Nice, look forward to hearing your thoughts on the blades. I've only used the Proguard and Kai and have stuck with the Proguard.
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The wonderful excesses of acquisition disorders...and wet shaving
- Thread starter Dagwoodz
- Start date
Thanks Craig!
No shave, and no mail call today; just another groundhog day out here, with one exception....
So you know that cold chill that runs down your spine combined with the cold sweats when you know that you royally messed up, in retrospect? Yeah, that was me today. Apparently, I almost managed to tick-off people in some very high places today...thankfully my overhead cover kept me from taking any flak before any damage was done. All inadvertent, of course. LOL...another bullet dodged, and I live to analyze another day! I'll have to treat him to dinner one of these nights for the save. Offering shaving gear won't do too much good as he's got a full beard. *shrug* *can't save them all*
Hope everyone's Friday is going well!
So you know that cold chill that runs down your spine combined with the cold sweats when you know that you royally messed up, in retrospect? Yeah, that was me today. Apparently, I almost managed to tick-off people in some very high places today...thankfully my overhead cover kept me from taking any flak before any damage was done. All inadvertent, of course. LOL...another bullet dodged, and I live to analyze another day! I'll have to treat him to dinner one of these nights for the save. Offering shaving gear won't do too much good as he's got a full beard. *shrug* *can't save them all*
Hope everyone's Friday is going well!
Saturday, 5 May, 2018
Stirling Pearberry | Brass Colonial General | Feather Pro-Guard (2)
Currently on Shave #495 | Straight shave still at #300
I woke up a bit late this morning and debated skipping the shave, but realized I would have enough time for a quick shave with the General, as the pre and post shave care of a straight razor wouldn’t be involved. So after the normal rigamarole, hot towel…I got down to business. Stirling, not to beat a dead horse, is just flat out good stuff. This scent, however, is just a bit too much on the gourmand side of the house for me. Very, very sweet…almost a berry fruit salad sweet. SWMBO would love this stuff…I’m not the biggest fan as far as a shave soap/aftershave is concerned. Now, don’t get me wrong. It does smell amazing. But not the kind of amazing where I want to wear it around and smell like it, if that makes any sense.
The 24mm fan from Stirling whipped up a great lather in no time, and with a little additional coaxing from some face lathering, a great protective lather was made. It’s probably a good thing, as I was rushing a bit and did use a little more pressure than necessary. Three passes later with a quick clean-up, and I walked away feeling good, a little more sting from the alum than the shave on Thursday, but all in all not too bad. There was a spot of crimson on the neck area that the alum was able to close up.
Mail call today!!
And a great one at that. From Maggards, SV’s Opuntia and Declaration Grooming / Chatillion Lux Unconditional Surrender and from The Shaving Shop Club, A&E’s SoCal Hipster as well as The Warrior from Howling Fjord. The packaging from The Shaving Shop Club was nice…the soaps came in a little mesh baggie like a present.
The scent on all of these are amazing...and very different. First impressions are as such:
Saponificio Varesino Opuntia – Very clean smelling with wonderful hints of the prickly pear…it fits right in to the SV soaps I already own. Typically SV, it's a unique cologne scent for sure and very enjoyable.
Declaration Grooming Unconditional Surrender – A dark and woody scent with a bit of smoke to it instead of the typical sweetness or vanilla/tonka bean that some sandalwood and oud scents lean on. Quite nice!
A&E SoCal Hipster – A very bright opening with some tangerine / peach notes up top. On the sweeter side of the house without being gourmand. This scent sparked the most vivid emotional response of the three...I immediately was taken back to being on the beach and the taste of a nice tropical fruit slushy combined with the lingering scent of the ocean and a little sun-tan lotion mixed in. The scent description sounded great, this confirmed it!
A&E Warrior of Howling Fjord – Take the bright opening of Aventus, pineapple, with some accords which take the sweetness down a notch. The pineapple is pretty dominant, but I'm sure there are other notes that once lathered will shine through. Really, really nice.
