Saw Julio’s budget shave post and it got me thinking. While I am definitely guilty of guilty of posting SOTDs that has several hundreds of US Dollars worth of products, just for a single shave, its too easy to fall into that trap and keep wanting to “Do one better”.

So when I got home from work after a long night and was getting ready for the morning clean up shave, I thought I’d do a “recommended” budget shave. While I can cut the cost further, like using a US$2.00 India made Gillette Tech knock off, $3 no brand Synthetic brush, and William’s mug soap, the experience would be subpar.

If however, you want to see a “True Budget” setup, that’s for another day.

For today’s setup, though, I am thinking of someone who wants to get the best shave experience while not breaking his bank.

Everything here I can buy locally or via Amazon Prime Singapore or International which will cut shipping cost as long as I hit the minimum spending required.

• Pre-Shave : Shower
• Brush : Friendship Shaving Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving (Frank Shaving has a G4 Brush on Amazon for S$17 / US$12)
• Soap : Proraso Red (S9.50 / US$6.90)
• Razor : Parker 22R (S$32.10 / US$23.15) w/Zaza Blades (don’t think you can find these now but you can use Derby Premiums S$21 / US$15 for 100 blades)
• Post Shave : Proraso Red Aftershave (S$22 / $15.90) , Thayers Gentlemen Aftershave Balm (S$12.15 / US$8.80)
• Total Cost : S$113.75 / US$82.18

Now you could lower the cost further by removing the aftershave and balm and just use Witchhazel but I think the above would be a pretty good “First setup” that will give you a damn good shave experience.

The Parker 22R is slightly less Aggressive then the better known 99R but still has that slight blade forward shave geometry most Parker Razor have.
If I have to make a comparison, it would be very similar to using a Rockwell Model T at setting 4.

It however doesn’t have any issues with blade flex and blade alignment that my Model T has though which ironically makes it a better razor than my Model T.
Like the Model T, you do have to be very gentle, using “Zero Pressure” strokes, or this razor will bite.

Proraso Red is such a joy to use. One of the best smelling soap at the price and though it is a synthetic Mysore Sandalwood, also known as Royal Sandalwood, it is really a beautiful, deep and rich sandalwood scent.
This soap will fill your entire Bathroom with the scent.

And you of course finish up with more of that scent with Proraso Red Aftershave and if you like a balm to remoisturize your face.
Skip the balm the weather is warm or if your face tends to get oily / tacky.

And the experience was superb.
Not artisanal by any means but the combination of products with scent and end feel (Perfect BBS) was far from bad.

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• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• Brush : PAA Peregrino
• Soap : Zingari Man The Lothario
• Razor : Rockwell 6S-R5 w/Personna Platinum
• Post Shave : Osage Rub, Zingari Man The Lothario Aftershave Balm
• Others : Menthol in Salt Grinder

Tropics muggy night, flip shift shave.
Went with Zingari Man’s Lothario and added in a fair amount of menthol to get that oh so cooling lather.
Forgot just how thirsty this soap is, easily fixed with a dipping mug I keep on the side for just the need. Still haven’t got around to getting Heather’s Sego base but her old base is still fantastic.

Reached for the old Warhammer and some of the older blades I have, this time with the Personnas.
Not as sharp as my top two blades but it’s smooth.

At this point I think with the exception of a few blades, they all seem to work fine for me.
Even Derby Extras.
I think a lot has to do with the Razor / Blade pairing and the 6S’s geometry already lends to a very comfortable and smooth shave that most blades unless they are relatively dull, won’t perform well.

Easy, clean, true glass BBS.

