DaveWave94

Simple, but very nice scent overall. Thanks for the opportunity to try it!

14.11.2024 - Pine Tar-sday

• Brush: RazoRock 400 Noir SE 24 mm
• Razor: Greencult GC 2.0, Plate II
• Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux
• Lather: Chiseled Face Groomatorium - Pine Tar (sample)
• Post-Shave: Thayer's Original toner; Alterra men natural ASB

2 passes on the head, 1 on cheeks and neck. Stellar shave!

Have you heard stories about musicians who've sold one of their instruments, later regretted it, bought the same model again and suddenly everything clicked between them and their instrument? I think the GC 2.0 is such a story for me. We didn't have the best start, someday I put it in a drawer and forgot about it... Until my recent misadventure with the Stando Perun made me dig it out today again! I gave it a nice ultrasonic bath, wiped it clean and put a fresh RPL in it. And damn, now we're onto something. This was just enough blade feel while still being mild enough. I guess if I am using the IV plate, it'd be enough for just one pass on the dome. I really like the fat handle - to quote Anthony Fantano: "Damn boy! He thicc, boy!". Looking forward to more shaves with it - it probably gave me the closest head shave in recent months , that's quite impressive!

Today's sample was graciously provided by @[email protected] - thank you very much! Pine Tar seemed like a good fit for today. Woody, earthy, spicy, a bit dank and mossy. The initial impression is really interesting. A great autumn weather scent IMHO and the solid base of CFG is always nice to use.

Despite having a mandatory homeschooling day, I really got a lot done today - just not a lot for school 😅 tire change appointment for my car, grocery shopping, cleaning razors... Now it's just tomorrow before a week of vacation time. Yay!

Well, it is what it is with the Perun. I actually digged out my Greencult GC 2.0 out again today due to this. At least that one has a solid plating/finish.

Yep, considering the materials and CNC processes alone, the R41 GS is well worth its price.

Zenith makes really awesome brushes at a very fair price point. PantaRei was just my example of choice as they actually seem to care about a full luxurious product instead of a half-assed job like Mühle's brushes and I knew they also do ceramic brushes (at a third of the Mühle price even!)

I see where you're coming from and I think we're generally on the same page. There are also expensive cartridge razors with fancy handles or vibration or heated blades, but no one from our hobby would call a cartridge razor luxurious. The cartridge prices are ridiculous and I think that's what pushed a lot of us into traditional wetshaving: the promise of saving money while finally enjoying to scrape those unwanted hairs off. Of course that was long before we fell down this rabbit hole and are now firmly into the sunk cost fallacy...

Yep, we wouldn't necessarily need a 100+€/£/$ stainless steel razor due to all the vintage brass razors still around in great condition for a quarter of that price. Yet if we actually save that amount and make such a purchase, we expect rock solid quality that should outlast us in the way that vintage razors outlasted their previous owners. Sadly this often isn't the case. Anecdotal evidence, but my Stando Perun really pisses me off in that regard. A 100+€ stainless steel razor simply shouldn't catch rust, period. 😞

Oh yes, the Mühle series in cooperation with Meissener Porzellan is mind-blowing in a negative sense. These are probably more or less collectors items, but I still believe that the fun thing about wetshaving is that you have this collector's obsession aspect of the hobby while actually being able to use your precious items for the intended purpose! However, as you said - that shouldn't be done with this precious porcelain handle razor, since it has just a Zamac head. What an absolute (cruel) joke! Meissen really creates porcelain art and then it's honoured with one of the cheapest materials possible for razor construction (the others being plastic and bakelite, who at least don't corrode easily).

A good contrary example to this might be PantaRei brushes from Italy. Some of their brushes are custom order, made from expensive woods and/or ceramics and most even hand painted... yet you also get a quality horse/boar/badger or synthetic knot in 28 to 30 mm! And Mühles supposed "gold standard" synthetic fibre only goes up to 25 mm as their XL option. Weird. I think they could do lots of things right, e.g. the R41 design was quickly gaining notoriety as a very aggressive shaver, but it's also a very unique design. It's cool that they even came out with the GS model after the success of the Rocca.

I apologize for rambling way too much, but you brought up so many valid points and instigated such a meaningful discussion that I wanted to share my two cents, but instead dropped my whole bank account on you. Sorry 😅

Wow. Great take and I honestly agree 100%!

However, I think there's a socialization component to it too - men, especially in (East) Germany, are rather reluctant to spend too much money on grooming tools and something for their self care. They can justify buying expensive tools and cars or motorcycles, but when it comes to their grooming the bare minimum has to suffice. "I can't justify spending so much money on a safety razor!" is a common sentiment. I know since that was how I used to think before finally having an epiphany after shaving with your Rocca that you lent me. Mühle as well as Merkur could totally focus on high quality materials, especially the former: have an inexpensive line of Zamac razors under your nom brand, everything Mühle will be at least aluminium heads on fancy material handles. That makes wetshaving accessible for students and folks with a low income while keeping your brand identity as a luxury item. Because if we're being honest, a well made safety razor (or straight razor, or shaving brush) is a luxury item. I also don't see the point of putting Zamac heads on porcelain or ebonite handles that look really awesome. Worst case scenario, someone has a broken and unusable razor at home that has cost them 200+€.

