Ya like Dags? My foray into wet shaving and the honorable order of aquisition

[Guestabc]

Sorry about the Straigtht kiss, and sorry about the diag, but I have a friend that has been dealing with this for over 25 yrs. Although she has had to make concessions and life changes and logistics, the level of awareness and care now is outstanding so the outlook is very good.

Continued prayers

 

[majorrich]

Catching up. Sorry to hear about your daughter. But glad to hear you are accumulating a fine collection of Swedish steel!

 

[Dagwoodz]

Sorry about the Straigtht kiss, and sorry about the diag, but I have a friend that has been dealing with this for over 25 yrs. Although she has had to make concessions and life changes and logistics, the level of awareness and care now is outstanding so the outlook is very good.

Continued prayers

Thanks Dave! We're getting more and more hopeful the more we learn about CD, as she has a wonderful Dr's staff at Yale making sure that she's got everything she needs as well as a school that is more than willing to help out.

Catching up. Sorry to hear about your daughter. But glad to hear you are accumulating a fine collection of Swedish steel!

Thanks Rich!

 

[Dagwoodz]

Friday, 14 October
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Cavendish – Straight shave #39

Yesterday was rather hectic, but I still tried getting the pictures for the day uploaded, without success, so everything will be posted today. Mail call from Thursday involved a lot of smell good stuff, as samples of three different Acqua di Parma scents came in; Colonia Intensa, Colonia Leather and Colonia Oud. I was also able to run the CVH through another progression on the JNAT as well, giving another hour up to the swedish steel gods. The nightly lather involved Soap Commander Endurance, though afterwards, completely exhausted, I forgot to throw on some AS afterwards…

Prep: hot shower, Stirling Gentleman
Pre-shave: Baume.be Pre-shave Gel, hot towel
Strop: 3” Premium Red Latigo strop, CrOx sprayed hard felt strop from SRD
Razor: C.V. Heljestrand Mk 31
Soap: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Cavendish
Brush: Rudy Vey 26mm Butterscotch Chubby TGN 2-band finest
Bowl: The Shaving Place mountain blue lather bowl
Post-shave: alum, cold towel, Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Cavendish Cologne & Aftershave
Fragrance: Acqua di Parma Colonia Oud
Album of the Day: Sublime - Sublime
Song of the Day: What I Got
View attachment 695562
I was curious to see if I had been able to improve the edge on the CVH at all with the previous night’s honing. With the new scents having come in the day prior, I chose to go with the Oud scent, as I have never used one, and it seemed that it would pair up well with the PAA Cavendish. I built up a nice wet lather with the PAA and was very happy with how the first and second passes were going. I’m still having issues with the third pass angle of attack, as I’m getting a bit steep, but the edge was definitely smoother than the previous shave. After all was said and done, the alum gave a 2/10 feedback, and I walked away with a DFS.

The Cavendish Cologne and Aftershave gave a little bit more feedback, but not bad at all. I applied some of the AdP to my wrists and collar and one spray for the shirt, and found that it did indeed marry up very well with the Cavendish. The silage on the Colonia Oud is not too bad, but the longevity is pretty decent. This will definitely be something I look into purchasing a full bottle of, or at least a clone of it, as it’s a very enjoyable scent.

Sublime provided the soundtrack for the shave, and I couldn’t think of a better song on the album on it than “What I Got”, even though it was massively overplayed on the radio in its day.


Saturday, 15 October
Stirling Piacenza – Straight shave #40

I didn’t get to the honing stone at all today, which is fine, because I’m wanting to see the longevity of the edge on the CVH. The nightly lather was done with Stirling Sharp Dressed Man, their take on GIT. I didn’t realize this at first, but made me happy as Cool Water has very similar notes to GIT. I topped it off with the matching AS and the face felt great going to bed…

