Austere August Day 1 SOTD

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 1st use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (1)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

This year's AA is going to be epic! After last year's amazing show of MMOC force, I decided to add another challenge to foster the love of boar brushes. The Raw Hoggin' Challenge rules state that "unboxing" pics must be provided. I have the documentation of the knot's unboxing and installation, packaging of the finished brush, and finally the long awaited unboxing below.

Unboxing and setting of the knot.

Boxing up of the brush.

Finally getting to open the box and gaze lovingly on this beauty.

Having to wait as long as I did to use this brush for the first time was so damn difficult. Since I set the knot back in June I've been dying to use it and caught myself on several occasions going into the shop just to hold the box the brush was sealed in.

Well, the opening of the box released a wave of pig stank that lingered, even with the brush dry. One of the first thoughts to course through my mind was "here we go again" and that was immediately followed up with all the times u/Semaj3000 has told me to "drink the boar water". Today I hope everyone imagines the great and thirsty u/Semaj3000 watching the sun come up in his little window seat, gingerly sipping his own morning brew as he relishes in the gentle yet penetrating aroma of his own kettle warmed hog water.

A short soak while I showered prepared this mightly and stanky brush for its first taste of soap ever. I knew in my heart of hearts that the tropical and subtle Monoi de Tahiti was going to be no match for the visceral and potent fetor of this new unbleached knot. Bringing the brush towards my face unleashed tears. Not tears of joy for the potential this brush has, but tears that my body pumped out to protect my eyes from whatever danger lurks within the recesses of the olfactory hell that is this knot.

The gentle exfoliating sensation of a new slightly low lofted unbleached boar knot is something not easily forgotten. I know at the end of the week the scrub will lessen and by the end of the month I will have an amazing brush, but holy hell was use #1 intense.

Thank the gods that my lather was good even after having to go back to the tub between passes and the gorgeous gen 2 MMOC is such an efficient razor. It took little effort and little pressure to remove 2 days worth of growth in my 3 passes to get my face ready for the day.

This first week is going to be a rough one but once these tips split slightly and the bloom begins, I'll be riding smooth to the end of the month.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 2

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 2nd use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (2)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Today's shave was so much better than yesterdays. When I first put this brush together, there was quite a bit of space between the glue bump and the ferrule and I knew the bloom was going to get good and do it quickly. I didn't expect it to go this wide after one use. That tiny bit of extra space has given the knot a chance to really spread out from its original cramped space. That, in turn, allowed more lather and preshave soaking water to get all in the nooks and crannies to help soften things up. Overall, it required less loading time and made better lather than yesterday. I am really looking forward to how this knot develops throughout this month.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 3

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 3rd use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (3)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Another good shave. The blade has smoothed out and the razor is now on complete autopilot, but the brush still has that "new unbleached boar stank. It isn't as constant as day 1, but any time the brush splays it hits me like a damn truck full of manure. It taints everything... muh face, the bathroom, hell, I'm even getting phantom whiffs of it at work hours after my shave. I was really hoping that the amount of bloom this brush is developing it would be fading faster.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 4

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 4th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (4)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

I am liking this soap a little more each day. Maybe it's because the raw unbleached pig ass stench is slowly fading (very slightly) every day. The NO splash is top shelf stuff and is helping my face handle daily MMOC use and a new unbleached boar knot really well.

So far the gen 2 MMOC is running just as smooth as I remember gen 1 being. We'll see if my opinion of gen 1 being better changes by the end of the month.

On a side note, I am blown away by the number of people who have decided to take part in the Raw Hoggin' Challenge. There were 61 people who started with us on day one!

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 5

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 5th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (5)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Good autopilot shave this morning. The brush is beginning to become more consistent in its performance. It is eating less lather and the hairs are slowly starting to become more flexible. Another 2 weeks and this brush will go from pretty good to really good.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 6

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 6th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (6)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Atill getting a decent amount of stink from the brush when I splay it while building lather. I eas hoping it would have lessened to a greater degree after a week of daily use, but I was wrong. The tips are softening up nicely and it is still only eating the slightest amount of lather.

The blade and razor are in the sweet spot and should stay there for about a week. Personally, after about 18-20 uses, PTFE blades start to become rougher for me. We'll see if using a gen 2 MMOC changes that.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 7

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 7th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (7)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Good but quick 3 pass shave before the kids wake up. I'm liking this scent more and more as the month goes on. We'll see how I feel in about 3 weeks.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 8

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 8th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (8)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

3 pass BBS. The brush is at the development plateau where all the changes are so small I cannot see or feel them, but I know they are happening.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 9

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 9th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (9)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Short on sleep and an over abundance of grogginess lead to me completely missing an entire pass while shaving. WTG went fine, then I got lost in thought (read completely spaced out) while lathering for XTG and jumped right into my ATG. I'm honestly surprised how well it worked. The MMOC gave zero fucks and cut down the stubble that was left with no issue, hesitation, or problem. This may be something I try on purpose later this month to see if it still works.

One thing I noticed today is how hard the urge for variety hit me. Not even half way and I almost reached for my Hawk and Sonder. Gotta stay strong.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 10

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 10th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (10)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

10 days in and my hog is less raw than before. The tips are splitting nicely and the splay in slowly increasing. I still get whiffs of pig's ass , but it isn't a constant source of disgust anymore. It's gotten to the point where the brush is pleasant to use and I am looking forward to the shaves now. There is no flop to this knot and I am not sure there ever will be, but only time will tell.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 11

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 11th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (11)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

More of the same loveliness. The software scent continues to be pleasant and the boar stink continues to dwindle to almost unnoticeable levels. The blade is hanging in there and hasn't started gettting tuggy yet. 18 shave seems to be where I notice a change in blade sharpness. We'll see how far this one goes.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 12

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 12th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (12)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Another day, another good shave.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 13

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 13th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (13)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

This morning was the first morning I could feel the blade start to grab the slightest amount. I made sure my lather was good and hydrated, but that semsation was still there. Is this the start of my blades decline?

