gcgallant

I'm planning to go. I'll Rod ask if I can get a word in. At the last meetup, he and Mandy were swamped with people at their table. I had a bunch of questions that I wanted to ask, and I wanted to thank Rod for helping with the Moar Boar. I got the thanks in, bought some coffee and bar soap, then had to move on so they could talk to someone else.

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This is a little presumptive on my part because you didn't ask for my opinion. However, if you are within your first 100 shaves, I suggest that work on good technique and comfort with a straight will pay off with closeness and comfort. The closeness that you want will just come to you as you gain familiarity.

Also, I have two Union 5/8 razors that I bought for $27. I haven't honed or used them yet, but I'll make a video of what I learn when I finally get to them.

October 26, 2024

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts with Declaration Grooming B10

• Razor: Thiers Issard Évidé Sonnant 6/8" Extra Hollow

• Lather: Los Jabones de Joserra - Noir - Soap

• Aftershave: Declaration Grooming - Opulence - Aftershave

3 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.

The Los Jabones de Joserra soap base is very low structure. It is so slick, that the lack of structure doesn't bother me, and the fragrance is very well blended. I did a 3-pass shave about two weeks ago. This one happened because I was tinkering with my 2-pass routine and wasn't satisfied with the result after two passes.

Especially in Europe ;-) Us Americans think that all Europeans take the full month of August off 🤣

👍

Cool! I'll be surprised if you're disappointed.

Very old school, which seems fitting.

and get them all to equal sharpness and smoothness.

This is a good challenge, I think. However, as vigilant as I am about creating consistently high quality edges, I find that it is really technique that's required to get a great shave from different razors. With the sharpening process that I use, I can get edges on varying steels to perform almost identically in sharpness testing, and to look almost identical under high magnification. With this as a given I have found that I need to adapt my technique to get each razor type that I use to perform (for me) optimally.

Aqua Velva, Brut, Shultons Old Spice are good with anything :)

October 25, 2024

• Brush: Brad Sears Arley 26mm Super Badger

• Razor: Puma 89 #2 11/16 Full Hollow

• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Darkfall - Soap

• Aftershave: Declaration Grooming - Darkfall - Aftershave

2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.

It's fall here in Maryland. After returning from a walk in the woods, where the warm, almost dank scent of fallen leaves and broken branches pervades, I decided that today is the perfect day to use Darkfall. Wonderful scent and shave!

I usually face lather. I treat samples as pucks of soap, but in the wrong container. To lather with a sample I take about 1/4 teaspoon of soap and spread it thinly in the bottom of a Captain’s Choice lather bowl, or if I’m traveling, I use a curved portion (dry and clean) of the sink that I’m shaving over.

I take the brush that’s been soaking, squeeze most of the water out, then start building a soap paste with it in whatever container I’m using. I only add water if a thick paste is not forming. When a paste has been created from most of the sample, I take what’s not in the brush, put that on the brush, then just face lather; adding water as necessary to build the wet, slick lather I want.

So, basically, I always face lather.

Based on what you say about the Zenith badger, I'd agree.