cmh737 Straight Venture Journal Continued

[Majorrich]

i think if we all weren't such SE fans I wouldn't be surprised if we weren't an Injector Fan Club!

 

[cmh737]

Good stuff today Chris. Glastonbury was just too bold for me to be honest. I have an Omega 49 somewhere I am going to have to pull it out.

Enjoy the clouds today!

Thanks, Chad. The Glastonbury is definitely bold, no doubt. And the Omega boars have really grown on me as of late.

Nice B&W picture Chris!

Great shave and read!

Thanks, Craig.

Great pic, shave, and read. I have to agree with you about Injectors. They just work, even the aggressive ones.

Thanks, Doug. And roger that.

Great set up and shave today Chris! I ended up PIFing my tub of Glastonbury...too bold with the patchouli for me, and SWMBO doesnt like it, lol.

Thanks, Josh. And roger that.

Great set up and shave today.

Thanks, Don.

Love the BW Chris!

Thanks, Dave.

Injectah! Great shave and pic, Chris.

Thanks, Eric.

Sorry I got behind Chris, but I'm caught up now. Glad you figured out your Coti, and it looks like Dave whipped your Black into shape.

Thanks, Walt. I'm looking forward to trying that Ark again, now that Dave's got it whipped into shape.

Great pic and reads.

Thanks, Tim. Where in the Republic are ya? I was stationed at Ft. Hood on two different occasions. The second time, I was in Temple, TX.

All caught up, I'm digging that last pic. I actually got to try Creed a few months ago. It's on my dream list.

Thanks, Dave. Which Creed did you try?

 

[cmh737]

Back in town, and I did keep up with everyone's journals, but just didn't have time to post each day. The two soaps that I used whilst away were Mystic Water samples: "Sandalwood"; and "Orange Spice Tea". Neither of those, in terms of scent, wowed me. They were pleasant, but not puck-worthy for me. Performance-wise, the Sandalwood I used while in Harrisburg, PA, and the water really worked well with the MW - elite status all the way. The Orange Spice Tea was when I was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the water didn't really treat the MW as well; still decent, though. Now on to today's shave.....

SR Shave #582:

So this morning, I decided to break out the Fili 14. I decided to give it some refresh on the La Veinette coti, just water laps, and a little Dawn as well.

I also chose a new soap for me, Mike's Lemongrass & Eucalyptus. The scent of this one is pretty nice, but doesn't wow me. The Eucalyptus is not really noticeable once lathered (which is a good thing). And the lemongrass definitely reminds me of something in particular....if you've ever been dragged by your wife to one of those shops that sell those assortment bags of potpourri, it reminds me of the dried lemon peels that are in some. So all in all, this scent is "meh". However, it does lend itself quite well to Pen's Blenheim Bouquet for post shave, and that's what I used (my favorite of all the Pen frags I've tried thus far).

However, in terms of performance, this particular tub of Mike's actually let me down a bit. It was the strangest thing - there just seemed to be absolutely no residual slickness at all - forget about buffing - very odd. I did just two passes with the Fili and thought maybe I had dorked up the edge a bit since it was only DFS(-) and not much glide, so I grabbed the Merkur 34 for a final pass. Same thing! Not much glide. So I'm chalking it up to the soap. I'll try another brush with this one. I normally use the Simpson CH2 for Mike's soaps, but I thought I'd try the Rudy Vey Shavemac DO1, 2-band flat top. I thought it whipped up a nice lather, but the shave proved otherwise - very odd.

 

[clyde72]

Awesome picture Chris!

Strange about the lack luster performance of the soap. Does Mike's normally work well for you?

 

[MilkCrate]

Thanks, Tim. Where in the Republic are ya? I was stationed at Ft. Hood on two different occasions. The second time, I was in Temple, TX.

I am a bit Southeast of Dallas. Little town called Kaufman.

 

[dkeester]

Great pic! I agree with you and Craig, the soap performance seems odd. I have heard nothing but good things about Mike's.

 

[Dagwoodz]

Great write up and picture Chris! That's surprising on the issues you were having with the Mike's this time around as that is normally one of your better soaps. Could it have been the EO's possibly affecting the way the soap lathered?

 

[cmh737]

Awesome picture Chris!

Strange about the lack luster performance of the soap. Does Mike's normally work well for you?

Thanks, Craig. And Mike's normally works quite well for me - it's actually one of my favorite retail soaps.

I am a bit Southeast of Dallas. Little town called Kaufman.

Ah so. My sister lives in Plano.

Great pic! I agree with you and Craig, the soap performance seems odd. I have heard nothing but good things about Mike's.

Thanks, Doug. And I'm going to say that the soap drama was a one-off....hopefully.

Great write up and picture Chris! That's surprising on the issues you were having with the Mike's this time around as that is normally one of your better soaps. Could it have been the EO's possibly affecting the way the soap lathered?

Thanks, Josh. And I was wondering the same thing about the EO's - maybe CBL might chime in with an expert opinion.

 

[cmh737]

SR Shave #583:

I'm lazy right now and having a difficult time getting energized - had a challenging workout last night, and my middle "ageness" is letting me know about it - LOL. So I decided to use one of my photos from last year with my favorite razor; yes, this one....

