Razor: Ever-Ready 1912 SE
Blade: Personna PTFE
Brush: Yaqi Silvertip Badger
Soap: Barrister & Mann Reserve Fern
Aftershave: Barrister & Mann Reserve Fern Splash
Other: Thirsty Badger lather bowl
Top shelf shave today. I picked up this B&M Reserve Fern set a while ago. I was on the hunt for a matching aftershave to my Martin de Candre Fougere (it sets the bar for fougere scents in my opinion). A fantastic CWS member hooked me up with a such a great deal I couldn’t pass on the set. Oakmoss, lavender, and tonka make up the scent notes. It is inspired by a throwback fougere, Houbigant Fougere Royal. While not a perfect match for MDC in my opinion, it is a fougere thru and thru. The scent stands on its own. A fantastic scent. I won’t go into too much detail on the soap and splash performance themselves as I’ve sang their praises before. All give top shelf performance and would be a welcome addition to any den.
It is funny how an opinion on something can change over time. Such is the case for this Yaqi Silvertip Badger. Just last year this was my favourite brush in the den. Now I actually find it a bit of a pain to use. The knot is huge and is a big lather hog. It just eats lather. The knot size compared to the handle also makes it a bit of a pain to control. Factor that in with a super slick soap and it takes a bit of extra effort to work the lather. The knot feels like quality, I just think the handle it pairs with isn’t a great fit.
Following a tough shave with the Gem SE yesterday I switched to this Ever-Ready SE today. Man I love this razor. Aside from a bit of brassing, this is a stunning razor and it performs so well. Super smooth. I was able to get a 3 pass shave quickly and efficiently. Surprisingly, a touch of extra caution prevented me from opening up my war wound from yesterday. A fantastic BBS shave was the result. A great shave to start the day.
