There and Back Again, A Wet-Shaver's Tale

I wil NOT be swayed....I still like my Parker for lazy day shaves. But I agree, on a work day, I grab something else when I need a longer lasting shave.

It is a good razor, but still manages to be my least favorite SE, so it gets the axe lol.

5/15 SOTD

Razor: GEM 1912

Blade: Personna

Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Immunity w/Synbad knot

Soap: B&M Adagio

Aftershave: B&M Adagio

EDC: Royall Lyme

This is a Spring/Summer dream combination for me. Adagio is one of those scents that is just magic to my nose, and never fails to put me in a good mood. I could say that I was using the 1912 in order to determine whether it will stay or not, but the truth is that it will always have a place in my den. It was my go-to SE for a long time, and the only times it has not given me a fantastic shave were due to user error. I have two of them, and this is the better looking one. A new brush was introduced to the den. Details on it's acquisition to follow.

Two pass and clean up BBS. The 1912 is still "The" SE for me. It can be very aggressive or reasonably mild depending on how you handle it, which appeals to me. It will also punish inattention, and I managed a couple small bites when I got cocky, but they closed up at the alum block stage. A hefty splash of the AS cooled everything down even more, and a BIG glug of Royall Lyme was just what the shave needed to be near perfect. LOVE...THIS...JUICE!!! The only gripe I have with it is that it only lasts maybe a couple hours tops. But during those couple of hours I am King Lyme.

This brush is pretty fantastic in every respect. I'm loving the shape and it fits very comfortably in my hand. I was not sure about the Synbad knot, since it felt springier than I thought I'd like when I was setting it, but it is very soft with good(not too much) backbone, and is just the right amount of dense with good splay. Definitely a winner, and one I can see keeping a stock of when I get to turning again.

Thanks for reading and have a great night!

I love my SynBads! Got a new handle from Paul for my 28mm fan knot, maiden voyage in the new handle should be tomorrow.

At first I didn't think I'd like the Synbad either, but it has grown on me. It is sooo soft and really works wonderfully. I fell so much for it, I ordered AP's Emerald brush with a Synbad.

You are absolutely right about Paul's handles. He has quite a knack for design. They fit so well in the hand, they're as comfortable to hold as the Synbad is to brush with.

... I fell so much for it, I ordered AP's Emerald brush with a Synbad.
...

I will not look. I will not look. I...

5/15 SOTD

Razor: GEM 1912

Blade: Personna

Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Immunity w/Synbad knot

Soap: B&M Adagio

Aftershave: B&M Adagio

EDC: Royall Lyme

This is a Spring/Summer dream combination for me. Adagio is one of those scents that is just magic to my nose, and never fails to put me in a good mood. I could say that I was using the 1912 in order to determine whether it will stay or not, but the truth is that it will always have a place in my den. It was my go-to SE for a long time, and the only times it has not given me a fantastic shave were due to user error. I have two of them, and this is the better looking one. A new brush was introduced to the den. Details on it's acquisition to follow.

Two pass and clean up BBS. The 1912 is still "The" SE for me. It can be very aggressive or reasonably mild depending on how you handle it, which appeals to me. It will also punish inattention, and I managed a couple small bites when I got cocky, but they closed up at the alum block stage. A hefty splash of the AS cooled everything down even more, and a BIG glug of Royall Lyme was just what the shave needed to be near perfect. LOVE...THIS...JUICE!!! The only gripe I have with it is that it only lasts maybe a couple hours tops. But during those couple of hours I am King Lyme.

This brush is pretty fantastic in every respect. I'm loving the shape and it fits very comfortably in my hand. I was not sure about the Synbad knot, since it felt springier than I thought I'd like when I was setting it, but it is very soft with good(not too much) backbone, and is just the right amount of dense with good splay. Definitely a winner, and one I can see keeping a stock of when I get to turning again.

Thanks for reading and have a great night!

Wow Eric, what a great photo and gear! Color me impressed! So happy “Immunity” went to you.

^^^Agreed, the colors pop pop pop!

I love my SynBads! Got a new handle from Paul for my 28mm fan knot, maiden voyage in the new handle should be tomorrow.

I used it again today, and I'm liking it even more now.

