Mail Call #1 of 2:

The first mail call is from Maggard Razors. Even though I enjoyed the very 1st blade out of the Feather Professionals, the 2 following blades out of that pack tore me a new one in the hawk. So I did a blade exchange with a friend and I tried the Feather Proguards which gave me the same results. I'm NOT about to try the Super Professionals in the hawk. In fact I have a small scar from those blades when I tried them in my Feather Artist Club Kamasori. So I ordered these Kai Captain Titan Mild Pink blades. These should be a huge help:

And as usual, they are fast to ship. Both Maggard Razors & Maria Arman over at Through The Fire Fine Craft soaps often beat USPS own tracking system:

These blades are a bit more expensive than the Feather AC blades are at $21.04 shipped, but I don't mind because they will last much longer than a DE blade will. The shave itself along with the post shave feel will tell the story which I will let you guys know in another blog post. But I can honestly say that I've not heard one complaint about these blades in the hawk.

Purpose & The Doc:

Today's shave was great. It's also Sunday which means that Soap Commander Sunday is in full effect. I was also craving a "Bay Rum" soap so I went with their "Purpose" scented soap. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with the matching aftershave balm which to me Soap Commander balms are the best in the industry in my opinion:

Phoenix Artisan Accoutrement's double open comb razor or the doc as I call it, is back in the rotation. I've kindly had it on the back burner for while but it done an exceptional job today. I got an ice rink type of post shave in just 3 passes. These blades are great in the doc. I also got a bit of a surprise today when I clicked the tracking number from West Coast Shaving with my order. They're as fast as Maggard Razors and Maria Arman of TTFFC is. My order is scheduled to arrive tomorrow and I wasn't expecting it to arrive until Wednesday. Both Maria Arman & Maggard Razors often beat USPS' own tracking system so for all I know it's already here at the post office and hasn't been put in my box yet. So with that being said, I can't wait to get tomorrow's mail.

Pipe Smoke & The 1970's Superspeed:

Today's shave was great and fast. Uncle Jon's soaps and his pipe smoke scent is nothing short of phenomenal. The scent is a premium cherry pipe tobacco with a little hint of vanilla and spices. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with my usual "go to" aftershave splash:

The 1970's Gillette Superspeed was great. In fact today's shave was a 1 pass wonder. Not quite an ice rink type of post shave feel, but more than socially acceptable and it's also pretty close in the trouble spots as well. That's usually what my 2nd and 3rd pass is for, cleaning up the trouble spots. I'm also still looking at various other razors that are out there including some adjustables, slants and open combs specifically the Muhle R41. The R41 will pretty much be a 1 pass razor in my opinion. I also think that people get irritation more because they often do 2 or more passes. Sometimes it's best to do less passes and it's also better for the skin in the long term as well in my opinion.

Mail Calls Coming:

As much as I love the Black Hawk SE razor, I did find 2 things wrong with it that I did not like and that is now fixed or at least it will be when they arrive. The Feather Artist Club blades are too harsh in this specific razor due to the amount of blade exposure it has. Other people who have other SE razors such as the Mongoose and General have informed me that the Feather Artist Club blades are great in those razors. So I went to Maggard Razors and I ordered some Kai Captain Titan Mild SE blades for my Black Hawk razor:

Another problem I had with the Hawk was the weight. Even though I tend to like light weight razors, this one here can use some extra weight which is now taken care of. My Hawk will be gaining a whopping 7.5 ounces and the color will match thanks to West Coast Shaving Supplies and their Midnight Collection Series stainless steel handle. Which is only $18.95. Oh by the way before I forget, enter the coupon code: HolidayDeal and get free domestic shipping in the lower 48 states. I don't know how long this code will last so act fast. It's across the entire website:

Now that I've finally accomplished having not only an SE razor that's been years in the making, I've also finally got to trick a razor out which I've also been wanting to do for years. And for those wondering, the Feather Artist Club lights do NOT work in ANY of the SE razors due to the lack of blade exposure that those blades have. And yes, I did try the Feather Artist Club Proguards which gave me the exact same results in the Hawk SE razor as the Feather Professional blades did. Which was a blood bath and harsh uncomfortable post shave feel. The guard on those blades is totally useless in my humble opinion.

C.O. Bigelow & The DE 89:

This morning's shave was great. The C.O. Bigelow cream was great and very refreshing. The Menthol & Eucalyptus scent is awesome (Proraso Green) and it's very helpful when you have a cold and/or other sinus issues as well. To finish off this shave, I paired it with Barbasol Brisk to add a slight amount of extra chill to the post shave on this cold day:

The DE 89 was perfect. I managed to get a squeaky clean post shave feel in just 2 passes. Pretty soon I will have enough wet shaving razors to have a full 7 day set which will include DE, SE, and straight razors. I may already have enough, but I've not really counted to be honest about it. And it won't be long before I'll be using strictly natural water stones after using my synthetics to set the bevel if needed. The stone that has caught my eye is the Apache Strata.

C.O. Bigelow Back in Stock:

While I was out today with my mom and my brother who just came in for the weekend from Florida, I paid Bath & Body Works a visit and managed to get a full size tube of C.O. Bigelow and their menthol & eucalyptus scented cream which is the exact same as Proraso green. Not bad for $10.92 and this time it will last much longer than the travel size did:

I did see the hard puck early on this year, but I have NOT seen it since that time and it's been nearly a year now since I have. So I'm guessing that Bath & Body Works has since decided to quit selling the hard soap puck. Now I'm NOT sure if C.O. Bigelow of New York still has the hard puck made for them either. They could have also went strictly towards the shave cream only as well for all I know but I doubt that they did. Either way this stuff is great and will always be in my shave cave. It definitely will be a big help for my sinuses too.

Latha Limon & Steampunk Wedge:

This morning's shave was excellent. Barrister & Mann performs extremely well and their Latha Limon is incredible. It has a lemon, orange and rose scent to it and you would think that these scents don't go together, but surprisingly they do. The orange and the rose really make the lemon pop. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with Aqua Velva ice blue aftershave:

The Steampunk wedge was perfect. I nailed the Shoubandini edge on it and to give that little extra sharpness, I did 10 rounds on the .5 pasted strop and 5 rounds on the smooth leather before I shaved. Got nice smooth clean shave in my usual 2.5 passes.