SOTD : Saturday 4th August ~ Friday 10th August 2018.

Tuesday 7th August PM

9a9137b23a1050ca86753690552e4a0a.jpg


Prep: Warm water rinse, BBA Face Wash then Proraso Pre Shave Cream
Cream: Figaro Shaving Cream Almond
Brush: ES Medium Jock synthetic
Razor: Merkur 34c
Blade: Feather Hi-Stainless (3)
Post: Cold rinse, Thayers Witch Hazel with Cucumber then Floid after shave balm.

I asked my 14 year old daughter to choose from the Newbie Pass Around box again and it came as no surprise that she chose the exact same....again. I even used the same photo from last week!

I had a reasonable shave but nothing like the really good ones I've had recently. If I press my skin firmly I can feel a bit a stubble still there, however I know I shouldn't be chasing BBS this early on in my wet shaving career.

Today I set out just to concentrate on my technique. The WTG and XTG went okay. Going ATG just didn't seem to click. As I went for touch ups I had a lot to do, especially under my jaw line and neck. I managed to get really close along the jaw using the J-Hook method but it just wasn't happening on my neck. I wanted to keep going but knew I'd be red raw and I didn't want to start applying any pressure, so just settled with a reasonable shave.

The cream chosen may have a “distinctive” scent however I won't use it again. I'm not blaming that for my shave (a poor tradesman blaming his tools etc) but it just doesn't do it for me. Things just didn't seem as comfortable and smooth. I really like the Feather blades but I'm also unsure if I'm maybe pushing it with a 3rd shave. I read they can dull after only 2 shaves (which I have had happen) however again I think it's more down to my technique rather than tools.

Anyway, onwards and upwards!

Hope you all had a great day! [emoji482]
 
Sotd - Tuesday the 7th of August -

Razor - ATT Calypso - 'Maria' - on loan
blade - Schick Proline (2)
brush - Simpsons Chubby One best
soap - Barrister and Mann - Roam - sample
post - witch hazel
a/s - B&M - Roam tonic - sample
scent - B&M - Roam edt - sample.

Result - top end but weird and getting weirder -

I had commented recently on the experience of walking through a local park as the weather broke - vegetation and earth getting wet for the first time in weeks - an intoxicating event - such an over-overwhelmingly 'natural' smell - fecund - and I wondered out loud if you got shaving products that dallied into this part of the scent range - although I had never used it - Roam - was the only one I could initially imagine - as usual, ask a question here and you shall receive wise and sage guidance - thanks T. - @TomG - for your suggestions and particularly P. - @Blademonkey - who sent me the trio of samples to try. Weird - like no other product I have used - scent wise - it did remind me of my olfactory memory of the event - damp earth, grass, wet vegetation but with added wood smoke and campfires. Strange - to be honest - I didn't know initially whether I liked it or not but by the end of the shave it was rather growing on me - the soap base is superb - lathering, during and post - very good indeed. I think I will need to try it again - regrettably - my other half very much didn't take to it - along the lines of - you smell like you have been sitting with your mates in front of an open fire - at the side of a loch - for three days - not changing your clothes - drinking whisky and talking pish - coming back into my company having not had a shower. You can't please everyone. I will use it again - definitely a marmite smell. Thanks again P. A unique shave.

So the second run out of @Barry Giddens loaner Calypso - I probably don't need to tell you how much I like this razor - given the fact that I decided to call her Maria - cue West Side Story music -

'I've just met a girl named Maria
And suddenly that name
Will never be the same
To me
Maria!
I've just kissed a girl named Maria
And suddenly I've found
How wonderful a sound
Can be!
Maria!'

I'm - self-evidently - smitten with this razor - I even gave her a name - my smittness - couldn't be deeper. It is the sort of shave you would get from a Cobra if it had a skirt and heels on. So I was thinking - that I would come up with some preposterous story - feigning my own death - in some bizarrely improbable way - so I didn't have to give it back - B. is a sensitive soul and there is no way he would hassle my grieving widow for the return of a razor - surely? Maria and I will never be separated. Then I realised a flaw in my plan - I've just said that all out loud - he's going to be suspicious - he'll read it. HE WILL UNDERSTAND - He's not stupid - WE ARE HIS FRIENDS - NOT LIKE THE OTHER ONES. (Then I came up with the solution - if I write in parenthesis - (like this) - he can't hear me - it will be our secret. Excellent - fool proof solution - let's go for it.) So excellent shave gentlemen - I hope you enjoy........ - what's that crashing sound at the front door of my flat? Someone or somethings are kicking their way in! Hordes of monkeys! (Do monkeys come in hordes? I'm not sure - Mongols come/came in hordes? - a troop, whoop or flange - is that better? A barrel - of course! To be honest I don't think this plan is going to live or die based on one dodgy collective noun.) Monkeys twisted on DANGEROUS DRUGS - they know no mercy - SAVAGE BARBARIAN SIMIANS - they know nothing beyond their next hit - what it is to be HUMAN! - I'm being robbed in my own home! Don't hurt me - take my camera bag - there's twelve grand of gear in there - my watch - take my watch - it cost £500 - you want money - I've got money! Not the face - not the face! They CAN'T BE REASONED WITH! These VILE SWINE are insatiable. It's just as well that I am A FULLY QUALIFIED DOCTOR OF JOURNALISM! - who can touch-type - otherwise this fast flowing narrative would be hard to keep up with in real time. No - please - don't take the razor - not Barry's Calypso - not Maria! Nooooooooooooooo..........

(Job done - he'll fall for that - hook - line and sinker. Yours one and all - I.)
 
Last edited:
Vitos Red
YaqI Chianti 24mm Synthetic
Merkur 34C HD
Voskhod (2)
L'oreal Hydra Sensitive Birch Sap Balm
Floid Mentolado Vigoroso AS

Although this razor & blade combo is effective it takes some effort for me to get a good finish. I find I tend to use a steeper angle to get the best out of the 34C.
Mission accomplished - very smooth.
Unusually, I used a balm before I applied the aftershave lotion and it feels good.

I'm awaiting some shiny things, and can't wait for my next shave !
 
Sotd - Tuesday the 7th of August -

Razor - ATT Calypso - 'Maria' - on loan
blade - Schick Proline (2)
brush - Simpsons Chubby One best
soap - Barrister and Mann - Roam - sample
post - witch hazel
a/s - B&M - Roam tonic - sample
scent - B&M - Roam edt - sample.

Result - top end but weird and getting weirder -

I had commented recently on the experience of walking through a local park as the weather broke - vegetation and earth getting wet for the first time in weeks - an intoxicating event - such an over-overwhelmingly 'natural' smell - fecund - and I wondered out loud if you got shaving products that dallied into this part of the scent range - although I had never used it - Roam - was the only one I could initially imagine - as usual, ask a question here and you shall receive wise and sage guidance - thanks T. - @TomG - for your suggestions and particularly P. - @Blademonkey - who sent me the trio of samples to try. Weird - like no other product I have used - scent wise - it did remind me of my olfactory memory of the event - damp earth, grass, wet vegetation but with added wood smoke and campfires. Strange - to be honest - I didn't know initially whether I liked it or not but by the end of the shave it was rather growing on me - the soap base is superb - lathering, during and post - very good indeed. I think I will need to try it again - regrettably - my other half very much didn't take to it - along the lines of - you smell like you have been sitting with your mates in front of an open fire - at the side of a loch - for three days - not changing your clothes - drinking whisky and talking pish - coming back into my company having not had a shower. You can't please everyone. I will use it again - definitely a marmite smell. Thanks again P. A unique shave.

So the second run out of @Barry Giddens loaner Calypso - I probably don't need to tell you how much I like this razor - given the fact that I decided to call her Maria - cue West Side Story music -

'I've just met a girl named Maria
And suddenly that name
Will never be the same
To me
Maria!
I've just kissed a girl named Maria
And suddenly I've found
How wonderful a sound
Can be!
Maria!'

I'm - self-evidently - smitten with this razor - I even gave her a name - my smittness - couldn't be deeper. It is the sort of shave you would get from a Cobra if it had a skirt and heels on. So I was thinking - that I would come up with some preposterous story - feigning my own death - in some bizarrely improbable way - so I didn't have to give it back - B. is a sensitive soul and there is no way he would hassle my grieving widow for the return of a razor - surely? Maria and I will never be separated. Then I realised a flaw in my plan - I've just said that all out loud - he's going to be suspicious - he'll read it. HE WILL UNDERSTAND - He's not stupid. (Then I came up with the solution - if I write in parenthesis - like this - he can't hear me - it will be our secret. Excellent - fool proof solution - let's go for it.) So excellent shave gentlemen - I hope you enjoy........ - what's that crashing sound at the front door of my flat? Someone or somethings are kicking their way in! Hordes of monkeys! (Do monkeys come in hordes? I'm not sure - a troop, whoop or flange - is that better? A barrel - of course! To be honest I don't think this plan is going to live or die based on one dodgy collective noun.) Monkeys twisted on dangerous drugs - they know no mercy - SAVAGE BARBARIANS TO A SIMIAN - they know nothing beyond their next hit - I'm being robbed in my own home! Don't hurt me - take my camera bag - there's twelve grand of gear in there - my watch - take my watch - it cost £500 - you want money - I've got money! Not the face - not the face! They CAN'T BE REASONED WITH! These VILE SWINE are insatiable. It's just as well that I am A FULLY QUALIFIED DOCTOR OF JOURNALISM! - who can touch-type - otherwise this fast flowing narrative would be hard to keep up with in real time. No - please - don't take the razor - not Barry's Calypso - not Maria! Nooooooooooooooo..........

(Job done - he'll fall for that - hook - line and sinker. Yours one and all - I.)

Great write up as ever; I love the ATT Calypso, great razor. Have you tried the Colonial General Alu? For me just as good if not slightly better i.e. more efficient that the ATT Calypso.

Happy shaving,

Chris
 
Sotd - Tuesday the 7th of August -

Razor - ATT Calypso - 'Maria' - on loan
blade - Schick Proline (2)
brush - Simpsons Chubby One best
soap - Barrister and Mann - Roam - sample
post - witch hazel
a/s - B&M - Roam tonic - sample
scent - B&M - Roam edt - sample.

Result - top end but weird and getting weirder -

I had commented recently on the experience of walking through a local park as the weather broke - vegetation and earth getting wet for the first time in weeks - an intoxicating event - such an over-overwhelmingly 'natural' smell - fecund - and I wondered out loud if you got shaving products that dallied into this part of the scent range - although I had never used it - Roam - was the only one I could initially imagine - as usual, ask a question here and you shall receive wise and sage guidance - thanks T. - @TomG - for your suggestions and particularly P. - @Blademonkey - who sent me the trio of samples to try. Weird - like no other product I have used - scent wise - it did remind me of my olfactory memory of the event - damp earth, grass, wet vegetation but with added wood smoke and campfires. Strange - to be honest - I didn't know initially whether I liked it or not but by the end of the shave it was rather growing on me - the soap base is superb - lathering, during and post - very good indeed. I think I will need to try it again - regrettably - my other half very much didn't take to it - along the lines of - you smell like you have been sitting with your mates in front of an open fire - at the side of a loch - for three days - not changing your clothes - drinking whisky and talking pish - coming back into my company having not had a shower. You can't please everyone. I will use it again - definitely a marmite smell. Thanks again P. A unique shave.

So the second run out of @Barry Giddens loaner Calypso - I probably don't need to tell you how much I like this razor - given the fact that I decided to call her Maria - cue West Side Story music -

'I've just met a girl named Maria
And suddenly that name
Will never be the same
To me
Maria!
I've just kissed a girl named Maria
And suddenly I've found
How wonderful a sound
Can be!
Maria!'