Good point about quality and luxury often not going hand in hand despite the public expectation that it does. I personally think we might need to push companies in the right direction by voting with our wallets: if we only buy products from materials that will stand the test of time, maybe then companies produce more of those and less Zamac crap. Shame to hear about the brush though. It looks so great, but a lackluster knot in an awesome handle is still a below average brush. I can relate with the Cooldog brushes I used to own: very cheap synthetic knots set at a very low loft, making it look almost like a make-up brush and coins that were only glued in with a cheap adhesive sticker so they fell out. In fact, I enjoyed my cheap RazoRock brushes way more than these (supposedly) premium products! So I just put them away.

I think WestMan is somewhat overlooked.

I totally agree. WestMan makes some really great products. In general, european artisans are somewhat overlooked due to them being rather quiet in the marketing front (HAGS being the exception there). WestMan's soap base, as well as the one by José/Los Jabones de Joserra is very creamy, rich and thick while retaining great slickness. Top notch stuff 👍🏻

It isn't that nice.
It catches rust despite supposedly being made of stainless steel.
It is very mild, needs a rather sharp blade - Voskhods don't really cut well unless you just have peach fuzz. Pros are that it is nice to hold and the blade tabs are covered. That's it though...

12.11.2024 - Coffee in the evening

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin handle w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid knot
• Razor: Stando Perun
• Blade: Voskhod
• Lather: WestMan - MazaGran
• Post-Shave: Osma alum block; Westman - MazaGran balm

1 pass plus buffing on both head and face. Overall, a rather comfortable but not very close shave.

Figured some coffee notes would do wonders, so today was a call for WestMan's MazaGran. A gourmand scent of a coffee cocktail. The base is rather picky to hydrate - seems like there's not much room for error about adding too much water. That's also why I did just one pass on each part... This matching balm also seems to have gone bad. Ugh, I definitely need replacements soon.

Coupled the Perun with a mild blade and suddenly it's ill-equipped to deal with my face. It was comfortable in comparison to my Hawk V2 face shave, but it looks like I used a dry shaver. Well, all in all it's not quite what I hoped for at this price point.

Also, first time today where I used alum but not on any spot that I shaved - the spots behind my ears are currently having a very hard time and are prone to breaking open, which hurts like hell. Alum was good to seal it up and I don't mind that short-term sting much.

Have fun diving into vintage razor hunting and get both. That's the spirit 😉

@[email protected] , I definitely second the recommendation of a vintage Schick injector razor - they are the most similar to a cartridge razor and you should be able to find them in pretty good condition on the used market. Schick injector blades should be available at Maggards or eBay. Just a heads up, their chrome plating is very prone to flaking if you use aggressive cleaners - mine now look vintage AF™

I adore SE razors, but the downside to them is very little variation in blade types they offer. For example, vintage GEM razors are really great IMHO - but the only great GEM blade for actual shaving are Personna GEM PTFE blades. When it comes to AC blades, I prefer the guarded ones by KAI and Feather - but then again, those two japanese manufacturers are the only two I know of who produce AC blades at all. The Leaf Thorn I own uses half DE blades and it's a good razor, but a bit expensive for the quality of its material (zinc alloy, so don't drop it too often).

My recommendation for a beginner SE razor would be a vintage GEM Star, Flying Wing or Ever-Ready 1912. Note that GEM razors are notoriously difficult for shaving your upper lip though - as I wear a stache I won't be able to help there, but @[email protected] should have some tips.

09.11.2024 - Face Shave test

• Brush: vintage yellow bakelite handle w/ 22 mm SynBad knot
• Razor: RazoRock Hawk V2
• Blade: KAI Protouch MG
• Lather: Abbate Y La Mantia - Blu Tobacco
• Post-Shave: Osma alum block; Moon Soaps Old School "balm"; Natura Siberica ASB gel

Just a two pass face shave around the 'stache and patch. Rather rough shave, a good amount of weepers and some red areas on the neck. Guess that blade's over its limits.

Was kinda refreshing to shave my face again after such a long time, but it shows that I am not used to this anymore. My face also seems to prefer mild and smooth razors, which the Hawk V2 is definitely not. Blu Tobacco was not to blame, it's a very good hard soap that makes me miss menthol cigarettes.

The good thing is, in contrast to head shaving, shaving my face is not a "must do" but rather "can do" for me. Due to the moustache style and my very visible beard shadow, it actually still looks well groomed even with a few days of stubble - I only need to trim the neck and it even looks intentional. Judging by today's IKEA visit and most guys I saw there, I'm definitely not looking like a bum with stubble. But I enjoy shaving around the moustache the most, as it works even better than a zero gap trimmer for getting crisp contours - an oddly satisfying thing to me. I like to spice things up from time to time, so I'm grateful for having that variability/versatility now again.