sahenders

Theme Thursday - Godspeed Voyagers!

• Brush: AKA Brushworx Sea Creature 26mm AK7 Synthentic Knot
• Razor: Blackland Razors Blackbird Ti
• Blade: Gillette Platinum [7]
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Delta-V - Soap
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Orbit - Aftershave

Excellent shave, incredible scents!

It’s a Voyager 1 themed Thursday at r/wetshaving, so I want to plug the documentary It’s Quieter in the Twilight about the handful of JPL engineers still working the Voyager project.

Rating: 4.5/5

The scent notes for Narcisse look really intriguing.

Gentleman’s Nod - Musashi

Sep 4, 2024 - Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana

• Brush: AKA Brushworx Orange Resin 26mm Tuxedo Synthentic Knot
• Razor: Mühle R41
• Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (Green) [12]
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Nordost - Soap
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Daydream - Aftershave
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Everett - Extrait de Parfum

Rating: 4/5

Sep 3, 2024 - Still Life with Apple

• Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Souls 26mm Manchurian T1 Badger Knot
• Razor: Blutt Rasur BR-1 0.99
• Blade: Gillette Nacet [8]
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Braeburn - Soap
• Post Shave: Grooming Dept - Laundry II - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Alive - Eau de Parfum

Crisp apples and fresh laundry to start today off.

Rating: 4/5

Glad to hear that the soap arrived. The soap base creates a low structured, very slick lather. The proto-lather can be a bit stringy at first if you start with your brush on the drier side. I think the scent profile of DSP is much more about being deep in the forest and less about the night sky. The invigorating evergreens and oak moss are much more prominent, while the lavender helps to round the scent out.

Oro Valley++

This soap caused me to seek out a sample of the Ombre Leather fragrance, and it did not disappoint.

Sep 2, 2024 - Macduffs Monday

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Punch 26mm v24 Badger Knot
• Razor: Karve Shaving Co. Overlander
• Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (Green) [12]
• Lather: MacDuffs Soap Company - Dark Sky Preserve - Soap
• Post Shave: MacDuffs Soap Company - Dark Sky Preserve - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: Chicago Grooming Co. - Classic Clean - Eau de Parfum

While I’ve sampled DSP before, this is my first use with the new set, and the first use with this brush. They’ve been sitting on the shelf patiently waiting until September.

Rating: 4.5/5

AA24 - Day 31 - Final Day

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [31]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Splash

• Fragrance: Gentleman’s Nod - Jackie - Eau de Parfum

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

Hopefully, I managed to earn the 🍀🐑Shepherd of Stirling🐑🍀 badge using Varen for the entire month. Same razor, same soap, and same brush in Extreme Mode, plus the same blade challenge from Ultra Nightmare mode.

Varen was not a difficult scent to use for the month. In fact, I appreciate it’s complexity more now than when I started. Mutton is a fantastic, premium base as well.

This brush has progressed nicely, but I still don’t think it’s fully broken in. After a month of use, the boar stench is barely noticeable. I believe I’ll stick to bleached boar knots in the future.

This is the longest I’ve pushed a DE blade, and I’m not inclined to do it again anytime soon. I’m glad that I managed to finish out the month with it. I had to adapt my technique for the last week in order to still get close and comfortable shaves.

With the familiarity of this setup, I also managed to reduce the time of my routine by an average of five minutes. This was a personal challenge for the month that I was trying to achieve.

Brush Break-In Progress Album

Final Tub Check: 163g
Overall Usage: 38g
Average Per Day: 1.2g

AA24 - Day 29 - Lavendursday

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [29]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Lavanille - Splash

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

Brush Break-In Progress Album

AA24 - Day 28 - Witchcrafts Wednesday

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [28]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougère Nemeta - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)

• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougère Nemeta - Eau de Parfum

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

I guess it’s been awhile since I’ve used Nemeta because, in my mind, I was worried that Varen would overpower it, but that was not a problem.

Brush Break-In Progress Album

AA24 - Day 27 - Barrbarr

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [27]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Barrbarr - Splash

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

Another cool morning, and pairing with BarrBarr was a great choice.

Brush Break-In Progress Album

🤌

AA24 - Day 30 - Fougère Friday

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [30]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: Noble Otter/House of Mammoth - Cerberus Fougere - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Declaration Grooming/House of Mammoth - Cerberus Fougere - Eau de Parfum

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

I had to get in a pairing with Cerberus Fougère before the end of the month, and it did not disappoint.

One more day with this blade, and then I can bin it. I’m looking forward to using a fresh blade again.

Brush Break-In Progress Album

Good to see! I hope you enjoy.

AA24 - Day 25

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [25]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Splash

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

The last week of AA is here.

Brush Break-In Progress Album

AA24 - Day 26 - Uitwaaien

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [26]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Uitwaaien - Splash

• Fragrance: Armaf Perfume - Tres Nuit - Eau de Toilette

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

There’s a bit of a chill in the air this morning, and Uitwaaien felt like a good choice to pair with Varen.

Brush Break-In Progress Album

AA24 - Day 24

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [24]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Waves - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

I’m finding a middle ground between closeness and comfort to hopefully finish out the month with this blade.

Brush Break-In Progress Album

AA24 - Day 23 - Fougère Friday

• Brush: Zenith Multi-Color (2006 XSE) 21mm Unbleached Boar Knot

• Razor: Aylsworth Razors Drakkant Plus

• Blade: Gillette Platinum [23]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap (Mutton Tallow)

• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Co. - AG 1889 - Splash

• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Druantia - Eau de Parfum

• Tags: $ShepherdsofStirling $RawHoggin $Discord

Happy Friday!

Brush Break-In Progress Album

Does that seem low? I do a 20-30 second load and I get enough lather for at least 2 passes. Even at that it still takes a couple minutes to dial in properly.