SOTD : Saturday 30th March - Friday 5th April. 2019.

G'day @Rohleder - I have the 1924 Panama 250g brick - I've broken off half and pressed into a bowl. I find the scent strength pretty good - maybe 7/10. I suspect that, as is often the case with samples, the scent is reduced due to compression, handling, and shipping. Good to see that you've picked it up from Jim - he is an absolute gent.

Good to know Tom, thanks for that. I sniffed them again this morning actually... I stand by my strength rating but you're probably right, I'm fairly sure the Valobra isn't supposed to be that mild either. Anyway, sniffed them again and I can detect something else in the Boellis, a hint of something I can't put my finger on... Carter & Bond website says it has a dash of their Panama Cologne in so it might be that.

You're quite right, Jim is a Godsend to us shavers! I realised I hadn't ordered anything from him in over a year so sorted that out pretty quick :D
 
The brush looks like a winner, Rob. Cracking looking lather - I wanted to reach into the photo, grab the brush, and start applying:D.

Hi Tom,

It's definitely as good as it looks. It's a cliché but you do get a ‘wall of badger'. No scritch or scratch, soft and whips up a lather a treat. James said it needs around 30 uses before fully broken in but it's performance was excellent straight away.

Cheers
Rob
 
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Pre-Shave: Kiss my Face Olive Oil Soap, cold water
Razor: Tradere SB - kindly loaned by AP Reserve
Blade: Gillette Bleue Extra (1)
Brush: Doug Korn D7V
Lather: APR Bombora
Post-Shave: Alum, Thayers Original Alcohol Free Witch Hazel, South Australian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil​
 
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ABC ~ Semogue OC ~ 7o'clock #77 ~ Erbe ~ Alum

Another day another sample.

Definitely a strong (7/10) sweet almond scent to this soap, reminds me of marzipan or something like that, not entirely unpleasant but a little sickly (even more so than Cella IMO and would become tiresome very quickly.) The SOC whipped up a nice lather, it didn't explode on the brush like Boellis but created a fairly decent looking lather... On the face it was fairly dense but cushion and slickness seemed very average indeed, to make matters worse I experienced a mild tingle initially which developed into a full blown red itchy face by the third pass. No aftershave (apart from alum) same as yesterday, to better judge the soaps post shave performance, again I'd rate it as mediocre, a bit drying overall though this could be impacted by my allergy to this soap.

Absolute pants, I'd be well peeved if I'd bought a whole tub of this stuff! Thank you Shavedash (y)

So far my Italian almond croap ratings are:

#1 Boellis 1924 Panama (stellar performance and nice scent)
#2 3P (stellar performance and acceptable scent)
#3 Cella (good performance and meh scent)
#4 Vitos Extra (average performance and bleh scent)
#5 ABC (not good on any level really)
 
Tuesdays Shave and a first outing for the Razorock Game Changer.

42465


Preshave: Vitos Menthol
Soap: OSP Grapefruit and Menthol Cream
Brush: Razorock 400 Synthetic
Blade: Gillette Sharp Edge
Razor: Razo Rock Game Changer
AS: Mirto Di Sardegna
Balm: Floids


First outing with the Gamechanger and in a word WOW ! the Karve I love but it took me a while to learn how to use it , this one just feels comfortable straight away. it is early days and I need to play with it some more however it just seems to naturally sit at the perfect angle , a very close but extremely comfortable shave, it shaves as close as some of the more aggressive razors I have used , but is also extremely forgiving and easy to use.

Love the thin top cap it makes the head narrow and very easy to manoeuvre and makes it easy to get into the more angular parts of the face.

I have to say Rob @Blackmass , I agree with you assessment it is indeed very impressive ! Thank you for putting me on to a great Razor.

I used it with the Gillette Sharp Edge as this is a bit of a go to blade for me, but looking forward to trying some of the sharp and smooth blades with it like a Kai , Voskhod or Nacet.
 
Monday evening

Valobra Tallow
RazoRock Disrupter 22mm
Face lather
Gillette Aluminium Tech (Made in England, 1968)
Feather
Thayer's Rose Petal and Aloe Vera
Proraso M&E after shave

Continuing with the forgotten gems theme, I unpacked my first ever vintage DE. This forms part of my travel kit (along with grated Palmolive stick and Omega Mixed Midget).

Paired with the assertive Feather blade, it delivered a beautifully close and smooth shave; and the Valobra gave the necessary cushion and slick glide.
View attachment 42450
Just out of curiosity
I have the same razor, got it recently as Ebay Bargain.
How have you managed to date it to a particular year? Has yours got an embossed Gillette logo or a etched logo?
Just interested to see if I could date mine too, that's all!
Thanks
Chris!
 
Body shop "muck"? muck? How very dare you.... I'll admit I wouldn't mix it in OSP but calling it Muck is a bit strong
I'll have you know I shaved with that very cream this morning I love it.
Why all the hatred for Macca root & Aloe?
Cause it smells terrible ! Just teasing it seems to be one of those smells that you either love or hate.
 
2/4/19

Soap - Lea Cream
Brush - Yaqi Fan Tax Mysterious Blue
Razor - Wilkinson Sword Classic
Blade - Asco SS
Post - Witch Hazel/Nivea Cooling Balm
AS - Ben's Menthol Bay Rum

I've been reluctant to use a synth brush for a while, preferring to use boar brushes for the last few weeks. Without a moment's hesitation the Yaqi Fan Tux is the most efficient brush for whipping a lather, it seems to require the least amount of soap to create the most lather in less time. As efficient as it might seem, I find synth brushes a little charmless.
The Wilk Classic is actually an excellent razor. Like others it seems I came upon the razor first up into my DE shaving journey and the shaves weren't great at the start mainly down to technique which now that is has improved the razor is one that I enjoy using.
 
Tuesdays Shave and a first outing for the Razorock Game Changer.

View attachment 42465


Preshave: Vitos Menthol
Soap: OSP Grapefruit and Menthol Cream
Brush: Razorock 400 Synthetic
Blade: Gillette Sharp Edge
Razor: Razo Rock Game Changer
AS: Mirto Di Sardegna
Balm: Floids


First outing with the Gamechanger and in a word WOW ! the Karve I love but it took me a while to learn how to use it , this one just feels comfortable straight away. it is early days and I need to play with it some more however it just seems to naturally sit at the perfect angle , a very close but extremely comfortable shave, it shaves as close as some of the more aggressive razors I have used , but is also extremely forgiving and easy to use.

Love the thin top cap it makes the head narrow and very easy to manoeuvre and makes it easy to get into the more angular parts of the face.

I have to say Rob @Blackmass , I agree with you assessment it is indeed very impressive ! Thank you for putting me on to a great Razor.

I used it with the Gillette Sharp Edge as this is a bit of a go to blade for me, but looking forward to trying some of the sharp and smooth blades with it like a Kai , Voskhod or Nacet.

I'm really pleased it agreed with you.

Razors are such personal things. I've tried a lot of razors and they're either too mild or too aggressive. I'll hold my hands up and say a lot of this is down to my lack of experience and (lack of) technique. The GC 0.84 is just right for me and as you mentioned, very intuitive.

Thanks for the tag too.

Cheers
Rob
 
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