You no doubt have already read the announcement post which laid out the selections for the month’s shaves and some of the reasoning behind them. If not, please do so here.
This week, I take on 3 razors, two blades, just two brushes, a new shave soap that I decided to buy after saying I really loved the sample but didn’t see a need to get a full tub of soap for it, and the last Proraso Sunday shave for two weeks.
Again, this entire month–12 planned shaves–is a nod to what I’ve learned about shaving, what I’ve learned about my skin, and a celebration of my love of shaving. I’m now officially 2 years in, and it’s time to keep exploring the collection and see what I can come up with.
Yes, I’m opening up with a razor-blade combo that I used in the last week of March 2026. So it doesn’t seem like a likely candidate to throw into this weeks shaves, does it? But it does. I wanted to get the Wizamet in the other milds, and what better way to compare than to throw it one more time in the Henson? What can I say? It’s my wife’s birthday and we’ve got a date on that first evening, so I wanted a good shave.
The astute among you will also realize that my birthday is on Tuesday. Now, I could have gone down the rabbit hole and put together something truly amazing, but since I wanted to give all 12 razors a try this month, I need to get the Parker in, and when I tried the Cremo earlier this year, I thought it would be a good option for that. I’ll also be pulling out the Parker blade, which is a good choice because it lets me check off another manufacturer’s blade pairing while also trying out one of the reportedly least aggressive or sharp blades in the collection. I will, however, have the Henson and the Wizamet standing by to clean things up if I decide to just do one WTG pass with the Parker and then move on.
But the thing is that I really, really want to like the Parker. It’s just so pretty and the slant looks cool. But it’s just so aggressive on my skin…Truth be told, the last time I pulled it out was on October 2025, 283 days before its use on Tuesday. And that just isn’t right. I really am getting to the point where if I can’t make it work for me, I’ll have to sell or give it to someone else.
Let’s be honest, there isn’t anything spectacular about this shave week. But I am looking forward to returning to the Edwin Jagger soap, which I last used (the cream version, anyway) back in early April. I really did like it at the time, but the pre-shave and after shaves were just not up to the quality of the lather, and I couldn’t figure out how the three of these were paired anyway.
So as I kick off year 3 of my shaves, let’s hope for a strong, enjoyable week, and another year of discovery and exploration!
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #316. The Proraso Sunday White Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Henson AL-13+ Mild
- Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium
- Pre-Shave: Proraso Sensitive pre-shave cream (white)
- Brush: Omega S10049 synthetic brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Proraso Sensitive shaving soap (white)
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Proraso Sensitive after shave balm (white)
- Stats:
- The Henson Mild is scoring an average rating of 22.09
- The Wizamet Super Iridium blade is scoring an average rating of 24.00 (all in the Henson mild
- 65th shave with the Henson mild
- 4th shave with the Wizamet
- 31st shave with the Proraso Sensitive shaving soap and companions set
- 79th shave with the Proraso boar brush
- 130th almost perfect shave
- 10th consecutive almost perfect shave
- 51st shave with an overall rating of 24 (20.3% of all logged shaves)
And we’re off!
The first shave of the third year was, not unexpectedly, outstanding. Very pleasant, very close, very enjoyable.
The Henson mild really shines with moderately aggressive to aggressive blades, and paired with the Wizamet, it performs very well. Add in the Proraso white soap and the rest of the set, and I had an excellent rich, thick lather with a very slick base.
I keep saying it in one way or another, but this is the kind of shave I set out to find–close, comfortable, enjoyable, fun and effective. Two years ago when I got into this, all I wanted was a shave that was better and that I could enjoy and not dread. Not shaving was not an option for me, and I ended up finding a pursuit that I genuinely enjoy and look forward to. And I’ve achieved it with still more to discover.
So, with one razor down and 11 to go, I move ahead to what might just be the most challenging shave on Tuesday with the Parker Semi-Slant. But I’ll do it because there’s always something to learn and improve upon.
