Mannic's wetshaving journal

[Mannic]

SOTD: 1-4-24
Soap: Signature Soaps Danum
Ash: Axe Dark Temptation
Razor: Kampfe Bros Star razor
Blade: Gem Personna PTFE (1)
Brush: Semogue SE 2023

Today on B&B one of the themes is vintage razors up to 1974, for me this is obviously a theme that is right up my alley and over the weekend I have already started to make a list of razors that I am going to use. I'm going to try to keep the chronological timeline from oldest to youngest, to start then, I will have to start with this lather catcher made by Kampfe Brothers and then their Star razor from around 1902 so almost 122 years old, normally these were used with a wedge blade, which I also own but they can also be used with a modern PTFE blade from Gem, the latter I did.

The shave was doable, although with a modern blade the razor is very light weight and then you have to help the razor a bit.

The first soap sample from signature soaps was up today and Danum got to kick things off. Danum is a Patchouli scent and is exactly that, a nice dark earthy green scent and I love it. Soap lathers up nice and fast and is very tolerant with water, you can add the amount of water nicely to your own needs. The lather has a nice full fat texture and a nice slickness.

As a splash I used axe dark temptation, which with its chocolate scents fits in perfectly.

 

[Mannic]

SOTD: 2-4-24
Soap: AYLM Hard Soap
Ash: 4711
Razor: Gillette ABC Pocket 1911
Blade: NOS London Bridge (3)
Brush: Semogue 1305

This beautiful and perhaps one of my finest Gillette sets was allowed to enter the April Vintage month today. You don't see this 1911 ABC pocket edition much, you do see the pocket editions but not in this cow leather covered wooden case, the blades are not original but I am still searching for a matching blade bank. An efficient yet comfortable open comb razor, this one still has the thin top cap which makes it a lot less aggressive than with the thicker top cap introduced later.

The Vintage london bridge blade produced in England is a very comfortable blade, in three passes a very fine shave with a DFS result.

AYLM's Hard Soap is a lovely mildly scented soap with a slight cooling, the shaving properties are very good, and the post shave is very comfortable. A nice splash with the classic 4711 concluded a lovely shave.

 

[Mannic]

SOTD: 3-4-24

Soap: Cella
Ash: Cella
Razor: Gem Demaskeen ca 1918
Blade: Gem PTFE (1)
Brush: Razorock Moka Hive

Day number three of the Vintage April theme month, today's turn to the oldest type 1912 razor in my collection the Gem Demaskeen, this is also immediately the finest shaving type 1912 in the collection, not that the other models do not shave fine quite the contrary but this one is the finest.

 

[Mannic]

It are a couple of days since i last updated my journal.

It are some rough days lately, my father passed away almost two months ago, and after a hectic time the realisation that he’s not coming back kicks in really hard.

The joy in shaving is still there and i shave everyday, but setting up my setup for a decent picture is not my top priority at the moment, i was looking forward to vintage april, but I don’t really enjoy it as much as i wished.

Hopefully in a couple of weeks i can give it a place in my memories and will i be back on track.

 

[thombrogan]

My condolences for your loss.

 

[Guido75]

Hi Manuel,

Nobody blames you my friend. The ones closest are the hardest to deal with. And it takes energy to give it a place and from the side lines that’s much easier said than done.

Just know that you have a brotherhood here to lend an ear or a shoulder if needed.

Guido

 

[cajunrph]

Prayers for you and the family during these tough times. My dad has been gone for 11 years, and I still often think of him.

 

[Eric_75]

I'm sorry for your loss. I lost my father back in 2007. I miss him dearly.

Sending prayers your way.

 

[Mannic]

Thank you very much my friends

 

[Balin]

Sorry I am late here, but I would like to offer my condolences to you and your family.

 

[Mannic]

Sorry I am late here, but I would like to offer my condolences to you and your family.

Thank you very much

 

[Mannic]

SOTD: 28-4-24
Soap: Zingari The Watchman
Razor: Swing open comb
Blade: Dorco (4)
Brush: Semogue Mistura

Really nice shave. I love the scent from this amazing soap. Reminds me of a walk on the beach, salty fresh scent whit some woody notes, really nice even as the post shave feel.

