When I was planning the month, I knew I was going to get in all of the razors. So I basically just throwing them into the plan with no real consideration to their order. And since I was just going to mix up the blades as well, the razor order became less important. But even today, getting the pictures taken and looking at the plan, I realized I should have swapped the VDH with the Merkur Progress Adjustable so that I’d be using all three adjustables back-to-back-to-back.
Yeah, an opportunity missed, but then I realized that if I was to do a true comparison (which I need to do some day), I’ll want to do it with one blade across all 3. And probably stretch the comparison to 2 or 3 weeks. So that will be saved for another time.
So what’s special about this week? Quite honestly? Nothing. Except I get back to the Cella red soap. And I give the Cella Riserva Fresco soap it’s second go (the first try was in March, so it’s been a while). I also return to the TOBS Organic for the first time since March, so again, that’s due. So, no. Nothing special, but that’s got a place in all of my shaves as well. Get back to lathers I haven’t used in a while. Get the Van Der Hagen out for it’s annual shave.
Because at some point, all I’ll have will be normal, nothing special shaves. But they’ll still hopefully be good or great shaves, just in a combination I may not have tried yet.
So that’s this week. See what I can make of just normal, everyday shaves. use things I’ve used before, and see how it goes a second or sixth time around. And just enjoy the ride.
It’s pretty simple.
Now, I may just try using one of the witch hazel and aloe splashes I have and haven’t used much, just to see how they compare to an alum block. But that’s it. Nothing special at all.
Except that there’s no Proraso Sunday shave this week. I’m using Cella products on a Sunday instead. But that’s it. Really this time.
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #319. The Cella Riserva Fresco Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Rockwell 6C plate 2
- Blade: Astra Superior Stainless (blue
- Pre-Shave: Cella pre-shave gel (red)
- Brush: Omega 10019 synthetic brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Cella Professionale Riserva Fresco shaving cream
- Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. Unscented with Menthol witch hazel & aloe
- After Shave: Cella after shave balm (red)
- Stats:
- The Rockwell 6C plate 2 is averaging a rating of 22.44 in 18 shaves
- The Astra blue blades are averaging a rating of 23.40 in 10 shaves
- 19th shave with the Rockwell plate 2 (you’d know that already if you read the first stat)
- 11th shave with the Astra blue blades (again, read above)
- 2nd shave with the Cella Riserva Fresco lather
- 52nd shave with the Astra 10019 boar brush
- 16th blade used with the Rockwell
- 133rd almost perfect shave
- 13th consecutive almost perfect shave
- 53rd shave with an overall rating of 24 (20.9% of all logged shaves)
So yeah, this not-every-Sunday-is-a-Proraso-Sunday-shave thing might just catch on. Especially if every shave is going to be like this one.
The Rockwell 6C plate 2 is nicely mild and comfortable and the Astra blue blade is medium-aggressive, and that made for an outstanding comfortable shave that was more efficient than I expected. I could have moved up to plate 3, but this just feels like the right place for me right now.
The Cella combo worked very well–the pre-shave gel is nicely slick, though after a full pass in an area, there isn’t much residual slickness remaining, so reapplying some lather is needed before the next set of strokes. The Cella Riserva Fresco has a very light, pleasant, earthy and fresh scent, and it made some prodigious lather from just a peanut-sized blob of soap scooped from the sample container.
I made the decision to have the option to swap in the Stirling Soap witch hazel & aloe splashes instead of using the alum after the shave. When I first used them, they really didn’t seem to do much, while the alum produced some notable toning feel and sting if there was irritation to show it. I used the Unscented with Menthol splash in today’s shave, and still didn’t note much effect, except that the aloe seems to leave a slightly moisturized feel after rinsing it off. The Cella balm laid down a pleasant, moisturizing, soothing layer that lent a comfortable feel with a nice light scent.
Another outstanding shave that helped celebrate my anniversary month. More to come!
