Patelliott
"I NEED NurseDave's Energy"
Yeah I hear that one. I'm allergic to cats, but my wife still brought her cat to our house when we got married.
The Shaving Cadre
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Natterings of a Nasal Barbarian
- Thread starter jgreenepa
- Start date
Yeah I hear that one. I'm allergic to cats, but my wife still brought her cat to our house when we got married.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD 02/07/20
One of the problems with having too many safety razors is that we forget certain things about our favorites. The LaResche 51 has a well deserved reputation. It is simply a magnificent shaving tool. The LaResche family were originally Swiss, and apparently spent four decades on incremental improvements to the Model 51. It is both smooth and incredibly efficient. I would hazard to say that this NOS example represents the endpoint of their razor business and is every bit as good as any of the modern artisan razors I've shaved with.
Today’s shave again featured MWF, the best shaving soap on the planet for those without lanolin allergies. I love the stuff! I have been using it every day since February 1st, and must say that my dome and face feel very hydrated. So much so, that I decided to forgo the PAA Cube Preshave Soap today. I just lathered up with my Jayaruh Custom Silvertip Badger and had at it. My first WTG pass seemed pretty close to yesterday’s perfect shave, but did leave some tangible rough spots in my usual places on my face, whereas yesterday’s first pass left me pretty much at the BBS level on my face. The same was true for the dome as well. This shave, not so much! I guess there is something to be said for the efficacy of PAA Cube Preshave Soap. In any case, after relathering, the ATG second pass cleared every thing up! If the goal is to achieve a full bloodless BBS on a regular basis this razor joins a select club for me. The club members are: Colonial Silversmith, Blackland Vector, Seki AS-D2, RR SS Lupo, and GE Jones Shake Sharp. I'm now on my second two pass, bloodless BBS. I’ll keep shaving with this razor until blood appears. I've never had more than three in a row. I still don’t understand how this razor can be so smooth and at the same time so efficient. There was no heat from the alum block for the second day in a row. I’m really liking this French shaving tool! I feel clean smooth, cool and refreshed!
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold Water rinse
BRUSH: Jayaruh Custom Rosewood Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash
One of the problems with having too many safety razors is that we forget certain things about our favorites. The LaResche 51 has a well deserved reputation. It is simply a magnificent shaving tool. The LaResche family were originally Swiss, and apparently spent four decades on incremental improvements to the Model 51. It is both smooth and incredibly efficient. I would hazard to say that this NOS example represents the endpoint of their razor business and is every bit as good as any of the modern artisan razors I've shaved with.
Today’s shave again featured MWF, the best shaving soap on the planet for those without lanolin allergies. I love the stuff! I have been using it every day since February 1st, and must say that my dome and face feel very hydrated. So much so, that I decided to forgo the PAA Cube Preshave Soap today. I just lathered up with my Jayaruh Custom Silvertip Badger and had at it. My first WTG pass seemed pretty close to yesterday’s perfect shave, but did leave some tangible rough spots in my usual places on my face, whereas yesterday’s first pass left me pretty much at the BBS level on my face. The same was true for the dome as well. This shave, not so much! I guess there is something to be said for the efficacy of PAA Cube Preshave Soap. In any case, after relathering, the ATG second pass cleared every thing up! If the goal is to achieve a full bloodless BBS on a regular basis this razor joins a select club for me. The club members are: Colonial Silversmith, Blackland Vector, Seki AS-D2, RR SS Lupo, and GE Jones Shake Sharp. I'm now on my second two pass, bloodless BBS. I’ll keep shaving with this razor until blood appears. I've never had more than three in a row. I still don’t understand how this razor can be so smooth and at the same time so efficient. There was no heat from the alum block for the second day in a row. I’m really liking this French shaving tool! I feel clean smooth, cool and refreshed!
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold Water rinse
BRUSH: Jayaruh Custom Rosewood Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
I agree! I’ve owned a 51 in the past, but it was a much older model from the 30’s. This NOS LaResche is pretty amazing!No alum sting is a great thing!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Actually the wanker resembles the cat in the GIF. Be careful; special forces cats are hell on dogs!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD 02/08/20
I have to admit that this razor is truly amazing! My third bloodless two pass BBS in a row! Today after cleaning up after the shave, I closely examined the baseplate! I always disassemble and clean and dry each razor after use. I’ve already commented on how the end bars sit slightly above the inner teeth on this OC design, but what I hadn’t noticed that first time was the very slight concave bowing of the baseplate. It is so subtle that it only came to my attention after careful observation. The top cap is also similarly bowed. The efficacy of the slant design is well known. Now I’m no razor designer, but I wonder if this slight bowing of only a few degrees produces a slight dual guillotine effect. I guess I’m grasping at straws trying to figure out how one razor can be so smooth and yet so incredibly efficient. My other 51 was not the Luxe model, and it was a smooth shaver, but it didn’t compare efficiency-wise. Now it was from the 30’s according to the guy I bought it from, and this one represents 40 more years of incremental improvements. So I’ll just attribute it’s efficacy to that! In any case, my third bloodless BBS with no heat anywhere! Is it possible to fall in love with an inanimate piece of metal? If so, I’m there! Hope SWMBO doesn’t sense my divided affections. I feel clean, smooth, cool and refreshed!
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with PAA’s Preshave Cube Soap
BRUSH: Omega Pro48 Boar
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash
I have to admit that this razor is truly amazing! My third bloodless two pass BBS in a row! Today after cleaning up after the shave, I closely examined the baseplate! I always disassemble and clean and dry each razor after use. I’ve already commented on how the end bars sit slightly above the inner teeth on this OC design, but what I hadn’t noticed that first time was the very slight concave bowing of the baseplate. It is so subtle that it only came to my attention after careful observation. The top cap is also similarly bowed. The efficacy of the slant design is well known. Now I’m no razor designer, but I wonder if this slight bowing of only a few degrees produces a slight dual guillotine effect. I guess I’m grasping at straws trying to figure out how one razor can be so smooth and yet so incredibly efficient. My other 51 was not the Luxe model, and it was a smooth shaver, but it didn’t compare efficiency-wise. Now it was from the 30’s according to the guy I bought it from, and this one represents 40 more years of incremental improvements. So I’ll just attribute it’s efficacy to that! In any case, my third bloodless BBS with no heat anywhere! Is it possible to fall in love with an inanimate piece of metal? If so, I’m there! Hope SWMBO doesn’t sense my divided affections. I feel clean, smooth, cool and refreshed!
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with PAA’s Preshave Cube Soap
BRUSH: Omega Pro48 Boar
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash
You're killing me with your love of the razor. I have soft spot for these vintage babies.
By the way, my wife would say I'm a nasal barbarian but this is due to my snoring.
I really enjoy reading your write ups, but I also fear that if you approached me with a sales pitch for a bridge I’d be reaching for my wallet almost immediately.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
It's funny that you say that! I'm really not intent on enabling, just describing my experience with this one particular razor. I think you're safe, there's not a lot of NOS LaResche around.I really enjoy reading your write ups, but I also fear that if you approached me with a sales pitch for a bridge I’d be reaching for my wallet almost immediately.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
I've been on a CPAP for 20 years, so I share your pain.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD 02/09/20
Day nine of Wool Fat February continued with a new record for me. This is my fourth bloodless BBS with no irritation or heat revealed by the alum block. I hate to say it, but I think I’ve found my Grail razor! Please don’t tell SWMBO, but I definitely have divided affections! Probably just a short term fling, but who knows?
Things proceeded as usual, with a cold water rinse followed by a good scrub with the PAA Preshave Cube soap, although it hasn’t been a cube for months, on this beautiful sunny day in the Philly suburbs. My faithful dachshund buddy, Gromit, parked himself on the stool on SWMBO’s side of the bathroom to observe. The Viking brush whipped up the initial MWF paste which was then face and head lathered to its usual thick yogurty consistency with ample application of hot water via the brush. I was on the second and final use of the second Wizamet blade in the razor. I routinely discard my blades after two shaves.
Part of me was hoping for blood, but on that first WTG pass, this incredible razor swept away those whiskers like the Romans through the Sabine women, shearing them right down to the skin line. Using the LaResche on that first pass, felt as though I was shaving without a blade. Be still my heart! It left very slight roughness around the troublesome Adam’s Apple and just a bit in the middle of the back of the head. The shave could easily pass the cotton test everywhere else. My second pass, if you could call it that, consisted of relathering those two areas and buffing away the roughness. One and a half passes and Madame LaResche delivered a complete bloodless BBS for the fourth time in a row! Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash revealed a very slight sting in the buffed areas and left me feeling clean, cool, refreshed and in love! Please don’t tell SWMBO!
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with PAA’s Cube Preshave Soap
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash
Day nine of Wool Fat February continued with a new record for me. This is my fourth bloodless BBS with no irritation or heat revealed by the alum block. I hate to say it, but I think I’ve found my Grail razor! Please don’t tell SWMBO, but I definitely have divided affections! Probably just a short term fling, but who knows?