Prep: hot shower, Stirling Gentleman
Pre-shave: Baume.be Pre-shave Gel, hot towel
Strop: 3” Premium Red Latigo strop, CrOx sprayed hard felt strop from SRD
Razor: C.V. Heljestrand Mk 31
Soap: Stirling Piacenza
Brush: Semogue 830
Bowl: The Shaving Place mountain blue lather bowl
Post-shave: alum, cold towel, Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Stirling Piacenza Aftershave
Fragrance: Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa
Album of the Day: They Might Be Giants - Flood
Song of the Day: Birdhouse in Your Soul
View attachment 695563
The fragrance dictated what software was used today, and with me pulling out the Colonia Intensa, there was only one soap to turn to, the Stirling Piacenza. The Semogue boar whipped up a wonderful lather, and after stropping 40/80, I went in for a very comfortable three pass shave, again having a few issues with the angle on the ATG pass. The alum registered a 3/10 today, mainly on the areas I touched up on the chin/neck area, while the rest of the face was at a 0/10. DFS was the results, and I finished up with the matching aftershave (with methol added [MENTION=103898]CBLindsay[/MENTION] ), and the AdP complimented it perfectly.

They Might Be Giants provided a light-hearted accompaniment to the shave this morning with songs such as Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Particle Man, Whistling In the Dark and Dead. Birdhouse in Your Soul was my favorite song on this album back in 1990 when it was released, and that still hasn’t changed.

 

[Smattayu]

Great shaves Josh. You're doing the C.E.C. proud, as I've been considering those same AdP decants, and there will be a Piancenza purchase in the future as well.

Flood is one of my favorite albums from that era.

 

[Guestabc]

Fantastic Reads Josh excelllent Music just plain good stuff!

 

[labrax]

Hey Josh,

Good continued work on the honing - you are making progress.

I like your attitude regarding the diagnosis. Focusing on those silver linings is a good thing.

Your daily shave soundtracks are filled with music I like. Sublime, & TMBG - were both groups that I listened to - although Sublime received a lot more CD time for me. I think TMBG are making kids music now.

 

[Dagwoodz]

Hey Josh,

Good continued work on the honing - you are making progress.

I like your attitude regarding the diagnosis. Focusing on those silver linings is a good thing.

Your daily shave soundtracks are filled with music I like. Sublime, & TMBG - were both groups that I listened to - although Sublime received a lot more CD time for me. I think TMBG are making kids music now.

Thanks Pete! I'm making little changes each time I hone to try and reach that nice edge. Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Fantastic Reads Josh excelllent Music just plain good stuff!

Thanks Dave! Having used the Colonia Oud, which I enjoy, I've read that it's not a classic oud scent...is this accurate?

One of my new favorite colognes! Nice shave, you'll get that 3rd pass down soon I'm sure.

Thanks Dan. I'm really liking the AdP Colonia Intensa and Oud...not sold on the Leather however.

Great shaves Josh. You're doing the C.E.C. proud, as I've been considering those same AdP decants, and there will be a Piancenza purchase in the future as well.

Flood is one of my favorite albums from that era.

you can't go wrong with the Piacenza and Sterling, Eric! The decants are awesome!

 

[Dagwoodz]

Last night for the nightly lather, I grabbed a full puck of soap I have yet to use, Fine Platinum. Now, I had my reservations on my ability to coax a good lather out of this triple milled soap without copious amounts of blooming. The only other triple milled I’ve used to this point is the Fat (MWF), and in order to get a decent lather out of that I generally bloom it for quite a while. I need not have worried. After only a 2 minute bloom while I washed my face, the Platinum gave up a wonderfully slick and full lather. I can’t wait to use it for a full shave. The fact that Dave, amongst others, places the performance of the Fine soaps above Stirling makes me want to use it even more. Of course, I paired it up with the matching AS prior to sleep and felt great.
Prep: hot shower, Stirling Gentleman

Pre-shave: Baume.be Pre-shave Gel, hot towel
Strop: 3” Premium Red Latigo strop, CrOx sprayed hard felt strop from SRD
Razor: C.V. Heljestrand Mk 31
Soap: Henri et Victoria Cognac and Cuban Cigars
Brush: Simpson Colonel X2L in Best
Bowl: The Shaving Place mountain blue lather bowl
Post-shave: alum, cold towel, Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Fine L’Orange Noir | Henri et Victoria Cognac and Cuban Cigars ASB
Fragrance: Acqua di Parma Colonia Leather
Album of the Day: Frank Sinatra - Classic Sinatra, His Greatest Performances 1953-1960
Song of the Day: One For My Baby (and One More For the Road)
View attachment 695806
For the third day in a row, the fragrance dictated the software selection. I wasn’t quite sure what to pair with the AdP Colonia Leather, but the Cognac and Cuban Cigars by HeV seemed appropriate. I was feeling nostalgic, so I threw on some vintage Frankie Blue Eyes to accompany the shave. The lather was great, giving off a wonderfully dark, rich scent. By the time I finished my prep, including 30/60 on the strops, I was three songs in and fully enjoying the atmosphere. The first pass was done to My Funny Valentine, Young At Heart, and Gershwin’s Someone to Watch Over Me while pass two had In the Wee Small Hours of the Night, and I’ve Got You Under My Skin and You Make Me Feel So Young, (funny as I was about to re-fresh the lather). By the time I had reached the third pass, Night and Day, The Lady is a Tramp, and All the Way provided a great musical backdrop.

The passes were going quite well, aside from one small cut on the ATG pass as I neglected to pull the skin tight enough on my chin. As I was finishing the clean-up and applying my post shave products, One For the Road (And One More For My Baby) came on, and I couldn’t help throwing on an additional full spray of the Acqua di Parma Colonia Leather. The alum had only registered a 2/10, mainly in the normal problem areas, and the result was a great DFS+ shave.

The edge of the Mk 31 can most likely get a lot better, but I’m very happy with where it is now compared to what I was getting off of the lapping film. Tonight I’m going to do a full bevel re-set on the Torrey, killing the edge I had on there before. The Genco is in the hopper following that, and will get the same treatment, though with tape due to the amount of spine wear already present.

Have a great Sunday everyone…and ensure you have your gas masks at the ready for when those participating in the TABACAVEG Sunday event unleash the mixtures upon the masses of poor, innocent, unsuspecting people. Of course, I say this, and when I get the chance to use either or both of these products I’ll probably love them. Though if there is any hint of cat urine smell, SWMBO will immediately dump it down the sink. The super sniffer rules all in our house………..

 

[Guestabc]

Good Stuff Josh, I have not tried the Colonia Oud, so I do not know, but like many the are a frag with just a minimal touch of oud, to say it is oud, but I will check into and maybe [MENTION=62321]Lmarkow[/MENTION] will stop by as he is an Oud Guru.

Great shave today!

 

[majorrich]

I really like your writeups and your pictures. Both of the blade you are going to reset are capable of amazing edges. Look forward to hearing of your results!

 

[Dagwoodz]

Nice write up today Josh! Great picture and nice shave! I have the Old and Intense and find the Old to initially be a bit over powering, the Intense is just a wonderful fragrance. If you've got a gas mask wear it today!

Thanks Dan! Thankfully, the natural stink of the locals overpowered the TABACAVEG, if that's even possible. Those are my two favorites of the AdP decants I have...so far.

Good Stuff Josh, I have not tried the Colonia Oud, so I do not know, but like many the are a frag with just a minimal touch of oud, to say it is oud, but I will check into and maybe @Lmarkow will stop by as he is an Oud Guru.

Great shave today!

Thanks Dave! I'll pop over to the frag forum and ask there what people's opinion of it is.

I really like your writeups and your pictures. Both of the blade you are going to reset are capable of amazing edges. Look forward to hearing of your results!

Thanks Rich! Still working on the Torrey. I'm experimenting with the honing still, as I get to know the stone and the ways the different blades react to them.

 

[Dagwoodz]

The past few days have been pretty hectic, so I haven't had time to upload photos and get on here to post some entries. I did write them up, however. Here they are for Mon-Wed...

