u/BVsaPike's SOTDs for challenge 'Lather Games 2024'

u/BVsaPike submitted 3 SOTDS.
  1. u/BVsaPike posted on 2024-06-01 22:17:19-07:00 (Pacific Standard Time). Reddit Comment (See markdown)

    June 1st 2024 - New All The Things!!

    You probably thought I forgot how to shave, or that this would be about coffee. Guess again bitches!!

    • Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Maggard Razors G5A 26mm Synthetic

    • Razor: Colonial Razors - "The General" Brass

    • Blade: Feather Professional AC

    • Soap: Through The Fire Fine Crafts - The Lake

    • Aftershave: House of Mammoth - Z

    • Fragrance: Calvin Klein - ck One

    • Brew: Dancing Gnome - Tentacle Squad IPA

    Well well well, this is going to be a tough month for me as I've liquidated most of my hardware. Good thing there aren't points for using 30 different brushes and razors anymore...or are there, I haven't read the rules and haven't looked at the calendar. That's right, I'm raw dogging this LG every day. Each day I'll look at the SOTD thread and take it from there. No prep, no plans, I'm just going to improvise.

    Thankfully I went to Maggard's Weed Up this year, because I got some awesome samples from TTFFC, their soap is solid and this scent (The Lake) and Northern Lights were two of my favorites from the meetup. I've never actually used anything TTFFC before so that should count. Though technically they make soaps for Maggard so is this a loophole?

    This brush was also a pickup from the meetup and the first time I've used this knot, it's really nice as far as synthetics go, but I still prefer Badger. Shape isn't my favorite but when I bought the knot a few years ago there wasn't a fan option.

    You'd think that Tentacle Squad is a reference to Squid Games, but this beer has been out since at least 2018. It's a NE IPA but it has more bitterness than most haze bois, that said it's still super fragrant, floral, and grapefruit thanks to all the Vic secret and mosaic hops. I'm not usually a huge fan of mosaic hops, I think they are highly over rated, but this one really hits the spot.

    Detected Items:

    • Razor: Colonial Razors - "The General" Brass
    • Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Maggard Razors G5A 26mm Synthetic
    • Lather: Through The Fire Fine Crafts - The Lake
    • Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Z
    • Fragrance: Calvin Klein - ck One

    Sponsor Uses

    • Dogwood Handcrafts brushes (Hardware Sponsor Points)

  2. u/BVsaPike posted on 2024-06-02 21:33:15-07:00 (Pacific Standard Time). Reddit Comment (See markdown)

    June 2nd 2024 - Ahoy Lather Games!!

    Well I'm back again today, this is the first time I've shaved consecutive days since AA 2022. Not too bad but I figured I should tone down the aggressiveness until I'm back in the swing of things.

    • Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Maggard Razors G5A 26mm Synthetic

    • Razor: Merkur 34G

    • Blade: Feather

    • Soap: Declaration Grooming - Admiral

    • Aftershave: Chatillion Lux - Admiral

    • Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - The Soft Lawn

    • Brew: Onyx Coffee Lab x Pull & Pour Coffee - "Anhydrobiosis" Ethiopia Halo G1 Washed (13% water content)

    Pretty good shave again today, Admiral is one of those very polarizing scents that lots of people loved or hated. I really like it but I don't find that I reach for it very often, it's smoky and floral and just really nice. Shawn describes it as, "Named after and inspired by the famous riverboat that spent many years patrolling the shores of the Mississippi River and was one of the art deco icons of 20th century Saint Louis. This is a sweet breeze on a summer day patrolling the banks by Laclede's Landing. It is a modern scent inspired by the modernist design of the iconic mid-century modern riverboat." So while the aquatic nature of the frag might not fit today's theme, I feel like the fact that it's literally named after a riverboat should fit the nautical theme. "Nautical" does not restrict things to the oceans or seas, it simply means an association with all things maritime including seamen and ships of which "Admiral" would certainly qualify.

