SOTD 28 February-6 March 2021

SOTD: Citrus shave this morning - hope everyone is doing well!

March 3rd
Razor: Blackland Dart
Blade: Gillette Winner (3)
Brush: Simpson CH2 synthetic
Pre-shave: PAA Cube
Soap: PAA Astra Planeta
PAA Galactic Witch Hazel
PAA Astra Planeta Star Jelly
AS: PAA Astra Planeta

Good morning!



Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Wednesday, March 3

Mike's~~Simpson~~Detroit National~~Oud 24 Hours
Have a great day!

B
SOTD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MARCH 3, 2021

This morning’s shave featured an all Japanese shaving tools focus, and represented a supportive shave for my good friend, Clint, on his first AS-D2 outing. In that spirit I grabbed my own AS-D2. The Seki Feather AS-D2 was one of the first stainless steel safety razors and represents an engineered design improvement over its predecessor, the AS-D1, an altogether too mild safety razor with an exaggerated negative blade exposure resulting in a very mild shave. The AS-D2 was one of, if not the first safety razor to be constructed of marine grade 316L stainless steel via a CNC process. There were other stainless steel CNC built razors at the time (cf original Tradere), but they represented the use of other stainless steel alloys for the most part.

This razor was designed for “riding the bar” and featured a very narrow sweet spot that promoted a much more acute shaving angle taking full advantage of the hyper sharp Feather DE blade it was engineered around. I have a relatively thick heavy whiskers and used my AS-D2 a year or so ago to reduce almost three weeks of whisker growth following a hospital stay. It took it down like a champ, leaving me dolphin smooth. It required no extensive buffing, only an experienced knowledge of its very narrow sweet spot. Those who dismiss it as a “mild” razor just never learned the proper angle to shave with it. This morning it effortlessly sheared away my dome stubble in my usual two ATG passes.

In keeping with my Japanese shaving tools theme I selected the Tanifuji Airi 11/16, the first Japanese straight razor in my humble collection. My son, Ben, a straight shaver of several decades experience, has a very large Japanese silver and Tamaghane steel straight razor collection (100+). He provided me with this first razor after honing it on his then newly complete jnat progression. It was my first whisker-melting, Japanese silver steel shave. I now own two others, and am on the hunt for others guided by my son’s expertise. This morning, after a quick refresh last night, this petite little gem blazed through my mug whiskers in three slow, delightful passes, leaving me clean and refreshed with that delightful velveteen, porcelain smooth skin feel result I seek in every shave I undertake.

RAZOR: Tanifuji Airi 11/16 (Mug), Feather AS-D2 Safety Razor (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil 
BRUSH: Rooney Ebony Pure Badger 
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat 
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Pre de Provence Bergamot & Thyme AS Balm.

SOTD 20210303 Nerone
by IschiaPP @ Forio
•••
Heinrich L. Thäter 49125/1
Silberspitze Dachs 3-streifen, 24x50x101mm
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Phoenix Shaving (PAA) Doppelganger Black Label
Formula CK-6 Shaving Soap & Star Jelly AfterShave
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Colonial Razors The General V1
Aluminium 6061, Black Anodized B1, 44g, 50x96mm
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KAI Industries Co. Ltd Captain Titan Mild ProTouch MG #6
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Bottega Verde Uomo Pepe Nero EDT Vapo
•••
#Shave #WetShaving #WetShavers
#ShaveOfTheDay #ShaveLikeaMan



Full size:
https://imgur.com/bfcJkf1
Soundtrack:
Ludovico Einaudi - Nuvole Nere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bvm9yG4cvs&t=3099s

Alpha + WRH3 * Persona * Wild West * GD * Sudsy

...

SOTD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MARCH 3, 2021

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]...[/font]

This razor [Feather AS-D2] was designed for “riding the bar” and featured a very narrow sweet spot that promoted a much more acute shaving angle taking full advantage of the hyper sharp Feather DE blade it was engineered around. I have a relatively thick heavy whiskers and used my AS-D2 a year or so ago to reduce almost three weeks of whisker growth following a hospital stay. It took it down like a champ, leaving me dolphin smooth. It required no extensive buffing, only an experienced knowledge of its very narrow sweet spot. Those who dismiss it as a “mild” razor just never learned the proper angle to shave with it. This morning it effortlessly sheared away my dome stubble in my usual two ATG passes.

...

Thank you once again for an entertaining and informative post.  Forgive me for excerpting it so heavily; I did it only to direct the focus towards a question I'd like to ask you.  IIRC this is not the first time you have discussed the AS-D2, but this is more detailed than the times I remember, in that you explicitly describe the optimum AS-D2 shaving angle.  Alas, IME "shaving angle" and "acute shaving angle" are oft-confused terms, and I'd like to make sure that I and others understand you.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I have cut and pasted together this graphic for discussion purposes ...



Source: Steep and Shallow Shaving Angle Defined

Using the cited author's terminology, a shallow angle (aka "riding the cap") means the handle is more nearly perpendicular to the skin versus a steep angle (aka "riding the guard").  For example, shaving up or down the cheek with a shallow angle means the handle would be more nearly parallel to the floor.  I would have thought the sweet spot for a negative exposure razor would be a shallow angle, and "riding the bar" sounds to me like a steep angle.  I am not questioning your experience; I just want to understand it, and it would help me if you could describe the sweet spot in terms of how the cited author uses "shallow" and "steep".

Wolfman WR2 1.075

Personna Red/6

Paladin Disco 

Ethos Grooming Essentials - Lavender

Homemade Lavender serum

Wednesday AM 2021-03-03
The Star Spangled Banner became national anthem, 1931


Rooney 1/1 Ivory Finest (22/45)
Floris No. 89 shaving soap (tallow) 
Schick Krona
Polsilver Super Iridium (9)
Floris No. 89 aftershave (vintage)