Giddy Up for Smoky Sample Straightember

• Brush: Zenith 506U N (50/50 horse mane/tail)
• Razor: Böker Abalone
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Necromantic
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts – Autumn Ash
• Fragrance: Maison Margiela – REPLICA By The Fireplace

I decided to get this horse brush after talking to @PorkButtsNTaters666@sub.wetshaving.social and @sgrdddy@sub.wetshaving.social , and it's been a surprisingly unsurprising first use. The brush has medium backbone and is lightly scritchy. There's no funk and it lathers easily. I'm looking forward to getting to know this brush better over the coming days and weeks.

The Abalone treated me very well again today.

Loving the scents today. Sweet and smoky.

Sep 7, 2023 - Sample September: Propaganda

• Prep: Klar - Activated Charcoal - Face Soap
• Brush: Chisel & Hound Fu Dao Flare 26mm V20 Fanchurian
• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus
• Blade: Voskhod [8]
• Lather: Dr. Jon's Shaving Soap Co. - Propaganda - Soap (Vegan)
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - 福 (Fú Dào) - Splash
• Fragrance: Lubin - Akkad - Eau de Parfum

I found out how great Propaganda smelled all too late. Dr. Jon's had already closed up shop and retailers were selling out of their discounted items. Vanilla, mandarin, sandalwood, patchouli, and musk make this a stand out scent. Followed up with Fú Dào, which adds some additional complexity, namely with the spicy ginger and firecracker, to the established mandarin and sandalwood notes.

The bold Drakkant razor provided a remarkable shave with Dr. Jon's wonderful vegan base.

Rating: 4.5/5

Sep. 7, 2023

• Brush: Yaqi 26mm Synthetic
• Razor: Karve CB SB D
• Blade: Astra SP Green
• Lather: Macduffs - Dark Sky Preserve - Soap
• Post Shave: Macduffs - Dark Sky Preserve - Aftershave

Excellent shave. Love this mild scent.

Thursday, September 7, 2023 - Samplish Septemberish

• Prep: hot shower
• Brush: Yaqi Cashmere Synthetic Shaving Brush, Dandelion Green Handle, 24mm
• Razor: Gillette Flare Tip Superspeed A1 (1955)
• Blade: Lord Super Chrome (1)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Presto Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Nivea - Moisturizing Post Shave Balm

Not doing a strictly Sample September, I'm just hoping to get through this Presto sample by the end of the month. We'll see.

September 7, 2023

• Brush: Maggard 24mm 2 Band Badger
• Razor: Blackland Era - Level 3 SB
• Blade: Personna 74 (35)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Lyssa - Soap
• Post Shave: Stirling - Bergamot Lavender - Witch Hazel & Aloe

September 7, 2023

• Brush: Wild West Brushworks Deep Pearl 26mm Sweet Spot Badger

• Razor: Tanifuji Spalding 0411 6/8" Full Hollow (Straight Shave 319)

• Lather: Saponificio Varesino - 70^th^ Anniversary - Soap

• Post Shave: Saponificio Varesino - 70^th^ Anniversary - Aftershave

• Post Shave: Thayers - Lemon - Toner

• Fragrance: Saponificio Varesino - 70^th^ Anniversary - Eau de Parfum
   

3 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.

You would think that all straight razors shave the same. It's just an open blade, right? Not so in my experience. Today, familiarity and comfort with this razor arrived. It's such a beaut!

And Stockholm syndrome with 70^th^ Anniversary continues. Just amazing. Why use anything else?

Prep: Splash of Cool Water
Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 Open Comb
Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (533)
Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Wood Shop
Brush: Declaration Grooming - B13 Dogwood/Briar Hybrid 28mm (18 uses)
Post Shave: Chatillon Lux - Gratiot League Square

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Slurry Lather testing continues, this time with a large, premium, high density badger brush.

I do introduce another variable this time, because I'm working with a scooped soap amount, rather than loading from the soap tub. So I will do more Slurry method testing with this brush to confirm, but I think it will continue to work well.

I use my new Wood Shop soap for the first time, as well.

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹533 uses›)

Same: a bit of tugging on the first pass, then fine after that, giving a close shave by the end, even though it did take 5 quick passes. No irritation.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Summer Break Soaps - Wood Shop)

Them:

Scent: To me, the scent strength was too low to really discern the notes, although I did pick up a vague woodiness, which would make it better than an unscented soap if I had to choose between the two.

Scent Strength: 3/10, barely present during shaving.

Lather... Finally a Slurry Lather with a high density badger! Although it wasn't exactly the same use case as I've done through August with the boar. It was because I was working with a smush/scooped amount, rather than tub loading.

So to try this new soap, I smushed the 1/4 tsp amount into the bottom of my lather bowl. Now, you don't need a specific lather bowl at all to use when making a slurry, because you don't need any kind of texture or agitation mechanisms. Even a coffee mug might do just as well. But I think something a little larger might give you more room for movement, wihtout banging the side of the mug.

Because of the lack of need for agitation or needing room for lather to be stored, containers/bowls that would not normally suit my bowl-lathering needs can finally have a place, like the Captain's Choice lather bowl. Shoot, even an old soap tub that has been emptied out would be fine.

The lather turned out in true Slurry fashion, to be super slick and really well hydrated, protecting well, through 5 passes. I did have to add a little water on the last pass, to keep it at top performance.

Hydration: Perfect (for me)

• (0.25 tsp) soap with a Very Wet brush
• = 7 passes of lather

Bowl: No Bowl

䷀ Brush Notes

(Declaration Grooming - B13 Dogwood/Briar Hybrid 28mm ‹18 uses›)

So... now we have a high density, premium brush knot to try with the Slurry Lather. It worked great.

But this was a little different, since we're not tub loading, so I am going to give this brush more slurry lathers for the sake of completeness.

Obviously, with a Slurry, you don't feel the brush as much as you wold with a method that uses more time, but I still got to enjoy it some. And like I've been saying, this is a method especially for folks that want to get a nice shave done fast.

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
  Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Very Close Shave
  Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet