Gillette (the all things Shaving Thread)

[BroSlinger]

Another perfect SOTD iwth the ROckwell.


BM Diamond = super awesome.
So, the BM Excelsior base is the shit. Awesome. Goes on just right. not too thick. not too thin. great post shave. (sidenote, the classic glissant -->excelsior has begun. Seville is transitioning right now)
BM Diamond After shave = got a second hand compliment from the hot daycare ladies when they said how great my baby smelled.
The Rockwell just rules. Can't wait to try plate 5.
The Gillette Platinum is done at 2 shaves for me. No biggie. Makes life easier trashing blades sooner.
10/10

[ajaxlepinski]

Gene is on a 10/10 streak!!!

Usec my SLOC this morning with the Tabacum Cepito soap, follow up with Pheonix Planet Vetiver.
The SLOC is hands down, my favorite DE of all time - it gives consistently great shaves.
The Tabacum Cepito smells like marshmallow pipe tobacco (more tobacco smell than the AS) and I like it a lot and it lathers well so, it's a keeper (thanks Gene!).
The Planet Vetiver smells like moldy cardboard but, it's growing on me... digging that too!
8.5/10 would have been a 9/10 if I had taken more time.

[BroSlinger]

Gene is on a 10/10 streak!!!

Usec my SLOC this morning with the Tabacum Cepito soap, follow up with Pheonix Planet Vetiver.
The SLOC is hands down, my favorite DE of all time - it gives consistently great shaves.
The Tabacum Cepito smells like marshmallow pipe tobacco (more tobacco smell than the AS) and I like it a lot and it lathers well so, it's a keeper (thanks Gene!).
The Planet Vetiver smells like moldy cardboard but, it's growing on me... digging that too!
8.5/10 would have been a 9/10 if I had taken more time.

The secret to the streak is to use non-crummy blades. Russian Platinum will be on the plate for a good long time to come, ATM.

[ajaxlepinski]

Two things the Russians got right... vodka and razor blades!

[BroSlinger]

Dudes,
Ajax hooked me up!!!!! Stoked to get down the the kraken! I think it smells great. Also stoked about the Nancy Boy cream. Thanks, dude!!!!

[BroSlinger]

Dude, I figured it out. Kraken smells like Eternity for women by Calvin Klein. My Mom wore it for a long time.

[ajaxlepinski]

Glad that package arrived in one piece!

I bought the Nancy Boy Signature shave cream as a goof, about 8 years ago. The name cracked me up but, the shit is legit.
I like the old timey peppermint smell and it makes a really thick yogurt-like lather; after trying lots of other soaps/creams, it's still my favorite.

The g/f likes the Kraken but, it wasn't for me.

If it turns out that you don't like the Nancy Boy, send it to Steiny.

[Steinmetzify]

Awesome! Nice gesture bro!

I love the Kraken; that’s one I won’t give up. P thinks it’s ok and I have stuff that smells better to her but I really dig it. Plus the soap is fantastic.

I like shit to match lol

[BroSlinger]

SOTD: Inspired by the heroes at Chernobyl.



Rockwell 6S plate 5. kick ass.
Gillette PPI Sputnik. Teflon. I figured this was a gamble. Didn't know if it was some kind of lower end blade. It rules.
GD Molten. This smells like wintergreen dip spit. Not sure I ever want to use it again. But , it sure lathers and shaves nicely.
BM Cologne Russe. Every time I'm expecting this to be strong and robust, it kind of smells light. Nice.
I'm giving today a 10/10 because my face feels great, and I found a cool new blade that seems to be on par with what I seek.

[Steinmetzify]

Nice streak man!

Was gonna shave earlier, but got an email as I was getting out of the shower that that little brush was OFD. I can wait. Report back.

[Steinmetzify]

sotd



Razor: SLOC...this thing just kills. Is it the closest shave ever? No...but it is the least bloody razor I've ever touched. I really think I could put a shard of broken glass up in this motherfucker and it'd work.
Blade: Gillette SMBD...can't tell if it's this blade or the fact that it's in the SLOC but it worked like a charm.
Brush: RR 24 barrel...this is slightly smaller than the Bruce. Doesn't splay as well due to that, but it works great and looks cool as fuck. I chucked the Bruce in a drawer and I'll use this for a month or so, get used to it and see if it's gonna be permanent.
Soap: MM Ouroboros....great stuff. Great slickness, great lather, great post shave feel.
AS: MM again, I like shit to match....this stuff is 0.5 menthol so it's cooling but not cold, dig it and smells good once you get used to it.
ASB: same as above cause matchy matchy....this stuff is just great, hydrates like a motherfucker.

10/10, 2 passes DFS, approaching BBS.....just a couple spots on my jawline that aren't as smooth as they could be but fuck it, I didn't want to push it. As it is, no nicks, no weepers/bleeders and nothing remotely resembling a cut.

Nothing but love for this setup....I'll be sad to see it go, for me this is more of a colder weather setup due to the scents...going thru stuff later to put stuff away for spring/summer. It's sunny and bright today, but deceptively cold due to a north wind, think a storm is coming. Felt right to use this stuff today.

I'll be checking out other MM stuff just for the warmer weather....although this one is supposed to be the strongest of their scents.

[Steinmetzify]

FWIW, this was what made the summer time cut:



Out of what I have, this to me epitomizes summer shaving for scents and feel. Lighter stuff, good soaps, good scents.

I have some samples that Gene sent me that aren't pictured, but they're BM Reserve and they'll get used too.

You guys cutting anything or using everything? I have limited space and shit was getting tight....

[BroSlinger]

The Cut????

The cut is keeping 40 soaps I love in the drawer, and 50 in the office basement. I'm pretty much basing everything on performance and general vibe/mojo right now. I'm not interested in being seasonal...yet......I can tolerate heavy scents in the Summer. Maybe. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

TFS took a big hit.
Italian stuff in general took a big hit
Fine took a big hit.
Declaration Grooming is taking a hit
Mike's is out. Totally overrated.
A few Grooming Depts are going to hit storage
A few BM's may hit the basement as well.

I just did a cologne and aftershave clean up. Some of my highschool/college stuff is hitting the basement. Along with some barbershoppy Euro shit. Example: Figaro, Floid, Proraso, etc.

[Steinmetzify]

Bro I figured your end result would be a tad bigger than MY end result, just based on daily usage and total amount of stuff.

Seasonal has to happen for me; I have ONE HALF OF A FUCKING SHELF (keep in mind we have 3 bathrooms but whatEVER) in the bathroom and my slight OCD is kicking in. Shit was stacked up every which way and I was knocking shit over daily trying out different stuff.

Seasonal also has to happen because while I love the heavier scents some of them make me feel like I should be wearing a sweater while shaving; just an olfactory thing, I guess....they just seem to smell like I should be shaving with them while the fireplace is roaring and she's making hot toddies.

Plus Karve envy is real....I'm scouring for a used one; priced it and it's fucking $40 for shipping from there to here. I NEED it, and I need to polish it. I saw one FS last night and resisted temptation, but dude had polished it and it looked awesome. Smaller things need to be bought.

P is taking an LA trip this weekend, said she's going to hit a few shops and look for a Timeless for me.

[BroSlinger]

Karves really are nice. Good price too.
Like I said before:
Get the safety bar
Get the 3" handle
Research the plates. IMO, Blade exposure is more of a determining factor than blade gap. The gap shouldn't matter if you know how to use the safety bar.

AA plate = more negative exposure

A plate = negative exposure

B plate = neutral exposure

C plate = positive exposure

D plate = more positive exposure (where I started, and it kind of feels just right. )

E Plate = more more. (my 2nd plate. Starting to feel like too much. not my goto for daily shaving)
F
FF
etc.

