Aug. 14, 2022 - Headless Mammoth Hoggin' Day 14

• Brush: Proraso Professional Boar | Break-in photos
• Razor: Feather Artist Club SR (Kamisori)
• Blade: Schick Proline (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Alive - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Alive - Balm

• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Alive - Eau de Parfum

AA Tags: #RawHoggin #MammothMafia

Very good shave today. 2 weeks into AA and the shaves are becoming more of a routine and less exciting.

Today I shook a bit more water out of the brush and it loaded soap very efficiently without making a mess, though I did have to spend a little bit more time adding water when it was on my face. A good portion of the tips have split and this thing is a lathering machine, but I'm not sure if it's easy mode due to the lack of density. At the end of AA I want to try this brush with a variety of other soaps to see how consistent it is, but I suspect it will be as easy to use as my synthetics. I'm still enjoying this brush but I'm very curious how the different denser, bleached Zenith will feel on the face. I've become a bit nose blind to this scent during the shave, but spraying on the frag is still quite enjoyable.

A few days ago I created what I thought was a clever hidden side contest involving SOTD photos, but I think people are already a bit weary of reading AA posts so nobody caught on despite me progressively dropping more hints. I ended up giving up on it which may be good since I was investing a bit too much time into it each day. It also made me appreciate the djudges more because even I'm finding less motivation to read through the posts each day despite my initial thrill.

Aug 14, 2022 - AA: MA-RH-MM - Almond Leather - Day 14

• Prep: Warm Water Wash
• Prep: Klar - Activated Charcoal - Face Soap
• Brush: Zenith Cobalt Blue 28mm Boar Knot (505BC SE)
• Razor: GEM Open Comb Micromatic (2nd Gen.)
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (14)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Almond Leather - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Almond Leather - Aftershave

This shave was much better. I think something finally clicked with the MMOC during yesterday's shave, and I carried it over into today's shave. Riding the cap with the right amount of pressure is allowing me to get through passes relatively quickly with no tugging and very little irritation.

Early uses of the blade would not allow me to ride the cap this way because it would bite too quickly. At the time, I had to angle closer to the edge while using very little pressure. Now that the blade is smoothing out, this method seems to work better. I'm still not getting as close a shave as I would like, but that's okay for now.

#GEMsOfWisdom #RawHoggin #MammothMafia

#sidetracked
How Soon is Now? by The Smiths is a song that doesn't fit with the rest of their catalog and yet is instantly recognizable.

Rating: 3.5/5

Aug. 14, 2022

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Hybrid B3
• Razor: Gillette Flare Tip Super Speed
• Blade: Gillette Platinum (13)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Hygge - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Hygge - Aftershave

• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Hygge - Eau de Parfum

  #MammothMafia

2022-08-14 - Austere August - Raw Hoggin' Mammoth MMOC

Prep: Warm Shower
Brush: Semogue Torga - C5
Razor: GEM MMOC version 2
Blade: GEM Stainless (14)
Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap
Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave
Fragrance: Issey Miyake -L'eau d'Issey pour Homme

https://imgur.com/a/lAxqC3R

14 terrific shaves in the books. Everything working well, I could easily use this set up as a daily driver.

#GEMsOfWisdom

#RawHoggin

#MammothMafia

Aug. 14, 2022 - Austere August - Z

• Brush: Declaration 28mm B14 Jefferson Artisan’s Choice
• Razor: Blackland Era lvl 3 oc
• Blade: Personna med prep (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Z - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Z - Splash & Balm

Fine shaving today.

#MammothMafia #Unchallange #Unscented

Aug. 14, 2022 - Quatorze

• Prep: Hot shower
• Brush: Omega Pro 48 Boar brush 28mm
• Razor: GEM MMOC
• Blade: GEM PTFE (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Hygge - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Hygge - Aftershave

Super duper smooth shave this morning. The blade was perfect, as was the lather and therefore slickness. Loving this (almost) broken in boar brush. It should only just get softer from here. No more pig stink, and barely cheated... I'm waiting for the MMOC blade drama to kick in, but so far all is just fine.

Happy Sunday

#GEMsOfWisdom

#MammothMafia

August 14 2022

• Brush: Zenith B28
• Razor: GEM MMOC (Gen 1)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (17)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo splash
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo balm
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Yesterday Haze

No tugging yet from the blade, keeping light pressure and it’s been smooth sailing.

