January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

well, actually the "debut" part is that I'm using soap for the first time with a DE. Decades ago I did use a DE, but with cream.

 

Monday, January 23, 2017

Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic
Krampert's Finest Frostbite
Timeless Solid Bar .68 gap with TRIAD Moku Ti
Polsilver Super Iridium #1
Krampert's Frostbite Aftershave
Pino Silvestre


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Fantastic!!!

 

Today I got back on focus with a 7/8 Jacob Ray. My wife made an appointment six months ago to schedule portraits today, so I considered using the Tech, but figured what is the worst that could happen with a straight? If you ever find yourself in that situation, sending your wife a text from the bathroom saying, "Oh no, do you think the photographer is any good with photoshop?" can be amusing, but stay away from the door.

Actually had a very uneventful three pass shave. Barrister & Mann is great soap. Finished it off with my overly mentholated Island Lime, but I didn't get nuts with it. Needed up with some nice portraits.

 

January 22 - PAL and brush focus
Gillette Black Beauty on 3
PAL Gold Thin Hollow Ground carbon (19)
EJ Super Badger medium brush
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap )
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Lavender
Thayers Witch Hazel Original deceased

The EJ Super Badger on its first outing this round quickly proved itself my favourite of my three badger brushes. It is a bit bigger in the knot than my eBay artisan badger brush but is only about 2/3 the loft and splayed diameter of the Dustmop with a lot more backbone than either. I got it dialled in perfectly on this first try and it provided great lather with a lovely face feel.

I'm keeping this brush; tomorrow I'll move onto trying my other ones I'm less sure about.

The PAL on shave 19 was smooth and efficient again after spending about 5 seconds being honed in my 1930s Stanford 5-Second Sharpener. It looks like a refresher hone after every 5 shaves may be the key to keeping this carbon blade running indefinitely -- as well as being careful to dry it off after every use, of course.

Other than that, the alum was quiet, and the Thayers Witch Hazel was simply there to give a final bit of facial skin conditioning. At least, the Lavender was; my Original (unscented) went down the drain because it seemed to have gone rancid - cloudy and sharp smelling instead of clear and with a very little bit of light pleasant odour.

 

Happy Anniversary January!!

January 22

Mostly Shavettes

Razor - Steam Punk New LC
Blade - (1)
Soap - Route 66 Rum Runner
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Post - Alum

Let's do another comparison between DE and shavette blades and razors. This time we'll go to the Crown Super Stainless, another product from Lord in Egypt. They make a Stainless and a Platinum DE blade and the Super Stainless in shavette packaging. I decided to switch from the Fatip to the Steam Punk New LC. Still an aggressive razor and I wanted to play with my new favorite toy again. Besides, it's just so freaking cool looking.

Route 66 Rum Runner for the lather with the Omega, and that turned out to be the only issue with the shave. For the second time with R66 I had to reload the brush between passes to have enough lather for both. Not sure what the problem is other than I'm pretty sure it's a technique issue more than the soap itself. The last time I had this issue I was using the Wolf Whiskers Silvertip. This time the smaller Omega which is normally an excellent performer. I think, though, the Semogue 620 has me spoiled because it's a quick and very efficient loading brush. Seems like I just need to take a bit more time and probably use a bit more water when loading other brushes. Something I'll be looking at and working on to make sure that's it.

Compared to the Shark Stainless, also from Lord, this blade was quite good. I wasn't sure what to expect since it's not one of their most popular, but it was a very smooth shave on both passes and I can claim a BBS from this one. Very impressed. This may be the first case of the DE version of the blade performing as well as the shavette! I'm looking forward to another round with the DE tomorrow night to see if it works as well again.

My weekend has arrived and I think just in time. My pancreas has been barking more than usual lately and I probably need to schedule a GI appointment to see what's going on in there again. Just the usual maintenance routine every couple of years or so. Tomorrow I plan to organize my desk yet again, probably clean razors, and try to do some documenting of things I'm way behind on. Hope your Monday starts out on the right note! If time allows I may also spend some time on my "other" hobby over the next couple of days.

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I think that text is highly amusing but I'm guessing she didn't share our sense of humor?

 

The text sounds like something I would do. I am sure my wife would not have found it amusing at all.

 

Fantastic. Not sure how you were not a human pin cushion.

 

January 23, 2017
Timeless OC .95 Gap
Feather (2)
BSB-2 with Vie-Long Two Band Fan
Route 66 Lumberjack

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It is a rainy messy morning here in Atlanta, GA. So a nice drama free shave is a huge plus before the start of a sure to be interesting morning commute. This combo delivers just that excellent drama free work morning shave. Two passes and minimal touch ups ended in a near BBS. I hope everyone has a great Monday.

 

SOTD January 23, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick G8 injector
Brush: Omega Hi synthetic
Lather: Route 66 Rum Runner
Post: Witch hazel splash enhanced with Stirling Mountain Man, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG

Nice shave this morning with Route 66 Rum Runner. The Schick G8 was really smooth. Shiny, slick, and bountiful lather with the Omega synthetic brush. One pass is all I needed after a close shave yesterday. Nice result!

Have a great day!

 

January 23

G2 (Birth year) Gillette FB
Polsilver Super Iridium (2)
Semogue Owners Club Two-band Finest
Soap Commander Love
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Alt Innsbruck

A fine way to begin the week. I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday!

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Start of a new work week and the M-F portion of my Focus on Voskhod blades for my NEW SC. For Monday, I broke out the Taconic Bay Rum Shave Cream(seems closer to a soap to me). Nice two passer with some jaw line touch up. Lather smelled great and was nice and slick. Finished with a icy cold towel and(naturally) Clubman VIBR. The Voskhod provided a nearly BBS shave on the limited stubble. These are the make or break shaves for me when considering a blade. I have to shave everyday for work, so it's gotta be close and not irritating. That's all I got. Have a great Monday everybody!

 

Beautiful photo Charlie. I like the way you used color to tie in with the soap.

 

You gotta be lovin' life this morning Clint. Falcons going to SB LI and all. Beat up on the pretty boy and bump his receivers and have Matty Ice do his thing. Goo Falcons(I hate the Pats, can ya tell?). Have a good 'un.

 

It has been a long time coming. We seem to have a decent team every few years which is the way that this year started off but things finally started to click together. I think they have a really good change in the SB.

 

How did the Omega work out for you Perry ?

 

It has worked pretty well. I've used it twice now and today had a better water ratio with the soap. This synthetic can take a little more water it seems. I have one synthetic brush that you can use almost dry. It needs tiny amounts of water. But I've enjoyed it so far! I'm going to use it a few more times this week to get a better feel for it. Thanks for the great PIF!

 

I thought it was funny. After we had gotten the kids packed up, driven an hour to the studio, gotten the kids dressed, and done the pictures, she admitted it was kind of funny. She just wasn't amused when she got the text.