Share your shave of the day for Thursday!
Otto go Hone
- Brush: Dogclaration LG 2022 Mystery Brush (B16)
- Razor: Dovo Bismarck 2
- Lather: Saponificio Varesino – Cosmo
- Post Shave: Saponificio Varesino – 70ᵗʰ
- Fragrance: Giorgio Armani – Acqua di Giò
I followed @gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social’s foot steps and used my Bismarck with SV soap today, but I left out the most important step of his: refreshing the edge. To my big surprise, the edge has not magically improved since my last shave with it and I had passable, if slightly tuggy shave. The Iron Chancellor needs to go on the hone before his next sortie. At least I didn’t have any reason to make “Blood and Iron” puns.
I wonder about the branding of this razor. Really the only famous Bismarcks I know of are the Iron Chancellor, who is one of the main (if inadvertent) architects of WW1, and the (Nazi) battleship of the Kriegsmarine named after him. Neither of these two are great reasons to name a product after, IMO.
70th++;
The Iron Chancellor has been amazing once it decided to take a good edge. I’ve wondered about the name too, however, I’m loving the shave from this razor. Very close to a Fili 14.
Very close to a Fili 14.
Oh damn, that’s very high praise. I’m … skeptical 🧐
I’ve spent a bit of my lunch break honing mine, let’s see whether I can get it into a similarly praiseworthy state 🙂
I’m … skeptical
I understand completely! Back in April, I managed to get a 250nm nanocloth edge on the Bismarck. I did this by refreshing the edge using softer, less abrasive water stones from my collection, adding more edge trailing strokes, and stropping between the 8K and 12K, between the 12K and 250nm, and after the 250nm. I did not expect much, but I was stunned by how good this edge was, and how amazing the razor shaved. I decided that the slurry from the softer stones was a key factor in the result I achieved. Since then, I have been playing with using slurry to dampen forces and provide more gentle abrasion at the edge. This seems to have worked wonders on all edges that I have produced. I’ve spent a lot of time doing sharpness tests and microscope analysis to help verify overall improvement. The only time I don’t use slurry now is on final polishing on very hard stones (e.g. Black Arkansas, Jnats, etc.), and I have a ways to go to learn how far I can push an edge on these types of stones.
The edge on my Bismarck now, is a Jnat edge from a new stone that I received in August. Perhaps if I compared the previous synthetic edge to the new one I could tell a difference, but really, I can’t. Once you get a fine edge on this razor it transforms from “meh” to amazing.
See, I was happily using my single Naniwa 10’000/3’000 combination stone and a lapping plate, and now this puts me in danger of falling into a natural stone rabbit hole 😅
I’ll see how well my synth refresh or the edge worked, first 😀
My hunch is that a truly well-formed edge feels and cuts the same way regardless of the stone combination used. At the end of the day we’re shaping metal using abrasion. Whether you use a synthetic material or a natural material to do this, the objective is the same. As you know, I test for sharpness and I use very high magnification to assess edge quality. When there is similarity in these results, the difference in edge feel using different stones (for me) is very small.
I wonder about the branding of this razor. Really the only famous Bismarcks I know of are the Iron Chancellor, who is one of the main (if inadvertent) architects of WW1, and the (Nazi) battleship of the Kriegsmarine named after him.
This is also the guy who more or less singlehandedly achieved German unification (before Helmut Kohl 🤔). AYLM has Garibaldi, so let’s give DOVO Bismarck.
Edit: In case you’re interested there’s a good biography - Bismarck : A Life which is available at the library named after the first book of the bible.
It was originally a brand of its own, and predated WWI. Dovo bought the trademark in the 50s, so presumably it was named after the Otto Von Bismarck. I did however always think Bismarck was also a title or honorific of some nature also, but this may be my mistake.
Regardless, I need to buy myself one just to have in the rotation just like having a Friodur and a W&B wedge is required for any collector
It was originally a brand of its own, and predated WWI. Dovo bought the trademark in the 50s, so presumably it was named after the Otto Von Bismarck.
That sounds right, and I found a source for the founding date: 1892, two years after Bismarck retired as chancellor
The family name of the maker was Müller, not Bismarck, and at that point in time, everyone would have thought of the chancellor when reading the name.
Regardless, I need to buy myself one just to have in the rotation
I know that predicament 😅
September 28, 2023
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Brush: AP Shave Co Black 26mm G5A
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Razor: Dovo Bismarck 6/8" Full Hollow Round Point (Straight Shave 340)
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Lather: Saponificio Varesino - 70th Anniversary - Soap (63)
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Post Shave: Saponificio Varesino - 70th Anniversary - Aftershave
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Post Shave: None
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Fragrance: Saponificio Varesino - 70th Anniversary - Eau de Parfum
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
Another travel shave. I forgot a strop so the razor was not stropped after yesterday’s shave. Didn’t make a difference. Another very close comfortable 2-pass shave from this razor.
