32nd Birthday Shave - 1. March 2026

• Brush: Omega Roma Colossea 31 mm
• Razor: Razorock Cyber Medium w/ 316L Bamboo handle
• Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Cuir et Épices
• Post Shave: Störtebekker - Tortuga aftershave tonic spray
• Fragrance: Tom Ford - Tuscan Leather EdP

One pass on both the dome and the neck. Reopened some spots from yesterday, but still a really comfortable shave!

So today I turned 32. I am now fully arrived in my thirties. There sure are some things I’d like to change and improve, but I guess I am on a rather solid path right now. Thanks to my parents, I didn’t had to spend the day alone. I had a quiet, relaxed b-day in their company plus the two dogs. It was also great sunny weather for a nice long dog walk, perfect for a slow Sunday. This shave was a nice finish to this smooth day.

What can I say, I really like leather scents. Cuir et Epices is a really warm, smooth leather scent. Reminiscent of a good leather jacket or furniture. It has a very comfy vibe IMHO and that’s perfect for the occasion. The Tortuga AS spray was fitting nicely with the spices in it and brought some mild menthol chill with it. As for the Cyber Medium, it’s hard to get hurt with this razor as it’s kinda like the Henson but without marketing buzz. I think it’s interesting how these razors achieve an GEM-like feel (holding the safety bar flat to my skin) with a DE just by a very sharply angled head geometry. Basically, this is a razor I could use while I am sick, mildly intoxicated or otherwise impaired - works on autopilot. The result is always a smooth dome.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Unfortunately I have to prep for yet another early shift now…

Black Ice was my first american artisan soap, back when everything from the US artisans was a bit hard to obtain in the EU. I remember that I thought it was an AC/DC reference… The menthol level was really nice in hot summers though.

Indigo Dreams - 28. February 2026

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid knot
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Derby Premium half-DE
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo
• Post Shave: Zingari Man - The Master
• Post Shave: HAGS - Apocalypse ASB
• Fragrance: Bentley For Men Intense EdP

2 passes on the head, 1 on the neck. Minor irritation in the form of blood spots; otherwise enjoyable shave.

This time I don’t want to make any bold promises, I want to shave properly when I have the time and energy to do so and then post here but no pressure. Nevertheless, I was really longing for a nice shave again and today seemed like a fine opportunity to do so.

I think I lost quite some muscle memory for a good shaving technique, that’s why I have some blood spots on my scalp due to applying too much pressure in certain areas. It was still nice to take up the hobby again - the feeling of building a nice lather, the weight of the razor, the different scents… Really good. I gravitated more towards spicy smells today, but admittedly some didn’t fit that well together. But most importantly, I got it done. I feel good and smell nice. Now it’s just a matter of fully getting back into the swing of things.

No worries, take your time! I appreciate it a lot.

Thanks, it’s still a bit of time until Sunday but I really appreciate having the weekend off 😌

I think the base is your problem, then. The Silk tallow base is infamous for being hard to lather. Usually, normal CFG base is pretty solid - comparable to Stirling base IMHO. Never had any performance issues with the plain black tubs.

Late to the party, but anyways here are my thoughts: I think BVWSC is a really cool idea as a kind of wetshaving book club, but I know/see that the current tariff situation is making it straight up impossible. Now that we’re moved to PieFed, we could all vote again for our soap of choice, but unfortunately this is out of question for now. I’d advise that we don’t fully let it go, but put it on hold until - sounds more optimistic than I usually am - better times are coming again.

What I’d like to advocate for though in the meantime, just so we have a little community project going on at all: monthly themed shaves, kinda like “Theme Thursday” used to be in the Reddit community. We could vote for different theme suggestions at each month and still have a group effort to look forward to. I think our community is too small to justify weekly themes and tbh, everyone of us got lives, jobs, family, appointments, duties etc. - monthly shaves sound like a good compromise and we could simply use what we personally see as fitting for the chosen theme from our den. That way, we also avoid any trouble with tariffs, postage, delays in mail delivery and lost envelopes. It’s just a suggestion, depends on what you folks think - I believe it would definitely be a fun activity with almost no risks!

