DaveWave94
31 y. o. | M | he/him | Thuringia, Germany
- 7 Posts
- 597 Comments
3·4 days agoThank 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…
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.
Happy Independence Day from across the pond!
Sounds like a fun weekend.
03.07.2025
- 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!
Thanks! First day went by OK, tomorrow will be a little more stressful… But I am determined to give my best effort!
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.
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!
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!
I have, just forgot to properly tag you in my post mentioning it. Thanks again!
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)
I sure hope so! Those vacuum robots don’t feel right for me.
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 😅
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.
Get well soon. Sorry to hear about the job troubles, hope you can soon find something more suitable ✌🏻
Ah, ok! Sounds good. 👍🏻
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 ✌🏻
That razor looks quite interesting. However, I am not sure how the adjustment works… Do you need to tighten down that little torx screw?
08.07.2025
-> 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.