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Doug's Journal of Shaving Happiness v2.0

Journal Entry #516
2020 Shaves (DE: 84, SE: 11, Straight: 5, Cart: 0, Skipped: 5)

04/16/2020
Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Stirling Piacenza pre-shave oil
Razor: Gillette OLD Type (thick cap, Ivory Soap baseplate)
Blade: Astra SP (2)
Bowl: Fine Lather Bowl
Brush: TSC 2nd Anniversary Brush
Soap/Cream: LEA Classic (67)
AS 1: Plain Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive ASB & Lucky Tiger Disappearing Cream
AS 3: LEA Classic (65)
Fragrance: none

Overview
The end keeps getting nearer and nearer.

SOTD Pic
None

Shave Quality
It was an easy BBS today. The OLD Type loves Astra SP. Combine that with really great lather and you have a truly excellent shave. Perhaps not one for the record books, but really good.

Gear
The doughnut hole reappeared today while lathering. Yay! After the shave I attempted to smoosh the puck down again. There isn't enough soap left to completely cover the bottom of the bowl. Soon it will be gone.

The TSC 2nd Anniversary Brush is nice. It feels good in the hand. The handle feels like it should be indestructible. The blue tips of the knot are fun. I just wish the thing were a little more floppy. It makes excellent lather but the extra backbone from the lower loft means I have to take extra time building my lather in the bowl. This is not a complaint, just an observation of the characteristics of the brush. The Three Amigos chose well when they were putting this year's Anniversary Bag together.

Other Thoughts
Work is frustrating, but dealable at this point. I really hope that continues.

My 5 PAA brushes need to get here now. I want to try them out.


Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you have a great day and stellar shaves, Cadre.
 
What's the Estimated Time of Depletion on the soap? Sounds like it should be soon. What soap is on deck then?
 
dangerousdon said:
What's the Estimated Time of Depletion on the soap? Sounds like it should be soon. What soap is on deck then?
Click to expand...
Hopefully it is just a matter of a few days at this point. I haven't settled on my next victim, but I am in the mood to kill some artisan soap tubs. I could also kill off a few of my creams.
 
Journal Entry #517
2020 Shaves (DE: 85, SE: 11, Straight: 5, Cart: 0, Skipped: 5)

04/17/2020
Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Stirling Piacenza pre-shave oil
Razor: Merkur Progress @3
Blade: Astra SP (3)
Bowl: Fine Lather Bowl
Brush: TSC 2nd Anniversary Brush
Soap/Cream: LEA Classic (68)
AS 1: Plain Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive ASB & Lucky Tiger Disappearing Cream
AS 3: LEA Classic (66)
Fragrance: none

Overview
Merkur Goodness

SOTD Pic
None

Shave Quality
Total BBS today. I made the lather a bit too dry, but it still did the jobs excellently. My face feels quite good today.

Gear
I love Merkur razors. They are great shavers. The Progress is no exception to this. One of these days I need to get a Mergress.

Other Thoughts
Well, I was having a decent week...


Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you have a great day and stellar shaves, Cadre.
 
Journal Entry #518
2020 Shaves (DE: 86, SE: 11, Straight: 5, Cart: 0, Skipped: 5)

04/18/2020
Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Stirling Piacenza pre-shave oil
Razor: No Date Code Gillette 1940's Style Super Speed
Blade: Shark SS (1)
Bowl: Fine Lather Bowl
Brush: TSC 2nd Anniversary Brush
Soap/Cream: LEA Classic (69)
AS 1: Plain Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive ASB & Lucky Tiger Disappearing Cream
AS 3: LEA Classic (67)
Fragrance: none

Overview
Time to start scraping the bowl.

SOTD Pic
IMG_20200418_124710879[1].jpg

Shave Quality
Another really great vintage GIllette shave today. I am BBS- and feeling good. The lather was a little loose. It needed a couple more minutes of elbow grease to get to the right consistency. It was still an excellent shave.

Gear
I am not sure how many shaves I will get out of the soap left in the bowl. We will see if a brush can load off of it, or if I will have to scrape the soap into my lather bowl.

I have decided on the next soap victim. It is going to be a full tub of Bluebell Peppermint. This is some unobtainium that I have been holding onto for a couple of years now. I was introduced to Bluebell by the one and only @Cvargo back in the old forum neighborhood. They made a really great product, but almost as soon as they started they were gone. As much as I would like to hang onto this product for a while longer, the 4 tubs that I have of it (2 of the Peppermint, 2 of the Spice Rack) aren't getting any younger. Time for one of them to die.