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Sep. 28, 2023
- Brush: Yaqi 26mm Synthetic
- Razor: Karve CB SB D
- Blade: Astra SP Green
- Lather: Barrister And Mann - Adagi - Soap
- Post Shave: Barrister And Mann - Adagi - Aftershave
Good shave. Nicked my adams apple being careless. This blade seemed to drop off quickly it was a but rough so I tossed it.
Prep: Splash of Cool Water
Razor: Timeless - Titanium .68 Solid Bar
Blade: Wilkinson Sword (India) (1)
Lather: Fine Accoutrements - Aquamarine
Brush: Zenith - Horse Extra Soft (507N XS) (15 uses)
Post Shave: Stirling - Dunshire
䷀ General Notes
Testing the Slurry Lather method with a Horse brush, and the excellent classic hard puck from Fine Accoutrements. Spoiler: an excellent shave.
䷀ Razor and Blade Notes
(Timeless - Titanium .68 - Solid Bar ::: Wilkinson Sword - India ‹1 uses›)
This was a great use, because the WS blade is a really cheap one, and the Timeless head design grips so well, that it makes sure I get a great shave, even on a budget blade.
Barely any blade feel, and super close result!
Razor and Blade Performance/Comfort Rating: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)
䷀ Soap Notes
(Fine Accoutrements - Aquamarine)
Them: “an exceptionally relaxing green-aquatic fragrance developed in collaboration with West Coast Shaving”
“Aquamarine evokes the carefree feeling of relaxing sea-side, under a warm sun, accompanied only by the rhythmic sound of the surf.”
“Notes: lemon, sweet orange, rosemary, algae, oakmoss, driftwood, amber, musk”
Scent (Me): citrus, rosemary, wood, musk. fresh green aquatic.
Scent Strength: 4/10, lightly present during shaving.
Lather… Yes, the horse and Fine Accoutrements classic hard puck soap work very well with the Slurry Lather method.
Slurry on pass one, then pass two was almost a mature lather, and then pass 3 needed a bit more water, since I don’t think I started out with quite enough.
Super slick lather at each stage, providing the excellent glide that the Fine base always gives me. Just the kind of slickness that I love.
I did have to dip the tips in pass 1 because I don’t think I started out with enough water in the brush.
Hydration: Perfect (for me)
- 13 sec load with a Very Wet brush
- = 5 passes of lather
Bowl: No Bowl
䷀ Brush Notes
(Zenith - Horse Extra Soft - 507N XS ‹15 uses›)
So, today I learned that the Slurry lather is going to tell you the brutal truth about your brush… at least in terms of the tip feel.
Lather with any kind of viscosity will hide exactly how firm your tips are by a certain degree. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
But I felt a little prickle with this horse brush, that I only felt before at the very start. So I added that little note to my growing data for the Slurry Lather method.
This horse, and probably most horse brushes, are more regular density, and it performed similarly as my regular density badgers, which is to say that it worked with the slurry method very well.
But on average, it seems that horses don’t have as many tips as badgers, so the water wasn’t as concentrated toward the tips, so a quick dip in water was needed during the first pass. Maybe not shaking out as much water would have the same result.
But the brush had plenty of lather for three passes, probably four or more.
A more mature lathering method is going to be more comfy with the horse, but at least now we know that if you need to whip up a slurry lather for a speedy shave, a horse is a quick option, pun intended.
During the Shave Feel:
Cheeks: Almost Smooth
Neck: Felt blade but comfortable
After the Shave Closeness:
Cheeks: Near BBS - About as close as I’ll ever get
Neck: Near BBS - About as close as I’ll ever get
Ending of Blades Ledger - entry form and the data spreadsheet
Sep 28, 2023 - Sample September: Trade Winds
- Brush: Highlander Brushes Jade 26mm Cashmere Knot
- Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy (Aluminum)
- Blade: Personna Lab Blue [3]
- Lather: Moon Soaps - Trade Winds - Soap
- Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Sea Spice Lime - Toner
- Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Sea Spice Lime - Eau de Toilette
This was an excellent #themethursday shave for World Maritime Day. Trade Winds is a fresh, slightly spicy scent with a blast of lime. SSL rounded out the shave perfectly. These pirates and sailors don’t have to worry about the o’le scurvy.
Rating: 4.5/5
September 28, 2023
- Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
- Razor: Gillette Red Tip Super Speed
- Blade: Personna 74 (39)
- Lather: Chatillon Lux/Storybook Soap Works - La Forêt de Liguist - Soap
- Post Shave: Chatillon Lux - Delor de Treget
- Fragrance: Azzaro - Pour Homme Night Time - EdT
It might be time to toss this blade. Still good and comfy, but not as close on my neck.
