June 6, 2024

• Brush: Stirling 24mm Synthetic
• Blade: Dorco SD507 disposable (8)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Gin & Tonic - Soap
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Musk - After Shave Cologne
• Post Shave: Goodfellow & Co. - Face Lotion - Kelp & Sea Mineral

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Tech (Z-4)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (3)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Diamond - Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Petrichor - Aftershave

With scent notes of freshly cut grass, stadium soil, beer, leather, pine, cedar, popcorn, and caramel to conjure the unforgettable experience of attending a big league game, (freshly cut grass being listed first), this scent is decidedly on-theme.

Petrichor aftershave is meant to smell like the dirt of New England. You can't have baseball, grass, beer, leather, pine, cedar, popcorn, or anything else for that matter -- without dirt. So that makes it a related scent.

June 14, 2024

• Brush: AP Shave Co. - 24mm Synbad Fan
• Razor: Blackland Era - Level 3 SB
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (5)
• Lather: Black Ship Grooming - Shiver Me Timbers - Soap
• Post Shave: Chatillon Lux - Weinstrasse - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Barrister & Mann - Lavender, Interrupted - EdP

CNC

For the CNC tag, CNC means "computer numerical control", so even thought this razor is 3D printed instead of machined, CNC is used. The computer controls the up/down/left/right, and voila.

Shiver me Timbers has menthol. I hate menthol, but this was actually a nice amount and relatively pleasant.

June 16, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm 2 Band Badger
• Razor: Blackland Era - Level 3 SB
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (7)
• Lather: Arko - Soap
• Post Shave: Pinaud - Clubman Special Reserve - Aftershave

Another great Arko shave. As it turns out, it meets today's theme, too! This page says Arko has been around since 1957. I was born in the 1980's.

June 17, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm 2 Band Badger
• Razor: Blackland Era - Level 3 SB
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (8)
• Lather: Wet Shaving Products - Black Amber Vanille - Soap
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Incorporeal - Aftershave

Before today I would have told you to steer clear of the Rustic soap base from Wet Shaving Products, because it's pretty much garbage compared to, well, everything.

Today I cracked the code, though, and the lather was honestly pretty decent. I loaded heavy with a dry-side-of-damp brush to avoid things bubbling up too much. The initial lather was the consistency of marshmallow fluff™, and after adding a suitable amount of water, the lather was good.

The only thing (ok two things) that have kept this soap in my collection is 1) it was a gift from a dear friend, and 2) the scent is fucking amazing. It's right up my alley.

Figured I'd use an aftershave from a notable vegan artisan, Southern Witchcrafts.

June 18, 2024

• Brush: L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
• Razor: Blackland Era - Level 3 SB
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (9)
• Lather: Central Texas Soaps - Down By The River - Soap
• Post Shave: Old Spice - Hawkridge - Aftershave
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir - EdP

Central Texas Soaps is no longer around. I double checked to see if maybe they kept making bar soap to sell locally (they used to sell stuff at farmer's markets and the like), but their website is gone, Insta profile gone, and Facebook gone.

The price tag on this tub says $12.75 for 5oz. of soap. I originally gave the brand a try because they accepted cryptocurrency, and at the time I was a crypto hundred-aire, so it was an easy splurge. I liked the soap so much, I bought a second tub.

This scent is marketed as a dirty river type of smell, but it's really fresh and bright, with a natural freshness to it that I really enjoy.

Challenge: Today I shaved with a Black Land double edge holder, and a Bolzano razor. I've used this blade 9 times so far. How many shaves do razors last for? I'm thinking of getting a new tub of soap. I see some brands with some really cool labels that I think I'll get. I don't know anything about the companies or people who make the soap, but the cartoons and scantily clad women on the lid are pretty dope.

June 19, 2024

• Brush: Alpha Shaving Works T-400 w/ AP Shave Co. - 24mm Synbad Fan #FRANKENBRUSH #RESURRECTIONBRUSH
• Razor: Merkur Futur #ADJUSTABLE #FLIPTOP #ZAMAC
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (10)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Promises - Soap
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Woodshop - Aftershave

Barrister & Mann soap is made in New York, and the founder of the company says he splits his time between New York and Massachusetts. Double whammy!

I picked Promises because I bought a tub of it yesterday when it was on sale for $5. Now that I've spent money on it, the sample smells better. Funny how that works.

Woodshop is SO good. Get some.