Got a delivery of brushes today from PAA. They are very pretty and I can't wait to shave with them.

Other Thoughts
My weekend is off to a good start.


Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you have a great day and stellar shaves, Cadre.
 
Journal Entry #519
2020 Shaves (DE: 86, SE: 12, Straight: 5, Cart: 0, Skipped: 5)

04/19/2020
Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Stirling Piacenza pre-shave oil
Razor: Schick G-Type Injector (navy blue handle)
Blade: Personna Injector (1)
Bowl: Fine Lather Bowl
Brush: PAA Atomic Rocket 26mm
Soap/Cream: LEA Classic (70)
AS 1: Plain Witch Hazel
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive ASB & Lucky Tiger Disappearing Cream
AS 3: LEA Classic (68)
Fragrance: none

Overview
Endings and beginnings...

SOTD Pic
IMG_20200419_123738490[1].jpg

Shave Quality
PSA: Remeber kids! G-Type Injectors are more like a straight on a stick than a they are like normal safety razor! Watch that angle!

I am BBS- after this shave, but with lots of irritation on my neck. Oh, and I nicked myself like 5 times. The lather was great to finish off the LEA Classic, but that didn't save me. I got myself good on the jawline as I was changing angles going around it. I got the angle too high and the Injector bit down kinda hard. That was the worst of the nicks. I was attempting to use a light touch, but sometimes that won't save you. It sucks finishing off a 3017 with a rough shave, but sometimes it happens.

Gear
Well, that makes two soaps down for 2020 so far. The LEA Classic was a joy to use. Had I not used the Marco Method of brush loading I could probably have made this soap last for about 6 months. Every time I loaded I was producing 2-3 shaves worth of lather. More product often leads to better results, so I won't complain. Also, 70 shaves off of one puck of soap is respectable. It was also nice finishing off the puck with several large glugs of the AS splash. There was only a bit left so I really went for it. I haven't talked much about the AS, but it is really good stuff. If you are going to get the soap, I recommend getting the AS also. It is a matching scent.

The PAA Atomic Rocket performed exactly as I expected it to perform. The Plissoft knot is something of a classic at this point I think. It is soft on the face and produces great lathers. It is a large knot at 26mm, splaying widely with ease. @GearNoir called it yesterday. This brush performs like the RazoRock Big Bruce, since they both use the same knot. I think I like the Atomic Rocket handle a little better, however.
IMG_20200419_123837190[1].jpg
Here they are together. The Rocket is wet from my shave and the Bruce is still dry.

Tomorrow starts a new 3017. I have decided to go with the Bluebell Peppermint. I weighed the tub with lid this morning. It came in at 222 grams. This soap smells amazing with a pure, unadulterated peppermint. It is going to be a good bunch of shaves.
IMG_20200419_124031450[1].jpg

Other Thoughts
I like sleeping in on the weekends.


Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you have a great day and stellar shaves, Cadre.
 
Dave in KY said:
I gifted my Big Bruce and haven't replaced it.....................maybe the Rocket will instead eventually
Click to expand...
They are both nice. Both handles are comfortable.

If you are interested, I will happily give my Bruce a shampooing and pop it in the mail to you.
 
dkeester said:
They are both nice. Both handles are comfortable.

If you are interested, I will happily give my Bruce a shampooing and pop it in the mail to you.
Click to expand...
VERY kind of you Doug but I have a bunch (TOO many) which is why I haven't replaced it. Just always gets me to thinking when i see someone using one. Thanks for the thoughts.
 
Journal Entry #520
2020 Shaves (DE: 87, SE: 12, Straight: 5, Cart: 0, Skipped: 5)

04/20/2020
Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Stirling Piacenza pre-shave oil
Razor: Parker 22R TTO
Blade: Shark SS (2)
Bowl: Fine Lather Bowl
Brush: PAA Atomic Rocket 26mm
Soap/Cream: Bluebell Select Shaving Soap Peppermint (1)
AS 1: Thayer's Coconut Water Facial Toner
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive ASB & Lucky Tiger Disappearing Cream
AS 3: Fine American Barber
Fragrance: none

Overview
Much minty goodness

SOTD Pic
None

Shave Quality
I had forgotten just how good this soap is. The shave was BBS-. The irritation was residual from yesterday. Had my face not already been a little beaten up it probably would have been a mostly irritation free shave. The Bluebell soap makes a dense and slick lather after blooming the puck overnight. The Atomic Rocket did its work well. All of it made for a really top notch shave.

