DaveWave94
@DaveWave94@sub.wetshaving.social
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, July 8th, 2025 (#756) 1 day ago:
08.07.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. black & clear handle w/ 30 mm Tuxedo Fan knot
- Razor: Ever-Ready 1912 SE
- Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
- Lather: Wickham Soap Co. 1912 - Magnum
- Post-Shave: alterra men sensitive ASB
-> single pass, mostly WTG on both head and around the circle beard. Belated celebration shave of passing my practical exam. Not super smooth, but close and comfortable!
Haven’t used a GEM in a while and I still ask myself why. Sure, the MMOC is a bit rougher than my other razors, but this one? Mild, efficient, great audio feedback. My first ever contact with a GEM single edge razor was a Star 1912 that I won in a PIF and subsequently also PIFed to someone years later. I love the ease of the clamp mechanism holding the blade down, the grip of the handle, the weight… I know a lot of people complain how difficult it is to shave under the nose with GEMs, but for beards those things rock - really sharp lines are possible with enough patience and a steady hand. Since the last few days, I gradually trimmed back my long stubble and once again I arrived at the henriquatre/circle beard/full goatee. And it seems like this is actually the best look for my patchy growth, the extended version wasn’t looking very flattering at all 😅
Magnum is a great soap. Compared to modern bases, the lather is a bit more frothy/airy, but the scent is godlike. Truly one of my top tens just for scent alone… It’s masculine but still comfortable & a people pleaser. Kinda like an old cologne, so the name is very fitting. I’m still really proud of myself for passing 2/3 of all final exams and this was a nice reward.
- Comment on Free Talk Friday - July 4th, 2025 4 days ago:
Thanks!
- Comment on Free Talk Friday - July 4th, 2025 5 days ago:
Thank you very much! Indeed, those 4 hours were very hard mentally and physically - but at least it’s finally done. I really hope to have some rest and relaxation once my paid leave starts on Monday…
- Comment on Free Talk Friday - July 4th, 2025 5 days ago:
I passed my practical exam today!
Got a 2 (or B for our american folks) overall. I made some unfortunate mistakes, but in general it was good. Still feels really surreal though. Now only one oral exam at the end of August between me and my degree…The only negative is that I’m totally exhausted now. I’m even too tired for a celebratory shave… already fell asleep in my armchair for over an hour. My exam today was 4 hours total and my already short attention span is absolutely fried. Unfortunately I need to work two early shifts over the weekend since we’re short staffed - it’s summer holiday season after all. But after those two shifts, I finally have my well-deserved vacation time of 2 weeks. So no complaints from me.
- Comment on Free Talk Friday - July 4th, 2025 5 days ago:
Happy Independence Day from across the pond!
Sounds like a fun weekend. - Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, July 3rd, 2025 (#751) 6 days ago:
Thank you!
- Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, July 3rd, 2025 (#751) 6 days ago:
00.00.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. black & clear handle w/ 30 mm Tuxedo Fan knot
- Razor: Wilkinson Sword Hydro
- Blade: Hydro 3 cartridge
- Lather: Abbate Y La Mantia - Blu Tobacco
- Post-Shave: OAM sensitive skin toner
-> 2-pass head shave with a cartridge. Boring, but smooth - due to nerves and tons of things on my mind, I just needed an autopilot razor today.
Blu Tobacco gives a great menthol tobacco scent and a gentle cooling sensation while not sacrificing any lather quality. I really enjoy this soap and I hope it helps me to keep cool for tomorrow!
First day of the practical exam done. Writing my care plan in just two hours was a very limiting time constraint, I just hope I didn’t forget too much. Tomorrow it’s four hours of putting everything into practice… I need to remember a lot of things, difficult for my ADHD. But still, I want this and it needs to be done one final time!
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, July 2nd, 2025 (#750) 1 week ago:
Thanks! First day went by OK, tomorrow will be a little more stressful… But I am determined to give my best effort!
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, July 2nd, 2025 (#750) 1 week ago:
02.07.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. black & clear handle w/ 30 mm Tuxedo Fan knot
- Razor: RazoRock Cyber Medium w/ Superknurl handle
- Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
- Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
- Post-Shave: OAM sensitive skin toner
-> 1 pass head shave and a bit of buffing the dome with a cartridge razor (my safety razor fell down on the floor behind my washing machine and the blade was ruined by dust - shit happens).
Hottest day of the year so far so it was time for Rope Swing yet again! After suffering through the heat today, such a cold shave (also with cold water!) was really blissful. Just a toner today since balms tend to leave my head really sticky on hot days. Overall, a smooth and relaxing shave.
So tomorrow my practical exam finally starts, although with the written part first (documentation and care plan). Friday I’ll need to put everything into action. Am I nervous? Sure. But I don’t want to show it and I don’t want to let it stop me. I’m well prepared and while it will be hard, I really want to get this done nicely.
- Comment on Safety Razors are amazing 1 week ago:
Welcome! Glad to hear that safely razors are working well for you.
As for shaving soaps and making your own lather with a brush, there’s definitely a learning curve to it but you can bet that it’ll feel like a tremendous improvement over canned foam and gels! High-quality shaving soaps also don’t contain any parabens, but a lot of skin-friendly ingredients. I’m a head shaver with a scalp prone to breakouts, itching and razor burn and noticed a clear improvement from switching. YouTube tutorials are your friend, it’s how a lot of us used to learn the technique. Feel free to ask for recommendations here, our instance is small but pretty knowledgeable!
- Comment on Monday SOTD Thread, June 30th, 2025 (#748) 1 week ago:
30.06.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. black & clear handle w/ 30 mm Tuxedo Fan knot
- Razor: Leaf Thorn
- Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
- Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
- Post-Shave: HAGS - Apocalypse ASB
-> 2-pass head shave. A very solid shave except for a nick behind my left ear yet again (I suppose it’s some skin blemishes from my glasses that make this occur)
Really hot day, so I longed for something to cool down - enter Rope Swing, which even has “cooling shave soap” printed on the tub. The synthetic cooling agent pairs surprisingly well with the green scent. Unfortunately I don’t have anything matching for post-shave products, finding alcohol-free toners or balms with menthol or WS-23 seems to be a rare occurrence.
First day where I am back to work for my practical exam week. Thursday and Friday are my days. I’m a tad bit nervous, but everything is manageable. Let’s get this over with!
- Comment on Free Talk Friday - June 27th, 2025 1 week ago:
I have, just forgot to properly tag you in my post mentioning it. Thanks again!
- Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, June 26th, 2025 (#744) 1 week ago:
26.06.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. black & clear handle w/ 30 mm Tuxedo Fan knot
- Razor: Leaf Thorn
- Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
- Lather: Barrister and Mann - Le Grand Chypre
- Post-Shave: alum block; Lavera Men sensitive ASB
-> 1 pass on both head and face. Today the face shave was way more comfortable for some reason, even after waiting for one day my dome didn’t really agree with the blade today: one nick behind my left ear, several weepers. That’s what the alum block was invented for…
LGC was my first Omnibus base soap, but like a few others I feel like it was more of a lateral step towards more greasy/skin food bases instead of a step up. Excelsior was really, really solid FWIW. Not trying to knock on Will’s new base in any capacity, just an honest personal observation. The scent though? Great for summer, like a nice cola/coke with citrus. It’s a mix of different ingredients which I didn’t expect to smell like that, but it’s a welcome surprise.
Today my new cordless vacuum cleaner arrived. It’s great and a definitive improvement over my older model. I’ll write some more about in in FTF tomorrow. Now I only wait for the car cleaning kit I ordered for my old one to arrive, as I intend to keep that as my little Opel cleaning assistant.
Since the LG participants are sharing songs today, I was reminded of the side-side challenge I used to run in one Austere August a few years back. So why not join in on the fun?! Here’s my share for the day: Kerosene by Big Black - don’t be intimidated by the noisy guitar, the gritty & snappy bass tone makes up well for it. The lyrics are a bleak case of cabin fever known by a lot of people who live in very rural areas… (I might make the song sharing a more regular occurrence as I enjoy that more than just summarising my shave)
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, June 24th, 2025 (#742) 2 weeks ago:
I sure hope so! Those vacuum robots don’t feel right for me.
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, June 24th, 2025 (#742) 2 weeks ago:
After shaving with it I often feel like a post shave product isn’t necessary.
It’s funny that you mention that, seems like there’s indeed something special about mutton/sheep tallow. I have one HAGS soap in a sheep tallow base and while it isn’t extraordinary in scent and performance, the post shave skin feeling is awesome. Perhaps sheep fat is really greasy? Who knows 😅
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, June 24th, 2025 (#742) 2 weeks ago:
24.06.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. black & clear handle w/ 30 mm Tuxedo Fan knot
- Razor: Leaf Thorn
- Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
- Lather: Wholly Kaw - Vor V
- Post-Shave: Lavera Men sensitive ASB
-> 2-pass head shave. Unfortunately with a bit of irritation at the back of my neck despite using a fresh blade. Huh, it is what it is.
I used a soap that was buried a bit deeper in my cabinet: Vor V is a TF Tuscan Leather homage/dupe, just a bit more fruity than the original. That’s a fragrance I really adore, so I was very glad when I won this barely used tub in a PIF a few years ago. WK wasn’t available in the EU at that time, so it felt very exclusive too. I’d say it definitely has a special place in my collection and I might need to get the matching ASB someday…
Not much interesting to tell from me. I had my last day of nursing school yesterday, but just for one block of 90 minutes. Felt strange. I was able to give the administration all the needed documents for my RN degree though. Today was a slow and lazy day, apart from 90 minutes of studying for the oral exams - I got excited about finding a good deal for a new vacuum cleaner, a clear sign that I am definitely getting old.
- Comment on Monday SOTD Thread, June 23rd, 2025 (#741) 2 weeks ago:
Get well soon. Sorry to hear about the job troubles, hope you can soon find something more suitable ✌🏻
- Comment on Friday SOTD Thread, June 20th, 2025 (#738) 2 weeks ago:
Ah, ok! Sounds good. 👍🏻
- Comment on Saturday SOTD Thread, June 21st, 2025 (#739) 2 weeks ago:
21.06.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. black & clear handle w/ 30 mm Tuxedo Fan knot
- Razor: RazoRock Hawk V2 w/ Cyber handle
- Blade: KAI Captain Protouch MG
- Lather: Moon Soaps - Union
- Post-Shave: HAGS Barber aftershave toner
-> 2 pass shave on the head, 1 on the face. Enjoyable shave on the head, on the face it was just okay - a bit of irritation despite waiting longer than I should be for face shaving.
While the guarded KAIs were usually good for me, it seems like they loose the ideal level of sharpness faster than usual. The “Captain Pink” with a nice coating are really nice too while KAIs DE blades are absolutely awful for me. With Feather, the other japanese blade manufacturer, it’s the other way around: their DE blades are fine, but their ACs suck for me. Funny.
Union is a smooth barbershop scent with a tiny amount of menthol - I’d say it’s just the right amount of menthol to be pleasant. Especially on such a hot day, we’re expecting temperatures of up to 37°C this weekend. IMHO menthol has its place in the summer as long as it isn’t overdone. Moon Soaps also has a great tallow base that’s so easy to get a thick, creamy lather with (as a head shaver, I generally prefer my lather a little bit thicker than most others here - YMMV).
I also realized in today’s shave that I generally prefer the Tuxedo over the Silksmoke knot and while Fan knots are supreme for head shaving, Flattops aren’t that necessary for even coverage. The more you know!