I started on setting 4 with the Merkur Futur, and decided that anything above setting 3 and it ceases to be a "safety" razor. I turned it down to setting 1 for the final pass. It's funny to me that such an expensive razor is made out of a cheap material like zamac, but I think a razor of this design would simply be way too expensive using any other metal.

Meme

June 20, 2024

• Brush: Zenith 508A XL/Bristle (B35) (MOAR BOAR) 31mm #SUBBROOSH #SHD
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24 #MODERNGEM
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (1)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Smokey Grapefruit - Soap
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Ice Blue - Aftershave
• Fragrance: G. Bellini - Homme - EdT

No special challenge for me, but I hope everyone who attempts it has good weather.

Smokey Grapefruit smells just like it sounds. Grapefruit is the main scent, with a smokey background similar to what you might smell with tinned smoked herring. Probably a "liquid smoke" type of smoke scent.

Grapefruit is a citrus, so that's my argument for being on theme.

Relevent post-shave and frag: Aqua Velva Ice Blue is a really nice aquatic scent with a hint of menthol. Perfect for summer. G. Bellini Homme is a cheap knockoff of Dior Sauvage I got from Lidl. I'll leave it to the judges discretion, because the fragrantica page for Sauvage doesn't really make it sound citrusy, although bergamot is a top note. This knock-off is a citrus bomb to my nose.

June 21, 2024

• Brush: Wolf Whiskers "Coffee & Cream" with DG B1
• Razor: GEM Damaskeene
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (2)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Topanga Fougere - Soap
• Post Shave: Barbasol - Brisk - Aftershave

If you've ever smelled Martin de Candre "Fougere", this is very similar. I prefer Topanga Fougere, as it's slightly less bright and comes in a better soap base.

The Damaskeene is pretty much the perfect GEM razor for me. It's mild compared to most other GEM options, but the results are pretty damn good! Not as close of a shave as, say, a Micromatic Open Comb, but more more fun.

Would we be having this much fun
And had a 10 year run
Without a team of nerds
Reading all of these words
Especially that guy Onion

June 22, 2024

• Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3 #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: GEM Damaskeene
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (4)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann/Zingari Man - Nocturne - Soap
• Post Shave: Chatillon Lux - Gratiot League Square - Aftershave

I can't believe these Trafalgar brushes are $45 now. I think when my wife got it for me they were closer to $30? Maybe I'm remembering wrong.

Anyway, assuming this is the knot they use, it's $21 at AP Shave Co. https://apshaveco.com/products/28mm-independent-synthetic-fibre-knot-bulb-uhd

June 23, 2024

• Brush: AP Shave Co. - 24mm 2Bed Synthetic #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1) #CNC
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (11)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Almond Creme - Soap
• Post Shave: Old Spice - Hawkridge - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Brut - EdT

Theme justification, from the Stirling website:

Scent Description

Delicious Marzipan is the second name for this soap. It really needs no other description, other than to say you might try to eat it. It tastes like soap, though. Don’t ask how I know…..For Men and Women.

I used the "#CNC" tag earlier in the games, but thanks to the portal I was able to realize that I effed it up and put it in the wrong place. So here's my second attempt at getting that scavenger hunt item.

For the "#FAUXFUR" tag, it will be up to the lovely judge to decide. The AP Shave Co. website doesn't have much in the way of marketing descriptions, but with the lower part of the bristles being light colored, then a band of darker color, then another band of light color -- it looks like it's imitating a badger knot. But, if it's deemed to not count, I'm ok with that.

June 24, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm G5 Synthetic #FAUXFUR #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (12)
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Royal Garden - Soap
• Post Shave: Spearhead - Seaforth! Heather - Toner
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Jitterbug - EdP

Really good shave, especially considering the 12 uses on the blade so far.

This is a fun theme and makes me reflect on my first year or two, how people kept sending me stuff without me even asking. It got to a point where I started telling people "no, please, stop".

I got Royal Garden before competing in my first Lather Games in the year 2021. I started wetshaving in July 2020, so I had a full year to get hyped and stocked up. /u/ramjet615 sent me this big 2 oz Cbubs sample, along with a bunch of other samples. I think I still have some of them, but this is the only one that I specifically remember coming from him.

The #FAUXFUR hastag can be justified here. Even though this is a Maggard branded knot, it's the same "G5" type.

PREMIUMPLASTIC $31.95

Relevant post-shave and frag: This aftershave was given to me by my lovely wife as a birthday gift (along with matching soap and frag), so I didn't pay for it. Jitterbug was given to me by /u/mammothben after I helped make him a spreadsheet that changed his life forever, so I didn't pay for it.

