1/2 out of 10 (Stirling still king at 10).

I personally rate slickness as the most important aspect, so in overall performance (note I will have to revisit tomorrow morning to confirm) I'd put it right up there in my top 5 (with Stirling, B&M, MWF, Shaver Heaven). Scent strength was good. It wasn't overpowering (which would be a 10/10 on my scale), but would sit at around the 6 mark (shaver heaven sit around 7), and did hang around for about an hour. I wasn't expecting to like the Jasmine to be honest, thinking it may be a bit flowery, however when it was lathered I was really impressed. Better yet, as a subtle note it went really well with the cologne (CK Eternity) and possibly enhanced it for me. I would consider buying this scent.
 
Glad you got it and you like it!
 
Tuesday 9 February 2016

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Getting Ready to Go Back Home

I am getting ready to go back home and, as usual, before leaving I always shave. The companion for my business trip has been this Mastro Livi Bluetongue Damasteel and it is the very first straight razor I bought from this highly revered Italian craftsman. After three years it is shaving like the first day and I am very happy with it as I never refreshed its edge, not even on chromium oxide. It is still capable of giving a super smooth and close shave with the well known and appreciate Damasteel aggressivity. Great shave!​
  • Pre-Shave: RazorGuy Pre-Shave Oil
  • Soap: Aquagena Shaving Soap
  • Brush: Optim'Hom Synthetic J082
  • Strop: Mastro Livi Travel Loom Strop and Hand Palm
  • Razor: Mastro Livi Damasteel Blue Tongue, 7/8 Full Hollow, Livi Snake Point
  • Post-Shave: Alum Block
  • Post-Shave: Argan Oil
  • After Shave: L'Erbolario Baobab and Green Coffee Aftershave Balm
 
20160210_074211 by Osman Mehmed, on Flickr
Preshave: PAA Ice preshave soap
Razor: Edwin Jagger DE89 with Windrose Handle
Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux
Brush: Shavemac 177
Soap: Acqua Di Parma
Post Shave: Stray Whisker Balm and Fine Platinum AS
Two pass shave with a clean up. The Acqua Di Parma is cream and so produces a thick creamy lather very quickly. Very good performer during the shave with lots of cushion, not as much slickness as I like but adequate. Overall a very good performance for a cream and among the best creams I have tried. The shave itself is near BBS with no irritation or cuts. First use of the Fine Platinum AS and it is superb. Love the scent and its strength. The initial alcohol burn gives way to the cooling of the menthol and it just leaves the face feeling wondrous.
 
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Face Wash : Musgo Real Lime Menthol Glycerine Soap
Pre-Shave : Razorock Peppermint Pre-Shave
Brush : Fine Synthetic
Soap : Mitchell's Wool Fat
Razor : Puma Friseur Freund 5/8"
After Shave : Speick AS

A pleasant but unspectacular shave today. The Razorock Peppermint Pre-Shave has loads of natural menthol which I find pleasant, and the MWF was its ever reliable self. I recently honed the Puma, so it sailed through the job with ease. Speick AS finished things off on a pleasant note.

Maybe something a bit more adventurous tomorrow :)
 
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This 7/8 R Sutcliffe near wedge Sheffield is a lot of razor to use! I imagine this sort to be used by the razor gangs because it feels like I'm using a weapon.

Razor gangs were criminal gangs that dominated the Sydney crime scene in the 1920s. With the passage of the Pistol Licensing Act (NSW) 1927, the New South Wales State Parliament imposed severe penalties for carrying concealed firearms and handguns. Sydney gangland figures then chose razors as preferred weapons, for their capacity to inflict disfiguring scars.


The capacity - yes, but no disfiguring scars this morning!
 
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Pre-Shave: Occams pre-shave soap, cold water
Razor: IKON DLC Slant with long Bulldog handle
Blade: PolSilver SI (2)
Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Best
Lather: Mystic Waters Lime
Post-shave: Alum, Barrister & Man Kyovu Original, South Australian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil​

This razor/blade combo is definitely too aggressive for my tastes. Very close shave, but also a huge sting from the alum....
 
