gcgallant
@gcgallant@wetshav.ing
- Comment on Join us today for a Tabac shave! 2 days ago:
I’m sorry that I missed this! I am having difficulty getting to the Reddit and Fediverse communities lately. That will be only temporary. I have definitely not lost my enjoyment for shaving, nor for interacting with those here.
- Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, February 19th, 2026 (#982) 2 days ago:
February 19, 2026
- Brush: Chisel & Hound Brownstone 26mm V29 Fanchurian
- Razor: Filarmonica 12 Doble Temple 5/8” Full Hollow
- Lather: The Cajun Blade - Contraband Bay Rum - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Coconut - Toner
- Aftershave: The Cajun Blade - Contraband Bay Rum Aftersauce - Aftershave
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
This was a test shave for the freshly honed edge on this razor. The comfortable Jnat edge, and the wonderful scent of Contraband Bay Rum made for a very enjoyable shave.
- Comment on Friday SOTD Thread, February 13th, 2026 (#976) 1 week ago:
February 13, 2026 – Fougère Friday
- Brush: Oumo Compass Bonfire 27mm Emperor-2
- Razor: Tanifuji Spalding 0411 6/8” Full Hollow
- Lather: Wholly Kaw - Fougère Bouquet - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Cucumber - Toner
- Aftershave: Fabergé - Brut - Aftershave
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
I had a very enjoyable Fougère Friday with this shave.
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, February 11th, 2026 (#974) 1 week ago:
These are great razors for the money.
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, February 10th, 2026 (#973) 1 week ago:
He sent me 3 of them and gifted me one of them. I thought they were all consistently good. I haven’t honed this one, but its edge is holding very well (only 2 shaves).
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, February 10th, 2026 (#973) 1 week ago:
February 10, 2026
- Brush: Captain’s Choice Ocean 24mm Tuxedo
- Razor: Torrey Razor Co. 6/8 Full Hollow Round Point
- Lather: Subtle Art Soap Co. - Maple Bourbon - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Coconut - Toner
- Aftershave: The Cajun Blade - Lumberjack Luxury Aftersauce - Aftershave
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
Maple Bourbon is not what you expect. It’s not sweet at all. Rather, the maple tends to round the bourbon accord in the soap. This is a very nice scent, and while different, takes the place of WK’s Amber Bomba for me. (My son absconded with Amber Bomba.)
This Torrey razor was a gift to me from my YT friend nonamebear. This particular razor has a Zulu Grey edge finish, but I don’t think it would matter much. He is a terrific sharpener, and this razor has great geometry.
- Comment on Sunday SOTD Thread, February 8th, 2026 (#971) 1 week ago:
Thank you!
- Comment on Sunday SOTD Thread, February 8th, 2026 (#971) 1 week ago:
That’s a SV soap I do not have. I would love to join in for March. I just shaved with 80th Anniversary the other day. I found it in the Bleu de Chanel category. Very nice imo.
- Comment on Sunday SOTD Thread, February 8th, 2026 (#971) 1 week ago:
The Geneva Cutlery razors are overlooked. Great razors!
- Comment on Sunday SOTD Thread, February 8th, 2026 (#971) 1 week ago:
Le Grand Chypre is always great.
It certainly is!
- Comment on Sunday SOTD Thread, February 8th, 2026 (#971) 1 week ago:
February 8, 2026
- Brush: Thäter Faux Ivory 29mm 2-band Silvertip
- Razor: Blutt Rasur BR-1
- Blade: AccuTec AccuForge (3)
- Lather: Saponificio Varesino - 80th Anniversary - Soap
- Aftershave: Saponificio Varesino - 80th Anniversary - Aftershave
- Fragrance: Saponificio Varesino - 80th Anniversary - Eau de Parfum
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
This was my first use of 80th Anniversary by Saponificiio Varesino. It has a wonderful scent which I felt was in the Bleu de Chanel category. The soap, splash, EdP, razor, and blade performed flawlessly together. This was a very enjoyable shave.
- Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, February 5th, 2026 (#968) 2 weeks ago:
but the Junior is a nice efficient shaver
It’s pretty hard to find a bad GEM razor imo.
- Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, February 5th, 2026 (#968) 2 weeks ago:
February 5, 2026
- Brush: Wald Nimbus Chryselephantine 29mm A1 Fan
- Razor: Filarmonica 12 Doble Temple 5/8” Full Hollow
- Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Leather - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Coconut - Toner
- Aftershave: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Leather - Aftershave
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
There isn’t a bad Seaforth! scent. This one is not exception. Wonderful leather fragrance. It has been over 3 years since this razor was honed. I noticed it only because the performance was not what a Fili 12 can deliver. It still gave me a close, comfortable shave.
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, February 3rd, 2026 (#966) 2 weeks ago:
February 3, 2026
- Brush: Chisel & Hound Bordeaux 26mm V29 Fanchurian
- Razor: Gillette Super Adjustable 109 (Black Beauty) Gold O-4
- Blade: Accutec Pro (2)
- Lather: The Cajun Blade - Contraband Bay Rum - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Coconut - Toner
- Aftershave: The Cajun Blade - Contraband Bay Rum Aftersauce - Aftershave
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
Wonderful shave with the Black Beauty and a new Bay Rum scent from The Cajun Blade.
- Comment on Monday SOTD Thread, January 5th, 2026 (#937) 1 month ago:
If you organize another buy, and if the tariff situation changes, Outback would probably be my choice.
Nice setup today! Bleu de Chanel (duped by Deep Blue Sea) is one of my favorites.
- Comment on Monday SOTD Thread, January 5th, 2026 (#937) 1 month ago:
The Genco razors are great in my experience. I have 3 of them - all good. If a razor tests well but doesn’t shave well, and if you were being conscious of technique (and have over 100 shaves ;-)), then it is almost always geometry.
