Shave of the Day Thread - 2017

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Brush: M7
Razor: Wilkinson Sticky
Blade: English Wilky
Cream: Occams
A/S: Euro Old Spice
 
Draco Noir said:
The Best Razor in the World?

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Pre-shave : Myrsol Pre-shave Emulsion
Brush : Semogue 2017 Barbearo Classico Limited Edition Synthetic
Soap : Saponificio Bignoli Agrumi Del Mediterraneo
Razor : Colonial General (Aluminium)
Blade : Kai "Pink" [2]
Aftershave : Speick AS Lotion
Fragrance : Frapin 1270 EDP

Just an ordinary shave today - that is to say "absolutely superb", which is what I've become used to for my daily shaves over the last 8 or 9 weeks. Among a cast of wonderful products that contributed to today's shave, the MVP was without a doubt the razor.

Many of you know me as a committed wielder of exotic kamisoris and straight razors, but I've gone through a bit of a sea change of late. I've always been a big fan of the Feather and Kai "Artist Club" type blades - they represent what may be the sole bit of innovation in razor blade design and manufacture for decades now. They offer superior longevity (10-25 shaves per blade for most users), superior sharpness and are about twice as thick as an average DE blade, which means that vibration and chatter are effectively eliminated. They also both offer the amazing "guarded" blades, where both sides of the blade have an extremely thin "comb" spot welded to them, which helps in keeping the actual cutting edge a few microns away from the skin. The problem though has always been the lack of razors in which to wield these wonderful blades. Cobras and Mongooses have been the only choices other than the Feather straight, and both of the safety type razors have been harder to obtain than rocking horse droppings.

Fortunately this has changed in a big way over the last 12 months or so, with offerings available from Above the Tie, Ikon, Razorock, Rocnel, Claymore, Colonial, Asylum and others. I've tried almost all of these, and one razor has shone more brightly than any other - the General, made by the Colonial Razor Co in the USA. Colonial is run by twin brothers Kirk and Kyle, and they are both shavers first and foremost, so you can be confident that they understand what we wet shavers want and need. They also have a philosophy of bringing high quality razors to market at a very reasonable price.

@Lifes a Peach and @Osman have both obtained Generals too, so the three of us have done a lot of discussion, testing and experimentation. Our Generals are made from aircraft grade aluminium and are priced remarkably cheaply. A head only (top cap and baseplate) cost us a mere U$24.99 on sale (now still only U$29.99) and my full razor in black was only U$58.99

As the photo above shows, the General is certainly a handsome razor - smooth minimalist curves are unspoiled by unnecessary "bling", allowing the attractive lines to speak for themselves. What the photo can't show though, is the extraordinary performance the razor offers : the design is really ergonomic and well balanced, making it totally comfortable in the hand. Then there's the shave - the General takes the concept of "smooth but very efficient" to a whole new level - it offers a near perfect balance of efficiency/aggression and comfort/smoothness. It is also an amazingly forgiving shaver : as @Lifes a Peach put it so well "the General lets me do things and go places that I've never been or even considered before. Shaving against the grain on the chin and under the jawline, and buffing anywhere at all with never a hint of skin irritation. No other razor has ever let me do that before". @Osman and I can endorse these comments 100% - total BBS has become the daily norm for us all, rather than an occasional achievement that includes the probable penalty of razor burn and skin irritation. The razor also offers fantastic manoeuvrability - it's akin to driving a sports car compared to the more truck style handling of many other razors.

The other wondrous attribute of this razor is how transparent it is to different blades : from the Kai Protouch (mildest) all the way up to the Feather Super Pro (most efficient), the quality of the shave is almost exactly the same in terms of comfort. The only difference is in how close the selected blade shaves. With most other razors, the performance varies considerably depending on blade. Not so with the General. This plus the ease of finding the right angle make the General so friendly and versatile that I would have no hesitation recommending it to a novice shaver, while knowing also that it will meet every need that a more experienced shaver might have.

So the long and short of it - is the Colonial General the best razor in the world at the moment? For me the answer is an emphatic "Yes! It's by far the best I've used". And I know that both @Osman and @Lifes a Peach agree with me enthusiastically.

Do yourselves a big favour guys - take a spin up to https://colonialrazors.com - the small amount that a General head costs will reward you more richly than you can imagine, and will very likely change your shaving life forever!

Happy shaves,

Draco
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Good to see one of your fine photos again @Draco Noir and a very informative review! I know @SpeedyPC really rates "The General".
I'm sold, now for the agonising wait.....
 
Brush: Omega Synthetic Hi-Brush
Soap: Proraso Green
Razor: Rockwell 6s - R4
Blade: Gillette 7 O'Clock Green (D4)
Lotion: Alum / Pinaud Clubman / Nivea Post-Shave / Pinaud Clubman Talc

I had planned to continue with the R3 base plate. With trepidity, at the critical moment I loaded the R4 plate instead. The result was a spectacularly DFS, as close to a bbs shave as I can recall.

The Rockwell 6s came highly recommended and has exceeded expectations.
 
thw said:
Brush: Omega Synthetic Hi-Brush
Soap: Proraso Green
Razor: Rockwell 6s - R4
Blade: Gillette 7 O'Clock Green (D4)
Lotion: Alum / Pinaud Clubman / Nivea Post-Shave / Pinaud Clubman Talc

I had planned to continue with the R3 base plate. With trepidity, at the critical moment I loaded the R4 plate instead. The result was a spectacularly DFS, as close to a bbs shave as I can recall.

