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Natterings of a Nasal Barbarian

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SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

Today’s shave featured two sentimental shaving tools. The mug shave featured the Lord 11/16 razor, the second straight razor I ever owned. I traded a Gillette Old Type circa 1909 in relatively rough shape for it. This 1920s vintage razor is the razor I learned to care for and hone on. It had a black water stained blade upon arrival, but Camelia oil and some 3000 grit film and elbow grease cleaned it up nicely. I initially put a jasper stone edge on it, but later refined that on my Chosera/Naniwa stones, finally finishing on the 9 Ball Slate.

The razor feels great in hand, and after whipping up the two kinds of MWF lather I enjoy for my shaves, proceeded to have a delightful three pass mug shave that left me oh-so-smooth. The MrEE LE SynBad knot is a great lather machine and really feels great on the shave surfaces. After depositing a thick, yogurty lather on my noggin, I grabbed the FrankenFamex. Two years ago when I purchased a complete Famex from a French shave brother, he threw in an additional wide bar cagehead baseplate. I have since added a Rockwell top cap and an ATT Atlas handle. I always enjoy the two pass ATG noggin shave this mini-monster delivers, and feel clean, cool, fragrant - SWMBO’s away for the weekend at a quilting do - and very velveteen.

RAZOR: Lord 11/16 (Mug), FrankenFamex (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE LE #005 with SynBad Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm and Ultimo Cologne, a favorite of bride #1.
 
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SOTD SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

Today’s mug shave featured my C-Mon Special 11/16. This is one razor that never fails! The extra hollow grind always results in a rousing refrain of the “Buttering Toast” tune as the razor goes about its task of successively reducing my facial whiskers. After a quick touch up on the Naniwa 12k and the 9 Ball Slate followed by a pass through the Constroption last night, this morning’s excellent mug shave was a foregone conclusion. Three passes easily put the baby to bed as the razor glided through the slick, creamy MWF lather. My MrEE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid knot brush really felt great on my noggin. This particular brush was the 7th produced in Evan’s first series of aluminum handled shave brushes. Itks a great brush and set the stage for the terrific dome shave to follow

One of my favorite, and most efficient safety razors is my Muhle 2011 R41. I never liked the original handle it came with and got rid rid of it very early in my ownership. The ATT Atlas handle almost seems made for the razor, and provides the perfect heft for its proper deployment. The thing about this particular model of R41 is that she demands respect in the form of good technique. I paid my dues in red fluid early on learning her idiosyncrasies, but now she always delivers an incredibly close two pass ATG noggin shave. Getting to this point with this razor required determination. The key was to go slow and steady. The result was the cool, clean velveteen result delivered this morning.

RAZOR: C-Mon Special 11/16 (Mug), Muhle 2011 R41 head on ATT Atlas Handle
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE LE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot #007
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with. PAA Frost Byte AS Splash.
 
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SOTD MONDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

How nice to wake up to a bright and sunny morning. It really seemed like it was time to try some different software, and the PAA Coconut Bay w/ Lime seemed just the ticket, particularly with SWMBO away until Wednesday. Time to go big and smelly! Don’t get me wrong here. I adore my bride, but she suffers from a severe fragrance allergy resulting in migraines which definitely curtails any fragrance frolic on my part. In fact, my lack of sophistication in the fragrance arena resulted in a ‘nom de plume’ for me at TSD of “Nasal Barbarian”. Compared to a number of my shave brothers there, most notably, Primo, it’s well earned. But I did enjoy the scent of these products today, although the post shave skin benefits pale when compared to my usual MWF.

In any case, this morning’s mug shave featured the Puma 88 5/8. This razor, while a bit rougher than many of my other razors holds a magnificent edge. The shave was buttery smooth as this Solingen sweetie successively reduced my mug stubble in three slow, very pleasant passes leaving your happy narrator delightfully smooth. My noggin shave was every bit as good. The Barbasol Floating Head is a remarkably efficient safety razor design that dates to the early 1930s. It’s not a razor for the newbie to wet shaving, as it does require good technique and the maintenance of a consistent angle throughout the shave. Which sometimes gets a bit tricky on the back of the noggin for these old arthritic shoulders and elbows. But this morning’s two pass ATG dome shave completed without mishap. I feel fragrant, clean and velveteen.

RAZOR: Puma 88 5/8 (Mug), Barbasol FH (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Monster Aluminum Handled Tuxedo Synth
SOAP: PAA Coconut Bay w/ Lime
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with PAA Coconut Bay w/ Lime AS Splash.
 
GearNoir said:
Very nice Jeff! Have fun bacheloring it for the next couple days!
Click to expand...
Yeah, it’s definitely time to break out those stored stinks from marriage #1. My first wife, rest her soul, loved me wearing cologne. Her favorite was this stuff called Ultimo. I’ll wear that tomorrow.
 
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SOTD TUESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021

Given that this is the last day before SWMBO returns, I broke out one of my old favorites, Ogallala Bay Rum AS and decided against the Ultimo. It’s back to relatively unscented or lime products tomorrow. The mug shave this morning featured my Frederick Reynolds rattler grind. I hadn’t shaved with this razor in some time, and it began to tug a bit on the third pass. This is a very wavy blade, and has always presented a honing challenge. So it’s back to the Naniwa 12k and the 9 Ball slate for a refresh. Despite the tug, the result was acceptably smooth

The silver plated Autostrop VB2 was the singular luxury model of Gaisman’s designs, and always delivers a top tier noggin shave as it did this morning. It came in a shiny silver toned case with two silver plated blade cases. This model reflected the success of the early Roaring Twenties and was killed by the 1928 stock market crash and depression that followed. I feel fortunate to have the complete cased version of this lovely safety razor. I loaded my last carbon steel FAS-10 Feather blade. I may need to resort to the FHS-10 SS blades as I’m having problems sourcing the carbon steel which respond well to the stropping function of this beautiful little razor. In any case, two ATG dome passes and I’m porcelain smooth. The Ogallala Bay Rum was the icing on the cake.

RAZOR: Frederick Reynolds Rattler 5/8 (Mug), Valet Autostrop VB2 (Dome)
BLADE: Feather FAS-10 Carbon Steel
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: JT Sapele/Resin Handled Omega Pro48 Boar Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Ogallala Bay Rum AS Splash.
 
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SOTD WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

This morning was a bit gloomy. Today’s mug shave featured the Wade & Butcher 7/8. The three pass shave went well leaving your happy narrator acceptably smooth. A series of graduated pasted strops in the form of my Constroption continues to maintain stellar edges for me. There is definitely a sharpening effect, as I’ve noticed that a honed razor that won’t quite pass the styrofoam peanut test after finishing a touch up, will do so after a pass through the Constroption.

The dome shave was really excellent today. I sometimes forget that the inventor of the Autostrop and Probak razors, Henry Gaisman, spent 40 years perfecting his Autostrop design with the VC4, today’s dome shaver representing his final design. This razor never fails to deliver an absolutely superb noggin shave. The other Autostrops are great shavers as well, but there’s just something about this particular final model that checks all the boxes for me. Two ATG passes and I’m cool, clean, and very velveteen.

RAZOR: Wade & Butcher 7/8 (Mug), Valet Autostrop Model VC4 (Dome)
BLADE: Feather FAS-10. (18)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Royall Lyme AS/Cologne.
 
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