LG SOTD 12Jun2024
* Brush: Yaqi Mountain Lake - 24mm arctic synthetic
* Razor: Henson - Ti22 Medium
* Blade: Personna - Viking’s Sword (1)
* Blade: Rise - Classic (1)
* Lather: Taylor of Old Bond Street - Peppermint Shaving Cream
* Bowl: CaYuen - Dark Nebula, large
* Post Shave: Afta by Mennen - Aftershave Lotion, Original
Happy humpin hump day! Welcome to the twelfth shave of the 2024 Lather Games. Today's theme is “CREAM” where we shave with a shaving cream versus a proper shaving soap.
I’m not a fan of shaving creams, there’s something visceral and pleasing in my brush loading routine. If I can’t brush load, I don’t want to use it (c.f. my Milksteak antipathy). While trying soaps out, scoop away, but when I get a tub, I want to rub my brush on that 😅. That said, I like trying stuff and I’m looking to upgrade the next generation ALL YOUR BASE PIFs so I bought a tub of TOBS Peppermint Shaving Cream from Maggard though the only time I am likely to use it is Lather Games.
Using my Yaqui Mountain Lake brush set with a 24mm arctic knot. This is another misfit brush for me, knot is too soft but it is purdy and fits the peppermint theme. Fibers might be a different dye job as timber wolf but not certain.
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Before the shave report, time for a tour of the den.
I have claimed the right side of our main floor bathroom. The top shelf was installed just about three years ago in July 2021 after the June software explosion. The shelving beside the sink that I am using as makeshift a soap caddy has been in the bathroom long term but I claimed the top to make the double row of soap tubs same time in 2021 (expanded to the entire top in fall 2022, used to be some of my daughter’s stuff and I used to have less soap). The middle is modular shave shelving from WetShavingBySteve, an Etsy seller, and was added at the beginning of 2024 and GREATLY reduced the shelf chaos.
To the far left are the post shaves. Hanging on the left (cropped out of the picture, but visible on the overview), is a golf club cleaning microfiber. Works great for wiping off the copper and brass after use so they don’t water spot.
Moving to the right is the paper towel where I lay any blades to be used again. Got some overflow tubs and the larger sized samples. Then it’s the stainless steel Williams and Sonoma 1/4 teaspoon that I permanently borrowed from the kitchen for scooping samples.
At last, it’s the three horsemen, my favorite razors (that’s why I give them fancy stands, so they know they are better than the other razors 😀). And at the far right edge is the Feather blade bank and today’s Tournament of Blades contestants (with the U.S. Virgin Islands quarter that calls the starting blade).
There are seven brushes in the modular WSBS shelving, one for each day of the week and my favorite seven of the complete brush pool. When I’m not being a flagrant shaving degenerate and showing off every minuscule detail of my shaves, I just follow the daily rotation (starts with the AP Shave on Monday at the right and moves to the left, finishing on Sunday with the Yaqi Caramel).
In the middle of the brushes is an area for whatever three other razors I’m giving some degree of attention to.
At the far left of the lower shelf of the modular shelving is the D-plate for the copper Karve CB. There’s the Lady Gillette I used on WetTuber day. And if you zoom in, at the rightmost bin is a restored 1920s Gillette blade box holding blades for upcoming ToB fights.
Below that on some metal bathroom shelving are double rows of soap tubs. I like this setup because I can get to whatever soap I want easily.
Last, resting on the tubs below the modular shelving is the box of samples.
That is the IN the den tour. But, I wouldn’t be a true shave degenerate if that was everything. The stuff I maybe sometimes use lives in the bin of misfit shave goods. If you want a quick look at it all, see my comment to this post.
And no tour of my den would be complete without showing you what 1700+ blades in several dozen types looks like.
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Now, the shave report. Shaving creams are not something I understand - I save maybe two minutes with a cream versus a soap and that’s not enough for what I give up. I suppose if you find lathering soaps just a little too much they have their place because the next step down for effort is canned goo.
This cream is scented with peppermint oil and it smells fantastic off the puck, being lathered, and during the shave - the good part. You can feel the tingle of the peppermint oil on the skin. Worked up quickly, was sufficiently lubricating, but residual slickness was poor. Not great at holding water. Post shave is decent. The essential oil based peppermint scent was gone by the time my face had fully dried.
TL;DNR: I’d used TOBS a couple of years back and today’s revisit did nothing to change my mind.
Enjoy your day!