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A journal of a Cajun's life wet shaving

Guido75

Guido75

cajunrph said:
I am thinking that I'm a vintage razor guy more than the modern items.
Click to expand...
You’re welcome to join the VGRFC - the Vintage Gillette Razor Fan Club, but other vintage razors will do nicely too!
cajunrph said:
My wallet is thankful I am more interested in Vintage than the multiple times more expensive, higher end alternatives.
Click to expand...
Well…eh…no… I fear it depends on your vintage razor. My Crats weren’t exactly pennies. Although they definitely weren’t Wolfies either.

Either way: enjoy them. Vintage rocks!
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 69 of 300+
March GRUME 13/31
Shave Date 3/13/2024
DE: Rockwell 6C #4 Plate
Blade: Bolzano Superinox (4)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: RazoRock xXx
Brush: Zenith 507-IF Italian Flag
Post-Shave: Alum block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm, RazoRock xXx A/S
Rating: 29/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 9 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS face and DFS++ neck.

Notes:

Another fine shave without any irritation, I refrained from chasing BBS again on the neck. Dolphins and Sea Lions are happy. The face and jawline are excellent and the neck is a tad on the furry side. Almost an all-Italian shave today, I need an Italian razor to make it complete. Did someone say Goodfella Smiles Bayonette????? Bolzano was made in Italy at one point, now it is made in Egypt, it has been among the best selling blades in Italy for 100 years. All that said, it is a tad rougher than the Lord's Super Stainless or the Dorco Titan. Razorock xXx is a great-smelling soap and aftershave. One of those Aventus Creed'ish scents, although I am not sure that was the target.

Cutting it short today, we had the compliance officer from the new owners show up today, they sorta want you to pay attention to them, thus the reason for the late posting. All was good with them. I wish all a blessed day, and may all your shaves be the best.

IMG_2715.jpeg
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 70 of 300+
March GRUME 14/31
Shave Date 3/15/2024
DE: 1948 Gillette Super Speed TTO
Blade: Bolzano Superinox (5)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: ARKO!!!
Brush: Semogue 2000
Post-Shave: Alum block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm, Canoe Cologne splash.
Rating: 29.5/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 9.5 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS face, and DFS++ neck.

Notes:

Today was a fantastic shave to finish out the Bolzano Superinox. BBS face and just shy of BBS on the neck. The Sea Lions were run plumb off the docks today and left behind a minimal amount of fur and the Dolphins were once again swimming in the bay with glee. Today the neck got two Gillette slide'ish passes, I am still becoming accustomed to the proper form of the Gillette Slide, instead of the S-N pass of the neck. The Gillette slide’ish move was a diagonal pass towards the grain which cleaned the neck up quite well. I did perform one very light-pressure ATG on the neck, which did not cause any irritation. ARKO!! lathered up like a champ and I received the spousal approval on Canoe Cologne Splash.

Today is one of the all-time great shaves, one I will certainly feel throughout the day, reveling in the smoothness the Super Speed and Bolzano delivered today.

I am unsure if the excellent shave is from the blade coming into its own or if the Super Speed is that good, I am leaning toward the latter. I was thinking today, one could do worse than to have a fleet of Super Speeds at their disposal. Back in the day these and other Gillette safety razors satisfied a generation of shavers, delivering one fine shave after another. My Super Speed has grown to be my favorite DE razor, even when I still had the Rex, the Super Speed had closed the gap and if I was pressed, I'd say was a tic ahead of the Rex. The Rex was my go-to razor for new blades since I received it till it was shipped north. Today showed me that the Super Speed can deliver a great shave with a blade that in previous shaves was a tad rough in other razors. I did not feel as much roughness today as on previous days.

The voluntary hiatus in purchases I am currently in will allow me to truly discern what next DE I want to purchase. I have said before the Goodfella Smiles Bayonetta is on the radar, as are Vintage Super Speeds and Techs. I oscillate back and forth between the two, with today's shaves, I am thinking a fleet of Super Speeds may be the answer. Maybe not a fleet, but a few more might do the trick. Although I don't want to use only one razor, I can see using the Super Speed daily and not missing anything. To me, it is that good of a razor.

That will be it today, I wish all a blessed Friday and weekend, and may all your shaves be the best.

IMG_2719.jpeg
 
Guido75

Guido75

The Super Speed comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes so there is more than enough to turn it into a fleet. Assuming you have the US version you might want to venture into the British Super Speeds like the Rocket HD or British Flare Tip. And of course the famous Red Tip (the US is much easier to come by).

Looking forward to your discoveries and acquisitions!

Cheers,

Guido
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 71 of 300+
March GRUME 15/31
Shave Date 3/17/2024
DE: 1948 Gillette Super Speed TTO
Blade: GSB (1)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: Palmolive Shave Cream
Brush: Yaqi Cavern Lake 24MM Two Band.
Post-Shave: Alum block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm.
Rating: 29.9/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 9.9 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS face, and DFS++ neck.

