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cmh737 Straight Venture Journal Continued

dkeester said:
Great shave and pic. Stirling does make a tier 1 product. Love it.
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Thanks, Doug. Gotta dig Stirling!

clyde72 said:
Great shave and picture Chris!
Since I think you own one of all three, which would you recommend the Wacker, Theirs-Issard, or the Ralf Aust, if one was looking to purchase a "new modern" straight?
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Thanks, Craig. And fair question, but tough to answer if I were to recommend just one of those three because they are quite different each; kind of like comparing apples-to-oranges-to-pears. But here are some thoughts about the ones I own....

The Wacker is a "large" 6/8 full hollow with lots of good flex and holds a wicked sharp edge. It's perfectly balanced with nice heft to it. I love the looks of the blade and the horn scales. I consider it to be a "perfect" razor and it's my absolute A#1 favorite straight.

The T-I is a 5/8 half hollow and holds a fantastic edge. I love it, but there have been cases of the newer T-I's having some geometry challenges, so there's that. Fortunately, mine is not one of them. And consider this, I like it so much that I got custom scales for it.

And my particular Ralf Aust is a 5/8 full hollow. It too can hold a wicked sharp edge, but seems to need refreshing more often than the Wacker. In retrospect, I wish I had gotten it in 6/8, or larger; one day, I'd love to get a Ralf Aust 7/8 full hollow Spanish Point. The RA's are excellent. And I got custom scales for this one too, remember.

Now Craig, don't forget to include Brian Brown (Brown Razor Works) in the discussion of "new modern" straights. The one I have is a half hollow 6/8. I love it! It's the only blade that I have that seems specially built for a coticule edge! I love the looks, heft, and balance of this razor. Walt has a couple of them! And I'd like to add another one as well. Plus, he does custom work, so that's another thing to consider.

In summary, I'd recommend the Wacker "Allround Blonde", and the Brian Brown. It really depends on what size and grind you are looking for. If you want a full hollow, then get the Wacker. If you want a half hollow (and perhaps some custom work), then the Brian Brown.
Spider said:
That's a great matched set of OS goodies there!
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Thanks, KJ.
 
The OS bottles came out in force! Not really a spice fan though my wife says I smell like old people and baby powder every time I’ve used it.
 
DocHoliday0831 said:
The OS bottles came out in force! Not really a spice fan though my wife says I smell like old people and baby powder every time I’ve used it.
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Well, I suppose I fit into the "old people" category.
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SR Shave #622:

"Alright, alright, alright!" Man oh man, everything about today's shave was perfect. This was the set up:


First off, the razor. My goodness, I dig this Fili 14. Big hefty blade with an awesome edge! I did 3 passes for a wonderful BBS(-). If I were grading on the curve, I'd probably boost it to BBS. Now that I'm thinking of it, that's what I'm going to do!

Next, the brush. While I'm not a "Simpson guy", I do have to admit that this particular Chubby 2 in "best" is one of my favorite brushes. And it is perfect for Mike's Natural Soaps.

Speaking of Mike's....that was the soap for today, "Barbershop". This is hands-down my favorite "barbershop" scented shaving soap, no question about it. I totally dig it! And Mike's happens to also be one of my favorite shaving soaps, period! Elite status all the way for me.

Post shave was some witch hazel then Pinaud Clubman Vanilla aftershave. The bottle is one of my late father's old Avon bottles that I re-purposed with the Clubman.

And finally, I'm going to top everything off with Creed Imperial EdP in a couple of hours. Egg-cellent!
 
Very nice shave and pic sir! I dig that Fili 14 but those square end straights bite me every single time ive used one. Maybe its best if i keep practicing on my round end ones
 
Nice shave. That Fili is beautiful.

My very first, and current favorite, straight razor was a square point. I have nicked myself here and there on occasion, but now that has become rare. You have to really pay attention to where the point it at all times, however.
 
clyde72 said:
Oh and thanks for the break down on the razors!
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My pleasure, Craig. Looking forward to seeing which one(s) you get!
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dkeester said:
Excellent shave and a great pic.
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Thanks, Doug.

DocHoliday0831 said:
Very nice shave and pic sir! I dig that Fili 14 but those square end straights bite me every single time ive used one. Maybe its best if i keep practicing on my round end ones
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kingfisher said:
Nice shave. That Fili is beautiful.

