22.05.2025

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid knot
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
• Lather: Australian Private Reserve - Raconteur
• Post-Shave: Moon Soaps - OldSchool “balm”

-> 2-pass head shave and a very great one if I may add.

Even though I wanted to drop out of BVWSC until further notice, @walden@sub.wetshaving.social generously provided me with a sample too. Maybe he knew this scent is right up my alley? Anyways, I couldn’t let this generous opportunity pass even though my shave got delayed quite a bit by studying and beard trimming:

I had no problems to lather the APR base, perhaps this one likes soft water. My experience with APR is extremely limited, but I once got a small sample for the Lather Games '21 (IIRC it was “Fenchurch”?). It left my skin a bit dry after shaving, though that’s not uncommon for me. Overall it was pretty slick.

Now the scent is the real star: a great blend of leather and woody notes, generally a warm scent IMHO and somehow very comfy. Like driving around while wearing your favourite leather jacket. The runny Moon Soaps “balm” kinda fits nicely, even though it’s way sweeter than Raconteur. I know you folks like kinda bizarre comparisons, so here’s one: I think Raconteur is the well-groomed, toned down cousin of Midnight Stag and Valley of Ashes. Does a solid and stable job and won’t overstay it’s welcome. Also definitely more of a people pleaser than the aforementioned “fuck you, I wear this for myself”-scents.

Have a good time, everyone. 👍🏻

18.05.2025

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin handle w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid knot
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
• Lather: E&S Rasage - Shaman
• Post-Shave: Lavera Men sensitive ASB

-> 2-pass head shave (WTG, ATG) and 1 (WTG) around the beard. Good shave but very sloppy lather.

Initially I couldn’t even get any lather going with this soap, but I refused to give up and it kinda paid off. I don’t know if it maybe is due to the many oils E&S uses in their soap, but at first it only produced a watery mess with a deep brown tinge (I’ll keep any comparisons to myself for the sake of you fine folks keeping your lunch in). I actually had to really grind my brush into the tub and swirl it like I was stirring up something to get it to something useable. While I really enjoy this one’s tobacco heavy scent, lathering it is no pleasure compared to my other soaps.

Not shaving for 5 days meant that I had a considerable amount of stubble to knock down, but I am pleased that the Thorn does it quite effectively.

I used this shave to calm down, atm the stress of studying is really wearing me out. I think I need to slow things down a bit, the last four days (including the weekend) have been nothing but writing tons of stuff down.

Nevertheless, have an amazing day ✌🏻

Haha, it definitely used to be like this for me too! Now with the pre-exam panic, I tend to actually study but my inner perfectionist still says it’s not enough. At least I have a small group chat with 3 other classmates and the exchange there helps to repeat certain topics.

13.05.2025

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin handle w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid knot
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - The Full Measure of Man
• Post-Shave: Lavera Men sensitive ASB

-> single pass headshave, mostly ATG; coupled with a single WTG cleanup around the beard. Good shave.

I was in the mood for Tobacco and so a few soaps of mine came into consideration. FMOM is always a solid choice though, I really slept on this scent for a long time.

Nursing school exam prep is currently a shit show, thanks to sick teachers we’re mostly at home (except for three hours tomorrow) and learn whatever we deem necessary. We get some old exams by email from our teachers to familiarize with the weirdest way of asking questions ever, but that’s it. I used today for very theoretical concepts and basics of communication psychology, so this shave was also used as some form of palate cleanser from very dull activities.

The good thing about this home schooling is the flexible schedule, so I can start whenever I want to; this is also a double edged sword however, since I tend to feel like I’m not doing enough and take to many breaks. Then I try to compensate by late night studying sessions. Well, nobody said it would be easy…

11.05.2025

• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Ghost Town Barber
• Post-Shave: Lavera Men sensitive ASB

-> 2-pass head shave and one WTG cleanup pass around the stubble.

Pre-Exam period is the funny time where you worry about the stupidest things: namely, I was researching the best pen for writing exams for quite some time today. Turns out that most of the high-class metal ones aren’t it - at least now I know what to look for tomorrow. (But in case anyone has any high quality ballpoint pen recommendations, I will gladly look at them!)

I thought that since I am late, I might as well shave. And it was good. GTB is really nice to calm down, CF doesn’t do a super high-end base but at least it’s quick to lather and reliable.

Yeah, I got rid of the circle beard/goatee and it was the final time trying. It’s just too much maintenance for something too small. I like myself better with the short stubble, those patchy spots be damned. Maybe I just need to learn to live with a bit of imperfection, even though that’s admittedly hard for myself. I rather prefer to focus on achieving a smooth dome and nicely shaved neckline.

Also, dear @walden@wetshaving.social , I got your sample letter - Thanks! I don’t know if I can make it, but I’ll try for sure.

06.05.2025

• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - King of Bourbon
• Post-Shave: Lavera Men sensitive ASB

-> 1-pass WTG head and face shave. Increased the frequency, still kept it at a single pass though.

Also one of my odd partial face shaves, have gone back to a full goatee from my scraggly unkempt long stubble and to make this stand out, you need to shave around it. Who knows, maybe I’ll keep it this time around if I maintain it at a fairly short length.

Shaving with the Thorn instead of the Cyber is a bit less comfortable, but this one is great for even lines and general efficiency.

Have a nice evening/night/whatevertimeitisinyourtimezone✌🏻

04.05.2025

• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Razor: RazoRock Cyber Medium w/ Superknurl handle
• Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: Abbate Y La Mantia - Blu Tobacco
• Post-Shave: Lavera Men sensitive ASB

-> single pass WTG head shave again. Not very close, but comfortable nonetheless.

