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SOTD May 2026

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Tuesday, May 5 SOTD
RAZOR: REX Ambassador Adjustable @3
BLADE: Gillette Minora
BRUSH: Elite Blue and Red 26mm Manchurian White
LATHER: Valobra Menthol Soft Shave Cream Soap
POST: Williams Aqua Velva Aftershave (Spanish Version)
 
Yetzirah said:
Todah Lantzman.
You too!
Btw really like that MWF Ceramic container. It’s a real shame they closed their business.
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When I heard that MWF was closing, I immediately went searching for it. I found it on Pastuer's website... 1 with the dish, and 1 without. It is very sad that they went out of business. The soap is so good. At some point I will buy and try the Kent triple milled soap that is supposedly the same as MWF.
 

Tuesday SOTD
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Razor: Henson Ti22 +++ (Aggressive)
Blade: Gillette Platinum (2)
Brush: Morris & Forndran Chalice 28mm Blonde Badger
Bowl: Junichi Tanaka 5"
Pre-Shave Scrub: PAA Ice Cube 2
Pre-Shave Balm: 3P
Shave Soap: CRSW Le Chypre Sombre LE
Balm: Proraso White
Aftershave: Barrister & Mann Le Grand Chypre​
 
Monday, May 4, 2026

A great shave this afternoon. The Timeless Aluminum Slant did a great job, but I applied a little too much pressure so the alum block lite up certain areas of my face, but it quickly subsided and now feels great. Subtle Art Soap Co's soaps are terrific. I am BBS.

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Overall Rating: ★★★★★ (Epic Shave!)
Smoothness: ★★★★★ (BBS Perfection)
Irritation: ★★★☆☆ (Mild Tingle)

Time of Day: Afternoon 🌤️
Blade Uses: 3
Passes: 3

Razor: Timeless Razors Timeless Aluminum Slant
Blade: The Gentleman Super Platinum Max x 7 (India)
Soap: Subtle Art Soap Co Tea Tree & Lemon
Shaving Bowl: HC&C Stainless Steel Straight Walled Bowl
Brush: PAA Green Ray
Pre-Shave: Hot Shower
Pre-Shave 2: Van Der Hagen Hypo-Allergenic Fragrance Free Glycerin Puck
Aftershave: PAA Alum Solid Block No slip Grip.
Aftershave 2: Thayer's Cucumber Facial Toner - Witch Hazel
Aftershave 3: Stirling Soap Co Unscented Aftershave Splash w/Menthol
Aftershave 4: Stirling Soap Co Unscented - Post-Shave Balm


Generated by Shaving Sherpa — Shaving Sherpa - Master Your Wet Shaving Journey
 
8th Night said:
When I heard that MWF was closing, I immediately went searching for it. I found it on Pastuer's website... 1 with the dish, and 1 without. It is very sad that they went out of business. The soap is so good. At some point I will buy and try the Kent triple milled soap that is supposedly the same as MWF.
Click to expand...
Looking back, I had many opportunities to purchase MWF when I had the chance. I'm glad I was able to acquire a couple of packs on the secondary market last year. I do like the latest iteration of Kent shaving soap. It has a really nice scent and performance is really good. Post shave is excellent. Lanolin is the common ingredient and I think that's the secret sauce.
 
May 5, 2026 (Mystic May Every Other Day)
  • Bowl: Doug Smith Pottery – Ceramic Shave Bowl
  • Brush: Semogue – 1470 (Boar)
  • Razor: GEM – Micromatic Open Comb (Second Generation)
  • Blade: Accuforge – GEM Microcoat
  • Soap: Mystic Water – Bay Rum
  • Aftershave: Small Batch Empire NYC 2025 Bay Rum Aftershave
  • Balm: Stirling – Unscented Post Shave Balm
  • Fragrance: Olympic Orchids – Bay Rum
When I started wetshaving in 2018, I spent some time continuing to use Gillette Foamy and Barbasol (both things I still keep for quick shaves because I like their scent). As I began wetshaving, I worked my way from Proraso to TOBS to MWF for a few years. But, it was really a youtuber named Nickshaves that got me to think about artisans. He was particularly active in the late 2010s and stopped posting just as the pandemic began. He is, from what I can tell, a surgeon, so he does not have a lot of time I suppose. I do miss his content.

Given how much wetshaving artisans have exploded in this decade, going back through his videos and Instagram is to see a lot of brands that were popular years ago. This includes my beloved Mike’s Natural and Mystic Water. In fact, his video on Mystic Water’s Bay Rum is what made me aware of MW and to make my very first purchase from her. Even though his video is from 2015, it, like all of his videos, still hold up today.

I tend to agree with Nickshaves on shave soap performance. It is the sign of a truly great shave soap to protect you from the wonderful GEM MMOC. However, I tend to see scents (particularly bay rum) a bit different than him. Whereas Nick loves MW’s Bay Rum scent and defines it as very masculine, with a strong bay backbone, and “incredible,” I agree that the scent is fantastic, but I am not sure about where Nickshaves is placing his emphases. I tend to see MW’s bay rum scent as a balanced bay rum putting extra emphasis on the jasmine and other notes that tone the pimenta racemosa down a touch.

Overall, MW’s scent is very pleasant and is not aggressive (in terms of the scent itself, the scent strength is up there). As Michelle notes, her “more refined version will appeal to men who don't like the clove that often predominates in bay rum blends.” Fans of Barrister and Mann’s Bay Rum would find this pleasing though the citrus notes are nowhere near as prominent as they are in B&M’s version. The most similar bay rum out there would be Hendrix Classics and Co.’s version, though MW does smell a bit more natural and complex. I encourage folks to give it a try. If you have too many shave soaps, I would try a bar of her bath soap. It is, to my mind, the best on the market and at $6.60 is not that much more per oz. than Stirling.

Have an awesome day, friends!

Bay Rum.jpeg
 
8th Night said:
Monday, May 4, 2026

A great shave this afternoon. The Timeless Aluminum Slant did a great job, but I applied a little too much pressure so the alum block lite up certain areas of my face, but it quickly subsided and now feels great. Subtle Art Soap Co's soaps are terrific. I am BBS.

View attachment 158765

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ (Epic Shave!)
Smoothness: ★★★★★ (BBS Perfection)
Irritation: ★★★☆☆ (Mild Tingle)

Time of Day: Afternoon 🌤️
Blade Uses: 3
Passes: 3

Razor: Timeless Razors Timeless Aluminum Slant
Blade: The Gentleman Super Platinum Max x 7 (India)
Soap: Subtle Art Soap Co Tea Tree & Lemon
Shaving Bowl: HC&C Stainless Steel Straight Walled Bowl
Brush: PAA Green Ray
Pre-Shave: Hot Shower
Pre-Shave 2: Van Der Hagen Hypo-Allergenic Fragrance Free Glycerin Puck
Aftershave: PAA Alum Solid Block No slip Grip.
Aftershave 2: Thayer's Cucumber Facial Toner - Witch Hazel
Aftershave 3: Stirling Soap Co Unscented Aftershave Splash w/Menthol
Aftershave 4: Stirling Soap Co Unscented - Post-Shave Balm


Generated by Shaving Sherpa — Shaving Sherpa - Master Your Wet Shaving Journey
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Another awesome shave for you Akhi!

Jeff
 
Tuesday morning:

Hot shower
Yaqi 30mm Barber Pole
Super Speed/Perma Sharp day 3
Vintage Tryphon Mentolo SS
Gold Bond Moisturizer
Aqua Velva Ice Blue AS Splash

This Mentolo soap is from Tryphon Enterprises which sadly closed up way back around 2005 and it actually very, very good. It’s glycerine based with a really nice minty scent which reminds me a lot of the Palmolive Menthol cream from Italy, it still lathers superbly, it has a generous amount of menthol although it’s by no means a face freezer, and it gives a comfortable post-shave feeling. Check out the review I wrote about it. The Gold Bond moisturizer and the Aqua Velva were a perfect finishing combo. Three passes gave me another brilliant BBS shave that I enjoyed a LOT!