Thanks man, I’d gladly take up a smush. I’m still alive and haven’t lost my interest in wetshaving; just had to put everything on the back burner again due to being knee-deep in work (see my latest post in this thread). Glad to find you all well.

At the beginning of the month, I thought I’d soon be back to regular shaving. Unfortunately, shit hit the fan at work and we were massively understaffed (still kinda are, but it’s getting better). Plus it was a very stressful time with a big flu wave hitting our hospital - Influenza A isn’t very kind to older people and it was really tough on some days - I was really exhausted. My onboarding process was mostly “being thrown into cold water”, my real mentoring process is supposed to take place in March now. Shit happens I guess, but at least I didn’t quit (but came close to it, ngl) and now I have a bit more experience under my belt.

Almost completely depleted energy levels didn’t lend itself well to shaving. Honestly, I am currently in a place where it’s just trimming my stubble beard (had a brief phase with a henriquatre again, but this simply doesn’t work with stubble around as it just looks awful) and dry shave my head with the rotary shaver from eBay. Basically just very low effort grooming, just to look at least somewhat presentable. Still, shaving like this is a chore and I am glad it takes only 5-10 minutes at most. Tbh, I miss wetshaving. I’m looking forward to a nice shave again with really smooth results, great scents and real blades. I almost missed that we fully transitioned to PieFed now, but it won’t be much of a difference in posting to me.

In other news, I am looking forward to a free weekend as I will celebrate my 32nd birthday this Sunday. Despite birthdays not being a very exciting thing anymore since my early twenties, I still make the effort to reserve the day for myself for some self care, quiet introspection and much needed rest and relaxation. So far I only plan a nice brunch with my parents and a good shave 👌🏻

I’m using Voyager atm too with this PieFed account, but I needed to sign-up to the PF instance via my browser and then add the login to Voyager. That this is still not possible but Voyager is listed as a supported app for PieFed is kinda weird, I’ll admit. FWIW, Summit is a really cool app too. Unfortunately not available on F-Droid.

Comeback - 2. Februar 2026

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Flattop/Fan hybrid knot
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Derby Premium
• Lather: Noble Otter - Neon Sun
• Post Shave: Störtebekker - Tortuga Aftershave Tonic

2 passes on the head, 1 on the neck. Not my best, but a welcome return to wetshaving.

So I did it. Finally found time for a nice shave on my day off after working the weekend. My weekend early shifts were hellish, so I had zero energy left. Today was a good day however.

NO Neon Sun provided optimal slickness despite the razor blade actually being kinda tuggy in some places. I don’t know if those Derby blades deteriorated without constant use; seems somehow like it. Nevertheless, I was able to shave the dome in two passes and even get a single one on the neck done.

I was also able to finally try this new aftershave tonic spray I got earlier this year after a proper shave. Can’t really say much about it after using it post dry shaving/trimming, but it’s actually good stuff. Störtebekker is a german brand that started out on amazon, so I was a bit wary of them. This contains good ingredients though (witch hazel, aloe, glycerin, etc.) and the scent is as advertised - spicy yet fresh. There’s a hint of menthol to provide a fresh feeling I guess, which I am indifferent towards. Some people really hate menthol, but I can take it of it isn’t too much. As for the scent, it’s a mix of citrus, incense and bay rum. Kinda like a modern take on classic aftershaves. The spray application is surprisingly nice to use. However, the price is almost 30€ normally. I got it at a promotional discount. So once it is empty, no second purchase from me. I can get better artisan tonics and balms for less.

Don’t get your hopes up that this will already be a full comeback from me, but I will try to find more time for my hobbies now and then. I seriously missed wetshaving and I hope you’re all doing well! ✌🏻

New hobbies are great and I’m sure it’ll nicely support your other hobbies. There are plans available for razor holders and I guess there should be similar plans for RC plane parts and accessories. Great investment 👍🏻

And I hope it’ll be a way better way to make coffee. I also have a french press, but while that coffee tastes way better, it irritated my stomach. The filters should take care of that now. Only cleaned the machine today and gave it two test runs with just water as recommended in the manual.

