Aftershave: Ethos Grooming Essentials - Succès Skin Food - Splash
Fragrance: Creed Aventus
Talc: Yardley Classic
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
Second day of Aventus dupes. Venture is actually a pretty good one, though, as you might expect, it only hints at the real thing. Since I don’t use Creed Aventus very often, I’m always impressed by how great the real deal is.
The Captain’s Choice soap base is kind of old school; light, foamy, lots of volume. My strategy for these bases is to load heavily, add hydration slowly with a lot of agitation, then lightly paint in water at the end. This gets the soap almost to the point of drippy, but it is very slick. Not @sgrdddy slurry lather slick, but pretty close. The volume of soap from the heavy load delivers a good dose of fragrance to be enjoyed.
The Söderfors Extra Specialstål is a magically good razor. I bought this for a song off eBay and it shaved poorly until I corrected its geometry. That correction changed its nature entirely. A bit like unleashing the monster. I have a standard MK 31 which is a great razor, but this one just leaves it in the dust.
I’m going to join you for the Aventus dupe series tomorrow.
I have a standard MK 31 which is a great razor, but this one just leaves it in the dust.
Why do you think that is? Is the overall geometry the same and only the steel is different?
For two razors with the same geometry but different steel, I’d expect the only difference to be how long they hold an edge, unless of course one of them had such bad steel that it can’t take an edge in the first place.
Even though it is marked as an MK 31, the Söderfors is lighter and more delicate. It has ivory scales which identifies it as an older razor. It sings much more than the standard MK 31. My standard MK 31 is the one I sent to you. I refreshed the edge on my Nakayama Jnat in October so it went through the honing process that I describe in my latest video. I think this edge is both sharper and more comfortable than the one you used and it is a terrific razor. I do think there are differences in the steel, but from a practical standpoint I wonder if that could be the reason for the difference in shave feel. Logic would suggest that it is but … the Söderfors just has that je ne sais quois. If you ever see one, buy it.
January 2, 2024
Brush: Wald Nimbus Bloodline 27mm J3
Razor: C.V. Heljestrand MK 31 11/16 Söderfors Extra Specialstål Full Hollow
Lather: Captain’s Choice - Venture - Soap
Toner: Thayers - Lemon - Toner
Aftershave: Ethos Grooming Essentials - Succès Skin Food - Splash
Fragrance: Creed Aventus
Talc: Yardley Classic
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
Second day of Aventus dupes. Venture is actually a pretty good one, though, as you might expect, it only hints at the real thing. Since I don’t use Creed Aventus very often, I’m always impressed by how great the real deal is.
The Captain’s Choice soap base is kind of old school; light, foamy, lots of volume. My strategy for these bases is to load heavily, add hydration slowly with a lot of agitation, then lightly paint in water at the end. This gets the soap almost to the point of drippy, but it is very slick. Not @sgrdddy slurry lather slick, but pretty close. The volume of soap from the heavy load delivers a good dose of fragrance to be enjoyed.
The Söderfors Extra Specialstål is a magically good razor. I bought this for a song off eBay and it shaved poorly until I corrected its geometry. That correction changed its nature entirely. A bit like unleashing the monster. I have a standard MK 31 which is a great razor, but this one just leaves it in the dust.
I’m going to join you for the Aventus dupe series tomorrow.
Why do you think that is? Is the overall geometry the same and only the steel is different?
For two razors with the same geometry but different steel, I’d expect the only difference to be how long they hold an edge, unless of course one of them had such bad steel that it can’t take an edge in the first place.
Even though it is marked as an MK 31, the Söderfors is lighter and more delicate. It has ivory scales which identifies it as an older razor. It sings much more than the standard MK 31. My standard MK 31 is the one I sent to you. I refreshed the edge on my Nakayama Jnat in October so it went through the honing process that I describe in my latest video. I think this edge is both sharper and more comfortable than the one you used and it is a terrific razor. I do think there are differences in the steel, but from a practical standpoint I wonder if that could be the reason for the difference in shave feel. Logic would suggest that it is but … the Söderfors just has that je ne sais quois. If you ever see one, buy it.
Ah, that makes sense
On the ever growing list!