07 March Pre-shave:- Cold Shower Bowl/Scuttle:- Captain's Choice Brush:- Semogue SOC 2 Band Finest Badger in Taj Resin 24/53mm knot Soap/Cream:- Stirling Soap ~ Electric Sheep Razor/Blade:- Merkur 34C / Wizamet SI #1 Post/After-shave:- T.N. Dickinson Witch Hazel Astringent mixed into the 240ml bottle with Invite E High Potency Pure Oil (10 drops), Natural Plant Glycerin (20) & Tea Tree Oil Antiseptic (5) Fragrance:- Burberry for Men
10 March Pre-shave:- Cold Shower Bowl/Scuttle:- Captain's Choice Brush:- Semogue SOC 2 Band Finest Badger in Butterscotch 24/53mm knot Soap/Cream:- Stirling Soap ~ Electric Sheep Razor/Blade:- RazoRock SS Lupo 72 / Wizamet SI #1 Post/After-shave:- T.N. Dickinson Witch Hazel Astringent mixed into the 240ml bottle with Invite E High Potency Pure Oil (10 drops), Natural Plant Glycerin (20) & Tea Tree Oil Antiseptic (5) Fragrance:- Burberry for Men
Rise of the Empire (including Clone War's) book 10 of 56
I honed this new Titan ACRO T.H.64 for the first time last night. Sharpie showed that the factory honing was properly done. There were a few shiny spots on the edge in a light test so I started but setting the bevel on 3k. Then to 8k and finished honing on lapping films 5μm, 3μm and 1μm.
From the lapping films, I further refined the edge with a full progression on diamond pasted balsa strops. This SR was noticeably harder than the Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 I hone a few days ago. It took a few more laps on everything to get it to where I was satisfied.
This morning I stropped the ACRO T.H.64 and took a final look at the edge in good sunlight. There was one shiny spot as big as the point of a needle about 6mm from the heel. I decided to ignore that minor defect and see how it shaved.
I was not disappointed. Although not as good as the ACRM-2 T.H.60 yesterday, it was still a close comfortable shave, DFS+. I will keep on putting it through a full diamond pasted balsa strop progression after each shave until it no longer improving the edge.
Pre-shave:- Shower Brush:- Troycraft - Kakadu Gold Soap:- Barbershop de los Muertos Razor:- GC-84P Blade:- Wizamet (1) Aftershave:- Barbershop de los Muertos
Had to baseline my shaves to make sure I wasn't fantasizing over how good the GC-84P and Kakadu Gold are.
The problem is when looking for BBS results DE can not compare to a good straight razor shave
Pre-shave: Hot Shower Brush: @Tony Forsyth P&C LE Platypus Shaving Brush Soap/Cream: Stirling Soap Co Haverford shaving soap Razor: Vintage Gillette L1 Slim (6) Blade: Vintage NOS Schick Plus Platinum (6) Post-shave: AoS Sandalwood gel Fragrance: Miller Harris feuilles de tabac EDP
OK, another weekend, another chance to give the bowl lathering a run, this time with the wonderful Platypus - which certainly delivered as you can see here.
Finished off the GENEROUS sample of Haverford from Artisan Arcade - seriously people, we owe @Ozwhisker thanks for bringing these Stirling Soaps to Australia.
All told, a great birthday shave!
[PS: for those who missed them - some short videos of most of my collection are up here]
- British Aristocrat #21
- Schick NEW Stainless Steel (Made in Sweden) 1973
- Classic Edge Bay Rum Shaving Cream
- Vie-Longue Horse
- Vintage Aqua Velva Ice Blue
/ Dscosmetic T4
/ Long Rifle Co Bay Rhum
/ Executive Shaving Claymore Evolution
/ Feather Professional AC (1)
/ The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA
/ Nivea Skin & Stubble
Enjoying this beautiful Melbourne Saturday and I hope you fine lot are doing well wherever you are.
Curious to see what the factory edge is like, all I did before the shave was to strop on leather. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the edge was, given my thick stubbles. There is definitely room for improvement and I will further hone to see how far I can take it, but as it is the factory edge is decent.
Nice way to end the working week, oh wait, I have today off!
