March 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

March 31, 2017

Razor: Pre-War Fat-Handled Tech
Blade: 7 O'Clock Sharpedge (3)
Brush: Cremo Horsehair by Vie-Long
Cream: KMF fragrance-free
Post: Alum and Listerine

Since next month is about Adjustables, I figured I'd take a break from the Fatboy and pull out an old standby- the Pre-War Tech. As for the brush, I decided to try soaking it heavily before lathering and this seemed to help with hydration issues. Two passes to a near-BBS with no issues and no irritation.

On the whole, this has been a good month. I got to revisit some old favorites (Cella), try some new things (Personna Injector Blades, Gem Featherweight), and even take a risk or two (Christy with Injector blade). Next month will be mostly Adjustables with some heavy emphasis on my somewhat-neglected Slim though I'm sure there will be some diversions to keep things interesting.

On a different note...

Following up on yesterday's discussion regarding Listerine's use for "feminine hygiene", I did a bit of Googling and noted a couple of things. From http://menstrualcup.co/who-invented-the-menstrual-cup:

For years, Lysol disinfectant was used as a female contraceptive, as well as a kitchen and bathroom cleanser. Even though it didn’t actually prevent pregnancy, ads touted it as “a feminine hygiene product for married women,” code for birth control.​

Apparently, the woman would soak a sponge in Listerine and insert it to block "germs" (code for "sperm"). One can only wonder what the criteria were back then for making a man "sponge-worthy".

 

Yup. And was a common early ancestor to Summer's Eve's line of products. Thus Listerine jumped in labeling itself a mild antiseptic.

Imagine Listerine being your mild, comfortable alternative.

 

I'm not sure, but I've seen reference to Carbolic Acid, Bichloride of Mercury, and Cresol.

 

This has been a good month. I started the month determined to learn how to do a consistent ATG pass with a straight. After a month of focusing on this pass, I would say I have it mastered. I also learned that it isn't really a necessary pass, in order to get a nice shave. I'll probably go back to a two pass shave and just use ATG for touchup when needed.
I finally feel comfortable calling myself a straight razor shaver. My shaves are very good and I rarely bleed. Thanks for all of the help guys. See you next month.
SOTD
Route 66 Sweeney Todd Soap
Wolf Whiskers Brush
HERR & Razor Western Kamisori
Lucky Tiger
Ogallala Bay Rum After Shave
Happy Friday!

 

Well if there was one that was gonna make you bleed, that one could do it. It is a sweet looking razor.

 

Thanks. No stripes around the ears. It was a good morning

 

Thanks for the head's up. If the case was that I had not enough water, boy was it good. Got to see what happens next. I can say that I would whole heartedly recommend their product.

I will pass on the recommendation to join TSD.

 

March 30 - Astra SS

Merker 34C
Astra Super Stainless
23mm AOS Pure Badger brush
DIY PSO
Stirling Vanilla Sandalwood
Alum/Thayers WH/ Nivea S-PSB

After trying Wheat State's VS, I wanted to see how different Stirling was. Stirling's VS lacks the buttery scent and is more vanilla scented than Wheat State. I feel I hydrated it well in that some larger bubbles were present. A 30 second loading yielded enough lather for 5 passes plus touch up. To the touch, Stirling feels more cushiony sort of like the difference between memory foam and an equally dense foam. Stirling just seems to feel thick. I also felt it was less slick. WS VS felt more like someone coated my face with a super thin film of Vaseline or grease or something. I do get that feeling with Stirling but, for me, it is less that WS. It is hard for me to say which has more sandalwood scent but I think it would be WS since Stirling's seems heavier on vanilla.

I was going to try the Feather HI S but I felt that I wanted all of the shaves to be during showers. Over the weekend, I often shave early with a late shower after tackling the honey do list. Astra SS was smooth with the grain but I felt more resistance XTG and ATG. With touch up, I got the baby. I did a 4th pass ATG (second today) after adding more water to see if I can improve the slickness of Stirling VS and it did but lost some of that thick cushion feel. to me, it was like comparing spray paint to brush on paint. Both cover but one covers more thinly. I am not super happy with the Astra SS as I am with the Astra SP. It just feels like it doesn't work for me as well cross and against the grains.

Alum indicated the obvious. the neck was slightly irritated and stung for a short time and dimmed quickly. Cheeks felt fine with no sting.

