Oh my is all I can say about this morning's shave. I needed a Barrister & Mann fix this morning so after a nice hot shower, I went with their "Le Petit Chypre" soap which has an amazing cypress wood scent. And to finish it off, I paired it with the witchhazel based matching aftershave which has a very nice soothing effect to it:
The 209 was excellent if not perfect this morning. I got a very nice and smooth post shave after just 2 passes and a touch up pass on both my neck and moustache areas. This might be the best straight razor shave I've had in a long time and I have to say that it's due to the .5 pasted strop. If anyone tells you that it's harsh and doesn't make a difference, tell them to hush because it does make a huge difference in my humble opinion as a 2 year straight razor user. My shaves have gotten better since I switched to finishing on a Shapton M5 12,000 grit stone and started using a .5 pasted strop.
