Optimism & The 38C:

Today's shave was great. It's also Sunday so that means Soap Commander Sunday is in full effect. Today I went with their current spring scent "Optimism" which has an incredible sweet pear, plum and bergamot scent to it. And to finish this shave off, I went with the matching aftershave balm:

The 38C was great. I got a really clean shave in just 2.5 passes. I also have a new DE razor coming and I can't wait for it to get here. If it's as good as I think it will be, I will be in for a treat. It will be a 2 pass "ice rink" post shave feel every time I use it no matter how much beard growth I have and no it's NOT the Muhle R41 either. Can't afford that razor at the moment.

Lemon Chill & The J.R. Torrey:

Tonight's shave ended up being great. After a nice relaxing shower, I went with Stirling Soaps and their Lemon Chill scented soap which has an incredible lemon meringue pie scent to it. This soap also has some serious menthol in it which was perfect for a hot day like it was here earlier today and if you are having allergy problems, this soap is also a huge help:

The Jr. Torrey started off terrible but ended up being pretty good from a least suspected source. It tugged and pulled something fierce until I did 20/20, 10/10, 5/5 seconds worth of half circles followed by 10 subtle X strokes on my Naniwa Professional 600 grit water stone and the surprise was how well it shaved due to the fact that I didn't use anything else but that stone. It was still some what rough but no where near as bad as it was when I first started to use it earlier tonight.

C.O. Bigelow & The 42C:

Today's shave was simply amazing and extremely refreshing. I got to craving a mentholated soap and I had a little spell with my allergies this morning so I went with C.O. Bigelow and their Menthol & Eucalyptus scented shaved cream which is Proraso Green re branded for them. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with Barbasol Brisk aftershave splash:

The 42C was perfect. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel in just 2.5 passes. It will be really interesting when I get a slant bar styled razor which seems to work extremely well for me and my skin type. I use to use a 37C on a daily basis until it malfunctioned beyond repair. I often miss that specific DE safety razor. That's why I've decided to go with RazoRock's German 37 slant razor.

Le Mans & The Black Diamond:

Today's shave was great. I went with Deluxe Shaving and their incredible Le Mans scented soap which has a fresh citrus cologne scent to it and it pairs extremely well with good old Pinaud's Clubman aftershave splash which is what I finished off the shave with today:

The black diamond was great. I got a really nice shave in just 2.5 passes which is usually where I like to finish. The half pass is mainly to clean up my neck area where my beard goes in several different directions. Sometimes I get lucky and manage to get it clean without having to do the half pass.

Fresh Barbicide:

Here lately, I've NOT been changing my Barbicide solution as often but today it definitely needed it. After my shave, I went to do my normal routine with my doc razor and I noticed that there was no smell at all and I normally get a clean smell from the jar when it's still good. So I went ahead and mixed up a batch and gave all of my razors with the exception of my Gem clog proof SE razor & my 1970's Gillette super speed razor a bath. The reason those 2 razors didn't get a bath is because they're twist to open razors and the barbicide tends to cause them to be difficult to open. I also took the time to go ahead and change all of the blades out of my razors for new ones:

My RazoRock Black Hawk also got a bath and a fresh Kai Captain Titan Pink mild blade as well. I'm also excited to hear about the brand new Gem SE razors from Above The Tie & Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements which has long been overdue in my humble opinion.

Turkish Bath & The Doc:

Today's shave was great. Today I went with Jeeves of Hudson Street and his Turkish bath scented soap which has a phenomenal 1920's era barbershop and a top note of premium Cavendish pipe tobacco scent. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with Stirling Soaps barbershop scented aftershave splash which was the icing on the cake:

The doc was phenomenal. I got another "ice rink" post shave feel after 3 passes. I talked to my friend, Oy Vey Chapo on Face Book and he is about to send me another care package which includes a new safety razor and another straight razor and a few more soaps.

