Phoenix Artisan Briar shaving soap, Phoenix Artisan Alpha Ecliptic Slant, and Phoenix Artisan Spring-Heeled Jack aftershave

I got the plastic version of the Phoenix Artisan Alpha Ecliptic, and took it out for a sping this morning.

But first, the prep. I used my Mühle synthetic with Phoenix Artisan Briar shave soap: “Scent Profile: Tobacco, Oakwood, Vanilla, Animilac Musk, Labdanum, Rose and dried leaves.” The fragrance is extremely nice (to my nose, at any rate, which is easily seduced by vanilla), and the lather and face-feel during and after the shave is first rate.

Not to put too fine a point on it, the Alpha Ecliptic is not for me. I used a Derby Extra blade in an effort to tame it, but still had a harvest of nicks. I looked closely at it, and the blade’s edge seem to be slightly beyond the envelope defined by cap and guard, and that could account for it. I’m going to stick with slants that are not so technique-sensitive. For me, the iKon 102, iKon X3, Above the Tie S1, RazoRock German 37, Merkur 37C/G, and a couple of vintage slants all work extremely well, both comfortable and efficient. I do have Fine Accoutrements’ somewhat pricey aluminum slant on order, and that may be a part of the permanent collection as well. We’ll see.

Spring-Heeled Jack is a wonderful coffee-fragranced aftershave, and I’m very tempted to buy a tub of Spring-Heeled Jack shaving soap.

An instructive shave.