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• Pre-Shave : Cold Shower, PAA Cube
• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Brush : PAA Peregrino
• Soap : Rockwell Barbershop Shave Cream
• Razor : Tatara Masamune Base Plate + Nodachi Top Cap + RR Halo SS Handle w/Lord Platinum Blade
• Post Shave : Cold Shower, Osage Rub, Body Shop Maca Root and Aloe Post Shave Gel
• Others : Menthol in a Salt Grinder

Off day shave. And holy crap it is so good to be able to have slept in.
Hot muggy Tropics day so in addition to a cold shower, decided to add in about 10-12 grinds of menthol which turned the Rockwell Shave Cream to about the same in feel as a Stirling Glacial soap.
Fanfrackingtastic!

Grabbed the Junior Assassin Tatara configuration and paired it with the Lord blade, while not as sharp as my usual Bic / Feather blade of choice, it was sharp enough (4/5) and very smooth. With Tatara’s superb engineering it made for a very, very comfortable experience. I had to resist pressing down, almost not feeling anything at all and just shaved mostly by audio feedback and that tiny amount of resistance as blade meets growth.

Easy true glass, zero irritation BBS shave.

Finished up with another cold shower before applying Osage Rub and Body Shop’s Post Shave gel which smells eerily of a very lightly scented PAA’s Future Fiction.
Yeah, it was an Epic finish!

(I wonder if I can make a shower attachment that you can put ice cubes in)

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• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• Brush : Friendship Shaving Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
• Soap : PA Solstice
• Razor : Rockwell 6S-R5 w/Lord Platinum Blade
• Post Shave : PAA Solstice Star Jelly Aftershave and Aftershave Cologne
• Ohers : PAA Solstice Deodorant and Solid Cologne

Normally after a shitty 10hr shift and being up for 16hrs I’d be heading to bed.
But after dealing with jackasses and admin who practice “do as I say, not as I do” fracktards, who can’t task plan if their live depended on it, I needed a pick me up and I need to blow off some steam.
(Probably on Mechwarrior Online)

The “Pick me up” is easy enough.
Solstice.
Fanfrackingtastic scent. Even better with enough menthol, that 15 mins after the shave, you still feel the cool on the face and still smelling epically awesome. And since I choose to use the solid Cologne along with the Aftershave Cologne, probably smell great for the next 6+ hours.

Reached for the old Warhammer, the 6S, this time with the R5 plate paired with a Lord Platinum blade.
She was so freaking smooth while taking everything off with zero issues.
Perfect, clean, easy true glass BBS shave.

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• Pre-Shave : Shower
• Brush : Friendship Shaving Macy Dual Band Badger by Frank Shaving
• Soap : Soap Commander Renewal
• Razor : Rockwell Model T w/Rockwell Blade
• Post Shave : Soap Commander Renewal Aftershave and Balm
• Others : Menthol in a Grinder

Grabbed a freshie soap today but as it has no menthol, I added my own.
Soap Commander’s lather is right up there with the best of them.

Used the Model T again and now that I am used to its idiosyncrasies, like needing to check for blade alignment and balance, something that you really should not need to do with such an expansive razor, and stuff like making sure your fingers have alum as the knurling on the handle is useless and slips with wet soapy fingers, I’m able to use this with a good degree of satisfaction.

However, if you want to buy a Rockwell, stick with the 6S/6C.

With care and zero pressure applied, I managed a clean BBS shave.

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• Pre-Shave : Shower
• Brush : Friendship Shaving Macy Dual Band Badger by Frank Shaving
• Soap : Taylor of Bond Street Sandalwood Herbal Hardpuck
• Razor : Razorock MJ-90A w/Bic Chrome Platinum
• Post Shave : Taylor of Bond Street Sandalwood Aftershave, Thayers Gentlemen Aftershave Balm

Love this soap!
Scent and performance made for a great shave especially if you go for a face lather.

Took up the MJ-90A this time, I would have preferred if the head wasn’t aluminum but it is a damn good improved DE89 based razor.
I’d highly recommend this to a new user over the Edwin Jagger DE89 as it fixed a number of issues with the original and tweaked the shave geometry to give a smoother shave.

Extremely smooth, and when paired with a good sharp blade is a joy to use.
Easy BBS shave.

