SOTD: Shave of the day

[Foxfire]

SOTD:

Razor: Parker 99R w/ Barber Pole handle
Blade: Shark Super Stainless
Soap: Palmolive Classic Shave Stick
Brush: Tweezerman
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue

It's sad to say, but the Aqua Velva was the best part of this shave. I cannot express how much I hate the Parker 99R. It just makes me mad every time I use it. :lol:

 

[huffelpuff]

SOTD

Arko soap, no brush just worked it up into a later with my fingertips.

Straight razor, there isn't a DE made that will remove that much hair without cutting it first.

Feels good to remove 6 months of fur. I think spring has sprung here finally lol.

Jim

 

[Blackhorse]

SOTD

Arko soap, no brush just worked it up into a later with my fingertips.

Straight razor, there isn't a DE made that will remove that much hair without cutting it first.

Feels good to remove 6 months of fur. I think spring has sprung here finally lol.

Jim

WHAT?!?  No video?  :face:

 

[huffelpuff]

No, no video. I would have had to censor to much of it anyway. I love my straight razors but when going through hair that thick it pulls quite a few and I let fly with some colorful language lol.

Jim

 

[Richard Burley]

SOTD:

Razor: Above the Tie open-comb R2
Blade: Astra Platinum
Pre-shave oil: Maggard Sweet Orange
Soap: Cella
Brush: Maggard synthetic
Aftershave: D.R. Harris Windsor Aftershave Milk

I had some misgivings before purchase, but these ATT razors are superior in all respects and worth the money, IMO. Machined stainless. Highly recommended. Previous user of Merkur Slant and Edwin Jagger DE 89, both good razors. The R2 is quite a bit more aggressive, for those interested.

 

[Blackhorse]

So...you got the Kronos?

 

[Richard Burley]

So...you got the Kronos?

I got the Atlas, as pictured. Spiral handle versus straight diamond whatever it's called. 15% off, couldn't refuse. Call me weak.

 

[Zeno Marx]

Isn't the Kronos the handle that they say is like a wood rasp? I like that idea. I tend to prefer getting hit over the brain with tactile sensations. I love my Rockwell 6S razor except for the smoothish handle, and because they went with standard threading, I'm greatly limited in trying other handles. Everything about the handle is nice, but I do wish I could trust metric threading as much as they claim it is safe to do so. I have a Maggard handle (that everyone has bootlegged) that is far superior in feel than the Rockwell. Those AtT razors are sharp.

 

[Richard Burley]

I put a Maggard handle on my Edwin Jagger. Far superior for feel, yep. Don't know about the Kronos. I got the Atlas handle on the ATT because it looked sexier. Plenty of feel, whatever the case.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I tried Stirling Texas on Fire shaving soap from a sample today. I very much want campfire, forest fire, smoke etc as an option. All the reviews led me to believe this was that. I was really looking forward to trying this one, but it was disappointing. There's a sweet/spice (not spicey/peppery) element to this I DO NOT like. I don't know what it can be. I like everything on the scent list. With something as new-to-the-nose and complicated as shaving soaps can be, I have been known to change my mind, but I really wanted something like a flannel smells like after a night next to a campfire. This is NOT it. The hunt continues.

https://www.stirlingsoap.com/products/texas-on-fire-shave-soap

 

[Foxfire]

I also tried a sample size of the Stirling Texas On Fire, and was also disappointed. I was looking for something much like you seem to be: a flannel shirt post-campfire is a good way to describe it.

There's definitely a smokiness to it, but something else that I don't really care for. I've had this little puck, along with several other samples from Stirling, in my bathroom closet for a few years, so I chalked it up to it being old. I guess not.

I also got out a puck of Welcome Home from Mama Bear's soaps, my favorite glycerin brand. It is supposed to smell Christmas-y, but it's really just apple cinnamon, and sometimes smells like red licorice.

 

[monbla256]

In the 40+ years I've been using my Gillette 109 adj. DE razor, I've yet to find it lacking in any way! Being a TT razor, loading is far easier than most DE razors. No need to take the head apart and fiddle with getting things threaded just right! With its blade opening adjustability really ANY beard length can be accommadated with no need for more than one razor! and the handle length is long enough for most hand sizes and the knurled surface the full length handles gripping with soapy fingers as well! :twisted:  If you can find one, I strongly reccommend get it !  :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Zeno Marx]

In the 40+ years I've been using my Gillette 109 adj. DE razor, I've yet to find it lacking in any way! Being a TT razor, loading is far easier than most DE razors. No need to take the head apart and fiddle with getting things threaded just right! With its blade opening adjustability really ANY beard length can be accommadated with no need for more than one razor! and the handle length is long enough for most hand sizes and the knurled surface the full length handles gripping with soapy fingers as well! :twisted:  If you can find one, I strongly reccommend get it !  :twisted: :twisted:

I have a Gillette Adjustable from the 60s and a Gillette Red Tip (it's about a 4.5 if you were trying to match it up with the Adjustable dial). Both are great razors and provide as good a shave as any. However, I also have a handful of other razors. Every razor I own shaves differently. Each has a different sweet spot. Each feels different. Each maneuvers differently, both in hand and over the face. The point being is: sure, you can have one razor. It'll work. You'll live and be just fine. But for the same reason most people don't own just one pipe, I feel it is perfectly understandable if people like to collect, own, and use many razors. As for the physical farting around to get the blade aligned, that's no different than packing different tobaccos differently etc. It becomes second nature. No big whoop. And to be honest, it is only a problem with newer, cheaper razors. There are no blade alignment problems once you spend a bit on a new razor or go with something older. See below...