#MammothMafia

#GEMSofWisdom

Aug. 14, 2022

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: Semogue 1460 Boar Brush 21mm
• Razor: Razorock GameChanger .84
• Blade: Gillette Nacet (14)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Alive - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Almond Leather - Balm

I liked my SOTD pic yesterday, but it felt like it was missing something and could be better. Today I went for a similar photo in a different part of my yard, and I think it turned out pretty well. It's not perfect, and the grass is a little dead, but overall I think it's a decent picture.

Tags:

#RawHoggin

#MammothMafia

Sunday, Austere August 14th, 2022

• Prep: Warm water

• Brush: Zenith B36 “Copper Scrubby!”

• Razor: GEM MMOC Gen 2

• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Alive

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Alive Splash

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Alive Balm

#MammothMafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Before Shave 14 and After

Shave 14 and it is still going strong. Better shave than yesterday with most lather built so far. Had enough for an extra pass if I wanted.

Brush is continuing to get more split ends and will splay fairly easy now. When splayed I found it was making the most lather. MMOC and the Personna GEM blade worked well today. I don’t think the blade has noticeably dulled over the last few shaves. Makes me think it should have a decent shot at lasting the month.

Going to be a pretty chill day today, run a couple errands and a few chores, but lots of time to lounge around today. I might smoke a chuck roast on the grill today. Not going for pulled beef bbq, but long enough to get some smoke flavor, and will need to slice it. I think an hour or so on smoke, then wrap it up to finish.

14 August 2022 - Austere August

• Prep: Hot shower
• Brush: Sterling boar
• Razor: Maggard V3
• Blade: Derby Extra
• Lather: House of Mammoth Fu Dao
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth Fu Dao splash

I changed the blade today. I'd think that 2 weeks on the same blade would be too long, but I didn't notice an appreciative difference between yesterday and today. Two-pass shave: with and across.

mammothmafia

August 14, 2022

• Preshave: Hot water
• Razor: Blackland Era - Level 3 Plate
• Blade: Feather (14)
• Brush: Chisel and Hound 26mm Fanchurian
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Kryptonite
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Kryptonite Aftershave Balm

MammothMafia

• Prep: warm shower
• Brush: Semogue 1250
• Razor: Novelty Cutlery Co straight razor
• Lather House of Mammoth - Z
• Post Shave: Equate witch hazel
• Post Shave: Zingari Man - unscented aftershave balm

Headless Horsemen

#RawHoggin #unscented #MammothMafia

Austere August 2022 day 14 https://imgur.com/a/V7geRu8

Aug. 14, 2022

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: Raiser Pinsel Simfix SF1 Synthetic
• Razor: Van Der Hagen
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword (7)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Alive - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Alive - Balm

#MammothMafia

Aug. 14, 2022 - AA Day 14

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

Late night and early morning here so it's a good thing the shave was pretty solid this morning. I preached this morning, and due to a variety of circumstances, I was working on the message until about 10:15pm and then was up around 6am to do some finishing touches. Pair that with my wife who coughed much of the night and my daughter who woke up at 4:30 because she was disoriented and it's been a long day already. But - the shave to kick it off started the day well!

Sonder smelled sweeter to me this morning than usual - not gourmand, but it had a nice sweetness. I'm guessing it was the florals coming through with some citrus - but it's the first time I've really picked out those notes this month. Noses are super cool.

MMOC was a beaut again - I did have a couple of nicks but given my lack of sleep, it's no surprise that I was a little less than focused. The blade felt smooth and gentle, though - even if it did bite me once. Another 2.5 passes - with, across/against hybrid, and some buffing to get close to BBS.

The Zenith splayed beautifully while loading and lathering and continues to devleop and split ends nicely. Here's a pic from day 1 and day 7 to see how the weeks have gone. It's definitely opening up a ton, especially in the last week or so. You're welcome for the blurred out bonus feet in the background of those pics. I should probably sell pics of my nasty man feet for cash, but, as far as I know there's not much of a market for that, RIP me.