At first I didn't think I'd like the Synbad either, but it has grown on me. It is sooo soft and really works wonderfully. I fell so much for it, I ordered AP's Emerald brush with a Synbad.

You are absolutely right about Paul's handles. He has quite a knack for design. They fit so well in the hand, they're as comfortable to hold as the Synbad is to brush with.

It is a great handle, and I'm thrilled to have some of Paul's work in my shave den.

... I fell so much for it, I ordered AP's Emerald brush with a Synbad.
...

I will not look. I will not look. I...

5/15 SOTD

Razor: GEM 1912

Blade: Personna

Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Immunity w/Synbad knot

Soap: B&M Adagio

Aftershave: B&M Adagio

EDC: Royall Lyme

This is a Spring/Summer dream combination for me. Adagio is one of those scents that is just magic to my nose, and never fails to put me in a good mood. I could say that I was using the 1912 in order to determine whether it will stay or not, but the truth is that it will always have a place in my den. It was my go-to SE for a long time, and the only times it has not given me a fantastic shave were due to user error. I have two of them, and this is the better looking one. A new brush was introduced to the den. Details on it's acquisition to follow.

Two pass and clean up BBS. The 1912 is still "The" SE for me. It can be very aggressive or reasonably mild depending on how you handle it, which appeals to me. It will also punish inattention, and I managed a couple small bites when I got cocky, but they closed up at the alum block stage. A hefty splash of the AS cooled everything down even more, and a BIG glug of Royall Lyme was just what the shave needed to be near perfect. LOVE...THIS...JUICE!!! The only gripe I have with it is that it only lasts maybe a couple hours tops. But during those couple of hours I am King Lyme.

This brush is pretty fantastic in every respect. I'm loving the shape and it fits very comfortably in my hand. I was not sure about the Synbad knot, since it felt springier than I thought I'd like when I was setting it, but it is very soft with good(not too much) backbone, and is just the right amount of dense with good splay. Definitely a winner, and one I can see keeping a stock of when I get to turning again.

Thanks for reading and have a great night!

Wow Eric, what a great photo and gear! Color me impressed! So happy “Immunity” went to you.

Thanks Paul! That makes two of us.

^^^Agreed, the colors pop pop pop!

I really need to remember which colors I used in that. I have a lot of greens and a few reds. I'm going to be in the same boat with a lot of the blanks that are waiting to be turned since I stupidly didn't write anything down when I mixed them lol.

5/16 SOTD

Razor: Pearl Flexi Adjustable
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Immunity
Soap: Captain's Choice 45th Parallel
Aftershave: Royall Lyme
Cologne: More Royall Lyme!

This is a razor that I haven't really given a fair shake the couple times I've used it. I bought it because I heard it was a more affordable Gibbs adjustable clone option, then heard that it was actually a clone of a clone. I'm honestly not sure how true that is, but I admit that it colored my perception of it. I had heard that there were blade alignment problems at one point, but by the time I ordered one they were either fixed or I got one that didn't have that issue. One thing I was not crazy about was the plating. It is a satin finish, which I like, but it  seems that a few specks of dust found their way onto the top cap and were plated. They can barely be seen though I can feel them when I run my finger along the top. This isn't a deal breaker, but it does tell me that their QC is not what it could be. It is a HEAVY razor, possible the heaviest DE I've ever used, which makes sense since it is plated brass. But all of the aesthetics in the world can be overridden for me by one question; How Does It Shave? To have this question answered I grabbed a truly fantastic smelling shave soap that has always performed very well, and the newest brush in the stable which was made by Stubble Daddy.

I started at 1, which was actually a bit more aggressive than I was expecting for the razors starting point, with a fair amount of blade feel. I ended up going to 2 very quickly, and staying there for the rest of the shave. This was a pretty good setting for the getting-to-know-you phase of the razor, and two passes and some clean up left me with a very nice BBS. It was kind of an odd shave in that I felt like there would be some irritation, but all I got was a smooth face and almost no burn when I splashed on a considerable amount of Royall Lyme. It smells so good that I went for another splash once it dried, and all was well in my world. So the answer to the question of how it shaves is pretty darn good. I'm liking this razor, but I will have to give it a few more shaves to decide whether it is going to stay or not.



Thanks for reading and have a great night!

Nice looking shave. Never used that razor and interested in your thoughts going forward on it.