Sotd : Saturday 9th to friday 15 November 2019

11/11/19

Razor: Ever Ready 1912
Blade: GEM (2)
Brush: EJ Best Badger
Soap: TOBS St James
Pre: Proraso Green
ASL: L'Oréal Ice Impact
ASB: LEA

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2nd attempt with the 1912. More blood and discomfort. I gave up after the second pass and the styptic intervention. Whilst I know this is down to my technique, I haven't got the patience to keep trying with this razor when I have others I know will give me a comfortable shave. It's now parked back in the den for another go in a few years when I fancy some edgy variation.
 
11/11/19

Razor: Ever Ready 1912
Blade: GEM (2)
Brush: EJ Best Badger
Soap: TOBS St James
Pre: Proraso Green
ASL: L'Oréal Ice Impact
ASB: LEA

View attachment 48947

2nd attempt with the 1912. More blood and discomfort. I gave up after the second pass and the styptic intervention. Whilst I know this is down to my technique, I haven't got the patience to keep trying with this razor when I have others I know will give me a comfortable shave. It's now parked back in the den for another go in a few years when I fancy some edgy variation.

A shame to read your SE attempts were so painful.

I've gathered the impression they are on the more aggressive side of things. I imagine the SE Gem blade is a different beast to a DE blade so it's futile to ask but in terms of aggressive DE razors do you have a comparison?
 
Sotd - technically it is Sunday the 10th of November but I haven't slept since Friday night.

Razor - ER Streamline
blade - ER vintage (very definitely lost count - but still fine.)
brush - Chubby 1 - best
soap - Wickham - Apricus - vegetarian
post - witch hazel
a/s - Myrsol Limon
balm - Wickham - Apricus
scent - later on - Dior Sauvage - edp.

Result - great.

Unusually early shave for me - gives you something to do when the insomnia kicks in. Todo bueno - tried and tested ingredients - I'll put the scent on later. In the sleepless hours I wrote something - filled the time in a productive way. I had been discussing this text with a friend here recently elsewhere - @Barry Giddens - following is a more elaborated version of my thoughts. If you want to take the time to read it I thank you - if not - I don't mind at all. It has nothing at all to do with shaving - yours - hoping most of you are sleeping soundly - depending on where you live in the world - I.

‘The Meditations' of Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antonius Augustus - (b. 26/4/121 - d. 17/3/180 ce) - Roman emperor
(r.-161-180 ce) - soldier and Stoic philosopher.

Aurelius - half Spanish and half Italian - by modern definition - was the last emperor of the period known as the ‘Pax Romana' - a time of relative stability - note the word - relative - the system he inherited was dependent on some degree of expansion at all times - and therefore - conflict. He had to deal with a resurgent Parthian empire in the east - and probably was the first to properly understand that the noisome myriad of Germanic tribes were going to end up as an existential crisis for the ‘augusti' that would follow him - which they did. His ‘Meditations,' are contained in twelve sections - composed in Greek - each drawn from a separate period in the author's life - it is non-linear in chronology - it is not a book in the modern sense - more ‘notes to self' - on how to deal with the trials of life - and remain a good man - in form they run from long paragraphs - to single sentences - like this -

‘Often injustice lies in what you aren't doing, not only in what you are doing.' - IX.5.

It is not actually called ‘The Meditations,' - it never originally had a title - as it wasn't intended to be published - or read by anyone except Aurelius - the name has just stuck - suitable enough - I think. There is no doubt that he was deeply sincere in his quest to live the good Stoic life - which begs the fairly obvious question - why become emperor? Not a position known for its association with a virtuous life - less than ideal for a man more given to quiet contemplation? - he addressed this issue himself - regarding accepting the title as his duty. He felt he had no choice in the matter - being largely born to it - his ‘fate.'

‘Be like a rocky promontory against which the restless surf continually pounds; it stands fast while the churning sea is lulled to sleep at its feet. I hear you say, "How unlucky that this should happen to me!" Not at all! Say instead, "How lucky that I am not broken by what has happened and am not afraid of what is about to happen. The same blow might have struck anyone, but not many would have absorbed it without capitulation or complaint.' - IV.49.

