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Natterings of a Nasal Barbarian

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SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 29, 2021

Since we’re close to the end of the month I decided to start with my noggin instead of my mug! This morning’s dome shave featured my Leresche 51 Luxe. I’ve been neglecting this superb OC shaver, and was reminded of it by a friend last night who’s considering acquiring one. I own three Leresche razors, a 51, a 61, and a 77. I’ll probably be getting rid of the 61, one of the few three piece safety razors manufactured by the company. It's a good shaver, just not in the same category as the other two. The 51 is one of my finest vintage safety razors. It sheared away my dome stubble in two ATG passes leaving my noggin wonderfully smooth.

Instead of the usual MWF, I pulled out my tub of Wholly Kaw’s King of Oud. It’s a decent soap, but not in the same category as MWF, Castle Forbes, or Nancy Boy. The Viking Silvertip Badger did an excellent job generating the two types of lather I like for my shaves. The post shave feel just isn’t there for me with this soap. The Wade & Butcher 7/8 is another sadly neglected razor in my den. Its Sheffield blade holds a great edge which I touched up last night on the Swaty and constroption. Two and 1/2 passes left me dolphin smooth. BarberDave of the Shaving Cadre forum has moved my straight shaves to a new level of smooth with his flatblading technique.

RAZOR: Wade & Butcher 7/8 (Mug), Leresche 51 Luxe (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
SOAP: King of Oud
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm.
 
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SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 30, 2021

The JR Boar #374 whipped up the two kinds of lather I enjoy for my shaves. The Castle Forbes Lavender really smelled great this morning. I was really in the mood for a lavender shave, and feeling lazy since I hadn’t prepared a straight last night. So I grabbed the Tedalus and loaded a fresh Feather Super. This barber’s razor just feels great in hand, and shaves my mug exactly like any of my best straights. Two passes followed by some focused neck buffing and flatblading left the mug dolphin smooth.

Since there’s only two dome shaves left for OC October, I decided to finish the month off with my two favorite Gillette OC’s. Today’s noggin shave featured my Gillette New Standard. While not a Gillette TTO fanboy, by any means, I do enjoy shaving with their original Old Type (OT). But my absolute favorite Gillettes are any of their New series models that followed the OT. That particular head design works well for me, and never fails to deliver a top tier, barber’s grade dome shave as it did this morning. Two ATG passes and I was velveteen smooth from dome to shoulders.

RAZOR: Tedalus Essence (Mug), Gillette New Standard (Dome)
BLADE: Feather Super (Mug), Feather DE (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: JR Boar #374
CREAM: Castle Forbes Lavender
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Thayers WH. Finished with Fine Lavender Pour Homme and Chatillon Lux Lavender Toner.
 
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SOTD SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 31, 2021

Woke up to a relatively overcast morning on this final day of OC October. The 16 oz 316L SS Rearden Razor Tuxedo Synth built the two kinds of MWF lathers I like for my shaves. I shaved this morning with the razor that launched me into straight shaving, my Dovo Special 5/8. The razor has a fine edge that I’ve maintained on my Naniwa 12k. I gave it a few laps on the Swaty Barber’s hone this morning and had a very pleasant two and a half mug pass shave that left me quite smooth. The following two pass ATG dome shave with the Gillette New LC checked all the boxes and left me velveteen smooth from shoulders to noggin for a fitting capstone shave of the month.

RAZOR: Dovo Special 5/8 (Mug), Gillette New LC (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Rearden Razor 316L SS Tuxedo Synth
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.
 
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SOTD MONDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 1, 2021

Today’s mug shave featured the Smith Bros 11/16. This razor has a phenomenal edge thanks to the 9 Ball Slate. It is recently returned from the Sandpoint ID Razor beauty spa where it was fitted with a new set of scales by the proprietor, Glen Mercurio. The new scales fit the razor much better and impart a better sense of b early alance than the former, much slimmer, original horn, insect eaten scales.

This morning’s mug shave sheared away my whiskers in what has evolved into a regular two and a half pass regimen. The first two passes cleared everything away to the jawline. The final half pass focused exclusively on the neck and consisted of some very careful scything passes on each side of the Adam’s Apple followed by some final flatblading leaving me as smooth as my great-granddaughter's bottom.

Since I spent last month almost exclusively with my OC safety razors, I decided to kick off the first shave in November with my Cooper Kant-Rust, a vintage safety razor manufactured in Brooklyn, NY in the early thirties. It has a knurled hexagonal handle that is quite slip-proof, and delivered a velveteen smooth two pass ATG shave leaving your happy narrator very pleased with the results.

RAZOR: Smith Bros. 11/16 (Mug), Cooper Kant-Rust (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE LE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot #007
SOAP: Nuavia Blue
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Thayers WH. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm and Canoe EdT.
 
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SOTD MONDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 1, 2021

Today’s mug shave featured the Smith Bros 11/16. This razor has a phenomenal edge thanks to the 9 Ball Slate. It is recently returned from the Sandpoint ID Razor beauty spa where it was fitted with a new set of scales by the proprietor, Glen Mercurio. The new scales fit the razor much better and impart a better sense of b early alance than the former, much slimmer, original horn, insect eaten scales.

This morning’s mug shave sheared away my whiskers in what has evolved into a regular two and a half pass regimen. The first two passes cleared everything away to the jawline. The final half pass focused exclusively on the neck and consisted of some very careful scything passes on each side of the Adam’s Apple followed by some final flatblading leaving me as smooth as my great-granddaughter's bottom.

Since I spent last month almost exclusively with my OC safety razors, I decided to kick off the first shave in November with my Cooper Kant-Rust, a vintage safety razor manufactured in Brooklyn, NY in the early thirties. It has a knurled hexagonal handle that is quite slip-proof, and delivered a velveteen smooth two pass ATG shave leaving your happy narrator very pleased with the results.

RAZOR: Smith Bros. 11/16 (Mug), Cooper Kant-Rust (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE LE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot #007
SOAP: Nuavia Blue
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Thayers WH. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm and Canoe EdT.
Very nice shaves the past several days, Jeff. What do you think of that 3 piece Cooper? Does it take regular DE blades without modification?
 
View attachment 65676
SOTD MONDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 1, 2021

Today’s mug shave featured the Smith Bros 11/16. This razor has a phenomenal edge thanks to the 9 Ball Slate. It is recently returned from the Sandpoint ID Razor beauty spa where it was fitted with a new set of scales by the proprietor, Glen Mercurio. The new scales fit the razor much better and impart a better sense of b early alance than the former, much slimmer, original horn, insect eaten scales.

This morning’s mug shave sheared away my whiskers in what has evolved into a regular two and a half pass regimen. The first two passes cleared everything away to the jawline. The final half pass focused exclusively on the neck and consisted of some very careful scything passes on each side of the Adam’s Apple followed by some final flatblading leaving me as smooth as my great-granddaughter's bottom.

Since I spent last month almost exclusively with my OC safety razors, I decided to kick off the first shave in November with my Cooper Kant-Rust, a vintage safety razor manufactured in Brooklyn, NY in the early thirties. It has a knurled hexagonal handle that is quite slip-proof, and delivered a velveteen smooth two pass ATG shave leaving your happy narrator very pleased with the results.

RAZOR: Smith Bros. 11/16 (Mug), Cooper Kant-Rust (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE LE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot #007
SOAP: Nuavia Blue
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Thayers WH. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm and Canoe EdT.
The Cooper is a cool razor, Jeff. It has some Art Deco characteristics.
 
Very nice shaves the past several days, Jeff. What do you think of that 3 piece Cooper? Does it take regular DE blades without modification?
Thanks, Jason! I really like it! It takes DE blades with no modification, and shaves very much like a pre-war Tech, maybe a bit more aggressive. There’s apparently an adjustable version, but I don’t have and have never shaved with one of those.
 
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SOTD TUESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 2, 2021

After yesterday’s great weather, it was a bit of a shock to wake up to today’s overcast. My only recourse was a good shave, and this morning’s did not disappoint. I’ve heard that “tungsten steel or blue steel” were just marketing gimmicks that the early 20th century razor manufacturers used to hawk their wares. Well I believe there may be a kernel of truth there.

The edge on the Smith Bros. blue steel razor that I shaved with yesterday is amazingly sharp. The Shumate ‘tungsten steel’ 5/8 that I shaved the mug with this morning has maintained the same amazingly sharp edge for well over a year with no touch up. It is a very common looking straight razor, but the two and a half pass shave this morning was superb! Shumate built one heck of a razor1!

Those of you who have been reading my posts will be aware that I’m not a fan of Gillette TTO safety razors. There are exceptions to every rule, and the little Gillette Gold Rocket I shaved with this morning is definitely one. I really like the knurling on the handle which makes this little razor slip-proof. The two pass ATG noggin shave went swimmingly, and left yours truly velveteen smooth from dome to shoulders.

RAZOR: Shumate 5/8 (Mug), Gillette Gold Rocket (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Alpha Shaving T-400 Tribute with 24mm Hybrid Knot Ferrule
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Chiseled Face Natural (Mug) and Osage Rub (Dome).
 
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