SOTD 1-7 November 2020

Sunday, November 4, 2020.

Floid oil pre shave. Meißner Tremonia: Strong'n Scottish: Shaving cream, lotion aftershave & balm aftershave. Morris Morris & Fordnarm 2, finest badger. Joseph Rodgers & Sons, Extra hollow ground, Nº 6, 3/4, Sheffield.

[b]SOTD SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 1, 2020[/b]

Time for the comparison shave between my Gold Dollar (Black) and the Crescent City (Blue) Gold Monkey. Slash McCoy (@Slash McCoy), honemeister and practitioner of the “Method” - a lapping films honing approach he references on his Crescent City Razors site - purchases Gold Dollar razors in bulk and hones them for resale so they are truly ‘shave ready‘. Slash has a great reputation for the stellar shaves his rehoned razors deliver. I purchased a $5 Gold Dollar razor on Alibaba and reset the bevel on a Shapton 1k and then finished the edge on my jasper stone and a pasted strop followed by a leather strop. Being retired, I spent a fair amount of time going back and forth between the jasper finishing stone and my USB microscope to ensure I arrived at the smoothest edge I could.

I then decided to shave each side of my face with a different razor. The result was a simply splendid shave. I was unable to determine which razor was preferred. They did shave differently. I was able to determine that Slash’s reputation is well earned. His razor shaved cleanly on my favored dominant (left) side. I will say that on the sharp continuum his razor was a harder sharp than mine, but I’m sure he didn’t spend anywhere near the amount of time I did going back and forth between the USB microscope and the jasper stone until my edge was gleaming. The shave on the right (non-dominant) side of my mug felt just a tad smoother, but that may also reflect wish fulfillment on my part. In any case, I have no problem wholeheartedly endorsing Crescent City razors! They’re well worth the price and a great starter razor for the new straight razor shaver looking for a cost-effective dependable starter/learning straight razor. 

My dome shave featured one of my two early production (1905) silver plated Gillette Old Type safety razors. These razors have tended to be neglected due to their weight in hand. However, the three lb weights on my forearms make that issue moot. I generated two types of lathers for my morning shaves. I prefer a thinner, wetter lather for my mug straight razor shaves, and a heavier, yogurty lather for the noggin. My MrEE Monster Tuxedo Synth was happy to oblige. It’s a fabulous MWF lather machine, and easily generated both types of lather. It’s huge soft knot has great backbone and made lather generation a joy. I face latherEd my mug and bowl lathered my dome. Generating the thicker dome lather is better suited to the bowl method, but the application with this huge knot just felt great. I feel clean, velveteen smooth and quite refreshed.

RAZOR: Gold Monkey 5/8 (left Mug) Gold Dollar 5/8 (right Mug), Gillette Old Type (Dome)
BLADE: Sharp Star
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Aluminum Monster Tuxedo Synth Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Frost Byte AS Splash.

Gamechanger .84 & Rockwell Swedish SS

Graydog 26mm Timberwolf Chechen

Custom Bear Tallow shave soap (Russia)

Nivea Sensitive Cooling a/s Lotion

Abercrombie & Fitch Authentic Man eau de toilette

SOTD: Nice relaxing Sunday shave - hope everyone is doing well!

Phoenix Shaving El Fantazma double OC slant
Gillette 7 O'Clock stainless
Phoenix Shaving Solar Flare 24 mm synthetic
Razorock Lime Soap
Proraso Vitamin E balm
Canoe

Dragonsbeard V1
Wiborg White Badger
Wolfman WR1
Wizamet
SMN Tabacco Toscano
Nasomatto Black Afgano

Date:- 01 November 2020

Pre-shave:- Cold Water straight from the tap
Bowl/Scuttle:- Captain's Choice
Brush:- WCS Two-Tone Tall (Blue & White) Extra Dense Synth. 26/56mm knot
Soap/Cream:- PAA ~ Gondolier CK-6
Razor/Blade:- Muhle Rocca R96 v4.0 / Voskhod #2
Post/After-shave:- T.N. Dickinson Witch Hazel Astringent mixed into the 240ml bottle with Invite E High Potency Pure Oil (30 drops), Natural Plant Glycerin (20) & Tea Tree Oil Antiseptic (5)

Since I've kept the previous Rocca v2.0, I've swapped the handle over from the R94 to R96.

The R94 is slightly heavier than the R96 handle, however, the R96 felt grippier than the R94 and the R96 handle felt more comfortable holding in my hand. I find the R94 with a slightly heavier handle has more balance and comfort control during the entire shave.

SOTD November 1
Brush: Dean Markwalter Tree of Life
Razor: Blackland Blackbird Jet
Blade: Personna Med Prep (1)
Soap and AS: Oz Shaving Co Yellow Brick Road

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Brush: Declaration Jefferson Noveria B4 

Razor: Personna "BBS-0"

Blade: Astra SP (9)

Lather: Tallow + Steels Kyoto

Post Shave: Tallow + Steels Kyoto