I have a B and C on the way just to see what neutral feels like, and to go one safer than D.

FWIW, I kind of hate negative exposure. That's why my last 2 bad shaves were with Mambas.

[Steinmetzify]

I was gonna go B and then go up to C if I dig it.

Can you compare how it feels to anything we both have? Shaving angle etc?

[BroSlinger]

I was gonna go B and then go up to C if I dig it.

Can you compare how it feels to anything we both have? Shaving angle etc?

Angle wise, it's kind of like the Piccolo open comb. but it seems to "lock" into place better, as in, the angle is VERY apparent when you use it. No voodoo to decide whether to favor the bar or the cap. It just locks in.

The Fatip Testina Gentile Safety Bar is too mild to compare to any of the Karve stuff I've used.

[Steinmetzify]

Fuck it, WCS had the 3” with the C plate in stock. Ordered and got 10% off with free shipping for being a new customer. Almost couldn’t get that deal on a forum. Post it up when it shows. If I hate it I’ll pass it along.

[BroSlinger]

Yeah! You're going to love it!

[Steinmetzify]

I’ll take your word for it, you’ve been right 99% of the time on this stuff.

As you know I’m a little bit of an OC junkie and I know you don’t like yours. What’s the letter so I can stay away from it?

[BroSlinger]

I’ll take your word for it, you’ve been right 99% of the time on this stuff.

As you know I’m a little bit of an OC junkie and I know you don’t like yours. What’s the letter so I can stay away from it?

My OC = "D".

I'm not sure what I don't like about it. It looks like they just took the normal plate and cut out combs.

It doesn't lock in as well, and I feel like it wears the blade out faster. It doesn't seem to add anything positive. And I like OC's normally. Like I said before, I thin kthe Blackland open comb is better than the Blackland safety bar, so it just depends on the brand and their particular design.

[Steinmetzify]

I’ll keep it in mind.

Checked his IG, apparently he’s coming out with SS and aluminum soon too, this could be cool.

[ajaxlepinski]

I LOL'd when I read Steiny's review of his recent SOTD with the SLOC: "I really think I could put a shard of broken glass up in this motherfucker and it'd work."
F'nA right!!! It may not be as agro as other razors but, I never get any nics and I can shave faster. Best $16 I ever spent.


The only thing I cut during the summer are AS Balms. Balms don't seem to let any sweat evaporate - they make my face feel warm and slimy in the summer.
I have to start a new batch of Old Salt... I promised to make one of my nephews a big bottle in time for his visit in July. He loves the stuff.
In the summer, Splashes > Balm

[BroSlinger]

SOTD:


Rockin' a sketchball knockoff blade today. It wasn't terrible. Kind smooth, not sharp enough though. Ended up buffing more than I like. Still got a good shave though.
Donkey Milk Wholly Kaw is really special if you find a scent that works. This one works for me.
WK Aftershave is equally good.
The Karve was awesome. Don't even have to think about the angle.

9/10. solid.

[Steinmetzify]

Nice, I need to try some Wholly Kaw, one of the things I haven't seen in the wild yet.

sotd:



Hit the shave store again, picked this up because she loved it. Soap is great, AS solid. It's soft enough as a scent that I could rock this in summer time. Goes into rotation...I think I might pick up one of their mentholated ones as well. Soap reminds me of MM in that its pretty soft and you really don't need much, builds to a great thick lather. I loaded the brush maybe 10 seconds and had enough for 3 passes.

Razor and blade same stuff as yesterday....I need to chuck one of these blades into something else and see if it's really this good or if it's the SLOC. Maybe I'll do it when the Karve shows.

Also grabbed this for ya Gene:



I asked just to make sure because I figured I'd just grab whatever they had in stock, but this was the very last one, bro. I don't know when I can get it out as I'm slammed right now but it's coming. Enjoy the LAST ONE!