Share your shave of the day!
- Razor: Merkur 39C Slant
- Blade: Lord Classic
- Brush: Vie-Long #12705B
- Lather: Pereira Shavery Orange Blossom w/ activated charcoal
- Aftershave: Myrsol Aqua De Limón
- Additional Care: Alum Block
An orange and lemon shave on a cold and dark morning.
Smoke!
- Brush: Chisel and Hound Intrepid with 26 mm Zenith boar knot at 53 mm loft
- Razor: Dovo Bismarck 2 (7/8", full hollow, carbon steel)
- Lather: Southern Witchcrafts Autumn Ash
- Aftershave: Barrister and Mann/Z Nocturne
- Fragrance: Imaginary Authors A City on Fire
- Music: Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water
I’m starting this Witchcrafts Wednesday off with smoke, smoke, and smoke. Autumn Ash and Nocturne aren’t really gourmands, but they smell the mouthwatering kind of good. A City on Fire can be on the edge of too smokey but the warmth of Autumn Ash and Nocturne give it a gentle transition. I smell good.
The Bismarck gave me a shockingly good shave again. It might be because I struggled so much to get a good edge on this one when I started out learning to hone, but now that it has a smooth, sharp edge that glides through whiskers like a coated Kismet but with the feedback and that fascinating combination of heft and delicateness that comes with a large full hollow, well now I’m just floored by how pleasant is it to shave with this thing. It doesn’t hurt that it’s easy on the eyes, either.
The soundtrack for the shave reminded me of the beginning of this year when u/VisceralWatch and VisceralWatchette came to visit me and we went to Montreux and saw the casino about which the song was written.
now I’m just floored by how pleasant is it to shave with this thing
I feel the same way and always look forward to using this razor. It is extremely comfortable and close. I just remembered that on your razor and on mine, I did do a small amount of geometry correction, but somehow, I think that the big breakthrough is treating the edge with the care I discussed ad nauseum in my video.
Nov. 29, 2023
- Brush: Yaqi 26mm Synthetic
- Razor: Karve Overlander
- Blade: UK Tech Statum
- Lather: House Of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap
- Post Shave: House Of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave
Good shave. Pleasant and mild scent with a little punch from the menthol.
November 29, 2023
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Brush: Wald Stratos Haunter 29mm A1
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Lather: WestMan Shaving - Nirvana - Soap
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Post Shave: WestMan Shaving - Nirvana - Aftershave Balm
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Post Shave: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
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Talc: Pinaud Clubman
It is a WestMan Wednesday and my first use of Nirvana. Nirvana is a blend of fig, sandalwood, and other notes. It is subtle, very comforting, and a very pleasing scent to have filling the room. This soap also has the new Nirvana soap base. I did not want to shave it off. It is rich, smooth, very slick, and also very easy to lather. Another top-tier entry for me. A wonderful morning shave that rated a talc finish.
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Nov. 29, 2023
- Brush: Zenith MOAR BOAR
- Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24
- Blade: GEM PTFE (2)
- Lather: Barrister & Mann - Vespers - Soap
- Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Vespers - Aftershave
- Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Unscented - Balm
- Osma: Osma - Osma
- Scuttle: Georgetown Pottery - G20
One of the main reasons I repeat my shaving setup day after day is I have soap left in the bottom of my scuttle from GUTLing and don’t feel like scooping it out and putting it back in the container.
That and this setup is fucking awesome.
Man, I haven’t used my GP scuttle for it’s intended purpose in forever. I loved the idea when my girlfriend (now wife) bought it for me several years ago, but I eventually realized I enjoyed face lathering more. Nowadays I really only use it as a lathering bowl for samples, but now that the weather has turned cold it’s starting to sound appealing again.
I essentially do a combination bowl lather/face lather called the GUTL. Essentially begin building your lather in your bowl, continue on face, then back to bowl, until you get a good lather from the combination of the two.
Just love using the G20 whenever I can.
That sounds like a fun method. Do you add water to the bowl or your face, or both?