Notes:
Just about the best shave I've had since the return to the DE razors. As promised the almighty Gillette Silver Blue was the blade. Man, this was a fantastic shave, the Bluegorian chants were strong today, I could hear the monks chanting, "Silvannnn'naaaaaa Bluuuuuuue'taaaaaa'taaaaaaa!!!!!!". It was quite moving, speaking of moving, those Sea Lions snapped their heads in unison towards me as the saw the DE and blade choice for today. They were chomping at the nibs of their flippers nervous at the prospect of being bald for the day. Today's shave is another best for me, the neck is almost completely BBS, but a few errant Sea Lion hairs left on the dock as they were dumped into the bay. The dolphins were once again swimming with glee, singing their own version of the Blugorian Chants with the Monks "Silllllllvannnnnnnnn'nnaaaaa Bluuuuuueeeeeeee'ttttaaa'tttaaaa", that was the monks, the Dolphins chatter, well theirs wasn't quite that clear, but it was the thought that counted.

The blade was very smooth and it paired superbly with the Vintage Super Speed, almost like they were meant for each other. I did have a few momentary pin dot weepers, which closed up with the second lathering, I did go ATG on the neck with an ultra light touch. I am again amazed a razor that is almost 80 years old is so good. I need to go out and find some more, which will wait for a few weeks. Palmolive Sunday shave was a great one today. I will look around for some good examples of the Vintage razors and see what I can find. I didn't realize I used the Super Speed back to back until I sat down to journal the shave in my notebook. It was a perfect match for today.

On the fountain pen front, I'm looking at other inks. I have a sample of Robert Oster Fire and Ice, which I like quite well. My latest journal is a Bullet Journal dot format that is fairly narrow spacing, 40 + lines per page, which makes for quite a full page when I journal my thoughts. I am thinking different color inks for particular journal entries, like one color for my Bible reflections and one for my daily recounting of the positives of the day. I have many shades of blue, speaking of which, LAMY Benitoite is a great blue/grey color ink. I have a sample and will buy a bottle soon. I need some other colors, in the brown/orange family, in the red family as well. I have some purple color inks but I don't know if I need that one just yet. Who knows. Pure Pens in the UK has their own line of inks with some interesting stories and Robert Oster has many as well. Lots of options there.

A late entry today, I wish all a blessed what is left of the weekend, and may all your shaves be the best.

IMG_2730.jpeg
 
Last edited:
cajunrph

cajunrph

Guido75 said:
The Super Speed comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes so there is more than enough to turn it into a fleet. Assuming you have the US version you might want to venture into the British Super Speeds like the Rocket HD or British Flare Tip. And of course the famous Red Tip (the US is much easier to come by).

Looking forward to your discoveries and acquisitions!

Cheers,

Guido
Click to expand...
Thanks. I saw some British Techs on eBay the other day. I need to wait till I’m out of the GRUME and the get them. Easter Sunday is March 31st, which is the last day of the GRUME, works out pretty good. I’ll look in earnest in April. Thanks for the tips. Something will show up.
 
blethenstrom

blethenstrom

cajunrph said:
300+ Shaves in 2024 71 of 300+
March GRUME 15/31
Shave Date 3/17/2024
DE: 1948 Gillette Super Speed TTO
Blade: GSB (1)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: Palmolive Shave Cream
Brush: Yaqi Cavern Lake 24MM Two Band.
Post-Shave: Alum block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm.
Rating: 29.9/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 9.9 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS face, and DFS++ neck.

Notes:
Just about the best shave I've had since the return to the DE razors. As promised the almighty Gillette Silver Blue was the blade. Man, this was a fantastic shave, the Bluegorian chants were strong today, I could hear the monks chanting, "Silvannnn'naaaaaa Bluuuuuuue'taaaaaa'taaaaaaa!!!!!!". It was quite moving, speaking of moving, those Sea Lions snapped their heads in unison towards me as the saw the DE and blade choice for today. They were chomping at the nibs of their flippers nervous at the prospect of being bald for the day. Today's shave is another best for me, the neck is almost completely BBS, but a few errant Sea Lion hairs left on the dock as they were dumped into the bay. The dolphins were once again swimming with glee, singing their own version of the Blugorian Chants with the Monks "Silllllllvannnnnnnnn'nnaaaaa Bluuuuuueeeeeeee'ttttaaa'tttaaaa", that was the monks, the Dolphins chatter, well theirs wasn't quite that clear, but it was the thought that counted.

The blade was very smooth and it paired superbly with the Vintage Super Speed, almost like they were meant for each other. I did have a few momentary pin dot weepers, which closed up with the second lathering, I did go ATG on the neck with an ultra light touch. I am again amazed a razor that is almost 80 years old is so good. I need to go out and find some more, which will wait for a few weeks. Palmolive Sunday shave was a great one today. I will look around for some good examples of the Vintage razors and see what I can find. I didn't realize I used the Super Speed back to back until I sat down to journal the shave in my notebook. It was a perfect match for today.

On the fountain pen front, I'm looking at other inks. I have a sample of Robert Oster Fire and Ice, which I like quite well. My latest journal is a Bullet Journal dot format that is fairly narrow spacing, 40 + lines per page, which makes for quite a full page when I journal my thoughts. I am thinking different color inks for particular journal entries, like one color for my Bible reflections and one for my daily recounting of the positives of the day. I have many shades of blue, speaking of which, LAMY Benitoite is a great blue/grey color ink. I have a sample and will buy a bottle soon. I need some other colors, in the brown/orange family, in the red family as well. I have some purple color inks but I don't know if I need that one just yet. Who knows. Pure Pens in the UK has their own line of inks with some interesting stories and Robert Oster has many as well. Lots of options there.

A late entry today, I wish all a blessed what is left of the weekend, and may all your shaves be the best.

View attachment 1814189
Click to expand...
For brown orange inks you should check out diamine ancient copper. Very popular ink and very good. I have a bottle and it is great.
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 72 of 300+
March GRUME 16/31
Shave Date 3/18/2024
DE: Yates 'Merica
Blade: GSB (2)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: PAA Planet Phoenix
Brush: Zenith 502 Blue Wave.
Post-Shave: Alum block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm, PAA Planet Phoenix.
Rating: 29/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(0), 9 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS face, and DFS++ neck.

Notes:

I took it easy today on the sea lions, which was a good thing to do. Yesterday's shave was so close that just my set three passes and no cleanup passes resulted in some red bumps on the neck that I noticed after the shave. I don't feel any irritation but the redness was there right after the shave. 90 minutes post shave and I don't see much. Again I was searching for the right angle with the Yates where whereas the Super Speed seems intuitive to me. As much as I want to like a particular razor, part of the journey is to discover what works for me. It seems that the Yates doesn't work as well for me as the Super Speed does. Which might put the Yates on the chopping block like the Rex was on earlier. It is not that the Yates isn't a great razor, it certainly is, it is that I am more comfortable with the Super Speed at this moment in my journey. I unconsciously picked up the Super Speed back to back over the weekend, which may have been a Freudian slip of sorts, and with each shave, I'm finding it solidifies itself as my number one DE razor. The GSB did a fine job of whacking the whiskers down, once again The dolphins are swimming with glee in the bay and the sea lions are allllllllllll the way on the end of the doc, leaving some fur behind here and there. A fantastic shave to start the week with. Planet Phoenix is a great scent, more of a spicy scent vs the sweet Aventus Creed inspired scents. A great one that received a drowsy spousal approval this morning.

I pulled the trigger on some inks from Pure Pens in the UK, many of their branded inks, we shall see how it works. I'll post them when they come in. I almost got some of Boris's suggestions, but I saw his post after I pulled the trigger late last night.

IMG_2732.jpeg
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

300+ Shaves in 2024 73 of 300+
March GRUME 17/31
Shave Date 3/19/2024
DE: 1967 Gillette Slim Adjustable TTO
Blade: GSB (3)
Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Pre-Shave soap
Soap: PAA Malbolge
Brush: Zenith Unbleached Boar.
Post-Shave: Alum Block, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Momma Bear's Winter Post-Shave Balm, PAA Planet Malbolge.
Rating: 28/30 9 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(1), 9 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS face, and DFS++ neck.

Notes:
It was the third shave with the GSB and it produced a tad bit of irritation, similar to yesterday, but I noticed it off the bat. I also had one weeper on the neck, which closed up with subsequent applications of lather. The sea lions are in the same place as yesterday, fur left on the dock here and there, dolphins swimming with glee again due to the close shave on the face. The irritation is payback for chasing BBS on the neck on Sunday, even though I did not feel much Sunday, some underlying irritation persisted till the next day and showed up to bite me. I'll learnt one day, maybe. I did feel the blade today more so than I did with the Yates, poor Yates is getting knocked down the list of razors with each shave. I could easily rotate between my vintage Gillette razors and not miss anything.

Malbolge is a smokey scent, which received the drowsy bride's approval today. The Unbleached Boar is starting to break in, it was the most scruffy boar brush I had for a while, but now it is breaking in better. My synthetic brushes have been sitting idle ever since I started using the boar and badger brushes back in December. Maybe they will be on the chopping block as well as I don't see myself using them in the future as I have developed a preference for boars and badgers over the last few months.

Don (aka @huck1680) mentioned sending letters to others here, which I think is a good idea. I am not sure what the format could be, it could be many things, stories about our lives, jokes, observations of the day. It doesn't have to be much, even postcards of our area and whatnot. Maybe Dallas Cowboy jokes. Haha. Anywho, it's a thought, I think addresses are best shared via PM so as not to put too much of our information out on the web for all eyes to see. It is just $1.55 to send a letter from the US to anywhere in the world, which is pretty amazing to think we could send a letter clear across the globe, for the tidy sum of a dollar fiddy five. It would be interesting to see how long it takes to send letters out to various parts of the world. If others are interested of course. Maybe this is the natural progression of those interested in Wet Shaving go through. Many here also use fountain pens and are into physical journaling. Snail Mail may be the wave of the future, who'd would have thunk?

That is all for now, I wish all a blessed Tuesday, and may all your shaves be the best.

IMG_2739.jpeg
 
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