May 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic-Discussion Thread

Yes, I will do a wrap up on the 31 st.

 

Good review. thanks.

 

Joseph Rodgers has my vote...love that shaver !!!

 

Day 28 - 28 May 2015

30 Day Rule with a Schick!


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Hectic evening capped off with two passes of Schick goodness! This month has given me a feel for the different injector models this year. I like this one! My Dad's is special to me, but I prefer this shave of this one.

May musings about Injectors...​

1. 7-10 day superior blade performance was the norm.
2. Low angle of attack! @HolyRollah mentioned this earlier in regard to SR, but it really helps the shave to keep it about 20 degrees.
3. Skin stretching allowed me to get my best shaves to date. Crazy close and smooth with little irritation.
4. Proraso is more than adequate for this razor type. I will probably miss it next month!

Well, I promised a June thread, 64 minutes to get that done...see ya in a few!
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Have a great Friday!
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As promised-

!NEW! JUNE 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Spread the word...

 

Blade Focus Day 29:

Homemade PS Oil
Vie-long Horsehair Brush
Stirling Barber Shop
Gillette 7 o'clock Super Stainless
Stirling Unscented PSB
Barbasol Pacific Rush AS

Still like the Gillette. I had a good, comfortable shave this morning. The Barbasol finished it up perfectly for me.

 

Recovery and play with soap week!
May 29, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Arko
Razor - RazoRock TTO
Blade - (1)
Post - Alum, Proraso

Wow that was a short night. How can you tell you may be sleep deprived? When you use a Pro 48 with Arko and can't get a good lather! A three year old should be able to get lather with that brush and soap. A monkey hanging upside down flinging you know what at people should be able to use his two free hands/feet to get a lather with that combination. Me? Not so much. And on a morning when I had decided to use a blade for the first time.....and a Lord blade......it's like I was trying to revisit MAYhem!

The result, however, wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be during the process. The Asco blade proved a better alternative than the Lord Platinum, smooth, no nicks/weepers (although I may not be awake enough to be circulating blood yet) and I finished with a very nice CCS on two passes. Better than yesterday. Hope you all have a great Friday! Time to put my car on autopilot so I can nap on the way to work. Those cars aren't going to sell themselves.

 

05/29/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade – Feather Super Pro (14)
Brush – Shavemac Silvertip D01
Lather – Mystic Water Lime
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol Limon Sample



Near BBS 2 pass shave this morning. It did require a good deal of touch ups with the blade tired and on its last legs. Mystic Water soap is finicky to lather. It requires a really good loading and gradually adding water as you lather. At last, I seem to have it dialed in with this brush. Moving forward, I will use the 2 Mystic Water soaps I have with different brushes and get them dialed in. Each badger brush has its own characteristics and it just takes time. Even more so with a finicky soap.

This is the last shave of the May Focus. Going to take the weekend off and use some of my vintage DE razors. Happy Friday.

 

And now for something completely different…
Today is my final day of posting in this thread this month as I will be out of town for the next 3 days.
What razor to use today, after four consecutive weeks of some fine German-made razors?
So I grabbed this little guy— a diminutive little straight razor from Larkin I restored last September, using some California Black Walnut for the scales.
These razors were made by the Larkin Company in Buffalo, NY, and were provided as a type of customer promotion when purchasing its other products. They were sold in the first half of the 20th century and the blade supposedly from Germany.

This little guy took a nice keen edge off the hones. The biggest challenge for me using it was getting accustomed to the small size. My hands felt enormous holding the razor and finding the right angle with such a small blade took adjusting. The first time I shaved this little guy last September, it bit me in several places. Not so this time— a very smooth, albeit awkward at times, DFS. Working with a smallish blade was beneficial working in those tight spaces around the nose and mouth. This razor is not likely to be part of my 'regular' rotation of straights due to the unusual size, but it certainly can do the job.



The Lil' Larkin shown next to the Friodur I had been using the previous week.

 

That is a cool little razor!

 

May 29 - shave number 16? (I'll keep better count next month!)
Preshave prep: Hot shower
Preshave: Homemade preshave oil
Soap: TOBS Sandlewood
Blade: A. J. Jordan Sheffield square point 5/8 straight
Post: Alcolado Glacial, alum, cold water splash.
Growth: 2 days
Passes: WTG, XTG, WTG

OK - So I find that TOBS Sandlewood is an obnoxious scent. The cream provides a great, slick lather if enough water is added and worked in. But the only thing that saved it for me was the addition of M Bomb from the TSD shop (@Queen of Blades). Stropped 30x or so. Probably need to hit Adam (@Drygulch) up at get one of his fine handmade strops for the house.

