Col Conks Redux

I gave the Col another try this morning. After a practice run last night, I realized my lather was too hydrated; to fix this I made sure my brush was shaken as free of water as possible, and the lathering bowl was empty and dry. I got a really good lather going pretty quickly, but it was still a little to "wet" when I first applied it. I hit the soap again for about 20 - 30 seconds, then back to the lathering bowl, and then my face.

The difference was night and day.

The lather was thick (whereas before it was thin and very bubbly - a sign of over hydration), slick, and of course, smelled great.

The shave took me longer than usual, and I had to make three passes total. That surprised me since I had shaved the day before, and growth was minimal.

Overall I think I was right for not giving up on the good Colonel. It might be a bit much for someone just starting out, but once you learn how to lather its a great product.

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Slow Down

Thats what I need to tell myself from time to time. 

The whole purpose of this style of shaving is to take your time, do it properly, and not be a slave to the clock. Tell father time to sit in the car and wait until you're ready.

Sometimes I get rushed, or rather, I allow myself to get rushed, and I end up scraping up my neck or chin. I need to get into the zone and let the rest fall away.

This morning was a good example. I was doing just fine, then for some reason got to thinking I needed to hurry it up. Scraped my neck all the hell up. If you have ever had to use a styptic pencil on a nick, you know that it should be enough to keep your hand steady while shaving - GOD that stuff burns. I might as well stab myself in the face with a soldering iron.

I did manage a decent shave the rest of the time though... I'm still convinced that the Nacet blades are made for my face.

Col Conks Shave Soap

This was a writeup that I messed up in the first few days of this blog. I meant to repost it but forgot, so here you go.

This was given to me by a generous member of Badger and Blade, a web forum that discusses the finer points of wet shaving, among a few other subjects.

I was told to put it in a small dish and microwave it for a short time. That way the soap melts into the dish and doesn't slide all around when you try to lather it up with your brush. I used a little wood bowl that we had sitting in the cupboard. It was a perfect fit.

Now bear in mind that I haven't used this since my first few wet shaves. I had a devil of a time getting it to lather up properly, and still haven't figured out what I was doing wrong. I have heard others swear by it, but they were far more experienced than I and really knew what they were doing.

So, my issue was the lather. I couldn't get it going. I watched youtube vids, read instructionals, practiced ad nauseum, all to no avail. I may have better luck now; I can't say I'm ready to give up on it yet.

The thing I love about the Col's soap is the fantastic Bay Rum scent. I am very hard to please when it comes to Bay Rums (see previous post) and this one was nothing short of magnificent (to me, anyway; you might hate it). Thats another reason I don't want to give up on it. I would love to have it in rotation with my C.O. Bigelow.

Aw, hell, now I've talked myself into it... I'll give it a shot on Wednesday, and let you know how it goes. Hopefully we will see some improvement.

Ogallala Bay Rum

I ordered a small sampling of Bay Rum aftershaves and colognes from the Ogallala Bay Rum web site. I have yet to be sold on anything other than Clubman (I've tried Dominica, and sampled Captains Choice, Royall, and several others that I can't quite recall). I'm not the best at describing scents, so all I can tell you is I like Clubman, didn't care for the others. They weren't exactly flowery, but too much... bay leaves? Cinnamon? I don't know. I need someone who can "read" scents better to pinpoint it for me.

I haven't tried Ogallala yet. They have several different styles, including regular Bay Rum (cologne and an aftershave - separate products), Bay Rum Limes and Peppercorn, Bay Rum and Sandalwood, and Bay Rum, Sage and Cedar (all aftershaves).

I don't actually have high hopes for this; mostly because of past experience. But I will give it a shot. I'm not sure what the Limes and Peppercorns will be like (or any of the others for that matter), but the Bay Rum and Sandalwood is piquing my curiosity. This is due to the fact that I love both of those scents (albeit from only one manufacturer apiece), and am looking forward to checking out a combined scent. The Sage and Cedar sounds promising as well.

Unfortunately, my olfactory tastes are so complex that I don't even understand them, so this may be a total bust.

If you'd like to check it out for yourself, here's the link:

http://www.ogallalabayrum.mybigcommerce.com/ogallala-bay-rum-bonanza/

My stuff

It occured to me that the things I use are pretty under represented on this site. I aim to correct that.

Lets start with the Razors.

I have three Gillettes - a Fatboy, a 40's era Super Speed, and a '67 Super Speed.

The Fatty:

Note the numbers near the head of the razor - this is the adjustment dial.The lower knob twists to open the butterfly doors.

The '67:

This isn't mine, just a picture of a similar razor.

And the 40's (Gillette didn't mark specific years of manufacture until the 60's I believe. Correct me if you have better info):

This is also not mine. Just a picture of the same type. This one is much cleaner than mine.

The brush I will have to take an actual photo of - more on that later.

The lathering bowl:

I picked this Cappuccino mug up at Target for $4. It does a decent job.

C.O. Bigelow Shave Cream:

This has been the most successful cream for me so far. I really like the Menthol in it.

AoS Peppermint Face Wash:

The peppermint really helps give you a kickstart in the morning. I love waking up to this scent.

AoS Toner:

Toner is a vital part of keeping your skin healthy. Google it now, thank me later.

AoS Sandalwood Aftershave Balm:

This is the stuff that kicked off my personal shaving revolution. Once I tried it there was no going back.

Lucky Tiger Moisturizer (that's right, I kick it old school.):

Good stuff - been around since the '30s I think...

And of course the Bay Rum:

This is what your Grand Dad's barbers shop smelled like. I told you - old school.

So apart from the things I can't add photos of yet, that is my set up. The razor blades will be added on an as used basis.

So there you have it. Add a bathroom sink, a washcloth, and my face, and you have my complete morning ritual.

The '67

This morning I decided I would use my 1967 Gillette Super Speed. I don't know why I got that idea in my head, but I'm glad I went with it. This morning was one of my best shaves yet. 

I used a new blade in this as yet untested razor, and it seemed like a good time to put a new set up to the test, since there aren't many people at work on Mondays (I don't have the luxury of deciding I want that day off). 

The blade was a Nacet Platinum:

Once again, there was no rhyme or reason to selecting this blade, other than it was in the sample pack I recieved.

Todays shave was, I believe, my best results yet.

How much of that was due to my set up, and how much to technique, I can't say. I did, however, pick up on a problem I've been having with lathering - namely, not getting enough lather on my face before starting. I think my lather has been a bit too dry too, lending to the blade skipping over my face instead of gliding smoothly over it.

Whatever the problem was, I am happy with todays results. Aside from my usual rough patches (angle of the jaw and the jawline), it's an amazingly smooth and pain free shave.  So much so that I am reluctant to move on to other blades, but then, I wouldn't have much else to write about, would I?

I will try a Nacet next week in the 40 Super Speed, and a different blade in the '67. That should give me a good gauge on the performance of blades vs. razors.