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Trials of a woodpusher: Adventures in chess, backyard gardening, and maybe whisker chopping

Sep.11 37C/SuperMax BD(4) .......... Graydog silvertip .......... Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

Another morning shave and it's a big day for bridge club as I officially take over as the Disappointer-in-Chief and officially start off the season with my first presentation to the group. In the past, I have worked with smaller groups of 4-6, so this will be the first time everyone gets me at 100% (this one goes to 11!). The curriculum will be changing quite a lot to focus on beginner play rather than intermediate and advanced bidding as in the past, due to many email requests to provide the basics. We will see how it goes.

In prep for this earth-shattering event this afternoon, in addition to my mehishly-meh shave, I also trimmed my ears!
 
Sep.12 37C/SuperMax BD(5) .......... Graydog silvertip .......... Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

Bridge was chaotic yesterday but that was expected. There were quite a few newbies, but those generally played euchre so do have an understanding of trump and tricks. All in all, it seems as if folks were happy and that's what counts.

A nice cool morning today and a nice simple morning shave once again. Wheee!
 
Sep.13 37C/SuperMax BD(6) .......... Graydog silvertip .......... Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

A nice and cool Saturday morning led to two coffees, a homemade scone (rhymes with con, not cone) and a mehishly wonderful 2-pass shave. Restrung/reloaded the trimmer for my wife and now she's in her glee weed-whacking away.

'Tis a good start to the penultimate summer Saturday.
 
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Sep.14 37C/SuperMax BD(7) .......... Graydog silvertip .......... Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

It's Sunday and that means laundry day!! As we speak, the last load is already in the dryer. It's amazing what happens to time when SWMBO gets up early!

A nice and simple 2-pass shave to kick off the day (along with a few coffees) and soon to try and settle in and watch the NY Giants clobber the Cowboys.
 
Well with all that coffee. And those two teams, I hope you have a portable tv, as those ingredients are a stomach churning, gut bomb or “sitting on the throne experience 🤣😘
 
Sep.15 ASD2/SuperMax BD(1) ........ Graydog silvertip .......... Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

A fresh blade and back to the ASD2 to start off the new week. As expected, there were no shaving fireworks and that's a great thing as it also means that no paramedics were needed to treat any accidents.

'Tis a nice cool morning, but will heat up this afternoon and should be that way for most of the week. A great way to close out summer if the forecast is correct.

Happy Monday!
 
Sep.17 GC68-OC/SuperMax BD(3) ... CH1 Super .................. Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

Post meetup with a local buddy and I made out like a kid left unsupervised in a candy store! A CH1-Super (my 1st Simpsons Super experience) and the much anticipated Game Changer 68 OC & 84 SB plates.

The brush and 68 OC got put to work right after supper to hack off 1.5 day's worth of growth. It's going to take me a few shaves to get used to loading the CH1, as my lather was weak, but no issues at all with the GC ... except for some leakage by the corner of my mouth. It's not an ASD2, I can tell you that, but it was a pleasure to be introduced to it.

The next few days will see my swap plates and handles to figure out if there is a setup that I like more than the others.

So far, so good!
CH1+GC.jpg
 
Sep.18 GC84-P/SuperMax BD(4) ...... CH1 Super .................. Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

A switch over to the GC 84-P and I think I like the face feel of the solid bar more than yesterday's OC, but I will continue to play will both over the next while and see if it is an actual preference or if it is currently just a "getting used to a new razor" phase. Either way, both version of the Game Changer are good so far. That said, I had trouble with the CH1 this morning again even though I used what I thought was too much cream. I will try again tomorrow with even more product.

A nice pre-shave morning walk with my wife and now it's time for some lunch and then off to bridge.
 
Sep.19 GC84-P/SuperMax BD(5) ...... CH1 Super .................. Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

Shave-3 with the Chubby-1 Super and I used about double the cream that I normally would to get a half-decent lather. I'm not sure that I will use this brush any more as I have pretty much confirmed that I am not a big fan of dense luxurious brushes and prefer those with more flow-through. The Berkeley 46, Special, and Eagle in Best (or Pure) would be my target Simpsons if I need to buy one.

As for the Game Changer razor, I will still be playing much more with the two plates (68-OC and 84-P). Went to an heavy bulldog handle this morning and got a pretty good shave, which is par for the course with the other two(2) shaves so far. My initial impressions are that these are solid builds which deliver a nice shave with little effort, but the big question is whether they are worth upgrading to if you already have other razors. Food for thought.
 
woodpusher said:
My initial impressions are that these are solid builds which deliver a nice shave with little effort, but the big question is whether they are worth upgrading to if you already have other razors. Food for thought.
Click to expand...
My take, at least getting in near their initial release to market was and I think still is that they’re a very affordable and solid option for getting into the modern stainless razor game. Could they be they be someone’s one and done? Probably…but we all know how that goes most of the time. Are there better/prettier options at increased cost? Of course…but cost. Worth it if you already have a selection of solid vintage razors? Debatable…I personally would use my humble Tech more often if asked to choose.
 
Sep.20 GC68-OC/SuperMax BD(6) ... Graydog silvertip .......... Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

Back to my Graydog silvertip this morning and, yes, I like this more than the Simpson CH1 Super knot. Its splay is easy and lather release is superb. I swapped back to the GC OC plate and after using both it and the solid bar, I prefer the latter even with the higher blade gap.

We went out for an early morning walk by the lake for an hour and a nice hot coffee was our reward upon returning to the house.

Happy Saturday!
 
Sep.21 GC84-P/SuperMax BD(7) ...... Graydog silvertip ......... Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

A shave just before 1pm on this fine laundry day Sunday. I went back to the .84-P plate and had another very nice shave, but think I will go back to the ASD2 for a few days to reset my comparison bar once again.

Oh, almost forgot .... the Marco Method for lathering produces GOBS of creamy lather!

Happy Sunday!
 
Sep.22 ASD2/SuperMax BD(1) ........ Graydog silvertip .......... Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

Lots of rain came in with some light thunder and lightning late yesterday. We went for an hour walk at 9am this morning with our buddies and, just a few minutes after getting home, the skies opened up for a short but heavy deluge. Timed it perfectly! A coffee followed and then an 11am shave with my trusty ASD2 was well received.

The ASD2 is not as efficient as either of the GC plates, but is better suited for a no-brainer shave where you can let your mind wander without having to worry about losing an earlobe.

Happy Monday.
 
Sep.23 ASD2/SuperMax BD(2) ........ Graydog silvertip .......... Proraso White cream ............ Clubman milk

It was just after 1pm when I decided to buzz my head (guardless zero'd out) and grab a shave before an afternoon walk (coming soon!)

Chiro was this morning and, after talking with the doc bout having to adjust my gait going up or down even small inclines, he diagnosed me with Piriformis Syndrome rather than straight up sciatica, which is the assumption we have been operating under. They are similar except piriformus is the butt muscle being the culprit to pinch the sciatic nerve and that generally happens when I get up out of a swivel chair or twist out of my normal plane. When I visit my regular doc, I'll chat with her and see where we go from there.

Until then, I will continue to make do and keep on keepin' on.

Happy kiddie chess club day!
 
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