Sounds good!
Gave the OSS a go with a Spoiler tonight, and though I think the Schick goes a little better in the mild head, I still had a great shave. I much prefer to face lather these days, the Duke makes it so easy. I'm a little concerned that the Duke is still shedding the occasional hair, but it's probably to be expected if I'm going to scrub away with it. Proraso Red in the bowl tonight to switch up, and I actually think it has a point of difference with the same in tube form. The bowl isn't really air tight, which means that by the time you get it, it's dried out a little. For me, this is a good thing. I find that my best lather comes from an initial loading, an application to wet face and quick scrub, then going back to the soap bowl and loading up a little more. Doing this helps me to ensure that I build a good, wet and slick lather that actually has enough product to be thick and cushioning too. The drier soap seems to pick up nicely, and personally, I find it easier to load from a bowl than go back to the tube.
The OSS doesn't always provide the closest shave, even with a sharp blade. I've found that a first WTG pass with the safety bar, followed by an XTG pass and touch-ups with the open comb provides a perfectly comfortable and adequate result. It would be interesting to compare the open comb OSS side to another mild open comb like the Merkur 15C to see how relaxed it really is.
Alum and TOBS Eton College to finish. Neither gave me the desired sting, which was a nice validation of my technique at the moment but disappointing nonetheless. It's been really pleasant to strip my shave routine back to absolute basics, same brush, soap, razor and blade. Now that I've eliminated my irritation problems almost entirely, I get an extra shave each week. Bonus!