I'm - self-evidently - smitten with this razor - I even gave her a name - my smittness - couldn't be deeper. It is the sort of shave you would get from a Cobra if it had a skirt and heels on. So I was thinking - that I would come up with some preposterous story - feigning my own death - in some bizarrely improbable way - so I didn't have to give it back - B. is a sensitive soul and there is no way he would hassle my grieving widow for the return of a razor - surely? Maria and I will never be separated. Then I realised a flaw in my plan - I've just said that all out loud - he's going to be suspicious - he'll read it. HE WILL UNDERSTAND - He's not stupid. (Then I came up with the solution - if I write in parenthesis - like this - he can't hear me - it will be our secret. Excellent - fool proof solution - let's go for it.) So excellent shave gentlemen - I hope you enjoy........ - what's that crashing sound at the front door of my flat? Someone or somethings are kicking their way in! Hordes of monkeys! (Do monkeys come in hordes? I'm not sure - a troop, whoop or flange - is that better? A barrel - of course! To be honest I don't think this plan is going to live or die based on one dodgy collective noun.) Monkeys twisted on dangerous drugs - they know no mercy - SAVAGE BARBARIANS TO A SIMIAN - they know nothing beyond their next hit - I'm being robbed in my own home! Don't hurt me - take my camera bag - there's twelve grand of gear in there - my watch - take my watch - it cost £500 - you want money - I've got money! Not the face - not the face! They CAN'T BE REASONED WITH! These VILE SWINE are insatiable. It's just as well that I am A FULLY QUALIFIED DOCTOR OF JOURNALISM! - who can touch-type - otherwise this fast flowing narrative would be hard to keep up with in real time. No - please - don't take the razor - not Barry's Calypso - not Maria! Nooooooooooooooo..........

(Job done - he'll fall for that - hook - line and sinker. Yours one and all - I.)
I am now waiting for the next instalment.....and eventually the prequel!
 
Great write up as ever; I love the ATT Calypso, great razor. Have you tried the Colonial General Alu? For me just as good if not slightly better i.e. more efficient that the ATT Calypso.

Happy shaving,

Chris

I think that Barry has one mate - might be a brass version - but after my post - I don't think he's going to lend me anything again - ever. Ha ha ha - joking aside - I have been astonished how good the Calypso is. A Cobra in heels - I can't think of higher praise. Cheers - I.
 
Sotd - Tuesday the 7th of August -

Razor - ATT Calypso - 'Maria' - on loan
blade - Schick Proline (2)
brush - Simpsons Chubby One best
soap - Barrister and Mann - Roam - sample
post - witch hazel
a/s - B&M - Roam tonic - sample
scent - B&M - Roam edt - sample.

Result - top end but weird and getting weirder -

I had commented recently on the experience of walking through a local park as the weather broke - vegetation and earth getting wet for the first time in weeks - an intoxicating event - such an over-overwhelmingly 'natural' smell - fecund - and I wondered out loud if you got shaving products that dallied into this part of the scent range - although I had never used it - Roam - was the only one I could initially imagine - as usual, ask a question here and you shall receive wise and sage guidance - thanks T. - @TomG - for your suggestions and particularly P. - @Blademonkey - who sent me the trio of samples to try. Weird - like no other product I have used - scent wise - it did remind me of my olfactory memory of the event - damp earth, grass, wet vegetation but with added wood smoke and campfires. Strange - to be honest - I didn't know initially whether I liked it or not but by the end of the shave it was rather growing on me - the soap base is superb - lathering, during and post - very good indeed. I think I will need to try it again - regrettably - my other half very much didn't take to it - along the lines of - you smell like you have been sitting with your mates in front of an open fire - at the side of a loch - for three days - not changing your clothes - drinking whisky and talking pish - coming back into my company having not had a shower. You can't please everyone. I will use it again - definitely a marmite smell. Thanks again P. A unique shave.

So the second run out of @Barry Giddens loaner Calypso - I probably don't need to tell you how much I like this razor - given the fact that I decided to call her Maria - cue West Side Story music -

'I've just met a girl named Maria
And suddenly that name
Will never be the same
To me
Maria!
I've just kissed a girl named Maria
And suddenly I've found
How wonderful a sound
Can be!
Maria!'

