SOTD "Luxury" Theme Week 30 March- 5 April 2015

Tuesday, March 31, 2015 SOTD

iKON ShaveCraft #102 w/ Weber Bulldog Handle

Feather

Mike's Natural Soap: Barber Shop

Semogue 620

Ice cube rub, refrigerated WH, refrigerated FINE Fresh Vetiver



WARHAWK

Head & face shave. 2 days growth.

Technique: WTG / XTG / ATG/clean-up.

Prep: Shower. Lucky Tiger Face Wash

Soap: Dapper Dragon Soaps - Black Dragon

Brush: Plisson Synthetic (1st gen)

Razor: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements' Sidewinder

Blade: Astra SP(1)

Post: Fine Aftershave - American Blend, Soap Commander Aftershave Balm - Integrity, 1740 Beard Balm - Peppermint

This was my first time trying out Dapper Dragon Soap. Using a slightly damp, insanely soft Plisson, Dapper Dragon loaded very easily. After a moderate amount of water was dribbled in, an incredible amount of lather exploded in the bowl, and it felt like the Plisson doubled in weight. Since I was trying out a new razor, I took my time with 3 passes on my face before moving on to my head. There was plenty of lather volume to have done my head without reloading, but it didn't hold up to the amount of time I was taking. I therefore had to do a quick reload/lather before moving on to my head shave. This is not really a critique of Dapper Dragon as I think it would have been fine had I moved at my usual pace.

The scent of Black Dragon was pretty interesting. It was so complex, I had trouble picking out the individual parts. There was familiar vetiver with a crisp, clean green overtone. In the middle there was an effervescent, almost medicinal scent that briefly crept in. After looking at Dapper Dragon's scent profile, I see that anise is mentioned, so that's most likely what I was interpreting. Towards the end of the shave, the scents settled down to a more earthy, leathery side of musk. It was a very pleasant scent, and I wouldn't mind having a cologne with this exact profile.

As far as performance, I would rate Black Dragon high on the durability scale despite the fact that I needed to recharge. I was asking a bit much for the lather in the bowl to last as long as I was taking. It provided excellent protection and glide without feeling like artificial slickness. I was using an outstanding razor, so there was very little clean-up needed after 3 passes, but the residual lubrication from Black Dragon allowed me to make the clean-up swipes using only a wet hand (no visible lather). That's a testament to its durable lubrication, and it carried over to a very pleasant, moisturized post-shave feel. I'm ready to try Dapper Dragon's other offerings, and Black Dragon will certainly stay in my rotation.

Now to that outstanding razor I mentioned. Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements' latest offering is a beauty. The Phoenix Sidewinder is a classic 2-piece shaver. The cap is zinc alloy, and the handle is chrome-plated brass. By design, the baseplate is not removable, and I can't confirm whether it's zinc alloy or brass. The cap's stem is relatively short, and the threads catch by just resting the cap on top and then twisting the bottom knob. Of course, if you are loading a blade, you would most likely invert the razor and install the blade on the cap, and then begin threading. It's a pretty quick process since the threads catch so easily. It's not near as awkward as say a Merkur Progress. Speaking of---because someone's going to try it---other caps may work, so you frankenrazor enthusiasts will have fun experimenting. My RazoRock Baby Smooth's cap fit, but the Merkur Progress's stem was too long, and it bottomed-out preventing the cap from even approaching the baseplate. Assembled with the stock cap, my Astra blade had no alignment issues and there was no play even when the bottom was not fully tightened. So, yes, it would be possible to safely tweak your blade gap by loosening the knob. However, I found the efficiency to be spot on with it tightened down as it's designed, but more on that later.

There's some obvious tooling marks inside the shaft and what appears to be a transected tension collar just inside the top orifice of the shaft. It's only visible when the razor is disassembled, and I'm told that is normal for this razor. I don't believe the bottom knob is removable by design unlike some other 2-piece razors. There is an obvious spring allowing you to pull down the knob a maximum of about 2mm when the knob is disengaged. When it's tightened down, it doesn't budge.

Top to bottom, the finish is flawless. The knurling is finer than PAA's Double Open Comb, but looks like it's still part of the family. It's an elegant spiral knurling with perfect grippiness that is certainly appreciated by shower shavers. The planar surface maintains the signature laser-etched Phoenix logo. The surface is flat so you can balance the razor in a vertical position, but a gentle breeze would be enough to knock it over.

