July 28, 2023
- Brush: Yaqi Cavern Lake 24mm Tuxedo
- Razor: Gold Dollar Classic (Straight Shave 280)
- Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Margaritas in the Arctic - Soap
- Post Shave: Combe Inc. - Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue - Aftershave
- Post Shave: Thayers - Lemon - Toner
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
These are all of the most cost-effective products in my collection. I care not a wit about frugality when it comes to shaving, and moved into wetshaving to develop better technique and to enjoy the shaving experience (daily) as much as possible.
The Gold Dollar straight razor is the model I used years ago when I made my first serious attempt at straight razor shaving. This is not the razor. I dropped that one and broke it. This is the replacement. It is poorly balanced and provides no joy with its complete lack of quality. How did I get an excellent shave? Well, I did hours of spine work to take the bevel angle from 21° down to 16°, and there were geometry issues requiring correction as well. In this particular razor, the steel is tempered well enough that it holds an edge. That is not always true with these razors. My point is that I'm getting an excellent shave with a razor that is anything but off-the-shelf.
The Margarita (an actual Margarita) in the photo was made last night for both the photo and to lift my spirits to be more optimistic for using the Gold Dollar today.