Here’s a rundown of the process:
- Open soap container.
- Scoop out a wad of soap.
- Place wad of soap into a bowl or scuttle, pressing it thin.
- With a damp brush, swirl your brush in this soap until it develops into a thick protolather. You may need to add a little water, but not too much.
- When you have a good protolather, move to your face. Begin using standard face lathering techniques to build a base of protolather on your beard area.
- Once the lather base has been built, move back to your bowl. Add water, building volume to your lather, getting it slick and ready to use.
- Move back to the face, adding more water to the brush to refine the lather on the face and preparing for the first pass.
- Finalize your lather in your bowl, bringing that bowl lather to your face and mixing it up, giving you a Grand Unified Lather.
- As you move forward with your second and third passes, the lather in the bowl will serve as your Lather Reservoir, enabling you to not run out of lather for three, maybe four passes.
It’s called the GUTL for Grand Unified Theory of Lathering.
Awesome, thank you for this detailed explanation. As I was just saying elsewhere, I only do 2 pass shaves, so this is likely to produce way more lather than I’ll need. But there are worse problems to have and this does sound effective. Will try it out soon.
November 29, 2023: Witchcraft Wednesday
- Preshave: Proraso Green Preshave
- Brush: Semogue C3 Galahad Horse 🐎
- Razor: Thiers-Issard 188 7/8 ‘Coq et Renard’
- Lather: Southern Witchcraft Autumn Ash
- Post Shave: Mennen Skin Bracer
- Post Shave: Nivea After Shave Balm
I’m getting better around the chin, and I’m tempted to go for a kill of Autumn Ash. We’ll see.
Have a good evening.
Autumn Ash++;
Lather buddies 🍻
🍻
Wednesday, November 23, 2023
- Prep: hot shower
- Brush: Yaqi Cashmere Synthetic Shaving Brush, Dandelion Green Handle, 24mm
- Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable H3 (1962, 3rd quarter)
- Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (1)
- Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - Shaving Soap
- Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - Aftershave Balm
I forgot to post my shave earlier, and on a day where I get to brag about using the Stag too. Speaking of Stag, there won’t actually be any bragging as my lather was a little subpar today, tending a little on the foamy side. Too much water and not enough soap?
I think foamy means water was added too quickly.
Interesting. That makes sense though, as it didn’t seem like I was adding more water than usual.
Too much water and not enough soap?
MOAR soap solves most problems; MOAR water MOAR soap solves them all.
November 29, 2023
- Brush: AP Shave Co. - 24mm Synbad Fan
- Razor: Chiseled Face - Legacy Raw Titanium (#69)
- Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (6)
- Lather: WSP - Black Amber Vanille - Soap
- Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo - Balm
- Post Shave: Eufros - Dama Noche - Balm
Black Amber Vanille was a gift… I wouldn’t otherwise buy a WSP product (Wet Shaving Products product?). The scent is AMAZING, at least for me. I had a scented candle in college that was very similar to this, and it’s totally my jam.
Tea!
- Brush: Chisel and Hound Intrepid with 26 mm Zenith boar knot at 53 mm loft
- Razor: Dovo Bismarck 2 (7/8", full hollow, carbon steel)
- Lather: Southern Witchcrafts Carpathia
- Aftershave: Southern Witchcrafts Carpathia
- Fragrance: Imaginary Authors Saint Julep
Ugh, long day and very late evening shave. At least I’ll smell good when I catch a few hours of sleep :)
November 29, 2023
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Brush: Yaqi Cavern Lake 24mm Tuxedo
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Razor: Karve Overlander Brass
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Blade: Personna Platinum (1)
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Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Autumn Ash - Soap
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Post Shave: Unilever - Brut - Aftershave
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Post Shave: Thayers - Cucumber - Toner
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Talc: Yardley Gold
It is Witchcraft Wednesday and Autumn Ash is the perfect smoky fit. My penultimate evening shave for November was a great one. I’ve upped my talc game for the occasion.
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