WetShaving

Thursday, August 1, 2024: Last Comfort Shave

• Preshave: Proraso Green Preshave
• Brush: Semogue C3 Galahad Horse 🐎
• Razor: River Razors Kamisori
• Lather: Zingari Man Bon Monsieur
• Postshave: Naissance 702 Witch Hazel
• Postshave: Zingari Man Bon Monsieur Recovery Splash
• Postshave: Nivea After Shave Balm

This is the last shave before we leave for vacation. I took out the material I am most comfortable with, before I will engage is austerity of a different sort from the AA challenges. I got a very good and close shave.

Have a good day, and good luck to all the austerians!

~Shared via emacs & sotd.el~

August 1, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Blackland Era - Level 3 SB
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (1)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Port-Au-Prince - Soap
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Aftershave

$IRC
$Discord
$ShepherdsofStirling
Progress Album

The last time I participated in Austere August was in 2021, where I earned the "Knights of Nothing" flair for using an unscented soap (Southern Witchcrafts - Incorporeal).

I do not like Austere August, so when I found out there was a side-car contest to use a Stirling Mutton based soap, my stomach churned. As someone who's unable to not support Stirling Mutton, I slowly came to the realization that my fate included using the same soap for a whole month.

So here we are.

August 1, 2024 -- Austerity Begins

• Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving 31mm x 57mm Moar Boar

• Razor: J.A. Henckels Friodur 14 Full Hollow Square Point

• Lather: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Soap

• Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner

• Aftershave: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Guerlain - Jicky - Eau de Toilette

2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave. $headless $FriodomRiders

Finally! No more sleepness nights weighing the pros and cons of different setups for the morning's shave. And now I can take a vacation from the monotonous back and forth of stropping.

Vida did such a great job on AG 1889 (a nod to Guerlain Jicky) with its wonderful Darkwing base, that I feel a little guilty for using it in a month that we call Austere. I'll get over it. Wondeful shave today with AG 1889, the MOAR BOAR, and the Frio 14.

Edit: I forgot. I made a video of honing the Frio 14 to prepare it for this month.

Day 1/31 of Looking for Serenity in Austerity

• Brush: Semogue Owner's Club (cherry wood and boar) (1)
• Razor: Zwilling J. A. Henckels Friodur 50 (7/8", hollow ground, stainless steel, masonic deco) (1)
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice
• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice

This is my fourth AA and the first one I'm not doing in Mr One More Time's Ultra Nightmare Mode. I like the nightmare mode for trying out new hardware with disposable blades, because it lets you concentrate on technique and let's be frank, 31 shaves on a blade isn't a big deal. It's perfect for something like GEMs of Wisdom or the Days of Weckoning, but I am less of a fan when it comes to straight razor challenges, in particular if the goal is to make it easy for new straight shavers to join. It's not because I think it is particularly difficult to do 31 shaves on an edge, but because meistering straight razor maintenance is as much a source of satisfaction as perfecting the shave technique. This was my idea behind creating HoneMeisterschaft, the AA challenge that requires you to hone your edge and to discuss your process and its effect. Since this is a niche (straight razor honing) within a niche (straight razor shaving) within a ..., I wasn't sure this would attract any participants, but I'm delighted to see that a bunch (6 at the time of this shave!) of you decided to join the fray, thanks! 😊.

I decided on my beautiful and mysterious Friodur 50 for $FriodomRiders. Ever since I bought a Friodur 472½ two years ago (for The List) I was curious about why stainless razors have a bad reputation. They can clearly be fantastic, and not having to worry about every last bit of moisture with a straight is pure peace of mind, so it never made sense to me. I've shared my theory in the announcement post and I'm confident that everyone who took this ~~opportunity~~ excuse to use a quality stainless steel razor will be appreciate the shaves, and the confidence that the blade won't rust.

Ironically this shave sucked 😄. What happened is that I had planned to hone it before leaving for vacation 2 weeks ago, but 4 days before the travel, we had a (in hindsight minor) health emergency which meant that I had to rush Djunior to the hospital and take care of him instead of important things like honing this razor or going to work. So instead of just packing my razor, my RawHoggin' brush and my software, my AA setup now also included my stones, and I didn't want to schlepp all that stuff. Instead, I sent it ahead to the place I knew we'd be at on Aug 1. The plan almost worked, but our flight got delayed and we arrived super late. I honed the thing, but clearly didn't take enough time because it was quite the tuggy affair. Luckily the rules of HoneMeisterschaft allow for (and even encourage) corrective measures in this situation. I'm off to bed, and I'll hone this thing better tomorrow.

The SOC gets such contradictory ratings in this community that it intrigued me. From "favourite brush" to "forced bloom makes it feel empty" it spans the entire range, so I'm really curious to experience this new-to me brand of piggy.

Tagging Hog Daddy u/EldrormR as per rule #6 of Rawhoggin. The SOTD pic includes the (still packed) brush, and here's the unboxing video.

$FriodomRiders $HoneMeisterschaft $RawHoggin

AA24 - Day 1 - Shepherds of Stirling: Varen

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [1]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Splash

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

I had everything setup this morning to join the Mammoth Mafia for another AA, but after u/hugbckt's call to join Shepherds of Stirling yesterday, I changed my mind at the last minute. A month of Varen and the Mutton base in support of a 4-H charity and a cool new flair was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

I've managed to take this razor with a Gillette Platinum blade to 23 shaves before, so I'll see if I can push past that number for all 31 days this month.

For u/EldrormR's Raw Hoggin' challenge, this new Zenith boar brush is unbleached, which is new for me, and the stank on this knot is potent. Right now the knot feels good. However, it's not very dense, so hopefully it won't become floppy during the break-in.

Brush Break-In Progress Album

Tub Weight: 201g