Tuesday October 31 - Focus? What's that? Schick E2 / Personna (unknown #) Neutrogena Skin Clearing Shave Cream Alum and Neutrogena Razor Defense Post Shave Lotion For the last shave of OCtober, I threw all aspects of my month's focus out the window -- open comb razor, breaking in boar brush, specific soaps to be "super gooped", new splashes -- I ditched them all. I used a shave gel that doesn't lather at all and needs no brush, an injector, and the drugstore balm that matches the gel. It was a good shave. As Mr. Alum testified when he exercised his right to be silent. It has been a good month. I used my three open comb razors a few times - Gillette Old Type Single Ring, Gillette Old Type Ball End and Fatip Grande. All three are quite aggressive, certainly more aggressive than I prefer for a daily shaver, but I got good, blood-free shaves from them all. I learned the "super goop" lather technique from Andrew @Linuxguile and Jared @PickledNorthern which finally got my new Semogue boar brush lathering well. It also showed me the underlying weakness in my normal lather technique (being far too miserly in loading the soap or even the cream) and that should improve the quality of all my shaves from now on. And I tried Osage Rub for the first time - and survived a case of "blizzard face". I look forward to seeing you all in the No Variation November thread. I intend to do not quite a Rule. I will use one razor and one brand of blade and will see if I can't get to the point of at least occasionally using the most aggressive plate on my Rockwell 6s. I will also use one brush to finish learning the quirks of my Semogue SOC boar brush. However, I will alternate between two soaps, one hard and one soft. That way I hope to lock in the habit of loading whatever soap I am using about twice as heavily as I have in the past. Postshave products will be wide open and changed as the mood strikes me.
OCtober!!! October 31 Razor - 1918 Gillette Old Style Blade - (3) Soap - Truefitt & Hill 1805 Brush - Jayaruh#46 Post - Alum Well, here we are, final day of OCtober for 2017 and one shave left on the Old Style with Feather. I took out the pre-shave step tonight just to see how things would go. I also gave the lather some extra water and it turned out to be the right idea. Didn't super-goop it, but I did give the puck some water and left the JR46 fairly wet. The soap seemed like it sucked the water in then it just started loading the brush like it was meant to. Face lather produced a super-slick and cushy lather. That's what I was after. Two passes and some touch up and I called it good. Finished with a DFS. Missed the BBS by just a bit and the alum was a bit warm. Something tells me I missed the pre-shave soap. That may have to become a regular part of my routine. I'll keep trying it with various soaps and such until I make my final decision. Anyway, that's it fellow denizens. A very fine OCtober indeed. I don't think I had a really bad shave at all this month by sticking with my OC razors (and avoiding the Durham Duplex). The Gillette Super Blue Blades did create a memorable couple of days, but the rest were great shaves. Now....on to NOVember!
I find the scent to be pretty light and inoffensive. Salt water and minerals. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
My final shave of open comb October ended up being my shave of the month. Beat up ol' GEM MMOC Stirling Boar Lisa's Natural Absinthe SS M&L Florida Water The Absinthe soap smells like Fall to me. I got a super lather out of it and whipped out my beat-up ol' MMOC. It is the first time I used it this month because I had new, sexy razors to try and a couple of old reliables to catch up with. Today was hands down my best shave result of the month. 3 passes, no blood, no pain. 17 hours later I am still smooth. Good stuff. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
The handle is worth the price. Mine is a chronic shedder but the bristles seem to regenerate. It keeps getting better with use. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
I have the QShave version of that razor and it works quite well. It was a very pleasant surprise. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
This was a fun month of just focusing on different soaps. The big surprise for me was figuring out that I can get a decent shave with just about any of my soaps, even my former nemesis MWF. Many soaks are a little different, but I’m learning to start with a fairly dry brush and add water as needed. This method is helping me immensely. Soaps I had given up on are back in the rotation. This was a good month. Hugs to all of you guys.
SOTN OCtober 31st Cooper MonoBilt Treet New Steel(2) 30DCLE Brush Dr Jon's Hydra My last shave of OCtober ended where it started, with a Cooper MonoBilt. This one has a different knurling pattern then my first one but shaves just as well. Super gooped the Dr Jon's Hyrda sample with my 30DCLE brush and had a nice relaxing shave to wrap up a busy afternoon of taking my son to my wife's office Halloween party and then dinner with some friends. It was kinda nice not being on the hook to hand out candy all night. Hope you all had a good Halloween!
Great pic, Andrew. Are the Coopers the 'Crown Jewels based solely on the quality of shaves, or a combo of looks, availability and shaves? Is it also true that not all Coopers will fit a modern blade?
D) All of the Above. The shave is smooth with just the right amount of aggression, they have a good heft to them and they are perfectly balanced, they have a beautiful and interesting design, they are somewhat rare, and they aren't made by Gillette (not that there's anything wrong with that ). Yes there are some 3 piece Coopers that will not fit a standard DE blade. These razors will have a diamond shaped center pin that is a little too large for a standard DE blade like this one (The the blade can be easily modified with a hole punch to fit, the end posts on the top cap will still hold the blade perfectly) :
I miss you guys! Hoping I have more time in November to participate, but I have been working through my rotation of straights and soaps.
I hope all is well Adam! @Norcalnewb kinda went nuts while you were away. @NCoxSTL used a petrified fruit cake as a pre-shave soap, but we considered it relatively normal behavior for him and didn't think much of it. @jtspartan sent out a bunch of custom shave bowls. Well, he sent 1 bowl to @mrchick, but you get the idea. You just didn't get a shave bowl. We had a couple of group hugs and chanted "Roll Tide" and "Ride the Cap" a time or two. We reviewed the basic rules of Applachian and Canadian linguistics, thanks to @Bama Samurai , @cmorris357 , @RyX , and @jtspartan. (I think we did this in November, but nobody's gonna check me on it.) @Douglas Carey put the hurt on Sasquatch while he was out in the woods taking his SOTD photos. @clint64's neighbors asked again this month why he was standing outside in his boxers at 6 a.m. photographing razors and brushes in the front yard. @Keithmax made a pilgrimage to the homeland. @Screwtape made a bunch a shave goop and successfully shaved with it. @BaylorGator said he'd be using his straight razor, but he's been gone for a few days. We should probably check the local ER if he doesn't show up soon. @Linuxguile's little 30 DC man checked up on us every Friday. Barbasol and dog grooming tools were used...but thankfully not during the same shave. Once again, cookies were promised but never delivered. Oh yeah, we sent a dead horse to the glue factory. We've (I've) already started beating the next horse. We welcomed some new recruits into the 30DC crew, and it was another great month overall learning from and having fun with good friends. I guess that about covers OCtober. The November thread is moving at 100 mph (161 kph for our Northern friends). I picked up some early infraction points by trying to be serious, but I have since been counseled by Neal and have mended my ways. He also made my buy a mattress as punishment. He said he placed it in a dumpster at a rest area along I-70, but I'm afraid to drive into the Lou to pick it up! Come over and jump in when you can!