I also have a Gillette New Long Comb from the 1920s. I got it for free. It's a 3-piece. Absolutely perfect blade alignment every single time. If you saw how it was designed, you'd see why. It's my favorite razor for when I let my beard grow beyond five days or so. It's also my go-to razor if I happen to desire a lot of blade feel. It feels differently than every other razor I own. I get great shaves with it, but it requires a bit more finesse than all the others. Some days I wake up thinking about that razor. Same for when I wake up some days thinking about a specific pipe or fiend for a particular tobacco. This whole shaving thing can be 100% utilitarian, or it can be turned into a lot of joy and experimentation. Life.

 

[monbla256]

For me, shaving is a K.I.S.S. it thing !! :twisted:

 

[Foxfire]

I tried Stirling Texas on Fire shaving soap from a sample today.  I very much want campfire, forest fire, smoke etc as an option.  All the reviews led me to believe this was that.  I was really looking forward to trying this one, but it was disappointing.  There's a sweet/spice (not spicey/peppery) element to this I DO NOT like.  I don't know what it can be.  I like everything on the scent list.  With something as new-to-the-nose and complicated as shaving soaps can be, I have been known to change my mind, but I really wanted something like a flannel smells like after a night next to a campfire.  This is NOT it.  The hunt continues.

https://www.stirlingsoap.com/products/texas-on-fire-shave-soap

I should have mentioned this in my previous post, but this one may be more what you're after. I honestly forgot I had it until after I posted, but it has a very nice smokiness to it. Reminds me of the part in Spaceship Earth (at EPCOT) when Rome is burning.

West Coast Shaving Campfire
https://www.westcoastshaving.com/products/wcs-shaving-soap-campfire

And if you're into hair grease, allow me to recommend this pomade:

Lockhart's Fire & Brimstone
https://www.amazon.com/Lockharts-Heavy-Brimstone-pomade-ounce/dp/B01MQED8XL

 

[Zeno Marx]

I was excited about this WCS Campfire lead (thank you), but the reviews are not good. A couple of them compare it to Williams Mug Soap in frothiness and quick dissipation. I have ridiculously hard water. Thin, bubbly soap is a common problem. As I probably posted a while ago, Williams enticed me to go from cans to soaps, so I don't have anything against Williams. Nevertheless, I'm not interested in anything like it. I didn't care for how the reviews were painting the Campfire scent, either. Oh well. One of these days I'll find a soap that smells like a leather vest with a blanket lining after sitting next to a campfire for hours and then spilling bourbon all over that smokey leather and flannel. Something that smells like Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve tastes and campfire smoke blowing in your face. No flowery interpretation of that. No resiny, incensy interpretation of that. The literal interpretation thereof.

 

[Zeno Marx]

razor: Rockwell 6S - I'm rather susceptible to weepers. I'm not a big fan of blade feel, except when my memory fades and I use my 1920's Gillette New Long Comb to jog my memory. This would be an incredible graduation present for a young man if you knew they liked wet shaving. $100 is a lot to spend on an experiment. Everything about this razor, from blade angles to exposed blade to head geometry to weight is extraordinary. I get no weepers. I can't feel the blade almost at all. I haven't tried any other razor close to it. It makes for a smooooooth shave. There's a cheaper, pot metal version called the 6C for $50? If they shave anywhere as nicely as the stainless steel version, I'd be handing them out as special gifts.

blade: Personna Red - this is a nice, smooth blade - Not as sharp as a Japanese blade or Astra, and not as smooth as a Gillette Silver Blue, but a very nice blade indeed. I don't like that they don't have manufacturing numbers on them. I use those to tell how many shaves I'm getting. The is the first or second time using them. Not sure of the price. I got them in a blade giveaway.

brush: Maggard faux-Kent brown marble synthetic. Love this brush.

soap: Barrister & Mann Seville - I love the scent. Smells like cold mountain stream moss and a bit of citrus. It can be a little pungent, but I like that a lot. This might be the slickest soap I've tried. Maybe I got a good batch. I tried their ROAM, and it isn't anywhere as slick. I guess I won't know until I try another tub, which I definitely will be doing...in a few years.

 

[Richard Burley]

Looks like a great razor. Wish I'd seen that before buying my Above the Tie. Not that I don't love the ATT, it's an incredibly effective razor. I'd say you scored a tonsorial coup, Zeno.

Wanna hear something silly-assed? After spending a buck-and-a-half on the stainless ATT, I discover that the friggin' thing rusts. Or at least I'm pretty sure it does. Could be the blades, I suppose, but why now? I've never had modern blades rust before. It's not actual corrosion, it's more a stain that wipes off, but it sure looks like iron oxide to me. I refuse to disassemble and wipe it dry every time I use it, as some recommend. Life's too short. In any event, it's a nuisance that I'm not too happy about. Thought I'd achieved perfection, and here the thing is disintegrating, molecule by molecule, day after day. C'est la vie!

 

[Zeno Marx]

They refer to those as "tea stains". It is indeed rust, but as I understand it, they are harmless. They'd bother me too. I bet I'd get them with my Rockwell, but I usually take it apart after each use.

Another method to combat those tea stains is to have a little vial of 90% Isopropyl Alcohol, dip the razor in there for a few seconds, and then let it air dry. It'll evaporate all the water. I've never tried this, but many say it works.

 

[Zeno Marx]

For those who know they prefer a mild shave (Gillette Adjustable settings 1-4 as an analogue), Rockwell also sells the 2C. The "2" indicates it only comes with 1 of the 3 plates. It's only $30. That's a great price for the quality of shave you'd get (assuming it shaves like the 6S does). All in all, Rockwell offers great value in the model 6 designs. AND they seem to always have them in stock, which is a problem for many of their competitors.