OCT 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

*life-like Scythe included!

 

Its hard to hold that when taking a selfie. So far tonight I have scared on little kid so bad he dropped his candy, and made two middle school girls scream. All I am doing is opening the door and laughing. Then giving them candy.

 

this is my bride to be and I. I had to improvise at the last min since I had an allergic reaction to my mask. She took off the sword before this. She's a pirate.

 

Does it make it better if I want some peanuts and cracker jack to go with the hot dog?

 

here are the kids. My woman's children are the clown, the scream killer and captain America. The other 2 are her brother's kids.

 

Nice.

So where's the 'After' photo?

 

OCtober 30 Day Focus -- Cadet Open Comb

October 30

Razor – Cadet Open Comb
Blade – Astra SP
Brush – VDH Boar
Soap – La Toja
Post - Cold Water Splash, Witch hazel, THE VEG

Last shave for the month with the open comb cadet. Another good but not great shave with the Address Astra SP. No irritation just not as close as the GSB or Ladas give me.

This month has done an excellent job of reminding me of the importance of blade angle. Forget that lesson and I got bit. Remember the lesson and I had some of the best shaves ever.

I also wanted to spend the month finding good blades for the cadet and like with the L6 the GSB came out on top with the Ladas right there with it. Several rough blades that will definitely not be part of my rotation including the PolSilver and Derby.

Finally I tried a few new soaps. Arko not friendly to me. Tabac an excellent soap! Finally today was LA Toja. Chris @Bama Samurai, you picked a winner!! Great lather and tons of it. Very slick. Feels great! Definitely a soap for my rotation.

Today also had one more new experience. THE VEG!!! It was included in the box tour. The stuff definitely has a unique smell. I am happy to report I am one of the chosen. The Veg liked me and both my daughter and my fiancee like me in the Veg!

A successful month and looking forward to November!!!

 

OCtober Wrap-up

Gillette New LC
Feather blade (3)
Semogue 830
Trumper's Coconut
Two passes
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel and unrefined shea butter

I completed my OCtober focus today. It primarily consisted of getting to know my Gillette New LC. I plan to begin NOVember tomorrow with my Feather Artist Club SS. For now, I have switched to night shaves to allow some additional time with the Feather AC.

I had fun using the New LC. It has become my favorite razor, providing consistently great two-pass shaves. I attribute an occasional nick or weeper to operator error. The Gun-Kote makes it super easy to clean. I didn't notice any additional glide as a result of the coating on the top cap.

I used two different brushes (Kent BK4 and Semogue 830) and three soaps/creams (Arko, TSD lanolin unscented, and Trumper's Coconut). Any combination of brush and either soap or cream yielded a good lather. I noticed a significant improvement in my lather using really soft water while on a trip to Florida during the month. I can't really pick a favorite combo here. Each brush, soap, or cream has different attributes, and I plan to keep them all in my rotation.

I used a variety of aftershaves, including Trumper's Coral Skin Food, Alt Innsbruck, Captain's Choice Bay Rum, Fine L’Orange Noir, and Fine Platinum. This adds some variety to the daily routine without losing the benefits of a monthly focus. I'll continue with these during NOVember, and I may add a couple of others as well.

I enjoy following the progress and learning from my friends here! A shout out to Chris for being our Ringmaster and the Father of Focus.

Have a great weekend, and I hope to see you all in the NOVember focus!

 

So, do I get the job?

 

I can do that without a costume.

 

Quite the crew tonight!

 

Congrats on being one of the chosen. It's nice to know you won't have to get a new fiancée !

Kidding of course, but I love the Veg! Just ordered a new bottle from Walgreens website...

 

31 October 2015

30 Days with a Gillette Fat Boy



A great month with the king of the TTO...it's a keeper!

Have a great Sunday!


​

 

October wrap up

Over the last month I have focused on my Old Type and my Gillette New LC, shaving with each for 15 days. I continued my blade focus and found four blades that did well for me in these razors as well as several others.

Rapira Super Stainless - 12 shaves in 4 razors - 92% BBS. No irritation. 11 BBS in a row!
Astra Superior Platinum - 17 shaves in 4 razors - 76% BBS. Only 1 shave had irritation - early in Fat Boy with dry lather.
Gillette Silver Blue - 34 shaves in 5 razors - 82% BBS, Only 1 shave had irritation
Lord Platinum Class - 13 shaves in 4 razors - 77% BBS. Only 2 shaves had irritation and that likely due to poor lather or rushing.

I have learned a lot from the folks on this forum and hope to continue that pleasant experience next month as well.

Thanks for all the great ideas and photos!

 

So you went without a costume?

 

I'm sad the October focus is over.. I came a LONG way this month though.

 

Quick wrap up- I used three different wedges in October. They all worked well. Wedges feel a little different on your face that a full hollow ground razor, as there is more stiffness in the blade, and less flex. They also sound much different, both when cutting and stropping. The Dubl Duck Satinwedge is a standby razor for me, in that it always delivers a smooth shave. The J. Wostenholm EBRO wedge that has not been restored was an amazing shave. I silent and smooth shave, and very nice. The Union Cutlery Spike is in between the two in size, but gave a great shave. I still need to dial in the honing a little, but I am happy that I was able to take an eBay special and get it in usable condition. I will work with this razor some in November as well.

My other focus with the brush. This is a big floppy badger, and it works great for bowl and face lathering. No complaints at all.

Still haven't figured out how to get the neck completely smooth, and stabbing myself while trying set that back a bit. I will keep at it, minus the stabbing part.

 

I am so glad I participated in the October focus. I learned a lot about my shaving skills. If I get a bad shave, it ain't the blade! When I first started wet shaving, I bought a 10 blade sample pack and struggled with many "inferior" blades. Ten months later, after participating in three other focuses, I decided to try a blade focus to determine which blade was my holy grail blade. Imagine my surprise when I tried eleven different blades during the month and got great shaves with all of them. Even the previous "inferior" blades now gave me great shaves. It seems that technique does make a difference. The only thing I noticed about these blades is that some blades are a little smoother than others and some are a little rough on the first day.
This focus helped me end my BAD for good. I will buy what I can get for a good price and save my AD's for other shaving items. I will probably stick with Feather, GSB, Voskhod, Nacet, etc.
Thanks for a fun month!