thanks for the info

• Prep: Splash of Cool Water
• Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (527)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (52 uses)
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag

Austere August: Day: 29
MRTNG's Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Confirming easy pickup of lather from a ring-of-death/dying soap tub with the Slurry Lather method. Yep, worked fine.

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹527 uses›)

Same: First pass has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel fine and give a reasonably close shave. 3 quick passes.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)

I just love all the aspects of this scent!

Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.

Lather... Wonderful slurry lather today, from 8 sec of loading.

Again, it seems that if you have a slim ring of soap left in your tub, a wet-load technique like the Slurry lather will make it easy to load up in short time.

Hydration: Perfect (for me)

• 3 sec load with a Very Wet brush
• = 5 passes of lather

Bowl: No Bowl

䷀ Brush Notes

(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹52 uses›)

Same: Comfortable soft tips that do flex some, but that are supported by a base with strong backbone. As with all young boars, I look forward to the tips splitting with more uses and getting softer with use. I am generally using a hair dryer to gently treat the tips and age them just a bit faster than normal.

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
  Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Close Shave
  Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet

• Prep: Splash of Cool Water
• Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (509)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (34 uses)
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag

Austere August: Day: 11
MRTNG's Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Simple quick slurry lather and shave.

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹509 uses›)

Same: First pass has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel fine and give a reasonably close shave. 5 pretty quick passes.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)

I just love all the aspects of this scent!

Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.

Lather... Short on time, so it's the slurry lather today. Worked well, though the 3rd pass didn't have as much moisture as some previous attempts. Simple to add a bit of water to the brush though.

Hydration: Perfect (for me)

• 2 sec load with a Very Wet brush
• = 5 passes of lather

Bowl: No Bowl

䷀ Brush Notes

(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹34 uses›)

Same: Comfortable soft tips that do flex some, but that are supported by a base with strong backbone. As with all young boars, I look forward to the tips splitting with more uses and getting softer with use.

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
  Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Close Shave
  Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet

• Prep: Splash of Cool Water
• Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (508)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (33 uses)
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag

Austere August: Day: 10
MRTNG's Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Needed a quick shave today, and the slurry made it happen.

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹508 uses›)

Same: First pass has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel fine and give a reasonably close shave. 4 pretty quick passes.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)

I just love all the aspects of this scent!

Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.

Lather... 5 swirls loading, because 6 is too much, ha ha!

fine slurry lather. But the 4th pass did lack a little water, but it was easy enough to sprinkle a little back in.

Hydration: Perfect (for me)

• 2 sec load with a Very Wet brush
• = 5 passes of lather

Bowl: No Bowl

䷀ Brush Notes

(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹33 uses›)

Same: Comfortable soft tips that do flex some, but that are supported by a base with strong backbone. As with all young boars, I look forward to the tips splitting with more uses and getting softer with use.

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
  Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Close Shave
  Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet

• Prep: Splash of Cool Water
• Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (507)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (32 uses)
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag

Austere August: Day: 9
MRTNG's Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Today was about a real-time, fairly quick shave, using the Slurry lather method. Not trying to rush, but trying to not be slow, like a fella might be when getting ready for work or in need of a last-minute shave.

The result: 8 minutes! Setup, 3 passes of lather, then tear down. All in eight minutes.

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹507 uses›)

Same: First pass has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel fine and give a reasonably close shave. 3 pretty quick passes.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)

I just love all the aspects of this scent!

Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.

Lather... Same for the slurry: wet one as pass 1, then built to a mature lather by pass 3. But slick all the way.

Hydration: Perfect (for me)

• 2 sec load with a Very Wet brush
• = 5 passes of lather

Bowl: No Bowl

䷀ Brush Notes

(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹32 uses›)

Same: Comfortable soft tips that do flex some, but that are supported by a base with strong backbone. As with all young boars, I look forward to the tips splitting with more uses and getting softer with use.

I am generally using a hair dryer to gently treat the tips and age them just a bit faster than normal. But I skipped it this time, because I was short on time.

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
  Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Close Shave
  Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet

• Prep: Splash of Cool Water
• Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (506)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (31 uses)
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag

Austere August: Day: 8
MRTNG's Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Slurry again, just to continue to gain experience with it. I also talk about a lather style that I know a friend Greg uses.

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹506 uses›)

Same: First pass has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel fine and give a reasonably close shave. 5 pretty quick passes.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)

I just love all the aspects of this scent!

Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.

Lather... Slurry lather again and it did very well. Just 6 swirls, and still too much lather.

Bowl: No Bowl

䷀ Brush Notes

(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹31 uses›)

Same: Comfortable soft tips that do flex some, but that are supported by a base with strong backbone. As with all young boars, I look forward to the tips splitting with more uses and getting softer with use. I am generally using a hair dryer to gently treat the tips and age them just a bit faster than normal.

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: Felt blade but comfortable
  Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Close Shave
  Neck: Several hairs are showing some tip length (still a pretty good shave)

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet

Yay!

• Prep: Splash of Cool Water
• Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (503)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (28 uses)
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag

Austere August: Day: 5
MRTNG's Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Fine lather but irritating shave for some reason today.

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹503 uses›)

It could have been the brush, but I think it's more likely that the blade was too much for my skin today.

Irritation gathered as the shave went on. That just doesn't happen with me except with very aggressive razors.

Maybe the bug spray I had on my face reacted, IDK.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 1 out of 5 (Poor)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)

I just love all the aspects of this scent!

Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.

Lather... Nice slurry lather again. Very slick and easy to whip up and work with.

Hydration: Perfect (for me)

• 8 sec load with a Very Wet brush
• = 6 passes of lather

Bowl: No Bowl

䷀ Brush Notes

(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹28 uses›)

I don't know if the brush have me some burn today or not. I thought it felt quite nice.

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: A little irritating
  Neck: A little irritating
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Close Shave
  Neck: Many hairs show whisker tips with a little length to them

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet

Yeah, I really like my Zenith XS horse brush. I could use it every day and be really happy.

Unlike PorkTater, I wouldn't say it has a "total lack of backbone", but yeah the tips can be though of that way. I think the core/bottom of the knot has more support than some super soft badgers, like silvertips.

The reason you only hear bad things about them is because 95% of them are bad, scratchy garbage that you can only love if you think you're saving animals from abuse. So that opinion is fairly obtained, at least.

The XS from Zenith is a different ... ahem... animal, though. I think the mane hair is softer, but has more flop. And the tail hair is what has that stiffness and scratch. It could be the opposite. But they change the brushes feel, for different models, by varying the percentages of where they take the hair. I don't know what magic LSD-fueled unicorn they pluck the hairs from for the XS, but I love it.

If my own XS was getting as much love as it deserved, I'd offer to buy Pork's XS from him, but I just have too many brushes.

• Prep: Splash of Cool Water
• Razor: Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet (Marathon) (502)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (27 uses)
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag (White Label)
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag

Austere August: Day: 4
MRTNG's Ultra Nightmare Mode
Midnight Stag Challenge

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Great slurry lather today. Everything went very well.

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Timeless - Stainless Steel .68 - Open Comb ::: Gillette - Nacet - M ‹502 uses›)

Same: First pass or two has some tugginess to it. But no irritation that lasts longer than a little tuggy stroke. Latter passes feel great and give a reasonably close shave. 5 pretty quick passes.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 2 out of 5 (Okay)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - White Label)

I just love all the aspects of this scent!

Scent Strength: 6/10, nicely present during shaving.

Lather... Slurry again. Worked out great this time. Very light, but slick on the first pass, and then second, and third got even better as the lather matured. Plenty left over after 5 passes.

Hydration: Perfect (for me)

• 12 sec load with a Very Wet brush
• = 6 passes of lather

Bowl: No Bowl

䷀ Brush Notes

(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹27 uses›)

Brush felt better than yesterday sinceI started out with more soap in the brush. Not plush, but mostly soft and comfy.

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: Just a little tugging
  Neck: Just a little tugging
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Close Shave
  Neck: Many hairs show whisker tips with a little length to them

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet

Thanks for the info!

Prep: Splash of Cool Water
Razor: Henson - Aluminum ++
Blade: Gillette - Nacet (1)
Lather: Noble Otter - Batter's Up
Brush: Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL (24 uses)

Gear Pic :: Video

䷀ General Notes

Trying a Nacet in the Henson, and a new divisive scent from Noble Otter.

䷀ Razor and Blade Notes

(Henson - Aluminum ++ ::: Gillette - Nacet ‹1 uses›)

Shaving off 1.5 weeks of growth, and it did it without a hitch. The first pass was patchy, but that's to be expected considering. The second pass cleaned it up nicely.

The Nacet agrees with the Henson well, as does pretty much every blade I've tried with it.

Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)

䷀ Soap Notes

(Noble Otter - Batter's Up)

Them: "Attention all baseball fans! Gather around and get ready to hear the tale of Batters Up. This fragrance will take you on a journey through the sights and smells of the baseball diamond. ~~ As the game begins, the scent of fresh green pepper and crisp aldehydes fills the air, creating a sense of excitement and anticipation. The crack of the bat can be heard in the distance, as the tarred maple bat hits the ball with a satisfying thwack. ~~ As the game progresses, the scent of violet leaf and musk mingles with the aroma of the baseball glove, evoking memories of those long summer afternoons spent playing catch in the backyard. The fragrance is rounded out with a hint of patchouli, giving it a subtle, earthy undertone. ~~ But what really sets "Batters Up" apart is its strong used leather scent. As you lather up with this shave soap, you'll feel as though you're holding a well-worn baseball glove in your hand."

Notes: Green Pepper, Fresh Aldehydes, Tarred Maple Bat, Violet Leaf, Musk, Baseball Glove, Patchouli

Scent: I could see the green pepper note in there, but it was minimal to me, and it mainly smelled like a brand spanking new leather ball glove. Maybe the aldehydes and tar were what made that happen. I loved it.

Scent Strength: 5/10, present during shaving.

Lather... I did need to add some water after the first pass, but then it was pretty much perfect.

Hydration: A Little Too Dry (for me)

• (0.4 tsp) soap with a Lightly-Wet brush
• 19 ml (3.9 tsp) added to build the lather
• = 9 passes of lather

Bowl: Dollar Tree DIY Bowl w Glass Beads

䷀ Brush Notes

(Zenith - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR B35/508A XL ‹24 uses›)

Same: soft tips, backed with firm backbone at the bottom 50% of the bristles

During the Shave Feel:
  Cheeks: Just a little tugging
  Neck: Just a little tugging
After the Shave Closeness:
  Cheeks: Near BBS - About as close as I'll ever get
  Neck: Cut flush to where I just see the tips (above average for me)

Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet