For Victory!!!! (Warning, straight heavy content)

I am ALL THAT IS MAN!




I have had this lovely Japanese razor for some time now, but was never able to get a good shave off it. It just wasn't sharp enough, or smooth enough. I felt I was wasting it, just letting it sit in my display case...so the other day I decided to fix it.

I got out my hones:
A coticule/Belgian Blue Whetstone combination and a Shapton "Ha no Kuromaku" 12000 grit ceramic waterstone, and went to work.

Because I was noticing some micropitting on the blade under magnification, I followed the advice of Bart on SRP in this thread, and used a progression of Coticule with slurry, BBW with slurry, and then Coticule with water. I finished with 5 laps on a Chromium Oxide pasted hanging strop, then 50 on linen and 100 on shell. The edge I got was insanely sharp, but not very shaving smooth. I went back, and added the Shapton after the coticule. Again, to the strops fo a total of about 200 laps, and the shave.

Results? My best straight shave to date!

Using the Japanese straight is tough--the grind is assymetrical, meaning one side is concave and one is flat. Everyone says you are supposed to shave with the concave side against your face at all times, so you have to really contort to get the blade in all those tight little places on your face. Kind of not very fun. But the results were great--very smooth, and very comfortable. So, shaving with a lovely tool that I honed myself = an awesome day.

Sick...and a Question.

So, I spent 4 hours with an IV in my arm yesterday at the doctor's office because I have "a virus infection that is interfering with my brain's signals to my body" causing random dizzy spells, weakness and dehydration. Happy shaving? Not so much.

So I have been on a bit of a slump this week, irritable, sick and refusing to do what I should do (i.e. Prepare for my upcoming rounds of tests and reports at work, and blog.) Sorry about that, but hey, these things happen. At least I'm still upright.

However, despite my illness, I would like to pose a question:
I just got a tub of J.M. Fraser's "Oriental Spice" shaving cream. I haven't had a chance to try it, but if it performs anything like the original scent, I'm happy. And when I smelled this stuff, it was an amazing, nostalgic scent. I kept wanting to eat it, and it put me in mind of my Grandma's house at Christmas. The thing is, I can't for the life of me place the scent. Is it ginger? Cinnamon? Nutmeg? What?
So, if you read this, and you have tried J.M. Fraser's Oriental Spice, help a blogger out. What the heck is that scent?

A Week of Knives/Poetic License

I've set a challenge for myself.

Starting yesterday, I will be doing only straight shaves, and no DE will touch my face until March. Maybe. If I can take it.

Why such madness, do you ask? Because I'm tired of half-assing it. Time to get my head in the game, buck up, take it like a man and all kinds of other meaningless manly phrases. Also, I'm getting better, and I can actually shave myself without ending up looking like a burn patient at the ICU. So, yeah, you'll be seeing a lot of the old Wapi on the Shave of the Day for a while, at least until my Tosuke is in tip top shape.

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In an odd turn of events, a kangaroo hide strop review on Straight Razor Place turned into a limerick showdown. In a fit of misplaced inspiration, I turned out these beauties, which tickle me no end:

There once was a big roo from Sydney,
that gave me a punch in the kidney.
I turned for a smack,
but with those eyes looking back...
We marry next weekend on Sunday.

And

My friend Jimbo made me a strop,
my wife used it to give me a whop.
It drove me insane,
but not from the pain...
I just didn't want her to stop!


And then things got hectic. The competition was heating up, so I let loose with both barrels:

All this rhyming based on a strop
Makes me so angry I just want to hop.
You guys are so great,
it's stirring up hate...
I've got to go drink up some Schnapps.

But then I realize just where I am,
In a far-off land known as Japan.
I've got to come back
And prove I'm no hack
And write all the Haikus I can...

Jimbo's fine roo strop
thin black leather smoothing steel
my face rejoices

blade sings on black hide
roughness flees like wounded foes
whiskers soon the same


Oh yeah! Limerick transitioning to haiku!

