A journal of a Cajun's life wet shaving

[Phoenixkh]

Seems like many of us are at similar points in life, at least relative to our parents. My mom is 82 and my dad is 89. He too avoids his hearing aids and seems to prefer that we all shout at each other so he can hear. I'd also add that he is starting to look 'old', more so than my mom. I know it's natural/normal/etc., but I still don't like it. I want him around for a long, long, time and I don't like seeing my 5'10", 230lb father at 5'6" and 155 lbs.

I'm sure we would all agree: Getting old sucks, but it's better than the likely alternative.

I like the idea of a hand-written letter for Mother's Day, but she would be like "What, you can't afford a Hallmark card?"

I'm trying to figure out what to get her for Mother's Day and am struggling - as always. She seems to like Amazon gift cards (that she uses to by books for her Kindle), but that is SOOO impersonal. She'd like flowers, but to her, that's like a card: Nice, but it doesn't count as a present. Any suggestions???

I don't know if she likes chocolates or not.... but my wife says Norman Love Confections are the best chocolates she's ever had and she's had a lot of ummm experience when it comes to chocolates. <eg> And they are amazingly beautiful. Over the years, I've ordered quite a few of the "Signature" boxes... Usually in the 50 piece size.

Norman Love Confections | Signature Chocolate Gift Boxes | Norman Love Confections

Norman Love Confections

www.normanloveconfections.com

 

[BigAlVista]

I don't know if she likes chocolates or not.... but my wife says Norman Love Confections are the best chocolates she's ever had and she's had a lot of ummm experience when it comes to chocolates. <eg> And they are amazingly beautiful. Over the years, I've ordered quite a few of the "Signature" boxes... Usually in the 50 piece size.

Norman Love Confections | Signature Chocolate Gift Boxes | Norman Love Confections

Norman Love Confections

www.normanloveconfections.com

Thanks! Sounds like a plan for my wife. My mom is on a restricted diet...

 

[Phoenixkh]

Thanks. Sounds like a plan for my wife. My mom is on a restricted diet...

I just ordered some for my wife. Free shipping today only.

 

[BigAlVista]

I just ordered some for my wife. Free shipping today only.

Did the same. Hoping she will share...

 

[cajunrph]

300+ Shaves in 2024 112 of 300+
Vintage April 2024 27/30
Shave Date 4/30/2024
Razor: 1948 Super Speed.
Blade: Wilkinson Sword (2)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: Saponificio Varesino Optutia SE 2018
Brush: Zenith Unbleached Boar
Post-shave: Alum Bock, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Mother Bear Winter Balm, Nivea Post Shave Balm, S/V Optunia A/S.(forgot DOH)
Rating: 28/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 8 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.

Notes:

The second shave on the Wilkinson was better, I did not feel the blade as much as I did the previous shave. Once again I used caution on the right jawline to not aggravate the area previously cut. Only 3 passes with no touch-ups, the results were very good and just a tad off the best, with virtually zero irritation. The S/V soap had been neglected for a long long time, yet another example of why I don't need any soaps till I kilt off some of these. Somewhat of a rushed morning led to me leaving before I applied any of the aftershave. Ohh well, life will go on. Me thinks I'll choose a PAA soap to 3017, due to the soft nature of the soap, I'll use the scoop method, which should allow me to use it up faster. Now choose the one to be kilt off, May starts tomorrow, maybe it will be Malbolge May. Although I enjoy the scent, I have left it idle for long periods, and to be honest I have enough soaps to keep it interesting for a long long time. Yep, Malbolge May it is, let us see how long it lasts, I'm sure longer than May.

I have a few Platinum Preppy fountain pens on the way, I'll use those at work and on the road. They are relatively cheap, and for the price, the nib is quite good. I have some of their blue-black cartridges on the way as well. I found the Platinum black ink to work out just fine on the copy paper we use at work, and I'm guessing the blue-black will work just as well.

Gotta go put out some fires at work, I wish all a blessed Tuesday, and may all your shaves be the best.

 

[BigAlVista]

Happy Tuesday, John. How do you like the scent of the Opuntia? I have Manna, Dolomite, Felce and 70th. I love the Felce and 70th, like the Manna di Sicilia, and am indifferent to the Dolomite.

 

[WThomas0814]

I just ordered some for my wife. Free shipping today only.

Thanks for sharing the link, Kim. I wanted something other than the usual Whitman’s Sampler for Grammy Anne this year.

 

[cajunrph]

Happy Tuesday, John. How do you like the scent of the Opuntia? I have Manna, Dolomite, Felce and 70th. I love the Felce and 70th, like the Manna di Sicilia, and am indifferent to the Dolomite.

Happy Tuesday to you too, The Opuntia smells, to my less-than-optimal nose, like a Creed Aventus Dup. I smell more of the pineapple in this than I do in Sterling's Executive Man, which is also an Aventus Creed Dup. I am not sure if Aventus was the intended mark for Opuntia, but to me, it sorta smells like it, but sweeter than my other dups of Aventus. What are the others S/V scents like, a sweet scent or on the other end of the spectrum?

 

[BigAlVista]

I really like the Executive Man. The minty notes are a nice touch. Never tried the Creed Aventus. Which do you prefer, the Opuntia or the Executive Man (and if the SV takes the win, is it worth the difference in price)?

Here are the notes from SV - and my impressions:

Felce: I can smell the bergamot, lemon, tangerine and sage in the top notes. Silver fir is the dominant note in the body and Sichuan peppercorn (not black pepper) would be accurate, and the Vetiver and Patchouli are noticeable in the base notes. Of the four, this is probably my favorite.

From SV: " The Aromatic Fern fragrance blends with the aromas of natural additives, creating a fresh and intense note. It opens with the sparkling notes of Bergamot, Lemon and Tangerine. Then we come to the body, characterized by the spiciness of the Ginger root and Sichuan Pepper, all accompanied by the heady freshness of the Bourbon Geranium leaves.

The base of the fragrance is a sensual mix of amber notes, Sandalwood, Patchouli and Vetiver.

Dolomiti: I really don't get much (if any) lemon or sage notes. The lavender is noticeable and there is a touch of cedar, which gets stronger when you shave with it. This is a mildly scented soap.

From SV: "The fragrance of this collection is crowned by a top note of light citrus lemon, with a hint of sage. The core is floral and definitely lavender, with a hint of cloves and black pepper. The tail notes of amber and woody vetiver, patchouli and cedar wood characterizes the personality of the perfume."

Manna di Sicilia: I would agree with SVs characterization of the top notes. I don't get much/any sage. The fenugreek is noticeable. I do get the tobacco, honey and spices, as well as the floral notes.

From SV: "The slightly citrusy top notes of bergamot and orange of the Manna di Sicilia fragrance are well balanced by aromatic notes of sage and traces of fenugreek, a prelude to a warm body note with a slight hint of honey that gives a hint of tobacco and spices, softened by floral traces of jasmine and geranium leaves.

The base note is woody and amber of patchouli, cedar wood, benzoin resin and guaico wood to make the memory of the perfume warmer and more full-bodied":

70th Anniversary: No detailed pic from SV, but they did provide the following - which seems accurate (but I have no clue what the "Cologne" scent is). It does have a bit of a sent that subtly reminds me of open water, but I have no idea how to classify that better. It's a great scent; subtle and complex. This is right behind Felce for me.

"The 70th Anniversary Collection fragrance is a modern reinterpretation of the well-known Cologne scent, with strongly creative and evocative olfactory cues. The classic citrus notes are accompanied with refreshing aquatic notes, supported by a rich and balanced green aromatic floral and rural heart. All set on a base of precious woods and amber."

Hope this helps...

 

[cajunrph]

I really like the Executive Man. The minty notes are a nice touch. Never tried the Creed Aventus. Which do you prefer, the Opuntia or the Executive Man (and if the SV takes the win, is it worth the difference in price)?

I prefer Executive Man to the Opuntia, to me the Opuntia pineapple scent comes out more than Executive Man, too sweet for my taste, a very much YMMV kind of thing. As far as the cost goes, I don't think there's that much difference in performance or scent to justify it, this was my first S/V purchase and I mainly purchased the S/V to have one of the iconic soaps of wet shaving. I bought mine from Your Shaving in Spain, which was cheaper than stateside sites and they actually shipped quicker than PAA shipped from Arizona.

Thanks for the breakdown, my sense of smell took a beating from the Vid back in 2021 and hasn't fully recovered. It has its pluses and minuses, I don't smell the killer breath of my dog as well anymore, but other scents are muted somewhat. I have done the essential oil treatment a few times to trigger the neurons to fire again. But it is kind of nice not smelling my dog's awful breath.

 

[cajunrph]

300+ Shaves in 2024 113 of 300+
May 2024 GRUME 1/31
Shave Date 5/1/2024
Razor: Yates 'Merica.
Blade: Wilkinson Sword (3)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: Ariana & Evans Spartacus (2)
Brush: Zenith 507-BC Blue Cobolt
Post-shave: Alum Bock, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Mother Bear Winter Balm, Nivea Post Shave Balm, Sterling Executive Man A/S
Rating: 28.5/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 8.5 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.

Notes:
Day one, (second shave with the soap) of 3017 the Ariana & Evans Spartacus soap, I decided to go with this one because I have a backup in the form of Sterling Executive Man. I only shaved once before with the soap, which is another prime example of me having enough soap and needing no others. After a month on my Vintage razors, I switched to the 'Merica today, and it was a challenge. For me the 'Merica is very angle dependant with a narrow range of angles it will shave at due to the shape of the head. The Yates has a more steep angle of rise on the head, versus all of my vintage razors which have a shallower angle of rise on the head, riding the cap with the Yates isn't happening without using excessive pressure, which I am not interested in doing. I was able to figure it out and got a very close shave, closer than yesterday, just a hair off the very best. I did do a few touch-up passes to clean up some areas, but stopped at one per side so as not to induce any irritation. I have become so accustomed to riding the cap on my ATG passes that I am hesitant to use a steeper angle, it feels unnatural now. At the beginning of the shave, as I was searching for the right angle, I was about to can the razor and go with another one, but I persevered and figured it out. I was seriously considering selling the 'Yates, but after today I am going to keep it. One of the few modern razors left in my inventory, along with the Rockwell 6C and El Grande the Fat Tip. I am pleasantly surprised that the steeper angles did not induce any irritation to think of, in fact, during the shave I did not feel the blade excessively as though it was digging into my skin. That's always a positive. Haha.

Day one or one day, that was the theme of Fr Mike Schmidt's Homily this past Sunday. He's a good talker and has plenty of good content on YouTube, he is a tad ADD and will squirrel at times, which is comical to see when he realizes it and brings it back. It tied into last week's that was about Nunc Coepi, a quote from the Venerable Bruno Lanteri which roughly translates as "Now I begin." I have Olympic level procrastination skills, but I can hammer it down when needed, which doesn't help the procrastination. Like most, I tend to procrastinate on what seems like a monumental task, put it off till the next day, until the day comes when it must be taken care of. It is odd that some difficult tasks I attack head-on and take care of in a timely manner, others I put off for another day. The tasks I put off typically aren't critical at the moment and therefore they are pushed aside and ignored. The older I get, the fewer days I have left on this earth and I am running out of one of my most precious resources, time. One day or Day One, today was a Day One, Monday was a Day One as well, and there are more Day Ones to come.

That is all for today, I wish all a blessed Wednesday, and may all your shave be the best.

 

[BigAlVista]

I prefer Executive Man to the Opuntia, to me the Opuntia pineapple scent comes out more than Executive Man, too sweet for my taste, a very much YMMV kind of thing. As far as the cost goes, I don't think there's that much difference in performance or scent to justify it, this was my first S/V purchase and I mainly purchased the S/V to have one of the iconic soaps of wet shaving. I bought mine from Your Shaving in Spain, which was cheaper than stateside sites and they actually shipped quicker than PAA shipped from Arizona.

Thanks for the breakdown, my sense of smell took a beating from the Vid back in 2021 and hasn't fully recovered. It has its pluses and minuses, I don't smell the killer breath of my dog as well anymore, but other scents are muted somewhat. I have done the essential oil treatment a few times to trigger the neurons to fire again. But it is kind of nice not smelling my dog's awful breath.

When I was younger, I used to have a particularly acute sense of smell. No longer. Not sure why.

This is going to sound weird, but I used to be able to smell and identify 2 specific human female pheromones. One day when I was working on a client engagement, one of my colleagues came into work and she smelled quite strongly of one of those two. I immediately got happy for her and (stupidly) asked her if she was pregnant. She smacked me. Hard. Two weeks later she came back and apologized as she turned out to be, in fact, pregnant.

The other pheromone I could smell was quite useful in college and then again later, when my wife wanted to get pregnant.

Today, like yourself, I would struggle to detect bad dog breath.

 

[huck1680]

asked her if she was pregnant. She smacked me. Hard. Two weeks later she came back and apologized as she turned out to be, in fact, pregnant.

That's funny
"Are you pregnant?" BOOM! Happened to me one time, however I could not sense/smell pheromones or anything that might actually have clued me into the fact that the person in question just had a large belly. Clocked me a good one.

 

[blethenstrom]

That's funny
"Are you pregnant?" BOOM! Happened to me one time, however I could not sense/smell pheromones or anything that might actually have clued me into the fact that the person in question just had a large belly. Clocked me a good one.

 

[cajunrph]

That's funny
"Are you pregnant?" BOOM! Happened to me one time, however I could not sense/smell pheromones or anything that might actually have clued me into the fact that the person in question just had a large belly. Clocked me a good one.

I was with my ex sister-in-law once shortly after she had given birth to her first child. She had gained a significant amount of weight during the pregnancy, and she is a redhead for some background information. She wanted to go to the convenience store down from my house. I drive up to the front and drop her off. She is a very friendly woman and can get anyone to talk to her, with a great smile. I see her laughing with the female clerk and smiling then, bammm, that pretty smile turns into a face that could only communicate "I'm going to kill you Bee'och!!!". She storms out of the store and gets in the car, I ask her what happened. She said, "That bee'och asked when asked me when I was due." Being an educated man I dare not laugh at the time, I sure do now. Haha.

 

[cajunrph]

300+ Shaves in 2024 114 of 300+
May 2024 GRUME 2/31
Shave Date 5/2/2024
Razor: 1940's Fat Bottom Tech.
Blade: Wilkinson Sword (4)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: Ariana & Evans Spartacus (3)
Brush: West Coast Shaving Smoked Acrylic Burlwood Synthetic
Post-shave: Alum Bock, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Mother Bear Winter Balm, Nivea Post Shave Balm, Sterling Executive Man A/S
Rating: 28.75/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 8.7 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.

Notes:
Back to the Vintage Tech and wow, I love these vintage razors. For me, they are my most enjoyable razors, allowing me more flexibility in the angle of attack vs the Yates of yesterday's shave. I tend to ride the cap on my ATG work, which isn't possible with the Yates, and I am extremely comfortable riding the cap with my vintage razors, I am almost on autopilot with them. This is likely because I have the most experience with my vintage razors, just as those who use a particular modern razor with regularity will likely arrive at the autopilot stage also. Some modern razors have my attention, including Blackland's various razors, the Goodfella Smiles Bayonette, Lupo, and Game Changers. Still, the question is, are they going to be like the Yates and take a back seat to my Vintage razors? I have often thought while shaving with one of my Vintage razors that if I lived in the heyday of this razor, I'd be fully satisfied with it for the rest of my life. Many men for generations have used those Techs, Super Speeds, Fat Boys, and the likes with nary a problem at all. Well, they may have had problems, nothing is perfect, but they likely didn't lack much in their shaving experience.

I used to be a guy obsessed with doing everything perfectly, the best possible way, that's why I took up home-roasting coffee and measured out my coffee with precise ratios of water to grains, which is 16:1 water to coffee by weight for those who want to know. A few weeks ago my scale finally died, and I had to wing it, with the correct coffee-to-water ratio, guess what? That coffee was just fine, durn drinkable and the caffeine coursed through my veins like before. I have mellowed as the years have piled up, no longer obsessing over minute details that don't matter, and focusing on what matters. Like properly making a roux with equal parts oil and flour in a carbon steel or cast iron skillet, no cheater roux, and NO tomatoes in Gumbo. Please, don't, just don't do it. Tomatoes in the gumbo to a Cajun is like beans in chili to a Texan, dem fighting words. Haha.

Me thinks I can be just fine with my vintage and the few moderns I currently have, and turn my attention to other items that need addressing in my life, more Day Ones, less one days.

'Tis all for today, I wish all a blessed Thursday, and may all your shaves be the best.

 

[cajunrph]

I see @Eric_75 is back on line, are you settled in already?

 

[Eric_75]

Good morning, John. Yes, I'm back up and running. The move went pretty smooth. It's great to be back home in Nashville. My new sofa was delivered the other day along with the new washer and dryer. I have a dining room table on the way and some other odds and ends coming. Still unpacking shave gear.

My dear friend Fr. James is coming over to visit me after mass on Sunday. He's going to bless my new apartment.

I've missed you guys and I'm happy to be back full time. God bless you, my friend.

 

[cajunrph]

Good morning, John. Yes, I'm back up and running. The move went pretty smooth. It's great to be back home in Nashville. My new sofa was delivered the other day along with the new washer and dryer. I have a dining room table on the way and some other odds and ends coming. Still unpacking shave gear.

My dear friend Fr. James is coming over to visit me after mass on Sunday. He's going to bless my new apartment.

I've missed you guys and I'm happy to be back full time. God bless you, my friend.

It brings a smile to my face to hear the good news. Enjoy your visit with Fr James. I look forward to your commentary on the forum in the future. Did the blade foundry make the trip ok? Ya gotta kick the factory back into production soon.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Another "Welcome back, Eric".... <eg>