Have a nice weekend ✌🏻 - Comment on Friday SOTD Thread, June 20th, 2025 (#738) 2 weeks ago:
That razor looks quite interesting. However, I am not sure how the adjustment works… Do you need to tighten down that little torx screw?
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, June 18th, 2025 (#736) 3 weeks ago:
That’s really unfortunate. Together with their sensitive shaving cream, it was the favourite of my grandfather. That scent, together with Tüff and Hattric aftershaves, was a real trip down memory lane for me.
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, June 18th, 2025 (#736) 3 weeks ago:
Funnily, the Speick Active soap used to be one of my first proper shaving soaps as well after using shaving creams almost exclusively for a time. My first was one of those Wilkinson Sword soaps in a blue container which was notoriously hard to lather. The Speick was a clear improvement, but the scent was - to me at least - something akin to toilet cleaner and those well-known “Klosteine” in my region of Germany. The cheaper red soap stick of Speick was way better IMHO, as it featured the signature herbal scent of Speick bar soaps and creams. Together with the green Palmolive soap stick, one of my favs before I got into artisan products. Sadly both sticks aren’t readily available anymore in smaller drugstores like they used to be…
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, June 17th, 2025 (#735) 3 weeks ago:
17.06.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid
- Razor: Leaf Thorn
- Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
- Lather: Zingari Man - The Navigator
- Post-Shave: HAGS - Apocalypse ASB
-> 2-pass head shave, a very thorough and smooth one also. Technically it was still Tuesday while I started my shave, but it’s Wednesday now for me - gotta love time zones and late night shaves?
So, after using The Rambler yesterday, I thought I might try my other ZM soap today: The Navigator is a smooth, creamy aquatic with a very nice artwork on the tub (including little metallic details). The lather for the second pass was a bit thin, but still useable. I seem to have a bit of a problem with “skin food shaving soaps”, as in: I tend to underload them. Anyways, this was quite refreshing after a hot day - Apocalypse goes into the aquatic territory too, albeit a bit more like AdG/Cool Water, so it paired nicely.
Today was just another Tuesday. Low effort studying, picking up the new silicone mats for my car + installing them, putting some car protection bumpers made from EVA in my garage, grocery shopping. Oh, and picking up the mail: Whoever shares a few letters in their first name with me, your Chicago Grooming - Irving Park sample has arrived and it smells gorgeous. Thanks! I was worried that I wouldn’t have time to participate, but thankfully July BVWSC is on one of the last days of my vacation time after the practical exam. Woohoo!
- Comment on Monday SOTD Thread, June 16th, 2025 (#734) 3 weeks ago:
16.06.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid
- Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb
- Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
- Lather: Zingari Man - The Rambler
- Post-Shave: alum block; Lavera Men sensitive ASB
-> 1 pass WTG + clean-up on the head. A nice shave, but a few bloody dots - haven’t used the MMOC in quite a while.
And it wasn’t very clean either. In fact, I had to go with a cartridge over a spot I missed at the back of my head (where GEM razors are tricky to use perfectly). Yet still, I took my time for a nice shave again that I could post. Last Thursday I only used my cartridge and brushless cream under the shower, which IMHO wasn’t worth writing about.
Rambler is a very sweet scent, but it’s the first ZM soap I ever bought so it’s kinda special to me. I still suck at lathering ZM sometimes, but the soap rewards me with nice glide and a great post shave feeling.
Currently I sit at home this week to prepare for my practical and oral exams. Haven’t done much for it yet tbh, but I plan to change that tomorrow. I wanted to get back into gaming a bit, but I often feel frustrated by the modern game market. For example, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would be something totally up my alley - yet the disk version contains a meager 300 KB and ~157 GB of the game are downloaded over the MS store. I mean, why even bother with a physical version then? It’s just window dressing in that case.
