Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Lavender
Lather: Mike’s Pine & Cedarwood
Brush: Vie Long 14033
Razors: German Balelite Slant with a Feather, and Gillete ’58 TV Special with a Wilkinson
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
I know, I know… dabbling in the Dark Side. But how can we see where the light comes from unless we wander in darkness?
Before I started enjoying my shaves, I was pulling my whiskers off with a Gillette Sensor I was given while in Boot Camp. Never got a really good shave with it – or with any of the electric shavers I’ve tried over the years – but I persevered for lack of anything better (growing a full beard is just not an option). Last summer I decided to revisit the Sensor, to see if it was as bad as I remembered it to be… having spotted it in the back of the cabinet again, I decided to write up a short review:
The Sensor is a mild razor – which is good, since I needed four passes and some touch ups to get close to the DFS I get from two passes and no touch ups with my DE razors. Honestly Gillette; if this is supposed to be “the best a man can get” then I suggest you all hand in your man-cards. Half an hour after shaving I found myself longing for a real shave – and to add insult to injury I got shave bumps again; something I always had before switching to DE and haven’t been bothered with since I switched.
I hate shave-bumps with a passion – it used to be because the next shave would slice them open, meaning I’ll dislike shaving even more. These days I hate them because it means I have to take a couple of days pause from shaving… things change even if they stay the same.
On the other hand, the shave was better than I got from the Sensor before I switched to DE, so I guess it highlights the benefits of a good prep and a great lather.
On the upside, the handle is rock solid and near indestructible; it has lasted twenty years so far and still see regular use when my Better Half do her legs. I guess it highlights the Gillette Idea; they will pretty much give you the razor, and then gouge you on the cartridges. Which is fitting in it’s own way, since the cartridges will gouge your face just as efficiently as Gillette will gouge your wallet…
Bottom line? Rock solid razor, not so much blades. Bad for your wallet and face – Your Mileage May Vary off course, but please don’t skimp on the prep-work if you go for cartridges.
Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Lavender
Lather: Mike’s Natural Rose & Cedarwood soap
Brush: Turkish No6
Razors: German Balelite Slant with a Feather, and Gillete ’58 TV Special with a Wilkinson
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
…in my opinion the Gillette is optional and might easily be swapped for a Merkur, a Parker, a Cadet, a Lord, a Yuma, a Feather, or any other DE razor.
But you DO need water and lather for a Real Man Shave!
Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Peppermint
Lather: Mam Bear’s Awakening
Brush: Semogue TSN 2012 LE mixed badger-boar
Razors: German Balelite Slant with a fresh Feather, and Gillete ’58 TV Special with a fresh Wilkinson
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum and Krampert’s Finest Prototype Menthol
Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Liquid Peppermint
Lather:Proraso menthol and eucalyptus croap
Brush:BodyShop Synthetic
Razors: Racer and Yuma, both with a Wilkinson blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum and Krampert’s Finest
About eight months ago I bought a limited edition brush from the Portuguese brush maker Semogue, who made a mere hundred of the beauties for my favorite shaving forum – The Shave Nook.
It have become one of my most treasured brushes – along with my Vie Long 14033 mixed badger/horse – and yet somehow I have not yet written a review for it… well, consider that fixed at least.
The TSN ’12 LE is a wonderful brush; it has just the right mix of backbone and softness to make it great for both face and bowl lathering, good flow, great handle and it holds enough lather to do three passes with ease. It’s also rock solid – to my knowledge it hasn’t lost a single hair yet, despite being used one to two times a week since I bought it. With a bit of proper care it should last longer than me, which means whoever gets to clean up after me can put it up for sale in fifty years time…
The knot is about 22mm wide with a 55mm or so loft, and is a 50/50 mix of boar and badger. For me – who isn’t all that much into badger – it served as a beautiful introduction to badger hairs… to the point where I can both see what all the fuss is about and realize that for me it’s not worth bothering putting down a large wad of money on a pure badger brush. Your Milage May Vary off course, but I prefer a bit of springiness and scritch.
The TSN ’12 LE is also very quick at picking up soap, making it the only brush I own that is liable to be overloaded – something to keep in mind since my favorite lathering bowl isn’t that large. It works just as well when face lathering, but since I only face lather when using a shave stick the risk of overloading is non-existent.
While the majority of the brushes ended up with regulars on The Shave Nook, it was also picked up by members on other forums. If you spot one for sale it’s definitely worth picking it up… if not, you’ll just have to do what I am doing now; wait for the 2013 LE brush.
Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Liquid Orange
Lather: Prairie Creations Walters Soap
Brush: Semogue TSN 2012 LE brush
Razors: Racer and Yuma, both with a Wilkinson blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum and Krampert’s Finest 80 Below
Some time ago I picked up a GzD shaving stick, partly to bulk out an order from Turkey and partly because I suffer from various Acquisition Disorders… like many shavers do.
It is natural to compare and contrast the GzD against the one Turkish stick ‘everyone’ knows; the Arko stick – it don’t matter if you love it or loathe it, it seems everyone has an opinion on it.
The GzD is just as good at making lather as the Arko is, it’s a bit softer so it might be easier to bash into a bowl if you’re not a face latherer. The scent is not nearly as strong as a freshly unwrapped Arko, and reminds me more of an Arko stick that have been left unwrapped for a month or two.
The GzD gives decent glide and cushion, and can be recommended if you just can’t handle the scent of the Arko. It seems to in general be more expensive than the Arko though, and it comes without a wrapper in a card board box – the box don’t stand up to much abuse, and I had to wrap mine in some parchment paper so I could handle it better.
Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Liquid Peppermint
Lather: RazoRock XXX
Brush: Vie Long 14033
Razors: Racer and Yuma, both with a fresh Wilkinson blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum