SOTD: Saturday 26th August-Friday 1st September 2017.

Greetings All,

Saturday shave (missed a shave).

One (and a bit) days' growth and warm shave

Preparation – shower and face washed with Clique Liquid facial soap (mild)

Pre: None
Soap: Crabtree & Evelyn West Indian Lime
Razor: Rockwell 6C 4P
Blade: Shark SS (2nd)
Brush:RazoRock 400 Noir


Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Alum, another rinse, then Proraso aftershave lotion (green) and Nivea 2 Phase.

Liking the C&E West Indian Lime, such a nice scent. Overall, 3 passes (WTG, XTG and ATG) leaving me smooth and very happy, ready for an afternoon of Football Focus.
 


Pre: Valobra Glycerlanolina soap, Myrsol Emulsion
Brush: Semogue Owners Club Boar
Soap: OSP Barbershop
Razor: Merkur Futur (2)
Blade: Polsilver Super Iridium (2)
Post: Myrsol Emulsion
EDP: Parfum de Marley Galloway

Home after a week in the Pilbara. Really enjoyed a leisurely shave.
On the first use, I'd have to say that the OSP soap was outstanding. It is a herbaceous take on Barbershop, with lavender and rosemary prominent. The lather quality, especially slickness, was top notch. I was very close after 2 passes, but couldn't resist a final ATG pass; again smooth and efficient, leaving me BBS and smiling.
Finished with the wonderful Galloway scent.
 
EkBT3rc.jpg


Pre-Shave: @khun_diddy Olive Oil Soap, cold water
Razor: Timeless 0.68 Scalloped SS UFO Titan L kindly loaned by @Korbz
Blade: Ladas (1)
Brush: Maseto
Lather: Australian Private Reserve Mycroft
Post-Shave: Alum, Stirling Bay Laurel Witch Hazel, Australian Emu Oil​
 
Soap: Razorock SMDF
Brush: Razorock BC Silvertip
Razor: Rockwell 2C (plate 3)
Blade: Personna platinum (1)
Post shave: Lucky Tiger after shave & face tonic

36648873312_f8ea19f3f7_c.jpg


A slightly different shave of the day, as it's not mine, but my girlfriend's...

She decided that she would like to try wetshaving, so she borrowed / stole some of my gear. After it went successfully, I think this setup is now hers.

I bought her the Rockwell 2C as a mild razor to start up with.

She's a natural and had no nicks or weapers. She found plate 1 too mild and opted to turn it around, and was happy with setting 3.

She was very impressed with the result and is now a convert.

I feel as though I have created a monster and my shaving gear is no longer safe...

She wanted her own SOTD picture to commerate her first ever traditional wetshave.
 
smooth_criminal said:
Soap: Razorock SMDF
Brush: Razorock BC Silvertip
Razor: Rockwell 2C (plate 3)
Blade: Personna platinum (1)
Post shave: Lucky Tiger after shave & face tonic

36648873312_f8ea19f3f7_c.jpg


A slightly different shave of the day, as it's not mine, but my girlfriend's...

She decided that she would like to try wetshaving, so she borrowed / stole some of my gear. After it went successfully, I think this setup is now hers.

I bought her the Rockwell 2C as a mild razor to start up with.

She's a natural and had no nicks or weapers. She found plate 1 too mild and opted to turn it around, and was happy with setting 3.

She was very impressed with the result and is now a convert.

I feel as though I have created a monster and my shaving gear is no longer safe...

She wanted her own SOTD picture to commerate her first ever traditional wetshave.
Click to expand...

Oh dear....you have set a standard....and will have to finance it for eternity.....unless of course you want her to find out how much it actually costs:(
 
Ids1984 said:
I get that quick and effective isn't the goal for most of us, it's that emotional response to the 'ritual', the me time, the smell, the background music; it sets you up for the day and sets the world on the right path for another 24hrs. For me, I get that from using a brush and some nice smelling software, a link to the past, a nice looking tool, better cosmetics to put on my face; but a razor doesn't seem to elicit that emotional response for me, so the cart may just stay.
Click to expand...

Eloquently put - cheers - I.
 
smooth_criminal said:
Soap: Razorock SMDF
Brush: Razorock BC Silvertip
Razor: Rockwell 2C (plate 3)
Blade: Personna platinum (1)
Post shave: Lucky Tiger after shave & face tonic

36648873312_f8ea19f3f7_c.jpg


A slightly different shave of the day, as it's not mine, but my girlfriend's...

She decided that she would like to try wetshaving, so she borrowed / stole some of my gear. After it went successfully, I think this setup is now hers.

I bought her the Rockwell 2C as a mild razor to start up with.

She's a natural and had no nicks or weapers. She found plate 1 too mild and opted to turn it around, and was happy with setting 3.

She was very impressed with the result and is now a convert.

I feel as though I have created a monster and my shaving gear is no longer safe...

She wanted her own SOTD picture to commerate her first ever traditional wetshave.
Click to expand...
Love a girl with a smooth face.
 
Saturday's shave :)

Pre-shave - Warm water and Proraso Pre-shave Cream.
Razor - Rocnel-SE GEM.
Blade - Gem (by Personna).
Soap - Wickham Soap Co. 1912 Citrus Musk Shaving Soap.
Bowl - Little Wren Pottery.
Brush - Simpsons Duke 2 Best Badger
Post shave - Myrsol "Lemon" Aftershave, followed by Myrsol Emulsion Pre/After.

I filed back the corners of the GEM blade with a hone stone, very kindly provided by @Blademonkey Many thanks Paul.

Loaded the Rocnel - having taken off the corners of the blade, the positioning of the blade within the razor looked much better.

This was my first shave with the Wickham 1912 Citrus musk: what a soap, an excellent recommendation from Iain at the Gentleman's Groom Room. Thanks. The Citrus musk performance is nothing short of excellent, great protection, guide and sent.

A late shave today, and was in two minds, whether I was going to use the Rocnel-GEM, after previous outings, when I experienced some scratching from the blade. No such issues today - an excellent 2 pass shave, vastly improved upon previous outings. I am pleased to note no scratches - some redness on the neck, nothing to write home about. I hope that once I get my technique with the Rocnel down, such issues can be avoided.

With the corners rounded, with the hone stone, this is a dramatically different razor. I felt more at ease using the razor after the first pass. Very efficient, comfortable shave.

I hope that Rocnel will launch a revised version of their GEM-SE, making the head slightly larger so that the GEM blade can happily and more safely sit within the razor head. In my view and YMMV, this will make the razor a classic. It did not sit well with me that I had to first prepare the razor blade, before loading the Rocnel, especially having paid £160 for the razor. I would expect such design issues to have been ironed out in testing, first.

That said, Rocnel have innovated, produced something different, which has great potential - I feel that they deserve credit for their work and investment.

For me, I think the Rocnel-SE will feature more frequently in my rotation, than I had previously thought. If I did not have to prepare the GEM blade, first before shaving then I would make more frequent use of this razor. If Rocnel do produce a version 2, then I would be tempted to upgrade.

Thank's again Paul - without your tip to file the corners of the GEM blade before first use, and for sending me a hone stone, the Rocnel-GEM would have sat in its box for a long, long time. Thanks to all who post on TSR - its great to read of the experiences of others - makes my own shaving better, and my wallet much lighter :)

All the best,

Chris

IMG_0895.JPG
 
Ferry-shave said:
Saturday's shave :)

Pre-shave - Warm water and Proraso Pre-shave Cream.
Razor - Rocnel-SE GEM.
Blade - Gem (by Personna).
Soap - Wickham Soap Co. 1912 Citrus Musk Shaving Soap.
Bowl - Little Wren Pottery.
Brush - Simpsons Duke 2 Best Badger
Post shave - Myrsol "Lemon" Aftershave, followed by Myrsol Emulsion Pre/After.