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, June 11th, 2025 (#729) 4 weeks ago:
Yup, I have one full tub in the form of Shaman and got several samples a few years ago. The samples weren’t that impressive in terms of lather, but Shaman seems to be a new/improved recipe for the base and once you get a good lather going (you really need to load heavy, it’s oily) it’s great stuff. Barber and Solstice are IMHO also really great scents, also available as bar soaps.
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, June 11th, 2025 (#729) 4 weeks ago:
At first I thought you have the greatest view ever from your desk before I realised it was a Dell monitor in full screen view 😂
Ngl, I like seeing other folks’ creative solutions to the space problem a collectionist hobby inevitably brings with it 👍🏻
- Comment on Monday SOTD Thread, June 9th, 2025 (#727) 4 weeks ago:
09.06.2025
- Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid
- Razor: RazoRock Hawk V2; KAI Captain J-7 shavette
- Blade: KAI Captain Protouch MG
- Lather: HAGS - Apocalypse
- Post-Shave: alum block; HAGS Apocalypse aftershave balm
-> 2-pass head and face shave; good shave except some irritation from shaving around the goatee…
I don’t know how I managed to need an alum block with guarded blades; it seems like my face really doesn’t like shaving that much. I wasn’t overly reckless, in fact it was rather slow and controlled. Well, seems like I still lack the muscle memory.
Apocalypse is a nice summer aquatic scent that reminds me of warmer days - while we got some sun today, it was still rather windy and a bit cold for June.
- Comment on Free Talk Friday - June 6th, 2025 4 weeks ago:
Thanks!
Oh, that’s an interesting fact. Good to know! Over here in Germany, and as far as I remember also in Switzerland and Austria, all spouts look the same but there are colour indicators like on this Shell pump station - diesel is almost always black, while regular gas/fuel is either green, red, yellow or blue (depending on the branding of the gas station you’re at: Shell = yellow or red, Aral = blue, and so on). I feel like the US solution is a bit more practical, though. Many people have wrecked their motors by putting the wrong fuel in their tank…
- Comment on Free Talk Friday - June 6th, 2025 4 weeks ago:
I’m a full day too late, but since I picked up my new car on Thursday in the late afternoon, the weather hasn’t been great for taking photos. So I share some from before picking it up when it was at the car dealership:
Image Front view, surrounding cars cropped out
Image Back view, had to censor out one of the salesmen in the background 😅
Overall the Opel Mokka B is a great car, it’s just a bit tough getting used to such a modern car. My previous car was an Opel Astra J Sports Tourer, which was way longer but made in 2012. The new one was manufactured at the end of 2023, so it has all kinds of new tech I am yet unfamiliar with. I finally have a working sound system again, which is quite enjoyable. Also, my old Astra was a diesel, new one drives on normal petrol/gas. It’s good that the fuel tank is on the opposite site with this one, so I won’t accidentally put the wrong fuel in it. Driving comfort is very high and feels familiar to my old one, even though Opel changed quite a while back from GM to Stellantis platform. I hope this car will serve me as well as the old one did!
Also, since I don’t know where else to put it: since quite a while I have a new Matrix messenger address, it’s @dave.anders94:matrix.org . The old one is broken/lost due to Onmail closing down and no opportunity to change emails on Element. Unfortunately all messages sent there are lost in the ether… Nowadays I use FluffyChat. I also changed my primary Lemmy app back to Raccoon since it allows me to edit my profile and bio, unlike Voyager. However, it sometimes does formatting weird - please show me if something I write looks weird on other appliances or webviews (Jerboa, Voyager, Alexandrite, etc.)! A little plus: @walden@sub.wetshaving.social , Raccoon shows the daily SOTD thread image in case you’re interested!
- Comment on Friday SOTD Thread, June 6th, 2025 (#724) 4 weeks ago:
It’s a really high quality shopping bag 🤣
Huh, colour me impressed! I thought it was a massive ebony table. 😅
Yeah, I kinda got it back then because I was curious how well petrichor scents could really emulate my favourite nature scent of fresh rain on warm, dusty roads… Only to be hit with a blast from the past of Persil 😂