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• Pre-Shave : Shower, Proraso Wood and Spice Pre-Shave
• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Brush : Friendship Shaving Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
• Soap : Proraso Wood and Spice
• Razor : Viking Blade Emperor Augustus w/Bic Chrome Platinum
• Post Shave : Proraso Wood and Spice Aftershave Balm and Beard Balm

Picked up stuff stuff I haven’t used in a while.

Wood and Spice’s scent is still as awesome as I remember it to be, performance is so so but given the price of cream it is more than decent.

And yes, I am using a beard balm even though I have no beard. I find it very soothing to the skin especially on top of and along with the balm, it also another layer on the scent.
Just a few drops of each is enough and does the job.

I did say that I find the scent to be awesome. 😁

Razor performed far better then I remembered.
There are some idiosyncrasies with the razor that I understand is part of the design, like having to first set to Max aggression to put in a blade, than set to the aggression you want before closing the doors in full, as well as the slight curvature of the blade when the doors are fully closed which is weird to my eye but doesn’t seem to affect the quality of the shave.

Very smooth, zero irritation, clean BBS shave.
Actually, I think it performed better then my Rockwell Model T and that’s saying something.

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• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• Brush : PAA Peregrino
• Soap : Stirling Agar
• Razor : Tatara Nodachi Base Plate + Masamune Top Cap w/Bic Chrome Platinum Blade
• Post Shave : Stirling Agar Aftershave
• Others : John Varvatos Oud EDT (not pictured)

Flip shift work day, decided to grind in some menthol to get a cool shave and decided not to use the balm as it is a warm muggy night at around 32deg c (around 90deg f) with the tropics humidity, yeah, its going to be uncomfortable.

With the Nodachi base mix and Bic combo it was an effortless shave.
Easy, clean, true glass BBS.

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Pre-Shave : Shower
Brush : Oumo SHD Silvertip Badger
Soap : WSP Matterhorn (Creed Silver Mountain Water)
Razor : Tatara Masamune Base Plate + Nodachi Top Cap w/Bic Chrome Platinum Blade
Post Shave : WSP Matterhorn Aftershave Splash and Balm
Others : PAA Unscented Deodorant, Al Haramain L’Aventure Blanche unisex EDP (Creed Silver Mountain Water)

It’s been too long since I used Matterhorn.
Way too long.

Its scent has been one of my favorites even from my fraghead days reproducing Creed’s Silver Mountain Water to a T.
Just lathering up, doing a face lather brought a smile to the face.

Lather was, is excellent as always, with superb slickness, residual and post shave, leading to a one pass ATG, XTG and ATG all in one shave with the Tatara and the Sword of Achilles.
Pick up was unnecessary but I did it anyways, didn’t want to waste all that lather in the brush. 😂

I love this razor combination. The razor’s blade geometry (gap 0.90mm, exposure negative -0.03mm and a 20 degree angle of attack) with precision engineering that doesn’t allow any blade flex or chatter, lends to an ultra smooth shave while the blade just takes growth off with barely any resistance while still being extremely smooth.

Today’s shave was just such a joy to experience and it’s why I will never go back to goop and cartridges.
Extremely comfortable easy true glass BBS shave.

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• Pre-Shave : Shower
• Brush : Friendship Shaving Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
• Soap : RR Alchemy
• Razor : Blackland Vector w/Feather Super Professional Blade
• Post Shave : RR Alchemy Aftershave, Thayers Aftershave Balm

Alchemy’s scent is a weird beast. Citrus, mint and dirty vetiver (with resinous woods but mostly vetiver) makes for strange bed fellows. There are times when shaving with it and I go “WTF is this?! Why did I buy it?” and other times ” Holy crap, I like!”
Though, to be fair, the times when I liked it more was when I ground in some menthol. The soap is not mentholated and I personally think that was a mistake.

The Vector is as always, a joy to use.
Easy BBS shave.

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