A very fine shave today. The Maggard 22mm Plissoft brush is just $9.95 and is an excellent brush. Although I like the size of the Fine Classic 20mm Plissoft, the 22mm is still quite comfortable. The handle shape is one I like, and it’s a solid brush and a good bargain (half the price of the Fine Classic).
Unsurprisingly, I got a superb lather from my Martin de Candre shaving soap, and I enjoyed applying it with the new brush. This brush has a very short break-in—taking it out of the box does the trick.
I decided I really should try the higher ranges of the Rockwell razor system, and today I mentally prepared myself for the R5 baseplate—but, big surprise, the R5 is just as comfortable as all the rest. I could tell that this baseplate was doing more, and yet it was totally comfortable. I did exercise some care, and I got the tiniest nick on the XTG pass on my upper lip, but I could tell at the time I had the angle wrong. My Nik Is Sealed closed the nick instantly.
I have to admit that I’m very much impressed by the Rockwell’s comfort. I’ll try the R6 tomorrow, and I am actually looking forward to it. I think this must be the ideal system for the “money is no object” novice, who can start with the R1 or R2 and gradually advance to find his best fit as his skills improve (much as I gradually moved from “3” to “4” to “5” over a period of a year or two on the Fat Bay). And when you’ve skipped shaving a few days, the higher-numbered baseplates offer greater efficiency for heavy stubble with no sacrifice of comfort.
A good finish using one of the Chatillon Lux Champs de Lavande aftershaves, this one the splash. (Each of their aftershave fragrances is available in three formulations: aftershave splash, aftershave toner, and aftershave salve (balm). The balm gets high praise in this Wicked_Edge thread from a couple of people. For example, Chuck Falzone writes, “The performance of the Chatillon Lux salves is better than any balm I have tried aside from L’Occitane Cade balm, which is better by maybe a hair but much more expensive.”
Altogether a great shave.
Filed under: Shaving