Sonder thought of the day: Gosh, people want to be listened to and heard. There are always people who want to chat at church and I'm more than happy to do that, but this morning a guy, we'll call him Roy, came up to welcome me back after my time off and share a quick story about his friend who had passed away fairly recently. As he remembered his sense of humor and shared a funny picture of him from the back of his funeral service bulletin (or whatever it's called) he was overwhelmed with emotion and had to swallow down some tears. To be able to share those moments with people is such a privilege. It was a busy morning for me, I had a lot of responsibilities and I really wanted to get back to my office to compose myself for a couple minutes before the service started, but then I thought to myself, "Sonder. This guy is more important than my small break." So I listened to him share his story that didn't mean much to me, I never knew his friend, but was so significant to him. As I think about it now, what a gift he shared with me - to be vulnerable and emotional and just miss his friend while I got to be there. I'm sure I've said it before in these sonder thoughts, but man, people really want to be heard - and more often than not, it is so worth it to just listen to people as they share their lives with you - the beauty and the pain and the joy and the sorrow. It's a privilege to be counted as important enough in someone's life for them to share with you. So, you know, next time you get a chance and someone is sharing themselves with you - try and be in the moment, be present, and pay attention - just like you'd want someone to do for you.

Happy Sunday, all. Hope it's a great one!

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

14 August 2022 - Austere August

• Prep: splash of warm water
• Brush: Zenith B33
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Ti
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (14)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo - Balm

Brush is even better than last week but still eating up more lather than my badger one. How do I know when it's been broken in?

#RawHoggin

#MammothMafia

Aug. 14, 2022

• Brush: Grey Chubby - Zenith B37
• Razor: Micromatic Open Comb
• Blade: GEM - PTFE Coated Stainless Steel (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Z - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Z - Aftershave

So I don't actually think that #RawHoggin is an affront to Auster August. I do, however, suspect I've make a big mistake in voluntarily choosing to subject myself for an entire month to the objectively worst lathering method (short of brushless hand-lathering, which could only be conceived by someone who is dangerously insane, a threat to the safety of themselves and others—looking at you, u/verdadkc).

I'm pretty sure that last night I had a dream in which my blade was completely rusted over. This surely came from the fact that yesterday, after I pulled out a set of drill bits for the purpose of putting up a cat-ladder/tree thing, I discovered that a forstner bit that I have had indeed completely rusted over, unlike anything it had been stored with. Kind of wild; my frame of experience is such that I'm surprised when anything rusts, e.g. the regular steel SE blades that I tried before this month began.

u/Teufelskraft #sidetracked — I decided to play music during my shower this morning. Way back I got a bluetooth speaker to put in there, (more specifically, I got it to put in the shower in the place I lived two domiciles ago) a decision that I can't say wasn't inspired by a bit by comedian Kyle Kinane. The song that played when I started it up was Broken Bells - The Ghost Inside, a song that is another recent discovery of mine (although it sounded really familiar when it did come up, so maybe I knew it before and forgot about it), and one that I had previously thought of sharing here at some point during the month.

Once the shower ended and shave-time came, though, the music went off. Obviously. Because, as we all know, auditory feedback is important to be attentive to during the shave, so we can't have anything drowning that out.

#GEMsOfWisdom
#RawHoggin
#unscented
#MammothMafia

A Mammoth Micromatic Raw Hoggin’ August

Brush Progress

• Brush: Zenith B26 #RawHoggin
• Razor: GEM MMOC #GEMsOfWisdom
• Blade: GEM (10)
• Lather: House if Mammoth - Hygge in Tusk
• Post Shave: Hygge Splash & Balm
• Fragrance: Hygge EDP #MammothMafia

B-

Day 1 Prep Video

RawHoggin Unboxing Pics

MammothMafia

Aug 14, 2022 - Getting Sidetracked while searching for the Wisdom of a Mammoth

• Prep: Hot shower and CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser

• Brush: Maggard Green Handle 2 Band Badger 24mm

• Razor: GEM - MMOC

• Blade: Personna GEM Stainless (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Alive Balm

• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Sonder EdP

Every day tags: #MammothMafia #GEMsofWisdom

#Sidetracked u/Teufelskraft

Chicken Fried - Zac Brown Band

Despite growing up in the Southern US my taste in music was simply “ABC” (Anything But Country) but this is one of the songs that opened my eyes to that genre. For the longest time growing up I thought Country music was nothing but songs about losing your dog or girlfriend. It doesn’t help that all I listened to was either Christian (my Mom) or NPR talk shows (my Dad) and then I was driven to the opposite of what they had in Hard Rock and Punk Rock. I distinctly remember hearing this song for the first time on Youth Retreat and my Youth Pastor trying to “censor” the cold beer into cold tea and instantly becoming a fan of the song. The funny thing about that is she drank like a fish and didn’t really hide it any other time. She just couldn’t condone drinking with her group of Middle Schoolers.

