Brush: Frank Shaving synthetic
Soap: P160
Tipo Dura
Razor: Gillette NEW
Short Comb
Blade: 7 O'Clock Green [1]
After-shave: Blue Stratos
After shave
I've got a chance to try a whole lot of new shaving products on loan. All these are items I've never tried before.
I have a Frank Shaving badger and have used numerous synthetics (at least 4 different kinds) but this was by far the largest! I don't have calliper shut this is probably a 28mm knot. It's not dense, but has a lot of hair nonetheless. It lathered well, but not great. I found that it put too much air into the lather and so it wasn't as dense a lather (cf Plisson or Muhle STF). There was certainly a lot of lather and it went everywhere!
I've used P160 Tipo Morbido which is the softer croap. This was distinctly harder and (probably due to age) lacked the sweet almond scent. It generated a good lather with glide and protection. I blame the brush for not giving me a better lather that I believe can come from this soap.
I have used a NEW Long Comb but this was my first with the Short Comb variant. This is a beautiful razor in colouring and to shave with. It feels a little less comfortable than the LC, with just as much efficiency. It wiped off my 2 & 1/2 day growth easily. I really love the NEWs - they really are great Open Comb razors.
The 7 O'Clock (green) Permasharps are constantly recommended but I've never given them a go. (Too many blades to try really!) It paired well with the NEW SC. It's difficult to judge when only used once with one razor. But I'll definitely give these a run for a while to see how they go for me.
After my usual alum and Argan oil post-shave, I applied the famous Blue Stratos aftershave. I'm a big fan of the category "Barbershop" scents so this with its light citrus and powdery musk suits me well. Not too heavy, the scent seems to have reasonable longevity.