Saturday's shave:
Back in town, and here's the set up from this morning:
I decided to use a razor that I haven't used in quite a while. It's a Gillette Old Style (I think). The first, and only time, I've ever used this razor was when I was new to this hobby of ours, and certainly before I ever thought of trying a straight razor, or injector; it did not go well. Looking back on it, obviously I had way, way too steep an angle, and used too much pressure. I wish that I had heard the phrase, "ride the cap", before I first tried any open comb, as it totally makes sense now. Many thanks to whoever coined that phrase! But now that I've gotten better at using a traditional straight razor, and better at using open comb razors, I thought I'd give it another try.
I paid close attention, took my time, and did indeed "ride the cap". The result was a nice, two-pass, DFS. Not bad, but not a razor that I prefer. It's not too dissimilar to the feel of a traditional straight shave; sort of like using a straight that needs an edge refreshed, but with that being said, I'd just assume use the straight! So all in all, not too bad. One thing that would probably have made it a better experience would have been to use an "elite" soap, which I'll now address....
I opted to use the Chiseled Face/Zoologist "Panda" soap. The scent of this soap is flat-out-off-the-charts-AWESOME!!! It's dynamite, and without a doubt, the strongest scented soap I've ever used. On the SOS scale, this gets a rock solid 6/5. Yep, that's not a typo; it's that robust. But performance-wise, it's a low Tier 1, high Tier 2 soap for me with the water at my house. On Chad's scale, I give it a Tier 1, Box 4, and that's because the scent is so good. It's not the slickest soap for me, but it's perfectly fine to use with a DE (for me). The scent alone makes this "puck worthy"!
Finished up with some Sampson's unscented balm, and then the Panda EdP (sample that Dave had sent me a while ago). My goodness, the EdP is so strong that even one Vasili is actually too much - LOL. But I still dig it!
BTW, I forgot to mention the brush. I went with the Rudy Vey Shavemac DO1, 2-band silvertip flat top. I mention this because I highly recommend this knot in flat top. It's fantastic! There is no scritch whatsoever with this knot. As a matter of fact, I've got another DO1, 2-band ordered (from Rudy) that will be in fan; I want to see how it compares to the flat top.
Oh, one other thing: the soaps (samples) I used whilst on the road....
Mystic Water "Leather and Smoke": I thought that I wasn't going to like the scent of this one at first, but once lathered, I was "drawn" to it. I actually dig it! There wasn't any discernible "smoke" to me, but perhaps that's because it's a sample, but I'm glad. I was going to order this in stick last night, but it's not available in stick right now. I like this scent on it's own just fine, but I think it would also be an excellent scent to super-lather with AoS sandalwood cream - I think that might be a good combo.
Wheat State Soaps "Spiced Orange": This is now the 7th Wheat States Soaps that I've used, and this one wasn't bad at all from a scent perspective. Kind of "woody" (not cedar), with some "dried" orange peel, if that makes sense. Not one that I'd run out and buy, but not bad either. Performance-wise, still highest Tier 1. Wheat State Soaps is the real deal, IMHO.
I hope to get caught up with everyone soon.
Back in town, and here's the set up from this morning:
I decided to use a razor that I haven't used in quite a while. It's a Gillette Old Style (I think). The first, and only time, I've ever used this razor was when I was new to this hobby of ours, and certainly before I ever thought of trying a straight razor, or injector; it did not go well. Looking back on it, obviously I had way, way too steep an angle, and used too much pressure. I wish that I had heard the phrase, "ride the cap", before I first tried any open comb, as it totally makes sense now. Many thanks to whoever coined that phrase! But now that I've gotten better at using a traditional straight razor, and better at using open comb razors, I thought I'd give it another try.
I paid close attention, took my time, and did indeed "ride the cap". The result was a nice, two-pass, DFS. Not bad, but not a razor that I prefer. It's not too dissimilar to the feel of a traditional straight shave; sort of like using a straight that needs an edge refreshed, but with that being said, I'd just assume use the straight! So all in all, not too bad. One thing that would probably have made it a better experience would have been to use an "elite" soap, which I'll now address....
I opted to use the Chiseled Face/Zoologist "Panda" soap. The scent of this soap is flat-out-off-the-charts-AWESOME!!! It's dynamite, and without a doubt, the strongest scented soap I've ever used. On the SOS scale, this gets a rock solid 6/5. Yep, that's not a typo; it's that robust. But performance-wise, it's a low Tier 1, high Tier 2 soap for me with the water at my house. On Chad's scale, I give it a Tier 1, Box 4, and that's because the scent is so good. It's not the slickest soap for me, but it's perfectly fine to use with a DE (for me). The scent alone makes this "puck worthy"!
Finished up with some Sampson's unscented balm, and then the Panda EdP (sample that Dave had sent me a while ago). My goodness, the EdP is so strong that even one Vasili is actually too much - LOL. But I still dig it!
BTW, I forgot to mention the brush. I went with the Rudy Vey Shavemac DO1, 2-band silvertip flat top. I mention this because I highly recommend this knot in flat top. It's fantastic! There is no scritch whatsoever with this knot. As a matter of fact, I've got another DO1, 2-band ordered (from Rudy) that will be in fan; I want to see how it compares to the flat top.
Oh, one other thing: the soaps (samples) I used whilst on the road....
Mystic Water "Leather and Smoke": I thought that I wasn't going to like the scent of this one at first, but once lathered, I was "drawn" to it. I actually dig it! There wasn't any discernible "smoke" to me, but perhaps that's because it's a sample, but I'm glad. I was going to order this in stick last night, but it's not available in stick right now. I like this scent on it's own just fine, but I think it would also be an excellent scent to super-lather with AoS sandalwood cream - I think that might be a good combo.
Wheat State Soaps "Spiced Orange": This is now the 7th Wheat States Soaps that I've used, and this one wasn't bad at all from a scent perspective. Kind of "woody" (not cedar), with some "dried" orange peel, if that makes sense. Not one that I'd run out and buy, but not bad either. Performance-wise, still highest Tier 1. Wheat State Soaps is the real deal, IMHO.
I hope to get caught up with everyone soon.
