July 19, 2023
- Prep: Truefitt & Hill - Ultimate Comfort - Pre-shave Oil
- Brush: Truefitt & Hill Wellington 24mm Silvertip
- Razor: Rolls Razor #SELFSHARPENING
- Lather: Truefitt & Hill - Grafton - Cream
- Post Shave: Unilever - Brut - Aftershave
- Post Shave: Thayers - Lemon - Toner
- Fragrance: Floris Elite - Eau de Toilette
2 passes. Bowl lather. Excellent shave.
A very English shave today. The Truefitt & Hill products were part of a gift set that I received. Everything I've tried from them is top notch. With 218 years of being in business they've had time to get it right. Rolls Razor Ltd was headquartered in London, as is Floris and Truefitt & Hill. So, English.
The T&H pre-shave is has a very light citrus scent. The pre-shave is a mix of a variety of oils including avocado, coconut, bergamot, mandarin orange, and grapefruit. I'm assuming it is the last three oils that give it its scent. The oil is, well, oily, but it does seem to protect the skin and allow the razor to glide. I normally make my own pre-shave from lather paste (aka protolather). I prefer my method, but it's nice to change it up occasionally.
The Grafton cream is a spicy fougère. Scent strength is on the strong side and takes me back to the smells of '50s and '60s. It pairs very well with Brut, but really, what doesn't?
Finally, I went with a sample of Floris Elite. You can read all of the notes of this scent. I just get the blend of notes when I use it. Seems very nice and masculine to me; especially after it dries down.
And then there's the Rolls. Not this one, this one. I have shaved with a Rolls before. u/Tetriside sent me his blade to sharpen and I asked for the handle to be sent as well so I could test shave with it. But thanks to u/djundjila I was able to get the full Rolls system experience!
He sent me a spare blade to sharpen as well. Because I identified today (English day) to use the razor, I've had time to study the packaging and to sharpen the spare blade. To me, the system is a set of compromises except for the box aesthetics which look like "quality"; especially for the early to mid 20th century time period.
I had issues sharpening the spare blade. I think oxidation has weakened the steel at the edge. Nonetheless, I tried finishing it on the Rolls hone, and stropping it on the Rolls strop. I don't have microscope images, but it was a disaster. The edge was chipped when I was done.
The shave was done with the "good" blade. I sharpened this one too, but that was more to do with worry about similarities with the spare one than the good blade's shave-ready condition.
The actual shave went just fine. The Rolls is basically a straight razor with a blade size and handle like an Ockmock (yes DJ I read your posts). I don't care for the balance of this affair, but was able to get a very close, comfortable shave from it.
Photo contest theme: Royals. Not the stretch of imagination you might think. I try to relate all themes to shaving. In this context, Truefitt & Hill are barbers and Royal Warrant holders to H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh. And, Floris claims Royal Warrants from King George IV and Queen Elizabeth II.
#photocontest