Man, sometimes I enjoy myself way too much!

The Eternal Struggle

Mankind's endless journey toward the perfect shave continues, played out in miniature upon my face.

I started this thing, for what reason I can no longer recall. But it has become, for me, a kind of marathon--pushing myself to new heights to see just how close, with just how little pain and blood, I can shave myself. In that pursuit I have spent more money than I can recall, and tried more blades, soaps, creams and after shave products than I can recall--all in the space of a few months.

And what are the results? Just when I can achieve near perfect results with decent consistency, just when I've found the combinations that work for me--I change directions.

I have been getting fantastic shaves from my Futur using Gillette 7 O'Clock yellows and Indian greens. For lather, I am perfectly happy using what I have, and my brush is just what I have been looking for. I can get a fast, smooth shave pretty much any time I want, now. I still get the occasional nick or bit of irritation on my more tender neck bits, but overall I have achieved what I would call a satisfactory shaving level. So what do I do? Rest on my laurels and enjoy my shaves, or continue to polish up my skills so that I can get that last final bit of perfection? Of course not.

I start on straight razors--a whole new area of shaving...new skills, new motions and new equipment. And I go back to the beginning of my shaves--uncomfortable, rough, bloody shaves. Why? WHY????

The question that has started to haunt my nights is, what next? When I start to get satisfied with my straight shaving, what new lows will I reach to continue this madness?

Don't cry for me, I'm already dead...

An Open Apology

Ok. I have to do it. I have to say it.
I'm Sorry, Truefitt and Hill. I'm Very, Very Sorry.

A little while back I totally mooched graciously requested some samples of T&H 1805 shaving cream from Mantic59, the Godfather of Wetshaving on the Internets. They got here, and I tried one shave and yeah, ok, I got a good shave and the scent was great, but I found myself reaching for other products instead of this one again. But then Mark asked me to talk about it, and I figured I should give it one more try, and so this morning I did.

Now, I was kind of a loser and slacked off this morning, spending all my time watching The Daily Show downloads and skyping with my mate instead of getting ready for work, so time ended up shorter than usual. I went ahead and decided to try the cream (unfairly--any product for review deserves more attention) and dove into my shave. I hurried and took shortcuts and didn't really give my shave the love it deserves, and I should be in pain as a result. But I'm not. I got a magnificent shave--smooth, comfortable, and easy. I can't believe it, actually. I was racing through it, shaving over places that hadn't been relathered and not paying attention to my angle or pressure.

I can only assume that the T&H was there, looking out for me. Shaking its head in rueful understanding and taking the hits intended for my poor, ignorant face...So, thank you T&H, and I'm sorry. I should have taken you more seriously.

I won't do it again.

Productive Product Reviews: Palmira Shave Soap

From the icy wastes of Serbia/Macedonia comes this wee cube of animal fat...

I got this one from a member of "the board which shall not be named" and it is deserving of praise.

It's a small cube, about 2 inches on a side, and it has a very...interesting...scent. This is the "almond" version, and it has that somewhat marzipan-y sweet almond scent remeniscent of Cella. However, penetrating the almond like a bit ol stick of jerky is a scent that I can only describe as fat. Animal fat. Like, tallow before it becomes tallow. It smells like someone's going to be making up some fries soon. Now, as unpleasant as it sounds, it isn't. It's a natural scent, a fresh scent. Almost an appetizing one, and it meshes oddly well with the almond.

Use of Palmira is pretty straight forward. It's not really appropriate for pucklike use, as it's so small, so I use it like a shave stick and rub right on your face. I suppose it would be ueasy to put into a container, as it's not that hard a soap--with a bit of pressure it should mold into any container you have laying around.

