Anything that can go wrong will happen while I'm shaving...

Looks like we are almost twinsies! I had a very pleasant email exchange with Milton at TurnNShave, and he is providing that good customer service others have mentioned. I opted for the untreated boar knots. I decided to try his bigger knot in my Fluffy Ind. Copper Handle and he was able to add it to my single order and save me some shipping! I previously had ordered 2 knots from TGN, and they should ship soon. I am giving serious thought to doing Decemboar, and wanted to have a decent arsenal to choose from (see how easily I rationalized that?!) And I needed some more of one of my favorite roasts, which is done by Rod at the Stirling shop, so an expensive boar fell into the cart, as did a bumpy bottom collapsible shave bowl to help break in the boars. Planning, proper preplanning prevents poor performance!!

Here's to a good Thursday and I look forward to your notes on Friday's shave with the AP faux boar. (BTW, that handle looks huge and very cool!)

Can I ask why you chose the untreated rather than the gel tipped?

I ordered the full gel figuring by time whatever they cost the tips in wears off, the ends will have split.

I know nothing about this, so it's a shot in the dark.

I guess we'll see soon enough.

EDIT: I got nervous, as I put in my order last night. So I sent Milton a message. We talked and he suggested I try the half gelled. The full won't pick up soap as well and has a texture not too agreeable (he called it goopy).

He assured me the half gelled would be soft still and is a popular choice.

Thanks for the heads-up Eric. Now I'm super excited! Can't wait to see this know.

Sent from my Speak and Spell using Tapatalk.

So sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I had started a reply, but was at work and it got really busy (read: impatient people and lots of influenza vaccinating to do!). In my draft response, I had one word: slimy. This is what I read in a series of postings by a gent breaking in his gelled TnS boar knot. In the end, he likes it a lot, but the break in lathers were not fun sounding. Goopy would definitely fit what this guy described. I did consider the half-gel, and more or less flipped a coin and went untreated.

On a similar note, I have had some good communication with Vanessa at The Golden Nib (TGN). I am adding a knot, as I found I only ordered the 24mm, and thought I had ordered a 27mm as well. No shipping notification yet, so I am trying not to be impatient like some folks at the pharmacy. Those folks think it will make us go faster of stand and stare, frown, or glare at us. I politely ask them to stop, as they are making it hard to focus on my Tetris game I am playing!!

Hey Eric! I have those days too. I'm sitting waiting for my daughter's concert. Still haven't shaved. Life gets busy... All the darn time, it seems. Lol.

The reviews of that shoat Knot are very promising, so I'm sure you'll enjoy the untreated. I'm betting he suggested the half-gel because I initially ordered the full and entered the conversation with, "I have sensitive skin". They're probably all good.

I've been breaking in my new zenith. It's quite a bit denser than the Semogue 1305. That likely makes it harder to seclude and abuse the tips? Still, it was much softer to begin with. I expect it'll be ready for primetime after a good 7-10 hand lathers.

Also grabbed a cheap omega boar today just to compare the three companies. I like the look of the banded so I went with their semogue 830 lookalike, the omega 81052. It also has great reviews across the board.

I'll be interested to hear what you think of the Golden Nib knots. Actually, I'll be cringing... Because if they're good, I'll probably buy one. Lol. I'm already eyeing a Semogue SOC Taj. But that's a heftier cost so I want to make sure I'm happy on Boars-ville first.

Boarsville, I think I am relocating there myself! Like the name!

So tonight I shaved with the AP Faux Boar. I have to say, I'm not impressed.

It worked well enough, as you attested to MaineYooper . Still, I feel like it's missing the point. It's all in the material, how and why it bends. The Boar will stay splayed... They can't do that with a synth, and still get the boar springiness. It's way better than an S-brush, but not to the point where anyone who loves the Boar will jump ship for this.