The Swing razor is a nice comfortable razor smooth but very efficient. In three passes plus a extra small pass in the neckline, too the best bbs result in my wetshaving career.

Did some minor tweaking on my passes, i had the flu last week and after a couple of non shaving days i did a good face mapping and the growth on my neck was in the opposite of my shaving routine, so i did some minor tweaking in the angles and the results are promising.

 

[BigAlVista]

SOTD: 12-3-24
Soap: Burma Shave
Asb: Nivea Aftershave Balm
Razor: Swing
Blade: Bic Astor (2)
Brush: Semogue Butterscotch SOC

Today a somewhat simple but another good shave, it is an old soap with almost no scent left but the shaving qualities are still good, nice slickness and glide.

This vintage swedish remains perhaps my favorite vintage de razor, blade alignment is just very good, end tabs of the blade fall all the way under the top cap, and just very comfortable and smooth. I especially like this version with the bakelite handle.

The Bic Astor blade was still comfortable and smooth the second time.

View attachment 1811442

Welcome to the Journal Section, Mannic! Great pic

 

[BigAlVista]

Thank you very much my friends

I just started reading your thread today - sorry to hear about your loss!

 

[Mannic]

I just started reading your thread today - sorry to hear about your loss!

Thank you

 

[Mannic]

SOTD: 2-5-24
Soap: Crabtree&Evelyn WI Limes
Razor: Razorock GC .84
Blade: Voshkod (2)
Brush: Semogue 1305

A very nice shave, my new shaving routine is working very well. The soap i got from a friend is very nice, it’s a shame they no longer produce these, i found it very similar to DR Harris hard soap.

 

[Mannic]

Preshave is something I didn't use very much but I find myself appreciating this addition more and more in the shaving routine. In the meantime I have a nice variety of these goodies, some better than others but all good in their own way. I am going to try to use a different one every day and share my experiences with you.

There is also a shaving soap with it, in fact I use this method every day. When I use hard soaps, I always soften the top layer of the soap by pouring warm water over it, after showering I massage this soapy water into my beard along with a tuft of whipped lather from the shaving bowl.

 

[Mannic]

SOTD: 11-5-24

Preshave: PAA Scentless Cube
Soap: Moon Soaps Trade Winds
Ash(b): Moon Soaps Trade Winds
Razor: Tatara Nodachi
Blade: Personna Med Prep (2)
Brush: Semogue TwoFace SE

Just to get a good idea of all the preshave products I have at the moment.

One of the first ones I bought was this Cube from PAA, which is basically a glycerin soap with some extra butters added. I mainly use it to wash my face with in the shower when I use it as a preshave, you could also apply it against the hair growth and brush the lather over it afterwards, but this causes irritation for me.

As a facial cleanser this one works fine in my opinion, it also makes the beard hairs a little softer so that's a win win situation. But very convenient to use it is not, awkwardly large, and in the shower very slippery due to the glycerin, luckily I am usually alone there . I also left it in the shower to finish it, but I won't be buying it again.

A shave with moon soaps is always very pleasant. Good quality soap and with a nice not overpowering scent.

The Tatara has been with Richard Ramakers for a while to test, and I was very curious about it again. Very comfortable and efficient razor, the personna blade is nice and sharp yet comfortable and so I was able to achieve an almost BBS shave with my new technique.

 

[Mannic]

SOTD: 12-5-24

Preshave: Mondial Preshave cream
Soap: Mondial Nobilis
As: Mondial Nobilis
Razor: Winning V1
Blade: Derby Concord (1)
Brush: Pachamama

Today used the corresponding nobilis preshave cream from Mondial and this I personally find a very nice product, slight addition of menthol gives this product a slight kick that feels very nice and relaxing.

The soap and splash are of excellent quality, with a very fine scent.

 

[Guido75]

Preshave is something I didn't use very much but I find myself appreciating this addition more and more in the shaving routine.

So far I have found or made myself believe that I have better shaves using a preshave. Straight to lather is less comfortable to me - but I have also been face lathering lately so I have also switched to glycerin soap as preshave rather than a specific preshave cream like a Proraso Green.