Confidence & The 209:

This morning's shave was great. After a nice hot shower, I went with Soap Commander and their "Confidence" soap which has an incredible honey, musk and patchouli scent. And since I don't have the matching balm, I paired it with their unscented Integrity balm:

After using the hawk non stop for about a week, I decide to go with the 209 which did great. But I can definitely tell that it's definitely ready to be taken across a pasted strop. I have some .5 chromium oxide paste coming from Maggard Razors that's scheduled to arrive tomorrow along with some Gillette Platinum blades (Russian version & silver blue packaging).

Grape Soda & The Hawk:

This morning's shave was great. Catie's Bubbles and their "knee high to a grape" scent is a very intoxicating grape soda scent. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with Aqua Velva classic ice blue aftershave splash which gives a really nice cooling effect:

The hawk did great. This morning's shave made 5 multi pass shaves on this blade and it's still going. No signs of slowing down at all which is awesome. And I'm really looking forward to seeing your reaction to the handle that I plan on getting to use with the hawk which will be awesome. It's a monster and will add some much needed weight to it.

A Painful Decision:

Today I had to make a painful decision on this specific soap. I will no longer be using this specific soap due to a mild allergic reaction to the fragrance in the soap. It's a painful decision because it has one of the best scents you will ever smell in a soap. This is not the 1st time that I've had a reaction to it. I've had other issues with this specific soap as well:

This soap is being sent to a friend to try out when it dries out within the next 24 to 48 hours. I really hate that I have to quit using a soap but when your skin has a reaction to it with each use, you have to do what you have to do. This one and her Through The Fire and Tinder scents are the only ones that I can't use without having issues.

Power Hammer & The Hawk:

Today's was okay. I have to call it quits with Power Hammer which is a shame because it's one of my favorite scents. For those wondering it has a Root Beer & Espresso scent with notes of chocolate and it's incredible. And to finish off the shave I used PAA's Chocolate Bourbon splash:

The hawk is still going strong on the first blade. 4 shaves and counting and it's still not slowing down anytime soon either. I also have some plans to add a heavier handle to this razor to give it a little more weight because quite frankly, it could use it.

New Top Blade Choices:

Well I now have a new top DE blade choice in terms of both beard removable and comfort. My personal favorite is the Polsilver blades period. But the Astra greens are still going to be used and are still a good choice:

In terms longevity and comfort I like the Astra Greens in the doc better than I do the Feathers which is what these are going to be used in, the doc:

Here's the winning combo that sold me on these Polsilver blades:

^ Good luck finding a more comfortable and effective blade than these in any razor. The only ones that even come close is the Perma-Sharps but they're not quite on the level as the Polsilvers are in terms of comfort. So I will be getting a bulk pack of these Polsilver blades.

Feather AC Pro Blade Review:

I'm very impressed with these blades. The first thing I noticed was how rigid they were which in my humble opinion is the key to the longevity of these blades which has also impressed me as well. Today's shave makes the 3rd shave on the very first blade out of the pack and it's not showing any signs of slowing down. There's no pulling or tugging at all, I just wish these were a touch smoother in terms of post shave comfort:

Here's how the Feather Artist Club blades work. The very edge itself is what determines how aggressive these blade are in terms of edge exposure and not the actual blade size itself. Basically these Feather Artist Club Professional blades are supposed to be equal to a 6/8's straight razor in terms of blade exposure. The chart you see below will help explain it: 

Basically the Feather Light blades will fit in the Mongoose, Cobra Classic, King Cobra, Hawk, The General and Bamboo single edge razors in terms of installing the blade itself in the razor but it will not shave because of the amount of blade exposure the blade itself has. Think of shaving with a butter knife or a blade that wasn't sharpened. The Kai blades work the same way but are sharpened on a different stone and have a much different feel to them which I will let you all know about. I got these blades off Amazon for $11.50 which is about half of what a supplier charges. Would I buy these blades again? Yes I would because there's not been very many blades that last more than 5 multi pass shaves before having to switch out the blade. Polsilvers are now my top DE blade in terms of both blade comfort and longevity with 4 and 5 multi pass shaves before switching out.

CO. Bigelow & The Hawk:

Today's shave felt really good. C.O. Bigelow and their Menthol & Eucalyptus scent is very refreshing. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with Skin Bracer:

The hawk got fed a little more whiskers today. Yesterday I made only 2 passes and that wasn't enough. Today it took 3 passes and to be honest, I could have made another one to clean up my trouble spots a little more. In terms of longevity, these blades are way better than the DE blades are period. Today was the 3rd shave on this specific blade and there was no sign of the blade slowing down either. More on that in another post.