u/FireDragonMonkey's SOTDs for challenge 'test Lather Games 2024'

SOTD: 2024-05-28 Gillette Through the Ages: The Superspeed (part 2)  

• Razor: Gillette Superspeed 40s NDC
• Blade: Dorco Prime Platinum, 3rd use  
• Brush: Semogue 830  
• Bowl: Captain's Choice Standard Copper Bowl  
• Soap: Declaration Grooming Gratiot League Square  
• Aftershave: Henri et Victoria Absinthe splash  

A most excellent shave this morning! Went for 3 passes this time after confirming that indeed 2 passes doesn't shave quite as close as two passes with the Overlander. A very impressive razor. The handle is a nice short length that fits well in hand and the razor feels easy to use. I shave a bit steeper with closed comb razors and I expect the blade longevity to suffer as a result of the steep shave angle and less blade support vs the Overlander as well; but this is a very good razor for me.  

The only question is: Is it different enough from the Overlander to warrant needing to keep another razor that shaves similarly? I guess if I'm doing three passes vs two on the Overlander this is closer; not sure about three and three, though the Overlander does seem to be less efficient per pass once you go beyond two passes. So maybe?  

Brought back out the Gratiot League Square after failing to commit to killing the tub. I think at least the attempt taught me that I'm not as enamoured by the scent as I initially thought. Sadly it's probably too late to try and send off smushes of it to people for the "Where's the beef?" day.  

- Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

SOTD: 2024-05-29 The Gillette Journey - Episode 6: The Aristocrat Adjustable (aka the fancy golden Slim)  

• Razor: Gillette Aristocrat Adjustable  
• Blade: Dorco Prime Platinum, 1st use  
• Brush: Semogue 2020 Best Badger  
• Bowl: Captain's Choice Standard Copper Bowl  
• Soap: Southern Witchcrafts Boonana   
• Aftershave: Zingari Man Barrel Proof Recovery Splash  

We've entered the era of date codes again and have reached 1967, 2nd quarter (the final year of production I've read) with this Aristocrat Adjustable. Going all fancy all of a sudden (well, I thought the silver plated Tuckaway was fancy, but now we've got gold!) after some plebian razors, we've finally gotten to aristocratic status. Well, the reality is that this was just a Gillette Slim with 22 carat gold plating instead of nickel.  

Still, this razor came to me at a good price (though not the steal of a deal that someone else got when they got one for 20€!! Wow!!) because it had a number of blackened areas and a bit of plating loss on the center bar. They cleaned up nicely with Scrubbing Bubbles and Flitz polish, and actually I believe Gillette took a nickel plated Slim and then plated the gold over the nickel since silver colour shines through the missing gold instead of brass. That would explain the blade gaps being slightly smaller than the regular Slim.  

How it shaves: I used setting 4 the entire shave for consistency and to set a basepoint. Compared to the 40s Superspeed it didn't feel milder on my face, but it was less efficient after 2 passes and still after 3 it's not quite as smooth. Quieter shave though, that I did notice. The slimmer head may be easier to get in tough spots like under the nose, but I found it made the shave angle less automatic. Still, it provided a very easy and decent shave; plus there are 8 more settings I can try!  

With a yellow gold razor there was no other soap option than to go full yellow: Boonana called out to me! We had a barrel of bananas this morning; banana bread soap with boozy Barrel Proof splash.  

- Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

SOTD: 2024-05-30 I love the smell of tires in the morning!  

• Razor: Gillette Aristocrat Adjustable  
• Blade: Dorco Prime Platinum, 2nd use  
• Brush: Semogue 2020 Best Badger  
• Bowl: Captain's Choice Standard Copper Bowl  
• Soap: Southern Witchcrafts Valley of Ashes  
• Aftershave: Thayer's Witch Hazel Tonic  

I actually checked the theme last night and put out an appropriate soap for use today (though I forgot to pick out what to wear). Valley of Ashes has that wonderful smell of tires; something I'm sure is a common smell on racetracks considering the tire changes and stacks of them all around. Since I didn't have the matching splash I used something unscented; I'm not sure if it's from the unscented splash changing the chemistry of the soap or the soap drying down, but the tire smell fades and seems to be being replaced with a powdery and slightly flowery scent - it's a "magestic" type scent that reminds me of old nobility (like I've ever met one).  

Kept going with the Gillette Aristocrat Adjustable, this time set to 5. Either too much water in the brush or too little soap led to a thin lather and barely enough for two passes. It wasn't as close as yesterday (possibly not even after two passes) and didn't feel as comfortable a shave since I felt more scraping; but it didn't result in irritation (one red spot but it looked more like a pulled hair rather than a nick near my jawline). I'll still need to try adjusting the setting for different parts of my face.  

I do wonder if people prefer the Fatboy shave due to the shape of the head more than anything else; currently I prefer my 40s Superspeed to this Slim.  

- Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

SOTD: 2024-05-31 Lathergames Eve shave  

• Razor: Gillette Aristocrat Adjustable  
• Blade: Dorco Prime Platinum, 3rd use  
• Brush: Semogue 2020 Best Badger  
• Bowl: Captain's Choice Standard Copper Bowl  
• Soap: Bartigan & Stark Campione  
• Aftershave: Bartigan & Stark Campione splash  

Woke up at 5:30am and couldn't fall back to sleep. Was/am so exhausted that I thought about just putting the blade into the Overlander for an autopilot shave (though blade handling while tired is risky) but decided against it. Cranked the Aristocrat Adjustable up to 6 this morning and immediately knew that it was a where it needed to be! I finally seemed to be getting some blade feel or something that told me what was happening. First two passes on 6, then started the third pass on 6 for my cheeks and turned it down to 4 for the slightly XTG pass on my neck (the one that usually gives me the irritation). A BBS shave this morning; and I was starting to doubt the razor.  

It was a remarkable difference between settings 5 and 6. I remember reading that on some adjustables the blade exposure stays the same throughout the settings while on others it changes along with the blade gap; I'm guessing the Slim/Aristocrat Adjustable falls into the latter category.  

The tub of Campione has a nice amber window to see the counter below it; bigger than a toonie (Canadian $2 coin) and eyeballing it it looks larger than the soap is on either side of the donut. Thankfully I've got a couple of spares for when this one finally bites the bullet.  

- Shared from My Shave Den for iOS