Honor & The Wedge:

This morning's shave was great. Soap Commander is an awesome soap and their "Honor" is exceptional. The scent is between Phoenix Shaving's C.a.D. shaving soap and Fine's American Blend scented aftershave. And to finish off this shave, I went with the matching aftershave balm:

The wedge was okay. After I finished my shave, I went back and did a few more subtle "X" strokes which should put it back to where I wanted it.

Honing Time!

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. After my last shaves with my straight razors, I decided they needed a bit more time on the stones. So I built a slurry using my Shoubandini type 100 on my Naniwa Professional 600 grit and I did 30 subtle "X" strokes on each razor. After that, I built a slurry on my Shoubandini Type 100 using my 600 grit diamond plate and did the same thing that I did earlier which was 30 subtle "X" strokes :

After that I did my normal stropping routine of 6 round trips on the rough leather and 12 round trips on the smooth leather. My razors didn't need a lot but they still needed that extra something which I felt that was missing. Hopefully this should help. We'll find out here in a few minutes when my soap is finished blooming and my brush has finished soaking.

Aqua Velva Aftershave Balm:

Well I can definitely say that this stuff is great. It's got a really nice fresh and clean scent to it. It's NOT the same as the classic ice blue aftershave splash and it doesn't smell like the Musk version either. It's a good solid aftershave balm:

I can't remember exactly how much it was but it was less than $5 U.S. Dollars before tax.

366 & The Hawk:

Today's shave ended up being great. I decided to go with Kshave Worx and their 366 scented soap which has a very nice Cherry Almond scent to it. Unfortunately it's no longer available because it was a L.E. soap to celebrate their first year in business. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with Aqua Velva's new aftershave balm more on that in another blog post:

The hawk did good, but I did go back to my Kai Captain Titan pink mild blades. These Kai blades are perfect for the hawk because it has a lot of blade exposure compared to some of the other SE razor models that are available. In fact I was told that these blades would be too mild in the Mongoose, General and Above The Tie's Bamboo SE razors.

Latha Limon & The 38C:

Today's shave was great. Good old Barrister & Mann always delivers top shelf performance and their "Latha Limon" is amazing. You get a top note of lemon but there's also a base note of orange and rose which really makes the lemon pop. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with Stirling Soap's Glacial Lemon chill aftershave balm:

The Merkur 38C was also amazing. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel in just 2.5 passes. The 38C is a really nice razor. I love the weight of this razor which helps out a lot with my beard. When you have a tough beard like I do, the added weight makes a huge difference.

C.O. Bigelow & The Doc:

Today is Proraso Friday over in the Google + community, How To Grow A Moustache. I don't exactly have a Proraso named product but I do have C.O. Bigelow Menthol & Eucalyptus shave cream which was made exclusively for them by Proraso. In fact that's what this is, Proraso green. And it was an incredible shave and I finished it off with Barbasol brisk aftershave:

I used Phoenix Artisan Accoutrement's doc razor which has a fresh blade in it, so I really don't have to tell you what kind of shave I got. It was a 3 pass "ice rink" post shave feel.

Influence & The Black Diamond:

Today's shave was great. I was craving Soap Commander so I went with their Influence scented soap which has an incredible cherry, premium pipe tobacco, and black tea scent. You get the sweetness of the cherry, the rich semi sweet sweet tobacco and a full bodied English black tea. And to finish off this shave, I went with the matching aftershave balm:

The black diamond was great. I got a really nice and clean post shave after 2.5 passes. I also did the something different. I did 2 passes with the grain and then I did the half pass against the grain on my neck area which resulted in a great shave with no sensitive areas which is a good thing. My shave also took around 10 minutes as a result so I will be sticking with this technique from now on.

Mountain Man & The 42C:

Man oh man today's shave was nothing short of phenomenal. Today I went with Stirling Soaps and their Mountain Man scented soap which is their take on Creed's Silver Mountain Water cologne. And to finish off this shave, I went with Stirling's barbershop scented aftershave which adds a little sweetness to the post shave:

The Merkur 1904 Classic closed comb razor (42C) was perfect. I got another "ice rink" post shave feel in 3 passes. I also went ahead and switched the blade out for a fresh one after shaving because I didn't know how many shaves I had on it and usually after I get a shave like this with using this specific razor, that means the next shave on that blade wouldn't be too good at all. So my next shave should be very good. It's been a really long time since I've had a really bad shave. The reason for that is because I stop and take the time to either switch out the blade and/or straight razor if need be. And if I think the straight razor isn't too bad, I go ahead and take the time to strop it before continuing which has helped a lot.

High Jump 47 & The Wedge:

This morning's shave was great. I was craving Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements this morning so I went with their High Jump 47 scented soap which has an incredible masculine citrus cologne with a hint of amber & talcum powder. Think of Admiral Byrd's style of a barbershop scent. And to finish this shave off, I paired it with good old Clubman which also screams old school barbershop scent specifically of that era:

The wedge was great. I got a really good post shave feel after 3 passes. I also stropped the razor 6 round trips on the rough leather and 12 round trips on the smooth leather before my last pass which makes a huge difference in my opinion.

Al Sapone & The DE 89:

Happy Easter my friends. Today I decided to go with good old RazoRock and their Al Sapone scented soap which has an incredible fresh citrus cologne scent to it. It would pair extremely well with Fine's Italian Citrus or Pinaud's Clubman. Speaking of Pinaud's Clubman, that's what I finished off today's shave with:

The Edwin Jagger DE 89 was exceptional. It was like an old familiar friend had returned after a long absence. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel in 3 passes. I like to keep my shaves 2 passes or less and 3 passes is my maximum limit. Any more than that and my skin reacts.

C.O. Bigelow & The Jr. Torrey:

Tonight's shave was great. After a long day of doing yard work and a nice hot shower after the fact, I went with C.O. Bigelow and their Menthol & Eucalyptus which is Proraso Green. And to finish off this shave, I put on a nice healthy dose of Skin Bracer:

The Jr. Torrey was great. I managed to get a squeaky post shave feel in just 2.5 passes. The edge can be a little better which I will continue to work on.

Pipe Smoke & The 38C:

Today's shave was great. Today, I went with Uncle Jon's Soap and his pipe smoke scent which has an incredible premium cherry pipe tobacco, vanilla and spices scent to it. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with my usual aftershave splash when I don't have the matching aftershave splash:

The 38C was great. My shave is no where near an ice rink or even a squeaky clean but it's extremely comfortable and more than socially acceptable with just 2.5 passes which is the goal of wet shaving. A close and comfortable shave with no irritation.

Vision & The Doc:

My Soap Commander appreciation week continues today with Vision which still reigns supreme in terms of my top performing soap of all time. Influence, Honor and Optimism came real close to beating it but Vision's post shave feel comes out on top every time. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with Aqua Velva Classic ice blue aftershave and the Vision aftershave balm:

The doc did great but I'm afraid that I'll be going with Feather blades as far as it is concerned. I had to go over my moustache area 4 times to get it clean as the rest of face is including my neck area. So if I can swing it next pay day, I will be buying slant head razor. Possibly Phoenix Shaving's new slant that they have just recently released.

Confidence & The Hawk:

Today's shave was great. My Soap Commander appreciation week continues with their "Confidence" scent which has an incredible scent of sweet honey, musk and patchouli. The musk and patchouli calm the sweetness of the honey down but it still allows it to come through and balance the scent out. Carrie doesn't like this one for some reason. And to finish off this shave, I went with the matching aftershave balm which was the last item in my mail call. In the past, I often had to pair it with the Integrity balm which is unscented. Now I have the matching set:

The hawk was exceptional especially with that Feather Pro Guard blade. In the past, I didn't like these blades at all but my beard didn't stand a chance against it. I got another "ice rink" post shave feel in 2.5 passes and 1 touch up spot along the bottom of my chin which is a usual trouble spot for me. I will also be toning down the heat a bit with my shave scuttle. Today I got it a tad bit too hot. But other than that, chalk up another great shave.

