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There and Back Again, A Wet-Shaver's Tale

4/26 SOTD: There can be only one.....or can there?

Razor: GEM 1912
Blade: Personna
Brush: Sorrentino Turquoise
Soap: Gentleman's Nod Sir Arthur
Aftershave: Gentleman's Nod Sir Arthur

This is the one I've been waiting for. I was perusing the Bullgoose site and came across this soap/as. The description was remarkably similar to one of my absolute favorite shave soap scents, Asylum Shave Works Royal Fougere, which was a mix of Penhaligon's English Fern and Geo F Trumper's Wild Fern. Both frags were mentioned in the description of Sir Arthur, so I tossed it in the cart immediately with high hopes that it would at least be close to my beloved unobtanium. They arrived today along with a 100 pack of Personna SE blades, so I dug out my 1912 and hopped into the shave den.

Oh man, I wouldn't be surprised if the exact same fragrance was used in this as in Royal Fougere. They are so close as to be almost indistinguishable to my nose, and I had them open right next to one another. The scent strength is up there as well, which thrilled me. The only question left was...how does it perform? The brush was loaded and I took my time face lathering. It was a pretty thirsty soap and the lather I ended up with was, while not as voluminous as I generally prefer, very dense, creamy, and SLICK. I haven't used the 1912 in a very long time. It was my "it" razor for quite a while, and today it reminded me why. Two passes and some clean up gifted me with a fantastic BBS, though it did punish me for setting it aside for so long with a nick on my upper lip. Small price to pay for such a great overall experience and it closed right up with the application of the alum block. A very hefty glug of the aftershave proved to be a bit of overkill. I wasn't paying a lot of attention to the ingredients, but there is apparently a good amount of witch hazel in it and my face ended up being pretty tacky for a while. I don't think the scent longevity is quite what I was getting from the Royal Fougere, but that is no biggie. I'll take what is left of the Royal Fougere AS, pop it in a bottle with an atomizer, and use it as a cologne. It is more than strong enough and lasts all day.

Time to buy some backups lol.
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Thanks for reading and have a great day!
 
4/27 SOTD

Razor: Valet Autostrop/Rockwell 6c
Blade: Personna/Wizamet
Brush: Sorrentino Turquoise
Soap: Seaforth Spiced
Aftershave: Williams Aqua Velva

I was able to follow some online instructions and get a Personna blade installed in the Autostrop that Dave in KY gave me. I also grabbed the sample of Spiced that he gave me as well, as it has been languishing on the dresser since I got it. I got almost all the way through the first pass of the shave before I realized that the Autostrop just wasn't going to work without the blade guard that is missing from one side. Or maybe it was going to work a little too well. It took almost putting a nice slice along my cheek to come to that realization, and I grabbed the 6c to finish the shave. Another pass with some clean up left me with a delightful BBS and I finished it off with a massive glug of Spanish Aqua Velva. Wonderful stuff, and it's another product that I've had for a while and have only used once so far.

The soap was very nice. The scent put me in mind of Lisa's Naturals Cedar & Saffron. I might have to dig my tin out and compare the two, but it smelled very similar from my memory. The performance was also very good. Between the scent and performance it still wasn't quite enough for me to pull the trigger on a full tub, but it is good stuff and I'm glad I got a chance to try it. Many thanks to Dave for both the razor and the soap sample. I'm going to try to jury rig something for the blade guard so we'll see how it works out.

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Thanks for reading and have a great day!
 
4/28 SOTD

Razor: Henckels 401
Brush: Sorrentino Turquoise
Soap: Ethos Grooming Colonia
Aftershave: Ethos Grooming Colonia

Since I started traditional wet shaving with straights and DE's/SE's I've found that it is at least as much about the journey as the destination for me. For instance, I can rarely pull off a BBS with a straight, and usually don't bother trying, but I still enjoy the process of shaving with a straight very much which is why I continue to use them.

