I love my Fili, but if I had to choose, I'd pick this Iberia. It feels great. The steel has that unique Swedish feel. Super super light and gentle feeling.
Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Musk - After Shave Cologne
Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo - Balm
After my one pass shave this morning, I figured I'd do it right now that I had some more time. I'm glad I did. Life is too short for not-all-that-close shaves!
Post Shave: Chatillon Lux - Delor de Treget - Aftershave
Wife let me sleep in a little bit, so by the time I woke up and had to drive her to a medical appointment I didn't really have time to shave. I decided to do a 1 pass ATG shave, and it worked ok. Not the results I'm used to, but better than nothing.
Brush: Chisel & Hound Lost Nativ 26mm Fanchurian V13
Razor: Red Imp 5/8" Near Wedge
Lather: House of Mammoth - Indigo - Soap
Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
Aftershave: Noble Otter - Cerberus - Aftershave
Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Black Watch - Eau de Toilette
Talc: Yardley Gold
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
@djundjila recommended this combination of soap, aftershave and fragrance, and I've tried it once before. This setup is (surprisingly) a real winner! I really like the progression of scent notes. I'll be using this regularly from now on.
The shave, itself, was extremely close and comfortable. This is not my Red Imp razor. It belongs to u/VisceralWatch. My own Red Imp has a synthetic edge on it. I put a Jnat edge on this one and I definitely like the Jnat softness better. Here's the video if you're interested.
I don't know that I could ever go back to synthetic. I have been considering picking up some Arks, though, to learn more about them. I've only ever had a couple Ark edges and I did not enjoy them. However, it doesn't seem that very many folks are as meticulous as us.
it doesn’t seem that very many folks are as meticulous as us.
And there's the rub. The Black Ark is used in different ways. Some people burnish the surface to round/smooth the novaculite there. Some use a flattening plate (or SiC powder) on the surface to create surface texture. I'm in the second camp. In neither case does the stone remove much material from a razor. Mostly, its scratch pattern creates a texture on the apex just like other finishing stones do. The Ark texture is finer than a coticule and not as even as the texture from a synthetic. To me, its feel is somewhere between a synthetic and a coticule. I haven't done this, but I've been told that if you really push the edge on an Ark its appearance under the scope will be bad, but the feel will be amazing. I haven't tried this yet, but I think that the edge will be quite fragile.