Renewal & The Wedge:

Today's shave was good. After a nice refreshing shower, I went with Soap Commander and their Renewal scented soap which is a floral fougere' scent. And to finish off this cold water shave, I paired it with the matching aftershave balm and Brut:

The wedge wasn't too good so I just did 2 passes to get decent. After that I went straight to my stones and touched up all of my razors which should be excellent.

Optimisim & The 38C:

Today's shave was great. Soap Commander appreciation week continues and after a nice hot shower, I went with their new spring scent "Optimism" which has a phenomenal scent. It has pair, plum and bergamot scent which is just right. And to finish off this shave, I went with the matching aftershave balm:

The 38C was good but not great. I had to make 3.5 passes to get a nice clean shave which means that it's time for a new blade which is about normal because I go through blades and edges rather quickly due to my rough beard. I did think about going to Feather blades but they seem harsh to my sensitive skin. So I will stick with these Perma-Sharps for now.

Honor & The Black Diamond:

Today's shave was great. My Soap Commander appreciation week continues and today, I wanted to try their Honor scented soap and it's awesome. To my nose the scent on this soap is like you combined PAA's C.a.D. & Fine's American Blend which I use to do all of the time. It's somewhere between those 2 specific scents. And to finish off this shave, I went with the matching aftershave balm:

The freshly honed black diamond was great. I got another "ice rink" in just 2.5 passes. I used my friend Dr. Matt's ILR technique with my Norton 8K to hone the razor which worked extremely well. I also did the same technique with the same stone on my Jr. Torrey. So we will see how it performs. And come next pay day, I will be getting an ILR stone.

Influence & The Doc:

Today's shave was great. Since I got some new stuff in, I will be using Soap Commander all week this week. Today I started with their fall scented soap, "influence" and it's epic. Quite possible one of their best scents to date which says something. The scent is a fresh premium cherry tobacco with some black tea and I can't stress enough how good this scent is. Think of opening a brand new bag of cherry pipe tobacco with a pot of fresh black tea brewing near by. And I finished off the shave with the matching aftershave balm:

The doc was perfect. I got another "ice rink" in 3 passes. This was an amazing shave and you guys might want to grab this scent while they still have it. Wow what a shave.

Mail Call!

Oh boy! Today's mail call is from Soap Commander and it's epic. I've been waiting impatiently for this one and it arrived today:

This is my favorite part. This adds a personal touch and makes these mail calls even sweeter:

I think they was a little shocked at the size of my order:

I ordered all of their newest scents including the Limited Edition "Renewal" which is a fougere' scent. My personal favorite is the influence scented soap but I love them all:

I also got the matching aftershave balms and I went ahead got the matching aftershave balm for my confidence scented soap:

I'm very excited about this mail call and there's only 1 or 2 soaps left that I've not purchased yet but that will change pretty soon.

Mail Calls Coming:

Well I am on cloud 9 at the moment. I got word this morning that my order from Soap Commander has shipped which I'm really excited about. 4 new shave soaps along with the matching aftershave balms and I also went ahead and bought some of the matching aftershave balms for some soaps that I already have. I really can't wait to smell these soaps:

I'm planning on buying some more shave gear here pretty soon but I will be waiting until my next pay day before I do. After all I did spent a lot on soaps and aftershaves this month and I did spend a lot of money on my other hobby which is Hydroponics. Can't wait to be able to grow fruit and vegetables year round and I can't wait to see how much it produces either.

Turkish Bath & The 42C:

Oh wow is all I can say about today's shave. Jeeves of Hudson Street soaps love the face lathering shave scuttle. Right now all I have is Bryon's Turkish Bath scented soap which is amazing. It has a scent of a Roaring 1920's Barbershop scent which has a top note of premium tobacco with a little hint of orange zest. And to finish off this shave, I went with Stirling Soaps Barbershop aftershave splash which pairs extremely well with this soap and adds a touch of sweetness to it:

The Merkur 42C (1904 Classic Closed Comb) was perfect. I got another "ice rink" post shave feel in just 2.5 passes. This shave scuttle is awesome at ANY time of the year and really takes your shave to the next level. What I love about this scuttle is that it's made for face lathering. What I do is go ahead and load up the brush like I normally do and go directly into a face lather. Once I get the lather where I want it to be, I put my brush in the scuttle and using my fingers, I work the lather into my beard really well and then I rinse. By the time I've finish doing this, the lather I have in the brush is nice and hot just like the hot towel treatment you get at a barbershop and it's like my beard melts off with almost no effort and it's pretty sweet too.

New Old Spice Bottle:

Well I am disappointed in my Old Spice aftershave. First they went to a plastic bottle which I didn't mind too much but when I took the huge red lid off, I seen that they had put a spray nozzle instead of the usual stopper which is not good. I'm glad I kept that old ceramic bottle from 2003 after all:

This aggravates me to no end. I hate spray nozzles on cologne and aftershave bottles!

They have also changed the scent as well. Give me some of the old version back. Buyer's remorse with this one. Dang it I says.

Le Man's & The Jr. Torrey:

Today's shave ended up being great. More on that in a moment. Today I decided to go with Deluxe Shaving Company and their Le Man's scented soap which has an incredible masculine citrus cologne type of scent and it also ended up saving today's shave. And to finish off today's shave, I paired it with good old Pinaud's Clubman:

The Jr. Torrey was awful. I got about half way through the 1st pass and then it just up and quit cutting. So I stopped long enough to go and strop the razor which didn't help at all. So after I finished the 1st pass, I switched to a back up I had near by which done an excellent job but still left me with a small amount of razor burn. I'll probably put some Soap Commander's aftershave balm on. Speaking of Soap commander, I have a huge mail call coming from them and I also ordered some hydroponic gear and nutrient powder. Soap Commander was a little shocked at how much I ordered. I got free shipping 2 times over and I will now have full blown matching sets.

C.O. Bigelow & The 38C:

Today's shave was great. This morning I went with C.O. Bigelow and their Menthol & Eucalyptus (Proraso Green) and to finish off this hot lather shave, I paired it with good old Skin Bracer Original aftershave splash. I also discovered that my scuttle likes more time in the microwave. When I soaked my Omega 10049 Professional boar brush, I put it in for 2 minutes. After I finished soaking the brush, I emptied the water out of brush cavity of the scuttle and microwaved it for 2 more minutes and built my lather. After that I basically prepped my face with the lather and rinsed it off and after pulling the brush out of my scuttle, I had a really nice hot lather which made a huge difference for the better in the shave. I think I'll use the scuttle from now on:

The 38C was perfect. I got another "ice rink" post shave feel in 3 passes. It was perfect. If you guys are on the fence about getting shave scuttle, buy one immediately. You will not regret it at all.

Reflection & The Doc:

Today's shave was great. It's also Sunday which means that Soap Commander Sunday is in full effect and today I went with their 2015 spring scent, "reflection". The scent on this soap is oakmoss & amber and goes perfectly with Barbasol brisk which is what I finished off this shave off with:

The doc did great but it's definitely time for a new blade which I will take care of later on. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel in 3 passes. I've also decided to get another DE safety razor which will be a bit of a surprise. But first, hydroponic gear will be bought next.

Lemon Chill & The Black Diamond:

Today's shave was nothing short of phenomenal. I was craving a strong mentholated soap, so i went with Stirling Soaps and their Lemon Chill scent which reminds me of a semi sweet lemon dessert. It's not overly sweet but you can still smell the tartness of the lemon. This also has enough menthol to bring tears to your eyes so if you don't like a lot of menthol, stay away from this one. And to finish off this shave, I went with Stirling's Glacial Lemon Chill aftershave balm:

Another thing that I used today which made a huge difference for the better, was my Royal Blue shave scuttle that I got from Straight Razor Designs about 3 years ago now:

The black diamond was also phenomenal. That last touch up I did was definitely what was needed. I got another "ice rink" post shave feel in just 2.5 passes which is perfect for me.