Stoicism is a Hellenistic form of philosophy and derives from the teaching of Zeno of Citium - technically Phoenician by his place of birth - in the 3rd century bce - it was immediately popular in his time - and underwent development - subsequently - taken up by the Roman elite - before Aurelius - Seneca - principally - as close to an original thinker as the empire produced - he - to some degree expanded the ideas - Aurelius was a student - the Romans were great at building stuff - we still use their roads - and having battles - but very poor with intellectual innovation - it fell to the wayside after Constantine Christianised the empire in the 4th century ce. In my opinion - it was heavily influenced by the earlier Cynics - with the central tenet of living in harmony with nature as the way to happiness. The name Stoic derives from a ‘painted colonnade' - a ‘stoa' - such as was found at the northern end of the ‘agora' in Athens - where Zeno discussed matters with his students - unlike Plato and Aristotle he didn't have the funds to teach indoors. It was - and remains - a complete philosophical system - underpinned by a distinct form of physics, logic and ethics.

‘A person who doesn't know what the universe is, doesn't know who they are. A person who doesn't know their purpose in life doesn't know who they are or what the universe is. A person who doesn't know any of these things doesn't know why they are here. So what to make of people who seek or avoid the praise of those who have no knowledge of where or who they are?' VIII.52.

The basics - the universe/nature/god - be careful with the last of the interchangeable terms - they used it - but meant a completely different thing to the way we might understand it today - is a reasoning entity - sentient - eternal but also - confusingly - cyclical at the same time. The world we experience is made up of two types of matter - the passive - available for any purpose - that needs to be mixed with the active - the ‘logos' - universal reason - they also called it ‘fate' - but again that is problematic if you speak modern English - it has shifted considerably in meaning - observe the transit from the Latin ‘fides' to ‘faith,' for example. Individuals are perishable - we come from the void and return there after but a short time. There is no space for heaven or hell in the system - we resort to the primal matter we are composed of. Rubbed out - start again - and not in the sense of reincarnation - as you would have in Buddhism - rather - a return to the atomic - complete dissolution.

‘Of the life of man the duration is but a point.' - II.17.

So - what does this all mean? - good question. There is no value in trying to live a life that does not understand ‘nature,' - their meaning - not ours - to do so would be folly and inviting unhappiness - such things as anger, pain, fame and wealth are transient illusions that a wise man can put aside - to the Stoic - they are simply irrelevant - considered - then left behind. The key thing about Stoicism is to live a good life - one's behaviour controlled by wisdom, courage, justice and temperance - the cardinal virtues. It is an entirely practical system - in my opinion - I would venture - more relevant now than ever - we live in a culture that has discarded some fairly obvious truths - one largely predicated on the sensory illusions Stoicism points out - the fallacy of - happiness achievable through - need - consumption - vanity - novelty - avarice - hubris - the destruction of the ‘universe' - our biosphere - we all live in Macfarlane's ‘Anthropocene' now. A nightmare vision of Yuval Noah Harari - horribly twisted on dangerous drugs. Algorithms - like germs to the Greeks - an enemy we can neither see, understand nor fight.

The last words - of course will be for Aurelius - I will try and remember this - the next time I go out into the world - ‘bat country' - and the ‘rat bastard psychotics' set about me again - thank you - I.

‘When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognised that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own—not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine.' - II.1.
What a bloody brilliant post! Thanks, Iain.
 
A shame to read your SE attempts were so painful.

I've gathered the impression they are on the more aggressive side of things. I imagine the SE Gem blade is a different beast to a DE blade so it's futile to ask but in terms of aggressive DE razors do you have a comparison?
It's a bit of a strange one. When the angle is correct, it's a really smooth shaver - I'd say not too dissimilar to a tech. You don't get any blade feel from it, just audible feedback. Get the angle a little steeper and the shave instantly becomes rougher and can jump. It's during the jumps I got a few big nicks, particularly around my chin and neck area.

If I harnessed patience and mastered the technique, I'm sure it would be a great razor. Shaving every other day means I'd likely be in for 1-2 weeks of uncomfortable shaves though and I'd prefer to immerse myself in a world of comfortable soap variation!

PM me if you want to give it a try and I'll send it along with some blades.
 



SOTD : 12th November 2019.



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Shaving recipe for today.



Prep: Warm shower:/ Nivea Men Power Fresh Shower Gel.


Pre:

Cold wet flannel to my face.

Pears ~ Transparent Soap.

Brush: Omega 10051.

Face Lather.

Soap : Proraso Sensitive.

Blade: Gillette 7'0 Clock SharpEdge.(1)

Razor: Parker 87R.

