This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
New subscribers welcome!
Please visit our wiki, which is always and forever a work in progress.
https://gem.wetshaving.social/ - a nice modern interface
https://old.wetshaving.social/ - designed to look like old.reddit.com
Our sister Mastodon instance is https://wetshaving.social/.
https://uptime.splettnet.com/status/wetshaving
Be Respectful. Do not bully, flame, or harass others.
Malicious comments are not allowed but heated discussion and salty banter is okay.
Low effort replies and complaints about content will be removed.
Mail Calls, Simple Questions, and SOTD posts belong in the recurring weekly threads.
Posts must have sufficient content to generate a meaningful discussion.
Images, links, or videos must include additional text that summarizes the topic.
Use [First Impressions] in the title if your experience with the product is limited.
Use the [Review] in the title if you can provide comprehensive details with enough familiarity to answer follow-up questions.
Disclose how the product being reviewed was acquired (e.g., PIF, loan, or purchase). If the product was provided to you directly by the maker or vendor free of charge or at a discount, you must disclose this fact even if the item will later be returned to the maker or vendor.
Vendors are to keep marketing within the biweekly Deals/New Products threads.
Non-vendors may post topics about products if it will foster a compelling discussion.
Do not solicit donations or share fundraisers without mod approval.
All NSFW/L content must request mod approval and be flaired appropriately.
Non-shaving related NSFW/L content is not allowed.
26 June, 2023
I gave Fu Dao another go this morning and I'm still confounded by this scent. Maybe it's my pedestrian nose or maybe it's the fact that I only have a sample, but I have no clue as to what I'm smelling beyond the firecracker. I don't get any of the brighter notes out of this soap that it allegedly has. My brain doesn't want to spend that much time parsing scents while shaving. Thankfully Ocean Grove doesn't give me too much to think about ("Oooohhh, I smell like the ragosa rose bushes all over my house that's three blocks from the ocean!).
Monday's here already? That sneaky bastard. Time to caffeinate and slay dragons. Have a great day all!
福 (Fú Dào) is a little flatter smelling in the soap and the firecracker notes dominate. The complexity is easier to pick up in the aftershave and fragrance, though I wouldn't call any of the versions bright.
6/26/23
The chance to try this massive chopper comes courtesy of j33p. He picked this beast up and sent it to me to hone. I gave it a jnat edge and it feels wonderful. Surprisingly easy to get light and consistent pressure. This blade moves with conviction. Very nice shave this morning.
Jun. 26, 2023
Excellent shave this morning.
🦣 Mammoth Monday 🦣
I forgot that I have a very limited window for mentholated soaps—hot enough to want the cooling, but not so hot that the air conditioning is on—so I should be using Kryptonite as much possible. Excellent Mammoth Monday shave.
Is Kryptonite the only mentholated Mammoth soap?
Does Sonder have some in there too? Kryptonite is definitely the one I think of having significant cooling.
June 26, 2023
Tomorrow might be the day for this tub of soap.
I'm using this Gen 2 Guerilla on loan. I have a Gen 1 and the differences are interesting. On initial impression, the Gen 2 fixes two problems that the OG has; difficulty loading the blade, and efficiency. The Gen 2 is much easier to load, and gives me a closer shave albeit with more blade feel.
Also different is the overall finish. The newer version appears to be slightly darker, and it's possible that it was tumbled in order to improve the appearance. If only there was someone I could ask!
Both heads have machine marks all over the place, so if that's a deal breaker for you then give this razor a pass.
Another Maggards Meet Up sample today as I tried Through the Fire’s The Lake for the first time. As person who lives on a lake I can confirm that this scent is pretty lake friendly. It’s definitely aquatic, though on the whole a little too cologne-like for my tastes. Somethign I might take out for a night sitting out with friends by the water. The base is crazy soft, leaning into a cream or croap, I’d say. I hadn’t scooped something this soft in a bit and probably took a little too much but what a fantastic, thirsty lather. With a bit more dialing in I think it could be stellar.
I hadn’t used my Clog-Pruf in a long while as I had a bunch of new razors to try, including a 1912, but going back to it I’m reminded of why I love it. Aggressive and yet such an easy shave (once you’ve mastered it), with heaps and heaps of audible feedback. Got nice and close.
Same goes for the G5, which I always forget how wonderfully scritch it is.
June 26, 2023
2 passes. Bowl lather. Excellent shave.
Thanks to @whosgotthepudding@sub.wetshaving.social for this generous sample of Musashi. I really like this scent. The jasmine tea, florals, and spice really come through. There's a calm comforting feeling to this fragrance.
As I thought, I was able to get a very nice shave from the Vector. It was comfortable, and almost as close as my shave with the WR4, but I find that I have to work at it a little more, and there's just no area for lather accumulation so attentiveness to what's happening at the edge gets interrupted a lot by rinsing accumulated lather from the razor.
Now, the Vector has an extremely clever design and the geometry between the handle and the blade's edge are unusual. I'm certain that if I used this razor more frequently I would adjust my shaving pattern so that rinsing occurred at convenient intervals, and I would hunt a little less for small adjustments to the edge angle. As it is, though, even with only two shaves, the WR4 just feels right to me. It provides a surprisingly close shave effortlessly.
June 26, 2023
Loaded way too much soap, so did head and face shave today with a bowl lather.
My complaints with the soap for Dammusi are already melting away with the second use. The splash is still phenomenal.
June 26, 2023
This shave last night was about five days growth. The power went out while I was lathering my face. I shaved my phone flashlight propped up reflecting off the mirror.
June 26, 2023
Pleased with this shave today. The ProPro is a great brush and has become my daily driver. It just lathers up so quickly and so well, make it easy on days I don’t want to wrestle the MOAR.
This blade was one that I really liked but I hadn't used it in a while because I've been trying lots of other blades. I wasn't sure if I would still feel the same about it before today's shave. Well it turns out I still really like it. Smooth and Plenty sharp for me. It's also fortunate I still like them because I have loads of them left.
June 26, 2023
June 26, 2023
Haslinger Calendula irritates my skin slightly, and is rather drying to the skin. It's also quite difficult to get it to the optimal level of hydration with a boar.
Have a good night!
Testing...One, Two, Three
LG PRACTICE #FOF #photocontest #ROTYMoonlight and white florals. Purdy.
Also, including some test codes for the LG planning crew. Let me know if anything looks awry—I stacked all my tags in a list item up top. u/djundjila
#SOTD Tuesday 27 June, 2023
I've decided to use the Red Tip all week. Let's see what happens with a more aggressive razor.
June 28, 2023
Thanks to /u/TheStallionPartThree for the smoosh. I didn’t smell much fragrance, but the soap was good. I’m not a fan of the Premium base. It makes an airy lather. I don’t own any tubs of the standard luxury base, but it’s decent. I do wish there was some secondary slickness. However, it is easy to use.
July 1, 2023 – Bonjour long run day
A few years ago, I was prepping for Lather Games and I bought a couple of Murphy & McNeil samples for “New To You” day. And then I never used them. They’ve just been sitting in my sample drawer for years staring at me. Well, “New To You” day is back (with some fancier labeling) and I’ve now officially tried M&M for the very first time.
Prep this morning was a 10-mile run followed by a dip in the pool to cool off and further cooling off in a cold shower with Stirling Glacial Lemon Chill bath soap. Then I scooped what I thought was a fair portion of Trinity into my scuttle and began lathering up. I think I may have under-scooped because I didn’t manage to get quite as much lather as I was expecting. Anyway, I got just enough (with a bit of brush squeezins) to manage 2 passes with the post-war Tech an 7am blade. Got a really good, close shave.
I didn’t look up the scent notes on Trinity before shaving, but if it’s not an Aventus dupe, I’ll eat my left running shoe. I picked my Executive Man balm and a bit of actual Aventus to finish up the shave. I may be sitting in this chair all day waiting for my legs to stop aching, but I’ll smell like a pineapple god while I do so.
Did you know this old post is pinned?