Yikes! Hope you feel better soon.
The Shaving Cadre
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Not quite Music City USA
- Thread starter fhalden
- Start date
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Hope your back gets back to right soon Frank!
Amen to that! Every morning, every day!
You sir, are my favorite!
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Today's shave:
Razor: Wolfman WR2 1.05
Blade: Gillette Platinum
Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Super Badger
Lather: Zingari Man The Gent
Aftershave: Captain's Choice Bay Rum
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
A great shave today with Zingari Man The Gent. I'm a big Zingari Man fan, and am currently a product tester for her. I'm using a face cleansing bar she's developed, which is pretty darned good. It'll be great once she adds fragrance. Right now it has no scent other than that of the soap itself.
I'm almost done with this bottle of Captains Choice Bay Rum, which is a long time favorite of mine.
The Wolfman works just fine.
Have a great day everyone!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Razor: Wolfman WR2 1.05
Blade: Gillette Platinum
Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Super Badger
Lather: Zingari Man The Gent
Aftershave: Captain's Choice Bay Rum
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
A great shave today with Zingari Man The Gent. I'm a big Zingari Man fan, and am currently a product tester for her. I'm using a face cleansing bar she's developed, which is pretty darned good. It'll be great once she adds fragrance. Right now it has no scent other than that of the soap itself.
I'm almost done with this bottle of Captains Choice Bay Rum, which is a long time favorite of mine.
The Wolfman works just fine.
Have a great day everyone!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
I loved that stuff. Co9T too.
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Oh yes, the Co9T is awesome!I loved that stuff. Co9T too.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Today's shave:
Razor: Above The Tie Windsor SSRH w/Atlas handle
Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium
Brush: Simpson Duke D3 Best Badger
Lather: Saponificio Varasino 70th Anniversary Edition
Aftershave: Saponificio Varesino 70th Anniversary Edition
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
SV 70th smells wonderful, and the AS is a perfect companion
I'm glad I pulled out the Above the Tie Windsor is the best mild razor I've never used,,,
,
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Razor: Above The Tie Windsor SSRH w/Atlas handle
Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium
Brush: Simpson Duke D3 Best Badger
Lather: Saponificio Varasino 70th Anniversary Edition
Aftershave: Saponificio Varesino 70th Anniversary Edition
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
SV 70th smells wonderful, and the AS is a perfect companion
I'm glad I pulled out the Above the Tie Windsor is the best mild razor I've never used,,,
,
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
The Windsor reminds me of a Tech. Enjoy your shaves!
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
I think that is a spot-on comparison. The big difference is the weight, but the tech comparison is right on the money! Cheers!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
I love it. SV soaps are to me like listening to Chopin. It's filled with beauty, and I'm unequipped to analyze scent notes, and the scent unfolding and sequence. So, I just abandon trying and just revel in the complexity. Everything about this stuff impresses me.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Today's shave:
Razor: Carbon Cx-316L
Blade: Gillette Nacet Stainless
Lather: CBL Sir Fougere
Aftershave: Murray & Lanman Florida Water
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
As I consolidate my soaps, I come across a few brands which I have no intention of purging. My set of 17 CBL soaps are in this category.
For me, the properties of a shaving soap fall into two categories: Slickness, and everything else. Everything else doesn't matter if the soap isn't slick. Amidst all the fun of scents, and the ease of lathering and all, Slickness is a prior requirement, and in my experience with soaps, which Shave Buddy tells me sits at 445 soaps, only one soap is clearly, in my opinion, slicker, and that is Tallow Mitchell's.
This is not at all to say that CBL soaps are in any way lacking in those other attributes. In fact, scent wise, CBL does it perfectly. A scent that is effortlessly diffused to the nose during the shave, but which departs with the residue when rinsed.
It does not assault me with over a dozen exotic animal and plant fats (I don't know what special properties Wagyu beef tallow has over mundane beef tallow. All I know about Wagyu beef is that it is not in my budget!)
