March 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic-Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Shave School' started by Bama Samurai, Feb 27, 2015.

  1. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Greetings Denizens...

    Pics and discussion of a for those doing a 30 DAY RULE or 30 DAY FOCUS in March 2015...here we go! Please read the provided link to @GDCarrington and his guidelines. Pics make these threads work.

    Direct chatter is highly encouraged, I encourage all to quote posts when in discussion so we can all follow along.

    I hope everyone learns a few things, makes a few friends and has a great time. See SOTD if you want an example of how this thread might work.

    The housekeeping-

    These are the the rules. Follow them. ;)

    So let's do this...I opened it now for general prep and discussion.

    To Newbies: TSD is participation driven... you should probably be on SOTD too! It is central to DE shaving on TSD. Feel free to jump in and post pics there too. They love pics. Coming up with unique interesting pics in March quite possibly another fun time!

    Have fun, follow your plan...and we are off!



    Chris
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2015
  2. NCoxSTL

    NCoxSTL AAACK!

    Not sure if this is really a focus but I think it will work if you'll have me for another month. ;)

    With March Madness I thought I'd take a walk on the vintage side and choose my 4 most vintage razors and pair them with carbon steel blades. The idea is to start Sunday and go as long as I can through the week on one blade. If I have to toss it I'll use a blade I haven't tried to finish the week, then start the next week with a different razor and carbon blade. Below are the razors and blades I'll be using.
    [​IMG]
    I randomized the order for razors then blades at random.org, so here's the order I'll be going in.

    March 1-7 - 29-30 New LC and Treet Double Edge Blade
    March 8-14 - 46 Aristocrat and Treet Durasharp
    March 15-21 - 46-50 Tech and Treet Silver
    March 22-28 - 1918 Old and Treet Classic
    March 29-31 - I'll figure that out when I get there.

    I'll be using my Omega Pro 48 and Arko for the month. After shaves are all vintage except the Proraso so that works too.

    I'm not going to be grading blades really, just trying them out and enjoying some vintage razors in the process. So a bit less structured and more fun this month than February.

    Also have two PIFs planned for the month so keep an eye out for those!

    I'm going to prep by using my '59 Ball End Tech with a Treet Platinum blade on Saturday with the Pro 48 and Arko.
     
  3. WhiskerWhacker

    WhiskerWhacker Well-Known Member

    I'll do a 30 day focus on dialing in the Slim. Would like to get consistent irritation-free BBS shaves from it. March 1-30.

    Edit: Saturday's will not be included. I want one day a week for variety.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2015
  4. SDK

    SDK it's his fault

    Trying to decide on my March theme.

    I still owe the Arko stick 9 more days, so I need to focus on something other than soap. I am leaning towards an open comb focus month as I have not used my OC's much.
     
  5. wristwatchb

    wristwatchb wristwatch "danger" b

    Chris, I like this part of your March focus. It's nice to change things up every so often. :happy088:
     
  6. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

  7. Troy M

    Troy M Prep: Mephitis mephitis musk

    I am focusing on my New Long Comb this month. I tried it back in January but thought it ended up being a little too aggressive for every day shaving. I'm going to follow @Whisker Whacker's lead and reserve Friday or Saturday to change razors for a day. I have a homemade sample pack of left over razor blades that I am working through for the next 4-5 months, so I will try to share what I learn with each blade(s) change. I will use each blade for 3 faces or 2 head shaves only and then I will change. First up are a couple of Feather blades.

    I also am using up my leftover soaps that I put in a container as I end up with slivers, small samples and whatnot that were too small to continue to lather. The primary base is Van Der Hagan, but it has Tiki, B&M, TSD, Stirling and others packed together to make up a full container. It ought to last out the month. So far the lathers have been outstanding.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2015
  8. clint64

    clint64 Blind Squirrel

    Ok, I'm in but in the most loose sense of the 30 day focus after shaving with the Mongoose for 58 consecutive shaves. I will hold most everything constant but the razors. I have some new razors that I'm itching to try as well as the Gillette New LC I got mid December before starting the January 30 day rule with the Goose.

