June 1, 2024 - New All The Things

• Brush: Zenith 506U XS Horse Hair #HORSESASS #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8 Square Point w/ Horn Scales #STR8SNOB
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Wolf Mother
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Jasmine Green Tea Splash
• Fragrance: Michael Malul - Jet Black Intense EdP

FOF

New All The Things:

I bought the Talent Soap Factory soaps back on a Black Friday sale. I waited until the LG to actually use it. The brush I bought from the Your Shaving anniversary sale, and is my first horse hair brush. The Noble Otter splash is a recent purchase and was still sealed until this morning. The fragrance is a sample I got in a recent order, and the brand and scent are new to me. When I saw the calendar, there was a gaping hole on day 1. Every category of razor I’d pretty much tried. Except straight razor, that is. When I got a bonus last month, I decided it was time to learn with a real straight.

Theme and Challenge:

Everything used today is a new brand, product, type of razor, and/or scent for me.

The Shave:

I have 70+ shaves on Weck/Kismet hair shapers, but this is my first shave with an old fashioned straight. I figured learn honing too, so I have some inexpensive straights I got from Ebay that need varying levels of work. However, I didn’t want my first straight shave to be with an amateur edge from me. I splurged on this straight from Maggard Razors, and Brad honed it for me. So what does a crazy idiot like me decide to do for his first straight shave? Why shave off the sides of an untrimmed full beard of course! I normally only shave my neck and trim around the cheeks daily. I told my wife my plans, and after some head shaking, she asked me to keep the goatee. I guess she doesn’t want to see my chin. For the shave, I thought the brush was very soft already, so I just got it wet and started building lather with a generous scoop of soap. Ok, first mistake, I didn’t soak the brush for a few minutes. The horse is thirstier than any boar I’ve used. I needed a lot of water, and the brush kept soaking everything up. Still I persisted and eventually got enough for a couple passes. Second mistake, I’ve been spoiled in only breaking in bleached or pretty clean boars. The brush stank of barnyard when it got wet. This wasn’t a “Raw Hog” challenge so why didn’t I prep the brush more? It also shed a fair amount. Third mistake, I should have brought up a paper towel to clean the razor as I went, instead of rinsing off the piles of lather and beard. My sink got a little clogged. I kept things slow and steady, still have all my skin, no blood loss, and my earlobes are still there. I think I’ll enjoy the next straight shave more though. If you are going to shave off a beard without trimming first, a straight is definitely the way to go.

Fragrance:

I was pretty limited in my restrictions to keep it all new to me. I picked Wolf Mother from my Talent soaps, that were purchased ages ago and waiting patiently for a turn, because it had some gourmand/beverage notes that would work with the jasmine green tea. Of course the horse hair destroyed the scent of the soap, so any of them would have worked. Jasmine Green Tea is a nice clean scent with hits of citrus and the earthiness of green tea. I like that scent. Wolf Mother, I love off the puck, so next time it will get a better chance to add to the fragrances. The EdP sample was nice smelling and has some compatible notes, but it leans more to traditional cologne and fougere. It does not complement the other choices. If I were giving it a US letter grade, I’d say today’s choices merit a C+. It passes, but didn’t wow me.

Sponsor time:

I have one brush so far from AP Shaving. It’s a G5A SHD, and is the best synthetic I’ve used. Ordering was easy, and no issues with shipping. I’d definitely recommend picking up a brush or two.

[**June 1, 2024 - New All The Things**](https://imgur.com/a/0ytzM3A)

* **Brush:** Zenith 506U XS Horse Hair #HORSESASS #OLDWORLD
* **Razor:** Ralf Aust 6/8 Square Point w/ Horn Scales #STR8SNOB
* **Lather:** Talent Soap Factory - Wolf Mother
* **Post Shave:** Noble Otter - Jasmine Green Tea Splash
* **Fragrance:** Michael Malul - Jet Black Intense EdP

#FOF

New All The Things:

I bought the Talent Soap Factory soaps back on a Black Friday sale. I waited until the LG to actually use it. The brush I bought from the Your Shaving anniversary sale, and is my first horse hair brush. The Noble Otter splash is a recent purchase and was still sealed until this morning. The fragrance is a sample I got in a recent order, and the brand and scent are new to me. When I saw the calendar, there was a gaping hole on day 1. Every category of razor I’d pretty much tried. Except straight razor, that is. When I got a bonus last month, I decided it was time to learn with a real straight.

Theme and Challenge:


Everything used today is a new brand, product, type of razor, and/or scent for me.

The Shave:

I have 70+ shaves on Weck/Kismet hair shapers, but this is my first shave with an old fashioned straight. I figured learn honing too, so I have some inexpensive straights I got from Ebay that need varying levels of work. However, I didn’t want my first straight shave to be with an amateur edge from me. I splurged on this straight from Maggard Razors, and Brad honed it for me. So what does a crazy idiot like me decide to do for his first straight shave? Why shave off the sides of an untrimmed full beard of course! I normally only shave my neck and trim around the cheeks daily. I told my wife my plans, and after some head shaking, she asked me to keep the goatee. I guess she doesn’t want to see my chin. For the shave, I thought the brush was very soft already, so I just got it wet and started building lather with a generous scoop of soap. Ok, first mistake, I didn’t soak the brush for a few minutes. The horse is thirstier than any boar I’ve used. I needed a lot of water, and the brush kept soaking everything up. Still I persisted and eventually got enough for a couple passes. Second mistake, I’ve been spoiled in only breaking in bleached or pretty clean boars. The brush stank of barnyard when it got wet. This wasn’t a “Raw Hog” challenge so why didn’t I prep the brush more? It also shed a fair amount. [Third mistake,](https://imgur.com/a/2hSxmgO) I should have brought up a paper towel to clean the razor as I went, instead of rinsing off the piles of lather and beard. My sink got a little clogged. I kept things slow and steady, still have all my skin, no blood loss, and my earlobes are still there. I think I’ll enjoy the next straight shave more though. If you are going to shave off a beard without trimming first, a straight is definitely the way to go.

Fragrance:

I was pretty limited in my restrictions to keep it all new to me. I picked Wolf Mother from my Talent soaps, that were purchased ages ago and waiting patiently for a turn, because it had some gourmand/beverage notes that would work with the jasmine green tea. Of course the horse hair destroyed the scent of the soap, so any of them would have worked. Jasmine Green Tea is a nice clean scent with hits of citrus and the earthiness of green tea. I like that scent. Wolf Mother, I love off the puck, so next time it will get a better chance to add to the fragrances. The EdP sample was nice smelling and has some compatible notes, but it leans more to traditional cologne and fougere. It does not complement the other choices. If I were giving it a US letter grade, I’d say today’s choices merit a C+. It passes, but didn’t wow me.

Sponsor time:

I have one brush so far from AP Shaving. It’s a G5A SHD, and is the best synthetic I’ve used. Ordering was easy, and no issues with shipping. I’d definitely recommend picking up a brush or two.