Thanks! I kinda underestimated how a completely new workflow and a month of early shifts would take a toll on me. But the salary is really fair and I start to get more confident at what I do. I hope to be more active here again soon!

Congrats on the 3D printer! I find those things very exciting, but unfortunately I lack the time, space and tech knowledge to justify getting one. New gadgets can always be inspiring and spark some joy though. I was boring and just got a mini filter coffee machine for myself to finally get away from instant coffee powder 😅

Still not dead, but my new job has me drained of energy. I’m positive it’s just an adjustment period though, as I am actually having fun sometimes too. It’s definitely more challenging and demanding than my work at the nursing home used to be - the constant juggling between different tasks is quite hard atm, especially with my ADHD problems. My coping strategy/workaround is that I carry a small notebook in my scrubs and write almost everything down. Gets me weird looks from colleagues, but IDC. It also helps that my first paycheck included a welcome bonus and my jaw dropped when I realised I could finally make a good living from nursing. It was already comfortably more than I ever got at the nursing home without the bonus…

Unfortunately the high workload lead to me putting all my hobbies on the back burner. I was actually planning to get a shave done today, since I had two days off before working the weekend, but nope - I just couldn’t do it. Maybe tomorrow after my early shift and some much needed grocery shopping, but this will leave my energy levels at 0%.

I got a cheap electric head shaver and a OneBlade, and while both get the job done I need to be honest: for wetshaving enthusiasts like us, it’s simply not satisfying. The cheap chinese head shaver from eBay surprisingly does a way better job than the popular Philips trimmer though and thankfully gives me almost no irritation. Still, it’s a “soulless” way of shaving. As in, shaving becomes a chore again. I now dropped the henriquatre/full goatee in favour of short designer stubble again, since I’d rather get a nice trimmer with different low guards than replacement heads for this Philips atrocity that makes my neck look like I got into a fight with a cat - and lost…

Nevertheless, as I said I am positive that I’ll adjust to my new duties soon and feel less exhausted from everything. Hope you fine folks are all well, even though 2026 started off pretty cold and snowy (at least over here). ✌🏻

First off, welcome to our community!

Tbh, I don’t have snow tires. Last year I had to get a new car - not entirely new, but in great condition - and it has “all-year tires”. In Germany, those need to have “Alpine certification” (? or something along those lines) indicated by a snowflake symbol imprinted on the tires. They aren’t bad, but not as great as real new winter tires with a deep profile. My plan is to get some of these this year, when I can afford it thanks to the new job.

Thanks! “Stressful but possibly very rewarding” could be applied to nursing in general. It’s still the best job for me personally and the hospital setting feels more right for me. Now I only need to improve my skills and expand my knowledge, which is actually a fun challenge for me. I like learning new things.

Unfortunately not entirely optional - there are quite a few sick colleagues on that station atm and I was available as the “young, fresh new guy”. My duties today were mostly providing basic care and measuring blood pressure, blood oxygen levels and body temperature as well as asking about pain levels on the numeric rating scale (NRS) and taking care of the 3 infectious patients (COVID, Flu and MRSA).

There are indeed lots of people working there, mostly RNs and only a few assistants or trainees. Today my team was entirely different from yesterday. It was me and two older female nurses and a young trainee in her first year. I get what you mean though, fortunately I have two days off immediately after my shift tomorrow and only work on 3 days the following week. 👍🏻

I’ve now worked 6 days at my new workplace, a hospital in the Thuringian forest. My station is for gastroenterology, rheumatology and unclear/psychosomatic diseases.

The onboarding process is at least happening, but it’s not as organized as I hoped it to be. The station is always very busy and so, there’s little time to show me things. For example, as someone with a background in geriatrics and nursing homes, I hadn’t dealt with infusions at all and my internship at a neurological rehabilitation centre during my retraining only had me disconnecting empty infusions and “flushing” the lines with NaCl = sterilised sodium chloride/salt water. I rarely helped with preparing them. Now that’ll be one of my primary duties. So my new colleagues have to teach me, which isn’t very easy for either of us during stressful times.

