This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
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Jan 7, '24
2 passes + touch-up before bed tonight. Always preferable to getting up early Monday morning for my shave.
I've never tried the new Ultima base of A&E. Is it notably better than Kaizen and Kaizen 2?
I wouldn't say notably better than K2, but I think it feels slightly more moisturizing, with a bit better post-shave feel.
January 7, 2024
We haven't gotten as much snow as they predicted so far, but it's still coming down lightly. I shoveled the walk and snowblowed the driveway.
About 4 months ago I got new (better) tires for my lawn tractor which has the snowblower on the front of it. I also added 80 pounds (36 kg) of additional weight to the back, bringing the total to 160 lbs (72kg) (plus the driver, whose weight shall remain a mystery). The new combo is GREAT. Even with chains, the old tires would spin all the time going up the hill. These tires did a great job.
Yesterday I installed 3 overhead bulb sockets in the shed. They are 120 volt and powered by an inverter. I have a 100w solar panel which charges a 12v 105Ah lead acid battery which runs the inverter. It's great!
Since I'm talking about lawn mowers and sheds and snow, I'll share a couple of pictures since I'm so proud of it all. The new tires and weights can be seen in the first picture, along with the new lights.
Great looking shed! Those weights look as if they are made for the tractor. Are they, or did you customize something?
They are John Deere branded, and fit on most of their lawn tractors as far as I know. For being a niche custom fit product they aren't too expensive. They cost about 30% more than a similar weight dumbbell ๐ช
I like your self-contained power solution also. Many of my friends have built detached sheds or pole barns on their properties. They've all run electric supply from their main panel out to the shed in order to operate power tools. Do you typically have enough battery charge for an afternoon of making sawdust? With a small woodstove, you'd have a cozy place for tinkering.
Cerberus++;
I figured this would be cheaper than hiring an electrician, and so far it might be haha! It turns out solar is addicting. I'm on my 3rd charge controller after getting the bug (twice) for something more fun.
The next step for me is an additional 100w panel which is already on its way to me, and possibly moving them in the future so somewhere with more sun.
As far as power tools, the inverter I have is only 1000 watts. It turns out that power tools often use more than that! I've been able to use an angle grinder, but I had to blip it to get it spinning, let the inverter catch up, then run it up the rest of the way. An additional battery might help, because the problem might be voltage drop.
I've used my soldering iron which is no sweat. I've also used one of those vibrating multi-tools.
I don't want a bigger inverter because then I'll definitely need more batteries, thicker wires, etc.
It's a good system for charging smaller batteries though, so for someone with cordless tools it would work well. This time of year it's too cold to charge lithium batteries though.
A lot of people with this type of setup have nice LiFePO4 batteries, but they have the same cold temp problem.
Very nice setup! I like living in the city most of the time, but moments like this make me miss having a garden.
Varen++;
Cerberus buddies today ๐ป
Heavily leaning into the sweet stone fruit ๐ today. The razor was in the first batch or straight razors I bought when the Lather Games Organising Committee introduced the hardware scavenger hunt in 2022, forcing me to learn this new skill. It's a run-of-the-mill 5/8 hollow ground and was well honed when I got it. It was the first straight razor I ever got a good shave from. I haven't used it in 18 or so months, and now, using it some 400 straight razor shaves later, it still felt good.
I forgot the #Talc today. Oops.
Got really nice compliments on both Cerberus and Peach & Cognac from the Mrs. Good times
Peach and cognac are favorites here. The soap and splash are nice too ;-)
Cerberus++;
Sunday, January 7, 2024
I'm for now sticking with my old school set up of the Jagger with a Silver Blue. (Technically an old school setup would be one of my vintages, but this is "my" old school setup as it's how I started wetshaving.
Sunday, January 7, 2024: Fire!
As a Christmas gift, my mother-in-law gave me Barbury's shaving soap. They promise:
Shaving soap is essential to a traditional shave. Simply wet Barburys Shaving Soap and use the brush to build a luxurious lather. Use the brush to apply the lather to your face and then start shaving. Thanks to the soap's unique alum and shea butter formula, irritated skin post-shave will be a thing of the past.
Well, I had some trouble getting the lather working (I ended up with a foamy proto-lathery foam), although I tried for a rather long time. Maybe I'll give it another try with a synthetic, and maybe also with a DE - it probably simply does not provide lather that is protective enough for a straight shave. Anyways, my face is irritated and burning, and I wouldn't recommend it.
Have a good night!
~Powered by emacs & sotd.el~
Sounds like a nice bath soap.
Maybe. And to be fair, their instructions are honest:
Simply wet Barburys Shaving Soap and use the brush to build a luxurious lather.
Nowhere do they specify that you should use the brush on their shaving soap, so I totally could wet this soap, and use Stirling. ๐ค I may get away telling my mother in law that I used the shaving soap following their instructions, and got great lather.
Brilliant!
January 7, 2024
Terrific shave today. I went for the stone fruit trifecta and was not disappointed.
Cerberus ++;
Triple post shave today, time to add the alum ๐
