What I've got so far...

So, going over the "shave den" threads, poring over ebay auctions and only having the pleasure of actually practicing the straight-razor shave once per day or less, I find myself covetous of more space in the bathroom to accomodate what will eventually be a seven-day rotation of desirable/collectible straight razors. The commitment itself to develop yet-another great old-world skill and reap the sort of intangible benefits that are inherent to skills of that ilk has already manifested better organization, methodology and appreciation for all of this. I have a sensitivity to the anthropological effect of those things man would fashion for himself and then take into his own hand. A straight razor is at once among the most elegant and, shall we say, consequential, of those adopted by critters with opposable thumbs...

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/7/...21206_SDra.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/7/...1206_SD2ra.jpg

First shave with that C-MON today, which arrived "shave ready". Stropped 30 and WOW. (Apparently, I have a smidge more honing to do on that Dovo...). No pre-shave oil and knocked it all out in about 12 minutes after a shower with the SRD Vetiver and my NEW Haryali London silvertip badger brush, followed by the TOBS Jermyn St. Cream. 2 nicks, but BBS!

Congrats on the great gear and thanks for sharing :)

That is one fine setup mate!

Thanks a LOT! Hoping to add a Globusmen-Gold 37 and a Wapi to the rotation pretty soon. The mail is starting to get very weird right now, since it's so close to Christmas. After those I'll be looking for a good 6/8 and/or a 7/8, half-hollow or wedge to try without breaking the bank. (Ebay is also getting crazy for a lot of the same reasons as the mail, I believe...)

Very Nice! What hones did you purchase btw? I can see the norton but what's the black box?

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Originally Posted by saitou

Very Nice! What hones did you purchase btw? I can see the norton but what's the black box?

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That's a Shapton 16K. The others are Norton 220/1K, 4K/8K and their SiC flattening stone. Just for fun, there's a C-MON barber hone there with the C-MON Cadillac.

Two days growth over the weekend and commenced my 2nd shave with that C-MON today. Stropped 30 webbing, 60 leather this time. Shower, TOBS pre-shave oil, SRD Unscented sample soap and the Haryali London silvertip badger brush, followed by the TOBS Jermyn St. Cream. AMAZING, best shave yet! BBS and only one nick that I probably would have gotten with my old Atra Plus anyway.

I got the SRD essential oils soap sample pack over the weekend, so I started with the unscented microwaved for 20 seconds into the bottom of a small milk-glass bowl that I have. Good lather. It seems, however, that the soap scents are rendered somewhat irrelevant by the TOBS after shave cream. I intend to go through all the other scents fairly rapidly by commandeering about 5 sauce bowls so I can try 5 scents on different days of this upcoming week. I figure to get about three good shaves out of each sample, so it'll be about two weeks before I rotate to the next 5 samples. There are only 12, so the first 5 minus the Unscented will be the Vanilla Bourbon, Sandalwood, Frankincense, West Indies Bay and Lavender. I already own a full tub of the Vetiver, so only the Opus X, Sweet Patchouli, Blood Orange, Lime and Ylang Ylang would remain for the second round of 5 scents.

Hopefully if I find one I really like, I can then try the different brands of that scent. I also have sample packs on the way from Truefitt & Hill and Geo. F. Trumper, so this rotation will be going on for a while!