2023.08.15 SOTD (#UNCHALLENGE shave #15):

• Prep: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Cleanser

• Brush: AKA Brushworks Amethyst Watchman with 26mm AP Shave Co G5C

• Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable

• Blade: Gillette Perma-Sharp (5)

• Lather: Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime

• Post Shave: Stirling Mentholated Unscented Witch Hazel and Aloe, Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime Aftershave Splash, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Extra-Dry

AA Day 15! Still cannot get back to the smoothness I had on Saturday. Bummer. Did a 3 pass shave today, and all is good. Decent shave all around, no irritation like yesterday.

#UNCHALLENGE

August 15, 2023

• Preshave: Cold Water
• Brush: Zenith 506U XS Horse 🐎
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE89
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum (14)
• Lather: The Goodfellas Smile Amber Fougère
• Post Shave: Old Spice After Shave

Living off the land, day 13. When bowl lathering, I lose much of the good scent, but at least, there's no burn. The sickness of the soap is underwhelming, but it's serviceable.

Have a good day!

The Fifteenth Day Of Weckoning is upon us

• Brush: Rubberset 400-3 with a 26 mm unbleached Zenith boar knot at 56 mm loft
• Razor: Weck Sextoblade Med Prep
• Blade: Kismet Rostfrei, Polymer beschichtet (21)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann – Oceana
• Post Shave: Ralon – Original
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – Island Man

I finally caught up and watched one of @sgrdddy's slurry lather videos, but I didn't fully manage to reproduce it. Nothing that a bit of additional water and some scrubbing wouldn't fix, but I clearly have some more experimenting to do.

#Monthofweckoning

August 15, 2023

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks w/AP Shave Co 24mm Titanium Synthetic
• Razor: Weck Sextoblade (Straight Shave 296)
• Blade: Kismet (15)
• Lather: Saponificio Varesino - 70th Anniversary - Soap
• Post Shave: Saponificio Varesino - 70th Anniversary - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Thayers - Cucumber - Toner
• Fragrance: Saponificio Varesino - 70th Anniversary - Eau de Parfum
   

2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.

Kismet Blade - Losing My Edge
#Monthofweckoning

I did a timed shave today using my normal lathering method. @sgrdddy@sub.wetshaving.social tried this method in the video he posted yesterday.

My shaving time was 15 minutes. This included Thayers, cleanup, aftershave, and EdP spritzing. More importantly, the shave lacked for nothing. I had two perfect (for me) lathers providing the elegant scent of 70th Anniversary and the light, slippery face-feel of the Beta 4.3 vegetal base. Lather that accumulated on the razor would easily slide down the razor and fall off cleanly, and it would rinse cleanly with no effort. I had enough lather in the brush for a third pass, and I only had a little lather falling off the brush while building it for the first pass. This is ideal for me; the full richness of lather for all passes of the shave without too much time spent to build it, or much lather wasted.

I often get carried away while shaving and take longer than I did today. Because I was aware I was timing, I did not rush, but I kept my focus on each part of the process. I allot 30 minutes for shaving normally, and always expect to be done around 20 minutes. This time includes straight razor cleaning and stropping. (I strop after shaving.)

I included a microscope photo of an area near the heel in the album today. I haven't shown this area of the edge for a while. Excellent blade condition continues. The other day @walden@sub.wetshaving.social asked how large a beard hair would be in these photos of mine. Apparently beard hair can vary from 17 to 180 microns. Gillette says that beard hair averages 100 microns. In my photos, at the bottom left, you'll see a scale that shows the distance of 50 microns on vertical and horizontal axes. As you can see, a beard hair is quite large at the magnification I'm using.

• Prep: Splash of Cool Water
• Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (513)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (38 uses)
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag

Austere August: Day: 15
MRTNG's Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Ok guys, this is a slurry lather with just one swirl to load the brush!

Why did it work? Well, because the soap has retained some moisture over the past days due to loading with a wet brush. And this boar is a big one, with lots of tips. But still...

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹513 uses›)

Same: First pass has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel fine and give a reasonably close shave. 3 pretty quick passes.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)

I just love all the aspects of this scent!

Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.

Lather... I didn't actually expect this load to work, with just one swirl. But I got three well-hydrated and super slick passes out of it, and the third was even luxurious and creamy! For it, I squeezed the lather out of the knot and it was terrific!

Hydration: Perfect (for me)

• 0 sec load with a Very Wet brush
• = 3 passes of lather

Bowl: No Bowl

䷀ Brush Notes

(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹38 uses›)

Same: Comfortable soft tips that do flex some, but that are supported by a base with strong backbone. As with all young boars, I look forward to the tips splitting with more uses and getting softer with use. I am generally using a hair dryer to gently treat the tips and age them just a bit faster than normal.

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
  Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Close Shave
  Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet