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

Do you spritz with the Stella? Or use it in place of water? 

Do you spritz with the Stella? Or use it in place of water? 

I only spritz my liver with it... Liberally and repetitively.

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!)

So I’ve got some beautifully broken in boars, semogue and omega. Nice split ends and all that. I love using them. I found that they broke in faster (better?) when I used a lather bowl or scuttle that had fairly aggressive ridges or texture in the bottom.  You might want to try that and see if it speeds things along a bit.

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!)

So I’ve got some beautifully broken in boars, semogue and omega. Nice split ends and all that. I love using them. I found that they broke in faster (better?) when I used a lather bowl or scuttle that had fairly aggressive ridges or texture in the bottom.  You might want to try that and see if it speeds things along a bit.

Hmm... Certainly can't hurt.

My Semogue is much farther along and feel great. I feel like it was easier, but maybe it's a rose colored glasses thing.

My omega, which arrived yesterday, feels quite good already after one lather. It should be an easier break-in than either the Semogue or Zenith.

I'll definitely grab a bowl with some ridges (I could easily glue in my own via pennies or such) and try that. Thanks for the tip.

The new 26mm half gel shoat Knot is set... Now it needs to dry for a few days before I venture to break it in. Hopefully silicone holds, I used a LOT.

That looks great! Anxious to read all about it.

So today I got several things in and had a new item shave across the board.

First off, I received the Winning razor from jorvaljr . Thanks Jorge! For some reason I expected it to be really mild, almost like there was no blade. I definitely felt the shave, but it wasn't irritating, and the end result was really good. One shave doesn't make a review, so time will tell if it holds up as a good razor for me. It's off to a good start though.

Next I got some unique soaps from a niche boutique that seems to cater to women's items. The scents we're really off, compared to what they were supposed to be. Additionally, though it lathered, it packed the protection i want and expect. This one went off to a bath soap immediately.

Finally, the Omega 81025 clear and red "24mm" boar. I've been doing a lot of break in lathers with it. It got soft and pliable really quickly. I like it! Unfortunately, I had also come to the conclusion that it probably would not hold enough lather for a full shave. I was testing that tonight. I was absolutely correct. I had to reload for the third pass, as I expected. Of note, when I originally got this I thought that the handle was rather cheap. I started looking at how to remove the knot thinking I would swap it to a new handle. Comparing it by eye against a 24mm handle, this definitely looks smaller... I'd guess 22mm. It's also very loosely packed. Thus, off it went to the graveyard.

Tonight I also ordered a large 28mm Omega Boar to replace the 10mm 81025 (I kid, I kid). I absolutely want to find a good sized Omega that feels that soft. Fingers crossed!

Have a good evening DFS! One day down, four to go!

Hey Paul, both of the Semogue brushes I received are 22mm. They will be the smallest knots I have ever used. After 1 lather each they are feeling good. Tomorrow I am going to to give knot removal with steam a try. I picked up a Stirling boar and I think I got the broom-bristles sweep up version! Other than a bit of a bloom, the bristles are still good for scraping paint off window trim. So I want to reclaim the handle for an actual shave knot.

It is fun comparing experiences and sharing what works and what could be better.

Hey Paul, both of the Semogue brushes I received are 22mm. They will be the smallest knots I have ever used. After 1 lather each they are feeling good. Tomorrow I am going to to give knot removal with steam a try. I picked up a Stirling boar and I think I got the broom-bristles sweep up version! Other than a bit of a bloom, the bristles are still good for scraping paint off window trim. So I want to reclaim the handle for an actual shave knot.

It is fun comparing experiences and sharing what works and what could be better.

My painted wood Semogue is a 22mm, as well. It's a good brush, though. I haven't had any lather problems with it. I think the Omega is just so loosely packed, that it really just can't do a shave justice. Hopefully it's just this particular brush, because the hairs themselves are awesome. Softer than the Semogue (and don't get me started on the Zenith, lol).

Ditto on the size: the 22 is my smallest. I can't fathom going smaller. In the end, I'll have a 22 Sem, 24 Zen, 26 Shoat, and a 28 Omega. A good variety.

Just popped the 26 shoat brush into the fridge. Tonight I'll do the inaugural break-in lather.

The Stirling has a very classy handle. I hope you are able to save it.