I've neglected the Wacker "Allround Blonde" for too long. My last use of the King was about 3 months ago. This is the 10th shave since I did a complete re-hone with my all synthetic progression thru 20K. It's still the perfect razor, with a perfect edge (for me). Dynamite 2-passer that gave me a completely irritation-free, rock solid DFS(+). I will gladly debate with anyone who makes a definitive statement saying that vintage razors are superior to modern razors; I reject that over-generalization completely. Both vintage and good new ones are to be enjoyed. This Wacker is an example of a wonderful razor, as are the Brian Browns, Robert Williams, Starks, etc., etc., etc. that are on equal footing with the best vintage razors, IMHO.

OK, I'm off my soap box. In addition to using my favorite straight razor, I decided to use one of my favorite retail soaps: Saint Charles Shave "Fairway". My goodness, how I dig the scent AND performance of this soap!!! Love it! SCS soaps are uber-slick for me, with the water at my house, and definitely "elite" status. On Chad's scale, Tier 1/Box 1 all the way!

Finished up with Speick splash, then Sampson's unscented balm, then Tom Ford Grey Vetiver EdP. I'm now actually starting to get some energy now. Ah yes, how a perfect shave can be "good medicine".

 

[NurseDave]

Thanks, Dave. Which Creed did you try?

Aventus. I knew Creed wasn't cheap, but when I innocently asked how much the bottle was I kept sampling...

 

[NurseDave]

Nice shave. I passed on a straight shave this morning just because it seemed like too much work, so I admire anyone that can whip one out as a lazy shave.

 

[Cvargo]

Very weird about the Mike's yesterday. And you have reminded me that I need to replace my puck of Fairway. It is almost gone.

 

[dkeester]

Beautiful razor.

I have yet to use a modern straight, but I think you are probably right. Quality steel is quality steel regardless of its provenance.

 

[Dagwoodz]

Love that razor, Chris...beautiful. I love how a *meh* day can turn into a good day with something as simple as a great shave. Totally agree with you on the modern vs. vintage razors...though the majority of the razors I own are vintage, the few modern ones I have are all just as good!

 

[clyde72]

Great shave Chris! That Wacker is a great looker for sure!

Why would one make the statement that a Vintage straight is always better? Like you said there are many excellent modern razor makers out there.

 

[McVeyMac]

I concur with your sentiments regarding some of the modern razor makers. I have to say that the cheap modern Dovo is not much. Regarding the other commercial makers such as Ti... etc., I have no opinion as I have not tried their stuff. But Brian and Nate have my attention.

 

[cmh737]

Aventus. I knew Creed wasn't cheap, but when I innocently asked how much the bottle was I kept sampling...

Aventus is one of their good ones, for sure. My favorite is GIT, but Aventus is probably second favorite.

Nice shave. I passed on a straight shave this morning just because it seemed like too much work, so I admire anyone that can whip one out as a lazy shave.

I can appreciate skipping the straight due to too much work. I sometimes don't even need that for a reason.

Very weird about the Mike's yesterday. And you have reminded me that I need to replace my puck of Fairway. It is almost gone.

Yeh, it was strange. And yes, Fairway needs to always be in stock. I wish they had that in an aftershave.

Beautiful razor.

I have yet to use a modern straight, but I think you are probably right. Quality steel is quality steel regardless of its provenance.

Thanks, Doug. And agree. Also, you get the "post of the week" since you used the word, "provenance".

Love that razor, Chris...beautiful. I love how a *meh* day can turn into a good day with something as simple as a great shave. Totally agree with you on the modern vs. vintage razors...though the majority of the razors I own are vintage, the few modern ones I have are all just as good!

Thanks, Josh.

Great shave Chris! That Wacker is a great looker for sure!

Why would one make the statement that a Vintage straight is always better? Like you said there are many excellent modern razor makers out there.

Why indeed. But some folk make that claim. I can only assume it's because they haven't tried a really good modern one.

I concur with your sentiments regarding some of the modern razor makers. I have to say that the cheap modern Dovo is not much. Regarding the other commercial makers such as Ti... etc., I have no opinion as I have not tried their stuff. But Brian and Nate have my attention.

Roger that, Walt. I'd be curious to hear if some of the higher end Dovo razors are really nice. I also forgot to mention Ralf Aust as being a stellar modern blade; and my modern Thiers-Issard is also fantastic.

 

[Quijote]

The best razor I have ever used was a vintage one. Granted, the only razors I have used are vintage. But I do agree that all that really matters is the quality of the steel and the quality of the craftsman.

 

[CBLindsay]

I’m inclined to think much of the hoopla about modern razors not being as good stems from the larger production brands being sold as shave ready with a less than stellar bevel. The quality of the razor is judged by how well someone who pounds out dozens of razors prepared it. A vintage razor it judged on how well it hones and stays honed.

my objection is the price, new stuff is SO expensive compared to many vintage jobs.

 

[WildWest74]

All caught up, Chris. Excellent shaves, and some great pics!