Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Tabak Oridjinal, now with 28 mm Gelousy knot
Razor: Böker – S.S. Paris Wins (6/8", full hollow, carbon Steel, square point)
Lather: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
Post Shave: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
Fragrance: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
This is the first day of the last week of TabOKtoberfest, before le mois sans Tabac puts it on a forced hiatus.
This isn’t comparable to AA because I get to switch razors and brushes whenever I want, but a similar routine has set in; the soap, splash, and frag are already in place, the lather is perfectly dialled in (and this week, I’m also using the same brush every time). This routine really puts a spotlight on the difference between the different razors I’m using. I got a good shave today, but I noticed this edge is less smooth than yesterday’s Puma, and I’m not sure I’d have pinpointed the difference had I changed software in between. This could be a good basis for a new and improved $HoneMeisterschaft AA challenge next year. Instead of using one razor and hone it in the middle, we could use the routine compare edges of different razors (ideally very different ones, such as old soft Sheffield steel vs modern hard steel, carbon vs stainless, wedge vs hollow ground, straight vs smiling) and get them all to equal sharpness and smoothness. I’m a bit torn because it would clash with The Equestrian.
Enough stream-of-consciousness, the shave was great, made me think about shave routine pros and cons, I smell great, and you have a great day.
and get them all to equal sharpness and smoothness.
This is a good challenge, I think. However, as vigilant as I am about creating consistently high quality edges, I find that it is really technique that’s required to get a great shave from different razors. With the sharpening process that I use, I can get edges on varying steels to perform almost identically in sharpness testing, and to look almost identical under high magnification. With this as a given I have found that I need to adapt my technique to get each razor type that I use to perform (for me) optimally.
That’s right. You need to account for the TWR(†), obviously 😅.
I just found another major flaw in the challenge. AA is summer vacation time and who’s going to pack their stone progression and straight den for the beach? This needs to be separate from AA, I think.
Fri Oct 25 2024 – Ahoy!
This is the first day of the last week of TabOKtoberfest, before le mois sans Tabac puts it on a forced hiatus.
This isn’t comparable to AA because I get to switch razors and brushes whenever I want, but a similar routine has set in; the soap, splash, and frag are already in place, the lather is perfectly dialled in (and this week, I’m also using the same brush every time). This routine really puts a spotlight on the difference between the different razors I’m using. I got a good shave today, but I noticed this edge is less smooth than yesterday’s Puma, and I’m not sure I’d have pinpointed the difference had I changed software in between. This could be a good basis for a new and improved $HoneMeisterschaft AA challenge next year. Instead of using one razor and hone it in the middle, we could use the routine compare edges of different razors (ideally very different ones, such as old soft Sheffield steel vs modern hard steel, carbon vs stainless, wedge vs hollow ground, straight vs smiling) and get them all to equal sharpness and smoothness. I’m a bit torn because it would clash with The Equestrian.
Enough stream-of-consciousness, the shave was great, made me think about shave routine pros and cons, I smell great, and you have a great day.
This is a good challenge, I think. However, as vigilant as I am about creating consistently high quality edges, I find that it is really technique that’s required to get a great shave from different razors. With the sharpening process that I use, I can get edges on varying steels to perform almost identically in sharpness testing, and to look almost identical under high magnification. With this as a given I have found that I need to adapt my technique to get each razor type that I use to perform (for me) optimally.
That’s right. You need to account for the TWR(†), obviously 😅.
I just found another major flaw in the challenge. AA is summer vacation time and who’s going to pack their stone progression and straight den for the beach? This needs to be separate from AA, I think.
(†) Thickness-to-width ratio
Especially in Europe ;-) Us Americans think that all Europeans take the full month of August off 🤣
We should! But sadly, we don’t 😩