To me, new Tabac just doesn’t have the soul of old Tabac, but I say that about many new-fangled things. I just bought Shulton Old Spice Cologne because it is the “real” stuff 🤣
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, December 31st, 2025 (#932) 1 month ago:
I taught myself to use a straight razor around 2010 and shaved that way for several months, but I wasn’t wetshaving. I glommed onto wetshaving in 2021 and joined the sub in 2022. After Lather Games ’22, I decided to go down the rabbit hole again. Both VisceralWatch and @djundjila were on their way at that time, so I joined in.
Wetshaving makes all the difference. This is the way.
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, December 31st, 2025 (#932) 1 month ago:
Happy New Year! It is 15 minutes away in Germany as I write this :)
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, December 30th, 2025 (#931) 1 month ago:
I’m glad you enjoyed the Jnat edge. I wish I could say that it is the magic of the stone, or the skill of the person doing the honing, but I honestly think that a razor’s geometry is the greatest contributor to the quality of shave that it provides. There are other factors, like steel quality, and care in creating a consistently uniform edge, but these are secondary IMHO.
I am (very) slowly doing a series on the “14” razor shape. I use a different finishing stone on 7 razors and evaluate the shave that I get. So far, I’ve done five razors and, while I can feel a difference in the edges, shaving closeness and comfort are almost identical. The constant in this is razor geometry.
I recall that the Moarteen was @djundjila’s idea. He contacted me, pitched the concept, and asked if I wanted to join as part of the organizing group. I thought it was a great idea then, and am really happy with how well the project has gone.
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, December 24th, 2025 (#925) 1 month ago:
I “ain’t no expert” (as we Americans say), but I think using a slant razor in the same way you use a standard one gives you the benefit of the “Gillette Slide” (slicing motion) without the need to actually slide across the face. Merry Christmas! Hope it is a good one for you.
- Comment on Free Talk Friday - December 19th, 2025 2 months ago:
Are there any delivery opportunities tomorrow? I assume that Sunday is an off-day.
- Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, December 18th, 2025 (#919) 2 months ago:
That was my understanding about the Accuforge blades. I hope they are. The Lab Blue, is one of my favorites.
- Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, December 18th, 2025 (#919) 2 months ago:
I just bought the Accuforge super stainless thinking they are the replacement to the Lab Blue. Haven’t tried one yet.
- Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, December 18th, 2025 (#919) 2 months ago:
Stirling + a boar brush is my happy place
A totally dependable pairing
- Comment on Thursday SOTD Thread, December 18th, 2025 (#919) 2 months ago:
December 18, 2025
- Brush: Wald Nimbus Bloodline 27mm J3
- Razor: J.A. Henckels 50 9/16 Hollow Ground Square Point
- Lather: Wholly Kaw - Entropy Man - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Cucumber - Toner
- Aftershave: Wholly Kaw - Entropy Man - Aftershave
- Fragrance: Wholly Kaw - Entropy Man - Eau de Toilette
- Talc: Yardley Classic
2 passes. Face lather. Good shave.
This was a test shave for the Jnat edge that I put on this Henckels 50. From testing, I know that the edge is very sharp and consistent on this razor, but my results were different than expected. I strongly suspect that I did not adapt to the 9/16 width properly, so I’ll try another test shave to form a better opinion on this edge.
- Comment on Friday SOTD Thread, November 14th, 2025 (#885) 2 months ago:
The Escher company went out of business. To my knowledge, the Thuringian mountain ranges are not mined for stones any more, but material from those mountains is used to make some synthetic whetstones. (I’ve never seen these). The original stones are very desirable.
- Comment on Tuesday SOTD Thread, November 18th, 2025 (#889) 2 months ago:
With one shave on it I assume it’ll be pretty close to how it looked when fresh after stropping.
Yes, definitely. I don’t do it anymore, but I used to do a microscope inspection of each razor after I did a test shave. I’ve seen enough of how edges change from one test shave to have confidence that the edge is almost unaffected.
- Comment on Friday SOTD Thread, November 14th, 2025 (#885) 2 months ago:
Not only that, these are famous stones for having exceptional quality!
- Comment on Friday SOTD Thread, November 14th, 2025 (#885) 3 months ago:
November 14, 2025
- Brush: Zenith B44 28mm Boar
- Razor: Geneva Cutlery Co. Heavy 6/8 Hollow Ground Square Point
- Razor: Geneva Cutlery Co. Henry’s X 6/8” Hollow Ground Square Point
- Lather: Noble Otter - Firefighter - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Coconut - Toner
- Aftershave: Noble Otter - Firefighter - Aftershave
3 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
This was a test shave for edges from two Vermont slate stones; a mottled grey stone and a purple stone. The two Geneva Cutlery razors had the same geometry and steel and tested at the same level of keenness when they were sharpened. I found that the two edges were very similar, with the edge from the mottled grey stone having comfort similar to a Thuringian edge, while the one from the purple stone had more of an Arkansas edge feel to it.
The mottled grey stone takes a little more effort while sharpening because it is porous and requires hydration maintenance. The purple stone, like most razor finishers, is just splash-n-go.
- Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread, November 12th, 2025 (#883) 3 months ago:
November 12, 2025
- Brush: Zenith B15 (506 U/L) 27.5mm Boar
- Razor: Geneva Cutlery Co. Henry’s X 6/8” Hollow Ground Square Point
- Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Roman Spice - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Cucumber - Toner
- Aftershave: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Roman Spice - Aftershave
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
Roman Spice is such an elegant scent. The aquatic component stood out for me today, but it doesn’t always. This one’s very clever by Shawn Maher.