The “piece of eight” sliver of dark soap shown in the photo is Texas on Fire. I tried equal parts Texas on Fire and Bay Rum, and the Bay Rum did not survive the Fire. So I tried 1:3 (1 part ToF, 3 parts Bay Rum), which was better—I could then detect the Bay Rum—but finally went to 1:7 (1 part ToF, 7 parts Bay Rum), which produces the sort of fragrance I had in mind: Bay Rum, with a smoke accent.
This is just idle play, trying things out to see what happens. I’m not especially recommending it, just thought it worth trying.
The brush is Rod Neep’s Dreadnaught. It has an enormous knot, which is why I seldom use it. In fact, I think I’ll probably put this one up for auction later this month. This one has a 1984 U.S. nickel embedded in the base of the handle, 1984 being the year I moved to California.
The lather was excellent, and the smoke accent enjoyable, but what made the shave for me was the iKon 102. Right now, having just used it, I would say that it’s my favorite razor: extremely comfortable and extremely efficient, producing a comfortable BBS result with great ease and no problems. I thought it appropriate to kick off the next series of “comfort shaves” with this razor.
A good splash of Stirling’s Executive Man aftershave, and the week is launched. Flu shot planned for today.
Tomorrow I’ll try another soap mix: Executive Man and Sharp-Dressed Man, 1:3.
Filed under: Shaving
