April 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix&Discussion Thread

Hello TSD - here's my second April Focus shave:



- Jeeves of Hudson Street "Conservatory"
- Mühle STF
- Gold Dollar 208
- Tüff sensitiv Rasierwasser

Two passes again, both a mix between WTG and XTG. After about a dozen or so shaves with a straight razor the handling feels more and more natural and I have been able to speed up the shaves quite a bit. On the other hand the result has not improved much yet - I am able to achieve something very close to a DFS now, and that's it. But I hope that will improve over time as well. For the next few shaves I will concentrate on keeping the correct angle at all times, which is especially difficult around the jawline.

I still haven't cut myself (well - now that I'm writing this I expect my next shave to turn into a bloodbath). Aftershave was pretty quiet.

Have a great day everyone

 

Straights Focus April 4:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
Stirling Frozen Tundra
Henry Sears and Son Queen 3/4
Stirling Unscented PSB -- Mentholated
Fine Fresh Vetiver

A very nice shave to start my work week. I live the Frozen Tundra, and it didn't disappoint this morning. I touched up the blade on a pasted balsa board, and it was certainly smooth. One nice easy pass, and I was at least a SAS. It felt so good, I did a little clean up and ended with a DFS. The Fine Fresh Vetiver put the perfect finishing touch on my shave. Have a great Monday!

 

SOTD April 4, 2016
Menthol Monday

Prep: Warm shower
Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick G1 injector
Brush: Satin Tip 'The Purest' synthetic
Lather: Proraso Green shaving soap
Post: Witch hazel splash, TSD SubZero aftershave, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up



Nice, efficient shave this morning with the G1 and Proraso Green. I forgot between uses of Proraso how generous the lather is from that soap, and how easy it is to generate. Proraso works so well. Some people find the immediate post-shave to be a little tight and dry. That may be, but the price and performance overall make Proraso a great shaving soap, in my opinion.

Went with the TSD SubZero splash for a little more menthol kick. Nice shave all in all.

Hope you have a great Monday!

 

04/04/2016
Cobra Classic
Kai Mild (2)
WDC-8 with Druida Manchurian
Mystic Water Orange Vanilla
Witch Hazel
Fine L’Orange
Whipped Shea Butter

​

I always felt on the verge of dropping the Cobra but using alum on my finger tips has given me a better grip and improved confidence in handling the Cobra. The MW Orange Vanilla whipped up into a rich slick lather with the scent of Orange Peel on a base of warm vanilla. Going with a 2 pass shave, XTG and ATG, followed by minor touch ups ended with a near BBS work morning shave. The Kai Mild does not perform nearly as well as the Feather Pro for me. The shaves with the Kai Mild are not quite as close or as long lasting. Finished off with a splash of Fine L'Orange. I hope everyone has a great Monday.

 

April 4, 2016
Proraso preshave
Gillette Heavy Tech / GSB
Semogue / TOBS Natural
WH / Pre de Provence ASB
Great shave this morning...

 

Teflon?

Edit: it's been answered already. I'm late to the party.

 

Into to Straight Razor shaving (Day 4 of 120 days)


Gold Dollar 208
JR #23 Silvertip
Stirling Executive Man
Maggard Alum Block
Fine Platinum AS Splash

Overall very happy with todays shave. Still focusing on holding the razor, skin stretching, and WTG passes. 2 WTG passes on the cheeks left me with an easy DFS and I even did 1 pass WTG on the neck without letting my nerves get the best of me. Neck was a nice SAS/Almost DFS so I left it alone (No need for DE cleanup) and rinsed my face with some cool water. Alum was silent which is always welcomed and after another cold water rinse I splashed on some Fine Platinum. No nicks, cuts, irritation, or calls of a medic so I am thrilled.

 

SOTD
April 4, 2016
Prep: Hot Shower. Noxzema
Razor: Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Ladas
Lather: TFS Sottozero
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft
Post: Thayers Rose Petal WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Pitralon Polar
Fantastic shave. TFS Sottozerro is a great $5 soap, I don't know why it's not in everyone's den. The Aristocrat gets it done. I'll be shaving my head later today and I really need to focus on a DFS instead of a CBS (Cue Ball Shave)...
Be a blessing to someone else

 

April SE focus shave #2
Razor: GEM pushbutton w/ GEM stainless (2)
Lather: Mason Boutique Vivian
Brush: Vie Long Horse Hair

To start off my shave recap, I must say, Mason Boutique makes a great soap! I have samples of all of their scents and I enjoy all but one of them. Such slick lather and very cushiony. Probably my favorite artisan soap at the moment.
Today's shave was a huge improvement to yesterday's. Started out excellent do decided to chase the baby, and I'm glad I did. Face is BBS everywhere except the chin area. Still working on technique on that area without tearing up my skin there (and my scar that guess right across)
Have a great day folks!

 

Soap Focus
I cranked the Toggle back to six today and got a very nice two pass shave today. No irritation like yesterday.
SOTD
Route 66 Lumberjack
Doug Korn brush
Gillette Toggle set on 6
Feather blade (4)
Alum
Thayers Witch Hazel
Old Spice AS
Have a great week!

 

Congratulations! I knew you could do it!

 

The Feather AC blades get bad fast when they decide they are done.

CJB
Feather ProGuard(5?)
WD synthetic
Route 66 Sweeny Todd
Floid Amber

2 pass shave today. Lots of redness and tugging from the blade. It was fine yesterday but died a sudden death today. The Floid burnt like fire. Still redness at boo from a 5:30am shave.

Tomorrow is the Feather ProLight.

 

Arko April in Russia!

April 4

Razor - 1959 Gillette Super Speed
Blade - (1)
Brush - Vie-Long 12705 The Horse
Soap - Arko
Post - Cold water rinse, Alum, The Veg

No response yet to my email to the Motherland. It is now 8pm there and I suspect they are working on Russian time (meaning there's not really a priority on anything but vodka) or the dumb American and his bothersome questions are a laughable minor distraction. So, onward and forward. Today's blade, the Sharp Star. This is a platinum blade (maybe with teflon?) that is not listed on the mostochlegmash website but it still available if you know where to look. I was able to acquire a full card of 100 of these last year and have just started on those. I had a tuck previously to get started.

Lather today courtesy of the Vie-Long 12705 that my wife commandeered for a bit until finally deciding to steal my Pro 48 for her shaves. Yah, I'll need to be ordering one of those again if I ever want to use one. Anyway, Arko, of course, is the soap of the month and the horsie did a fine job getting a lather off of the face lather. With one exception.......this thing really holds water. I mean soaks it up. Like, you could use this to help drain the water from New Orleans during a hurricane. And, my grip on this brush usually involves a thumb and two fingers at the base of the knot. Well, try face lathering while squeezing (unwittingly) a river of water back toward that lather you're building. I have cleaned the sink, mirror, floor and every other surface in there that got covered. Really nice lather though.

First pass with the Sharp Star and I remember why I like this blade as well. It's not quite as smooth as the Platinum Lux but it gives a lot more audible and tactile feedback. Very comfortable, just like to talk a bit while it's working. First pass was very nice, second pass XTG and I had DFS. I decided for a few touch ups and left it at that. Won't chase the baby on my day off.

Great shave and I hope they're still churning these out. That's one of my burning questions when they respond. We'll see if I just have to burn out!

Ivan is on his way back. Will be arriving prior to the start of MAYhem. Said he bought a car with a great security system over there. Looks like a sweet ride!

​

 

April 4, 2016

This month I will focus on the Schick Type F.

Baseball's Opening Day
Morning shave
Hot Shower
Soap: Barrister & Mann Diamond Shave Soap
Brush: Rubberset 400-4
Razor: Schick Type F
Blade: Schick (China) (2)
TSD Witch Hazel
AS: Florida Water



Anyone who likes the scent of cut grass in spring will love the scent of this soap. Hayfever be damned, I’m intoxicated by the smell of cut grass as it brings me back to my youth when pick-up baseball filled my spring and summer days. The tallow soap is a great lather generator (use copious water) and the under notes of rich earth and tobacco all work well together. The Florida Water is a great teammate as its scent dissipates quickly enough to not steal the show.

A great game pitched by the Schick Type F - No cuts, no nicks, no weepers. No whiskers left on base.

This razor just joined my team recently. I’ll be looking forward to a month of seeing what this rookie is capable of doing.

Play Ball!
RT

ps - With apologies to the Grand Poobah, I had fully intended to partake in Arko April. I actually made it through the first shave of the month. Arko will always have a special place for me as my first 30Day Rule Soap. But the siren call of the ballfield and the thrill of the grass was too much. Batter Up!

 

Opening day for the Cards was yesterday and, they looked like they usually do on Opening Day. I'm surprised they found the bases. But, that's why we play 162. I smell a World Series at the end of the season and another year of futility for the Cubs.

 

Hope springs eternal!

(We'll delay the inevitable disappointment for the September swoon)

 

Yeah probably a good idea. I think a lot of us feel like the fans in the movie Major League looking over the Spring roster and all. "who are these ****** guys". Not that we don't know the names, mostly, but the lineups and strategy is a bit strange. Seeing Holliday on first yesterday was a bit of a shock. And, of course, we have a nice DL list started already plus Matheney's lineup questions. That's the great thing about living in the Lou....you know.....Baseball Heaven. We second guess and whine like we are all baseball gurus, then when it all works in spite of us we take the credit for our fandom pulling them through!!

 

Manager decisions aside, my favorite is when the "expert" in the crowd starts mocking the umpire on balls and strikes calls----from the upper deck! (Jumbotron assistance notwithstanding)

 

I'm interested in how the Pro Light does. Never tried one as I read reviews they were too mild. Interesting if they are...a "too mild" Feather......you never expect to hear THAT!