Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Glad your on the upswing and that soap I've available on secondary market more than once. Keep your eyes peeled and I bet you score one to complete the set
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There and Back Again, A Wet-Shaver's Tale
- Thread starter Smattayu
- Start date
I hate it when you fall in love with something and can't find it anymore. Hopefully you can find a suitable substitute. Glad you are getting over whatever it is that you had. I'm wishing my sickness would just hurry up and run its course!
Glad you're feeling better, Eric. So many Cadre are getting over colds , crud, and whatnot lately, it makes me glad I have good antivirus software.
Glad you're feeling better, Eric. So many Cadre are getting over colds , crud, and whatnot lately, it makes me glad I have good antivirus software.
This is true, it's just that much harder to find it at a reasonable price.
Thanks Don!
Thanks Tim! Me too.
I haven't really looked that hard. Some will turn up, or it won't and I'll get over it. There was a time when I would have been obsessive about this, but I have more than enough soaps, aftershaves, and frags to last me a really long time, and my top 5 scent lists change by the season. I'm sure I'll find more favorites that are readily available without having to go out of my way.
Straight razor shave #532
Razor: Feather SS
Blade: ProGuard
Brush: Black Walnut tuxedo
Soap: CBL Tonsorial Master Barber Beta Bay Rum
Aftershave: Chiseled Face Bay Rum
EDT: L'Occitane Eau des Baux
Try saying "Master Barber Beta" 10 times fast without embarrassing yourself(ok, you could probably do it, but I couldn't). There was a sample of this soap in my last order from CBL, and I've been curious to give it a try. I'm probably more familiar with the Feather SS/ProGuard than any other razor/blade combo in the den, so it usually gets the nod when I'm trying a new soap or cream.
I packed the sample into a small container that used to carry CBL's Norse Spice and bloomed it while I showered. I may have either loaded too much or underestimated how thirsty it was, because after multiple dips of the brush into water I ended up with enough for 7 or 8 passes. The lather itself was plenty slick with enough residual slickness for blade buffing, and three passes and a bit of clean up gave me a fantastic BBS. I did some baby chasing and there were a couple small nicks on my chin, but they closed up at the final rinse. Thanks to @Spider for the Bay Rum aftershave sample. A hefty splash was a nice way to top off the shave, and a few sprays of Eau des Baux always puts me in a great mood.
I didn't really spend a lot of time analyzing the soap while I was shaving, and can't give the best review of it's performance yet. The scent was mild, and more on the citrus side of bay rums, brighter and fresher than you usually find. The scent actually reminded me a lot of a bay rum soap sample that @Cvargo sent me 2 or 3 years ago. I think I still have it. I want to say it was from Beehive soaps, but I'm not entirely sure.
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
Razor: Feather SS
Blade: ProGuard
Brush: Black Walnut tuxedo
Soap: CBL Tonsorial Master Barber Beta Bay Rum
Aftershave: Chiseled Face Bay Rum
EDT: L'Occitane Eau des Baux
Try saying "Master Barber Beta" 10 times fast without embarrassing yourself(ok, you could probably do it, but I couldn't). There was a sample of this soap in my last order from CBL, and I've been curious to give it a try. I'm probably more familiar with the Feather SS/ProGuard than any other razor/blade combo in the den, so it usually gets the nod when I'm trying a new soap or cream.
I packed the sample into a small container that used to carry CBL's Norse Spice and bloomed it while I showered. I may have either loaded too much or underestimated how thirsty it was, because after multiple dips of the brush into water I ended up with enough for 7 or 8 passes. The lather itself was plenty slick with enough residual slickness for blade buffing, and three passes and a bit of clean up gave me a fantastic BBS. I did some baby chasing and there were a couple small nicks on my chin, but they closed up at the final rinse. Thanks to @Spider for the Bay Rum aftershave sample. A hefty splash was a nice way to top off the shave, and a few sprays of Eau des Baux always puts me in a great mood.
I didn't really spend a lot of time analyzing the soap while I was shaving, and can't give the best review of it's performance yet. The scent was mild, and more on the citrus side of bay rums, brighter and fresher than you usually find. The scent actually reminded me a lot of a bay rum soap sample that @Cvargo sent me 2 or 3 years ago. I think I still have it. I want to say it was from Beehive soaps, but I'm not entirely sure.
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
If you look at the ingredients you will see a few extra oils in the Master Barber.
I'll have to do a side by side comparison soon.
Razor: Rockwell 6c
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Semogue 830
Soap: Strop Shoppe Russian Tea
Aftershave: Bootlegger's Bay Rum
EDP: Rasasi Daarej
I think it was @NurseDave that broke out the Russian Tea last week, and it's been in the back of my mind since. I love this soap and scent, and made sure to take my time with today's shave. The Rockwell/Wizamet combo did it's thing and three leisurely passes left me with a stellar BBS. I think Florida Water would make a great aftershave to pair with Russian Tea, but it lights my face up like a Christmas tree so Bootlegger's was used instead. A couple sprays of Daarej and all was right with the world.
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Semogue 830
Soap: Strop Shoppe Russian Tea
Aftershave: Bootlegger's Bay Rum
EDP: Rasasi Daarej
I think it was @NurseDave that broke out the Russian Tea last week, and it's been in the back of my mind since. I love this soap and scent, and made sure to take my time with today's shave. The Rockwell/Wizamet combo did it's thing and three leisurely passes left me with a stellar BBS. I think Florida Water would make a great aftershave to pair with Russian Tea, but it lights my face up like a Christmas tree so Bootlegger's was used instead. A couple sprays of Daarej and all was right with the world.
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
preeeetty
I think I took a pic of it once. Just beet red everywhere the Florida Water hits, and it took at good half hour after washing it off to go back to normal color. It feels a lot like a sunburn before it starts to hurt, just extra toasty.
1/23/20 The Interview Shave
Razor: Rockwell 6c
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Black Walnut tuxedo
Soap: B&M Behold The Whatsis
Aftershave: Pitralon Classic
This will probably be a pretty long post, and the shave only covers a small portion of it. Several of you are fairly familiar with some of my history, so I'll keep the recap brief. I'm a recovering alcoholic, and entered a program about 6 years ago in an effort crawl out of the emotional, physical, and spiritual hole I had dug myself into. Once I completed the year long program I was asked to stay on as an intern, and then staff. I have worked there for close to 5 years, and it has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life, as well as a crucible. The environment is high stress, and I've seen both amazing and heartbreaking things in my time there.
A couple of months ago I started thinking about moving on, and after a lot of prayer and counsel from those older and wiser I decided to take the plunge and look into a job doing what I did before my current career. I was called in for an interview last Thursday. One of the best things for nerves is a really good shave, so I broke out a few favorites that morning and had a nice relaxing time in the den. The 6c/Wizamet has been an absolutely winner, and I love both the scent and performance of Behold The Whatsis. I went with Pitralon Classic instead of the matching aftershave, because Pitralon doesn't linger for long on my skin and any kind of scent on an interview is usually a bad idea. The shave was marvelous, and a three pass BBS put me in a good state of mind to be grilled on my technical knowledge of something I haven't done in over 6 years.
I decided when I started my recovery that complete honesty about it was the only way to go. After the technical questions were done we discussed my current position and how I ended up there, and I was encouraged by their responses to something that they could have easily been very judgmental about. I was told that I would hear from them by the end of this week, and am almost certain I got the job. If this works out it will be a huge transition for me, and I'm approaching it with a lot of excitement and no small amount of fear.
So that was last Thursday. Things were crazy since, and I ended up not shaving again until this morning.
Today's shave:
Razor: Feather SS
Blade: Schick Proline
Brush: Stirling boar
Soap: CBL Tonsorial Insurgent
Aftershave: Pitralon Classic
EDP: DUA Fragrances Invasion of the Barbers
This was my first time using a Proline blade, which was generously sent to me by @Dave in KY. It was my first time using Insurgent as well, and I really like the scent. The Proline was just as sharp as I've heard, though not quite as smooth as I'd hoped. Three passes left me with a perfectly smooth BBS, though I caught a couple nicks and there was a bit of irritation after the shave. The results were more than worth the sacrifice, however, and I'm looking forward to spending some more time with this blade. A couple sprays of Invasion of the Barbers finished it all off nicely. It's a clone of MDCI Invasion Barbare, and it's so close to the original that you could smell them side by side and barely notice any difference. Smells amazing, good projection, and great longevity. I'm a fan.
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
Razor: Rockwell 6c
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Black Walnut tuxedo
Soap: B&M Behold The Whatsis
Aftershave: Pitralon Classic
This will probably be a pretty long post, and the shave only covers a small portion of it. Several of you are fairly familiar with some of my history, so I'll keep the recap brief. I'm a recovering alcoholic, and entered a program about 6 years ago in an effort crawl out of the emotional, physical, and spiritual hole I had dug myself into. Once I completed the year long program I was asked to stay on as an intern, and then staff. I have worked there for close to 5 years, and it has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life, as well as a crucible. The environment is high stress, and I've seen both amazing and heartbreaking things in my time there.
A couple of months ago I started thinking about moving on, and after a lot of prayer and counsel from those older and wiser I decided to take the plunge and look into a job doing what I did before my current career. I was called in for an interview last Thursday. One of the best things for nerves is a really good shave, so I broke out a few favorites that morning and had a nice relaxing time in the den. The 6c/Wizamet has been an absolutely winner, and I love both the scent and performance of Behold The Whatsis. I went with Pitralon Classic instead of the matching aftershave, because Pitralon doesn't linger for long on my skin and any kind of scent on an interview is usually a bad idea. The shave was marvelous, and a three pass BBS put me in a good state of mind to be grilled on my technical knowledge of something I haven't done in over 6 years.
I decided when I started my recovery that complete honesty about it was the only way to go. After the technical questions were done we discussed my current position and how I ended up there, and I was encouraged by their responses to something that they could have easily been very judgmental about. I was told that I would hear from them by the end of this week, and am almost certain I got the job. If this works out it will be a huge transition for me, and I'm approaching it with a lot of excitement and no small amount of fear.
So that was last Thursday. Things were crazy since, and I ended up not shaving again until this morning.
Today's shave:
Razor: Feather SS
Blade: Schick Proline
Brush: Stirling boar
Soap: CBL Tonsorial Insurgent
Aftershave: Pitralon Classic
EDP: DUA Fragrances Invasion of the Barbers
This was my first time using a Proline blade, which was generously sent to me by @Dave in KY. It was my first time using Insurgent as well, and I really like the scent. The Proline was just as sharp as I've heard, though not quite as smooth as I'd hoped. Three passes left me with a perfectly smooth BBS, though I caught a couple nicks and there was a bit of irritation after the shave. The results were more than worth the sacrifice, however, and I'm looking forward to spending some more time with this blade. A couple sprays of Invasion of the Barbers finished it all off nicely. It's a clone of MDCI Invasion Barbare, and it's so close to the original that you could smell them side by side and barely notice any difference. Smells amazing, good projection, and great longevity. I'm a fan.
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
Great story, well done on the current position, and best wishes for the future!
Eric, typing with 1 finger on my phone.
Eric, typing with 1 finger on my phone.
Same here, Eric. Recovery is an exciting journey, is it not? Enjoy your shaves!