February '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion Thread

February Focus - German blades DONE! Best of the Best to the Finish!

February 27

Razor - '47 Gillette Super Speed
Blade - (1)
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip
Soap - Arko stick
Post - Cold rinse, Alum, Nivea, The Veg

Off we go to the best Japanese blade. Well, I love the Kai too, but a Feather in a mild razor is a marvelous thing. So, the '47 Gillette Super Speed matches perfectly to the blade for a couple of days in Tokyo, or thereabouts. Arko and the Wolf for a fantastically easy and thick, cushy lather and away we go. As always, this blade when paired right is an absolute delight. Smooth, some nice audio feedback, and what a nice result after each pass. Two passes, WTG then ATG with a bit of G Slide and the baby is on board for the day. Hard to get a better result than that. Now, if only Japan was a bit more sane life there would be perfect!

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Congratulations on an enjoyable shave! I'm glad the pre-shave oil helped. I really like the size and shape of your container for the Arko. Cool stuff!

 

Feb 28 Focus Shave 120

Today's razor is a Robert Williams Purist second shave after a refresh on Shapton 12/16k stones.

Not smooth and not rough and the edge felt sharp. I thought I would get a BBS and some irritation but the result was no irritation and DFS.

Irritation A Closeness B+ Smoothness A- Keenness A

QCS Vetiver
Kent BK8 silver tip
Woodhead scuttle
Robert Williams Purist
Dry Gulch strop
Speick AS
L'Occitane ASB
Creed Baie de Genièvre

I am not sure if I will have a SR shave tomorrow or not so I will post my Feb focus observations now.

My Feb focus was on the difference between touching up my razors on a J Nat or Shapton 12/16k stones. The J Nat takes allot longer to touch up the razors and I am sure I still have allot room for improvement but in the end I could not detect a difference in smoothness between the J Nat and the Shapton. There was variation by razor but that could also be due to my inconsistency with honing. I do feel that the Shapton finished edges were sharper than the J Nat edges, and given my tough whiskers I prefer the extra sharpness.

In conclusion the J Nat will get a rest and maybe a few months later I will give it a try. For March and April I am going to focus on thinning my razors. The razors I am considering moving out will get a last chance test and comparison to my other gear. If they fail to win my heart they will be either sold or PIFed.

 

Awesome a new recruit tot he dark side.

 

Thank you, picked up a 4 pack today at Wal-Mart for about $5, they are Bell canning jars. I'm not wild about the lid they come with but I saw some plastic replacements there I may have to pick up.

 

I love the looks of that razor!

 

Nice setup. Welcome to the group!

 

Sounds like everything fell into place. Nice work! That's a great day, and right on...never chase, shave well. The Baby will just come to you.

 

Keith beautiful arsenal for maintains a Sith Lord.

 

I took your advice and didn't go ATG, I think it helped considerably with my irritation and my face was smoother than the last shave. Thank you for the advice

 

You're very welcome. There are two unofficial mantras here. One is What's the worst that could happen?, the other is Techniques trump tools. When I first started, I could only go every 48 hours. ATG tore me up, and it also took a while for my skin to heal from the damage cart shaving did. I noticed that over time my skin toughened and smoothed out as it healed. I've found that as long as I held a low (20-25deg) blade angle, had good lather, and let the mass of the tool drive the shave...all razors are really the same. Currently, I am 58 shaves into straight razor, 20 months after the cart switch, and still believe it. All razors are just a tool to drag a sharp blade over lathered skin at a low and consistent angle and pressure. Nail down this idea and you can shave any direction, with any razor, given time to develop good techniques and routines. I get the feeling it's not going to take very long for you to be able to shave to near perfection automatically. Can't wait to watch the chain of successes you're about to experience.

 

Day 58 - 90 Day Intro to SR
SOTD - 27 February 2016



WD 5/8
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Route 66 - Lumberjack
Alum
TSD ISZ AS
Veg

DFS

Have a great Sunday!

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That's is one awesome looking razor!! WOWZER!!

 

SOTD
February 28, 2016
Prep: Hot Shower. Noxzema
Razor: Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip E1
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: Gingers Garden Rose Petals
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft Disruptor
Post: Thayers Rose Petal WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Gingers Garden Osmanthus
My razors had been getting dusty because of me using the BB for 13 straight shaves. I brought out old reliable this morning and boy was I rewarded with a nice shave. GG Rose Petals is beautiful! The RR Disruptor is really a solid brush, with the 22mm knot I don't have that over-splay I get with the larger 26mm knots. Something to think about for those with a goatee.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE!

 

Congrats on your first SR shave! Success!

 

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Pre: Warm Shower, Sterling Coniferous Bath Soap, Noxema
Soap: Strop Shoppe Barbershop
Brush: Druida D-7 Manchurian
Razor: Blackland Blackbird
Blade: Feather #1
Post: Witch Hazel, Whipped Shea Butter, Chatillon Lux Post Shave Toner and Aftershave

 

I saw this yesterday, and it reminded me of my chances of getting the Toggle.

 

Straights Focus February 28:

Simpsons Commodore X3 Best Badger
TSD Lanolin Iced Sub-zero
Henry Sears and Son Queen 3/4
Stirling Unscented PSB
Tabac AS

A great shave this morning with the Henry Sears and Son. I find it to be a very smooth shaver, and it is a heavy blade, which I seem to prefer at this point. I ended with a DFS quality shave. I topped it off with some Tabac AS, which got me a compliment from my wife when I gave her a good morning kiss. It was a great start to my Sunday. Unfortunately, an issue came up at the refinery, so I am off to work for a bit. Hope everyone has a great day.

 

Today's shave