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

5/15 SOTD

Razor: GEM 1912
Blade: Personna
Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Immunity w/Synbad knot
Soap: B&M Adagio
Aftershave: B&M Adagio
EDC: Royall Lyme

This is a Spring/Summer dream combination for me. Adagio is one of those scents that is just magic to my nose, and never fails to put me in a good mood. I could say that I was using the 1912 in order to determine whether it will stay or not, but the truth is that it will always have a place in my den. It was my go-to SE for a long time, and the only times it has not given me a fantastic shave were due to user error. I have two of them, and this is the better looking one. A new brush was introduced to the den. Details on it's acquisition to follow.

Two pass and clean up BBS. The 1912 is still "The" SE for me. It can be very aggressive or reasonably mild depending on how you handle it, which appeals to me. It will also punish inattention, and I managed a couple small bites when I got cocky, but they closed up at the alum block stage. A hefty splash of the AS cooled everything down even more, and a BIG glug of Royall Lyme was just what the shave needed to be near perfect. LOVE...THIS...JUICE!!! The only gripe I have with it is that it only lasts maybe a couple hours tops. But during those couple of hours I am King Lyme.

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So a gent on another forum was getting into casting resin and had only used Alumilite so far with middling results. I had about the same experience with that particular resin, and mentioned my favored brand and type to him. Long story short, I sent him a few blanks to play around with and he did a fantastic job with them. I snagged this one after he turned it, and it is a beautiful brush that I am thrilled to add to the den. I've heard a few things about the Synbad knots, so one was ordered and the handle and knot showed up on the same day(yesterday). I goobed some silicone into the handle to set the knot since I didn't want it to be permanent in case the loft needed some adjusting, and had to wait until today to use it. The brush fits very nicely in my hand, and I'm really digging this knot so far. It felt springier than I thought I'd like when I was setting it, but it is very soft with good(not too much) backbone, and is just the right amount of dense with good splay. Definitely a winner, and one I can see keeping a stock of when I get to turning again.

Thanks for reading and have a great night!
 
5/16 SOTD

Razor: Pearl Flexi Adjustable
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Immunity
Soap: Captain's Choice 45th Parallel
Aftershave: Royall Lyme
Cologne: More Royall Lyme!

This is a razor that I haven't really given a fair shake the couple times I've used it. I bought it because I heard it was a more affordable Gibbs adjustable clone option, then heard that it was actually a clone of a clone. I'm honestly not sure how true that is, but I admit that it colored my perception of it. I had heard that there were blade alignment problems at one point, but by the time I ordered one they were either fixed or I got one that didn't have that issue. One thing I was not crazy about was the plating. It is a satin finish, which I like, but it seems that a few specks of dust found their way onto the top cap and were plated. They can barely be seen though I can feel them when I run my finger along the top. This isn't a deal breaker, but it does tell me that their QC is not what it could be. It is a HEAVY razor, possible the heaviest DE I've ever used, which makes sense since it is plated brass. But all of the aesthetics in the world can be overridden for me by one question; How Does It Shave? To have this question answered I grabbed a truly fantastic smelling shave soap that has always performed very well. CC 45th Parallel is just marvelous stuff.

I started at 1, which was actually a bit more aggressive than I was expecting for the razors starting point, with a fair amount of blade feel. I ended up going to 2 very quickly, and staying there for the rest of the shave. This was a pretty good setting for the getting-to-know-you phase of the razor, and two passes and some clean up left me with a very nice BBS. It was kind of an odd shave in that I felt like there would be some irritation, but all I got was a smooth face and almost no burn when I splashed on a considerable amount of Royall Lyme. It smells so good that I went for another splash once it dried, and all was well in my world. So the answer to the question of how it shaves is pretty darn good. I'm liking this razor, but I will have to give it a few more shaves to decide whether it is going to stay or not.

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Thanks for reading and have a great night!
 
Looks pretty nice for a clone of a clone. I know what you mean about the weirdness of the shave. The Henson is like that for me with certain blades.
 
Smattayu said:
5/14 SOTD

Razor: Parker Adjustable Injector
Blade: Taconic
Brush: Sorrentino Turquoise
Soap: Barrister Reserve Lavender
Aftershave: Ethos Grooming Lavender Supreme
EDT: Davidoff Cool Water Aquaman

I enjoyed the software from yesterday's shave so much that I went for a repeat. Up for love-it-or-leave-it determination was the Parker injector. I picked this one up because I loved the idea of a modern injector, and it proved to be a decent shaver.

