Confidence & The Black Diamond:

Today's shave was great. Today is also Sunday and that means Soap Commander Sunday is in full effect. So I went with Carrie's least favorite, "Confidence". I'm guessing it's because of the patchouli contained in the scent. The scent is overly sweet honey, musk, and patchouli. The sweet honey comes through the entire scent while the musk and patchouli calm the sweetness down but still allows the honey to come through and balance the scent. And to finish off this shave, I paired with the matching aftershave balm:

The black diamond was great and I did get another "ice rink" post shave feel, but I should have stopped at 2 passes. I got a tiny bit of razor burn which has almost cleared up now thanks to the matching aftershave balm which has a tiny bit of menthol. I may not shave tomorrow and if I do, don't be alarmed if I don't post it. I'm taking a week off from blogging to keep from getting burned out. Some of the people I watch on YouTube often take breaks to just enjoy the hobby which is what I'll be doing this week. I may also take some time away next week as I turn 40 years of age this coming Sunday. So take care and God bless. I will return again soon.

TTFFC Mixed & The Black Diamond:

Today's shave was great. I decided to go with Maria Arman's Through The Fire Fine Craft so I grabbed my mixed soap container. I also went ahead and downloaded her new label and applied it to the lid of the container and scotch taped it. I do plan on getting some more of her soaps when I can. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with good old Clubman:

The black diamond was great. I managed to get an "ice rink" post shave feel in just 3 passes and I only had to touch up just one tiny spot which I got the 1st time around. I took a friend of mine, Mike Baker's advice about just using the toe more for tight areas, nooks and crannies and I'm happy to say that it worked perfectly. I'm now dialed in to where I can get an "ice rink" post shave feel at will if I have the desire to do so.Thanks for the tip Mike Baker, it helped tremendously.

Turkish Bath & The Doc:

This morning's shave was great. I was craving a barbershop type of scent so I grabbed Jeeves of Hudson Street and their Turkish Bath scented soap which has a 1920's style barbershop scent with a heavy top note of premium pipe tobacco. And to finish off this shave, I went with Stirling Soap's Barbershop scented splash to add a touch of sweetness to the scent. Oh before I forget, Jeeves of Hudson Street now has alcohol based matching aftershaves to go with their soaps which is awesome. So if you are looking to get a full matching set, you now can:

The doc was great. I managed to get an "ice rink" post shave feel in 3 passes. I also am trying something different as well. After each shave, I've been stropping the blades of my Gillette Fusion Proshield and so far, I'm up to 13 shaves with it. Yes that's what I said, 13. After each shave with it, I go in the opposite direction than I would when shaving 5 times only on a cotton terry towel and it has worked with the Gillette Fusion Proshield and my straight razors as well. So I'm going to see if it works with my DE safety razors. I don't see why it wouldn't. The Gillette Fusion Proshield is for back & travel use ONLY and I have no intentions of giving up the DE's or straights anytime soon.

Pipe Smoke & The Slim:

This morning's shave was outstanding and very refreshing. I decided to go with Uncle Jon's Soap and his Pipe Smoke scented soap which has a phenomenal scent of premium pipe tobacco, vanilla and spices. And to add even more refreshment to this shave, I paired it with my usual "go to" aftershave splash, Aqua Velva classic ice blue :

The old Gillette Slim has delivered yet another "ice rink" post shave feel that's as close as one of Gillette's cartridges specifically the new Proshield carts. I first started with setting #6 and did my with the grain pass which took down most of my beard. Then I cranked it up to its maximum setting of #9 and did an against the grain pass. After that I turned it down to setting #2 and did and across the grain pass on my cheeks and a with the grain pass on my neck area. That pretty much finished my beard off and the best part was that I didn't get any burn from my aftershave splash.

High Jump 47 & The 38C:

This morning's shave was great. I went with Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements and their High Jump 47 scented soap. The scent is a Masculine Citrus Cologne type of scent or at least that's what I get. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with good old Clubman aftershave splash:

The 38C was great. I managed to get a squeaky clean post shave feel in 3 passes which is just about normal for me with a mild razor like this one is. It's not like my German 37 or my Gillette Slim adjustable is which is pretty much a 2 pass or less razor. If I do 3 passes with the slim, it's as close as a cartridge razor gets which says a lot.

Feather Blades Are Back:

I paid my uncle a visit today and since he's flying out to South Dakota on a permanent basis, he gave me what was left of the Feather blades that I got him quite some time ago which is really cool. The timing couldn't have been better because I'm already down to the last pack that I got from him about 2 weeks ago. There's about 50 to 60 blades left:

The reason he gave them to me is because he's flying out there and that they've changed the rules a bit here recently and he wouldn't be allowed to take them on the plane except as "checked baggage only" and he won't be doing that. So he gave them to me instead.

Honor & The Black Diamond:

Today's shave was great. I was craving a Barbershop scented soap so I went with Soap Commander and their fabulous "Honor" scented soap which is somewhere between PAA's C.a.D. and Fine's American Blend. Think of pairing the 2 together. And to finish off the shave, I went with the matching aftershave balm which adds a touch of menthol to the post shave feel:

The black diamond was great. I went back to the Apache Strata & the Shoubandini and done some more refinement using some subtle "X" strokes and it worked extremely well. I ended up getting a squeaky clean post shave in just 2.5 passes which is about normal for me.