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Bourbon Country Shave Journal - Dave in KY

Yeah...it's hard to expect a brush at that cost to really be stellar...but I know...we can hope. Bummer about the MW soap. I know we are all impatient when it comes to our soap. But maybe after you dial it in you might like it better. It definitely lathers different than most soap. I'm not going to say that it is the best soap out there...but it is still a pretty darn good soap for me. Hope it works out in the end.
 
Frank's knots seem to either be amazingly good or massive shedders. I've had one in the cart a few times over the last couple years, but never pulled the trigger because of the number of reviewers that have reported shedding problems. My two biggest shedders to date are my first inexpensive silver tip badger, and(no lie) my Shavemac knot in an RV handle that was a group buy from the other forum.
 
Mystic Water soaps were a challenge for me to get dialed-in with the water at my house. It took me quite a while to figure it out. For me, it takes one of my denser brushes - either dense synth or dense 2-band badger - and only damp to begin. This is a soap that requires a small amount of water to be introduced gradually. A boar brush, or 3-band badger just won't work for me with MW because I believe those knots introduce too much water too fast. That's speculation, but it's been my experience. Also, MW sticks work best for me, rather than the tub. But again, that's just at my house. When I've been in harder water around the country, it lathers perfectly fine.

In terms of performance, at my house, it's a Tier 1 soap, but I've certainly experienced it elsewhere at totally elite status. Post shave is stellar anywhere.

As far as scents, there are so many, and most I find to be very well done. The SOS of them are all over the place; some are so subtle that they barely rate a 1/5 on the SOS scale, while there are some that are solid 4/5, and I dare say that Coconut Sandalwood might even be 5/5. But most tend to be in the 2/5 to 3/5 range.

My favorite MW scents are probably: Jasmine, Coconut Sandalwood, Marrakesh, Vetiver Oakmoss, Jeff's Lavender, and Leather & Smoke.
 
Thanks Chris I may have used water to warm as well so I do indeed expect it to be fine after dialing it in. I love the 2 scents I got and will stick with those til I see how easy it lathers in my water after tweaking before buying more.
 
Sunday November 18, 2018

Razor: Asylum Rx

Blade: Feather Pro Guard (1)

Brush: Paladin 26 mm Lemon Drop Falstaff

Soap: Pdp 63

Aftershave 1: Humphreys Alcoholado Maravilla

Cologne : Pdp 63 EDT

First I had to break out the Pdp 63 as I kept seeing it in others Journals and was itching for the scent also. Got a nice lather whipped up and went to town on the shave.

I had my 1st dance with the Asylum Rx. This was very generously offered to me to try by John JWS VII. I'm almost afraid to use it as he has it in showroom quality but will baby it as he has and thank him for the chance to try this out before buying one if I choose. All thoughts I write at this point are initial impressions and I will reserve final feelings after more use. All things I've read tell me this girl likes to take the lead if you let her so I cautiously took control at the start and used light pressure to guide her for the 1st pass. Within the 1st stroke I could see she would bite if you gave her a chance which kept my attention on a light touch and focusing on the task at hand. 2nd pass for me is south to north which is across the grain on the neck and against the grain on the face area. This went well with a couple weepers on the dry sensitive area around the mouth that is normal. I was especially careful above the lip doing the fools pass which is the only way I get it as smooth as I like the "stache" area. 3rd pass is right to left and against the grain neck and across on the face. Hardest part of these AC blade style razors is the width of the blade in some areas. I had no problems but was mindful to fight the urge to add pressure to get a flatter and wider cutting swath. The results were a nice close shave similar to what I normally get and I was quite happy with the 1st date. Asked her out for another tomorrow and she agreed.

The few weepers closed quickly with a cold water rinse and some Alcoholado Maravilla. I didn't have an AS splash picked as I was going to use the No. 63 EDT so decided to use the Pitralon I got from KJ in the BST he has listed. Nice scent slightly floral and citrus to my nose and is supposed to have a bunch of good skin food that I thought would help prevent any irritation I may have caused the skin that I'm unaware.

The #63 EDT smells EXACTLY like the soap and is AMAZING !! Look out world, I'm coming at you today. Have a stellar shave and day Cadre !!!!!
 
Kate’s twin is already putting the man through his paces!

