Seven Days, One Setup: My 1-Week Shaving Challenge
For the next seven days, the rotation is on pause. One soap, one brush, one razor, one blade. Every morning, same thing. We’re going to find out if I get better at using this setup or if I just get bored by Wednesday.
Now, I did say Proraso Red in the short I put out last night. Changed my mind. I’m already one shave into the Old Spice, so we’re committed and there’s no going back.
Why Old Spice
Part of the original thinking was to do the kind of shave a regular guy might actually do. Not someone in this hobby. Just a normal person. Proraso would have made more sense for that angle, honestly. You can probably find it for under twenty dollars at Target or Walmart. But the real reason I switched is simpler than that: this is what my dad would have shaved with. Maybe my grandfather too. That matters to me.
So that’s the soap. Vintage Old Spice puck in the original mug, with grip tape on the side because I shave in the shower and I need to keep a hold of it.
The Gear
The brush is the vintage Ever-Ready with what I believe is a GDM G two-band boar knot. I want to say something about this: if you think boar knots are too stiff, you’ve never had a really good one. This brush is not stiff. It’s a great brush. End of discussion.
(I just got a Boti boar knot in the other day, put it in a handle, and on the first shave it was immaculate. More on that one later.)
The razor is the 1959 Gillette Red Tip. I think it’s one of the best razors Gillette ever made. We almost had a problem this morning: I leaned over in the shower and dropped it. Hit the tile hard. Stood there checking the doors, making sure they opened evenly, looking for dents. Nothing. Got lucky.
The blade is the Tatra Red.
Day One
Today’s shave went well. I’ve done this combination a hundred times before. Vintage Old Spice with the Ever-Ready is kind of my natural pairing whenever I reach for that soap. Usually I’d throw in a Fatboy or a Slim, but this week it’s the Red Tip.
The Tatra is the one I’m watching. Day one, there was a bit more cleanup work than I’d like. That’s part of the challenge, though. The whole point is to figure out how to get the best out of this setup, and the first shave might not be it. By day seven, I’m predicting BBS every morning. That’s just where I think this goes.
Barry over at A Texan Shaves sees it differently. Talked to him this morning, and he gave me 60/40 odds that I don’t make it through the week. I asked which way the 60 pointed. Against me, he said. He’s probably not wrong. Wednesday or Thursday I might be sitting here thinking yeah, forget this. But we’re trying.
If you could go a full week on the same setup, drop me a comment and let me know. And if you’re joining in yourself, send me a message during the week. I’ll do the same. If I bail, I’ll tell you.
All right, guys. See you tomorrow. Stay smooth.