First two passes was nice and with my third and final pass, I think I used a bit too much pressure cause I'm a little tender - not bad, all straight again today and finding my rhythm around the jawline. WTG I was turning the bottom of the pass into a "J" stroke, but today I kept the N/S pass to under the jawline and was able to hit the jawline that I was missing and having to pull out the DE to clean up. I can't tell you enough how much of a difference a properly sharpen razor helps the comfort level of a straight shave. I noticed that this razor is very loud - my wife noticed from the other room - the blade noise. Anyway, look forward to another month of focus and will probably acquire another couple of straights since it's my birthday month and have a good excuse for my RAD!
Cheers,
Eric

 

Brush Focus: Day 29/30
Brush: Fendrihan, Silvertip, Black Handle-22/49.
Gillette - Black Flare Tip, SS, P-1 (1970).
Feather, Hi Stainless, Platinum (1)
Soap: Razo-Rock, Don Donato.
A/S: Lucky Tiger.
Old Spice Coffee Mug.(soak brush)

This is also an outstanding brush not floppy at all and it loads lather like it is going out of business. Tip are soft as a babies hid side. I'm sure the Razo Rock, Don Donato helps with the lather. It is a very good soap. The Gillette Black Handle Flare tip is an outstanding razor. I'm very happy to be back to the Feather Platinum blade, very close 3 pass shave tonight. Probably one of the best, if not the best shaves I have ever had. Spent a moment to long looking at A/S so out came Luck Tiger. Great product. I'm going to use the Whipped Dog Silvertip tomorrow just to make sure I'm judging it fairly. I've used 2 Silvertips in the last 2 shaves so I will have them fresh in my memory. I have been extremely happy with the knots I've purchased from Whipped Dog and I hope this brush performs better tomorrow.

 

Day 29 - 29 May 2015

30 Day Rule with a Schick!



29 days straight! One more and then a one-off switch up on Sunday!

Have a great Friday night!
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I like your photo. Have an outstanding weekend.

 

@Seabs , how many razors are you up to now? That looks like a new one. Ebony scales?

 

Just two - but I have my eye on a few more and I just got paid! @gssixgun look out!

 

Blade Focus Day 30:

Homemade PS Oil
WD High Mountain Badger 30 mm
Stirling Barber Shop
EJ Chatsworth Barley
Gillette 7 o'clock Super Stainless
Stirling Unscented PSB
Old Spice AS

Last of the focus for me. I really liked this blade, as it provided three good shaves. I'll post a wrap up of what I thought of the blades later.

 

May 30th, SOTD (Shave 17 of this focus)
Two and a half days’ growth
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor: NOS Sears Craftsman
Strop: Drygulch Chromexcel Horsehide and Linen (15 Linen/50 Leather)
Soap: Barrister & Mann's Seville
Brush: 24mm Finest Badger in Quilted Walnut handle
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block, Thayer’s Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Pinaud Clubman with M-Bomb added

Shaved with a new to me razor today. This razor has only been honed outside of the factory one time. I didn’t know how long it had been stored, so I did a little touch up on the pasted strop before shaving. First time I have used a round point. Didn’t have to focus so much on the point, and could use the tip of the blade more to get into the contours of my face. Razor shaved extremely smooth. Did my normal two pass and touch up. On the touch up, I tried something new, folding the scales almost backwards over the blade, I held the razor with both hands, and did a little buffing on my neck. I do this a lot with DE, as it seems to be the only way to get the trouble spots on my neck. What could go wrong doing this with a straight razor? Good news, got the trouble spots very smooth. Bad news, serious razor burn on my neck. Will probably add an aftershave balm to calm it down. I think that was a matter of angles. Going to keep trying.

SWMBO asked me about aftershaves today. She is currently pregnant, and her ability to smell things has turned into a superpower. I may need to look at my lightly or unscented options for aftershave for the next six months.

Overall, DFS. Getting closer to BBS, and I did it with two passes and touch up. I will post a wrap up for my May focus as a separate post.

 

Looking forward to that report.

 

Thank you! A great weekend to you also!