March '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Shave School' started by Bama Samurai, Feb 28, 2016.

?

Do you chase the baby?

Poll closed Mar 30, 2016.
  1. Yes

    7 vote(s)
    17.5%
  2. No

    9 vote(s)
    22.5%
  3. Sometimes

    12 vote(s)
    30.0%
  4. Almost never

    7 vote(s)
    17.5%
  5. Baby? I thought you said cookies

    5 vote(s)
    12.5%
  1. mrchick

    mrchick Odd, Terrible Avatar

    Injector Focus
    Last day with an Injector so I decided to close strong. However, I'm not a big fan of the soap I chose. I shouldn't have been unfaithful to Route 66
    SOTD
    Mystic Water Lime soap
    Vie-Long horsehair brush
    Bunny V3 with Notso comb
    Chick blade (5)
    Alum
    Thayers Witch Hazel
    Pinaud Musk AS
    Have fun!
    [​IMG]
     
    wristwatchb, RyX, Keithmax and 9 others like this.
  2. Rufus T.

    Rufus T. Late for dinner

    March Recap
    My month of March focused on two Schick E type razors: a Canadian E and a US E2.

    03-30-16.JPG

    I also used three different blades with each razor for a minimum of three shaves with each razor:
    Schick (China)
    NOS Schick Platinum Plus
    NOS Schick Platinum (Holland)

    Both razors provided great shaves for me this month. So equally good, that I have difficulty discerning any big difference between them - even with side-by-side shaves.

    The E2 appears to be slightly more aggressive than the Canadian E. I’d hesitate to use either razor in speedster fashion without running the risk of weepers or nicks. And don’t lose focus with either. I also noticed that a light touch eliminates any chance of irritation. I describe the light-touch stroke as one that essentially allows just enough pressure to provide skin contact as I guide the razor. It rolls over my skin as it exhibits shock absorber-like motion up and down over my dimpled face and broad chin.

    Aesthetically, these razors are beauties. I just love the butterscotch handles, especially the darker color of the Canadian with the very dark vein running through it. I also like the added feature of the E2 with the head-opening lever. These two razors were great finds and will become part of my regular rotation (that is, if I ever stop buying razors and develop a rotation!)

    As I reported already this month, most of the razors in my stable have been used maybe only a handful of times, while I dedicated the first few months of my indoctrination to wet-shaving with limited tools, in order to build skills (at least I tried to - HA!).

    What I’m really noticing now, 10 months later, is that the quality of my shaves with those little used razors is much, MUCH different at the end of a month like this, than when I first used them the first few times 6 months or so ago.

    Translation:
    #1 - Technique trumps tools.
    #2 - Unless you’ve done this for a few years and have focused on skill development first, tools second - don’t condemn a razor after just a couple of shaves - bring out those well-honed skills and spend a few weeks with the razor first.

    I’m slowly getting to the philosophy that those with the best developed skills can shave with almost anything.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2016
    wristwatchb, J.R., Bill_F and 9 others like this.
  3. DDuckyMark

    DDuckyMark Ducky Duck and the Hiding Bunch

    skipped shaving this morning. Probably make up for it tonight with the CJB.
     
  4. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Daily post, recap and new thread coming tonight. Things ran really late today. Catch you all soon!
     
  5. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

    March 30 day recap.

    I wanted to thin the den and while I like these razors they did not make the cut and will find new homes:

    Sight unseen Whipped Dog SR. This shaves great but I want to PIF it to someone who wants to get started with SR.

    Merkur Vision - despite major coolness she can't compete with an aggressive Futur.

    BBS-1 - Give my move to the dark side it is just not aggressive enough to remain in my DE stable. (sold)

    Mongoose

    Merkur 37C slant

    So it is time to clean these razors up and get them ready for new homes.

    TGIF
     
  6. Mr. Freeze93

    Mr. Freeze93 Prefers the baby blue dress

    PM sent!
     
  7. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

    OK, my PIF for the Sight Unseen SR has begun. It is targeted to the participants of this thread.

    I wish I knew how to make those cool imbedded links:

    http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/join-the-dark-side-sight-unseen-straight-razor-pif.50669/
     
  8. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Here is the code, remove asterisks

    [U*R*L=htt*p://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/join-the-dark-side-sight-unseen-straight-razor-pif.50669/]Join the Darkside/Sight Unseen PIF[/*U*RL]

    This is the general form for a hyperlinked text item. Text between bracket sets can be anything you like.
     
  9. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Remove asterisks and it does this:

    Join the Darkside/Sight Unseen PIF
     
    Norcalnewb, Bill_F, clint64 and 2 others like this.
  10. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

  11. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

  12. J.R.

    J.R. Well-Known Member

    March 31 - Straight Shave 30
    Wade & Butcher French Point
    PSO, hot shower, Nivia face wash
    Jayaruh #40 Synthetic
    Route 66 Casablanca soap
    Alum, Nivia Balm,Pinuad Clubmas AS and talc

    Another DFS shave. Great lather from the Rt66 as always, Casablanca is becoming one of my favorites for Rt66. I just found the Clubman talc at Bed, Bath and Beyond of all places. I use the Nivia first and let it dry. Then the Clubman AS and let it dry, then the talc. Seems to leave a nice skin feel all day.


    Month end:
    I still can get much better with a straight, and have a whole lot to learn honing. But it's been a truly great focus this month. Just a bit over two months ago I had my first wet shave, and now I feel fairly comfortable with a straight. I would never have thought I would enjoy a straight so much. I picked up my safety quickly too, and could get a pretty consistent BBS. I'm still quite a way from that with a straight, but I also think it takes longer to start coming in. The areas I do get BBS, feel BBS longer. Even in the evening it still feels lighter than I ever got with a cartridge. I have got one BBS recently, and DFS often.

    I plan to continue the same focus for April, rotating at least the four straights I have. If I can get a good edge on the fifth, I will add it too.

    Hope everyone is having a good evening!

    [​IMG]
     
  13. PLAla

    PLAla Bit Shy of a Full Puck

    Ended up not shaving today and may not be able to shave tomorrow due to travel. But we shall see. It may be about 3-days growth needing to be sheared off on Saturday. Regardless I'll post my focus goals in the new April thread tomorrow. I look forward to lots of good banter and successful shaves next month!
     
  14. NCoxSTL

    NCoxSTL AAACK!

    Final days of March - Just marking time

    March 31

    Razor - '46-'47 Gillette Aristocrat
    Blade - [​IMG] (3)
    Brush - Vie-Long 12601
    Soap - TSD Lanolin Bay Rum
    Post - Cold water rinse, Alum, Nivea

    For the final day of March I decided to end on an easy note. Do the third day on the Ladas, the totally awesome and dependable cousin to the mighty Voskhod, stay with the Aristocrat and use the TSD Lanolin Bay Rum soap that is down to the ring of death and just have a great shave. Boy, does that sound good. Oh, and the pony brush to feel that great scritch.

    Well, the brush was good, lather was really good and I used more water to begin with on my face to avoid a dry lather problem. No issues, looks good........so why did this end up feeling like I had a Flying Eagle in the razor?!?!?!?! Seriously.....the first stroke made me check the razor. Yep, it's still the Ladas, no signs of damage, nothing clogged, silo doors battened down and ready for action. Give it another stroke. Still Gassy Goose rough. What the.......well come to think of it I had a rough one yesterday, not this rough, but not the usual Ladas feel either, and blamed it on dry lather, which was a contributing factor. Dipped the brush in my mug and added water as I reworked the lather on my face. Plenty of moisture. Managed to finish the first pass without actually swearing (much) and no tears. But man oh man was it terrible.

    Lathered up again and went XTG for the second pass. Are you kidding me? Still a rough ride and not really cutting that well. I'm not stopping now, mostly because I don't have a good enough result to stop. Went ATG for the third pass and touch ups all along the neck and called it good at a CCS. Alum was incredibly hot. Tons of irritation and the Nivea barely cooled it off but finally did the trick. Totally non-typical Ladas shave.

    Came home tonight and pulled the blade and looked at it under a bright light and at an angle and, even without high magnification, it appears the grind is a bit off. A couple of spots that don't look quite right. You know that one in a thousand dud you hear about? I think I found it. Apparently it was good enough for day one, yesterday it started to show its true colors, disguised with a bad lather, but today it really proved it should never have been put in a razor.

    The one good thing? I don't remember hitting a Ladas dud before so it's probably safe to shave with them for a few years now. Since it is one of the blades I have on the list for April it won't be long before it gets another shot. Not judging it just yet. The dud theory makes more sense.

    Hope March was good for all of you. Tomorrow is a whole new month. This year is FLYING by!
     
  15. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus


    Day 91 of 90

    Intro to SR Completed

    Three Month Wrap

    Bonus smiley blade shave!

    image.jpeg

    image.jpeg

    For three months, I've been about as quiet as I've ever been with regard to technique discussions, because on 1 January, I became a newbie all over again. The decision to try straights is not one I took lightly. The phrase "I cut myself shaving" meant something entirely different in 1865 than it does now! From observation, straight razor shaving comprised three new skill sets--stropping and maintenance, SR shaving, and honing. For the sake of simplicity and to hold costs down, I have elected to hire professionals (TSD guys) to handle the honing chores for the first year, so my intro was simply stropping and shaving.

    The first week was surreal. On day one I actually had a decent shave, but it quickly went downhill for a couple of weeks after that. The grip, blade angles, motions, and sensations were all foreign and tedious. More than once in the first three to four weeks, I relied upon the Charlie Danger Edition™ Gillette 195 to finish what I couldn't do with a straight razor. There was a lot of scraping, weepers, nicks, and to top it all off, I trashed the edge on my Aust during a particularly frustrating session. Luckily, TSD member @gssixgun runs a fine razor service, and had it fixed and back in no time.

    Around day 30ish, it started to feel like shaving. I was really unsure of pressure at that point, and though the shaves weren't cutting me anymore, but irritation was a bit of a concern. Deciding that wetter was better, I started to mix yogurt lather and go to the @Norcalnewb Baseball Shaving Pattern (NBSP), and the improvements came rapidly. By the end of February, I had it pretty well down. Two spine widths, consistent stroke pattern, wet Route 66 lather, gentle touch and stropping were all working out. The introduction of a Sheffield blade and a CJB provided a diversion, as well as a test of my technique, and both worked out really well! From day 70 on, I could get DFS automatically and near BBS on a good day, and also had acquired enough technique to chase a bit.

    The decision to wait 18 months and do every other razor type first was a boon to learning SR. Having SAD and BAD licked long ago allowed me to focus on the steel and not on all the software. All things considered, I was more scared than I should have been, and learning SR isn't all that bad if one commits to simply doing it. I've been told it takes a hundred shaves to get really good, and after 91, I'd say I agree with that assessment. Lather quality is a key factor in a good Straight razor shave. The soaps I used were TSD and Route 66. I chose for simplicity and uniformity to use only Route 66 the first month, and I like to say once again, @Salty Belle --killer soap base! It never failed and I never tired of the Lumberjack scent, and once I figured out how to use a straight, I had a few of my best shaves ever with your product! Kudos, and thanks for your support of our community! Another product I used was "45" Series black strop from @Drygulch Leatherworks. Adam's strop took care of biz. If you need a starter strop, I fully endorse and reccomend his work! He's also a TSD vendor just like Kathleen at R66. Send him a PM, he can get you set up with what you need. The Ralf Aust (courtesy @Keithmax ) was a perfect starter razor, and are readily available online. Thanks for the opportunity to use such a pretty and well done tool!

    And yeah, I am hooked. Will be taking a break and doing DE in April, but straight razors will always find their way into my shaves regularly! I'll be working on the April thread shortly! Hope to see all or most of you and some new faces over there!

    Thanks for reading, and thanks for being a part of our little community!

    :)
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2016
    Marverel, wristwatchb, RyX and 12 others like this.
  16. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

  17. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Dud. Sorry to hear about it, but you're right, that's super rare in a Rapira group blade.
     
  18. Salty Belle

    Salty Belle Well-Known Member

    Fantastic write up and thanks for the kudos! So happy you like the soap:)
     
  19. ob1page

    ob1page Frozen in Phoenix

    Wonderful write up sir. Thank you for doing this thread and for the inspiration and encouragement, it is appreciated!
     
  20. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Thank you!
     

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