That’s a big brush for the #SMOLL tag!

June 27, 2024

• Brush: Semogue 610
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (15)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Lyssa - Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Lyssa - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Jōvan Musk - EdT

This brush misses the #SMOLL scavenger hunt by 1mm. Oh well. It’s a small brush, but never has any trouble providing enough lather for 3+ passes.

Lyssa is an interesting floral scent. It’s floral without being flowery. I found this teaser video while researching scent notes (caution, it’s a facebook link).

According to this website, the scent notes are: rose, geranium, ashes, nutmeg, saffron, sage, oud, labdanum, oakmoss, patchouli, tobacco, smooth musk and Violets. The Wetshaving Database lists them slightly differently, as Saffron, Tobacco, Oud, Violet, Sage, Patchouli, Nutmeg, Ash, Oakmoss, Labdanum, Rose, Geranium.

Eiher way, that’s more than 10.

Relevant post shave and fragrance - Each item used today is used to either repel or attract. Lyssa is a zombie repellent, and musk is used by a lot of animals to attract mates. For me, however it seems to repel my spouse.

I just checked BestBuy, which is obviously not the best source of information, but all of the floor speakers they have come with grills. They show them without the grills, but there’s always a picture at the end to show that they come with them.

Edit: just browsed crutchfield.com and grills galore!

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (14)
• Lather: Noble Otter - Batters Up - Soap
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Hamami - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Hamami - EdP

Batters Up got such a bad rap, and it’s really too bad – but it’s honestly one of my all time favorites. It’s so good.

Relevant post and frag: Hamami is another scent from Noble Otter that tends to be divisive, and it’s also one of my all-time faves. So the relevance is that the scents are not loved by all, but are super-loved by me.

Brush cleaning - My brushes get a thorough rinse with warm water (even if I do a cold water shave) after every shave. I have a water softener in my house, so soap scum (the white residue, which to my knowledge is mostly stearic acid) takes a very long time to develop, or doesn’t develop at all. If I do clean a brush, I’m cleaning the white residue off the handle with a dry towel. It wipes right off.

I helped my father remove old sash, pulleys, weights etc from a house in PA. Old windows are really cool.

Vespers++

I like @OnionMiasma@sub.wetshaving.social’s little comedy bits in the end credits.

@PorkButtsNTaters666@sub.wetshaving.social I’m unpinning this post now. Once everyone gets their smushes and the event draws near we’ll pin a new one.

June 25, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm G5 Synthetic
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (13)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Promises - Soap
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - The Night Before - Aftershave
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Jitterbug - EdP

I got Promises recently for $5. This was the maiden shave for this particular tub. I had a sample prior to this and had no plans on buying it, but for $5 the scent is absolutely worth it. From the B&M website (taken from the aftershave page because the soap is sold out):

Winter is a special time in Upstate New York. Deer season opens, folks fire up their wood stoves, and the mountains become dusted with caps of glittering snow.

But, more exciting than any of those, the snowmobile trails open again. Promises is an ode to this most exhilarating time of the year, the smell of a warm drink from a thermos while out on the trail with friends. Notes of orange and bergamot are suffused with the warmth of real honey, whiskey lactone, peat, and nutmeg. To finish it off, we’ve incorporated the strange, rubbery, industrial character of a high grade saffron molecule to give the scent the feel of being out on the trail with idling sleds all around.

Promises is a slice of Northeastern wintertime. Let it snow!

This blade won’t quit. Excellent shaves all around.

What a neat little sample jar. Faux wood, I assume?

June 24, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm G5 Synthetic
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (12)
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles - Royal Garden - Soap
• Post Shave: Spearhead - Seaforth! Heather - Toner
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Jitterbug - EdP

Really good shave, especially considering the 12 uses on the blade so far.

This is a fun theme and makes me reflect on my first year or two, how people kept sending me stuff without me even asking. It got to a point where I started telling people “no, please, stop”.

I got Royal Garden before competing in my first Lather Games in the year 2021. I started wetshaving in July 2020, so I had a full year to get hyped and stocked up. @Ramjet615@sub.wetshaving.social sent me this big 2 oz Cbubs sample, along with a bunch of other samples. I think I still have some of them, but this is the only one that I specifically remember coming from him.

