For the next 5-6 shaves I will be using the “Palmolive kit”, i.e. a superlather made from Palmolive’s (Belgium) shave stick and cream. The blade will be one that I find comes closest to the Treet Blue Special so far, the Russian Sputnik stainless. Since it is a stainless blade, I plan to change it every 2-3 shaves, just to see how it performs – I know that longevity is an issue for many shavers. And just as I was about to select my Simpson #10 vintage brush (which I purchased as New Old Stock a couple of months ago), the doorbell rang , and there was my replacement Simpson #2 Chubby from Lee’s Razor…this time in the “Super” version, i.e. silvertip bristles (my “Best” had started to shed lots of hairs after three months). The Chubby is one brush that I must admit needs to be in silvertip because the “Best” category simply lacks the loft to absorb and create a rich lather (IMHO). It is very scrubby, but getting a great lather requires a more capable hand than mine I suspect.

The Palmolive lather was wonderful…superior in my opinion to the Tabac from the richness and lubrication standpoint. It also smells amazing! I look for all kinds of excuses to keep coming back to it and I know its because of its very unique sweet, grassy smell. The superather was made using my “new” protocol – shaving first with the soap, and then adding the cream for the final two passes. Works great in the shower, where the risk of dilution and thinning is often too much for regular superlathers.

The Sputnik is a terrific blade, just a twitch more aggressive than the Treet, and a notch less smooth. A great blade though, and one that often tempts me away from the benchmark Treet.

Three passes, Verrrry slowly….verrrry mindfully…no thought of the end result, just the process. At the end, a great shave…finished with the alum block, some Cliniderm cream (its getting very dry up here), and a splash of Aqua Velva. Overall a 9.2 on the EHM scale..