I confirmed the Sidewinder's plump handle diameter to be 14 mm and a hefty weight of 104 grams. The length is 4 1/4". While I usually prefer handles on the shorter side, I discovered this is more of an issue of balance. The Sidewinder was quite intuitive to handle. I tend to choke up on the razor in tight spaces like that annoying little patch right above my ears, but while shaving the back of my head, it just felt more natural to hold the distal end of the handle. This is where the length really facilitates head shavers.

The angle is also quite intuitive with a surprising amount of audible feedback given the inherent density of the material and relative lack of resonance. It is possible to have the wrong angle, however. Held correctly, there is no drag from the closed bar. It glides effortlessly across the skin.

The Sidewinder is very efficient. It rivals my iKon #102 slant which has been my most efficient razor thus far. After only one shave, I can't say it beats my iKon #102, but it's certainly in the running. Due to the excellent efficiency, there was very little clean-up to be done. My usual problem areas (the crown of my head and occipital region) were about 90% BBS prior to any clean-up. No doubt the Dapper Dragon soap played a role, but I was able to safely and comfortably take long sweeping passes from the nape of my neck to my frontal hairline. PAA markets the Sidewinder as an "above medium/aggressive" razor. I agree with leisureguy that the descriptor, "aggressive," can often have a negative connotation. While the Sidewinder is very efficient, it accomplishes this without sacrificing comfort.

The Phoenix Sidewinder is a beautiful representation of a classic style that could easily become my workhorse daily driver.

Excellent, BBS late-night shave.

Hot shower, Earthly Delight shampoo, whiskers included
Geo. F. Trumper Coral Skin Food
1971 Floris brush, WD ST
Utilemud red/lavender bowl, 6" diameter
Saint Charles Shaving Neroli shaving soap
Fatboy, set at 7
Astra SP, new blade
Cold rinse
Alum block
Cold rinse
4711 Cologne, used as an AS splash
Tcheon Fung Sing Bergamotto-Neroli AS balm

Love the Astra for its first shave, but it dulls soon. I have 100, so I might just use each Astra once, then out. I'll experiment. Gillette Silver Blue and Feather have turned out the best blades for me.

I love shaving when it all works out, like tonight.

Omega 10066 brush
Wickham Soap Company Club Cola soap
Phoenix Accoutrements Double OC razor/Gillette Silver Blue
Bump Patrol Aftershave Lotion

Eau Sauvage - Dior

Wednesday:

Simpson Berkeley Best
Koh-i-Noor soap
Gillette Goodwill 162
Bolzano
Santa Maria Novella Melograno ***
Lotion des Tsars EdC

skypsyd said:

Planned SOTD 4.1.2015

Hot Shower/Neutrogena Glycerin Facial scrub | Gillette Norfolk SC | PolSilver SI (3) | Omega Hi-Brush
Mystic Waters Barbershop | Alum | Fine American Blend AS | YSL Rive Gauche pour Homme EDT

http://i.imgur.com/lXfHH6B.jpg?1

Have A Nice Day Gents!
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Real nice, Dave!

Tuesday

Brush: Simpson Chubby 1 Best
Soap: QED Special 218
Razor: Merkur HD
Blade: Lord Super Stainless

Mike

Wednesday

Brush: Simpson Chubby 1 Best
Soap: QED Special 218
Razor: Merkur HD
Blade: Lord Super Stainless
A/S: Proraso Liquid A/S
Cologne: GFT Wild Fern

Mike

Wednesday

Pre-shave: Alba Botanica Sea Algae Enzyme Scrub
Razor: Gillette Red Tip Super Speed
Blade: Gillette Platinum
Brush: Simpson's Duke III
Soap: Jack Black Beard Lube/ Al Raz Calypso Shave Cream
Aftershave: Alum/Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel /Geoffrey Beene Bowling Green
Balm: Kiehl's Razor Bump Relief

Wednesday
Prep: Hot Shower-Stirling Scots Pine Bath Soap
Soap: Maggard Limes & Bergamot
Razor: Gillette Red Tip Super Speed
Blade: Polsilver SI (2)
Brush: Whipped Dog High Mountain/Bethlehem Olivewood-24mmx50mm
Aftershave: Country Club Southern Oud

WTG-XTG-ATG (adjusted angles for my beard)

Maggard Limes & Bergamot today. 20 seconds to load the WD High Mountain Badger. Great, easy, thick, lather. Polsilver SI in the Red Tip. Excellent smooth, close, shave! I finished CC Southern Oud.

Bob

Shavemac Beehive D01 Silvertip
Klar Seifen Klassis SS
Weber PH Bulldog
Personna Lab
EJ Sandalwood AS Balm