My very first, and current favorite, straight razor was a square point. I have nicked myself here and there on occasion, but now that has become rare. You have to really pay attention to where the point it at all times, however.
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Thanks, TJ and Randall. I always mute the point on the mirror prior to first use - I've been bitten before (more than once).
 
SR Shave #623:

Time to use a new-to-me soap! Yessiree, just arrived yesterday; this one:


Everyone knows that rose scented shaving soaps are my kryptonite - I just totally dig 'em! And I've been really wanting to try this particular one. I had to wait till they released a new batch, and was lucky to score this one a few days ago (and now they're sold out again already!).

First, in terms of performance, this is excellent soap! I actually thought this was better than the other Soapy Science tub I have, the Mint Mint (not that that one's any slouch, mind you). But this one seemed to be even more of the thick, slick, viscous, "yogurt-like" lather that I tend to prefer. The "Eric Custom" w/Tuxedo synthetic fan whipped up a marvelous lather. It's super slick, protective, lathers easily, and is very stable. The only quibble I have, and that has it not quite in the elite status yet, is that the residual slickness and post shave moisturizing could be a tad bit better. But my goodness, that's such a minor ding that it doesn't detract from how much I enjoy using this one. On Chad's scale, performance-wise, my initial impression rates this a Tier 1, Box 2.

Now, as to the other characteristic.....the scent. Just for reference, I've tried 31 different rose scented shaving soaps/creams (this includes ones that may not be totally rose, but at least rose dominate to me), and admittedly, I'm quite persnickety about rose scents in a shaving product. I also tend to prefer a more singular "rose bud" scent, one that is not heavy on the "greenery" (meaning the leaves and stem), or one that has another note or two added for some sort of "complexity". So far, my absolute favorite rose scented shaving soaps are: Eufros/Jabonman "Rosa Bourbon", CBL's "Rose Oud", Wholly Kaw "Chypre Rose Concerto Special Edition", and Saint Charles Shave "Bulgarian Rose". Honorable mentions are: Soap Commander "Love", Mystic Water "Yellow Rose", and Wild West Shaving Co. "Private Reserve No. 2".

So, with all that being said, how does this Rosa Pura stack up? I have to admit, this is a downright wonderful scent. It has just a wee bit more "greenery" than I prefer, but not by much; this is like smelling the rose bud, leaves, and stem, but mostly the bud. On the SOS scale, I rate this a 2.5/5 that lingers throughout the entire shave, and even bumps up to 3/5 during the shave. It's a lovely scent that is totally "puck worthy". I'm going to use this again tomorrow. This is currently hovering between the categories "honorable mention" and "favorite", so I want to use this more. As a matter of fact, after using this Rosa Pura another day (or more, haven't decided), I think I'm going to stick with rose scented soaps for the next several days, so stay tuned.

Oh yeh, the shave results. The Torrey (with Eric's custom scales) did two passes that produced a very nice DFS. However, when I refreshed it last, I think I got it a tad bit sharper than this quarter hollow needs, as the edge was a bit "brisk" (to use Derek's term). So post shave, I gave it about 10 light laps on the La Dressante bout to see if it'll tone it down just a notch. I plan to use it again tomorrow, so we'll see.

Finished off with Dunhill Icon EdP. My goodness, what an awesome follow up to the Rosa Pura soap! Perfect!!
 
Friday's shave:

I'm just now getting a chance to post this morning's shave, bust as I mentioned yesterday, I opted to use the Soapy Science Rosa Pura again today. I did go with a different razor and brush, however. I was in a super speed kind of mood today, so chose the black handled with a fresh Gillette Nacet blade; and I decided to go from synth to badger and used the Rudy Vey Shavemac DO1, 2-band silvertop flat top.

Fantastic shave! Just two passes (with some cleanup) for an ultra comfortable, rock solid DFS. No complaints whatsoever!

The Rosa Pura continued to impress me, and as I'm getting more into the tub, the rose scent is becoming more "bud" than "green", for which I'm glad. This really is a wonderful soap - I dig it. In terms of scent alone, it's still hovering between "honorable mention" and "favorite" rose scented soap. We'll see how it goes with further use, and there will definitely be further use!

Finished up with Sampson's unscented balm, then Dunhill Icon EdP. Another great start to the day.

I plan to switch soaps for tomorrow, but it will be another rose scented soap.
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Your shaves are sounding smoother than Mel Torme crooning while sipping on an 18 year old Scotch whiskey!
 
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