Trying to be more active in wetshaving is difficult when there’s a thousand other things on your mind. I even had to get back to my bathroom because I couldn’t remember the right name for the artisan…

However, this was a nice night shave to calm down before it’s back to nursing school tomorrow. Final month before the exams, crunch time. A nice shave helps to clear my head before this (figuratively and literally).

Anyways, have a nice start into the new week! ✌🏻

It really is awful… usually letterboxes are spared from vandalism except the occasional guerilla sticker or graffiti. They’re also built pretty safe, but my colleagues said that the lowlifes in their town usually used fireworks to damage them. I really am glad that the township and the Deutsche Post installed a letterbox right at the entrance of our nursing home recently. More watchful eyes thanks to our 3-shift-system so less chances of vandalism and short ways for our residents who want to send letters to their family from further away. Win-win.

Damn them indeed, but lesson learned - I now only trust the single letterbox left in my small village, but for everything international it’ll be the post office.

Thanks! I sure will be relieved once everything’s over, but at least there’s light at the end of the tunnel now. 👍🏻

I finished the last day of my practical training (ok, it was just 500 hours total in my nursing home) before my exams. On Monday, it’s back to nursing school and the exams start in June with the written part. I’m excited when I am finally done with my retraining and get my RN license in September.

The written exams will be the worst part, lots of theory to memorize and unfortunately they are the very first part. I’m not very afraid about the practical exam in July and the final oral exam at the end of August - there’s a myriad of topics to draw, but I should have enough knowledge and communication skills to pass those. And more time to prepare. It’s unfortunate how much I neglect hobbies and everything else due to the exam period, but thankfully I begin to improve in terms of my mental wellbeing. Slowly, but steadily.

I also think I know now what happened to the BVWSC March letters - if my colleagues who live in the small town where I work are right, it’s not DHL who are to blame but stupid vandalism. According to them, the letterbox is now gone as it was in a very troublesome neighbourhood (who would’ve thought in such a small rural town?!?) and was often the target of idiots who put it on fire for fun. They told me the last known fire incident was at the end of February - which unfortunately matches up with the time I put my letters in. So it seems like everything was lost to a fire thanks to some morons. I always hated vandalism, but now I know for sure: if I ever send something important out again that I really, really want to reach its destination - I will only send it via post office. I will never understand why some people think it’s a good idea to harm their own community - be it destroying letterboxes, park benches, sculptures or worst of all public playgrounds. But unfortunately, it is what it is. Just sad about the wasted postage and soap samples, but thankfully no one was seriously harmed.

Very late, but: Happy birthday! 🥳🎉

Thanks walden! I hope that everything goes smoothly and that I can be a bit more active here.

Hi! 👋🏻 Thanks, things are finally moving in the right direction. Hope to be a bit more active here even in my exam period.

27.04.2025

• Brush: RazoRock F-400 34 mm
• Razor: RazoRock Cyber Medium w/ Superknurl handle
• Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Transition
• Post-Shave: Lavera Men sensitive ASB

-> single pass WTG head shave and a bit of buffing. Comfortable shave.

This seemed like a cool combo for this Sunday night shave. Transition is warm yet inoffensive and WK soap always treats my skin good - it also helped that I used my mildest razor. Had some trouble to get a good lather with the behemoth of a brush, but it worked on my second attempt.

Stayed with a single WTG pass though, after weeks with just a trimmer I simply lack the muscle memory for more.

My Sunday was not only spent studying, so that’s a big plus. Have a nice evening/day/night ✌🏻

Very late to the thread, but I don’t mind…

Lots of positive changes happened lately. I was able to score an A in my last “preparation exam” - to explain, a teacher from nursing school visits us in our workplace and we’re graded on our performance in just the ‘nursing’ part of our job, not the documentation. We give a good overview of our patients/residents’ diagnoses and medication, but we don’t write an extensive daily care plan like we do in the real final exams. My score was barely an A (1), but I’m still very confident in my skills now.

Second I was finally able to order a used car for me, even though my mother had to get involved to validate my credit rating. The bank didn’t care that as a future nurse I could find work easily. Well, now I wait for the delivery… Thankfully it has all the features I was looking for and my favourite design of the line (all black with a red stripe around the roof).

Currently most of my time apart from working and household chores is spent on preparing for the written exams, as they’ll be in the first week of June. Not much time for hobbies… But I hope to get a nice and relaxing shave done today.

Happy belated birthday! 🎉

30.03.2025

• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Unscented
• Post-Shave: Lavera - men sensitive ASB

-> single pass shave, head and face area.

Had nothing else to do so I figured I might as well take a nice slow relaxed shave.

Did better than expected, just one weeper on the head and a bit of redness around the goatee. I went back to partial beards since minoxidil wasn’t working after 2 months, if anything it made things worse.
Hope everyone has/had a nice Sunday.

Thanks a lot DJ 🙏🏻 Unfortunately currently nothing is anywhere close to fun for me, everything feels like a chore and there’s quite a lot to get done. At least I don’t have any suicidal thoughts anymore so that’s a little better. Small steps.

Thank you very much. Fortunately I didn’t send the razor head you were asking for with the sample, as I really don’t want it to get lost in an uninsured and untracked letter. I hope everything will get easier soon, currently it’s just loads of stress in every aspect of my life. Nothing’s fun anymore and shaving has also turned into a chore again.

I’ll do my best

Thanks. I hope it’ll become less stressful soon.