Gear
Parker safety razors are great shavers for me. The Variant is my favorite, for hopefully obvious reasons. However, the 22R is an excellent piece of hardware.

The Thayer's Coconut Water Toner smells wonderful and felt great going on my face after the shave. It is nice that it doesn't have alcohol in it.

Bluebell soap... They had such a great product. While there may be things out there now that eclipse this soap in performance, they don't do it by much. It is a high quality soap that has a decent amount of skin conditioners in it. I had to bloom the puck overnight because it was drying out and shrinking away from the sides of the tub. A little soap did wonders for it. (When they were still making it the producers recommended blooming the soap before the shave.) The overall weight of the puck with lid, before blooming, was 222 grams. We will see how fast it goes.

Other Thoughts
It is really inspiring to see all the people getting into crafting while stuck at home. Knitting and Crocheting are really relaxing hobbies. It is also nice to have something handmade when a project is done.


Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you have a great day and stellar shaves, Cadre.
 
Journal Entry #521
2020 Shaves (DE: 88, SE: 12, Straight: 5, Cart: 0, Skipped: 5)

04/21/2020
Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Stirling Piacenza pre-shave oil
Razor: Baili BT131 chrome
Blade: Baili Super Blue (1)
Bowl: Fine Lather Bowl
Brush: PAA Atomic Rocket 26mm
Soap/Cream: Bluebell Select Shaving Soap Peppermint (2)
AS 1: Thayer's Coconut Water Facial Toner
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive ASB & Lucky Tiger Disappearing Cream
AS 3: Fine Fresh Vetiver
Fragrance: none

Overview
A great shave but my face needs a day off

SOTD Pic
None

Shave Quality
The shave was smooth and effortless today, except where I nicked myself last Sunday. The Marco Method made for a very pleasing volume of thick and slick lather. It all came together to a solid BBS. After the shave I was examining the nicks on my face. I am considering taking tomorrow off to let them heal.

Gear
The Bluebell soap is so, so good. I would give it an elite rating, but the fact that it is unobtainium knocks it out of contention. Being able to get more is an important factor for me. I love the performance.

The BT131 is a cheap pot metal razor. It won't last more than a few years, but they will be good shaving years. It performs much like a Gillette Tech, which it is modeled after.

Other Thoughts
Colorado is reopening in a limited way on when the current stay-at-home order expires. This is probably a good thing overall, but I worry about my wife. She is a Certified Massage Therapist, so social distancing at work is not an option for her. Interesting times keep being interesting.


Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you have a great day and stellar shaves, Cadre.
 
Journal Entry #523
2020 Shaves (DE: 88, SE: 13, Straight: 5, Cart: 0, Skipped: 6)

04/23/2020
Pre: Hot shower/splash of cool water/Stirling Piacenza pre-shave oil
Razor: Colonial Razors The General w/SS handle (from Occam Enoch passaround)
Blade: Feather AC Pro (1)
Bowl: Fine Lather Bowl
Brush: PAA Atomic Rocket 26mm
Soap/Cream: Bluebell Select Shaving Soap Peppermint (3)
AS 1: Thayer's Coconut Water Facial Toner
AS 2: Nivea Sensitive ASB & Lucky Tiger Disappearing Cream
AS 3: Fine Green Vetiver
Fragrance: none

Overview
A good shave to start the passaround

SOTD Pic
None

Shave Quality
The General always delivers. I am used to the lighter handle on my v1 General, so this was an interesting shave. The weight difference was noticeable. The lather from the Bluebell was top notch. That is some easy lathering, thick and slick soap. It all came together for BBS with no residual irritation and a pleasant lack of nicks getting reopened.

Gear
Fine's Green Vetiver is a very pleasant scent. They make excellent aftershaves.

Other Thoughts
I hate office politics. I hate having to worry about "visibility" and metrics and all the other numbers crap that only seems to matter to managers. I just want to quietly do my job, put out a quality product, and fly under the radar. I hate having to play the "Look at me! I did stuff! I'm valuable!" game. It is a rigged game where no matter how much you do and how much "visibility" you get, it is never enough. It always comes down to "Great! You did all that. Now do all that again but this time do more." The goal posts are always moving. The only way to win is to not play.


Thank you for reading and commenting on my journal. I hope you have a great day and stellar shaves, Cadre.
 
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