Lathering this stuff is a dream--within seconds of meeting my brush, I was getting a very dense creamy lather. I didn't have to adjust water levels much, it lathered fast and smooth. The shave was pretty good; the lather is VERY cushiony, so it was kind of difficult to get a really close shave, but it also prevented any nicks or irritation completely. It's also not the slickest lather, so I would hesitate to use it with a straight--I have the feeling the blade would stick a bit. But man, did my skin ever feel good after this one. I mean, come on--I had just doused myself in beef fat. Of COURSE my face is going to feel moist and smooth!

It's a good soap, though hard to come by, and if you gt the chance you should give it a try.

Productive Product Reviews: Connaught Twofer

Hey all! I'm still alive and still shaving. Things should be settled down soon. But I do have some things to let you know about. So read on!


Recently Paul at Connaught shaving has been expanding his own Connaught Shaving product line; he now has Connaught Luxury Shaving Creams in several scents as well as a new Three Crowns Indian Sandalwood aftershave milk scented with sandalwood essential oil.

I got some samples of both of these products, and have had the chance to use them for several shaves. The results, in short, have been quite impressive.

The creams I have are Peppermint and Sicilian Lime scents; there are also English Lavendar, Italian Lemon, Indian Sandalwood, Rosewood and sweet orange. The scents are all essential oil based--no fragrance oils here. And the two I've got smell fantastic. Fantastic!

The lime is clean and pure; on opening the jar it isn't the strongest but the lather is lovely. It's not all that sweet or candyish--it's a very nice natural lime. I approve. The peppermint has a bit more punch. Opening the jar lets that peppermint crawl right up your nose and freshen up your sinuses. Good stuff indeed.

Of course, lather is where the true test of a cream is, so let me just tell you: this stuff lathers great. I dipped my boar brush in the jar and went to my face. With some work (this cream took a bit more water than some of my others) and I got a rich, creamy lather that felt great. The shaves were smooth and clean, with no irritation. Connaught cream gives a lot of protection, and afterwards my skin felt lovely. In addition, the peppermint was unbelievably cooling--I can't use menthol products, but this gave way more cooling than I ever dreamed, and I loved it. Definitely a summer product, though; when the cold winter air hit it, it was almost too much!

The cream is a winner, and I will be buying some full jars.

As for the milk, I got a couple of sample bottles last week. I've never been a huge sandalwood user--I had some sandalwood cologne in highschool that I never wore, and recently I got some Trumper's sandalwood Skin Food, so I'm not a huge expert on this scent, but I would say it's a very clean, dry sandalwood scent, with not as much sweetness as the Trumper's. It's a good one, if a bit strong. My wife isn't a huge fan (she doesn't like ANY of my scents--not even Penhaligon's English Fern!!!), but she tolerates it well.

Like the cream, of course, the proof is in the pudding. I have used this milk for all my shaves for the past few days and I like it. I like it a lot. It is very soothing and very, VERY moisturizing. I have no need or desire to use any other facial products after this one--no creams, moisturizers, nothing. It quickly eases any irritation I might have after a shave, and it helps stop weepers as well. All in all, it is very good.

However, it is a very thick, creamy milk--in fact, I would call it a balm rather than a milk, because in my mind milk pours, and this does not. It takes a bit of shaking and smacking to get it to come out, but that's ok--a tiny bit goes a long way. I do fear that in summer it may be too moisturizing and heavy, but in winter it is darn near perfect. Made of win.

I look forward to trying some of the other scents that Paul has in store, and I hope he continues to put out such great products.

All Apologies

Sorry gents, it's been a bit of a full week or so over here, so I've not quite been up to blogging.

I'm in the middle of a move, and we've had a sudden addition to our household, so some things have been put on the back burner-including this blog. Looks like it's going to be a good week before things get smoothed out, but I do believe that at the end of this next week, things will be better than ever before. I've got some special projects in the works, and there will be new reviews and products to show you, so stay tuned.

I will be checking in during the week, so don't give up on me just yet!

In the mean time, let this sexy shot warm your cold cold nights: