June 10, 2024 - Happy Together

• Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving Exclusive 31mm Moar Boar #SUBBRUSH
• Razor: A. Witte NY. A1 5/8 Hollow Round Point #REVENANT
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - 1904
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Smash

FOF

Today’s Theme:

Almost everything here is a collaboration. 1904 has the soap by Declaration Grooming and the scent by Chatillon Lux. It is the same with Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli. For the fragrance we leave the Midwest and get what I guess is a collaboration between the Boston Red Socks and NY Yankees (maybe Mets). Smash is a collaboration between House of Mammoth & Barrister and Mann. The brush is a collaboration between Zenith and r/Wetshaving with an assist by Stirling Soap Co. I count the brush because the logo was designed by the sub.

Today’s Shave:

It is my third shave with a regular straight (maybe 80th including Wecks). I got it partially restored from the seller who had removed the rust, but did not fix the edge. It was about as sharp as a butter knife, and had several chips near the point almost like a serrated knife. Definitely not shave ready, and almost no bevel to the edge. I ground the chips down with my medium diamond plate. It made a bit of a flat spot near the round point, so I fixed the profile on the same plate. I set about remaking the bevel starting on the 600# diamond until I got a burr and the bevels looked pretty even. I moved to the 1200# Diamond, and did the same. Next were Japanese ceramic water stones in 3000#, 8000#, and 12000#. I stropped it on linen and buffalo hide. I didn’t try a hanging hair test, but it easily shaved hairs on my arm. This was the second straight that I went through this same process and it also had similar chips. Today’s razor shaved better than the other one did. I did three passes wtg, xtg, xtg except my neck. Neck was xtg and xtg. The lather was excellent, but I think I could have hydrated it a little more. Just a slight tingle from the aftershave too. It is still a little intimidating using a straight, but it does feel pretty good. A spritz of Smash on my wrists finished it up.

Today’s Challenge - Music to Shave by:

I think the kind of music I like for shaving is calm and almost ethereal. I chose Still Corners “The Trip”. I’m linking to an unofficial video I think. Someone set the song to old 8mm vacation footage to emphasize the title.

Feats of Fragrance:

Today I mixed things up and decided to use multiple collaborations. My first instinct for this category is to go with possibly my favorite use of patchouli, but I’ve done that. At work while ~~goofing around~~ waiting for some programs to kick out the results, I was looking up collaboration soaps that I have. I had written down Cerberus Fougere to start, but I got a strange idea. How can I link the three together? The hardest part was the splash, though I do have Smash. Browsing DG’s website on my phone, I saw 1904 has coffee. Well smash is a drink flavor, and coffee is a drink. Stretching my potential matches that are still collaborations, I realized that I’ve had a yuzu drink before. My daughter really likes those Ramune sodas from Japan. One that we all liked was the yuzu flavor. Ok I’ve connected the dots in my mind, but will this work? First I’ll say if I used 1904 in a splash or EdP, this probably would be a fail. The darker earthiness of the coffee and other scents would probably clash in EdP strength, but in the soap base, it was better as an earthy undertone to this drunken brunch theme I made. The splash for yuzu/rose/patchouli definitely has a stronger citrus and rose scent than the soap. In my mind I’ve moved it to a fragrant black tea with yuzu and rose notes. This is starting to work now. Smash is a sweet cap to this meal (ok, the brunch theme fails at dinner time). I am not a coffee drinker except once in a blue moon I get the urge for coffee with pancakes. While I love brinner, this isn’t going to be that. No strong caffeine this late in the day. The bourbon in Smash gives a subtle sweet smokiness to the peach and herbal elements like the St. Germain in the cocktail. That is what this scent is doing. I’m sipping a cocktail and unwinding from work. Now at home I don’t have any peaches, so I think just an old fashioned might be in order.