Wishing you all a good day - be well and stay safe!

JeffIMG_6433.jpeg
 
MarkB said:
2 May, 2026

Hello everyone! Hope you had a pleasant evening.

Late post but a great shave to start the day. Returned to myu vintage Shulton "Old Spice" suite of products. Fantastic Old School scent with incredible lather built with the Semogue for three passes with the Karve and I finished with alum, followed by Thayers unscented witch hazel, the matching aftershave lotion & EdC.

BBS bliss!!

Hope you have a great day. :)

Shulton / Semogue / Karve / Gillette / Thayers

View attachment 158687​
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What an awesome shave my friend!

Jeff
 
Yehuda D said:
Tuesday morning:

Hot shower
Yaqi 30mm Barber Pole
Super Speed/Perma Sharp day 3
Vintage Tryphon Mentolo SS
Gold Bond Moisturizer
Aqua Velva Ice Blue AS Splash

This Mentolo soap is from Tryphon Enterprises which sadly closed up way back around 2005 and it actually very, very good. It’s glycerine based with a really nice minty scent which reminds me a lot of the Palmolive Menthol cream from Italy, it still lathers superbly, it has a generous amount of menthol although it’s by no means a face freezer, and it gives a comfortable post-shave feeling. Check out the review I wrote about it. The Gold Bond moisturizer and the Aqua Velva were a perfect finishing combo. Three passes gave me another brilliant BBS shave that I enjoyed a LOT!

Wishing you all a good day - be well and stay safe!

JeffView attachment 158775
Click to expand...
A beautiful shave this morning, Akhi!
 
Tuesday May 5, 2026
Brush: Simpson Berkeley
Bowl: Captain's Choice Copper
Soap: Kent
Razor: Henson AL13 + /Ti22 Handle
Henson: 10/14/2021 = 1689
Blade: Feather (1)
P/S: Bleu de Chanel

The latest Kent formula lathers really well. I really like the light soapy scent. Bleu de Chanel made for an awesome finish.

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Yehuda D said:
Tuesday morning:

Hot shower
Yaqi 30mm Barber Pole
Super Speed/Perma Sharp day 3
Vintage Tryphon Mentolo SS
Gold Bond Moisturizer
Aqua Velva Ice Blue AS Splash

This Mentolo soap is from Tryphon Enterprises which sadly closed up way back around 2005 and it actually very, very good. It’s glycerine based with a really nice minty scent which reminds me a lot of the Palmolive Menthol cream from Italy, it still lathers superbly, it has a generous amount of menthol although it’s by no means a face freezer, and it gives a comfortable post-shave feeling. Check out the review I wrote about it. The Gold Bond moisturizer and the Aqua Velva were a perfect finishing combo. Three passes gave me another brilliant BBS shave that I enjoyed a LOT!

Wishing you all a good day - be well and stay safe!

JeffView attachment 158775
Click to expand...
A really nice shave with another long out of production soap! Have a great day Lantzman!

Paul
 
Tuesday 5/5 Shave
MODERN MAY

EDGE TEST – back to Botan and my first attempt at Tenjyou
The edge was further refined as expected – smooth & keen
No auxiliary clean up razor was needed – straight razor only
Overall a very satisfying BBS shave result

Razor: Sun & Moon “Green Goblin” 14/15
Blade: Shobudani JNat – Botan/Tenjyou (1X)
Lather: Wilkinson Sword Blue Puck
Brush: A P ShaveCo Silksmoke Knot
Post Shave: Lustray Blue Spice Splash
Post Shave: Gillette Cool Wave Aftershave

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