SOTD 26 March-1 April 2023

Gillette Pre War Tech / Feather / WCS synth / PdP 63

Razor: Gillette Superspeed Red Tip
Blade: Astra
Brush: Il Marchese synthetic
Soap: Whickham 1912 Russian Leather
Finale: Spanish Leather
Coffee: Mexico
Music: Manuel de Falla — Nights in the Gardens of Spain

31 March, 2023

Good morning and happy Friday! Hope you had a pleasant evening.

Great shave to close the workweek. Went with Maggard Razors' bespoke line of shave soaps, more specifically "London Barbershop". The scent may be generic but the lather it produces is exquisite! Very slick, dense and provides a lot of cushion. Two passes (+ touch-up) and I finished with some Proraso "Refreshing & Toning" ASB and a generous dousing of Versace "Versace Pour Homme" EdT.

Hope you have a great day.

Maggard Razors "London Barbershop" Shave Soap / Zenith Manchurian Badger / Imperium Shaving - RazoRock DE

Gillette Platinum / Alum / Proraso "Refreshing & Toning" After Shave Balm / Versace "Versace Pour Homme" EdT

Friday, March 31, 2023 - Shave of the Day

Prep  ||  Equate Beauty Cleansing Skin Cream with Eucalyptus Oil
Brush  ||  Paladin Chief
Soap  ||  Sir Henry's Black Velvet
Razor  ||  Blackland Blackbird / Astra SP (1)
Post  ||  Witch Hazel
A/S  ||  Sir Henry's Black Velvet
Growth  ||  42.0 Hours

I received this Yaqi Sputnik as well as a Bohemia yesterday from a friend that was interested in my thoughts. I always enjoy trying new things in this hobby so naturally I jumped at the chance when offered. I will go ahead and say that i'm generally not a fan of aluminum razors. I always found them too light for my taste or the shave a little harsh. This one is making me do a 180 on that opinion.

It arrived as it would from Yaqi in a nicely presented box with formed foam like what you receive from Karve and others. The finish is nice with no burrs or markings from production and feels very comfortable in hand. Weight wise I was pessimistic before handling due to previous handling of aluminum razors but even at only 1.95oz the razor just felt like it had more heft. This is possibly due to the girth of the handle and solid feel it provides.

I loaded a fresh Wilkinson Sword blade and proceeded to lather up with some Declaration B Cubed (love this scent!). Razor angle is very intuitive with no need to try and find that sweet spot angle like you do with others. I would characterize the aggression at the low end of medium but very efficient. It provides a nice amount of audible feedback that would make it seem more aggressive than it is which I enjoyed since it let me know it was doing its job with each pass. I completed my usual 3 pass shave with zero need for touch ups and left me BBS with zero irritation. This is one I will definitely be adding to the den for an instant top 3 in rotation.

I will give it another go in the morning then will look at giving the Bohemia a try. Have a great day everyone!

Declaration B Cubed
Vintage handle w/ TGN black badger
Yaqi Sputnik
Gillette Wilkinson Sword blade
B Cubed splash

Preshave: Hot shower
Soap/Shave cream: Cremo Cooling Refreshing Mint
Razor: Rockwell 6C (R3 plate)
Blade: Perma-Sharp (3)
Post shave: Gillette Gel

Friday AM 2023-03-31
Budimir Sobat set the official static apnea (breath-holding in water) world record of 24 minutes 33 seconds on this date in 2021


A sort of Hemingway shave this morning, with the Ivory brush and Diamondback razor reminding me of his African safaris, in addition to the Caribbean-scented shaving cream and aftershave. My only 'connection' to Hemingway is the fact that while in high school I dated a girl who at one time held the women's world record for a marlin caught on a particular weight of fishing line. 

Rooney Polo 1 Ivory Finest (24/54) 
Hemingway Accoutrements + Trumper Coconut shaving creams mixture 
Paradigm Diamondback
Personna 74 Tungsten (12)
Hemingway Accoutrements aftershave

Friday 31 AM

• Razor: Gillette 40s Super Speed
  
• Blade: Gillette Rubie
  
• Brush: Vie-long black horse
  
• Pre-Shave: Edwin Jagger Pre Shave lotion
  
• Lather: Proraso Green
  
• Post-Shave: Proraso Green balm
  

Friday Afternoon Shave 03.31.23
RAZOR: Stirling Stainless DE Razor, Standard Head, Dallas Handle
BLADE: Astra Superior Platinum
BRUSH: Elite Razor Red, White and Blue Manchurian White
LATHER: Ariana & Evans Asian Plum Shaving Soap
POST: Ariana & Evans Asian Plum Aftershave

Razor: Wolfman WR3 Bronze, Rod George handle
Blade: Personna GEM PTFE Stainless Steel Blade
Brush: Simpson Commodore X2 Best Badger
Pre-Shave: Proraso White
Lather: Shannon's Soaps Fig & Apricot
Aftershave: Proraso Green Splash
Additional Care:
  Thayers Facial Tonic Witch Hazel Unscented