it’s strange to see that my shaves with a straight are closer than those I get from an (admitedly very mild) DE
It gets worse. When I try (i.e. 3-pass shave), I get a closer, more comfortable shave with a straight than with any DE or SE that I own. This includes mild razors like the Feather and mild-plate Blutt, and very aggressive razors like the MMOC.
Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Peaches + Scream - Aftershave
Kicking off this week of Halloween shaves with Milksteak Monday using Peaches + Scream. This almost-gourmand scent is great year round, but it's also such a perfect Fall seasonal.
Always a real pleasure to use the big 14er. While it sounds and shaves just like its venerable ancestors, it feels significantly different than those classic 14-style razors because of its sharp live point. The slightly rounded square point on the classics makes them as forgiving as round point razors or perfect auto-pilot razors. The pokey needle that is this one's point keeps you on your toes, if you don't want a scratch.
I did stay on my toes and was rewarded with a smooth early morning shave. I wish you all a good start into this week.
That razor looks far better in your photos than in Böker’s. I have several razors with pointy points and some with muted points. Visually, you can’t tell the difference. I rarely have an issue, but whenever a lack of attention results in a poke, that point gets muted.
Yeah, I should do the same. Keeping the live point makes no rational sense, BUT the point triggers a juvenile "challenge accepted" reaction in me, and if not in my hobby, where am I allowed to be juvenile?
Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin handle w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid knot
Razor: Leaf Thorn
Blade: snapped KCG (new)
Lather: HAGS - Barberwood
Post-Shave: HAGS - Barberwood AS toner; Manuka Health repair balm
2 passes on the head, 1 around the beard. Good shave overall, minor burn.
Seeing @sahenders@sub.wetshaving.social post inspired me to use some of my soaps with morbid/dark/creepy artwork for this Halloween week. Let's see if I can manage a consistent string of daily shaves until Thursday...
Barberwood seems to feature Sweeney Todd, the murderous barber of Fleet Street. If HAGS would actually pay good artists instead of relying on AI-generated slop, it might've turned out a bit better. However, we got this thing here. Ugh... I'm personally not against AI generated pictures for teachers who want to give some interesting visualisation and can't draw for shit, but for official art on products you sell?... Eh, come on. Get a real artist. Scent is your typical sweet powder barbershop, inoffensive and a people pleaser. I personally prefer the unique takes like Old Strathcona and Ghost Town Barber much more.
I haven't seen the movie with Johnny Depp, as I personally deeply dislike musicals. But there's one Depp movie fitting for this season that I wholeheartedly recommend: The Ninth Gate
This was one of the first "darker" movies I saw when I was ~13/14. I've seen it a few times since - the trailer doesn't really do it justice. It's a slower movie at the start, but once it picks up momentum it goes ahead like a boulder down a steep hill. Also, this one really needs you to think and come to your own conclusions. I still fear a majority view it through a christian/religious lens and are afraid of it bc of that. Personally I think Polanski is a POS but if I couldn't separate art from artists, I also wouldn't be able to enjoy H.P. Lovecraft as much.
This shave was a test of the edge on this razor. I honed it earlier today. Results were excellent. I think the razor's sharpness might suit me more than most people, so I softened it slightly right after the shave.