March '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion Thread

ShaveSecret & C.O.Bigelow
Vulfix 660S & Suribachi bowl
Schick J-1 & Schick blade
Alum block & Canoe AS and EDT

Reset my shave clock by skipping a Sunday shave and getting in front of a New To Me razor. In preparation and anticipation of The West Coast Bunny Pass Around I am trying out my first injector. Regular preshave prep using a hot towel followed by Shave Secret preshave oil. A generous dollop of C.O.Bigelow swiped around by a fine badger brush. Easy two step process installing a fresh blade in this very clean 1958 to 1964 built machine supplied by @Bama Samurai. Quickly I found the angle. With no missteps I WTG, ATG, & XTG'd for a shave I can compare to a FatBoy using a new Feather blade. Close, smooth, comfortable with no nicks or irritation. I didn't chase the baby, but with little touch ups this could give a perfect shave. Tomorrow I'll be back to straight razors if I need to shave. Like @Jayaruh I can't stop thinking about The Bunny. Even more now that I've experienced Injector style. Good shaves Ya'll!

 

March into Artist Club Blades

March 21

Razor - Feather SS
Blade - (1)
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Soap - Proraso
Post - Cold water, Alum, Nivea

Everyone who thinks trying a Dorco blade in a pain stick is a truly terrible idea raise your hand? Yeah, lots. Everyone who thinks watching ME try a Dorco blade in a pain stick is better than trying it themselves? Everyone. Got it.

A quick note on the setup for this week. We are in mega-pack mode to get ready to move so a lot of the shaving gear is safely stored, including my Tabac and all brushes except the Omega 10066. So, this week's lather will be courtesy of the ProBoS, if you will. I also have my 1959 Gillette Superspeed available along with the pain stick.

Prep was as usual. Head shave first since it's Monday, get the water good and hot and go for the lather. Proraso always produces a great lather, slick, lots of cushion, and I figured I'd need it on this shave. When I loaded the blade up last night I could tell from handling it that it doesn't have the edge on it that a Feather Pro does. It may not even have a Kai Mild edge, but we'll find out soon enough. Lathered up, checked the blade one more time for proper placement and went to work on the right side. Remember - I owe @Keithmax pictures of the blood that he and I both assume will soon be running all over the place.

First stroke - surprisingly it's smooth with no tugging or pulling. Checked to make sure I had the blade on the face! Yep, it's definitely a nice smooth feel for a first pass. Continued on the right side and got to my chin up against the goatee. Yep, this is where the bloodletting begins. Even the best blades tend to nick here. Uh......nope. Nothing. Just a nice close run around the goatee and even the XTG up the jaw line didn't produce any problems. Wow. I'm surprised.

Well, we know that my weaker left hand will do the butchery with this dog of a blade. So, on to that side and again, no pulling, tugging, nothing around the goatee, worked the neck down fine, felt as smooth as I've ever felt a pain stick shave and.....none of that near harsh feel of a Feather Pro or even Kai Original. Trying to determine if it's a close feel to the Kai Mild and I would have to say yes.

Well, I'm not done yet. Let's do XTG all the way. Gotta be some butchery involved with that. Went mouth to ear both sides and came ATG on the neck. Nothing, nada. Just a nice DFS shave. And, no burn yet from any obvious irritation.

I rinsed with cold water, grabbed the alum, dug my feet in to scream my lungs out as the burn filled my soul and.........hmmmmmmmmmm. You call that a burn? Barely anything. A couple of spots on the neck I may have been heavy handed on but that's it. Seriously?

That look on my face is one of curious confusion. Not sure what just happened here. I took a blade that should, by all rights, be horrible, or at least really bad, and is designed for one of the most unforgiving razors in the world, and got a really nice DFS shave with no blood, irritation or other problems. How is that even possible? Two reasons, I think. Number one, the blade is not really as terrible as we may think. Is it the sharpest blade for AC shaving out there? Certainly not. Not even close. May even be the least sharp. But.....with the pain stick......that extra level of forgiveness from a duller blade can help tame the beast. The Kai Mild proves that too. So, while we hiss and boo at Dorco for even producing a blade for this razor, they may not have done all that bad. Not great, but definitely not off the scale horrible. Second, I would like to think we have another example of TTT........Technique Triumphs Tools. I"ve spend three solid weeks working on pain stick, and I've spent a lot of time with it previously. And I've learned to adjust to different blade feels to allow for the closest pass with the least risk. Not saying I'm perfect at it, and I know this razor can reach out and slice a critical artery in a heartbeat, but clearly the learning process and concentration on getting these shaves right has helped. I'm not sure I would have had this kind of result with this blade when I first started out. Either that or the forgiveness level would have suckered me into making a stupid mistake.

I'll give it another go tomorrow to see if the result duplicates. For now, enjoy your Monday. It's of to stick more stuff in boxes around here! Oh, and by the way @Bama Samurai , grab a copy of the BOPS logo....you've joined the brotherhood!

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I would have tried it but you got to it first. Have you tried the Kamisori brand from Canada? I have one of those that will be used at some point.

I'm glad you didn't need medical assistance. . . This time.

 

Wrasseling related, I raised my kids in the Atlanta area between 1990 and 2010. We visited the Zoo during a promotion. My daughter, then around age 8, had the chance to head butt Rick Steiner! While I was working for a high end wood shop I visited Stings home. He wasn't there that day, but I did meet his wife and children. His bed room, where I installed interior Plantation shutters, was basketball court huge.

 

I ran into the Undertaker once rushing through a fancy Hotel in Miami. He was walking around a corner and came around it as I got to it. I bounced off of his hip and fell over. I was maybe 13. Not my proudest moment.

 

Razor: Gillette Aristocrat 1947
Blade: Feather Hi Stainless Platinum
Brush: Mokume-Gane Carbon and Red Copper Silver Tip 3 Band 24/50
Soap: Jeeves Soap Turkish Bath
TSD: M Bomb
A/S: Booster Iced Lime
K Bar: Marine Corps pocket knife

Go ahead and give peace a chance, I'll keep you covered just in case things don't work out.

 

I do not, sorry, just internet based. What area of town do you live in?

 

I'm near Metro Center mall

 

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CJB painstick
Kai Mild (5)
WD 20mm Synthetic
Route 66 Black Pearl
Pinaud's Lime Sec

I decided to try something I don't do because my beard is so stiff. I started out with an ATG pass.

The lather was amazing. The brush was stiffer feeling then I remember but still plenty soft. I started the pass at the base of my neck and shaved up till I ran out of beard. Except for the neck this is an ATG pass. I rinsed, felt and had a solid DFS all over. I relathered and did an extra pass bringing myself up to a near BBS all over. The lime Sec had no bite so this was one of my best shaves. Here's the kicker, I had a 3 day growth.

I'm exited to try the original Kai blade but this shave proved to me that there was no degradation in the blade so far and that is both amazing and dissapointing at the same time. I love that I can get at least a full weeks shave out of a blade but I promised myself that I would see how long it took before the blades died so I have to stick with this blade longer.

Between the Kai blades and the Feather blades I think I'll try the Canadian made Kamisori brand blades. By the end of my painstick focus I will have a good idea of what blade I prefer so I can buy a full package of it to keep on hand. After @NCoxSTL's earlier post I feel like I should find and try a Dorco blade as well.

 

March 21 - Straight Shave 21
Henckels Twin Works #50
PSO, hot shower
Jayaruh #40 Synthetic
Chiseled Face Summer Storm Soap & AS
Alum, Nivea balm

Very good shave today! DFS, with almost no feedback from alum or AS. Actually got my throat good and smooth, BBS missed by just a bit on my jawline. Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

 

I have tried the Canadian blade yes. Not a great experience. It does have a tendency to drag and pull, at least for me. I have another one I may give another try one of these days, but my experience was NOT a good one.

 

March 21, 2016
The month of March has focused on two Schick E type razors: a Canadian E and a US E2, while also trying out different blades with each.

Hot Shower
Razor: Schick E2
Blade: NOS Schick Platinum (Holland) (1)
Soap: Flannel in the Rain (PAA)
Brush: Ever-Ready 1CS Badger Black/Lucite
TSD Witch Hazel
Myrsol Blue



Two-day growth. Two-pass shave - XTG, ATG
First time trying this blade, reputed to be one of the sharpest injector blades...and it is noticeably sharper. It's sharpness really helps with technique focus beginning with the proper angle. Too little, not much reduction. Too much it seems to tug. Just right - slices nicely and smooth. I will get the hang of it but will go gingerly through the minefield that is my broad chin.

Great first shave!

Cheers!
RT

 

Ha! let's bring back some of the original pioneers - Bruno Sammartino, Gorilla Monsoon, Killer Kowalski, Haystack Calhoun, Lou Albano and Chief Jay Strongbow - even Andre the Giant!

 

Run, Colts run for victory.
Win for the black and white.
Take Cortez up to the top.
Come on, you Colts and
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
Though we play it fair and square,
Our team will do or die.
So, fight to raise that score team.
On Colts, for Cortez High.​

My freshman wrestling coach made us memorize that and be able to recite it before we could attend practice. I can't remember where I put my car keys half the time, but I remember the fight song. We now return you to the un-hijackable thread.

 

SOTD 3/21/16
Razor: Case Brothers Tested XX
Brush: TGN Badger with Tulipwood handle
Soap: Maggards Orange Menthol
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum, Thayers’ Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Fine L’Orange Noir, Pacific Shaving Company Caffeinated Aftershave balm

Interesting shave today. I am trying to use up the two soaps that I have seen the bottom of, and Maggard’s Orange Menthol is one of them. I received this soap for Christmas in 2014, and have been using it for a while. I have never tried softening this soap with water on it while I shower, but for some reason did that today. I ended up with a very light, thin, and fluffy lather, rather than a slick and protective one. I should have grabbed a different soap and bush, but I thought, “What’s the worst that could happen?” I have noticed that over the last few months, I sometimes get a burning sensation when I use this soap. Not lasting, but noticeable. Today is was there, and worse than before. Combined with the lack of cushion in the lather, and a super sharp blade, the shave wasn’t very comfortable. Smoothness ended up being just under a BBS, but my face was irritated enough that the cold water stung, the Alum burned, and the witch hazel didn’t do much. I then splashed on the Fine, and it burned a lot. 45 minutes later I added some balm because my face was on fire, and had turned bright red. Five hours post shave, and my face is still irritated. I might not be able to use up the rest of this soap, and its matching aftershave. I think the citrus oil is the culprit.

 

Well played, sir!

@NCoxSTL -

Play the fight song!

 

Jimmy Super Fly?

 

Injector Focus.
After a weekend of very nice shaves with the Bunny "Notso" comb, decided it was time to step up to the "Wild" comb. During the shave I didn't notice much difference; maybe a little more sound. I ended up with a very nice two pass shave that bordered on BBS. I did notice a difference when I applied the alum, I felt it more than the last two days. I'm still enjoying this razor a lot.
SOTD
Dr. Jon's Aphrodite soap
Rubberset 400
Bunny V3 with Wild comb
Chick blade (3)
Alum
Pinaud Special Reserve AS
Have a great week

 

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