I filed back the corners of the GEM blade with a hone stone, very kindly provided by @Blademonkey Many thanks Paul.

Loaded the Rocnel - having taken off the corners of the blade, the positioning of the blade within the razor looked much better.

This was my first shave with the Wickham 1912 Citrus musk: what a soap, an excellent recommendation from Iain at the Gentleman's Groom Room. Thanks. The Citrus musk performance is nothing short of excellent, great protection, guide and sent.

A late shave today, and was in two minds, whether I was going to use the Rocnel-GEM, after previous outings, when I experienced some scratching from the blade. No such issues today - an excellent 2 pass shave, vastly improved upon previous outings. I am pleased to note no scratches - some redness on the neck, nothing to write home about. I hope that once I get my technique with the Rocnel down, such issues can be avoided.

With the corners rounded, with the hone stone, this is a dramatically different razor. I felt more at ease using the razor after the first pass. Very efficient, comfortable shave.

I hope that Rocnel will launch a revised version of their GEM-SE, making the head slightly larger so that the GEM blade can happily and more safely sit within the razor head. In my view and YMMV, this will make the razor a classic. It did not sit well with me that I had to first prepare the razor blade, before loading the Rocnel, especially having paid £160 for the razor. I would expect such design issues to have been ironed out in testing, first.

That said, Rocnel have innovated, produced something different, which has great potential - I feel that they deserve credit for their work and investment.

For me, I think the Rocnel-SE will feature more frequently in my rotation, than I had previously thought. If I did not have to prepare the GEM blade, first before shaving then I would make more frequent use of this razor. If Rocnel do produce a version 2, then I would be tempted to upgrade.

Thank's again Paul - without your tip to file the corners of the GEM blade before first use, and for sending me a hone stone, the Rocnel-GEM would have sat in its box for a long, long time. Thanks to all who post on TSR - its great to read of the experiences of others - makes my own shaving better, and my wallet much lighter :)

All the best,

Chris

View attachment 28427
Click to expand...
I'm pleased it worked for you and you had a better shave with it. P.
 
Saturday 26th August 2017
SOTD 26 Aug.JPG
​
Pre Shave: Hot Shower + L'Oreal Pure Power Charcoal Face Wash and Proraso White
Razor: Rocnel SE-G (Pass around)
Blade: GEM PTFE (#1)
Brush: Plisson Pure Badger
Soap: L'occitane Cade Rich
Post: Alum Block, Cold water and Humphreys Witch Hazel
AS: Penhaligons Blenheim Bouquet

The Rocnel SE-G pass around arrived today, I had deliberately not shaved first thing today as I was hoping the Rocnel would arrive, as I had a number of gardening chores to do I decided to leave my shave until the evening.

The first challenge was getting the blade loaded, after loading the blade quite easily into the razor upon tightening the handle the blade was still loose. I then remembered that you are supposed to tighten the blade with the grub screw first and then tighten the handle. After doing this and then being happy that I could load the blade I then took the blade out to round off the the corners. Fortunately I had a sharpening stone for sharpening chisels etc. in the shed which was just the job to round the corners off. Thanks to @Blademonkey for this tip on rounding the corners which I decided might be a good move as after loading the blade earlier I could feel the corners and I had read a few reviews and SOTD posts where the sharp corners of the GEM blade had caused some issues.

So how did it shave? Fantastic, I took it really easy and seemed to find the angle almost straight away. The first pass on a day and half growth felt slightly tuggy but was cutting with ease, the second and third passes felt really smooth. I did need all three passes to get a really close shave as I felt that two passes were not enough, unlike with the Timeless DE razor I had the pleasure of trying recently, but this was the first shave. Oddly whilst applying the alum block I noticed a tiny weeper suddenly appear on my top lip but rubbing the alum over it and holding the alum for 10 sec soon stopped this. There was barely any sting from the alum and no post shave irritation.

One shave is not enough to get a real feel for this razor I think, but after just one shave I am already impressed. Thanks to @Paul and @riverrun for making this possible. :)
 
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