Aug. 1, 2022

• Brush: Omega 10005
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley
• Blade: Astra Super Platinum (1)
• Lather: Noble Otter Orbit
• Post Shave: Noble Otter Orbit Aftershave

This is my first AA so I decided to go extreme. Orbit has been my favorite soap since I started wetshaving about two months ago so I figured it would be great to use for the whole month. I’m used to shaving every other day so I’m definitely gonna need a technique adjustment to shave daily. I’m hoping this month helps me get more comfortable finding the right angles and minimizing irritation.

Now onto the brush… Since I got into shaving I’ve been using a Maggard Synthetic brush and I see now how spoiled I was. The brand new boar brush was easily the worst part of the shave today. As soon as it touched the water it started to stink, turning my beautiful orbit into a sickly stench. When it touched my face it was like the bristles were glued together and the damn thing just refused to splay naturally. On top of that my soap, face, and sink were all covered in boar hair. I’m already looking forward to going back to synthetic next month but I am hopeful that this knot will break in nicely.

RawHoggin

#rawhoggin

/u/eldrormr

Aug. 2, 2022 * Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley * Blade: Astra Super Platinum (2) * Lather: Noble Otter Orbit * Post Shave: Noble Otter Orbit Splash

Boar brush after two shaves

This shave was a lot more comfortable than yesterday’s. The brush still has a slight smell but nowhere near as foul as day one. I tried to load more soap this time as well which made the face lather much easier. I also really took my time with the razor and let it do most of the work. Noble Otter’s splash feels so good in the moment but I do feel like it’s drying out my skin a bit so I may skip it tomorrow.

rawhoggin

#rawhoggin

Aug. 3, 2022

• Brush: Omega 10005
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley
• Blade: Astra Super Platinum (3)
• Lather: Noble Otter Orbit
• Post Shave: Geologie Daily Moisturizer

#rawhoggin

brush after shave 3

Today’s the day I decided to learn how to shave. For the last two months of wetshaving I’ve been struggling to reconcile the “no pressure” rhetoric with my desire for a BBS face. So when I got out of the shower I gave up my desire for smoothness and tried to treat my skin as nicely as possible.

I lathered for a long time and really focused on massaging it into my face. Before I even started shaving I lined up the cb on my hand so that I could get a good feel for the angle. When I started shaving I went as slow as I could, and tried to focus on feeling the blade and moving my hand, rather than moving the razor. Feedback on this razor isn’t as noticeable as on the 6S, which I suspect is due to the blade being clamped tighter on the CB. I did my normal WTG pass but substituted my ATG pass with an XTG. Again, I was going for technique over efficiency. I also decided to skip the aftershave today to give my skin a break from alcohol. The result of all this was a damn fine shave with a small amount of stubble remaining but almost ZERO irritation.

As far as rawhoggin, the boar gets a little better every day. I’m finding that it takes a long time to load and that I had to load again between pases, but that was the only issue. It’s softened significantly since day 1, and since I discovered that you’re supposed to soak natural brushes for a few minutes before using. The scent is all but gone, and again nowhere near as heinous as day 1. Still not sure if I prefer it over my synthetic, but it’s definitely a worthy competitor and a fun challenge.

Aug. 4, 2022 * Brush: Omega 10005 * Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley * Blade: Astra Super Platinum (4) * Lather: Noble Otter Orbit * Post Shave: Noble Otter Orbit Aftershave * Post Shave: Geologie Daily Moisturizer

omega boar day 4

#rawhoggin

This was a real quick one as I had a dinner to get to. I did one pass against the grain and probably went a little too fast but it went okay. One small weeper and a touch of irritation around my chin but overall still pretty good.

My orbit finally smells normal again and the splash felt really nice and cool on my sunburn. The brush itself is still a bit stiff but I’m getting better at lathering with it each day!

Aug. 5, 2022

• Brush: Omega 10005
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley
• Lather: Noble Otter Orbit
• Post Shave: Noble Otter Orbit Aftershave
• Post Shave: Geologie Daily Moisturizer

#rawhoggin brush after shave 5

More soap, more water. Did another one pass today and really tried to overload the brush. Instead I got a really nice lather that held up to a lot of water instead of immediately breaking. Shave itself was decent; this blade is getting a little old for me. I went pretty fast but only got a little irritation on my chin again. Was pleasantly surprised by how little the splash burned, which I’ll take as a sign that my technique is improving. Orbit continues to be an awesome scent.

Aug. 6, 2022

• Brush: Omega 10005
• Razor: Karve Overlander
• Blade: Feather (1)
• Lather: Noble Otter Orbit
• Post Shave: Noble Otter Orbit Aftershave
• Post Shave: Geologie Daily Moisturizer Balm

#rawhoggin brush after day 6

Fuck with the grain passes. Against followed by across to touch up is the best combo for me so far. Used the overlander as my weekend hardware and it was super smooth. My technique has definitely improved in just a week of using the CB daily. I also forgot to soak my brush before my shower so it was a bit scratchy but still made a pretty nice lather.

Also, starting to think my neck just CANT get bbs. Do I need something even more aggressive? Do I need to use a cartridge for just these two spots?

Aug. 7, 2022 * Brush: Omega 10005 * Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley * Blade: Voskhod (1) * Lather: Noble Otter Orbit * Post Shave: Noble Otter Orbit Aftershave * Post Shave: Geologie Daily Moisturizer Balm

#Rawhoggin brush after day 7

Did the opposite of yesterday and did one pass with the grain to give my face a bit of a break. I also switched to a voskhod. Previously I thought the conversations around sharpness vs. smoothness were exaggerated but this really was an exceptionally smooth blade. Even though I didn’t go as close as I sometimes do my face felt fantastic afterwards. Tomorrow I’m going to a silver blue though to get a close shave for work. Goodnight folks!

Aug. 8, 2022 * Brush: Omega 10005 * Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley * Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (1) * Lather: Noble Otter Orbit * Post Shave: Barrister & Mann Reserve Cool Aftershave * Post Shave: Geologie Daily Moisturizer Balm

#rawhoggin brush after day 8

Brush seems to have plateaued a bit. It’s definitely softer than when I started but it’s in a weird middle ground. Like it’s not stiff enough to feel really scrubby but also not as soft as my synth. I’ll give it a longer soak and see what it does tomorrow.

Aug. 9, 2022 * Brush: Omega 10005 * Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley * Lather: Noble Otter Orbit * Post Shave: Noble Otter Orbit Aftershave * Post Shave: Geologie Daily Moisturizer Balm

#rawhoggin brush after day 9

The good: BBS! My two pass method, ATG & XTG, is working really well. I also paid much more attention to my grain when I was using my facial scrub in the shower and realized my hair is very much not symmetrical. Longer soak in warmer water helped the brush today too and the softness gave me my best lather yet.

The bad: overshaved a bit on my neck and now it’s warm/itchy. I think when AA is over I’ll move up to the D plate in hopes that the extra efficiency will help my avoid that problem. I’m still not sure if my neck is capable of being BBS but dammit I’m gonna try.

Edit: I forgot to mention in my previous posts but I LOVE the beechwood handle on this brush. It has a clean, natural look that I really enjoy.

Aug. 10, 2022 * Brush: Omega 10005 * Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley * Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (3) * Lather: Noble Otter Orbit * Post Shave: Barrister & Mann Reserve Cool Aftershave * Post Shave: Geologie Daily Moisturizer Balm

#rawhoggin brush after day 10 (ft. my poor neglected synth in the bg)

Still experimenting with passes. Did one XTG and another half pass to do some touching up. Definitely not as smooth as yesterday but easier on the skin. My hair is in a weird spot that’s barely enough to shave every day but really is more suited to shave every other. That’s been a good challenge though because it’s helping me learn consistency and technique. Honestly even just ten days into August I feel like I’ve improved a ton. I am looking forward to getting the overlander back into the rotation though