Comfort: 25 of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 of 25
Overall: 24 of 25
Tuesday’s Shave, #320. The TOBS Van Der Hagen Return Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Van Der Hagen
- Blade: Astra Superior Stainless (blue)
- Pre-Shave: Taylor of Old Bond Street Jermyn Street pre-shave gel
- Brush: Yaqi Rainbow synthetic
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Taylor of Old Bond Street Organic Shaving Cream
- Alum Block: Laboratories Osma Alum Block
- After Shave: Nivea Sensitive Soothing post shave balm
- Stats:
- The VDH has an overall rating of 16.07 in 14 logged shaves
- 9th blade used with the VDH
- 6th shave with the TOBS Organic lather
- 31st shave with an overall rating of 21 (12.2% of all logged shaves)
Ah, the Van Der Hagen. The OG. The one that started it all. The first. The worst…by a mile.
Yeah, the result isn’t a surprise. This shave was okay. I could feel the irritation starting on my neck, so I cut things short and that resulted in both some mild irritation and some stubble. Despite what felt like a nice clamping force on the blade by the razor, there’s something about the VDH that results in just about any blade feeling extra harsh, almost like it’s got serrations or pits in the blade. It doesn’t glide very smoothly on the skin, even with some very good slickness from the TOBS pre-shave and Organic lather.
Not pictured there was a new arrival to the team that I pressed into service: a Laboratories Osma alum block as the first post shave. I’ve read about the differences in alum–many are pressed blocks of alum, while there are some that are cut solid blocks. The Stirling alum I’ve been using for a while is approaching the end of its life. It’s pressed, and some of the crystals are starting to shed as I wipe it on my skin post shave. But I gave the Osma a go, and it’s remarkably smooth, heavy, and solid. It did what I expect alum to do, so no difference there, but I’m looking forward to seeing if its life span is longer than the 12 months or so I’ve gotten from the Stirling.
I didn’t have high hopes for this shave, and it certainly delivered on that sentiment. So the VDH goes back into storage. I can say I’ve used it twice in two years, and regretted it every time.
Thursday, I come back to a better razor, and things should be substantially better.
Comfort: 21 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 22 out of 25
Overall: 21 out of 25
Thursday’s Shave, #321. The Other Cella Red Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Oliworks M3teorite medium plate
- Blade: Parker Premium Platinum
- Pre-Shave: Cella pre-shave gel (red)
- Brush: Parker Blue Storm synthetic
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Cella Sweet Almond shaving cream (red)
- Alum Block: Laboratories Osma alum block
- After Shave: Cella after shave balm (red)
- Stats:
- The Oliworks M3teorite medium plate has an average rating of 22.50 in 4 shaves
- 2nd shave with the Parker Premium Platinum blade
- 3rd shave with the Cella Sweet Almond shaving cream (red)
- 6th shave with the Parker brush
- 134th almost perfect shave
- 81st shave with an overall rating of 23 (31.6% of all logged shaves
First off, I’m shocked that this was only the third shave with the Cella red soap. It seems like I should have used it more than that, but I guess I was wrong.
If I’ve got a complaint about this shave, it’s that the M3teorite/Parker combo didn’t give a lot of feedback–not much noise, and I didn’t get any blade feel. I’m not sure if this contributed to the scattered sparkles of stinging from the alum across my neck, but there was more of that than I expected based on how things felt during the shave.
There were a lot of positives, though. The Cella soap whipped up to a wonderful, thick lather. Combined with the Cella pre-shave, it made for a nice slick base that did a good job to help the Oliworks glide across my skin. The Parker synthetic brush worked excellently both in lathering and in applying the lather, so I will remember this combo for the future.
I start another almost perfect streak as I end week two of the Anniversary Month shaves. So I look forward to another week of great shaves with the Feather, Syntesi, and Merkur Progress.
Comfort: 23 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 out of 25
Overall: 23 out of 25