Brush: Semogue 1800
Razor: Merkur 38C
Blade: Derby Extra (1)
Soap: Vanilla Oak by Shaver Heaven
After Shave: Natio Calming ASB

@Anthony.......man you're so bloody good with this Vanilla Oak Soap, have you ever thought about not making soaps that is almost like food otherwise you're making me very hungry :p and I believe you've already know what going in the mail again heading my way ;) Further more you're making my family dog hungry as well and I keep telling little Max (he a little puppy) this is not food, this is shaving soap to remove my bloody sand paper hairy chin :p:D and is not dog food :p
 
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Razor: Weber Polished Head on Bulldog Handle
Blade: Vintage NOS Schick Super Platinum (4)
Brush: Vintage butterscotch Culmak reknotted with TGN finest
Soap/Cream: Shaver Heaven - Arctic Mango
Aftershave: Mennen Skin Bracer

Another in the Mini-Menth review series. Check out the results here: Mini Menth Showdown
 
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Wedding Anniversary Shave (Sunday)

Brush:
Semogue Mistura LE
Soap: I Coloniali Mango Oil
Razor: Weber with Wave handle
Blade: Polsilver
After: Thayers & Floid Vigoroso

I never shave on a weekend or in the evening but needed to make an exception in this case ;)
She's a lucky lady to be married to a man who can be flexible.......sometimes :cool:
Tough choice between Floid or Alt Innsbruck to complete the job :unsure:
A near ripoff of @filobiblic 's shave earlier in the week :)
30 minutes of more sleep this morning (y)
Happy Wedding Anniversary!
 
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Face Wash : Musgo Real Lime Menthol Glycerine Soap
Pre-Shave : Myrsol Emulsion
Brush : Shavemac *
Soap : Martin de Candre Original
Razor : Mastro Livi Symmetrical Damascus Kamisori
After Shave : Fine Platinum (Menthol Enhanced)

Absolute ripper of a shave today. Started off with a nice Menthol slow burn from the Myrsol Emulsion while I got ready to lather up. I chose my Shavemac custom and one of my favourite soaps for straight/kamisori shaving, Martin de Candre Original. @alfredus suggested to me yesterday that in the case of custom configured brushes particularly, a bit more information would be good to have. I agree, so here's a little more : The brush is from Shavemac's "colourful range", and features a "Blue Marmorate" handle, with a loft of 50mm and knot size of 21mm. The actual hair is called Silvertip Extra D01, which Shavemac claim is extra robust and densely packed, leading to a knot that "stays compact and keeps in shape really well". I agree with these claims - the brush also has a nice backbone and good exfoliating properties. Notwithstanding all these attributes or perhaps because of them, it took me an unusually long time to make friends with this brush - I think it had quite a long break-in period for a badger brush.

The shave itself was really special - a little like the Shavemac brush, It has taken quite a while to get the Mastro Livi Kamisori performing really well. Both @Mark and myself have had multiple attempts at honing this razor so as to achieve a sharp but smooth cutting edge. We have both managed to find multiple ways of putting a laser sharp edge on the razor, but at the expense of a "bitey" and uncomfortable shave. I tried quite a few combinations of Japanese natural stones to no avail, and had reached the point of near total frustration when @Mark offered to "have one more go". I gratefully packed and posted and tried not to get my hopes up too much. Then the news I'd been hoping for - @Mark believed he had finally nailed it. He shave tested, and gave it a thumbs up. Australia Post did their thing, and the razor arrived yesterday. So it was with quite a bit of nervous expectation that I commenced shaving. The nervousness turned out to be unnecessary - the shave was simply magnificent from start to finish. The razor shaved extra close, and did it with incredible smoothness and comfort. Success at last : the Kamisori shaves as well as it looks, and that is no small order.

When I asked @Mark what the secret to getting this edge was, he muttered something semi coherent about Havana cigars at midnight, cemeteries and nagura made from headstones. I'm a little concerned that this job has taken its toll on him.... :eek::eek::eek:

I celebrated the shave with a big menthol hit - Fine's great Platinum AS spiked with a double shot of extra menthol.

All's well that ends well they say :) I'd better keep a close eye on @Mark for a while though....
 
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