- Messages
- 3,954
- Location
- North East.UK
SOTD: 2nd December 2023.
Prep: Warm shower:/ Imperial Leather Bergamot & Sea Salt Energising Body Wash.
Pre:
Cold wet flannel to my face & head.
Cien PURE Fragrance Free Sensitive Bar Soap.
Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia 24mm Synthetic.
Face & Head Lather.
Lather: Tabac Original Shaving soap. (Tallow Version)
Razor: King C. Gillette. (Face) - Gillette Wilkinson Sword. (1)
Razor: Treet Swift II Platinum. (Head) - (D1)
Post:
Cold water face wash with brush squeezing's, Cold Water Face Rinse./Alum Rub./Cold Water Rinse./Homemade (~Autumn/Winter mix~) peppermint lavender, eucalyptus, + Tea Tree essential Oils Mixed Together With 200ml of Care+Witch Hazel./Nivea Men Replenishing PSB./P&G Old Spice Original ASL.
Greetings,
(Face & Head Shave)
Shaving Christmas gifts from Past & Present focus...
First shave of December 2023...For the whole duration of December I'll alternate both the king C. Gillette & Wilkinson Sword classic premium TTO paired up with an assortment of subcontinent Chinese & Asian DE blades, and using both the Gillette Guard & Treet Swift II Platinum Cartridge razors exclusively for my head shaves, alternating the king C. Gillette & WS Premium TTO in-between.
I've been on a near 'no buying shaving products' this year with a few exceptions, such as my birthday, Christmas or stocking up on certain shaving related items when necessary.
The King C. Gillette razor + 5 blades I purchased from my local Morrisons UK super market in the November clearance sale section for £8.00p
In addition with the king C Gillette DE razor purchase I placed an order for 2 spare Gillette Guard razors with 18 cartridges,+ the Treet Swift II Platinum cartridge razor "Indian made Trac-II clone" with 6 Cartridges ,+ a Gallant II Platinum cartridge razor another "Indian made "Trac-II clone" Cartridge razor with 12 cartridges, from eBay UK which will keep me in head/dome shaving hardware for quite some time.
The Wilkinson Sword Classic premium(TTO) razors .Yes, I was gifted the same razor from family & friends as Christmas gifts which I've now had a few years now. One is still in it's original box with a tuck of blades.
The quality and finish on the king C Gillette razor is remarkably good considering it's price bracket. The razor base plate of the razor is a hybrid of the Merkur 34c with a Muhle r89-EJ 89r top cap. However, after the first few strokes the razor felt very comfortable & slightly more efficient than the 34C, DE89, R89 etc...The long partially knurled handle doesn't cause any slipping issues, that said I do prefer smaller shaving handles, it has great audio feedback which i like, the handle has a good heft to it making the overall feel of the razor well balanced and nice to hold... All in all even though I find it to be slightly milder than the WS Classic Premium (TTO) in efficiency, but both razors are equally comfortable & smooth in performance.
The blades that came with the King C I'll keep for future shaves as I'm continuing with my infrequently used DE blade focus.
After my recent extended focus using the Indian made Gillette guard cartridge razor for my head/dome shaves I was curious to try using a trac II type cartridge razor for a head shave so I placed an order for the Treet Swift II Platinum & Gallant II cartridge razors. The verdict?....Over all the Treet Swift II Platinum's performance was very acceptable feeling smooth mild and efficient enough to get the job done. If I had to choose which i prefer then it would be the Gillette Guard purely because the closeness that it gives is significantly better than the Treet Swift II Platinum....That being said, both razors are equal in smoothness & comfortable, but the Gillette guard would be my first choice over the Treet Swift II Platinum.
Switching from using cartridge/disposable razors for the best part of my shaving life to traditional wet shaving using DE/SE razors, brushes soaps creams etc has taught me how to shave properly, and as my technique has vast improved over the years I now know if you apply good technique,& preparation along with shaving confidence which are the main keys to successful wet shaving IMHO, I can get good results from all of razors that I have in my shaving arsenal.
I'm not yet sure how many shaves I'll get from each of the Treet Swift II & Gallant II Cartridge heads, time will tell, but if I can get 3-4 max from one head as I do from the Gillette guard then I'll be quite content.
I could never revert back to using cartridge razors full time, as I now use DE/SE razors 98% for my shaves, but from time to time I'll add a Cartridge razor to my rotation for my head shaving or when I'm travelling.
I will do a head/dome shaving focus with the Gallant II in January 2024.
An enjoyable comfortable face & head shave to start December off on a high note with no errors to report.
Finishing the shave off a with a generous splash of P&G Old Spice Original ASL.
My face & precious swede are feeling smooth and smelling divine.
Stay safe, and enjoy the start of the weekend ladies & gentlemen.