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 14

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 14th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (14)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Good and easy lather from the brush with no pig ass stink at all. I think I can finally call the brush de-stunk. Also, with how the tips looked this morning before use, I also think the knot might be close to fully broken in.

The blade, on the other hand, is past its honeymoon phase and ia into the tuggy phase of its life. I have no where good to go from here. I'll give it a few more shaves before I start stropping it.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 15

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 15th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (15)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Pretty much halfway. The brush is going strong and the software is good. The blade is starting to crap out and now we being the mental side of AA. Can I find the positives in a worn blade? I don't understand how u/djundjila is working a PTFE blade past the century mark when I hate these things after about 20 shaves.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 16

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 16th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (16)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Tried soaking the brush in less water today. Had enough to go about a 1/4 up the knot. It allowed for more backbone during the first pass, but everything softened up for pass 2 and 3. The knot isn't getting floppy, which is good, but it is developing quite the amount of splay. I'm liking it very much.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 17

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 17th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (17)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

The bottom of the tub will poke through tomorrow. I still have plenty of soap left, but thought I had another week until I saw tub. Time to push for my first kill of the year.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 18

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 18th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (18)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Got in a quick shower and 2 pass shave with a sick kiddo at home.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 19

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 19th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (19)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Another day, another tuggy shave. Palm stropped the blade this morning and it helped for the first half pass. Going to be a long rest of the month.

My brush is also randomly shedding hairs again. The past 2 shaves have dispensed 3-4 hairs each. Hopefully I'm just getting to the deep set stragglers and broken hairs and nothing is wrong with the knot.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 20

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 20th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (20)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Got most of the hair off my face. This blade sucks. The end.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 21

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 21st use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (21)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

The brush has stopped shedding again and I have yet to tire of my software scent. I chose wisely.

Forgot to palm strop the blade and it tugged like a puppy playing tug-o-war with a rope toy.

This blade sucks. The end.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 22

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 22nd use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (22)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

30x palm strops on each side of the blade made this shave more comfortable than the last few. If I keep this up everyday, I should be able to manage the tug factor until the end.

The hole at the bottom of my tub grows daily, but I don't fear using it up before the end of the month. Load heavy or go home.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 23

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 23rd use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (23)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Forgot to palm strop my blade and it worked out ok this morning. Super hydrated lather made the difference between pain and smoothness.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

The Eighth International Boomer Appreciation Djudge Shave With MMOC Austerity

Austere August Day 24

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 24th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (24)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Good company for a less than amazing shave. Myself and my fellow Djudges had quite an enjoyable chat while I used an atrociously dull blade to scrape the stubble off my face.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Episode Link

Podcast RSS feed

This Podcast is distributed on Anchor, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, and everywhere worth looking.

Austere August Day 25

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 25th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (25)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Actually had a good shave this morning. The blade was smoothish and only minimally tuggy. The brush lost another 6 bristles, but I noticed that none of them were split so maybe they were just loose and broke free recently.

I can't wait for the end of the month. Not because of the software, which is a big surprise for me, but because I miss variety and I want to get rid of this blade so badly.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 26

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 26th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (26)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Surprisingly another good shave this morning. Made sure to really push the hydration on my lather and was pleased with how much water the NO base can handle. I am going to try and push my other soap bases further after this month. I think overall I could do a better job if hydrating my lather more across the board. Something to work on next month.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 27

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 27th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (27)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

A decent shave with one little weeper on the corner of my mouth. The blade seems to have smoothed out a touxh towards the end. I'll take any help I can get.

4 shaves left till freedom

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 28

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 28th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (28)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Sunburn and a dull blade in a MMOC is a bad combo. Apparently I didn't use enough sunscreen when I took the kids to the pool yesterday.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 29

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 29th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (29)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Two. More. Days.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 30

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 30th use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (30)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

One more day until freedom! Variety and a fresh blade here I come.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom

Austere August Day 31

Brush: Rubberset 400-3 w/ Unbleached Zenith 24mm knot set to a 56mm loft 31st use

Razor: Gem MMOC, gen 2

Blade: PTFE (31)

Lather: NO Monoi de Tahiti

Post: NO Monoi de Tahiti Splash

Last day! The sweet sweet scent of my other soaps and the wonderful, dare I say, orgasmic (u/djundjila's bot can find my quotes from last year on this) sensation of a fresh blade is within my grasp!

This brush has been an amazing adventure throughout this month. The break in was thoroughly documented and really goes to show you that if you are patient and willing to put in the work, boar knots are so good. My hope with the challenge was to really push shavers to realize that boar brushes are worth respect and not just to be seen as cheap and scratchy knots.

I'm please with all the participants who choose to take this journey with me and hope you all enjoyed what your brushes became over the month. Reading your SOTDs and seeing the gradual change in opinion from "what the hell did I sign up for" or "why did I agree to do this" to "this is becoming my favorite brush" has been refreshing and really the reinforced why I wanted to run this challenge.

Sadly, there were a few who didn't make it to the end. A special shout out to u/USS-SpongeBob with the fastest AA Challenge disqualification in history. One single pass was all it took for him to throw in the towel.

Those that do finish today still within the challenge rules have earned their place in the great Halls of Boarhalla and will be forever honored with the Raw Hoggin flair. Wear your flair with pride as the struggle was real and all consuming. Be proud of your accomplishment and enjoy your now wonderfully broken in new brush.

RawHoggin

GemsOfWisdom