December 29, 2025

• Brush: Elite Razor Honduran Rosewood Burl 24mm HMW Fan
• Razor: Tanifuji Spalding 0411 6/8" Full Hollow
• Lather: Floris London - No. 89 - Soap
• Toner: Thayers - Coconut - Toner
• Aftershave: Floris London - No. 89 - Aftershave
• Talc: Yardley Gold

2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.

What a shave! No. 89 is so age-appropriate for me. That's certainly a scent I could use in the workplace back in the day.

You are at that!

My scent expert (wife) said they all smell like old lady scents.

And ... what does she think of Tabac? (My wife likes Tabac, but she's an old lady.)

I have, in fact, decided to organize my choices into schmategories; Basically, 5 soaps that I think are unique and interesting. These are not necessarily my favorites, or that fit nicely into some organization. I'll do what I do best nowadays - don't plan, just wing it. I spent nearly 50 years doing detailed plans and justifying every decision. Why in h3ll should I do that now 🤨

December 28, 2025

• Brush: Simpsons Chubby 2 Jade 27mm HMW

• Razor: Dovo Bismarck 6/8" Full Hollow Round Point

• Lather: The Cajun Blade - Atchafalaya - Soap

• Toner: Thayers - Cucumber - Toner

• Aftershave: The Cajun Blade - Atchafalaya Aftersauce - Aftershave

• Talc: Yardley Classic

2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.

This was my second use of Atchafalaya. It is a subtle and intriguing scent. It opens with wild blackberry and that scent is distinguishable but blends with the rest of the fragrance quickly. As the scent opens up, I get whiffs of wood, grass, and earth. There's a feeling of dampness that pervades, but it is light and not boggy. I'm not sure this one's for everybody, but it kind of fascinates me.

Yes, Sean and I are friends. I know that he is aware of (and enjoying) the difficulty I have with this type of challenge. :)

It is an interesting scent. I think it is a staple at The Holy Black, but perhaps Wholly Kaw has moved on from a similar interpretation of it.

This is a YouTube challenge that was given to me. The actual challenge is:

• 5 favorite soaps
• 4 favorite aftershaves
• 3 favorite brushes
• 2 favorite razors
• 1 favorite blade (if a safety razor shaver), or 1 favorite stone (if a straight razor shaver)

With so many soaps, I can't really pick 5 favorites, and I almost always use an aftershave that matches the soap, so I have changed my interpretation of the challenge.

1. My favorite soap with a top-tier lather in each of 5 scent categories.
2. My 4 favorite aftershaves when I don't match the soap scent.
3. My 3 favorite brushes in the badger, boar, and synthetic categories
4. My 2 straight razors that have the most meaning to me
5. My most enjoyable sharpening stone to use.

For soaps, I was going to use "citrus", "aquatic", "barbershop", "bay rum", "gourmand". Now, I'm thinking

• Spicy/Warm
• Floral
• Whisky/Tobacco
• Woods
• Unique

I'm open to ideas.

He is quick once the lather is made, but he uses a single edge razor safety razor. Sean Stapelfeld likes to challenge himself to do very quick shaves with a straight razor. A lot more danger there. My normal 3-pass shave with a straight razor from initial lathering through a quick cleanup is 12 to 15 minutes. I find this allows me to enjoy the shave without thinking about the time it takes. If you want to, it is pretty easy to time-optimize your shaving process. Again, it is more about fitting it into your schedule than anything else.

Oh! I am a big fan of Sri's tallow base and I am a veteran Shulton Old Spice user. I can't believe I haven't tried Twice As Spice! I'm putting it on the list!

I have only tried smushes of APR. To me, it was all about the fragrance. There's nothing wrong with the soap base imo. Just nothing to write home about.

December 27, 2025

• Brush: Wald Flare "Viola" - Lapis Colorway - 28mm A1
• Razor: Thiers Issard Le Transatlantic 7/8" Full Hollow Round Point
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Nomad - Soap
• Toner: Thayers - Coconut - Toner
• Aftershave: Zingari Man - The Nomad - Aftershave

2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.

I'm revisiting this scent in preparation for creating a list of 5 soaps that are my favorites. My take on this is to create 5 categories of soap scent, then find a soap in each category that I could use every day. Nomad falls into the Bay Rum category for me even though it is not a "classic" bay rum scent. I'm a fan of the strong, classic bay rum, but I could not use it every day. I could use this one, though. Enjoy your weekend!