Voskhod Very Nice

Great success! :-) The BBS streak is over, but this may be just the graceful exit I was looking for. Consistent with other sharp blades right out of the gate, but noticeably better cutting. Smoother against skin on second use, it seems I've worn off enough of the teflon coating to truly keep a low angle and not miss any hair. But that efficiency means it doesn't want to slide down to root level at all.

Good! A little breathing room for my continuing technical improvement. I got a hundred of 'em, so even I should be able to learn something new.

My pre-Father's Day selections from the Italian Barber order were all perfect! Loving the new Omega 10049 ("Pro 49"). I've translated "professional" to mean, ideally suited to bowl lathering, with its lightweight handle disinclined to tipping the brush out, the concavity mating neatly with the rim of my 4" bowl. All my soaps would be covering their asses, if they had hands, because by the time it's broken in, I think it's going to take four passes' worth every time. It's already perfectly usable and soft on my face, though. Some sort of pretreatment was obviously done. And I already see the benefit of the boar bristle hydrating the lather with what would be lost from evaporation in the scuttle. The final, squeezed out lather is a bit stiffer, but definitely hydrated to the "crema" state.

At least, with the one soap I have tried, my new "Fresco Verde." I was aiming for an Arko replacement with XXX duro formula, but I think I already got it here. If Williams smells like hand soap, and Arko smells like floor cleaner, Fresco Verde is the smell of laundry detergent -- and I think I've already intimated how I feel about that. (Purrrr...) Maybe just a bit more aromatic/surface-cleaner like. But in the same line of nose development, definitely. Nothing could be more appropriate for a musty new boar brush.

Three birds, one stone -- and it hasn't hit the ground yet! Italian Barber really delivers the goods.