As with previous shaves with this razor I had to go all the way to 5 right off the bat. This is kind of where it falls short for me. When I think of an adjustable I think of a razor that should go from mild to aggressive, and you pick something closer to one end or the other based on which works best for you. At 5, which is the highest setting, this is still a very mild razor. It is capable of delivering a BBS, but it takes more work than I like to get there, and I end up having to use some real pressure in a few trouble spots to get a close shave. Three passes left me with a BBS, but also with the feeling that I'd spent more effort with less enjoyment than I should have. As a result the Parker is now in the Sell box. A splash of Ethos Lavender and a few sprays of the Cool Water Aquaman cheered me up, and all is well. I generally avoid any frag that has a comic book hero on it, since most of the ones I've seen are pretty lousy, but this cheap freshie is good for the price.

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Thanks for reading and have a great night!
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any difference between that cool water and the regular one?
 
GearNoir said:
Looks pretty nice for a clone of a clone. I know what you mean about the weirdness of the shave. The Henson is like that for me with certain blades.
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It is a nice looking razor, and I have to mention that the handle is just ridiculously grippy lol.

uacowboy said:
any difference between that cool water and the regular one?
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It has been a while since I smelled Cool Water, but I can safely say from my memory that this one is definitely different. It is not as refined smelling and doesn't have the longevity of the original, though it is a good freshie for the price.
 
5/17 SOTD

Razor: RazoRock Lupo .72
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Sorrentino Turquoise
Soap: Barrister Reserve Lavender
Aftershave: Ethos Grooming Lavender Supreme

I keep coming back to the lavender. I've always loved that scent, and it makes it even better when two superior shaving products are attached to it. Grabbed the Lupo today, and this is one of those razors that may not make the cut(see what I did there?). I love the aesthetics, the low profile head, and it's heft. It is a good shaver, though a bit more aggressive and not quite as efficient on my face as I'd like. The main things is that it isn't as enjoyable to shave with as a few of my other DE's, which is entirely a personal preference thing. I walked away with a BBS, but there was some lingering irritation and a couple small weepers on my chin. I'll give it a try with a couple other blades before I make a final determination.

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So I kind of wrestled with revealing what I'm about to mention this early in the process, but there are enough people that have asked when I'll be turning brush handles again that I decided to go for it. I have been holding off on actively looking for a house for a while for a few reasons, but recently I decided to get started on it. As of today I am pre-approved and have contacted a realtor that comes highly recommended from a couple people I know and trust. Of course I had to decide to wait until it is very much a sellers market and houses are selling like hotcakes, but I'm ready to be patient with this and make sure I find something that is right for me. I'm certainly taking this step quite a bit later in life than I'd expected, but those who know my history probably understand why it's a good thing I waited, and I'm grateful to be in a position to take it now. So, many steps from now, once I have the keys to my very own home, the first thing I'm going to do after setting up the bed is put to workshop together, and I may even reverse that order. That's right folks. The Dungeon 2.0 is looking more like a reality.

Thanks for reading and have a great night!
 
Graybeard57 said:
Love the Sorrentino turquoise, Eric! Very attractive brush. (y) (y)
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Thanks Bruce! Now that the prospect of having the workshop back together is more of a reality I've been really itching to cast more resin and turn more handles. I have a couple blanks already made that are similar to that one, but that came out the best. Now I just need to remember how I did it...

Maryland998 said:
I really like my sample of that soap Eric. Once I use up a soap or two. Franks soaps are on the "Buy Now" list.
Nice setup.
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That soap definitely catapulted into my favorites list quickly. I've been really impressed with Frank's offerings, and hope to have them all eventually.
 
5/21 SOTD

Razor: G.E. Jones Shake Sharp
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Genesis
Soap: Gentleman's Nod Sir Arthur
Aftershave: Gentleman's Nod Sir Arthur

With the enabling of our Kentuckian friend I ended up pulling the trigger on a Jones Shake Sharp, and it arrived yesterday, so I popped a Wizamet in and grabbed some of this amazing smelling and great performing shave soap. The shave started out a bit rough. The razor seemed to be on the toothy side, and I recalled Dave stacking blades in it. In went another Wizamet, and it smoothed out quite a bit. There was some irritation from the first pass that lingered a bit, but it was a very nice shave and I'll be breaking this one out again to get a better feel for it.

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About to grab a shower and get today's shave in, with a couple products that I haven't used in a bit.
 
Nice specimen find! Is the benefit of stacking blades more from the shimming aspect or the double cutting surfaces do you think? Or both?
 
GearNoir said:
Nice specimen find! Is the benefit of stacking blades more from the shimming aspect or the double cutting surfaces do you think? Or both?
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Thanks Chris! I think it is more from removing a certain amount of blade play and adding some rigidity to the blade, but I could very well be wrong. All I know for sure is that it worked lol.

MilkCrate said:
You have to watch that Kentuckian friend, he is an enabler :cool:
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