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

June 1, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Weck Sextoblade
• Blade: Kismet hair shaper
• Lather: Colgate Shaving Mug Soap
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Man From Mayfair AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

I picked this cake of soap up from the PIF table at the Maggard Meet. I've never tried vintage Colgate. The puck has no scent whatsoever, just a faint smell of soap. I underloaded and had a weak lather for the first pass. I fixed that for the subsequent passes. I worked the brush longer and with more water on the puck. It made a huge difference. The shave was decent. It was nothing to write home about, but I've had worse shaves.

June 2, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: GEM Damaskene
• Blade: GEM SS PTFE
• Lather: Reef Point Soaps - Classic Barbershop
• Post Shave: Clubman AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

Here's a blast from the past...Reef Point Soaps. This brand was never the most popular on Reddit, but it did get used a lot. The base formula is pretty basic, but it has always worked pretty well for me as it did today. This tub is from the early days in the white tubs and a 6oz pour. The tubs later changed to blue and the pours became the now ubiquitous 4oz pour. It was a side gig for the artisan and the brand folded when it was no longer a practical endeavor.

June 3, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Mongoose Alumigoose
• Blade: Kai Captain Mild
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Electric Sheep
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

Stirling mutton tallow is an apex base IMHO. It likes my hard water and more importantly my skin likes it. Mutton tallow could very easily be my one and only.

This brush is fantastic. I have just over 40 shaves on it and it's fully broken in. It doesn't struggle to make lather with any soap I've used with it.

Off to go to the farm market.

June 4, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Parker Variant
• Blade: Feather
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Lavender (Black Label)
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

I bought this soap years ago. The Black Label base was similar to, if not exactly like, the White Label base. Black Label offerings came in a 5.5 oz pour instead of the 4oz pour the White Label soaps came in. They were made during the same era. I really like this thirsty base. This straightforward scent is my benchmark for the genre.

I finally got an enjoyable shave with this razor. I need to keep using it. I rarely come across a razor that takes so long for me to get good with it.

June 7, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Dovo shavette
• Blade: Personna hair shaper
• Lather: Mike's Natural Soaps - Vetiver
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

I used this soap a couple weeks ago when I toured my vetiver soaps. It seemed like a good day to use it again.

This brush is stupid good.

June 8, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Weck hair shaper (short model)
• Blade: Kismet hair shaper
• Lather: Maggard Razors - Limes & Bergamot
• Post Shave: Clubman AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

This is the very first artisanal soap I bought. It was on my first visit to Maggard Razors just 2 weeks after they moved from the original location to their beautiful historic building where the business is now located. The store has changed quite a bit since those days. I don't visit as much as I used to, but every time I do I can't help but buy stuff I really don't need.

June 9, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Weck hair shaper
• Blade: Kismet hair shaper
• Lather: Mike's Natural Soaps - Barbershop
• Post Shave: Clubman AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

I've used Mikes more in the past couple of weeks than I have in the past year it think. I should use it more. It's a good product. I just have way too many soaps that I don't use enough. And what do I do? I go to a shave meet and buy more.

June 10, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Weck Sextoblade
• Blade: Kismet hair shaper
• Lather: Chatillon Lux x Declaration Grooming - Fourth & Pine (Bison)
• Post Shave: Chatillon Lux x Declaration Grooming - Fourth & Pine AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

I bought this splash when it was first released and then I bought the soap at a later date. Shawn knew that I am not overly fond of alcohol splashes as a general rule and he told me that this splash might be up my alley because the alcohol content was less than what splashes usually contain. It fits the bill in that regard and the skin goodies are quite substantial. I'm nearly out of this splash so I'll need to replace it with a bottle of it under its current name of "88 Chestnut". And I can't say anything about Bison base that hasn't been said before. It's one of the best bases ever made IMHO.

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: GEM Damaskene
• Blade: GEM SS PTFE
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Literal Lilac (Luxury Cream)
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

Literal Lilac is appropriately named. It captures the smell of lilac in full bloom. This Luxury Cream base is no joke. It's seriously good. It's one of the best bases I have ever used and I've used a lot of bases.

June 12, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Mongoose Alumigoose
• Blade: Kai Captain Mild
• Lather: Palmolive - Classica (cream)
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

I use this cream very infrequently. I bought it with the intention of using it for travel, but I just take a cheap stick when I travel. Go figure. It's a decent cream though. It doesn't really take very much product to make a good lather. It's an acceptable choice for a no nonsense shave.

June 13, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Parker Variant
• Blade: Feather
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Arkadia
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Trismegistus liniment
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

I cant go wrong with a Stirling lather. And this is a nice dupe of TdH as is Trismegistus from DG. This brush continues to impress the hell out of me. It lathers any soap with ease.

June 14, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Schick Type I1
• Blade: Schick
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Glacé Herbe
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

I'm not a fan of menthol particularly, but I am a fan of vetiver. This soap is my benchmark for vetiver.

Wow! Just wow! O_H appreciation day! Ironically I'm not gonna shave today, but I am honored for the group nod in my direction. I'd like to add one more activity that one can do to be in the O_H brotherhood and that is to drop a deuce in a depression in the earth.

June 25, 2024

• Brush: Semogue 610
• Razor: Weck hair shaper (short model)
• Blade: Kismet hair shaper
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Scots Pine Sheep
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

This was the first mutton tallow soap I bought and it hooked me on the base. The name accurately describes the scent.

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Zenith 506U XSE
• Razor: Weck hair shaper
• Blade: Kismet hair shaper
• Lather: Bufflehead Soap Co. - Signature
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

This is one of a number of dead soap brands I have. I guess it's another means of illustrating that I have way too much soap. In its day this brand was hyped more than any other of its era largely because of its scarcity. It was amusing to see how people mined salt when they got a tub and equally amusing to see how people reacted to not being able to get a new tub. FFS...it's just soap.

June 29, 2024

• Brush: Zenith B33
• Razor: Mongoose Alumigoose
• Blade: Kai Captain Mild
• Lather: Storybook Soapworks - Hallward's Dream
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Awesome AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

Another dead brand. Back in the day this was a popular brand, not on the level of some other brands' popularity, but it showed up a lot in SOTD posts. As with most (all) my other dead brands and bases this one still works good for me. The scent on this one is very much sandalwood forward. My caveman nose can smell only the sandalwood.

June 30, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: Parker Variant
• Blade: Feather
• Lather: Valobra - Cologne
• Post Shave: Epsilon - Blue Mediterranean AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

RIP Valobra. This was a great brand that went away unexpectedly. The brand was bought by the parent company of Proraso and then was suddenly discontinued for some reason. Some people have said that the corporate entity wanted to take the brand out of competition with Proraso. I have a hard time believing that one. Because Valobra occupied a much different space in the market than something like Proraso. Others have stated that discontinuing Valobra was an accident. What? Seriously? I find that claim to be pretty ridiculous. Whatever the reason for its disappearance it's a loss. Valobra made great shaving soaps.