Monday, 17 October – Catie’s Bubbles Vetiver – Straight shave #42

I pulled out the Fine Platinum once again for last night’s lather routine, and it gave what I can see is a predictably good lather, topped off with the matching aftershave. I did get some time to spend with the Torrey on the hones, and was able to set the bevel as well as put it through two rounds of Botan Nagura on the JNAT. It’s still a work in progress, but I want to spend whatever time is needed to get to know the razor as well as my JNAT more.
Prep: hot shower, Stirling Gentleman
Pre-shave: Baume.be Pre-shave Gel, hot towel
Strop: 3” Premium Red Latigo strop, CrOx sprayed hard felt strop from SRD
Razor: C.V. Heljestrand Mk 31
Soap: Catie’s Bubbles Vetiver
Brush: Razorock “Big Bruce” 26mm synthetic
Bowl: The Shaving Place mountain blue lather bowl
Post-shave: alum, cold towel, Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Fine Green Vetiver
Fragrance: Tom Ford Grey Vetiver
Album of the Day: Simon & Garfunkel Greatest Hits
Song of the Day: The Sound of Silence
View attachment 696557
This morning was, once again, dictated by the frag I got in the other day, graciously forwarded on by @Doc27, some Tom Ford Grey Vetiver decant samples. With this in hand, I grabbed another one of my soap samples I had been holding off on trying, the Catie’s Bubbles Vetiver that was sent out by Pete ( [MENTION=92153]labrax[/MENTION] ). I only have one vetiver aftershave, Fine’s Green Vetiver, to pair up with these two much cleaner smelling vetiver scents, so it was going to have to do. The Catie’s Bubbles gave up a great, slick lather. The CVH plowed through the stubble, all three passes going without any bloodshed. There was some feedback from the alum, maybe a 4/10, due to a clean-up pass as I chased a BBS. I called it after the initial clean-ups however, as I was not in the mood for a pink chin and neck the rest of the day. I did pick up some Nuvia Sensitive ASB yesterday at one of the foreign exchanges here, and went ahead and threw that on after the alum and witch hazel to assist in toning down some of the irritation. (I’m not complaining about the irritation as I knew it was going to happen with the clean-up pass) All in all a good shave.

I picked Simon and Garfunkel’s greatest hits for the music, and it provided a nice backdrop to the shave. Their classic song The Song of Silence is the song of the day, over other songs such as Mrs. Robinson and The Boxer.



Tuesday, 18 October – PannaCrema Nostalgia – Straight shave #43

I ran the Torrey through 2 full progressions of tenjyou nagura. I’m taking my time with it and trying to get it as even and full a hone as possible. For the nightly lather I used some more of the Soap Commander Endurance sample sent out by Pete, and some Old Spice Original to top it off.

Prep: hot shower, Stirling Gentleman
Pre-shave: Baume.be Pre-shave Gel, hot towel
Strop: 3” Premium Red Latigo strop, CrOx sprayed hard felt strop from SRD
Razor: C.V. Heljestrand Mk 31
Soap: PannaCrema Nostalgia
Brush: Rudy Vey 26mm Butterscotch “Chubby” TGN 2-band Finest
Bowl: The Shaving Place mountain blue lather bowl
Post-shave: alum, cold towel, Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Fine L’Orange Noir
Fragrance: Terre D’Hermes EdT
Album of the Day: Steely Dan - Katy Lied
Song of the Day: Doctor Wu
View attachment 696558
This morning, like the past few, was dictated by the frag that was delivered yesterday in mail call, a small travel sized bottle of Terre D’Hermes. So I grabbed the PannaCrema Nostalgia, Fine L’Orange Noir aftershave for the set up. Continuing with the CVH test, I bloomed the PC while stropping and prepping 70/140. The first pass went uneventful, though the lather dried out pretty quickly. I re-freshed the lather on my face, then after that pass was completed, added a little more product and more water to hydrate the soap a bit more. The wetter lather was just what the Dr. ordered, and the next two passes were wonderfully smooth. I decided to forego any clean up today, partially because the only two places that needed it were the normal places. So the result was a DFS. The alum only registered a 2/10 with the AS providing a bit more feedback. I threw on the TdH on the pulse points and the collar, and it’s still a little bit more than a skin scent 8 hours later.

I picked Steely Dan’s Katy Lied for the album today. This is my father’s favorite album of theirs and, while it might not be my favorite, it’s still a great album. It starts off with a darker, up-tempo song in Black Friday, with the typical harmonies Steely Dan is known for. Doctor Wu, is just classic Steely Dan, with Donald Fagan’s haunting voice regaling a trip to the Psychologist, talking about Katy. A great song with great harmonies and lyrics and gets the nod for song of the day.


Wednesday, 19 October – Fine Platinum – Straight Shave #44

I didn’t have any time to work on the Torrey more last night, so I washed up with some of my LASSC Topanga Fougere. I really do enjoy the scent of this soap, and the performance is pretty darned good too. I’m not sure if I’m willing to purchase a full tub of this, but I definitely would like to have a fougere in the rotation. Maybe the Felce Aromatica by SV will hold the Fougere spot…

Prep: hot shower, Stirling Gentleman
Pre-shave: Baume.be Pre-shave Gel, hot towel
Strop: 3” Premium Red Latigo strop, CrOx sprayed hard felt strop from SRD
Razor: C.V. Heljestrand Mk 31
Soap: Fine Platinum
Brush: Rudy Vey 26mm Butterscotch “Chubby” TGN 2-band Finest
Bowl: The Shaving Place mountain blue lather bowl
Post-shave: alum, cold towel, Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Fine Platinum
Fragrance: Club de Nuit Intense Man by Armaf
Album of the Day: B.B. King and Eric Clapton - Riding With the King
Song of the Day: Worried Life Blues
View attachment 696559
I was looking forward to this shave since I first lathered up the Fine Platinum a few days ago for the nightly lather routine. I have to say, the soap did not disappoint at all. Great scent, and great performance, at least as good as the Stirling products. Due to time constraints, I kept the shave to a 2-pass event this morning (WTG/ATG), and walked away with a DFS-. Next to no sting from the alum and a bit more from the aftershave, but all in all a satisfying shave. The Mk 31 is still going strong and has been a joy to wield. It most definitely has a sweet spot in regards to angle, and I’m getting more and more dialed in to that, which makes the shaves all that more enjoyable.

For the music I went with some incredible blues, provided by B.B. King and Eric Clapton. The album, Riding With the King, was released in 2000, and is a great collaboration between two music legends. It’s a shame that B.B. King is no longer with us, but his memory lives on in his music, and boy what memories did he leave us with! Worried Life Blues is just a classic sounding blues riff, and along with the rest of the tracks, made the morning shave that much better.

Mail call today brought in the Sue Moore soap from TTFFC, Currants and roses. Obviously it's very floral, which is not something I'm used to, but the currants cut through and add a very pleasing sweetness to defray the cloying nature of the rose scent. I did have tomorrows shave planned out already, but it looks like that's going to change in favor of the new product!

 

[Guestabc]

Great Chronicle of Shave Josh. Fantastic photos as well!

 

[cmh737]

Great reads!

 

[Dagwoodz]

Wow, nice to get caught up with you past 3 shaves. The 31 is treating you right and you've been listening to some wonderful music. The best part for me was reading about your software and fragrance choices! Have fun at the auction!

Thanks Dan! I'm very happy with the 31, though I think it could use a bit more work to get even more keen. This is not saying the edge has degraded, it hasn't at all. But I'm pretty sure I can get it even better with a bit more time. I'm loving rotating through the software and frags...I don't know how the 3017 guys do it!

Great Chronicle of Shave Josh. Fantastic photos as well!

Thanks Dave! Don't let the unobtainium Pen's Fern get away!

Great reads!

Thanks Chris!

 

[Dagwoodz]

So yesterday’s mail call was the Sue Moore soap and aftershave from TTFFC. I had already shaved, so I couldn’t use it for the shave yesterday, but I did use it for the nightly lather. As others have experienced, the lather exploded and continued to take more and more water. I spread the lather on and left it while I brushed my teeth. Cognizant of Dave’s dermatological issues with the soap, I did start to feel a slight twinge and tingling sensation, similar to what I experience with the Razorock Classic soap. With the aftershave, I felt a similar sensation. I chalked it up to some of the irritation that I had experienced that morning and hoped it wasn’t due to the product. I did get a chance to work on the Torrey a bit more, running it through a mejiro nagura progression as well as a very light, very quick water only progression. I stropped it afterwards and finally had it tree-topping hair, though still not quite as efficiently as I like to see. I’ll run it through another progression on the mejiro and water progressions before pulling it out for use…