My next 17 shaves will be a revisitation of my CBL soaps, including Orion Hammam Spa, which I have, but haven't yet used. It has a high standard to fulfill, given it's stellar reviews by Barber Dave, whose opinions on soaps I hold in high regard. I'm interested to see how it works for me.
The Carbon razor is an ingenious take on economy of mass, and a nicely located balance point. I like the design. I think it's an attractive razor.
Three years ago, on this forum, I asked for opinions on whether or not to pull the trigger on a Simpsons Chubby 2 Super. I got a lot of different opinions: Get one now! Don't get one, the QC is spotty. Don't get one, they lose a lot of hairs. Get one, it's a classic brush that should be tried if possible.
After a lot of internal back and forth, I pulled the trigger. Three years later, it's lost perhaps 3 hairs, and I'm a Simpson collector. I've fallen in love with them. I have a couple of PAA brushes, which are very good brushes, a Shavemac D01, an Omega Evo and my old old no name badger from the dark ages. I used it for powder until I got tired of dusting everything. My rule for buying a badger brush is now, I'm only interested in Simpsons.
I'm sure I'm irrationally closing myself off from a lot of incredible brushes. The Paladins are often breathtaking, and then there are artisans like The Varlet guy, and Declaration Grooming. But to be honest, I can't tell the difference between 2 millimeters of loft, or 2 mm of depth in the handle. Everyone's got their own vocab for grading hair. I'm familiar with Pure, Best, Super, and Manchurian. I enjoy them all for their differences, and don't have a favorite.
So my brush world is consciously limited, but quite happily so.
Finally, Florida Water is the only aftershave/cologne I know of that is used in Voodoo rituals. There's also a legend I've read a few places that says to sprinkle it on your pillow for lucid dreams. I tried it. No luck.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Razor: Carbon Cx-316L
Blade: Gillette Nacet Stainless
Lather: CBL Sir Fougere
Aftershave: Murray & Lanman Florida Water
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
As I consolidate my soaps, I come across a few brands which I have no intention of purging. My set of 17 CBL soaps are in this category.
For me, the properties of a shaving soap fall into two categories: Slickness, and everything else. Everything else doesn't matter if the soap isn't slick. Amidst all the fun of scents, and the ease of lathering and all, Slickness is a prior requirement, and in my experience with soaps, which Shave Buddy tells me sits at 445 soaps, only one soap is clearly, in my opinion, slicker, and that is Tallow Mitchell's.
This is not at all to say that CBL soaps are in any way lacking in those other attributes. In fact, scent wise, CBL does it perfectly. A scent that is effortlessly diffused to the nose during the shave, but which departs with the residue when rinsed.
It does not assault me with over a dozen exotic animal and plant fats (I don't know what special properties Wagyu beef tallow has over mundane beef tallow. All I know about Wagyu beef is that it is not in my budget!)
My next 17 shaves will be a revisitation of my CBL soaps, including Orion Hammam Spa, which I have, but haven't yet used. It has a high standard to fulfill, given it's stellar reviews by Barber Dave, whose opinions on soaps I hold in high regard. I'm interested to see how it works for me.
The Carbon razor is an ingenious take on economy of mass, and a nicely located balance point. I like the design. I think it's an attractive razor.
Three years ago, on this forum, I asked for opinions on whether or not to pull the trigger on a Simpsons Chubby 2 Super. I got a lot of different opinions: Get one now! Don't get one, the QC is spotty. Don't get one, they lose a lot of hairs. Get one, it's a classic brush that should be tried if possible.
After a lot of internal back and forth, I pulled the trigger. Three years later, it's lost perhaps 3 hairs, and I'm a Simpson collector. I've fallen in love with them. I have a couple of PAA brushes, which are very good brushes, a Shavemac D01, an Omega Evo and my old old no name badger from the dark ages. I used it for powder until I got tired of dusting everything. My rule for buying a badger brush is now, I'm only interested in Simpsons.
I'm sure I'm irrationally closing myself off from a lot of incredible brushes. The Paladins are often breathtaking, and then there are artisans like The Varlet guy, and Declaration Grooming. But to be honest, I can't tell the difference between 2 millimeters of loft, or 2 mm of depth in the handle. Everyone's got their own vocab for grading hair. I'm familiar with Pure, Best, Super, and Manchurian. I enjoy them all for their differences, and don't have a favorite.
So my brush world is consciously limited, but quite happily so.
Finally, Florida Water is the only aftershave/cologne I know of that is used in Voodoo rituals. There's also a legend I've read a few places that says to sprinkle it on your pillow for lucid dreams. I tried it. No luck.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Or you are rationally choosing to not spend megabucks for a brush that is marginally "better".
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
I like that way of thinking about it better! Thank you!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Today's shave, June 11, 2023
Razor: Rockwell 6S Plate 5
Blade: Gillette Nacet Stainless
Brush: Simpson Keyhole KH2
Lather: CBL Orion Hammam Spa
Aftershave: Floid Genuine Aftershave
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
Here goes.
I use Tapatalk to access the forum. It offers a nice interface, but there's stuff it doesn't seem to import, like signatures. Mine, at least when I last saw it, was something like, "If Barber Dave says it's good, then I'm there," or something to that effect. Maybe it's different now, but it was funny when it appeared.
It's funny because it's true.
As I've progressed in this hobby through the years, a lot of what I considered when I was buying soaps were the reactions and recommendations of people on forums and FB and YouTube. Read enough or watch enough, and you get a feel for whose opinions are well-considered and reliable, and who just likes everything from a favorite vendor, or who just likes everything. Some stay silent unless they love it. TL;DR, over time, you figure out whose opinions are relevant to my tastes.
Dave currently has 545 videos on YouTube. I've watched the vast majority, just for the shaving.. He's one of 5 YouTubers I not only enjoy watching shaving, but whose opinions and recommendations carry weight with me. There are a lot of YouTubers I like watching, but whose opinions of products are useless, because they have been given the product for free by the artisan. And this is not disclosed. When Dave was a SV brand ambassador for SV, that fact was disclosed repeatedly and up front. But he's never ever shilled. There are also those who love everything they use, and who have nothing the least bit critical to say. Hagiography is not criticism, and is useless to me. He has never, not once, recommended a product without giving substantial reasons. And perhaps it is by chance, but I've never regretted following his recommendation. So, yes, he's one of a small selection of wetshaving voices I give the greatest weight to.
He turned me on to Pannacrema Nuavia Verde, which along with my 1985 Sugar Bowl ticket stub might join me in my casket.
You may recall, and I'll be purposefully oblique here to avoid restarting anything, that there was (and may still be) a brand of soap, in a over the top glass and cork container, that was so obscenely expensive it made people call it the best ever, I suspect because paying that amount for saponified fat would be impossible to justify unless it were the best.
There was a tiny bit of kerfuffle from that artisan, when he heard it had been done better, in direct reaction.
It was a long time ago. You know how it goes in the hobby. Ancient history. So...
Tonight I finally, after way too much time, used CBL Orion Hammam Spa. I bought it on Dave's recommendation alone.
I was a little cautious going in, because in videos where Dave has used it he's always said lathering it could be optimized by a specific sequence of scrubbing and water addition. This gave me a little pause, because I'm not excited about a soap I have to learn. My fears were unfounded. It lathered just great, doing it the way I've settled on for myself.
Now, here's the thing, a first impression I suppose, about Orion.
My jar is too small. That's all I've got on the negative side.
Everything else about this soap is magical. It loaded easily, lathered on my face perfectly, doing it the way I lather, so my reservations vanished.
Here's where my vocabulary fails me, and I can only use analogies. But the Slickness!
It's no secret that Slickness is by far the most important property of a soap for me, and that Mitchell's Wool Fat is my apex soap in that regard.
Orion is so close to it that I doubt I could tell them apart in a blindfold test. This may not mean anything, but it is as slick, but things felt "softer," almost as if there was no blade in the razor. It's really quite remarkable.