I'm - self-evidently - smitten with this razor - I even gave her a name - my smittness - couldn't be deeper. It is the sort of shave you would get from a Cobra if it had a skirt and heels on. So I was thinking - that I would come up with some preposterous story - feigning my own death - in some bizarrely improbable way - so I didn't have to give it back - B. is a sensitive soul and there is no way he would hassle my grieving widow for the return of a razor - surely? Maria and I will never be separated. Then I realised a flaw in my plan - I've just said that all out loud - he's going to be suspicious - he'll read it. HE WILL UNDERSTAND - He's not stupid - WE ARE HIS FRIENDS - NOT LIKE THE OTHER ONES. (Then I came up with the solution - if I write in parenthesis - (like this) - he can't hear me - it will be our secret. Excellent - fool proof solution - let's go for it.) So excellent shave gentlemen - I hope you enjoy........ - what's that crashing sound at the front door of my flat? Someone or somethings are kicking their way in! Hordes of monkeys! (Do monkeys come in hordes? I'm not sure - Mongols come/came in hordes? - a troop, whoop or flange - is that better? A barrel - of course! To be honest I don't think this plan is going to live or die based on one dodgy collective noun.) Monkeys twisted on DANGEROUS DRUGS - they know no mercy - SAVAGE BARBARIAN SIMIANS - they know nothing beyond their next hit - what it is to be HUMAN! - I'm being robbed in my own home! Don't hurt me - take my camera bag - there's twelve grand of gear in there - my watch - take my watch - it cost £500 - you want money - I've got money! Not the face - not the face! They CAN'T BE REASONED WITH! These VILE SWINE are insatiable. It's just as well that I am A FULLY QUALIFIED DOCTOR OF JOURNALISM! - who can touch-type - otherwise this fast flowing narrative would be hard to keep up with in real time. No - please - don't take the razor - not Barry's Calypso - not Maria! Nooooooooooooooo..........

(Job done - he'll fall for that - hook - line and sinker. Yours one and all - I.)

Bravo Sir. Bravo bravissimo!
 
Sotd - Tuesday the 7th of August -

Razor - ATT Calypso - 'Maria' - on loan
blade - Schick Proline (2)
brush - Simpsons Chubby One best
soap - Barrister and Mann - Roam - sample
post - witch hazel
a/s - B&M - Roam tonic - sample
scent - B&M - Roam edt - sample.

Result - top end but weird and getting weirder -

I had commented recently on the experience of walking through a local park as the weather broke - vegetation and earth getting wet for the first time in weeks - an intoxicating event - such an over-overwhelmingly 'natural' smell - fecund - and I wondered out loud if you got shaving products that dallied into this part of the scent range - although I had never used it - Roam - was the only one I could initially imagine - as usual, ask a question here and you shall receive wise and sage guidance - thanks T. - @TomG - for your suggestions and particularly P. - @Blademonkey - who sent me the trio of samples to try. Weird - like no other product I have used - scent wise - it did remind me of my olfactory memory of the event - damp earth, grass, wet vegetation but with added wood smoke and campfires. Strange - to be honest - I didn't know initially whether I liked it or not but by the end of the shave it was rather growing on me - the soap base is superb - lathering, during and post - very good indeed. I think I will need to try it again - regrettably - my other half very much didn't take to it - along the lines of - you smell like you have been sitting with your mates in front of an open fire - at the side of a loch - for three days - not changing your clothes - drinking whisky and talking pish - coming back into my company having not had a shower. You can't please everyone. I will use it again - definitely a marmite smell. Thanks again P. A unique shave.

So the second run out of @Barry Giddens loaner Calypso - I probably don't need to tell you how much I like this razor - given the fact that I decided to call her Maria - cue West Side Story music -

'I've just met a girl named Maria
And suddenly that name
Will never be the same
To me
Maria!
I've just kissed a girl named Maria
And suddenly I've found
How wonderful a sound
Can be!
Maria!'

