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.
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Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Maggard Synth 28mm
Razor: Blackland Vector titanium
Blade: Schick Proline
Lather: Storybook Soapworks x Australian Private Reserve - Carnivale
Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Passiflora
Fragrance: Zoologist - Camel
Day 14 of APRil and I finally ran out of different APR scents. Camel is really good
14 is an impressive number of APR scents! You've joined like two years ago, right?
Aye sir, January 2023 was when i really got started
Apr 14, 2025 - Mammoth Monday: Finalist
Congrats to u/mammothben for this scent being announced as a Finalist in the 2025 Art & Olfaction Awards. Absolutely deserved.
Monday, April 14, 2025
I get a good lather from the CF base as long as I remember to come in with a pretty dry brush. Otherwise, it tends to puff up on me pretty quickly.
A nice shave and another notch toward killing this tub of GTB. It's going to be a while yet.
April 14, 2025
Done with the Black Watch sample. I’m happy to have tried it, but it’s not for me. The sweetness (plum?) is just a little too much for me. I’ve got Roman Spice left of my sampler and I’ve been looking forward to that one the most. Oh, and even after washing this brush with some dish soap, it still had some lingering War funk. Got to keep using it to get it cleaned out…hopefully.
Soap bros
My sample puck is lasting a lot longer than I thought it would. I have still probably a week left of mine to use.
This is the first shave with this chonky French FBU after an edge refresh, and it was wonderfully smooth.
The Weinstrasse-Reflection combo works great, I'll definitely repeat it.
Your collection of “14”s is now very impressive! I admit, I’m still looking for an Iberia, and a Palmera. Hard to find, and trés cher.
Yeah, I'm not ready to drop that kind of money on a 14 right now, but I can see that one day, I'll see a pretty Iberia or Palmera on the bay and will cave 😅
Oh, and this is an interesting one, because it's my only round tip 14, and I've only ever seen those in 3rd or 4th gen Filis.
I’ll see a pretty Iberia or Palmera on the bay and will cave 😅
I was very close with an Iberia that came up on Griffiths but the time just wasn't right :) Lately, I find myself reaching for round point razors more often than not. No muss, no fuss. I very much like the way Ulrik does his rounded square point. Very practical.
Reflection++
so ++
April 14, 2025
First straight razor shave in the books. About 2 years ago I tried one shave with a $.50 half-DE shavette -- this was better.
Weepers, sure... but I didn't have to get out the styptic pencil, and not as many as I thought I'd get.
My deficiencies as a sharpener/honer were on full display, but the razor did cut hair, and as the shave went on my technique improved, and things got easier. I'm going to watch @gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social's video on how to sharpen a straight razor again, now that I have stuff to play with (I think he has a dedicated how-to video, but don't take my word for it). I only have an Atoma 600 and a Naniwa 10k at this point, so I'm sure I would benefit from something like a 6000 or 8000.
So the good news is I'm not totally turned off from straight razor shaving, and I might actually enjoy the challenge! Woohoo!
I have a “fundamentals” video that is way too long, and there’s this “Sharpening Kit” video (also too long).
Congrats on stepping down the straight razor rabbit hole! This is a practice, but you will make it pretty far up the learning curve in the first 30 shaves, and very comfortable after 100 shaves.
I started with a Gold Dollar many years ago. I managed to drop it and break it during the ‘22 Lather Games. Best thing I ever did. The steel is awful and the razors are clumsy.
I’m going to send you my $12 Union razor. This razor is well sorted, has a very comfortable synthetic edge, and will require very little maintenance if you make and use a loaded denim strop.
Yup, I already watched the fundamentals video today and it reinforced some things and answered some other things (mainly about burr removal). I'll check out the other video, too.
Maybe the loaded strop video will answer this question, but do people typically put any treatment on their leather stops, or just use them as is?
Thanks for the Union! I haven't heard of that brand, but I see on Amazon they are still only $13 or $14.
The Union razors available now are made in China and are not of better quality than the Gold Dollar. The one I have is early 20th century and made in Atlanta (or at least marketed from there). It is far better than a $12 razor. I think the person who sold it to me (as part of a 2-razor auction) did not know what it was.
Ohhh, big difference. I used to live in northwest Atlanta. Union City is southwest, not too far.
I looked online and people postulate they were made in Union City, with the blanks possibly coming from a machine factory in the city. I got married at one of the machine factories (an event venue, now) called King Plow, but I didn't see any reference to that place in regards to razors.
It’s a well made razor with good steel and good balance. Helluva razor for $12 😁
Yup, I already watched the fundamentals video
My latest honing video is a tutorial. It was done for the razor’s owner, but there might be something of interest for you.
Normally, people strop on plain leather, or on plain fabric. Stropping realigns the microscopic teeth at the apex. A loaded strop has abrasive and is removing material at the edge. This really isn't necessary to do after every shave.
Many people prefer to strop just before shaving. I prefer to strop after shaving because it helps ensure that the edge is free of moisture. I strop on linen, or flax, then strop on leather. I normally do 20 laps on the fabric, and 40 laps on the leather. If you are looking for a good "first" strop, Duke City, on eBay has a great product. For high quality at a fair price my friend Tony Miller (Heirloom Strops) is the guy.
I have a Duke City strop 👍
Excellent! I bought one a while back just to see what they are like. Really liked it. Gave it to VisceralWatch to help get him started.
April 14, 2025
This was a test shave for this Silver Orchid razor that I honed earlier today. Great little razor, and a great shave. I have not used Shire in quite a while because I consider it more of a summer scent. I really enjoyed revisiting it.