I do not always agree with Dave. I'm not a big fan of the Spearhead Seaforth line for example, but I can find no issue with his estimation of Orion.
Tonight's shave was special and memorable. It's been a long long time since I repeatedly said, "Oh yeah!" to myself as I shaved.
Try this soap, period.
My database records my using almost 450 soaps. Too many to go back and try and rank. But of those soaps, only a very few have stood clearly above the rest: MWF, Zingari Man Sego, Pannacrema Nuavia, any SV, Mystic Water, and Orion. MWF and Orion are the slickest of anything I've ever used.
"Wow" moments are rare anymore. Tonight I had one. Thank you @CBLindsay, it turned just another day into a real treat.
I suppose, and can understand, that this whole diatribe could be seen as grovelling before owners, but I assure and affirm that this account is just an accurate and truthful representation of my experience.
The way I see it, I'm lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
Have a great day everyone.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Razor: Rockwell 6S Plate 5
Blade: Gillette Nacet Stainless
Brush: Simpson Keyhole KH2
Lather: CBL Orion Hammam Spa
Aftershave: Floid Genuine Aftershave
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
Here goes.
I use Tapatalk to access the forum. It offers a nice interface, but there's stuff it doesn't seem to import, like signatures. Mine, at least when I last saw it, was something like, "If Barber Dave says it's good, then I'm there," or something to that effect. Maybe it's different now, but it was funny when it appeared.
It's funny because it's true.
As I've progressed in this hobby through the years, a lot of what I considered when I was buying soaps were the reactions and recommendations of people on forums and FB and YouTube. Read enough or watch enough, and you get a feel for whose opinions are well-considered and reliable, and who just likes everything from a favorite vendor, or who just likes everything. Some stay silent unless they love it. TL;DR, over time, you figure out whose opinions are relevant to my tastes.
Dave currently has 545 videos on YouTube. I've watched the vast majority, just for the shaving.. He's one of 5 YouTubers I not only enjoy watching shaving, but whose opinions and recommendations carry weight with me. There are a lot of YouTubers I like watching, but whose opinions of products are useless, because they have been given the product for free by the artisan. And this is not disclosed. When Dave was a SV brand ambassador for SV, that fact was disclosed repeatedly and up front. But he's never ever shilled. There are also those who love everything they use, and who have nothing the least bit critical to say. Hagiography is not criticism, and is useless to me. He has never, not once, recommended a product without giving substantial reasons. And perhaps it is by chance, but I've never regretted following his recommendation. So, yes, he's one of a small selection of wetshaving voices I give the greatest weight to.
He turned me on to Pannacrema Nuavia Verde, which along with my 1985 Sugar Bowl ticket stub might join me in my casket.
You may recall, and I'll be purposefully oblique here to avoid restarting anything, that there was (and may still be) a brand of soap, in a over the top glass and cork container, that was so obscenely expensive it made people call it the best ever, I suspect because paying that amount for saponified fat would be impossible to justify unless it were the best.
There was a tiny bit of kerfuffle from that artisan, when he heard it had been done better, in direct reaction.
It was a long time ago. You know how it goes in the hobby. Ancient history. So...
Tonight I finally, after way too much time, used CBL Orion Hammam Spa. I bought it on Dave's recommendation alone.
I was a little cautious going in, because in videos where Dave has used it he's always said lathering it could be optimized by a specific sequence of scrubbing and water addition. This gave me a little pause, because I'm not excited about a soap I have to learn. My fears were unfounded. It lathered just great, doing it the way I've settled on for myself.
Now, here's the thing, a first impression I suppose, about Orion.
My jar is too small. That's all I've got on the negative side.
Everything else about this soap is magical. It loaded easily, lathered on my face perfectly, doing it the way I lather, so my reservations vanished.
Here's where my vocabulary fails me, and I can only use analogies. But the Slickness!
It's no secret that Slickness is by far the most important property of a soap for me, and that Mitchell's Wool Fat is my apex soap in that regard.
