The Straight Road – Part 45: Brutal Badger
Thursday is an interesting day for me. SWMBO and I alternate taking SWMBO Jr. to her dance company rehearsals on Thursdays, which require leaving the office very early and rushing up there. It’s nice for me, because I get to have dinner with SWMBO Jr. on our own, which usually amounts to a quick slice of pizza across the street from the studio between classes. Still, it’s a good time and most days we get to spend some time together on the streetcar, which has allowed me to gain more insight into the alien world of a 7-year-old girl. After a relatively easy evening, I got home to greet SWMBO, who had also enjoyed her “night off” with an excursion to a sushi restaurant with a friend of hers. Given that I had a borrowed vehicle, we opted to pick SWMBO up from her restaurant and head home together. Overall, we had a relaxed vibe around the apartment on Thursday evening, which meant I was in the perfect mood for a shave.
The Anticipation
The Manhattan Cutlery “The Celebrated” awaited my whiskers on this fine Thursday evening, along with its sidekick, my King Custom Bocote with 24mm TGN Black Badger and my sample of Irisch Moos. My last shave with this brush and razor combination had been a nice one, though I found my face felt a touch sensitive after the fact, which I attributed to the black badger brush, which is decidedly rough and scrubby. I had given it a conditioning and some shampoo after the last round and was hoping it would break in a little bit more, making things a bit easier on my skin than the last time around.
The Prep
I decided to give all of my strops a bit of a runout on Thursday, so I started with the SRD Premium IV, giving the blade 25 passes on the webbing and 50 on the leather. Then I tried a few on my Poor Man’s Strop, just to try the feeling of the narrower width. After that, I moved to the SRD Black Latigo for another 50 passes, and then I was ready to begin my ritual. Having opted for a face lathering, I left my scuttle on the shelf, dunked my brush in a small dish of hot water and proceeded to the shower. A vigorous scrub with my bristle brush and RazoRock Sandalwood Artisan Bar Soap, followed by Real Shaving Creamy Face wash, left me feeling refreshed and clean from the long day of work and dance chaperoning. The stage was now set for the black badger brush to have its second trial.
The Lather
Swirling the tips of the brush in my small travel-sized Muhle soap dish, I made sure to load the brush for a good 40-50 seconds. Satisfied with the amount of soap clinging to the dark bristles of the brush, I lifted the knot to my face and began to apply the lather. The swirling of the brush, combined with a painting motion, allowed me to build a thin, though fairly slick lather. I was not happy with the feel of this brush on my face, as any sort of pressure cause the scrubby feeling to become unpleasant, very different from my boar brushes which, while having the same backbone, certainly do not feel this rough on my face. I managed to get enough lather for my three passes, though the quality was not up to my standards and I think it may have adversely affected the shave, as I found the lather a touch sticky. Nonetheless, it got the job done. I can say I am almost ready to take this brush back to the drawing board, as I do love the bocote wood handle. The TGN Finest Badger Fan-shaped knot has attracted my eye, so I may delve into a brush re-knotting exercise in the near future. The Irisch Moos soap is a good one, with a nice scent and what seems to be the potential to create a nice lather, but it didn’t blow me away, either. With MWF, a few DRH soaps, Tabac, T&H and a few creams ahead of it in the lineup, it will likely only be relegated to sampler status in the long run. In the mean time, I had a shave to finish.
The Shave
This is the second time I’ve had less-than-stellar lather for this razor, combined with an unpleasant brush. My feeling is that the razor isn’t getting a fair deal out of this situation, so I will likely try it with another brush to see how it performs for me. I must say that, compared to the almost delicate TI of my previous shave, this one feels like a big, solid bruiser in my hands. The edge is nice and smooth and the blade slides freely, but I also need to be more mindful in the delicate areas, as sometimes the weight and balance of this shaver threw me off a bit. That said, despite some struggles with sticky lather, I went three passes which got me a very nice shave, very smooth and with only minimal requirement of touch-ups. While not completely happy with the lather and despite the sometimes awkward feel of the razor, I ended up with a very satisfactory shave.
The Post
In the middle of my final pass, I received a phone call from mom, who needed to be picked up. Given the fact that she’d lent me her car for the ballet excursion, it was only to be expected she would need it back sooner, rather than later, so I needed to finish up and head out. Luckily, there was still time to end my shave without rushing, so I am thankful for that. I rinsed up with cold water and applied the alum bar. While I let that settle for a moment, I rinsed the evil black badger, shook it out and dried it off before stowing it on the shelf with a bit of a baleful glare. Witch hazel was next, then I followed that with my favourite aftershave so far, which is Trumper’s Spanish Leather, though DRH Marlborough is giving it a run for its money. That done, I cleaned the general area, gave the Manhattan a 25/50 on the SRD Black Latigo and grabbed the Trumper’s Unscented balm, which is probably the best moisturizer in my den, given its neutrality. Since my skin tends to get dry if I use a splash on its own, I can combine any scent of aftershave with this balm without compromising the fragrance. A great pickup, in my mind, as it really combines with any product.
The Verdict
The journey was a little bit rough, but the destination was pretty darn good. I ended up with a very satisfactory shave, despite the unpleasant nature of the brush and the struggles to get a decent lather going. I was happy with how the Manhattan performed in terms of the edge, especially considering the lather. It will take me some time to get used to the razor, though that will have to wait as I’m likely to be testing a kamisori shave in the next while. Overall, I finished the day happy, smelling good and smooth.
On The Straight Road, smooth sailing is never a bad thing!
As I mentioned previously, my first Japanese kamisori arrived today and I am pretty excited to try it out. I’ve heard great things about how these shave and I like the interesting shape and the different techniques required to make it work. A new experience and a new challenge to master the kamisori looms on the horizon and I am charging to meet it head on. It should be a fun ride.
Until then, thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Jack