Thread: Sun - March 07th - Sat April 13th

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Sunday

Razor | Klas Törnblom Frameback| Soap | Madame scodioli ‘Step Right Up’| After Shave | Madame Scodioli ‘Step Right Up’

Busy day today, mowing lawns, mopping floors, washing, etc. Cindy (the wife) agrees that Carl is a Good Boy, which is a good thing.

Decided to shave in my bedroom before my daughter arrived to pick up Bailey, my grandson. The Klas Törnblom did a fine job even though the shave was rushed. A great razor, this, the first frameback I bought and the razor I have reserved for special Sunday shaves…

Bailey decided to join in, asking “Why are you listening to music (Jazz – Blue Mitchell) when you shave?” “Why are you drinking (Cooper’s Pale Ale) while you shave?”. “What is that (a strop)?” “Why is that a strop?” Bailey is in the “why" phase at the moment.

Bailey goes in to hospital tomorrow for his oncology tests and X-rays and bone surgeon appointment. It’s almost two years since he was diagnosed with bone cancer and it’s almost two years since I started hanging out here. We’re all a little nervous.

Let us all say a prayer tonight for all the little children; for all the little children…

* Carl, i wish you and your son well and good luck with everything!

Good morning y'all! As I was preparing to write about my average shave, I read through the posts that I missed yesterday and was moved by Carl's posts about Bailey's ordeal and prognosis. Carl, thank you for the perspective you bring and I am happy to see your grandson continues to beat cancer.

Now, my average shave:

Prep - hot shower
Soap - TOBS Grapefruit
Brush - TSN Semogue LE
Razor(s) - Imperial 14; iKon OC, OSS handle, and Gillette Silver Blue blade
Post - cold water, alum, Kiehl's lotion
EDT - Atelier Cologne Vetiver Fatal



Have a great week!

How to deal with a weekends-worth of stubble...



Pre : Hot water
Soap : Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush : Progress Vulfix 404
Razor : Merkur 15C
Blade : Feather
Post : Cold water, alum block, Nivea moisturising balm

Finish : BBS

Gentlemen, here is today's shave bill:

Razor: Alcoso 5/8 round point
Strop: Illinois 127
Brush: Fitzwilliam silver tip
Soap: La Toja Manantiales
Pre-shave: Castle Forbes
Scuttle: Moss
Music: Schubert string quartet
Coffee: Mexico and Sumatra blend
Face lather
Alum
Witch hazel
Balm: Pierre Cardin
Aftershave: Musgo Real Classic

MONDAY
Hot shower prep
Razor: Joseph Allen Non-XLL ~1900
Soap: AL’s Bomb “Calypso”
Mug: soup cup
Brush: Barbershop boar
Aftershock: none
Splash: Bay Rum

The Day? Damp and light rain >8ºC great to melt the snow! The Shave? A good and simple shave in two and a touch. This razor took the best edge I have known for a Sheffield. Bay Rum topped the shave.
The fun of trying things makes the day go a bit better and quicker!
~Richard

Carl, Thanks for the great news about Bailey!!

Razor: Kanenaga Kamisori
Strop: Steer hide
Brush: Crowley & Tosh silver tip badger
Soap: Acqua di Parma, tuned-up with a little glycerin
Pre-shave: Hot Shower, light face lather
Scuttle: Georgetown Pottery G20
Balm: Acqua di Parma
Result: great shave

I finally found some time this weekend for a grand honing session. My last shave with the Kanenaga was effective, but left me with some discomfort. I suspected the corner of the heal was so sharp that it was digging in to my skin with every stroke. The heal corner is square, but was sharp like fish hook. I ground a small radius on a 1200 grit stone to kill the pointy corner of the heal. I then took the razor through the whole progression: 1200 Bester, Red Akapin (3000-4000 grit), Takashima (8000-10,000), Yaginoshima (very hard, fine finishing stone). The last time I did this, I then stropped on a 4X4 balsa strop CrOx, then .25 micron diamond spray. I noticed however that the bevel came off the last stone very misty and uniform, but had a noticeable lined scratch pattern after the CrOx and spray. So, this time, with the bevel still misty, I took the razor directly to the leather strop. I did 20 laps on the flesh side, then about 100 laps on the grain side. This morning's shave was very comfortable. In fact, it might be the most comfortable shave yet with this razor. I had no lingering sting, which makes me believe that addressing that sharp heel worked. I did have 4 days of beard, so some of the initial strokes around the chin seemed to tug harder than I would have liked, but it was all smooth on the second pass. I didn't even use that alum block afterwards. I think I've got a winning combination.

Cheers,

Jack

P.S.: what made this honing session grand is my tendency to take an inventory of every blade in the house that might need a little work, and get to it. I like to make it worth it to break out 4 stones, lapping plates, sink bridge, felt deburring block, various towels, oils, polishes, and to cover a large area in water, slurry, and in some cases, blood. Just as an experiment, I took a 5/8 Dovo Half-hollow throught the same paces as the Kanenaga, even though it was already shaving well. I'll report back to see if it works as well.

Sunday evening
Prep: All day garden work with a fine Monte Christo No 4 and an Orval to finish the day
Iwasaki Kamisori No2 - Acca Kappa 1869 SC - Barbershop badger brush - cold water splash - Acca Kappa 1869 asb - hot towel - Penhaligon's Eau de Verveine EdT

A fine day of work in the garden in the sun in what I believe was the first real nice day of this year. Next weekend is supposed to be even warmer. I bought two gooseberry bushes and planted them in the garden. Hopefully we'll enjoy those fruits later this year. I really like gooseberries, but you see them less and less in the shop these days. Hence, why not simply have them in the yard? The shave was great and the razor is really crafted well. I need to improve my technique, but I'm getting better with every shave.
Have a great week gents!

Originally Posted by sashimi

Iwasaki Kamisori No2

The shave was great and the razor is really crafted well. I need to improve my technique, but I'm getting better with every shave.

Great looking blade,

I so want a Kamisori, but alas I relinquish to learning to shave and hone on western blades first....

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Thanks very much. All the comments helped me make it through today :-)

I want to send along good wishes for your Grandson. Little boys like that are so precious.

As for your time problems. I used to get too wrapped up in the "exact" time. I happened upon a quote that seemed to help me. "A man with a watch knows the time, a man with two is never sure". Then I got into hippy type thinking and realised that, time is just a measurement put upon our lives for reasons of greed. Time moves on regardless of if you are aware of it or not, just be sure to make the best of it.

Originally Posted by donv

I want to send along good wishes for your Grandson. Little boys like that are so precious.

As for your time problems. I used to get too wrapped up in the "exact" time. I happened upon a quote that seemed to help me. "A man with a watch knows the time, a man with two is never sure". Then I got into hippy type thinking and realised that, time is just a measurement put upon our lives for reasons of greed. Time moves on regardless of if you are aware of it or not, just be sure to make the best of it.

Here, Here