Post:

Cold Water Face Rinse./Homemade Lavender + Tea Tree Oil Witch Hazel Mixture./ Dana ~ English Leather ASL.

Cien ~ Aloe Vera Body Lotion.


Greetings,


Early morning shave.


Everything in my shave set up worked together excellently this morning,resulting in a wonderfully smooth 3 pass + pick ups near bbs shave with no errors to report.

Finishing to the shave off with a generous dollop of Cien ~ Aloe Vera Body Lotion.

My face is feeling super smooth & smelling devine.;)

Enjoy your day, ladies & gentlemen.:cool:


 
Date:- 12 November 2019

Pre-shave:- Cold Water straight from the tap
Bowl/Scuttle:- Captain's Choice
Brush:- WCS Two-Tone Tall (Blue & White) Extra Dense Synth. 26/56mm knot
Soap/Cream:- Barrister & Mann ~ Cheshire
Razor/Blade:- Fatip Testina Gentile Close Comb / Astra Superior Stainless #1
Post/After-shave: T.N. Dickinson Witch Hazel Astringent mixed into the 240ml bottle with Natural Glycerin (20), Tea Tree Antiseptic (10) & Peppermint (10 drops)
Fragrance:- Tommy Hilfiger for Men
 
SOTD 20191112.
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Proraso pre-shave cream (red).
OUMO Brush / OUMO Brush imitation finest 2-band synth.
Luna Cosmetics "Tabaco" shaving soap.
Homelikeshaving "START" 0.90 OC / custom handle.
Racer Super Stainless (5).
Wars "Classic" EdC.
 
It's a bit of a strange one. When the angle is correct, it's a really smooth shaver - I'd say not too dissimilar to a tech. You don't get any blade feel from it, just audible feedback. Get the angle a little steeper and the shave instantly becomes rougher and can jump. It's during the jumps I got a few big nicks, particularly around my chin and neck area.

If I harnessed patience and mastered the technique, I'm sure it would be a great razor. Shaving every other day means I'd likely be in for 1-2 weeks of uncomfortable shaves though and I'd prefer to immerse myself in a world of comfortable soap variation!

PM me if you want to give it a try and I'll send it along with some blades.

Thanks for the info. I had the presumption that particular SE was a much more efficient and aggressive beast but it seems my impression was wrong. Technique is everything, as is the correct angle for using any razor that isn't a cartridge. I can see your issues with patience, they are ones I have as well with shaving; even with DE razors there can be quite a lot of learning curves for dialling in the best angle for usage.

A very generous and kind offer to send out the SE but my interest in the razor is a purely academic one! Thanks again though.
 
12/11/19

Soap - Palmolive Stick
Brush - Omega 80265 (other one)
Razor - Fat Handle Tech
Blade - Gillette Winner (3)
Post - Witch Hazel
Balm - Nivea Replenishing
AS - Akcay Tobacco

Another outing for my 'other' Omega 80265 which I'd had some issues with and even though the brush is better than it was before the lather seems thinner for the 2nd & 3rd passes than with other brushes and it seems to shed a number of hairs almost at just looking at the brush. However, the brush does feel very nice to the face, it's very soft and much denser than the other 5 or so Omegas I've owned and I'll give it a few more goes to see if it settles down (again) and if not I'll retire it once again.
A good shave nonetheless though. I'm really liking the Gillette Winner with each additional shave, I think it might be of the smoothest blades of the many ones I've tried that Gillette currently make it's very smooth and reasonably sharp, with this particular blade I seem to get a very comfortable shave every time I use one. An added bonus is the gleaming face of Sachin Tendulkar.

Anyway chaps have a good day.
 
12/11/19
Pre: Pears Transparent Original
Brush: Omega 63185 Pure Badger
Soap: GFCC Peppermint
Razor: Occam Classic V1 plate #1
Blade: Feather PB (2)
Post shave: Alum Block, cold water splash, Homemade Neroli & Orange Witch Hazel
Balm: Proraso Green
A/S: Proraso Green

3. Tues 12th.JPG

The Occam's with the #1 plate gave a very forgiving shave. 3 passes with some buffing on the more stubborn areas. At no time did it give any indication it would bite, although it did take a bit more work even with the feather PB fitted. The finish is very comfortable and BBS.
I think i prefer the #2 plate, although i cannot complain about the finish.
Feeling and smelling good and ready for the rest of the day.
Enjoy your shaves All.
 
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