Things proceeded as usual, with a cold water rinse followed by a good scrub with the PAA Preshave Cube soap, although it hasn’t been a cube for months, on this beautiful sunny day in the Philly suburbs. My faithful dachshund buddy, Gromit, parked himself on the stool on SWMBO’s side of the bathroom to observe. The Viking brush whipped up the initial MWF paste which was then face and head lathered to its usual thick yogurty consistency with ample application of hot water via the brush. I was on the second and final use of the second Wizamet blade in the razor. I routinely discard my blades after two shaves.
Part of me was hoping for blood, but on that first WTG pass, this incredible razor swept away those whiskers like the Romans through the Sabine women, shearing them right down to the skin line. Using the LaResche on that first pass, felt as though I was shaving without a blade. Be still my heart! It left very slight roughness around the troublesome Adam’s Apple and just a bit in the middle of the back of the head. The shave could easily pass the cotton test everywhere else. My second pass, if you could call it that, consisted of relathering those two areas and buffing away the roughness. One and a half passes and Madame LaResche delivered a complete bloodless BBS for the fourth time in a row! Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash revealed a very slight sting in the buffed areas and left me feeling clean, cool, refreshed and in love! Please don’t tell SWMBO!
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with PAA’s Cube Preshave Soap
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash
This may be one of the best comparisons in shaving ever! To compare the "Rape of Sabine" to shaving is sublime! And to go along with it...that LaResche is an absolute gorgeous muse to go along with the Roman Mythological comparison. Believe me sir...I am in awe this morning!
Patelliott
"I NEED NurseDave's Energy"
Sounds like you are having a lot of fun with your shaves lately!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Don:
I’m just really having fun! I was worried a bit about that metaphor. Glad you appreciated it! SWMBO thought it politically incorrect given the ‘me too’ nonsense going on these days! Never let that stop me! I can say what I wish! Earned the right With the number of solar rotations I have under the belt!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
I am, thanks!
Having taken Latin in college, I understand that the word rape in Latin actually means "taking away" or likely kidnapping. I appreciate the intelligent humor.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD 02/10/20
What can I say? It’s day five of what turned into another face and dome two pass, irritation-free BBS. This is the grail razor for me! All I can say is the LaResche family knew their business! Maybe it’s my continued focus on MWF? Whatever it is; I’ll be sticking with this divine shaving tool until first blood or boredom, whichever comes first, and given how well the shaves are going, I suspect it will be boredom.
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with PAA’s Preshave Cube Soap
BRUSH: Rearden Razor 316L SS Synthetic
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WHand finished with Florida Water AS/Cologne
What can I say? It’s day five of what turned into another face and dome two pass, irritation-free BBS. This is the grail razor for me! All I can say is the LaResche family knew their business! Maybe it’s my continued focus on MWF? Whatever it is; I’ll be sticking with this divine shaving tool until first blood or boredom, whichever comes first, and given how well the shaves are going, I suspect it will be boredom.
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with PAA’s Preshave Cube Soap
BRUSH: Rearden Razor 316L SS Synthetic
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WHand finished with Florida Water AS/Cologne
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD 02/11/20
And so it goes, as Kurt Vonnegut was wont to say! I admit it; I’m both baffled and beguiled by this surprising shaving tool. The blade sits flat against the baseplate, but also sits on the end bars which themselves sit slightly above the inner teeth of this surprisingly subtle OC design. Does this slight gap explain the extraordinary efficiency and smoothness of this razor? It’s now day six of of a bloodless, two pass, irritation-free BBS shave of both dome and face!
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with PAA’s Preshave Cube Soap
BRUSH: Jayaruh Custom Boar
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Ogallala Bay Rum (SWMBO left very early this AM)
And so it goes, as Kurt Vonnegut was wont to say! I admit it; I’m both baffled and beguiled by this surprising shaving tool. The blade sits flat against the baseplate, but also sits on the end bars which themselves sit slightly above the inner teeth of this surprisingly subtle OC design. Does this slight gap explain the extraordinary efficiency and smoothness of this razor? It’s now day six of of a bloodless, two pass, irritation-free BBS shave of both dome and face!
RAZOR: LaResche 51 Luxe
BLADE: Wizamet Super Iridium
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with PAA’s Preshave Cube Soap
BRUSH: Jayaruh Custom Boar
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Ogallala Bay Rum (SWMBO left very early this AM)
Sounds like a perfect shave!
My wife is allergic to cats, and at least two of our three sleep on the bed each night. She adores those little critters.
