Thu Oct 10 2024

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Tabak Oridjinal, now with 28 mm Gelousy knot
• Razor: F. Rolli Rolli's Hollow Ground 5/8" (carbon steel, barber's notcho)
• Lather: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
• Post Shave: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
• Fragrance: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original

This little Rolli was produced right here in the old town of Lausanne, 5 minutes on foot from my apartment sometime before 1937. It's in surprisingly great condition and I enjoy the mix of modern and old styles: The barber's notch and the prominent etching on the face are clearly inspired by Sheffield razors of the second half of the 19th century while the fully chamfered spine and the transition from the chamfer to the square cross section of the tang can often be seen on modern (i.e., first half of the 20th century and later) German straight razors. I'm also amused by the mismatch between the small size (5/8") and these design cues from much larger razors. The mirror finish is also neat.

I prefer larger blades, but great shaves like today's make me think I might not have right reasons for this preference.

Sun Oct 06 2024

• Brush: Zenith 506B MB (27 mm × 51 mm Manchurian badger)
• Razor: Thiers Issard 14 Médaille d'Or 1921 Exposition d'Algier Acier Spécial (7/8", extra hollow, square point, carbon steel)
• Lather: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
• Post Shave: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
• Fragrance: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original

Continuing my run through my 14s with this vintage TI. The razor hasn't been stored properly by a previous owner and has specks of surface rust as a result. The rust is purely a cosmetic issue though, and none of the edge is affected. Coincidentally, this TI 14 Médaille d'Or 1921 Exposition d'Algier actually came to me from a Moroccan seller.

This one feels a bit different than most 14s I've tried in that it's much less loud. Even though visually, the grinds look similar, this TI certainly sounds like a thicker grind. It feels more like a 17 than a 14 IMO, but that's just saying that it feels like a different fantastic razor.

Happy Sunday to you all!

Day 30/31 of Looking for Serenity in Austerity

• Brush: Semogue Owner's Club (cherry wood and boar) (30)
• Razor: Zwilling J. A. Henckels Friodur 50 (7/8", hollow ground, stainless steel, masonic deco) (13)
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice
• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice

Friday! Very nice shave yet again.

$FriodomRiders $HoneMeisterschaft $RawHoggin

Day 23/31 of Looking for Serenity in Austerity

• Brush: Semogue Owner's Club (cherry wood and boar) (23)
• Razor: Zwilling J. A. Henckels Friodur 50 (7/8", hollow ground, stainless steel, masonic deco) (6)
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice
• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice

Break-in progress has seemingly stalled for the brush. I don't feel any day-to-day changes anymore, but the tips haven't split yet, so I'm getting curious about when this might start, as I expect a significant change in how the brush feels at that point. I might have to continue this break in through Straightember.

Very nice early morning shave.

$FriodomRiders $HoneMeisterschaft $RawHoggin

Day 22/31 of Looking for Serenity in Austerity

• Brush: Semogue Owner's Club (cherry wood and boar) (22)
• Razor: Zwilling J. A. Henckels Friodur 50 (7/8", hollow ground, stainless steel, masonic deco) (3)
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice
• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Roman Spice

Single digits now, AA is flying by.

but this one feels premium.

It's that extra weight. So decadent 😊

• Brush: Zenith 506B MB (27 mm × 55 mm Manchurian badger)
• Razor: Fatip - Lo Storto - Testa Dentata
• Blade: Derby Extra
• Lather: Abbate y la Mantia – Don Josè
• Post Shave: Ralon – Sport
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – Island Man

Yesterday's BVWSC shave was so nice that I repeated it.

Now I found myself an old wooden lid from a rituals shaving cream

That'll work just fine 👍

• Brush: Zenith 506B MB (27 mm × 55 mm Manchurian badger)
• Razor: Fatip - Lo Storto - Testa Dentata
• Blade: Mühle
• Lather: Barrister and Mann – Oceana (Soft Heart)
• Post Shave: Ralon – Sport
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – Island Man

And off for a day at the beach and the pools. Oceana ++;

Prem Base is now On Prem Base

• Brush: Zenith 506B MB (27 mm × 51 mm Manchurian badger)
• Razor: Zwilling J. A. Henckels 14 (8/8", extra hollow ground, carbon steel)
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles – Reflection
• Post Shave: Catie's Bubbles – Reflection
• Fragrance: Tom Ford – Tobacco Vanille

What a pleasant shave!

This is my first use of Catie's Bubbles Premium base. I was warned by u/J33pGuy13 to load super lightly, and he was right. This base loads quickly and hydrates easily. I'm looking forward to dialling it in over the next few uses, but even this first shave worked out great.

The scent is really something special; dry, spicy, a bit tart somewhere in the background, a hint of sweetness, really fascinating. It invites you to sniff it again and again to understand what's going on. I'm really happy about this blind buy.

Reserve Fern gives my son a bit of frag burn. Oh well.

Lol, when your toddler needs to smell like a grandpa, sacrifices need to be made!

Bon Voyage, Lather Games!

• Brush: Mühle Boar Brush – Deutsche Demokratische Republik (GDR)
• Razor: СПЗ Консул – Українська Радянська Соціалістична Республіка (Ukrainian SSR) #Stainlessless
• Blade: Нева – Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика (Russian Soviet Republic)
• Lather: Купа – Купа – България (Bulgaria)
• Post Shave: Wars – Fresh – Rzeczpospolita Polska (Poland)
• Fragrance: Красная Москва – Красная Москва – Российская Федерация (Russian Federation)
• Me: Switzerland

Another Lather Games edition is in the can, and we made it to the end almost completely without drama! I want to thank the participants and my fellow organisers from the bottom of my heart for a wonderful month of June! I'm looking forward to recording the podcast wrap-up and the winner announcements soon.

Our hobby on this sub is pretty anglo-centric, so I decided to look east for today's international theme instead for a change.

Theme: The cream Купа is from Bulgaria, home of sub legends u/MrTangerinesky and u/DjanovShaving.

Relevant post and frag: All items used are on theme.

Special challenge: The Mühle brush is from the same Mühle company that still makes razors. This NOS brush was made around 1975, shortly after the owner family Müller had been expropriated and the company had been transformed into a Volkseigener Betrieb (Publicly Owned Enterprise, the main legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany). The Razor was made in Severodonetsk in 1990 in the Ukrainian SSR. It's a pretty neat clone of the Gillette Slim. The blade was made in 1963 in Leningrad in the Russian SSR. It's tuggy. The post shave is from (modern, democratic) Poland (fresh!) and Красная Москва is from the modern day Russian Federation ("Smells like a cheap old woman's perfume" - my wife).

An interesting titbit about Красная Москва is that it and Chanel N° 5 have the same origins in the last decades of the Tsarist Russian Empire. Here's an interesting podcast episode about it for those who understand German.