    My set up will be:

    Brush: Limited to Badger Finest Grade. One of three brushes. Ever-Ready 100 with TGN Finest, RV with TGN Finest or RV with Shavemac Finest
    Lather: MdC
    Razors: Gillette New LC, ATT S1 Slant, ATT S2 slant and Schick type I Injector. I have loan of the S1 and S2 so I want to use them this month while I can.

    I hope the outlined plan meets with your approval. I've learned so much over the last 2 months and look forward to continuing the journey.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2015
  9. RaZorBurn123

    RaZorBurn123 waiting hardily...............

    Hi Chris! I'm going to join in the fun this month, my focus piece will be my newly acquired ATT Kronos S1 Slant Bar Razor. I look forward to participating in this wonderful thread.
    image.jpg
    Kerry
     
  10. Hodge

    Hodge Well-Known Member

    I'm gonna spend the month trying to get to know my Ikon OC.
    [​IMG]
     
    Bama Samurai, Drygulch, SDK and 8 others like this.
  11. wristwatchb

    wristwatchb wristwatch "danger" b

    March 1 Plans

    Stirling Sheep Soap
    Merkur 37C Slant Bar
    Feather blade (day 1)
    Ever-Ready C40 Boar
    Stirling Naked and Smooth soap & D.R. Harris Almond cream
    Three passes
    Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, & unrefined shea butter

    I will shave with one of my favorite razors during March, a Merkur 37C. I will begin the month with my Ever-Ready boar brush. I've had it a long time, but it's still like new. I have some MdC on order, and I may switch over to one of my badger brushes to try it out.


    Have a blessed Sunday, all!

    SOTD_030115.jpg
     
    Bama Samurai, Drygulch, SDK and 6 others like this.
  12. RaZorBurn123

    RaZorBurn123 waiting hardily...............

    SOTD
    March 1, 2015

    Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Shield Face Wash
    Razor: ATT Kronos S1 Slant Bar Razor
    Blade: Ladas
    Brush: L'Occitane Plisson
    Lather: Martin de Candre
    Post: Alum. Thayers Lavender WH.
    Aftershave: Floid Black
    This month is going to be a joy! Using the ATT S1 is a great experience! The way it feels in my hand, the balance, the way the blade clicks as you tighten down the head. Smooth. Irritation. Free. Shave. MdC should be in everyone's den, don't let the price scare you, the jar will last a very long time. Top performer!
    Go out and get it
    image.jpg
     
  13. txskimo

    txskimo Well-Known Member

    I'm going to skip this month but I plan on sticking around and reading
     
  14. clint64

    clint64 Blind Squirrel

    03/01/2015
    Prep – MR GLO
    Razor – ATT S1
    Blade – Persona Lab Blue (1)
    Brush – RV with Shavemac Finest
    Lather – MdC
    Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm

    [​IMG]

    I am fortunate enough to have loan of an Above the Tie S1 and S2 for the next couple of weeks. So I jumped right in today with the S1 loaded with a Persona Lab Blue blade. This razor head is exceptional in build quality. Everything just fits together so well. I will be using these two heads with the smaller of my Mongoose handles which is about the same size as the largest ATT handle. Fantastic 3 pass shave which would have been BBS but for a small area above my lips. This is always a problem area for me when using a razor I am not familiar with using.
     
    Bama Samurai, jakie55, Troy M and 6 others like this.
  15. NCoxSTL

    NCoxSTL AAACK!

    March Focus - Vintage and Carbon
    March 1, 2015 - Week 1 Day 1
    Prep - Hot shower and towel
    Brush - VDH Boar
    Soap - Arko
    Razor - Gillete New Long Comb
    Blade - smf_079~0.jpg (1)
    Post - RazoRock Alum and The Veg

    What a great shave today. Wow. First time using the New LC and it is a fine fine razor. Putting the Treat "black beauty" with it made for a great shave. The auditory and tactile feedback was incredible. The carbon blade definitely makes some noise as it goes about its business.

    Three passes, very near BBS, no nicks, cuts, weepers and the alum let me know that it was a man's shave. Yeah it burned some but it felt so good!! Finished with the Mighty Veg and sat down to view my kingdom. Happy March everyone!
    March Day 1.jpg
     
  16. RaZorBurn123

    RaZorBurn123 waiting hardily...............

    Nice! The ATT S1 is a nice razor. I look forward to hearing your comparison with the S2.
     
    Bama Samurai, clint64 and SDK like this.
  17. Drygulch

    Drygulch Snowballs

    When I started wetshaving, I did it with the intent to straight razor shave. I did this without being on any of the forums or groups, and without watching any videos. I cut my self pretty badly on my neck, so I put the straight away, and kept using the soap and brush. About a year later, I purchased a DE razor. I used it for a while, but only on my neck and chin while wearing a beard. Since it didn’t do a great job on this, I started getting vintage razors and shaving with them, but hadn’t tried this razor again. This month I want to focus on learning to use the Feather Artist Club SS non-folding razor, and will use the Maggard MR6B for an touch ups. Blades for the DE will be changing, trying to use up my pile of them. Plan on keeping the rest of the set up wide open, but there are a few products I will be trying to use up so I can justify buying more.

    March Focus- Be modern. Learn to use my Feather Artist Club razor. Any touch ups with a Maggard MR6B.
    March 1st, SOTD (Shave 1 of the focus)
    Two Day's growth
    Prep: Hot shower
    Razor Start: Feather Artist Club SS non-folding with Pro-Guard Blade
    Razor Finish: Maggard MR6
    DE Blade: Derby Extra Super Stainless- Stropped 30 times per edge
    Soap: Dirty Deeds Beer Soap- I can't remember the scent, bowl lathered
    Brush: Omega 1066
    Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block
    Aftershave: Aubrey Men’s Stock North Woods scent. (Trying to use this up)
    IMG_1057.JPG

    Whoo Hoo! No major damage! Did a WTG and a XTG pass with the Artist Club. The blades on this thing are freaking sharp! I am glad I decided to order the Pro-Guard blades rather than using the Super Professional ones that came with it. The Pro-Guard blades are the least aggressive that Feather makes. They were very efficient in beard reduction. I don’t typically do an XTG pass with a DE, so I kind of struggled on the neck and the chin. Ended up with about 8 weepers, five of which needed styptic pencil. They were all on the point of the chin, and under my right ear. At this point, the shave would have been socially acceptable, with no visible bad spots, and only a few that I could feel. Looks worse than it felt. These blades are sharp.
    IMG_1058.JPG

    Did an ATG pass with the MR6B. I didn’t like this razor when I first got it, but am liking it now. Quite a bit of audible feedback, and it is heavy. All the cuts I ended up with were there before this razor touched my face. Most of the stubble had already been taken care of, this pass was more of a spot check than anything. The usual trouble spots needed the attention. The rest was good from the AC.

    Cold water rinse came away bloody, and the alum bar hurt where the weepers were. Aftershave stung so good. About 15 more shaves with the Feather, and I might not even need to touch up.
     
  18. RaZorBurn123

    RaZorBurn123 waiting hardily...............

    Someday. I would like to try the Feather Artist razor, it looks pretty cool.
     
  19. SDK

    SDK it's his fault

    Here we go. Decided to go with the open comb focus for March.

    I am starting with my Cadet OC as I have some familiarity with it. Since I still owe my Arko trial 9 more days, this will be my current lineup through next weekend. I will be using my most healing aftershaves to start. I am going to switch to my Gillette New SC after two weeks.

    My focus will be fine tuning my use of this style of razor. I always get close shaves with OC's, but start having issues with nicks and irritation if I use them exclusively. I have not used them regularly since I was new, so I am hoping this goes well.

    Can I do 30 days in a row using only open comb razors? Let's find out!

    Pre- Hot shower (I love Sunday's)
    Razor- Cadet OC
    Blade- Ladas
    Soap- Arko Stick
    Brush- Generic Best Badger. I am going to mug lather just for a change of pace.
    Post- Cold water rinse and alum where needed
    Aftershave- Kramparts Bay Rum


    I had a great two pass shave for the most part. Just as I started getting (over?) confident I nicked myself on my jawline. Gotta slow down a bit tomorrow and try again. The good news is the shave was over an hour ago and I have zero irritation.

    Twenty nine more to go and I am feeling optimistic.

    [​IMG]
     
  20. SDK

    SDK it's his fault

    Same here. Very intrigued by these, and the lack of all the maintenance that comes with standard straights is a bonus for me
     

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