Yesterday's shave with this little NOS beauty was no exception. This was one of the last that I honed on synthetics/lapping film before going almost exclusively to the natural stones, and the edge is fantastic. Got a great three pass DFS and loved every minute of it. The soap definitely added to the enjoyment. Ethos Colonia has probably gotten more use in a shorter time than almost any other soap I've ever used, and is definitely a contender for the #1 spot.

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4/29 SOTD

Razor: Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: TSC 2nd Anniversary
Soap: Ethos Grooming Greenfresh
Aftershave: Ethos Grooming Fresh Lime

I've been going through some of the razors that I haven't used in ages, and the Aristocrat was called up for today's shave. I really don't know much about this razor but it is a very good shaver, though a bit more aggressive than I usually prefer. The soap sample was sent to me by @mrdoug, and it is a winner! Two Passes and some clean up left me with a BBS, and a nice splash of Fresh Lime capped things off nicely. I'm going to have to pull the trigger on a full set of Greenfresh. One of Ethos Groomings vendors is only about half an hour from me. I need to find out if they have a brick and mortar, and maybe head over there one day. Or maybe not, as walking into a place like that could be very bad for my wallet....
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Thanks for reading and have a great day!
 
Smattayu said:
One of Ethos Groomings vendors is only about half an hour from me. I need to find out if they have a brick and mortar, and maybe head over there one day. Or maybe not, as walking into a place like that could be very bad for my wallet....
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Yeah, I'm a sucker for impulse buying. I stay out of those places, and away from vendors' websites!
 
Fightingillini22 said:
Now that is a great looking Aristocrat!
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I really like it. Bought it from a friend, along with several other razors, a couple years ago and have barely touched since lol.
Majorrich said:
Looked so good I used most of your set-up today too!
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I love anything citrus, and that Greenfresh is done great stuff.
Graybeard57 said:
Yeah, I'm a sucker for impulse buying. I stay out of those places, and away from vendors' websites!
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I hear that. I already removed the ebay app from my phone. Now I need to start unsubscribing from all the vendor emails lol.
 
5/1 SOTD

Razor: JR Torrey
Brush: Stirling boar
Soap: Razorock Santa Maria Del Fiore
Aftershave: Razorock Santa Maria Del Fiore

Very nice shave yesterday. The soap is an adequate performer, and one that I really keep around because I love the scent. The Torrey is one of my earlier rescaling jobs. They are made from Padauk which is an absolutely beautiful wood. I don't remember what it was honed on, but the edge is still good, and three passes left me with a very nice DFS. It is either a half or quarter hollow, which is a fantastic grind for me, and I think I have another one of these that is pretty beat up and in need of a restore somewhere.

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Thanks for reading and have a great day!
 
5/2 SOTD

Razor: Rockwell 6c
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Sorrentino Turquoise
Soap: Ethos Grooming Colonia
Aftershave: Ethos Grooming Colonia

Couldn't decide on a razor so I went with the go-to. Maybe someday I'll find something that works better for me than the 6c with the #4 plate, but it would have to be truly amazing to top this combination. Two passes with a bit of clean up left me with a stellar BBS, and the aftershave made my skin feel and smell fantastic.

I've posted in here about repurposing cigar boxes for straight razor storage, but I figured why stop there? I have this fantastic Jnat and set of nagura and they currently just sit in some bubble wrap and packing paper when I'm not using them. So I grabbed one of the deeper cigar boxes and some thicker wood than I've been using to compartmentalize the straight razor storage boxes, and I'm very happy with the results once it was flocked. Thanks again to @Maryland998 for the heads up on that process. It's working out great so far, and I have another color on order for the Cohiba box that I'm working on next.

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It would look better if the stone wasn't scratched lol. The worst part of a stone this hard is that it takes about 5-10 minutes to build a slurry with the tomonagura, and I haven't properly prepped that slurry stone yet so it has sharper edges and corners than I like. A bit of inattention is all it takes to scratch up the surface, and I still need to grab the SIC and buff it out.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!
 
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