Challenge: The next sub-exclusive soap should be made by someone who still posts on the sub. There are a lot of artisans with deep histories on reddit who have since moved on to bigger and better things. I nominate Summer Break Soaps (/u/rocketk455 ), because he still posts in the sub all the time.

Runner up would be Spearhead, because they did a PIF recently.

June 25, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm G5 Synthetic
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (13)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Promises - Soap
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - The Night Before - Aftershave
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Jitterbug - EdP

I got Promises recently for $5. This was the maiden shave for this particular tub. I had a sample prior to this and had no plans on buying it, but for $5 the scent is absolutely worth it. From the B&M website (taken from the aftershave page because the soap is sold out):

Winter is a special time in Upstate New York. Deer season opens, folks fire up their wood stoves, and the mountains become dusted with caps of glittering snow.

But, more exciting than any of those, the snowmobile trails open again. Promises is an ode to this most exhilarating time of the year, the smell of a warm drink from a thermos while out on the trail with friends. Notes of orange and bergamot are suffused with the warmth of real honey, whiskey lactone, peat, and nutmeg. To finish it off, we’ve incorporated the strange, rubbery, industrial character of a high grade saffron molecule to give the scent the feel of being out on the trail with idling sleds all around.

Promises is a slice of Northeastern wintertime. Let it snow!

This blade won't quit. Excellent shaves all around.

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (14)
• Lather: Noble Otter - Batters Up - Soap
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Hamami - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Hamami - EdP

Batters Up got such a bad rap, and it's really too bad -- but it's honestly one of my all time favorites. It's so good.

Relevant post and frag: Hamami is another scent from Noble Otter that tends to be divisive, and it's also one of my all-time faves. So the relevance is that the scents are not loved by all, but are super-loved by me.

Brush cleaning - My brushes get a thorough rinse with warm water (even if I do a cold water shave) after every shave. I have a water softener in my house, so soap scum (the white residue, which to my knowledge is mostly stearic acid) takes a very long time to develop, or doesn't develop at all. If I do clean a brush, I'm cleaning the white residue off the handle with a dry towel. It wipes right off.

June 27, 2024

• Brush: Semogue 610
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (15)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Lyssa - Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Lyssa - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Jōvan Musk - EdT

This brush misses the #SMOLL scavenger hunt by 1mm. Oh well. It's a small brush, but never has any trouble providing enough lather for 3+ passes.

Lyssa is an interesting floral scent. It's floral without being flowery. I found this teaser video while researching scent notes (caution, it's a facebook link).

According to this website, the scent notes are: rose, geranium, ashes, nutmeg, saffron, sage, oud, labdanum, oakmoss, patchouli, tobacco, smooth musk and Violets. The Wetshaving Database lists them slightly differently, as Saffron, Tobacco, Oud, Violet, Sage, Patchouli, Nutmeg, Ash, Oakmoss, Labdanum, Rose, Geranium.

Eiher way, that's more than 10.

Relevant post shave and fragrance - Each item used today is used to either repel or attract. Lyssa is a zombie repellent, and musk is used by a lot of animals to attract mates. For me, however, it seems to repel my spouse.

June 28, 2024

• Brush: L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (16)
• Lather: Williams - Mug Soap - Soap
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Musk - After Shave Cologne
• Fragrance: Eau Factory - Noble - EdT

WMS cost $1.75, or $1 per oz. Of course now that it's "unobtanium", it costs a bit more. It is not worth the inflated price, but it was absolutely worth $1.75. It's decent soap!

AV Musk was $3 for 3.5 oz.

This bottle of EdT was $10 at Lidl.

I used an expensive razor, blade, and not my cheapest brush, so I didn't really complete the daily challenge.

June 29, 2024

• Brush: Summer Break Soaps w/Maggard 28mm Silvertip Badger
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (17)
• Lather: Proraso - Red - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - EdT

Proraso Red is the only soap I have, that I know of, that has any sandalwood in it at all. Luckily it's all sandalwood, so there's no question about it meeting the requirements of today's theme.

June 30, 2024

• Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (18)
• Lather: Australian Private Reserve - Raconteur - Soap
• Post Shave: Nivea - Sensitive - Balm
• Fragrance: Azzaro - Pour Homme Night Time - EdT

Bon voyage, Lather Games!

My country - United States 🇺🇸
Brush - Isle of Mann 🇮🇲
Razor - Canada 🇨🇦
Blade - Germany 🇩🇪
Lather - Australia 🇦🇺
Post Shave - Mexico 🇲🇽
Fragrance - France 🇫🇷