Additionally, I feel like I'm getting used to brushes with small glue bumps. 2BED and Synbad both have a small bump. They splay easily and down to the brush 'hilt'. The faux boar has such a tall bump, you loose a lot of bristle real estate. Still, I don't think they can accomplish what little they did with this improvement (over the S-Brush) without the glue bump. I think it makes the less springy boar feel happen. I could be wrong.

All in all, I'm not impressed... So much so, I may reconsider what I'm putting into the handle enroute. Hmm.

I forgot to mention the other item that came in yesterday... My Trotter Handcrafts beer cozie! Friday was the perfect delivery day. It went right to work.

So tonight I shaved with the AP Faux Boar. I have to say, I'm not impressed.

It worked well enough, as you attested to MaineYooper . Still, I feel like it's missing the point. It's all in the material, how and why it bends. The Boar will stay splayed... They can't do that with a synth, and still get the boar springiness. It's way better than an S-brush, but not to the point where anyone who loves the Boar will jump ship for this.

Additionally, I feel like I'm getting used to brushes with small glue bumps. 2BED and Synbad both have a small bump. They splay easily and down to the brush 'hilt'. The faux boar has such a tall bump, you loose a lot of bristle real estate. Still, I don't think they can accomplish what little they did with this improvement (over the S-Brush) without the glue bump. I think it makes the less springy boar feel happen. I could be wrong.

All in all, I'm not impressed... So much so, I may reconsider what I'm putting into the handle enroute. Hmm.

I concur with these statements! And I bought two! I am blaming late night and being tired leading to poor decision making skills. That or I was tired of ordering 1 knot from AP Shave and then wishing I'd added another and save the shipping. Whatever. I bought the 26mm and the 28mm. But it is fun to be able to remove a knot that was siliconed in place and pop another in. I discovered an easy way for me to do this, as previous attempts took much swearing and time! I found one of those large elastic exercise bands that the physical therapy people use for resistance work. I wrap it around the knot tight, and it twists out fairly easily.

So this evening I decided to take the Zenith for it's maiden voyage. I didn't count but it has to have had 8 or so break-in lathers. Still, there was a tiny bit of pokiness. It also ate lather, which either means I didn't soak it long enough (4-5 minutes) or maybe it's more indication that it's not broken in? I dunno. It still did a stellar job! I'll probably keep at the breaking in, at least for another couple days. Hopefully it's next outing will be awesome.

I also used the Hendrix charity soap - Hidden Goddess. It absolutely is a sweet scent, berries of some sort and a caramel / cream addition. There more to the complex scent, and it probably hedges towards the feminine, but is still a gourmand dessert soap through and through.

That's all I got right now, other than the sudden urge to find a vanilla cookie soap for the holidays. Did I mention I have a sweet tooth?

Have a great evening DFS!

Meant to post this first thing this morning. Oops!

Don't forget it's the 11.11 sale at Ali Express. Anyone looking for a cheap Yaqi, Oumo, or DSCosmetics might want to take a look.

So I've been breaking in Boars recently. I've found a harder puck works well. I happen to have a loose refill puck of Sir Henry's Black and Tan that I placed in a larger tub. I've found it is a great candidate and IMO does a good job of fixing the scent.

Tonight I realized I'm going to use the whole puck on Boars without many shaves to show for it. So, I broke out the Zenith I've mostly broke in and called on the B&T to provide the slip.

When I got this Zenith I was impressed with it's initial softeness. After close to a dozen breakin lathers, it's still not there and I'm now thinking my Semogue was easier to get to "good". The zenith is a dense knot, though... Which maybe helps it's fight splitting, and other necessities of a broken in brush. Ooh well, eventually it will give.

Regardless, it was good enough... The zenith is probably 60-70% there. The soap, as usual, rocked. Of course I used the Henson TiMed with a Personna Comfort (shave #3). A great shave was had, with minimal stabs from Mr. Z..

Ooh, and to go with the Black and Tan I grabbed a Stella Midnight Lager. Mmm!

Have a great Saturday night DFS!


(Fixed!)

Sweet pic!