Clik here to view.
Wee Scot, Klar Seifen, iKon OC, and Cavendish
With this shave I finally found the iKon open-comb that impressed me with its comfort as well as its efficiency. I have three different iKon razors that have a comb guard: the Shavecraft Short Comb; a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
RazoRock’s Italian-flag synthetic brush, Phoenix Artisan Solstice, and the 102
It took three good shakes to read the wetted brush for the soap, but then it did an excellent job. This brush is a bit larger than my ideal, but it works fine, and I do love the Solstice fragrance....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Puros la Habana and the iKon X3
A very satisfying shave. I do like Van Yulay soaps, and since she sells conveniently packaged samples, I suggest you try a few. (Conveniently packaged = you can load the brush directly from the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rooney Victorian, Creed Green Irish Tweed, and the X3 (with a different brand...
I mentioned yesterday that the X3 did seem to have more blade feel than I recall, so I decided to switch blades. But first, the prep: The Rooney Victorian, this one having an exceptional knot, made a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A vintage shave: Sabini, Yardley, 1940s Aristocrt, and Lilac Vegetal
I wanted to use my sole remaining vintage razor, the 1940s Gillette Aristocrat that is shown on the cover of the Guide, and decided to vintage the shave up as much as possible. The Sabini brush is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lenthéric and the Gillette 1940’s Aristocrat (with a Gillette 7 O’Clock...
I really like my Lenthéric vintage shaving soap, and the WSP Prince easily produced a very creamy and fragrant lather. This soap, which I’m told was likely made by Valobra back in the day, seems to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mr Pomp, Phoenix Solstice, and the X3
I do like the fragrance (and lather) of Phoenix Artisan’s Solstice shaving soap, so I finally bought the matching aftershave. Today Mr Pomp made the usual excellent lather from Solstice, and I again...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Phoenix Artisan Honeysuckle and the 102
I like Phoenix Artisan’s Honeysuckle shaving soap so much I bought the matching aftershave. Using my little Whipped Dog silvertip badger brush (knot set at standard depth), I greatly enjoyed the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fine Classic with Van Yulay After Dark and the Dorco PL602
After yesterday’s terrific shave using the iKon Shavecraft 102, certainly one of my best razors, I wanted to follow with another razor that shaves with that level of excellence—in terms of comfort,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Omega 20102 boar brush with D.R. Harris Arlington and the RazoRock Baby Smooth
I was exchanging comments yesterday with a guy who can’t get a good lather from his D.R. Harris shaving soap, which for me has always produced excellent lather. He has no trouble lathering shaving...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Omega Pro 48 with Tcheon Fung Sing and the Baili BR171
Excellent lather, as is common with Tcheon Fung Sing. Interestingly, I did not have to add any water, although I was loading a very large knot. Partly, I think, this is because my Omega Pro 48 (10048)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Finishing a week of comfortable, close shaves with Eufros and the RazoRock...
The Mühle brush shown has a large knot, and I didn’t load it quite long enough, but still I managed a comfortable shave. Jabonman’s Eufros is a good soap, and the rose fragrance of this one is quite...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The wonderful Monday shave, this time with Rooney, Martin de Candre, Merkur...
What a great way to start the week. Martin de Candre is a very nice shaving soap indeed—no bells and whistles, just extremely nice soap in a heavy glass tub—and the Rooney Style 3 Size 1 made a fine...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Omega 20102, The Drunken Goat, ATT R1, and K.C. Atwood
I’ve gradually learned not to shake the larger boar brushes as though they were synthetics: one moderate shake is plenty, since the residual water helps in loading the brush. So one mild shake of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wee Scot, Antica Barbieria Colla, ATT S1, and B&M Reserve Classic
The Wee Scot produced a somewhat wetter lather this morning, probably because I didn’t shake it enough, but I’ll experiment with another brush and see how it goes with a better shake. Antica Barbieria...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Maggard 22mm synthetic, Stubble Trubble Up & Adam, Fatip Testina Gentile, and...
I actually shook out too much water from the brush, so added a little more as I loaded the brush. With enough experience, it’s easy to see when the amount of water for the particular soap and brush is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wee Scot, Asses’ Milk shaving soap, and the Feather AS-D1
The pre-Vulfix Simpson Wee Scot made a great lather from this shaving soap The Wife brought me from one of her Paris trips. I was lucky enough to get one of the Feather AS-D1 razors that works well....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Late start but great shave: Copper Hat silvertip, Floris 89 soap (and...
Full disclosure: This Floris soap is from some years back, a few years before the unfortunate reformulation. And this Floris soap is excellent and made an admirable lather with a very fine fragrance,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Slant surprise this coming week
Sunday is for me a non-shave day, necessary set-up to get a two-day stubble to shave on Monday with a slant so I can enjoy the ease of cutting through noticeable beard growth. This coming week I am to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vetiver soap and aftershave, with the Wee Scot and the iKon 102
Today I hit the exact water amount for optimal lather and really enjoyed the lather’s consistency as well as its fragrance: Jabonman’s Vetiver de Haiti is wonderful (for vetiver fans). Three passes of...
View Article