This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
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October 7, 2023
The well water is still quite heavily chlorinated, so I skipped lathering. Barbasol worked. I'll leave it at that.
I also skipped showering, so hopefully my coworkers don't mind today. There's a shower at work, but I won't have time to explore that option.
What happened to your well?
Oh it tested positive for E. coli. Probably harmless, as nobody has gotten sick from it.
Oh, that sucks. Good that you didn't find out by someone getting sick! I hope the chlorine took care of it 👍
From what I've read, chlorine is extremely effective against it. My wife has been running the hose on and off all day to get some water changeover in the well... so far it's much more bearable than it was this morning! A shower might be in my future.
Good shower++;
2023.10.07 SOTD:
Prep: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Cleanser
Brush: AKA Brushworxs Metamorphosis Kaiser-i-Hind with 26mm AK47 knot
Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy AL
Blade: BiC Chrome Platinum (2)
Lather: Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime
Post Shave: Alum, Stirling Mentholated Unscented Witch Hazel and Aloe, Stirling Glacial Satsuma Aftershave Splash, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Extra-Dry
Really nice shave today, although I seemingly missing the right side of my face. Oh well. Real story of this shave is the new brush. It arrived yesterday, and this was the first time I used it. It is super dense, so it has a strong backbone, while still being nice and soft. It whipped up lather in no time flat. Very impressed in my first go with it, especially since it is different than my other knots. I have an Independent Synthetic Fibre Knot (UHD) on the way, so I'm curious as to how it will compare to the AK47 knot.
So, apparently commemorative razors for important events were a thing back in the day. This pretty Böker was seemingly made to celebrate the S.S. Paris and its record breaking 1889 westbound Atlantic crossing in under 6 days which won it the Blue Riband. I'm assuming this means that the razor was made sometime between 1889 and 1892, when the S.S. Paris won it again (or it would read "S.S. Paris Wins Again?), but I don't have any tangible evidence of it.
The razor is in excellent condition, indicating that it was indeed bought as a memorabilium and then barely used. It's either that, or it's one of Böker's remakes like this S.S. Saint Louis. See for old vs new versions:
Vintage S.S. St Louis
Retro (new) S.S. St Louis
The reasons why I think I have an old one despite the good condition are:
But again, none of these constitute conclusive evidence, and I'm adding a dose of wishful thinking.
To the shave:
The razor has a loud hollow grind, and shaving with it is all toast buttering. When I honed it yesterday (I had received it dull like a butter knife) I think I didn't test the edge everywhere, and the heel half of the edge is a bit tuggy (I'll need to find styrofoam packing peanuts for this, as suggested by @gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social). But that's minor and I'm liking this razor!
Stank++;
Böker #2? Did we create a monster?!
😂
You can rest assured, this Böker is a preexisting condition, just hadn't taken the time to hone it yet
A very cool razor! I like the idea of having a commemorative piece. IIRC, products that would possibly be exported to the US needed "Made in" labels after about 1930.
Oh ... Stank++;
needed “Made in” labels after about 1930.
That fuels my wishful thinking :)
October 7, 2023
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
This is my first time using the gold Black Beauty. Very enjoyable. My second time using Taurus. This is a great soap.
Nice looking black beauty! It's a bit tricky to see from this perspective, is this the short handle version?
I have a P3 Black beauty (just 3 quarters younger than yours) and it is probably my favourite Gillette.
It is the long-handle 109 mm version. The gold ones were limited and released around Father's Day in the US for gifts as I understand it.
Nice, that long handle version is fantastic!
