WSO Shave of the Day

Tuesday 3/18/2014

Ikon Shavecraft 101

Personna Med Prep

Restored Vintage Rubberset 20mm Silvertip

WetShaveObsession Ultimate Pre-Shave Oil

WstShaveObsession Green Irish Tweed Premium Shave Soap

WetShaveObsession Green Irish Tweed Premium Aftershave Balm

       So this was a belated St Patrick's Day shave focusing on the Green Irish Tweed scented WetShaveObsession Products. I really enjoy this scent. Its not to heavy and is very versatile. It works in winter/summer. It is an upscale scent but you can wear it casually. Even though it is far from a new scent it is definitely a more modern scent than many wetshaving products used like you Bay Rums and you Sandalwoods etc. This fact alone puts it on the wife's favorites list.

       On to the shave. It was a very nice shave. I have read a lot of feedback about the Shavecraft 101 and it being to mild etc. I personally love it. Im really becoming a fan of many products that Phil over at Bullgoose sells. He seems to have a knack with establishing good vendor relationships and then passing the benefits of that along to his customers. This is evidenced in the Shavecraft 101 as well as the Vie-Long brushes he has them make for him to sell. So the shavecraft, I have found 2 things that have made it a fantastic razor for me. Number one- The first pass I have to use the open comb side. The closed comb side is not aggressive enough for my first pass. The open comb side is perfect. I then use the closed comb side for my final 2 passes. Number 2 - I noticed or realized the proper blade angle with this razor is different than most. You need to hold it with the handle at a bigger angle than most DE Razors. Once I figured out these 2 things, this razor gives me a fantastic shave.

       The brush is a Rubberset I restored. The bottom yellow translucent portion was literally black when I got it. I honestly thought the base was brown or black. I had all intentions of selling it after restoring it, but I just could not part with it. The transformation of this brush was pretty amazing and I had to keep it. Its knotted with a Whipped Dog Silvertip. I was concerned as the portion of the brush where the knot is seated isn't very deep so I wasn't able to have the loft as low as I would have liked. I worried that it would lack backbone. It is not an issue. The brush performs fantastically and is very versatile. I can use to mug, bowl or face lather very well, creams or soaps. I actually prefer a larger knot, but I am very fond of this brush and keep using it despite the 20mm knot diameter.

       The shave itself was a nice 3 pass shave, WG, XG , AG. Actually it was better than a nice shave, it was an excellent shave. The WSO soap performed well. Ample amounts of lather which held up well through all 3 passes with plenty to spare. I have noticed with the Pre-Shave Oil applying it earlier seems to make it even more effective for me. I usually apply it, then lather my soap, then shave. Well lately I have waited about 4-5 minutes and the difference is noticeable. The Pre-Shave oil s designed to rapidly enter the pores of your skin as opposed to many pre-shave oils out there or home made pre shave oils using grocery store vegetable oils. These tend to lay on the surface of the skin. Very ineffective. Anyway it only takes a minute or so for the oil to enter the pores but I found if I waited longer the effect is more prevalent. If you rub your cheek after that amount of time has passed you cannot even feel any oil was applied, yet when you shave you certainly can tell one was. The aftershave was nice. Soothing, not greasy, pleasant scent. I apply it to my entire face, under my eyes etc. 

       Overall I really enjoyed today's shave. I hope everyone out there enjoys theirs as well. Stay tuned for tomorrows SOTD when I use a GEM SE for the first time!

Enjoy Your Shaves!

Regards,

Jim@WetShaveObsession