Orion is so close to it that I doubt I could tell them apart in a blindfold test. This may not mean anything, but it is as slick, but things felt "softer," almost as if there was no blade in the razor. It's really quite remarkable.
I do not always agree with Dave. I'm not a big fan of the Spearhead Seaforth line for example, but I can find no issue with his estimation of Orion.
Tonight's shave was special and memorable. It's been a long long time since I repeatedly said, "Oh yeah!" to myself as I shaved.
Try this soap, period.
My database records my using almost 450 soaps. Too many to go back and try and rank. But of those soaps, only a very few have stood clearly above the rest: MWF, Zingari Man Sego, Pannacrema Nuavia, any SV, Mystic Water, and Orion. MWF and Orion are the slickest of anything I've ever used.
"Wow" moments are rare anymore. Tonight I had one. Thank you @CBLindsay, it turned just another day into a real treat.
I suppose, and can understand, that this whole diatribe could be seen as grovelling before owners, but I assure and affirm that this account is just an accurate and truthful representation of my experience.
The way I see it, I'm lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
Have a great day everyone.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
One of the delightful things about this forum is the quality of good natured ribbing that occurs.
It's a common feature amongst close male friends, and my whole life I've been in peer groups where it occurs. Only here, everyone gets what's going on. I've seen some pretty good fistfights result from poorly expressed good natured ribbing, in less enlightened male peer groups.
I'm just horrible at it, and uncomfortable trying to do it well, so I don't do it and have a cognitive deficit at figuring out the appropriate and/or clever way to rib back. My prior post is too long, and praises some people. I've left myself open to ribbing. If the spirit moves you, please rib away, but forgive me for a lame reply. I'll do my best, but I'll err on the side of self-ribbing rather than risk offense where none is intended. Good natured ribbing is a sign of fraternal connections I don't feel I've earned the right to engage in here yet, but maybe as I get to know everyone better, it could be appropriate, but my main goals as a member are to share my experiences, enrich my shaving life through fellowship with our members, and hopefully to foster and grow the kind of deep friendships I see abounding here.
I've been sort of isolated the past three years, and can use all the friends I can get.
So, if you feel.an impulse to make a little fun of me or my posts, don't hesitate. I'm all good with it, even though I can't give as good as I get.
Cheers!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
It's a common feature amongst close male friends, and my whole life I've been in peer groups where it occurs. Only here, everyone gets what's going on. I've seen some pretty good fistfights result from poorly expressed good natured ribbing, in less enlightened male peer groups.
I'm just horrible at it, and uncomfortable trying to do it well, so I don't do it and have a cognitive deficit at figuring out the appropriate and/or clever way to rib back. My prior post is too long, and praises some people. I've left myself open to ribbing. If the spirit moves you, please rib away, but forgive me for a lame reply. I'll do my best, but I'll err on the side of self-ribbing rather than risk offense where none is intended. Good natured ribbing is a sign of fraternal connections I don't feel I've earned the right to engage in here yet, but maybe as I get to know everyone better, it could be appropriate, but my main goals as a member are to share my experiences, enrich my shaving life through fellowship with our members, and hopefully to foster and grow the kind of deep friendships I see abounding here.
I've been sort of isolated the past three years, and can use all the friends I can get.
So, if you feel.an impulse to make a little fun of me or my posts, don't hesitate. I'm all good with it, even though I can't give as good as I get.
Cheers!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Last edited:
I must respectfully disagree! You most certainly have earned that right, sir. If something strikes you as funny, spit it out. The beauty of TSC is that no one here will take offense at good natured kidding.
Want to get to know people better? Join us for tonight's Sunday Zoom, or join the Tuesday night "game night", which may or may not include some game-playing. Both are loads of fun, and afford you the opportunity to be known better, and to get to know others better. PM @BarberDave or Chad @CVargo, respectively, for the links. It's not too late to join in on the fun tonight. The call tonight is at 7pm Eastern. Hope to see you there, Frank.
c’mon Frank you are my CEC success story you need to join us