It also doesn’t help that nurses who worked in geriatrics or nursing homes are generally looked down upon by a few older colleagues in the hospital due to the less intense medical knowledge needed in that field. I kinda feel the need to prove myself, unfortunately. In Germany, nursing is no academic profession like in the US - it used to be 3 different apprenticeships: one for children, one for adults/hospital work and one for seniors/geriatric care. Since 2020, it’s a generalized apprenticeship with a new title. There’s also a B.Sc. course for it now for a bit of academic value. As I started my retraining in 2022, I received the new title but some of the old guard aren’t even that aware of all those changes. To them, those who worked in the geriatric field are the less qualified, less skilled nurses.

There’s also yet another winter storm over here and I still deal with some nuisances from a minor cold I got on the very first day of the new year. Today I had to fight to keep my car on the road due to all the fresh snow. It won’t be much better tomorrow, as it rained with warmer temperatures in the afternoon but now it’s freezing over with a cold blast of -11°C. So it’ll be slippery AF tomorrow. Yes, I actually already work 7 days in a row on my first week. As I said, trying to prove myself. Like my mom said, to describe what I am dealing with atm: “Hardcore is an understatement”.

Unfortunately the exhaustion and early shifts (have to get up at 4:00 AM) leaves barely any time for hobbies, nor even any shaves. I must admit that I ordered an electric head shaver for some morning touchups where every damn second counts… Not my proudest move, as these things are neither close nor comfortable. Yet I need to look presentable as I represent the nursing staff of the hospital. I hope things will change for the better soon, but don’t be worried if I’m posting less frequently and am barely active here. Chances are that I am just working, not dead!

6. January 2026

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid knot
• Razor: Razorine Flatboy 73
• Blade: Personna (Unknown)
• Lather: OAM - Oli del Benessere soap
• Post Shave: OAM - Oli del Benessere Sensitive Skin toner

just one pass + cleanup on the face. Not too rough, but not very smooth either. Middle of the road shave.

I only had time to shave my face. I thought the Flatboy should be great for getting sharp angles at first try for the goatee. Unfortunately, wrong. There were a few stubborn hairs I had to get with an XTG clean-up and even then, a few escaped and I used my zero gap trimmer. This might also be due to the blade, it was labeled as “Personna” but has zero identifying markings on itself nor the wrapper. Who knows if these even are for general shaving use and not just for surgery preparation?! (Our razors on station are very mild, almost dull, for that exact purpose).

My new work has me fried, as in: absolutely exhausted. Will post updates on FTF. Have a good time, everyone ✌🏻

Eucalyptus & Menthol, the Second - 4. Januar 2026

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin handle w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid knot
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Derby Premium half-DE
• Lather: Jean & Len - Fresh Menthol Rasierpaste
• Post Shave: OAM - Oli del Benessere Sensitive Skin Toner
• Post Shave: Benecos - Men 2in1 ASB

a single pass on both head and face, same software as yesterday. A bit of an improvement in terms of overall comfort.

My throat is almost back to normal, yet the stuffed nose remains. So I almost exactly repeated the shave of yesterday to improve my breathing. Minus the brush, I really wanted to use my snake fang again.

Funnily, Jean & Len advertise this shaving cream as “2 in 1”. According to them, it’d also work as a facial cleanser… “thanks to the coconut oil”- haha, yeah right. Probably enough menthol to freeze your face off and FWIW, coconut oil is a bit drying. Castor, Jojoba or Argan oil are good for moisture. Nevertheless, the cream provides a solid shave in a fast time with my usual method of spreading it with wet hands before lathering with a brush.

Tomorrow it’s back to my new workplace for the early shift. I’m kinda eager to learn something new. For now, I’ll go to bed. Hope everyone had a nice weekend, have a good time! ✌️