I'm - self-evidently - smitten with this razor - I even gave her a name - my smittness - couldn't be deeper. It is the sort of shave you would get from a Cobra if it had a skirt and heels on. So I was thinking - that I would come up with some preposterous story - feigning my own death - in some bizarrely improbable way - so I didn't have to give it back - B. is a sensitive soul and there is no way he would hassle my grieving widow for the return of a razor - surely? Maria and I will never be separated. Then I realised a flaw in my plan - I've just said that all out loud - he's going to be suspicious - he'll read it. HE WILL UNDERSTAND - He's not stupid - WE ARE HIS FRIENDS - NOT LIKE THE OTHER ONES. (Then I came up with the solution - if I write in parenthesis - (like this) - he can't hear me - it will be our secret. Excellent - fool proof solution - let's go for it.) So excellent shave gentlemen - I hope you enjoy........ - what's that crashing sound at the front door of my flat? Someone or somethings are kicking their way in! Hordes of monkeys! (Do monkeys come in hordes? I'm not sure - Mongols come/came in hordes? - a troop, whoop or flange - is that better? A barrel - of course! To be honest I don't think this plan is going to live or die based on one dodgy collective noun.) Monkeys twisted on DANGEROUS DRUGS - they know no mercy - SAVAGE BARBARIAN SIMIANS - they know nothing beyond their next hit - what it is to be HUMAN! - I'm being robbed in my own home! Don't hurt me - take my camera bag - there's twelve grand of gear in there - my watch - take my watch - it cost £500 - you want money - I've got money! Not the face - not the face! They CAN'T BE REASONED WITH! These VILE SWINE are insatiable. It's just as well that I am A FULLY QUALIFIED DOCTOR OF JOURNALISM! - who can touch-type - otherwise this fast flowing narrative would be hard to keep up with in real time. No - please - don't take the razor - not Barry's Calypso - not Maria! Nooooooooooooooo..........

(Job done - he'll fall for that - hook - line and sinker. Yours one and all - I.)
Iain. I can only presume that you are acting on advice from your ATTORNEY. My advice is.....cut back on the mescaline, for goodness sake.
(By the way, I know he's dead, but have you and Thompson ever been seen in the same room?)
 
ADDA4_E98-_B4_EB-4180-83_A3-93_DACBB22613.jpg

Last night;
Supply (••)
B-20 (#1)
APR

After a recent spate of shaves with the Oneblade Core, I've decided to go for the Supply SE. I usually use the ••• plate but decided on the •• for an ‘out of the box' comparison between the two. Having used this many times before, the angle was intuitive and lack of pressure felt more natural and it's far more suited to shaping around a beard. A very nice two-pass shave with the YaQi and APR ‘Fresca' soap and aftershave giving a fantastic combo!
 
image.jpg

~SOTD~

The full Panama 1924 Treatment

Prep ~ D.R Harris Almond Oil Soap, warm shower
Razor ~ Cobra Classic
Blade ~ Proline P-30
Soap ~ Boellis - Panama 1924
Brush ~ Zenith 26mm Manchurian Badger
Post ~ Boellis - Panama 1924 Aftershave Gel
Scent ~ Boellis - Panama 1924 Edt

From the start this had great shave written all over it, my number one SE Razor and a top performing soap with a great scent of Almond with a hint of the wonderful Panama 1924 scent.
With the aid of my fab Zenith Manchurian I had soon whipped up a slick creamy lather that had that sheen to it when you have got the water ratio just right.
The Cobra and Proline combo worked perfectly giving me the closest of comfortable shaves and left me with skin as smooth as smooth can be, the post shave feel from this soap is outstanding.
An aplication of the blue P 1924 Aftershave Gel gave me a little tingle but nothing more than that and then it was time to finnish off with a few well placed sprays of the elegant Panama 1924 Edt, it's up there for me with Penhaligons Sartorial Edt for pure elegance.
That's me done, clean shaven and smelling fantastic :)

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday.

Paul.
 

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