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The wonderful excesses of acquisition disorders...and wet shaving
- Thread starter Dagwoodz
- Start date
Thanks Chad! Glad I finally got my hands on one.
They seem to think so around here. I've gotten a few people hooked into the fragrance game...that's been fun. LOL
Thanks Chris!
Thank you Walt! That's the way it looks, like the supers are going to be the way to go for the Brass General. I'll write a review of the brush rejuvenator when I get around to using it.
I wouldn't put it past Chris to try something like that....lol
Thanks Tom!
Thursday, 17 May, 2018
Declaration Grooming Colonia Basalmica | Timeless Bronze Open Comb (.78) | Voskhod (3)
Currently on Shave #501 | Straight shave still at #300
Shave number two with the Timeless, and it was a bit more comfortable than the previous shave. The blade is the same Voskhod that I used before, with this being the third shave on the blade. (I mistakenly thought the previous shave was the first on it) The angle was a bit easier for me to find this morning, and I ended with a 3-pass shave with a little clean up. I did have a couple of latent weepers that showed up after all my post-shave was complete, but all in all it was a low irritation, high quality shave that as I sit here an hour later, is truly DSBBS. Still can’t give it a grail designator due to the weepers and bit of irritation, which is gone now.
The lather, well, it’s Declaration Grooming, so stellar lather. The scent, Colonia Basalmica, is interesting. It’s on the border of being outside of my wheel house. Off of the tub, the colonia is pretty forward with a hint of green, vetiver-y lurking in the background. Once lathered however, the vetiver comes to the front while the colonia takes a back seat. It’s still there, and it’s still a colonia…but a vetiver colonia. Since I’m not the biggest fan of vetiver, I’m kind of torn…I love the colonia profile they went with, but kind of wish the vetiver wasn’t there. At the same time, the vetiver makes it a very unique scent profile, and still matches up well with numerous different frags. You can go straight Italian, as I did, and match it up with a classic colonia. Or, you could go and match it with something like Grey Vetiver by Tom Ford…both would match equally well. You could even go with something like a Ghost Town Barber and play off the smokiness of the vetiver. The matching aftershave doubles down on the vetiver, it giving you a nice crisp smack in the face before the colonia comes through and gives some beautiful depth to the scent with the citrus and woody background.
Nothing real new going on out here outside of the shaves…groundhog day is a real thing!
Have a great day everyone!
Declaration Grooming Colonia Basalmica | Timeless Bronze Open Comb (.78) | Voskhod (3)
Currently on Shave #501 | Straight shave still at #300
Shave number two with the Timeless, and it was a bit more comfortable than the previous shave. The blade is the same Voskhod that I used before, with this being the third shave on the blade. (I mistakenly thought the previous shave was the first on it) The angle was a bit easier for me to find this morning, and I ended with a 3-pass shave with a little clean up. I did have a couple of latent weepers that showed up after all my post-shave was complete, but all in all it was a low irritation, high quality shave that as I sit here an hour later, is truly DSBBS. Still can’t give it a grail designator due to the weepers and bit of irritation, which is gone now.
The lather, well, it’s Declaration Grooming, so stellar lather. The scent, Colonia Basalmica, is interesting. It’s on the border of being outside of my wheel house. Off of the tub, the colonia is pretty forward with a hint of green, vetiver-y lurking in the background. Once lathered however, the vetiver comes to the front while the colonia takes a back seat. It’s still there, and it’s still a colonia…but a vetiver colonia. Since I’m not the biggest fan of vetiver, I’m kind of torn…I love the colonia profile they went with, but kind of wish the vetiver wasn’t there. At the same time, the vetiver makes it a very unique scent profile, and still matches up well with numerous different frags. You can go straight Italian, as I did, and match it up with a classic colonia. Or, you could go and match it with something like Grey Vetiver by Tom Ford…both would match equally well. You could even go with something like a Ghost Town Barber and play off the smokiness of the vetiver. The matching aftershave doubles down on the vetiver, it giving you a nice crisp smack in the face before the colonia comes through and gives some beautiful depth to the scent with the citrus and woody background.