Have a great day everyone!
Stirling Pearberry | Brass Colonial General | Feather Pro-Guard (2)
Currently on Shave #495 | Straight shave still at #300
I woke up a bit late this morning and debated skipping the shave, but realized I would have enough time for a quick shave with the General, as the pre and post shave care of a straight razor wouldn’t be involved. So after the normal rigamarole, hot towel…I got down to business. Stirling, not to beat a dead horse, is just flat out good stuff. This scent, however, is just a bit too much on the gourmand side of the house for me. Very, very sweet…almost a berry fruit salad sweet. SWMBO would love this stuff…I’m not the biggest fan as far as a shave soap/aftershave is concerned. Now, don’t get me wrong. It does smell amazing. But not the kind of amazing where I want to wear it around and smell like it, if that makes any sense.
The 24mm fan from Stirling whipped up a great lather in no time, and with a little additional coaxing from some face lathering, a great protective lather was made. It’s probably a good thing, as I was rushing a bit and did use a little more pressure than necessary. Three passes later with a quick clean-up, and I walked away feeling good, a little more sting from the alum than the shave on Thursday, but all in all not too bad. There was a spot of crimson on the neck area that the alum was able to close up.
Mail call today!!
And a great one at that. From Maggards, SV’s Opuntia and Declaration Grooming / Chatillion Lux Unconditional Surrender and from The Shaving Shop Club, A&E’s SoCal Hipster as well as The Warrior from Howling Fjord. The packaging from The Shaving Shop Club was nice…the soaps came in a little mesh baggie like a present.
The scent on all of these are amazing...and very different. First impressions are as such:
Saponificio Varesino Opuntia – Very clean smelling with wonderful hints of the prickly pear…it fits right in to the SV soaps I already own. Typically SV, it's a unique cologne scent for sure and very enjoyable.
Declaration Grooming Unconditional Surrender – A dark and woody scent with a bit of smoke to it instead of the typical sweetness or vanilla/tonka bean that some sandalwood and oud scents lean on. Quite nice!
A&E SoCal Hipster – A very bright opening with some tangerine / peach notes up top. On the sweeter side of the house without being gourmand. This scent sparked the most vivid emotional response of the three...I immediately was taken back to being on the beach and the taste of a nice tropical fruit slushy combined with the lingering scent of the ocean and a little sun-tan lotion mixed in. The scent description sounded great, this confirmed it!
A&E Warrior of Howling Fjord – Take the bright opening of Aventus, pineapple, with some accords which take the sweetness down a notch. The pineapple is pretty dominant, but I'm sure there are other notes that once lathered will shine through. Really, really nice.
Have a great day everyone!
Thanks for the initial impressions on the A&E Josh! The scents sound wonderful. How is the soap?
So, the A&E soaps are on par with Wholly Kaw and just behind Declaration Grooming from a performance standpoint. They have the same type of creamy lather, and are very protective, slick and have good residual slickness. Good stuff, and the scents from what I've experienced are very enjoyable.
Well then...sounds like something I am going to have to get my hands on!
Thanks Don! I wasn't sure what to think when I ordered it, but it's a nice scent. It's not too heavy that it can't be used in the summer, unusual for a woody scent. I'm pleasantly surprised.
Thanks Craig!