Comfort: 25 of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 of 25
Overall: 24 of 25
Tuesday’s Shave, #317. The Cremo Slant Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Parker 55SL Semi-Slant
- Blade: Parker Premium Platinum
- Pre-Shave: Carden Farms Unscented shave stick
- Brush: None
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Cremo Sensitive Shave Cream
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Barbasol 1919 after shave balm
- Stats:
- The Parker is scoring an average rating of 17.86 (going into the shave)
- The Parker finished the shave with an average rating of 18.50
- 8th shave with the Parker Semi-Slant
- This is the first shave with the Parker blade
- 2nd shave with the Cremo lather (watch for the full rating later!)
- 5th shave with the Carden Farms pre-shave
- 28th shave with the Barbasol 1919 balm
- 131st almost perfect shave
- 11th consecutive almost perfect shave
- 80th shave with an overall rating of 23 (31.7% of all logged shaves)
When I planned this shave, I was hopeful that it would be at least comfortable and close. But I was also prepared to expect a disappointing result. It’s no secret here that I’ve struggled with the Parker Semi-Slant, mostly because it just comes off as too aggressive for me, especially on my neck.
But today, for my birthday shave, I got the best shave I’ve ever had with the Parker–mostly close and remarkably comfortable. There was some sting with the alum, but not a lot, and there isn’t any lingering razor burn at all. And that thrills me. It puts those doubts and thoughts of permanently giving up on the razor aside for the moment and gives me hope that I can make this work and use it more often than every six months or so.
I can’t be sure if today’s shave was great because of the Parker blade, which has a reputation as a very mild blade, or if it’s because of the Cremo lather, which I noted when I finished its first shave as being very slick and pleasant and seemed perfect for a very aggressive shave.
Either way, this was a winner and, frankly, a big surprise, and one that I’m thinking I’ll have to come back to from time to time to just see if I can replicate the result.
Comfort: 23 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 23 out of 25
Overall: 23 out of 25
Thursday’s Shave, #318. The Edwin Jagger Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Mühle R89
- Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium
- Pre-Shave: Edwin Jagger hydrating pre-shave lotion
- Brush: Yaqi R2002-S Lucky Dice synthetic
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Edwin Jagger Aloe Vera shaving soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Harry’s Post Shave Balm
- Stats:
- The Mühle R89 is scoring an average rating of 23.77 going into the shave. After the shave, it’s averaging 23.79
- The Wizamet, after this shave is still scoring an average rating of 24.00
- 14th shave with the Mühle razor
- 5th shave with the Edwin Jagger lather (technically…I had 4 with a sample, then on a whim decided to throw this in the cart)
- 6th blade used with the Mühle R89
- 2nd shave with the Yaqi R2002-S Lucky Dice brush
- 10th shave with Harry’s post shave balm
- 132nd almost perfect shave
- 12th consecutive almost perfect shave
- 52nd shave with an overall rating of 24 (20.6% of all logged shaves)
The last shave of the first week of the Anniversary Month shaves is in the books! And it, unsurprisingly, was excellent–comfortable with almost no irritation and outstanding closeness.
The Mühle, paired with an aggressive blade like the Wizamet, performs wonderfully. This shave was close and very comfortable, with only minimal extra strokes needed to clean up the usual spots.
The Edwin Jagger pre-shave is now gone, which was the point of using it in this shave. I keep forgetting how strongly menthol and cooling it is, but it just doesn’t do a whole lot in terms of slickness. But the lather is thick and rich and has a very light, fresh scent. It worked very well and was nicely slick.
The second use of the Yaqi Lucky Dice brush just reinforced that it (and every synthetic brush I have) work wonderfully in both lathering and applying the lather to my skin. It’s comfortable but stiff enough to really work up a nicely thick lather.
So, week one is done and I move on to week 2. Next week, another revisit of an original razor–the Van Der Hagen. Stay tuned!
Comfort: 24 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 out of 25
Overall: 24 out of 25