The Rockwell 6s came highly recommended and has exceeded expectations.
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I have to agree that the 6s exceeds expectations. I have had mine for a little while and was amazed at how smooth it is on any plate, I don't know how they did it. My favourite is the R4 and then just a flip at the end to R2 for atg under the nose and any buffing.
 
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Brush: Vie-Long Horse Badger
Soap: APR, SAA
Razor: Schick Type L
Blade: Schick (2)
Post: APR, SAA, Splash & balm

Another fine early morning shave. I'm starting to appreciate how manoeuvrable the injector can be with its narrow slim profile, especially under the nose and under the chin.
Starting and finishing with the APR was a treat, I always thought that a balm to enhance rather than smother the scent was a good idea although I guess it could be said with the enhanced APR splash you don't need the balm. I enjoyed it anyway.

Have a great day and a great shave​
 
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Musgo Glyce
Mason & Pearson
Timeless
Feather
Australian Private Reserve Mycroft
Chatillon Lux Vide Poche Salve
Chatillon Lux Vide Poche Aftershave
Australian Private Reserve Mycroft EDP



​
 
Razor: Vintage British Aristocrat #15
Blade: Vintage Australian Gillette Super Stainless [aka "Aussie Spoiler"] (5)
Brush: Vintage butterscotch Simpson 'B2'
Soap/Cream: Squadron Soap - Group Captain's Blend
Aftershave Splash: Pitralon 'Swiss'

Ahhh...
 


MW 'Sweet Briar' / Platypus / Gillette British Superspeed medium c1955 / Gillette Silver blade (1) / Fine 'Santal Absolute'

First run of the vintage Gillette Silver blades I picked up recently. These blades were made in England around 1963-65, after the Gillette Super Blue and before the Super Silver blades. They were the first stainless blades that Gillette made - hence the "silver" name I guess.
The packaging is very impressive - there is the outer box wrapped in cellophane, then the individual blade envelopes, then the blade itself is inside a waxed wrapper.
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I used my standard mild British Superspeed which I use for new blades. In summary - the blade was sharp but lacked some finesse - there was a lot of "audible feedback" and I certainly knew there was a blade in the razor! Certainly not as smooth as the UK Perma sharp I had been using. This may settle down after the first use, so I will see how it goes.

I guess the first production run of these stainless blades is always a risk - there are comments online that these first stainless blades did have some quality control issues and their performance is a bit variable.

Still managed a smooth shave in three pass + touch up so not a bad start. Amazing sandalwood scent from the Fine 'Santal Absolute' pairs well with the Sweet Briar MW soap.

Looks like a cracking Autumn day in Sydney with loads of blue sky - enjoy your shaves everyone and the day ahead(y)[/url]​
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Pre-Shave: @khun_diddy Olive Oil Soap, cold water
Razor: ATT S-1 Colossus
Blade: Ladas (1)
Brush: Paladin Lotus
Lather: Australian Private Reserve Bay City
Post-shave: Alum, Stirling Bay Laurel Witch Hazel, South Australian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil​

As I try to avoid (synthetic) fragrance oils in my products, up unitl now the only two Bay Rum soaps in my den were Stirling and Mike's. The former having a great sweet, almost Christmasy scent to it and the later being a wonderfully dry and spicy version. This example from Australian Private Reserves marries those two and adds a bit of complexity. First you get the sweet notes but then they make room for the complex spicy and woody notes that linger with you throughout the shave and longer - and I didn't want them to leave. The for me perfect Paladin S-type knot never fails to amaze me and together with the soap they produced a creamy rich lather with ample slickness (picture here). Using the ATT S1 is just a joy - always a very relaxed shave with the end result being a super smooth and happy face.

I hope you all have a great Easter weekend (y)(y)(y)
 
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Cold water shave
Soap: P160 (Razo Rock version)
Brush: Simpson Duke
Face lather
Blade: Dovo 5/8 Inox with Pearlex scales
Post: Alum block

Smooth, close 3-pass shave with one small nick on my cheek when Mum rang the mobile just as I was placing the blade on my face. Yeah, I know ... ... ... ignore it. When you make a living from answering phones though, it ain't that easy. Bit of alum and all fixed though. Saturday shaves are great; plenty of sunlight, heaps of time and always time to enjoy the experience.
 
- Soap: L&L Marshlands

- Brush: Semogue 620

- Blade: Personna (2)

- Razor: Schick type C1

- Post: L&L Marshlands

- Frag: Lalique Encre Noir

It's disappointing that Marshlands was discontinued. The smoky, dark vetiver really smells great to me. It won't be long before this tub shows a ring at the bottom so I'll need to start searching for something similar then.

The Schick continues to be one of the smoothest razors I own. If the handle was a better fit for my hand, it would easily be one of my main razors.
 
Razor: Vintage British Aristocrat #15
Blade: Vintage Australian Gillette Super Stainless [aka "Aussie Spoiler"] (6)
Brush: Vintage butterscotch Simpson '46' reknotted in pure
Soap/Cream: Le Père Lucien Le Savon du Barbier
Aftershave Splash: Le Père Lucien Lotion du Barbier
Cologne: Penhaligon's Halfeti

The wonderful Mrs Mark1966 is back today after 10 days in China with her school on a trip - better get a decent shave and some nice smell about me.

Tick!
 
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Musgo Glyce
Doug Korn D7
Timeless
Feather
Soap by Luna Higo Y Vainilla (Fig & Vanilla)
Chatillon Lux Gratiot League Square Salve
Chatillon Lux Gratiot League Square Aftershave
Chatillon Lux Gratiot League Square EDT

Another Spanish artisan joins the rotation, excellent fragrance design and performance paired nicely with the Chatillox Lux GLS. A very pleasing & relaxed shave :)
​
 
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