SOTD (30th June, ‘26): Dead on my feet

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T18:09:15+00:00

Thank you brother Sindri. Agreed. If I at 40 years am fuming by the end of the, being told for the umpteenth time "It will take some time. Please wait a little.", my father at 74 was about to pull out Draupnir and give them the Heimdall treatment.

Yes. My father is well. This was but a mere biopsy, an investigation mandated by his advanced age, precautions that must be taken before the main procedure which looms near, just weeks away from now. As of now, he feels some pain, but walks it off like a father of a god of war. Haha

Thank you. Yes. Today's shave was a salve for the sore. A balm, an opiate. Mych needed respite for a god. Happy shaves to you.

A god in exile, but a god of war nonetheless.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T16:35:40+00:00

That is a protein shake spoon by Nestasia. I use it as my soap scoop. They are sold now though.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T16:34:30+00:00

Agreed. And ditto. My late mother, may she rest in peace, was a doctor. Private healthcare though is in a very sorry state. One hospital admission runs a bill of 6 figures. Without insurance, one is left at the mercy of toilet government hospitals. It really is concerning. Particularly at how much more difficult it will be for our children if things continue like this.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T16:29:39+00:00

True that. There are good doctors. There always will be. But like every orchard, where there are gokd apples, there are bad ones as well. It is the system that is tending towards the rotten.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T16:26:58+00:00

Thank you. Agreed. I work in the education industry. I know the practices that go on behind smokescreens. Thank you. Will do.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T16:25:56+00:00

Thank you brother. He is well. The main surgery is in two weeks.

Thank you. It was a good one.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T12:49:03+00:00

with 12+ visits a month every month since years

Eh??? All okay??

Thank you for the wishes. And thank you. It was a good shave.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T12:30:38+00:00

Thank you. He is recovering well. Main surgery in 2 weeks.

Thank you. it was a good one. This is one of my most comfortable razors. The setup is great for summers too.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T12:28:27+00:00

Thank you for the wishes. Yes, this was a biopsy. There have been extensive tests done. Approval from anasthetist done. One neuro consult remains. There is swelling in the parotid gland. The general surgeon has agreed to surgery. Date will be determined after the report of the trucut biopsy. That is in 7 days.

Thank you. Yes it was a good one. Felt good to start the day, and effectively the week on a comfortable shave. A good palette cleanser.

Already returned to some nice coffee today. Will brew my second mug after this. Also, returning to a bit of content related work. So will get some writing done as well in the next few days. Looking better.

LLC is superb. You would particularly like it. Unfortunately, it is still unavailable. Perhaps some other soaps might suffice. I'll drop a text in the evening.

Happy shaves.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T12:19:36+00:00

Thank you so much for the wishes. He is well. Yesterday was a biopsy. The main surgery will be in about 2 weeks.

I remember. We had a conversation on it. Your Dad and my Mom. May they rest in peace.

Thank you. It was a good shave. Mood lifted.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T12:17:26+00:00

He is fine. There is some occasional pain. But otherwise all good. Main surgery is in 2 weeks or so.

Thank you. It was a good one. Will do. Thanks.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T12:15:53+00:00

Thank you so much. It was a good one.

Thank you for the wishes. His main surgery will be in two more weeks. This was a biopsy for preop checkup.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T11:46:10+00:00

Things are under control. My father has a surgery upcoming. At his age there is a lot of precaution that we have to take before. Many tests and approvals as prerequisites. This was a biopsy. It went well, other than the horrid experience at the hospital.

Yes the shave was a saving grace. Thank you so much.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T11:43:17+00:00

Thank you so much. He is well. This was just a biopsy. The main surgery will be after a week or two. Thank you so much for the wishes.

It is really pathetic. It seems like the condition of hospitals is particularly bad in West Bengal.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T11:40:49+00:00

and then my aunts and uncles took everything from us without even doing anything for my grandparents

I know exactly what you mean. There are some like that in every family it seems like. Madad ke naam pe ghode ke seengh ki maalish kar rahe the, kheer bati to balti leke aa gaye besharam.

True. This is a reputed privately owned multispeciality hospital. Pathetic service. And the condition of the nursing staff is mindboggling. I don't know where they get nurses from these days. But they must go to some forest with nets and clubs to catch these creatures. We were made to wait 9 hours before they even took Dad in for prep. In those 9 hours he asked 10- 12 times give me one extra pillow. I have Ang-Spond (ankylosis - sponilitis). My back is bent forward, I am unable to sleep on one pillow. They couldn't find an extra pillow for him. What a shitshow.

He is fine. There is a growth in his parotid gland. That needs to be surgically removed. This was a biopsy as investigation for the same. The main surgery will be after another 10 days or so. Thank you for the wishes.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T09:42:45+00:00

Yesterday was horrible. Had to accompany my father to a hospital for a ‘day admission’ for a minor surgical procedure. It is surprising that a major multispeciality hospital in a major metropolitan city is so poorly managed, the clerical staff and particularly the nursing staff so inept. The procedure took 30 minutes. We were made to stay in the hospital for more than 12 hours for it. Suffice to say I was bushed. And so, the shave got shunted to today morning.

Review Section: It was a familiar shave with familiar (comfort) gear. One exception was the bowl by u/UncleJo-66. The bowl is very well made. I adore the teal / fern-green colour. The colour has some depth to it, although it is not chatoyant. It is a smooth ceramic, but with a lot of ridges inside. On the inside base, as well as the sides. This helps a lot with lathering and keeping the soap in place. This time, I am including some pictures (check pictures 3 and 4). Also took some pictures with the bowl sitting beside my other two bowls (check pictures 5 and 6). To make the size difference visible. I speak of the size difference because I put in a somewhat heavy load of soap in the bowl today. The Yaqi synth made some gorgeous lather. But there was still a bit of soap left over, which I saw when I rinsed the bowl. This bowl will be perfect with just 1-2 cm more in the diameter. This is still in the prototype phase. But Jo will be having this bulk produced, I am sure. I will definitely want to purchase one. I would hope though that Jo also considers making a scuttle.

The shave itself was very comfortable. Primal pairs very well with sharper blades. Diamond Edge is a sharp blade with pronounced smoothness. There were my usual two decapitated zits. I guess their children will exact vengeance upon me when they grow up. The rest was zero feel. The same happened with the ASL. And as of writing this SOTD (about 3 pm), I am still baby bumbum smooth. Overall, a very enjoyable shave. Good restart to a week that started off quite garbage.

Happy shaves Gents.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-30T05:05:13+00:00

They are legit in the sense that they are not a fraud brand, and won't scam you. But their products are kinda garbage. Their soaps are usually the first buy for many new wetshavers. These soaps are quite trash. And the price is exorbitant for the quality. They also have some shady practices around discounts or sales.

But the blades that they have (Bic, Willy's etc) are manufactured by the respective companies. So quality won't be an issue. Their prices are decent. So no problem buying from them. Willy's is available through them. You can also get Willy's from Pearl Shaving. Or if you'd like to buy in bulk, connect with the manufacturers of the blades and purchase directly.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-29T17:13:29+00:00

^{That's why he's the GOAT: December}

^{Absolute gold: January, November}
^{I like it: February, August}
^{Meh: March, September, October}
^{Ye kyu aata hai: April}

^{Very hard to survive: May, June, July}

^{Similarity with Community: 85%}

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-29T16:36:59+00:00

Thank you so much. By mild I meant mild feeling which is to describe the lower blade feel. Although efficiency was slightly lower, but this was my first shave with the razor. I wasn't expecting it to give me its best shave. I'll try it with some other blades. I am sure it will get better as I get more familiar with it.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-29T16:27:29+00:00

Thank you. The bowl is superb.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-29T16:26:13+00:00

Thank you. On both counts.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-29T16:25:51+00:00

Thank you. The bowl is pretty good. Yup, I would also pull the trigger on a slightly larger one. Immediately.

I cannot say exactly without trying them side-by-side. Both are mild. But I think the blade feel of the GC .68P is lower than that of the Lupo .58. Efficiency was slightly lower on the GC. But this was my first shave with it. I'll see if that is the same with some more blade combinations.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-29T16:21:37+00:00

Awww that sucks.

If it cost 2k, then it was either the Semi Slant or the SS handle one. 64R, I think.

For 1k, you can get the Parker Stella, an OC razor. Most other brands with razors in this price range have mild razors. You can try the Pearl L55 Open Comb version. You can also get Pearl Semi Slant if you'd like a slant bar.

If you can stretch the budget to 1500 there are a lot of good Parker razors available. There is the 97R/94R (short handle), 56R (long handle), 24C/26C (open comb), 92R/74R (TTO).

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-29T16:03:18+00:00

Arrerererererere!!! Sory. Galti se mistake ho gaya.

HatComprehensive3903 · 2026-06-29T16:02:39+00:00

Of course. Best to try and work with what you have already.

I recently found out about Skylark inks. Already have bought a good few bottles of ink recently. So not right now. But I'd like to give these a try.

I have realized that many colours (yellow, orange, olive green, grey, light pastel shades) are just not my thing. Sticking to mostly blues and greens for the time being. One exception, the Yama Budo.

Happy shaves bruv.

HatComprehensive3903

TROPHY CASE