Hey boys,
Shame on me, I was the guy asking for these Shaving Journal topics, and here I am not writing in them regularly! Either way, I still check in all the time to see what’s going on. Today, I wanted to share a few thoughts on some gear I picked up over the spring and summer.
Lambda Ares v2
Ever since I bought the Lambda Athena last spring, I’ve been totally in love with it. I couldn’t believe a razor could be so mild and comfortable while remaining so incredibly effective, Theo is a true genius!
Naturally, I decided I had to try the maestro's second creation, especially since I think the Ares looks even better than the Athena. Don't get me wrong, the Athena is beautiful, but the Ares is just on another level when it comes to razor design. As you all know, buying a razor from Lambda isn't exactly easy. Before signing up for the waitlist, I reached out to Theo directly to ask about the next batch. To my surprise, he got back to me a few days later with a purchase code, and I pulled the trigger immediately.
I’d read and heard rumors that the Ares was super aggressive, almost on par with the Mühle R41 but that couldn't be further from the truth. The Ares does have a tiny bit more blade feel during the shave, but it remains remarkably smooth and efficient. It shot straight into my top 3 DE razors almost overnight.
Shaving Brushes
In June, I picked up a Semogue Taj handle with the Mistura knot! I also own the Semogue Torga C5 Mistura and absolutely love it, so I decided to get essentially the same knot, but in the classic SOC-style handle.
Then, something incredible happened last week. I managed to buy a Rooney beehive brush directly from the personal collection of Mr. Lee Sabini himself. We had a quick chat, and based on our conversation, I honestly believe we might actually see Rooney brushes back on the market again someday!
Another interesting brush I picked up literally the day after buying the Rooney is a vintage Floris shaving brush. I don’t know anything about its history yet, so I actually reached out to Floris directly to see if they could share any details about it.
I can't say anything about how they perform just yet since they haven't arrived, but I'm really hoping they hold their own against modern brushes!
And one last thing. I've always loved Martin de Candre shaving soap, but lately, I think it's become my absolute number one. Since I almost never use synthetics anymore, MdC's hard soap works like an absolute charm with badgers!
See you soon.