    The 34g shaves exactly like the beloved 34c but it's much fancier and plated in gold.

    I figure I'd pick a fragrance that is equally as polarizing as Admiral, The Soft Lawn. For anyone who hasn't smelled this, it smells just like an open can of tennis balls, only worse. Supposedly it has some green and floral and citrus notes but all I get is synthetic rubber balls.

    Anhydrobiosis is "life without water. It encapsulates when microbial activity diminishes to transport coffee globally while maintaining its stability. Only coffee is never devoid of water. The two maintain a symbiotic relationship. Not merely symbolic this connection impacts the lifespan of green coffee & influences the roasting process in significant ways. Exploring variable humidity in green coffee, we've prepared the same coffee in two ways. One has remained at a standard 9% moisture content; the other has been rehydrated to 13%, allowing us to ask, is there really 'life without water?'"

    Grown at 2100 MASL this bean is tiny and dense and generated a lot of fines in my ZP6 but while I wasn't happy with the pourovers I was getting, using astrophysicist, Jonathan Gagné's aeropress recipe yielded me a fantastic cup of coffee. I get lots of sweetness, very light black tea body, and some really nice fresh lemon acidity on the finish. It's a very good coffee but very difficult to dial in.

    I don't know anything about this dinosaur guy but if he won lather games last year, he must be doing something wrong with his life. Nobody ever wins lather games because they are living up to their full potential, they win it because an empty void in their life has them doing ludicrous shaving shit for randos on the internet in the hopes of winning the admiration of people they will likely never meet. But that said, the fact that I've never heard of him and I've only missed the last 2 lather games means that this guy must have come hard and with some solid content because the competition is fierce! Way to go man and congrats on your meaningless internet victory! 🫡

    Detected Items:

    • Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Maggard Razors G5A 26mm Synthetic
    • Lather: Declaration Grooming - Admiral
    • Post Shave: Chatillon Lux - Admiral
    • Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - The Soft Lawn

    Sponsor Uses

    • Declaration Grooming (Software Sponsor Points)
    • Dogwood Handcrafts brushes (Hardware Sponsor Points)

  3. u/BVsaPike posted on 2024-06-03 22:11:27-07:00 (Pacific Standard Time). Reddit Comment (See markdown)

    June 3rd 2024 - Where's the Beef?

    • Soap: Stirling Soap - Glacial Electric Sheep

    • Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Unscented Balm

    • Razor: Merkur 34g

    • Brush: Summer Break Soaps "Devaney" 26mm w/ Maggard SHD

    • Blade: Kai Super Stainless

    • Post Shave: Osma Pierre Alum

    • Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Sonder

    • Brew: Onyx Coffee Lab x Pull & Pour - Anhydrobiosis 9% Ethiopia Halo G1 Washed

    Not too much to say about today's shave, I always use osma as all people should, it's great and if you think differently you are wrong. Glacial Electric Sheep is a great soap but the scent isn't anything that will have your significant other begging for more. The scent is fine, but it's mostly citronella with some actual good smelling things to mellow out the scent of the candles you use to keep bugs away during the summer.

    I'm normally a fan of these Kai blades but they work surprisingly well on the 34g, probably because it's gold and everything is better in gold.

    The wholly Kaw balm is my favorite balm bar none.

    Sonder is just an amazing scent and one of the few things that lives up to the hype. This will in fact get you laid, as long as your partners nose isn't sus.

    As for the coffee, I used Lance Hedrick's Next Level Pulsar recipe and it was a damn good cup of coffee. Nothing that blows me away, but a delicious cup. I usually prefer fruitier coffees with more acidity and this one is really good but it doesn't hit all the notes I need to make me love it.

    Detected Items:

    • Razor: Merkur 34g
    • Brush: Summer Break Soaps "Devaney" 26mm w/ Maggard SHD
    • Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Unscented Balm
    • Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Sonder

    Sponsor Uses

    • Stirling Soap Co. (Software Sponsor Points)
    • Summer Break Soaps brushes (Hardware Sponsor Points)