Nov 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus

Thanks Keith. I will let her know you think so. We both enjoy it when she wears it.

 

Beautiful picture, Doug! I love the snow!

 

Thanks for your kind thoughts Jim.

 

Monday shave:

Sample G was slick and the ATT delivered, epic shave.

Irritation A+ Closeness A+

Razor: ATT H2 w/ Gillette Super Thin
Brush: Romero silver tip
Pre: Proraso
Soap: Mystery sample G
AS: Lucky Tiger, Edwin Jagger ASB
Scent: Guerlain Derby

 

How do you like the ATT H2 Keith? What handle do you have?

 

Well I do believe mystery solved. Thanks to my Google-Fu skills I discovered that the real Futur suffered from the same problem. It is a defect in the razor. What is actually "wobbling" is the blade carrier inside the handle of the razor. When tightened down on 1 it doesn't move at all but as you dial up it gets progressively worse. We're only talking a slight wobble here, but the way it moves the blade could dip and drag the corner as you're shaving with it. Unacceptable for a razor with the gap this one has. That could hurt.

I read one discussion about the problem from back in 2009 with the real Futur and the owner actually took it apart and tried to fix it. He managed to solve it, but gave up some of the range on the gap, especially on the low end. That's not really a fix either. In the case of a Merkur razor I would be contacting them about a replacement. Since I bought the Qshave from an Ebay seller and paid so little for it, I'm just calling this bad luck of the draw and I'll move on. I may get a Ming Shi to see if it develops the same problem. Since this appears to be a random defect in manufacture anything I buy will likely be fine this time anyway. But it's a good reason to try the other clone, right? All you enablers just agree with me.

This also brings up the "exception" to Technique Trumps Tools. If the tool is defective then technique can't overcome the problem and reliably deliver great shaves. I could probably continue using the Qshave and just try to avoid anything that could cause a problem but I'm pretty sure I'd eventually run into Murphy and his law and suffer the consequences.

As for the rest of November it looks like I'm focusless. I'll figure out something to do before I shave in the next hour or so. Not like I can't make it up as I go.

 

The difference in the Feather Pro and Super Pro is the exposure.

Why would anyone want to live near St. Louis? Oh.....wait. Hey, shaving in the tram car on the way to the top of the Arch could be a challenge. They angle as they move upward in the leg and then change angle to remain vertical to the ground. So you're constantly leaning, then level. Leaning, then level. A pain stick shave could provide some fun on that trip I'd think.

 

NOVember!!!

November 19 - Pot luck shaves


Razor - Kai Captain Original Pain Stick
Blade - (1)
Pre-Shave - Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap
Soap - Stirling Electric Sheep
Brush - 30 DC LE
Post - Alum (ouch)

Well, as I posted a bit earlier in the 30DC thread, the Qshave has been retired. Long live the Qshave. The clicking sound followed by the wobbly head turned out to be a defect in the razor that was also present in some of the actual Futur razors that the Qshave cloned. The blade support/guide is what is wobbly in the handle and there's no real way of fixing it short of destroying the razor. So, for now, the Qshave is retired. It was cheap so no great loss. I'll probably replace it with a Ming Shi just to have a workable version around. In the meantime my focus is unfocused. Considering this is NOVember, my no variation ideas have varied greatly. My original plan was undone by slow boats from Russia. Now the replacement focus, which I was really enjoying.....gone as well. So it's time to allow my focus to blur and just have a bit of fun.

So, haven't used a pain stick for quite awhile. Since the danger of the Qshave was the blade position shifting and drawing blood, what's the worst that can happen with a pain stick? I went with the pre-shave soap, the high voltage mutton and the 30DC brush for some super slick action in the lather. And, on my first pass with the Kai which was sporting a new Feather Pro blade I had a great run. Still seem to have all of the requisite skill for this thing. On the second pass it was quite obvious that my skills had either abandoned me or else the curse of the defective Qshave was at work. A little blood here, a little blood there. Here some blood, there some blood, everywhere some bloody blood. Well, ok, not quite that bad but at least a half dozen nicks and one nice "tip dip" that scored a nice bloody mess. Clearly I need to remember I have these razors and use them a bit more often. Alum was a nice reminder of what nicks and cuts feel like, everything sealed up nicely and I do have a nice medium level DFS. Good enough for tonight as I'm off the next two days.

I may give the pain stick another run tomorrow night or I may do something else. Eleven days left to wander in the wilderness of my gear. This could be fun.

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NOVember MMXVII A.D.
No Variation - Days Eighteen and Nineteen

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Have a magnificent Monday!

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Get the Ming Shi....Buy it from an American seller...like one of our own venders...Then if it's defective, you would have some recourse....And by ordering locally...you can get it in a few days and no longer be focusless!!!

I'm going to order one from andrews shop.... On our vendors section...

 

Monday morning November 20 - new creams

Supply Single Edge injector V 2.0 / Personna ( 9)
Jason's non - 30DC Cypress Badger brush
Simpsons Cafe Latte cream
Alum and Lucky Tiger

No, my @Vlasta shaving cream challenge package didn't arrive yet, but a set of each of Simpsons' six scents of creams did. I bought them direct from Simpsons in the UK to go with my new Simpson "Soap Destroyer" brush coming from Straight Razor Designs in the US -- and the creams got here first.

The Cafe Latte smelled so good I just had to try it today. For my first use of it, I ditched the Semogue boar in favour of a two-band badger set in one of Jason's wood handles.

The cafe latte smell filled the bathroom and the brush whipped up a great creamy lather in my horn bowl. A good badger really feels lovely while painting a thick lather on the face. And quite a small dollop of cream produced enough lather for three passes with a couple more passes worth squeezed out of the knot at the end. Simpsons claims the cream is concentrated so that a 125ml (4.2 fl.oz.) tin holds enough for at least two months of shaves; judging from today, they are not lying. It's definitely a good quality cream. I don’t know that I would want to give up my TOBS for it but they are certainly comparable.

I did a three-pass shave because I was enjoying the scent and feel of the lather. The alum detected no real irritation anywhere and the baby crawled quietly into the house.

Having said that, the injector didn't seem as sharp or smooth as it could have been today, so I binned the blade at the end of the shave. This was my 9th shave on it I see; I normally change out injector blades after 7 now.

I didn't have a balm or splash to match the coffee / cocoa smell of the soap, so I settled for Lucky Tiger orange to finish off.

Btw, does anybody know if there IS a balm or splash out there that smells like coffee or chocolate? If so, I'm interested.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead of them!

 

November 20

Weber SS
Perma-Sharp Super (4)
Simpson Chubby 2 Super
Castle Forbes Lavender shaving cream
Thayers Lavender witch hazel and unrefined shea butter

As we begin this week, I wish you and your families a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. Our family gets together on Thursday with my dear Mom for dinner. What are your plans?

Have a fantastic Monday!

 

November 20, 2017
OneBlade Genesis
Modified Gem PTFE (9)
Doug Korn DK7 with El Druida Manchurian
Nuàvia Rossa


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Once again the weekend is entirely too short. At least I was able to get a great shave to start a short work week. The DK7 whipped up the Rossa easily. Three passes, touch ups along my jawline and buffing of my lower right neck ended with me just missing the baby. I hope everyone has a great Monday.

 

Beautiful picture, Clint!

 

November 20 SOTD:

Razorock Plissoft Brush
@Vlasta Sample L
Gem Junior
Stirling Unscented PSB
Skin Bracer

The last sample from @Vlasta and it may be the best. The scent was a bit different, one I couldn't place, but I did enjoy it. It was a bit reminiscent of Tiki Cabernet Neroli, but that may have been my imagination. It was slick with good cushion. The Gem Junior was smooth as always for a two pass DFS. Today is my only day if work this week, so we will see how it goes. I hope everyone has a great day!

 

Good picture and a stunning brush Clint. Happy Monday, I guess.

 

picture Jim.

 

I wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving Charlie. Not a holiday up here, but we will have a great dinner and watch some football.

 

W.R. Case & Sons 5/8 razor from Bradford, PA with celluloid covered tang and figured celluloid scales. Haven’t cleaned this one up other than honing it. PAA Sundown software, and vintage Gillette Sun Up stink.

Shave was smooth, except where I moved the razor sideways on my chin. Pro tip for new SR shavers, don’t do this. One I got the blood stopped, I finished the shave. We will call this one a DFS -.