I will see if the blade improves on the second day. Not sure I will use this more than 3 days if it degrades from here.

Question for April maybe to answer, Do I have to give up a thick and cushiony feeling lather in order to get a slick feeling one?

 

You absolutely don't have to give one up.

I do not know if I have ever found a soap to be at it's slickest when it is still pillowy. Good soap anyway. There are lots of meh soaps that aren't overly slick to begin with, are all foamy, and then fall apart. They don't count.

Route 66 might be the closest I have found to bridging the gap.

Lather can still be plenty thick and very slick if you load enough soap. With the description of how you are lathering, I have a hard time imagining you aren't sacrificing one for the other. I think you were calling it "more with less" or something like that. The problem is less doesn't make more when it comes to soap. Less tends to either make thin, or make airy.

If the Frugal Frank in you can't stand the thought, you should buy some Arko. Hell, I'll send you some Arko. It's cheap as dirt and pretty good stuff.

Food for thought.

 

It may be a while, as I realized how many soaps I have this past month, but I will do so if I order some.

 

Thank you, Jared. Have a great day!

 

That is a great razor!

 

-Brian Brown 6/8 Spike
-999 Shave Flattop Boar
-I Coloniali Mango
-Stirling Island Man

A good shave today, in the DFS camp, but I did poke myself a couple of times. Not with the toe, but with the heel because I was paying so much attention to the toe. Yesterday I was pretty conservative with cleaning up, but today I was going for broke. They weren't bad, literally little pokes, and I got them stopped with a little cold water between passes. This definitely isn't a starter razor, I will say that, and it took a tremendous amount of concentration around the corners of my jaw, which still probably wouldn't have passed a cotton ball test ATG. It is a blast to shave with though, and is going to be a fun one to try to master.

 

Another nice straight. You and Brian have the spike points going strong!

 

Chris sent me some but I haven't tried it out yet. Might need to give it a go. Thanks. Will give your suggestions a try. thanks

So if I was measuring soap, how much should I use per shave? I am saying soap not creams since it seems an almond size is worldly defined as 'enough'. Is a demitasse spoon enough for a Stirling like soap? What about a triple milled? With the Soap Pass around box coming soon to me, I would like to use a proper amount.

 

Well I average anywhere from a little over a gram to two grams depending on the brush. A gram of most soaps is plenty for a shave, but if you don't want to be milking it out of a very dense brush, sometimes you have to use more than that. If you used one of your Jayaruh brushes as a baseline, and we were talking Stirling, I would say a gram and a half would get you a solid amount of dense slick lather. Certain soaps, triple milled for example you wouldn't need that much, you have to look at what your brush is telling you. Or your bowl.

I have no idea how much fits into a demitasse spoon. I am not that cultured. I have an old beat up aluminum 1/2 teaspoon in my bathroom. With most of the softer Stirling style soaps, if you scooped it 2/3 to a shy full you would have 1 1/2 to 2 grams. That will suit me just fine with most brushes, in a bowl or face lather. This would be for three full passes, and a lot of brushed on clean ups. I do tend to go through more when shaving with a straight, because I am still working on different angles with different razors.

There are so many preference involved, but I like my lather to be like soft serve ice cream that is melting but not melted. SHINY and DENSE, but not especially thick; not quite running on my face, but on the verge. I also like good coverage from start to finish. I would much rather wash seven cents down the drain when I am done, than fight it out of my knot when I am trying to clean up my neck.

When it comes to the soap box, I know there are some high buck samples in there, so don't load up two grams of MDC for instance cause that stuff is like seventy bucks a jar. Plus, you don't need that much anyway. If it's a fifteen dollar soap, nobody will likely care too much.

I have a little scale which I use for all kinds of stuff because I am a shaving nerd, so when I am not sure about a soap, I weigh more frequently than I measure.

 

I don't know if I have it going yet, but a couple of cylinders are firing when it cranks over.

 

Razor: Schick G
Blade: Schick (3)
Brush: Shavemac ATG LE The Rowl Silvertip
Soap: Route 66 Perfect Storm
Aftershave: Folsom & Co. Shambala
Bowl: Symmetrical Starry Night Dottie Bowl

Very good shave this evening. I'll start a new focus tomorrow when I figure out what I want to focus on for the next 30 days. Have a good weekend!

 

Great finish to the month Clint, as usual.

 

Beautiful setting and photo Doug. What do you think of the Schick G?

Thank you Doug,.