Relevant post-shave and frag: This aftershave was given to me by my lovely wife as a birthday gift (along with matching soap and frag). Jitterbug was given to me by @mammothben@sub.wetshaving.social after I helped him a spreadsheet that changed his life forever.

June 23, 2024

• Brush: AP Shave Co. - 24mm 2Bed Synthetic #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1) #CNC
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (11)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Almond Creme - Soap
• Post Shave: Old Spice - Hawkridge - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Brut - EdT

Theme justification, from the Stirling website:

Scent Description

Delicious Marzipan is the second name for this soap. It really needs no other description, other than to say you might try to eat it. It tastes like soap, though. Don’t ask how I know…..For Men and Women.

I used the “#CNC” tag earlier in the games, but thanks to the portal I was able to realize that I effed it up and put it in the wrong place. So here’s my second attempt at getting that scavenger hunt item.

For the “#FAUXFUR” tag, it will be up to the lovely judge to decide. The AP Shave Co. website doesn’t have much in the way of marketing descriptions, but with the lower part of the bristles being light colored, then a band of darker color, then another band of light color – it looks like it’s imitating a badger knot. But, if it’s deemed to not count, I’m ok with that.

I don’t care.

I help moderate a community that tries to mirror how things were done on Reddit, and over time we decided “this isn’t Reddit, we don’t have nearly as many users as Reddit, so there’s no need to run this place like Reddit”.

Eventually this community and others will reach a tipping point where there’s a need to cull posts and have stricter content guidelines, but for now I think it’s ok to be a bit lax.

I just put a new prop on my 60" Extreme Flight Laser. Between the spinner and the prop there are 6 screws and 4 bolts, so it took me 2 an hour and a half to drill holes in the new prop, balance it, and install it.

I bought a simulator recently and it’s really helpful for learning new tricks. All of the old farts at the club feel like they’re getting a free airshow when I fly!

I’ve never been able to go to a gym for exercise, so it has to be something outdoors. Hiking is great exercise if your knees can take it. It’s gentler than a lot of other stuff, but downhill can be a knee-buster.

I have a lot of hobbies, and I decided a while ago to trim my time down to wetshaving and RC airplanes.

Tinkering with electronics will be reserved for an “as needed” basis, like when something in my smart-home setup stops working, and I sold most of my woodworking stuff.

Unfortunately, RC airplanes and shaving do nothing for my physical fitness, and I’ve always had an interest in biking. I have a nice road bike, but I refuse to ride it on actual roads so I don’t get run over, and having to put the bike in my car to drive to the nearest rail-trail isn’t much fun.

I have a mountain bike from 2004 (20 years old!) which has a steel frame, a hard tail, and 26" wheels. I’ve tried riding it on the trails behind my house, but it doesn’t quite cut the mustard. Modern mountain bikes have changed A LOT, and I’ve wanted one for the past few years…

So I got one. It has full suspension, an aluminum alloy frame, 29" wheels, a dropper post, and geometry that’s “slacked out” as the kids say.

I’ve been on 2 rides so far, and already feeling stronger. It’s so much more fun than the old bike, and we’re lucky to have numerous trails to ride around here. I have a small trail system right in my back yard, or I can throw the bike in my car (I know I said I don’t like doing that, but it’s worth it if it’s fun) and have access to probably 30 miles of different trails within a 10 minute drive.

I’m stoked! Gnarly!

June 22, 2024

• Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3 #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: GEM Damaskeene
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (4)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann/Zingari Man - Nocturne - Soap
• Post Shave: Chatillon Lux - Gratiot League Square - Aftershave

I can’t believe these Trafalgar brushes are $45 now. I think when my wife got it for me they were closer to $30? Maybe I’m remembering wrong.

Anyway, assuming this is the knot they use, it’s $21 at AP Shave Co. https://apshaveco.com/products/28mm-independent-synthetic-fibre-knot-bulb-uhd

Killer towel!

Have you ever tried it? It’s quite sophisticated. At least compared to a plastic bottle.

Like drinking Coke out of a glass bottle?