Mail Call!

Today's mail call is from Terry over at http://naturalhones.com/ and it's awesome! I've been wanting this specific stone for the last 3 years since I started using straight razors. My first experience with this stone was from Billy T. He finished my 1st straight on this specific stone and it was awesome. The 2nd time around was on a Gold Dollar 66 by Anthony Esposito. I had no stones at that time and was green as green can be and that edge lasted for 60 shaves in a row and all I did was strop it. The 1st detail I noticed was the name is engraved on the bottom:

I ordered it on Friday which cost me $99 U.S. Dollars shipped and it was shipped on Saturday and I got it today which was really sweet:

It was sealed for nuclear which is a good thing considering how the mail is about handling the packages. Sometimes I wonder if the Post Office took took much medication:

The size is 5 inches long by 2 5/8's inches wide by 3/4's of inch thick it weighs about a pound give or take a little. It fits in the hand perfectly. So Dr. Matt's under low running water ILR/Coticule technique would be easy to do with this stone:

Terry saved me a lot and I do mean a lot of grief by lapping this stone. It's ultra smooth and there's no scratches in the top and the corners have been beveled:

All in all I'm very happy with this stone and I'm really happy with the service I got. After I shave tonight, I'll go ahead and put this stone to the test. My black diamond needs to be re honed. It's still sharp but it tends to be on the tuggy side of things and it also tries to catch in my trouble spots even with a light touch. Plus it also tends to make my eyes water a little bit. So I'll be doing some honing here in a bit.

The Gillette Slim:

Gillette you ought to be ashamed of yourselves for getting rid of this fantastic razor. Shame on you Gillette. As many of you know, I picked this razor up along with a gold Gillette Ball end tech for almost nothing. So after about a 2 hour soak in Barbicide, you can see how well this razor cleaned up. The tech cleaned up just as good if not a shade better. This is my new favorite blade & razor combo:

The sweet spot for me is setting number 5. For my 1st pass, that's what I started with. It was extremely comfortable and I just about couldn't feel the blade at all. So for my 2nd pass which was against the grain, I cranked the razor all the way to setting #9. It was still extremely comfortable but I could feel the blade a lot more and it basically took everything off with the exception of my neck area which is about normal. So I turned the razor down to setting #1 and did an across the grain pass. I couldn't feel the blade at all. It felt like I was shaving with a butter knife. The post shave feel was as close as a Gillette Fusion Proshield only with NO razor burn and there was NO sensitivity either. There's only 1 other razor that I have that can get this close and that would be Phoenix Artisan Accoutrement's Double Open Comb DE safety razor. I can now add the Gillette Slim to the guaranteed B.B.S. DE razor category. So if you don't have a Gillette Slim in your collection, get one as soon as possible. You are missing out on an excellent razor.

Honor & The Gillette Slim:

Today's shave was phenomenal. It's also Sunday which means Soap Commander Sunday is in full effect. So after a nice hot and relaxing shower, I went with their "Honor" scent which is between Phoenix Artisan Accoutrement's C.a.D and Fine's American Blend Barbershop scents. And I finished this shave off with the matching aftershave balm which adds a hint of menthol to the post shave feel:

Speaking of post shave feel, I have to do another blog post about the razor. This without a doubt the best shave I've ever gotten with a DE safety razor. I got as close as a cartridge gets only with no razor burn and no sensitivity either like you get with a cartridge. Wow what a shave. I can now see why people love the Vintage Gillette Slim razor.

Antique Shop Score:

Today I got lucky at a local antique shop. I managed to pick up a Gold Gillette Ball End Tech for less than $8 dollars (yes that's what I said) and I also managed to get a Gillette Adjustable for around $12 dollars. Another surprise that I got was that this specific booth where I got these also had a 20% off sale going. They're getting bath in Barbicide as we speak:

Normally you would be looking at a lot more than this just for the Tech much less both of these fine razors. This pretty much completes my DE safety razor collection.

TTFFC Mixed & The Black Diamond:

Today's shave was pretty good. The soap kept me from getting cut more than I did. More on that in a bit. I was craving Through The Fire Fine Craft by Maria Arman, so I grabbed my mixed soap container. The dominating scent is the "play it again Sam" which was a ginger and lime scent. And to finish off today's shave, I paired it with good old Clubman: 

The black diamond was okay today. It is starting to tug and pull a little bit and it did get me on the right side of my moustache area just above the corner of my mouth. So the timing of me ordering the Apache Strata couldn't have been better. I got word that it was shipped this morning. That is the stone that I got 60 shaves off of a single hone when I was new. So a much sharper edge will be a much better choice for me.

Apache Strata Ordered:

This has been coming for the last 3 years. I have just ordered an Apache Strata natural stone. I've already gotten a taste of the edges this stone can provide and I'm really looking forward to it as well. The 1st encounter was from Bill Tsugranes from where I had rolled the 1st edge on my 1st straight razor. The edge was awesome. The second encounter was from Anthony Esposito and that edge was even more amazing and it lasted 60 days on a Gold Dollar 66 and I had no stones at all at that time and I only had roughly around 70 straight razor shaves under my belt at that point which was just before my muscle memory had kicked in. So for an edge to last that long with someone new, is very impressive. I also remember how sharp and keen the edges were as well:

This stone cost me $99 U.S. Dollars and had free shipping. This will be fun. I love my Japanese natural stone (Shoubandini Type 100), but it can be a bit of a pill to nail the edge with it. This stone right here is a spray and go stone and really doesn't need a slurry to develop the edge. How sharp you want it, depends on how much time you spend on this stone. So we'll see what kind of edges I get with it. That's beauty about honing. All of us can use the exact same method and stones, but everyone of us will get completely different results.

Renewal & The 38C:

This morning's shave was great. I did shave last night, but was too tired to post it up and I wanted to enjoy it by myself instead of sharing it in a blog post. So after a nice hot and relaxing shower, I went with Soap Commander and their "Renewal" scent which has an incredible floral fougere scent. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with Brut aftershave then the matching aftershave balm:

The 38C didn't have a lot to take down due to last night's shave but I was squeaky clean after 2 passes. Still no signs of the Feather blade slowing down which is a good thing. The other blades that I have here would already be slowing down if not replaced. That's the trouble of having a tough beard that grows really fast. I'm also still looking at stones to. If I can swing it and if it's not sold out, I will try and buy a new water stone today. I'll reveal what it is when and/or if I can get it.