Nothing real new going on out here outside of the shaves…groundhog day is a real thing!
Have a great day everyone!
Nice shave today Josh, even though it is with one of "Those" razors, LOL great looking timeless BTW. Good reads as I catch up on everything
Thanks Chad! I'm still acclimating to the Timeless, the weight and how it shaves. Definitely a different beast than I'm used to dealing with, but it's certainly one of the better looking razors in my collection!
Thanks Dave!
LOL, thanks Dave. I'll be returning to the Straights soon enough...I have a couple of new toys to play with on that side of the fence, but want to give these "others" a good workout before I get there. Going to try a different blade in the Timeless next time out and see if there's a noticeable difference; the Voskhod might be a bit on the harsh side of the house for it being as aggresive/weighty as it is. A Personna might be a better fit.
Thank you Doug!
There was a time when I would have pulled the trigger on the Timeless just to have one. But I am finding I have plenty of shaving tools utilizing manufactured blades that fall into that category. I am kinda digging my ho-hum setup with the same brush, same soap, same straight razor. Every day I get out of the shower and look forward to the shave.
I'm really enjoying the variety for the time being, but can envision a time where I settle on a pretty mundane set-up that I get a lot of enjoyment using. I'm actually a little envious that you've found yours!
It is similar to AdP Intensa, but the citrus top is a little more subdued while the woody heart and base come through much quicker. MUCH better longevity for me than AdP...about 7 hours on a cold day, longer when it's warm. AdP only lasts about 5-6 regardless.
Saturday, 18 May, 2018
Mystic Water Coconut Sandalwood | Timeless Bronze Open Comb (.78) | Personna Platinum (1)
Currently on Shave #502 | Straight shave still at #300
No more new soaps to try, so it was shaver’s choice. I was almost overwhelmed by choice, but with quite a bit of talk about Mystic Water recently, I decided that it was time to give Michelle’s soaps another run out. I have two of her soaps, Barbershop and Coconut Sandalwood, and initially I broke out the former of the two and matching accoutrements. The weather was going to be on the cooler side, however, so I called an audible late last night and broke out the Coconut Sandalwood instead. This has been a problem soap for me, as I’ve only been able to get a good, stable lather out of MW just a few times out of close to 20 lathers. It just always breaks down and disappears on me. With my recent experience with soaps that have given a similar type of proto lather, (Declaration Grooming, Ariana & Evans, Wholly Kaw), I decided to give it another shot. I grabbed a synthetic brush to give it the best shot of success, and went to town.
The proto lather was exactly what I remembered, loading up as a stringy, gooey paste…honestly not all that attractive. But it’s also exactly how DG and WK look when loaded, so I went and treated it just like those soaps and stayed patient, adding more water than I would ever think I would need, and doing quite a bit of whipping. I finally got the lather where I was comfortable and went ahead with the rest of the shave.
After a couple of shaves with the Voskhod, both being borderline rough shaves in execution, I went with ol’ reliable in the Personna Platinum. This blade is just a touch more smooth than the Voskhod, and would probably be a bit more appropriate for this razor. This ended up being the case, as the shave was much more comfortable today. The lather, by the grace of Him, didn’t disappear at all and gave a great, slick bed to work on. Three passes, a bit of clean up and I walked away with another DSBBS, though I did get a little bit of redness around the moustache area with one tiny weeper…all of which are a non-issue as I sit here an hour later. I normally use Fine’s Santal Absolut when going with a sandalwood profile, but went the oud route and grabbed the WK King of Oud AS, pairing it with Bond No9’s New York Oud. A great end to a very satisfying shave.
If I’ve finally cracked the code on MW’s soaps, it might be time to get a few more of them. The scent strength on them is quite nice, 3/5, not overpowering, and if today’s shave was anything to go by, they are just a step below the top soaps in my den…putting them on par with WSP, Stirling and Fine. More experimentation is needed…
Mail Call!