Monday, 7 May, 2018
Saponificio Varesino Opuntia | Brass Colonial General | Feather Professional (1)
Currently on Shave #496 | Straight shave still at #300
Another day out here, and another new soap. Today brought Saponificio Varesino’s Opuntia to the table. I debated going with DG’s Unconditional Surrender as it today was going to be the coolest day of the week, but stuck with the SV instead…more out of laziness than anything else as I already had this ready to go. The other change was the blade on the General. There were plenty of more shaves on the Pro-Guard I was using, but binned it anyways as I wanted to see the difference in feel between that and a Professional. (I’ll do the same to this blade after two shaves when I switch to the Super-Pro)
So, this is a beautifully composed scent. I know I can smell the sweetness of the pear but there is a lot more going on here beyond that, most of which I can’t begin to describe. But suffice to say, it’s extremely enjoyable. For once with SV, I remembered to face lather instead of bowl lather…already winning today. The big Paladin scooped a ton of lather off of the puck, and it took me quite a while to get the lather right. But it was beautiful once I did…very cushioned and slick.
The General with the Feather Pro felt a bit more aggressive this morning than the Pro-Guard, and it was pretty evident how much more efficient it was by the amount of stubble which was being removed. Three passes later and I was feeling good, though I did do a bit of clean-up and lost my head, using a bit too much pressure. The result was BBS as I sit here, about an hour later, though my neck just under my chin is a bit tender still. I did get one spot of red during the clean-up as well, but that closed before the alum was applied. The alum did light up the neck a little, reminding me to not let my guard down in the future.
I debated just going with the matching aftershave for a fragrance today, but broke down and layered it with some Blenheim Bouquet. The combination is quite nice!
Have a great day everyone!
Saponificio Varesino Opuntia | Brass Colonial General | Feather Professional (1)
Currently on Shave #496 | Straight shave still at #300
Another day out here, and another new soap. Today brought Saponificio Varesino’s Opuntia to the table. I debated going with DG’s Unconditional Surrender as it today was going to be the coolest day of the week, but stuck with the SV instead…more out of laziness than anything else as I already had this ready to go. The other change was the blade on the General. There were plenty of more shaves on the Pro-Guard I was using, but binned it anyways as I wanted to see the difference in feel between that and a Professional. (I’ll do the same to this blade after two shaves when I switch to the Super-Pro)
So, this is a beautifully composed scent. I know I can smell the sweetness of the pear but there is a lot more going on here beyond that, most of which I can’t begin to describe. But suffice to say, it’s extremely enjoyable. For once with SV, I remembered to face lather instead of bowl lather…already winning today. The big Paladin scooped a ton of lather off of the puck, and it took me quite a while to get the lather right. But it was beautiful once I did…very cushioned and slick.
The General with the Feather Pro felt a bit more aggressive this morning than the Pro-Guard, and it was pretty evident how much more efficient it was by the amount of stubble which was being removed. Three passes later and I was feeling good, though I did do a bit of clean-up and lost my head, using a bit too much pressure. The result was BBS as I sit here, about an hour later, though my neck just under my chin is a bit tender still. I did get one spot of red during the clean-up as well, but that closed before the alum was applied. The alum did light up the neck a little, reminding me to not let my guard down in the future.
I debated just going with the matching aftershave for a fragrance today, but broke down and layered it with some Blenheim Bouquet. The combination is quite nice!
Have a great day everyone!
Apparently there was a hold-up at the post office...so four packages showed up today! (had problems downloading a picture of the third box, so that will be posted later on...) Sorry for the low quality pictures...I was a little rushed, lol
1. Timeless Bronze Open Comb (.78 blade gap)
2. Barrister & Mann 42 soap and AS
3. Penhaligon's Juniper Sling EdT
4. (not pictured) Colonial General (black), Feather SS Kami, Feather Professional AC blades, Feather Pro-Guard AC blades, Kai Captain Mild AC blades. (BST Purchase here on TSC!)
Looking forward to getting into all of these!!
1. Timeless Bronze Open Comb (.78 blade gap)
2. Barrister & Mann 42 soap and AS
3. Penhaligon's Juniper Sling EdT
4. (not pictured) Colonial General (black), Feather SS Kami, Feather Professional AC blades, Feather Pro-Guard AC blades, Kai Captain Mild AC blades. (BST Purchase here on TSC!)
Looking forward to getting into all of these!!
Thanks Don!