Aug. 14, 2022 - August Austere Day 14

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: Paladin Chief 26mm
• Razor: Merkur 34C
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Had a relatively smooth shave for my last day on vacation. It was good to be away from home and only have Sonder with me to get rid of temptation for a few days. #MAMMOTHMAFIA #UNCHALLENGE

Aug. 14, 2022 - Austere August Day 14

• Prep: House of Mammoth Almond Leather Bath Soap
• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Mire 26mm Zenith Unbleached Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 1
• Blade: GEM PTFE (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

🐗Raw Hoggin' Progress🤮:
•Unused
•Shave 1 through 7
•Shave 8
•Shave 9
•Shave 10
•Shave 11
•Shave 12
•Shave 13
•Shave 14

Thoughts for the day:
2 weeks down. I want to mix it up. This is the real struggle of AA...

Mandatory Taggage:

#GemsOfWisdom

#RawHoggin

#MammothMafia

Aug. 14, 2022 - Austere August

• Prep: Warm shower
• Brush: Zenith B10 Boar
• Razor: Feather Artist Club SR
• Blade: Feather Professional (5)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Almond Leather - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Almond Leather - Aftershave

• Post Shave: alum

Shave of austerity #14

2 pass shave. I got my butt kicked extending a power outlet on the pool deck today. I’m sure it would have taken an electrician two hours, but I decided to save money and kill an entire day. We now have a ceiling outlet and are able to install solar shades- win?

Shave was fantastic today, or maybe I was just beat from the yard work and electrical work. Either way, Almond leather made me feel clean again.

Tags and challenges: #MammothMafia & HeadlessHorsemen

Aug. 14, 2022 - Day 14: a Mystic shave

• Prep: Warm water wash
• Brush: Zenith B33 Copper Boar Brush
• Razor: GEM MicroMatic Open Comb
• Blade: Persona GEM PTFE Coated (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - 福 (Fu Dao) - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - 福 (Fu Dao) - Aftershave

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - 福 (Fu Dao) - Balm

• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - 福 (Fu Dao) - Eau de Parfum

What the hail? This shave was actually pretty decent! It was almost comfortable! I think it must be a combo of my technique change and maybe the blade has become less of a jerk.

ORRRR maybe! It’s just this mystic place. Sorry, not sorry. I’m in Mystic, CT. But for real the shave was decent. Hopefully tomorrow is even better!

The brush receives a neutral rating right now. It doesn’t smell like a butthole and it is not a piece of sandpaper. It is taking some getting used to, coming from the fancy badgers.

Brush break-in album #rawhoggin #mammothmafia #GEMSofWisdom

Aug. 14, 2022

• Brush: AP Shave Co 28mm A3 Fan
• Razor: Henson AL-13 +++
• Blade: Astra SP (2)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Hygge - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Hygge - Aftershave

Another great shave today with my new Henson aggressive. Looking forward to going back through my various blades and seeing what works well. I always needed a sharp blade in the mild/medium. Some slight irritation, probably need to use less pressure -- definitely needed to use some with the other two. Hope everyone had a great weekend, and that Monday isn't too rough!

#MammothMafia

Aug. 14, 2022 - SOTD AA Sonder 14

• Prep: Splash of cold water
• Brush: SummerBreak 26m SHD
• Razor: Merkur Progress
• Blade: Wizamet (4)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Post Shave: Zingari - Rescue Potion - Serum

• Post Shave: Zingari - Unscented - Balm

• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Eau de Parfum

Another easy shave after and afternoon nap. Vacations are the best. Have a great day and shaves all #MammothMafia

Aug. 14, 2022 - Austere August Day 14

• Prep: Shower, Stirling Soap Activated Charcoal
• Brush: Zenith 508A SE 28mm
• Razor: GEM MMOC Gen 1
• Blade: GEM PTFE (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Restore - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Restore - Balm

• Post Shave: Zingari - Unscented - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Tom Ford - Grey Vetiver

Day 14 in the books. Good shave, blade still going strong. Brush is looking good. Almost halfway through.

Mandatory Tagging:

#GEMsOfWisdom

#Rawhoggin

#MammothMafia

Aug. 14, 2022 - AA 14

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: Semogue 1305 Pure Bristle 22mm
• Razor: GEM MMOC Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (20)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Balm

• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Seville - Eau de Toilette

Break in album and SOTD in the title.

Hydrated the lather a little quicker today sort of unintentionally but it worked out fine with the gobs of soap. Hit 20 shaves on the blade. Getting the slightest hand of it in a sense, but still by no means a convert to the SEs. #GEMsOfWisdom #RawHoggin #MammothMafia