The first of a few packages came in today, and probably the one I’m most excited for. The photos below really do not do this any justice, as aside from the mark on the show side of the scales (by the pivot pin), this looks absolutely NOS…and honestly even better than. There is no hone wear at all…the scales are about as clean as you can get. The spinework is perfectly clear and intact, all the badging on the scales and tang are clear and unworn. At 13/16” it’s one of my larger razors, second only to the Stark 7/8”, but still does not feel quite as substantial. I would say it’s going to be used for the next shave, but I have another razor that I’ve got to use prior to this…the Feather SS Kami that I recently acquired.
Have a great day everyone!
Mystic Water Coconut Sandalwood | Timeless Bronze Open Comb (.78) | Personna Platinum (1)
Currently on Shave #502 | Straight shave still at #300
No more new soaps to try, so it was shaver’s choice. I was almost overwhelmed by choice, but with quite a bit of talk about Mystic Water recently, I decided that it was time to give Michelle’s soaps another run out. I have two of her soaps, Barbershop and Coconut Sandalwood, and initially I broke out the former of the two and matching accoutrements. The weather was going to be on the cooler side, however, so I called an audible late last night and broke out the Coconut Sandalwood instead. This has been a problem soap for me, as I’ve only been able to get a good, stable lather out of MW just a few times out of close to 20 lathers. It just always breaks down and disappears on me. With my recent experience with soaps that have given a similar type of proto lather, (Declaration Grooming, Ariana & Evans, Wholly Kaw), I decided to give it another shot. I grabbed a synthetic brush to give it the best shot of success, and went to town.
The proto lather was exactly what I remembered, loading up as a stringy, gooey paste…honestly not all that attractive. But it’s also exactly how DG and WK look when loaded, so I went and treated it just like those soaps and stayed patient, adding more water than I would ever think I would need, and doing quite a bit of whipping. I finally got the lather where I was comfortable and went ahead with the rest of the shave.
After a couple of shaves with the Voskhod, both being borderline rough shaves in execution, I went with ol’ reliable in the Personna Platinum. This blade is just a touch more smooth than the Voskhod, and would probably be a bit more appropriate for this razor. This ended up being the case, as the shave was much more comfortable today. The lather, by the grace of Him, didn’t disappear at all and gave a great, slick bed to work on. Three passes, a bit of clean up and I walked away with another DSBBS, though I did get a little bit of redness around the moustache area with one tiny weeper…all of which are a non-issue as I sit here an hour later. I normally use Fine’s Santal Absolut when going with a sandalwood profile, but went the oud route and grabbed the WK King of Oud AS, pairing it with Bond No9’s New York Oud. A great end to a very satisfying shave.
If I’ve finally cracked the code on MW’s soaps, it might be time to get a few more of them. The scent strength on them is quite nice, 3/5, not overpowering, and if today’s shave was anything to go by, they are just a step below the top soaps in my den…putting them on par with WSP, Stirling and Fine. More experimentation is needed…
Mail Call!
The first of a few packages came in today, and probably the one I’m most excited for. The photos below really do not do this any justice, as aside from the mark on the show side of the scales (by the pivot pin), this looks absolutely NOS…and honestly even better than. There is no hone wear at all…the scales are about as clean as you can get. The spinework is perfectly clear and intact, all the badging on the scales and tang are clear and unworn. At 13/16” it’s one of my larger razors, second only to the Stark 7/8”, but still does not feel quite as substantial. I would say it’s going to be used for the next shave, but I have another razor that I’ve got to use prior to this…the Feather SS Kami that I recently acquired.
Have a great day everyone!
Excellent Mail Call. That is great looking Straight! Glad you finally cracked the code on MW. I find that MW soaps require more water than less and when dialed in is one of the slickest soaps out there. Keep safe my friend!
That razor is gorgeous!