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cmh737 Straight Venture Journal Continued
- Thread starter cmh737
- Start date
Nice shave. Gorgeous blade.
I love the scent of Spanish Fig and Nutmeg, too. It's amazing. Too bad their soap is not a good performer.
Maybe CBL could attempt to replicate the scent of Spanish Fig and Nutmeg but in his awesome shave soap base? That would be epic!
I love the scent of Spanish Fig and Nutmeg, too. It's amazing. Too bad their soap is not a good performer.
Maybe CBL could attempt to replicate the scent of Spanish Fig and Nutmeg but in his awesome shave soap base? That would be epic!
I think you stole my brush. I feel sick i need to go home and verify.
Interestingly enough, there is a pleasant, albeit faint, trace of scent. However, I think it's probably the wood from the bowl rather than the soap, but I could be wrong.
You know what gave it the magic edge - that glassy ark of yours that you let me borrow!
Roger that, Tom. They are awesome blades, no doubt.
Thanks, Randall. And I totally dig the Spanish Fig & Nutmeg. I've got it in the bar/bath soap, shaving soap, a/s balm, EdT, and deo. But I have better luck with the shaving soap than you do. As long as water is introduced slowly and deliberately then the resulting lather is pretty good for me. I'd put it in the upper Tier 2 category in terms of performance, which is good enough with a DE. The scent makes up for the rest!.....and that would be a good project for CBL!
Thanks, Tim.
Good Stuff Maynard!
Wednesday's shave:
I've been meaning to get to the soap and aftershave that I used today for quite some time. This came from Xeno Dave in a trade we did earlier in the summer. It's Dublin Tweed:
I did a, what's-becoming-rare-for-me, 3 pass shave this morning, and I am happy to report that it was marvelous! A rock solid, no irritation to be found anywhere, full on BBS. I'm going to mention the soap and a/s in just a minute, but I have to say that this Merkur Progress has quickly become one of my favorite razors. My goodness, does it ever produce a smooth, close, comfortable shave for me!
Okie dokie, the soap. Prior to today's shave, I had conducted several test lathers with different brushes (badgers, boars, and synths). They all whipped up a shave-worthy lather about equally, but if I had to pick one that seemed to really shine, it was a synth brush. So this morning I used one of my Rudy Vey brushes with an AMACK4 Game Changer synthetic.
From a performance point of view, this is excellent soap! As a matter of fact, I'd put it in the "elite" category. It lathered effortlessly and produced a "yogurt" type viscosity (that I prefer) vice the "meringue" type. It was very slick, both during the passes as well as residual, offered excellent protection/cushion, was stable, and resulted in adequate post shave moisturizing. The residual slickness was especially noteworthy in that it allowed for easy buffing and water only touch ups. If you've ever used a WSP Formula T shaving soap, this particular soap feels quite similar.
Now the scent. I dig it. It's a very "clean" scent that is pleasant, refreshing, and "calming". On the SOS scale, I give it a 3/5 and it lingered throughout the duration of the entire shave. It's "inspiration" is Creed's GIT, and I can see the resemblance. Prior to today, the closest GIT replica that I'd ever used (and I've used a bunch of them), was WSP's Gaelic Tweed, and that's as close as it can get IMHO. This Dublin Tweed is similar to GIT, but it seemed "softer", with a more "aquatic" note (to me) than both the GIT and the WSP Gaelic Tweed, and in fact, seemed to lean more in the direction of Davidoff's Cool Water (again, to me); and I'd thus put it somewhere in between GIT and Cool Water. All in all, very nice, and quite enjoyable!
The Dublin Tweed aftershave is dynamite! Upon application, it feels great on the ole mug, and it initially smells the same as the soap, only stronger (yes!), and has been drying down wonderfully. I used several "glugs" and this is totally "glug worthy". The SOS of the a/s is not quite as high as a Fine Accoutrements a/s, but it's still got some legs. I think it might be able to be a stand alone if one didn't want to use a follow-on frag, but I won't know that answer for a couple of hours. What I can say for certain is that I totally dig this juice! Before I head out for work later this afternoon, I'll for sure go with a few Vasilis of the real deal Creed GIT EdP, then I'll be walking even taller than I am now. So thanks again, Dave!
I've been meaning to get to the soap and aftershave that I used today for quite some time. This came from Xeno Dave in a trade we did earlier in the summer. It's Dublin Tweed:
I did a, what's-becoming-rare-for-me, 3 pass shave this morning, and I am happy to report that it was marvelous! A rock solid, no irritation to be found anywhere, full on BBS. I'm going to mention the soap and a/s in just a minute, but I have to say that this Merkur Progress has quickly become one of my favorite razors. My goodness, does it ever produce a smooth, close, comfortable shave for me!
Okie dokie, the soap. Prior to today's shave, I had conducted several test lathers with different brushes (badgers, boars, and synths). They all whipped up a shave-worthy lather about equally, but if I had to pick one that seemed to really shine, it was a synth brush. So this morning I used one of my Rudy Vey brushes with an AMACK4 Game Changer synthetic.
From a performance point of view, this is excellent soap! As a matter of fact, I'd put it in the "elite" category. It lathered effortlessly and produced a "yogurt" type viscosity (that I prefer) vice the "meringue" type. It was very slick, both during the passes as well as residual, offered excellent protection/cushion, was stable, and resulted in adequate post shave moisturizing. The residual slickness was especially noteworthy in that it allowed for easy buffing and water only touch ups. If you've ever used a WSP Formula T shaving soap, this particular soap feels quite similar.
Now the scent. I dig it. It's a very "clean" scent that is pleasant, refreshing, and "calming". On the SOS scale, I give it a 3/5 and it lingered throughout the duration of the entire shave. It's "inspiration" is Creed's GIT, and I can see the resemblance. Prior to today, the closest GIT replica that I'd ever used (and I've used a bunch of them), was WSP's Gaelic Tweed, and that's as close as it can get IMHO. This Dublin Tweed is similar to GIT, but it seemed "softer", with a more "aquatic" note (to me) than both the GIT and the WSP Gaelic Tweed, and in fact, seemed to lean more in the direction of Davidoff's Cool Water (again, to me); and I'd thus put it somewhere in between GIT and Cool Water. All in all, very nice, and quite enjoyable!
The Dublin Tweed aftershave is dynamite! Upon application, it feels great on the ole mug, and it initially smells the same as the soap, only stronger (yes!), and has been drying down wonderfully. I used several "glugs" and this is totally "glug worthy". The SOS of the a/s is not quite as high as a Fine Accoutrements a/s, but it's still got some legs. I think it might be able to be a stand alone if one didn't want to use a follow-on frag, but I won't know that answer for a couple of hours. What I can say for certain is that I totally dig this juice! Before I head out for work later this afternoon, I'll for sure go with a few Vasilis of the real deal Creed GIT EdP, then I'll be walking even taller than I am now. So thanks again, Dave!
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Nice. What would you compare the progress too and does it hold the blade more rigid then the variant?
Roger that, Chad!
It was. And I see what you did there - well played.
Well, Dave, I've never tried a Variant, so I can't compare it to that one. However, here are some weight comparisons with a few other DE's that I just put on the scale:
Merkur Progress: 92g
British Aristocrat #16: 82g
Merkur 37 slant: 76g
U.S. Aristocrat: 66g
Flare Tip Super Speed: 55g
The Progress holds the blade tight and does appear to bend the edges down a bit more than the other TTO razors perhaps. The base also has those "grooves" like the Timeless has, and it makes the Progress really audible - it "sings".
It was. And I see what you did there - well played.
Chris, Do you wanna try a variant?
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Thanks Chris
Thanks for the offer, TJ. But I think I'll hold off on that for the time being. I might be tempted to go out and buy one!
My pleasure, Dave. Looking forward to seeing your future SOTD pics with a Progress.
Thanks, Tom.