Prep: hot shower, Stirling Gentleman
Pre-shave: Baume.be Pre-shave Gel, hot towel
Strop: 3” Premium Red Latigo strop, CrOx sprayed hard felt strop from SRD
Razor: C.V. Heljestrand Mk 31
Soap: Through The Fire Fine Crafts Sue Moore Currants and Rose tribute soap
Brush: Semogue 830
Bowl: The Shaving Place mountain blue lather bowl
Post-shave: alum, cold towel, Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Through The Fire Fine Crafts Sue Moore Currants and Rose tribute Aftershave
Fragrance: Sung Homme by Alfred Sung
Album of the Day: Better Than Ezra - Friction, Baby
Song of the Day: Happy Endings

Even though it was a day late, I decided to again go with the TTFFC Sue Moore tribute soap for this morning’s shave. The CVH still was on duty, and was stropped the night before. I think this is going to become part of the routine at night, as it saved me quite a bit of time during this morning’s ritual. I loaded the brush up, my trusty Semogue 830 boar, and whipped up a nice creamy lather, the pleasant aroma of roses and currants wafting through the room. There wasn’t as much lather as I was expecting, so I added a bit more water and it actually started to break. The first pass was nice and slick though, and the CVH plowed through with no complaints. The second pass was on the thin side, and I experienced a little bit of tugging. I added a little more product and water and was able to get the lather up to what I prefer, and proceeded with the ATG pass. The result after three passes was a straight DFS, with a few spots which were BBS. I wasn’t experiencing any of the tingling or irritation that I felt the previous night, so I lathered up once again and grabbed the Red Tip for a clean-up pass, which resulted in no weepers or perceived irritation.

I’m always a bit hesitant when I go to put the alum on, as if there is a hit of irritation during the shave, the feedback tends to be a little high. This wasn’t the case this time around, as the alum only registered maybe a 1/10 except for the moustache area at a 2/10, which is normal. I wiped off the alum with a cold towel a few minutes later, (my favorite part of the non-shaving portion of the ritual), and applied the witch hazel, finding that I was BBS everywhere…even passing the silk test. 6 hours later, I’m still at a DFS+, the only stubble on the chin when I feel ATG. This is by far the best shave I’ve experienced so far, though I’m not going to give it a grail DSBBS shave designation due to the little bit of irritation I experienced with the alum. The aftershave gave no feedback, and I threw some Sung Homme on top, it pairing decently well with the scent of the other software.

The soap's performance is top notch...very close to some of my favorite creams and soaps. I would put it on the same level as the TOBS Aloe Vera as well as the Fine Platinum and Stirling offerings I have. Maybe just short of the Castle Forbes line, but the line between them is so small it's almost negligible. The scent, something I wasn't sure I would enjoy as I don't normally like very floral scents, is actually quite nice. The currants provide a pop of sweetness to defray the cloying nature of the rose. All in all, a great soap!

Music was provided by Better Than Ezra and their Friction, Baby album. I never did like this band too much when they had their big hits back in the mid 90’s, but like many bands of the era, they’ve grown on me. The song Happy Ending was playing just as I was finishing up with the fragrance, and seemed an apt Song of the Day. (no, there was no happy ending today…just a satisfying ending)

MAIL CALL!!
So mail came in about an hour ago, and quite the mail call it was. I got my 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Jernbolaget in, a 5/8” with a Barber’s notch, my restored and honed Eiko and the final piece of my father’s B-day/Christmas gift, a birth year model Old Spice mug (mug 04). The Jern is in pretty darned good shape, with a bit of rust pitting/petina on the non-show side of the blade, with scales in good shape. Absolutely not shave ready, but that’s fine. Needless to say, the Eiko is going to get the call for tomorrow’s shave. Hope everyone is having fun with the auction, happy bidding!

 

[labrax]

Hey Josh,

Very good review of the 2016 Sue Moore soap. Lots of positive reviews of the soap for performance if the EO is not irritating (@skypsyd). Sounds like you had a very good shave with the touch up provided by the DE. Very nice mail call today to get the Eiko back restored and the new to you Jerngoblat. Looking forward to your write-up with the Eiko tomorrow.

 

[Guestabc]

Fantastic read Josh

 

[sskim3]

Beautiful! Tomorrow's shave should be epic! I wouldn't blame you for using the soap 2x in a row for the close of the auction.