Great first outing Dave. Hope she doesn’t make you weep as much the next date. Maybe just a whimper.?
 
Got a Classic Cobra inbound in a week or so from Gus @GlazedBoker who is kind enough to let me compare it. Gotta narrow down what SE I want if any.....
 
Great reviews Dave! I had a dirt cheap badger off the bay. It was a serious shedder for about a month. Then turned into a lather beastie with no shedding. Stepson has it now.

RX and PDP 63 ... nuff said!
 
GearNoir said:
Sweet...for your sake I hope the Cobra is a bust...unobtainium and all that mess, lol! ?
Click to expand...
But the King Cobra (version 2) is available, Gus warned me about the locking mechanism being an issue over time though.........
SteveChuckFrank said:
Nice shave Dave! I’ve heard that the RX is pretty sweet. A bit pricey for me though.
Click to expand...
Thanks Steve, Nice but perhaps too aggressive for me. Still experimenting.
MilkCrate said:
Great reviews Dave! I had a dirt cheap badger off the bay. It was a serious shedder for about a month. Then turned into a lather beastie with no shedding. Stepson has it now.

RX and PDP 63 ... nuff said!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm hoping it settles down. Only 1 use in. Thanks Tim
 
Monday November 19, 2018

Razor: Asylum Rx

Blade: Feather Pro Guard (2)

Brush: Paladin 26 mm Lime Lotus

Soap: Mystic Water Leather and Smoke

Aftershave 1: Humphreys Alcoholado Maravilla

Cologne : CFG Ghost Town Barber

Dance 2 with the Rx. Hardest thing when testing a razor for me, especially this time of year with the dry red skin around my mouth (among other areas of the head that don't get shaved) is that after you have a handful of red weeper spots you are going over them again the next day and even though getting to know the razor and improving the shave quality over the previous day, you reopen those spots almost always. Today to hopefully avoid that I chose to not do the "fools pass" over my lip. Well not entirely do it anyway. I did both xtg over the lip with a little atg at the edges. It just seems on the atg passes around my mouth it is tugging. Anyway, modifying this got me to the end of the shave without reopening anything, absolutely no weepers (Which honestly with my skin this time of year shocked me) I was thinking before the shave, I may take tomorrow off and use the Rockwell or Timeless and have a go again on Weds and Thursday before mailing back on Friday. After the success of today's shave though I think we'll just keep the dance card full. I honestly am enjoying the shaves. I don't think they are any closer then I personally can get with my modern de's but I do like an se option. The jury is still out on which. I can say I'm not ready to buy a new one but if saw one for $150 or so it would be hard to pass it up. Meanwhile I want to try the Cobra coming from Gus. Only leery thing with that is if I like it, I'm told there is a weak point on the razor locking mechanism that will fail given lack of care or time so we'll see how we get along. Also looking forward to Josh's video/thoughts on his Vector as that thing is beautiful to me and an available option to buy, unlike some such as the General, Classic Cobra etc. but I digress. I chose the Maravilla 70 and CFG GTB to top things off and as I write this my face feels great with no redness or raw feeling so maybe it will be an Rx........................I don't name razors but If I bought one I'm just afraid I'm going to have trouble not hearing the name Kate ring in my head every time I pick it up.

Although I detest using cold water I chose to use it to lather the soap. Loaded a little longer then usual with a drier brush to eliminate that being an issue, Maybe 20 seconds total as I paused after 10 seconds to dampen the brush with a tiny bit of cold water to help load more product the next 10 seconds. Painted on face and started adding COLD water to it slowly and taking more then the usual time working water in slowly, Got an awesome lather so happy these 2 tubs will get used as I like the scents. Just have to be more attentive to get the lather I want with this base.

Have a GREAT day and stellar shaves Cadre !!!
 
Very nice and detailed shave this morning! I don't ever use cold water with MW soaps...but that is mostly because cold water coming out of the tap here in Louisiana is a bit scarce. I now Michelle took care a couple years ago to revise her formula so lathering isn't as big of an issue with any kind of water. That being said...it appears that water again is the culprit with the lathering issues of MW soap. I will say that when you do get it completely dialed in...it will be a bit easier to get a great lather.
 
Great updates! So Mystic Waters yup I agree with you.PdP AWESOME.

The Asylum... backing out now LOL I don't need another razor.
 
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