NOVember 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Two truths of shaving. Rubie's suck (in most razors, kudos in getting it to work for you) and Arko rocks!

 

NOVember!!

November 30

Grand Blade Trial - End of the Month Diversion!

Razor - Soviet DE - The "Soyuz 1"
Blade - (1)
Soap - Marvy
Brush - Marvy
Post - Alum, Nivea Original, Regret

Well, just for all of you, a special month-ending shave as promised. I've been involved in the Grand Blade Trial for several months and haven't been spending any time on less, um, quality gear. So, I figured why not end NOVember with a classic "what was he thinking" setup before hitting Decadent December (which I think you'll like too).

The razor of the day - the Soyuz 1. That fantastic, wonderful, super engineered marvel of the Soviet Union that features multiple blade gaps. Oh it's not adjustable, it just has different gaps as you go down the edge of the razor. And, while not a Flying Eagle or Tiger, the Gillette Rubie is a fine example of how to produce a bad blade with a good name on it. This thing, which looks so much like a Rapira Platinum Lux, neither feels nor shaves like fine Russian Steel. Hate it. Again, not as much as some, but enough to call it hate. The soap? Gotta go with Marvy. It's been sealed in a tin since I last used it a few months ago and...that "scent" that it has? Still horrid. And the Marvy brush to complete the setup. At least mine still has enough bristles to be called a brush.

The lather from this brush and soap? Uh, well, I can't really call it that. It's a lather at the beginning that goes on badly from the overly stiff and nasty feeling brush, but it soon dissipates into nothingness anyway so no matter. And the shave with this dull, tuggy rough blade in a razor that can't find a gap or an angle that lasts a half stroke? Well let's say this. After three passes I did manage a DFS, but the alum is so freaking hot from the irritation that my face essentially exploded into a ball of flame before settling down to a crackling fire burn. Nivea helped, but I'm still feeling it.

The bad news for some is.......no blood. The good news for me is.......no blood.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, the month of NOVember is DONE for me. I spent a lot of time trialing some good blades, as it turned out, and getting better and better with the Slim. So good, in fact, that I think it's improving the shaves beyond what a questionable blade can ruin. I also got some straight time in and loved it and......I still hate stropping. I'll continue to work with that. Both the physical and mental parts to see if I can get past that little stumbling block.

Thanks for another fantastic month guys! Tough month due to the holidays and other events best left undiscussed, but we made it through! And, as always, this thread was fun and highly informative and my favorite place around here because of what all of YOU bring to the table. See you over in the December thread!

 

The wrap....

30 November 2016



1. Shavettes are for me!
2. Voskhod still rocks!
3. The Veg is still for heroes. (sorry, Charlie!)
4. Arko is foolproof!

Today's excursion via Secret Santa was Lea Shave Stick. Lea is a direct competitor to a certain other Spanish stick. I like the other stick so much that @NCoxSTL accused me of securities fraud and market manipulation, but, I digress. Lea is a tallow soap, and is an excellent choice for straight style shaves. I used it in shave stick fashion, and the Plisson delivered more the enough lather for two excellent passes. Lea's scent is in Baby Talc world, but is quite soft and I didn't think it lingered much after the rinse. It left my skin soft, and the lather was indeed thick, slick, and protective. Secret Santa is gonna go 3 for 3 on my Shave Soaps! (The other is La Toja, and I've loved that one for a while)

Thanks again everyone for a great focus month. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a terrific Thursday!

 

I have never heard of Lea so glad it appears so good! Nice of Secret Santa to send it to you. On that other matter concerning your attempt at ill-gotten gains.....I do find it interesting that even Secret Santa seems to be in cahoots with you....sending you yet another stick to keep the market moving and the supply for the rest of us artificially low. You can say I accuse you.....I rather think of it as more of an expose.

 

Accuse, expose....whatever. Protect the hustle.

 

Great writeup. Would it be possible to see some closeup photos of the head of that pinnacle of Soviet engineering? Is the cap or the guard wavy, or what causes the effect you describe?

 

Here is the best I have at the moment. With a blade in. You can see the blade is uneven and...notice the gap on the bottom.....the metal on the guard seems to be of varying thickness creating that wandering gap. It's subtle but deadly.

​

 

You know, you really have to admire the skill and dedication of those Soviet designers. It takes a lot of talent to manage to screw up the design of a non-adjustable safety razor like that. Especially when you consider that these same people managed to design the PPSh submachine gun so that it could be built by the thousands in basement workshops in besieged Leningrad and still be dead simple to operate and utterly reliable... Incredible.

 

Yeah. It's comical when considering a razor. Not so much when that same scenario killed Cosmonauts and just plain screwed up a lot of society through bad engineering while the weapons systems were flawless.

 

Thanks for steering the ship.

 

Of course, let us not forget, during the same era, certain companies in other parts of the world produced such peerless monuments to design engineering genius as the Ford Pinto ... Which killed a lot of people and which the makers voluntarily fixed solely out of the goodness of their corporate hearts... At a societal level, every human system has flaws even if the razors work perfectly...

 

It is hard to believe that the Rubie is manufactured in the same St. Petersburg plant as the GSB, Astra SP, Polsilver SI, and several other top notch Gillette blades. In fact out of all the other St. Petersburg blades that I've tried I would say its the only "bad" one. And it proves that not all of the blades coming out of that plant are made from the same stock and just labeled differently. If I didn't know better I would say that it is made in China or India, and honestly I get better results from other blades made in those countries.

 

At some point I had read that Rubie was the brand they used to get rid of all of the substandard blades from the other brands. That would explain a lot. However, I've been unable to find that quote again so I can't swear that it is true. If not, then for some reason they are making these things on purpose. I do know a few people who like them but most are not fans. At least they aren't Tiger bad.

 

Those same geniuses involved with the Pinto took it one step further as well.....they used the frame as the base for the Mustang for a few years. Talk about clueless.

 

The cap looks skewed in that picture. Is it always like that?

 

It varies a bit but yeah, nothing is square on this thing.

 

November 30, 2016 - "No Expectations" Focus, Epilogue

No shave today as I was up at 0315 taking DD to the ER. She's fine, just needs rest and Ibuprofen for what appears to be a bad pulled muscle.

This month was about having "No Expectations" of my shave after some disappointments and a bit of blood over the past couple of months. The idea was to get back to basics- mild blade (mostly Astra SP or GSB) and a mild razor (or lower settings on the Adjustables) and work on having hassle-free, bloodless shaves.

For the most part, I was successful. On a couple of occasions, though, I had technique fails and there was blood. Still, the shaves were mostly great and I think I learned a thing or two.

Along the way, I engaged an interest in hotel soaps and seem to be getting consistently good results with one that I brought home from my last business trip.

The biggest surprise to me, though, was discovering how much I really like the Gillette FatBoy. I had last shaved with it for about half of September and, though I was impressed with it, wasn't ready to replace the Slim as my favorite. Now, I'm not so sure. There's definitely something about the weight, thickness, and length that is very compelling, even if I am too chicken to take it above '5'.

 

Did it again Doug. Now I'm shivering!

 

“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”

Also @NCoxSTL

-Friedrich Nietzsche

(Disclaimer: I fundamentally disagree with his Philosophy, but he had killer one liners and nuggets of truth.)