March 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic-Discussion Thread

I'm considering a silvertip. I've never owned one. What's your opinion on Kent brushes? Is that a large? Thanks.

 

I really like my Kent brushes. I have the larger BK8 (shown in the photo) and the smaller BK4, which is a great travel brush. First of all, the handles fit well in my hand, and the brushes are very well made. The knots are soft, and they hold a lot of water. Some folks describe the knots as floppy, but I think they feel great. I use them primarily to face-lather creams and soaps, and that's where they shine. They do OK when loading soap off a puck, but quite honestly, my $15 Omega 10098 boar brush does a better job. All things considered, both Kent brushes are keepers. I included links below to show where I purchased mine, and this vendor treated me very well. I hope this is helpful, and I'll be interested to hear what you decide.

http://www.feelunique.com/p/Kent-Mens-Large-Shaving-Brush

http://www.feelunique.com/p/Kent-Mens-Travel-Shaving-Brush

 

Thanks for the helpful information. I like the handle shape and the flare looks perfect.

Being in Canada, there are a couple of websites that supply them. I'm seriously considering them. My one and only brush is a Vulfix pure badger. It was a step up from my BodyShop synthetic but I'm yearning for a silvertip. I'll let you know when I pull the trigger. Thanks again.

Jeremy

 

March 29 Plans

Stirling Sheep bath/face soap
Merkur 37C slant bar razor
Feather blade (day 2)
Kent BK8 silvertip badger brush
MdC scented shaving soap
Two passes
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, & Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm

Have a blessed Sunday!

 

March Injector Focus


Automatic!

Have a Great Saturday Night!​

 

March Focus - Vintage and Carbon - COMPLETE
March 28, 2015 - Week 4 Day 7
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Arko
Razor - Edwin Jagger 89l
Blade - (2)
Post - Alum & The Veg

Great shave this morning with the Sharp Star. Still haven't found out anything about them, nor have I found a seller outside of tryablade.com. Frustrating because I'd add some of these to my rotation. Great Russian blade. Two pass DFS with very little if any irritation. Great way to start an early Saturday before heading out to solve the world's problems by selling cars.

Now, on to tomorrow. I had planned to wait until Tuesday to start my April with the CJB Shavette. Well, that is the last day of the month so no day off. Because I want to start when I have plenty of time I am abandoning March and starting April tomorrow! It's Arko April with the CJB! I'll post specifics tomorrow but for now here's a picture of my plan. Oh, it also includes my usual Sunday head shave, but with the Bald Guyz Clear Shave Gel to graciously PIF'd by @Sara-s ! It arrived just in time today to get a tryout tomorrow. Thanks again for the great PIF!!

​

 

Now ready for @wristwatchb to get crazy with the divinely inspired, lemon-scented gift of sheer goodness from the Turks!

April 2015:
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threa...ocus-pic-discussion-thread.44235/#post-813300

 

My Friday shave was a very quick, and frankly, not up to my usual standards, with a CCS to DFS two pass shave. The blue carbon PAL blade was getting dull, and I was in a hurry.

Today (Saturday), however, I chose a new GEM carbon blade, and ended up with a wonderful BBS two pass plus touch-up. even now, some 8 hours later, I still have a DFS quality to the shave. The blade and razor combination is very good!

 

03/29/2015
Prep – MR GLO
Razor – GEM 1924
Blade –CVS GEM
Brush –Rudy Vey with Shavemac Finest
Lather – MdC
Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm



A pretty good 3 pass shave this morning. Not sure if it is the razor, the blade or the nut holding the razor but I ended up with several weepers and irritation on my neck between my Adams apple and chin. Much different shave than the Feather Weight I tried earlier. I have ordered some coated blades that should arrive Monday afternoon. Think I am going to try this again with a different blade.

 

March Focus- Be modern, Learn to use my Feather Artist Club razor. Any touch ups with a modern DE. (Nope, done with the VDH.)

March 28th, SOTD (Shave 16 of the focus)
Two days’ growth
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor Feather Artist Club SS non-folding with Pro-Guard Blade (1st shave on blade)
Razor Finish: Prewar Fat Handled Tech.
DE Blade: Big Ben- Stropped 30 times per edge (1st shave on blade)
Soap: The Shave Den Barber Shoppe Scent, bowl lathered plus five drops of M-Bomb
Brush: Omega 10066 Boar
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block,
Aftershave: The Shave Den Iced Barber Shoppe Splash

Got back from my trip, and didn’t want to mess with the VDH anymore. Check out the PIF for it.

I did a single pass with the Artist Club, and did two passes with the Tech. I have missed efficient razors. Ended up with almost a BBS, I would call it a DFS Plus. Pretty happy overall. Starting to figure out what I will be doing next month for focus. Happy weekend all!

 

March 2015 ... 30 day rule ... technique, technique, technique

pre: dr.bronner's, PSO(diy)
brush: EJ best badger medium
lather: proraso green soap
razor: EJ89lbl
blade: derby extra
post: alum block, thayer's witch hazel original astringent

03/29/15 ... blade6(2)

one day growth, 2-pass, touch-up/buffing underside of the chin ... everything went nice and smooth this morning. i did have one weeper; it didn't even appear until after the final pass, the cold rinse, the alum, the cold rinse, and the WH. a touch of styptic shut it down. this was in the area that i was doing some touch-up/buffing ATG.

 

Thus ends the 10 blade focus ...

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threa...ermining-time-length.42857/page-6#post-813678

 

And another begins...

 

March injector Focus



Automatic!

Have a great week!
​

 

A very rushed shave tonight. (Sunday Night) I would only rate the shave a CCS. Okay for work in a jail, I guess, but I usually enjoy a better result, when I allow myself more time to concentrate. I won't blame the razor or the blade today.... all the nut holding the razor, as Clint said!

 

03/30/2015
Prep – MR GLO
Razor – Schick Type I
Blade –Chinese Schick (5)
Brush –Rudy Vey with Shavemac Finest
Lather – MdC
Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm

 

The wristwatch, the shave, or both?

 

March Focus- Be modern, Learn to use my Feather Artist Club razor. Any touch ups with a modern DE. (Nope, done with the VDH.)

March 30th, SOTD (Shave 17 of the focus, and last one.)
Two days’ growth
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor Feather Artist Club SS non-folding with Pro-Guard Blade (1st shave on blade)
Razor Finish: Prewar Fat Handled Tech.
DE Blade: Big Ben- Stropped 30 times per edge (2nd shave on blade)
Soap: The Shave Den Barber Shoppe Scent, bowl lathered plus four drops of M-Bomb
Brush: Omega 10066 Boar
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block,
Aftershave: The Shave Den Iced Barber Shoppe Splash

I am attempting to get my facial hair back to where it should be, and was in a hurry this morning, so I didn’t use the Feather AC. It really made me think about how revolutionary the Double Edge razors must have been when they were introduced. Two pass on face, three on neck. DFS with only a little roughness. No cuts or weepers, and the alum was the quietest it has been all month.
What I learned this month:

With Feather Artist Club:

1. Holy crap the blades are sharp.
2. No pressure. Not even on my chin.
3. Angle is very important, and very difficult to get right.
4. Can endanger facial hair that you mean to keep.
5. Three pass with this razor gives DFS, but takes 30 min including shower.

DE razors:

1. Maggard Razors can be aggressive.
2. It is possible to cross thread a pot metal head bad enough that the head isn’t usable anymore. (Especially likely while traveling.)
3. Target’s Van Der Hagen razor is a very, very, very mild razor.
4. If a razor is too mild, I end up using too much pressure on it.
5. Pre-War Tech with the fat handle is an awesome razor.

Soaps and Aftershaves:

1. I like The Shave Den Soaps, aftershave splash, and the M-Bomb. All work well.

 

March 30

Stirling Sheep bath/face soap
Merkur 37C slant bar razor
Feather blade (day 1)
Kent BK8 silvertip badger brush
Arko shave soap
Two passes
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, & unrefined shea butter

I began Arko April today, and I had a great two-pass shave. I went easy, as I had some minor neck irritation resulting from my addiction to repeated ATG passes over the past few days. The Arko is a fine soap, and so far, it has given me great results. I had one big learning today, however. Getting ready this morning, I put my socks on before I shaved. The Arko fragrance knocked my socks off, causing me to spend time locating my socks and putting them back on after the shave. Ah, well, shave and learn!

Grace and Peace!

 

Groan. Are we going to have an entire month of these shenanigans?