Not to mention qualiry of construction. Sure beats a buble pack.Love the cases Gillette made for their safety razors. They had a real flair for design back in the day
Pre-shave:- Shower
Brush:- Thater 4292/5 25mm 2 band Finest Silvertip bulb brush
Soap:- M&M - Triskele
Razors: RR-GC_84P
Blade:- Wizamet (3)
Aftershave:- M&M - Triskele
Needed a baseline shave with the Wizamet and did not disappoint. On 3rd shave it performed extremely well in the GC and most likely will exceed the Feather in overall performance
Unfortunately this means the R95, Brush and Stand are most likely heading to BST ⛑
So ... not so keen on the soap?
My other SHD badger. Actually feels as though it did feel a bit more dense than the SHD Hook fan (probably just in my head, though). Tips don't feel as gelly as the Hook knot, but didn't feel any less softer. No scritch as well, which is how I like badgers now (probably means buh bye for my Yaqi 24mm High Mountain Badger - but we'll see). If it wasn't for the TH, I might be tempted to just use badgers all the time. I did discover one thing though. The SHD badgers take a while longer to dry fully than a regular badger knot (when compared to my Yaqi badgers). My Hook badger I shaved with yesterday still feels damp near the base of the hairs. Good thing I've got plenty of brushes to rotate now.
- Pre: Water
- Razor: Muhle Rocca R96
- Blade: Wizamet
- Soap: Grooming Department - Otium
- Brush: Oumo 26mm SHD Manchuria fan
- Post: Nivea Sensitive
GD's infamous Nai base with its ludicrous 30+ ingredients. Some liken it to high end makeup. I do get that vibe when I smell it off the puck. Lathers up like softened cream cheese/heavy cream. I think I could have added more water, but once I got a sheen, I usually start shaving at that point. Feels very lotion-y in texture. Only adequate slickness but with good cushion. Scent strength is low which is advantageous because it's not too pleasant, tbh. Comes off like a mix of supermarket makeup foundation, baby shampoo, aniseed and something astringent, like floor cleaner? Also there's a cloying kind of sweetness to it. The plus for all the speciality ingredients is supposed to be post shave skin nourishment. I find the post shave good and not drying, but not much better than any 10 other artisan bases. And I always use a balm anyway, so post-shave is pretty redundant.
First go with the Wizamet. Part of me was hoping it was going to suck (because with blades, everyone is different) so that I wouldn't have to consider buying these in the future. This tuck cost me USD$9. Ouch! But there's a reason why a lot of members here like them so much. Smoother than Astra SP or Dorco. And, not surprisingly, got better as the shave went on, probably as the blade edge got worn in. Not sure if it's so much better than the Gillette 7oC yellow (my current fav) to justify the additional expense of acquiring it. Will have to give it a few more shaves to find out.
¿Que?What is in the water up there in the NT? First @Errol and now you?
Oh well, as long as you post it for a bargain price and I'm the first to snap it up I will be happy
¿Que?
Why not buy a couple more, then you can shave with both feet as well...
Unfortunately I do not have another one to compare to. If anyone cares to affirm the following dimensions, that might help resolve whether it is @Blackie 's dodgy eyesight, or if I got a dud.
OK, mines the same.
Pre: water
Brush: Oumo 26mm Motherlode
Soap: Murphy & McNeil - Nantahala
Razor: Rockwell 6S (R6)
Blade: Gillette 7o'C yellow (5?)
Post-shave: Nivea Sensitive
I'm quite surprised dropping the loft only 2mm made a substantial difference to backbone on this brush. It's still probably a little less firm than my Yaqi 26mm Timberwolf, but it's not mean to have the backbone of a badger. Much better than when the loft was set at 55mm, no where near as 'floppy'. The increase in backbone did increase the springyness of the fibre a little too. I noticed it flicking more soap off as I face lathered than before. I actually did a side by side comparison with my Timberwolf and found the tips of the Motherlode to be even softer (didn't think that was possible). It's like lathering your face with a plush toy. But the fibres draw water like nobody's business. Even with most of the water squeezed out before loading, it plumed lather like, well, a 'motherlode' of lather. I hardly had to add any more water as I face lathered to get the necessary hydration. These fibres are nothing like a Tuxedo, Timberwolf, Plisson etc... This is a true 3rd generation fibre (along with the Synbad, Mew brown, Alpine, Silksmoke and a couple of others - not sure where Cashmere falls, I think it's G2). I still prefer my TH (G4) for the increased backbone though.
M&M really oversold this soap, tbh. Like a refreshing walk through the rainforest national park? No. Is it a good example of a fougere. Yes, but nothing special or exciting. I kind of liken it to Seaforth Heather without the powder/talc. Scent strength is low and the performance of the Aon base is average. I'd put it somewhere between Spearhead's 20.1 and Stirling. Their Kodiak base is much better. I know the expense and difficulty of obtaining bear tallow stops them from using Kodiak as their main base, but it's significantly better than Aon. This isn't like splitting hairs between B&M Excelsior base vs Softheart. Like you're not missing out on Softheard if you already have some soap in Excelsior. But if Aon was M&M's only base and I didn't know about Kodiak, I'd definitely be missing out.
I've been rotating my razors, so I actually don't know exactly how many times I've shaved with the 7o'C yellows, but on my final pass, it started to feel a little scrapey on the face. Time to change it over, I think. 5 or so shaves. Kind of puts it in the range of Astra SP in terms of longevity, but it is smoother and more enjoyable to shave with though. Maybe worth the additional expense to purchase.
