July 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

I would lift weights, but they're just so heavy, so pass.

 

If Davidoff's Cool Water and Drakkar Noir had a love child, it would be Adidas Dynamic Pulse. So....

Trig rocks in a shavette! Super Smooth and forgiving. Two passes for the near bbs. And about this Barbasol stuff. I am hooked for a while.

It's always quiet in Kentucky.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

 

Straight shave focus

Japanese steel, Western grind up today. My Feon always seems to give a great shave and today was no exception. Four passes and only a tingle from the alum and BBS. Only two shaves left before vacation and maybe only one focus shave. Then I will escape the heat. I am meeting my brother in Amsterdam and then on to stay at his house in Durham England.

Irritation A Closeness A Smoothness A Sharpness A

 

Well, I am pretty sure most people wouldn't call what I lift heavy!

 

July Focus Day 26:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
Musco Real Classic SC
Gem Junior
Stirling Unscented PSB
Musco Real Classic AS

I was running a tad late this morning and wanted to give this razor a try, so I took a break from the straight this morning. This shave was pretty impressive. I got a BBS after a couple of easy passes and a little clean up on my neck. I went with Musco Real, which I haven't used in a while. It is such a nice cream with a great scent. It really all came together for a wonderful shave. I hope everyone has a great day!

 

Also, I only run when I am being chased by someone bigger than me. I am 6-5, so not often...

 

I can tell you are from the South. I used to think I was average height until I moved to SE Texas. Now, I feel small! I worked in the shutdown planning group at the refinery for three years and was the smallest man by 60 lbs and at least 3 inches.

 

I read an article yesterday. Tallest men in the world on average are in the Kingdom of the Netherlands at 185cm. Americans are fourth. The world's Tallest ladies, on average, are in Latvia.

 

July 2016 Blade Focus Bigfoot Focus

July 23/24

Razor: Bigfoot Shaves/58 Executive
Blade: Baili Blue
Brush: VDH Boar
Soap: Stirling MITA
Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block



I gave my face until Saturday to recover from the Bigfoot Shaves blade that was duller than sandpaper and tried to grind the hairs off my face. Saturday I decided why not go ahead and see if the Baili blue blade is just as bad as the Bigfoot Shaves blade. Had such a good experience with the Bigfoot blade made by Baili, what's the worst that can happen.

Well, it was not nearly as bad with the Baili blade as it was with the Bigfoot Shaves blade. The Baili is definitely not the sharpest blade in the drawer, but is is no Bigfoot Shaves either! After the first pass, there was good reduction but not great. The main thing was that irritation was minimal. After the ATG pass I had a low DFS shave. It was a little better than a CCS, but definitely not true DFS. The blade honestly reminded me of the Dorco or the Derby in terms of its performance. It could get the job done, it just would not be great results. The alum bit a little but not nearly what I expected.

Sunday night I decided to give the Baili Blue a try in my Executive. I started out on 7 for the WTG pass to see how it would work. I did the right side of my face on 7. It actually did a pretty good job, not great but good. I decided to crank the Executive up to 9 and see how the blade would perform for the left side of the face. It did a very good job when cranked as aggressive as the razor could go. Unfortunately the very good reduction came at the price of more irritation on the left. It is definitely not the smoothest blade out there. I dialed back the Executive to 7 for the ATG pass. I ended DFS but with a little more irritation that I would ever find acceptable.

The alum bit and the Fine Snake Bite aftershave bit again, but man does that menthol feel great! I wonder how the Snake Bite compares to Osage in terms of menthol. If anyone has ever used both, I would love to know. Overall the Baili Blue was ok, but like the Dorco or Derby blades will never be used again unless I absolutely have no other choice.

 

July 2016 Bigfoot Focus

July 26

Razor: Bigfoot Shaves
Blade: Ladas
Brush: VDH Boar
Soap: Stirling MITA
Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block



Today I decided I would just continue a blade trial with the Bigfoot Shaves razor for the remainder of the month. Today was the Ladas blade. It is a very good, and of course Russian, blade. I find it sharper than the Voskhod and just as smooth but as always YMMV. The blade worked great in the Bigfoot Shaves razor. Not quite as nice as the Bolzano blade or the GSB, but definitely right up there near them. I ended today with a near BBS shave and no bite from the alum. I decided to go for the L'Orange Noir aftershave which is one of my all time favorites. I did jazz it up though with some M-bomb, which makes it even better in my opinion. It was already nearing a heat index or real feel temperature of 100 when I shaved this morning so the menthol was appreciated. I will use the Ladas again tomorrow and then will give either the Treet platinum or the Bic blade a try.

 

That is a sturdy looking machine. I'm glad you are finding blades that serve. How would you rate the overall build and finish? The photos make it look like twenty years from now I'd wish I'd purchased one myself.

 

It is a nice heavy razor with good grip. It is definitely not the quality of a vintage Gillette. It is better than your typical Chinese razor, however. This one just has some decent heft to it that many do not. Their website indicates a lifetime warranty and that it will never rust. I am not sure they will be around to honor that warranty, and I doubt the razor will make it that long either. It does seem to have decent fit and finish to it. I got it by using a site called amzreviewtrader.com where you get products off of Amazon at a discount in exchange for writing a review. I think in the end I paid $1.99 for the razor, so it was definitely worth my cost.

 

In the Good Old Shavertime!

July 26

Grand Blade Trial


Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (6)
Blade - (2)
Soap - Arko
Brush - Vie Long 12601
Post - Alum, Nivea, Aqua Velva Ice Blue

Day two on the Shark Stainless and the question is.....will a mere .011 difference in gap improve things? Or perhaps make them worse. On the 2 setting at .024 this blade was rather a dud. Not a great finish, a bit on the rough side, but hey, it didn't create any irritation for myself or @cmorris357 . What will .035 do if anything?

Used the Pony with the Arko today. Face lathering with a horse is a bit different as they don't swirl like the others. And, they don't like to be swirled hard in most cases as they will tangle. I've learned to start with a paint brush motion then do a "scrubbing" motion...more back and forth than swirling. Then, as the brush loads, it will swirl a bit more effectively without tangling. So far anyway. Whatever the case, great lather that lasted all three passes with plenty of reserve.

First pass WTG was, well, a bit noisy and just a tad draggy but not as bad as yesterday. First impression would be the higher gap works better with this one. XTG pass seemed to bear out the result and at the end of the ATG w/Gillette Slides I was at a near BBS! Major improvement over yesterday's failure to break DFS. Clearly the gap makes the difference for this blade. However, the lower setting spared any irritation...I'm expecting a bit this time. So, on to the Alum and.........wow. Quiet as it could be. A couple of minor stingers where I tend to work a little hard but other than that nothing. I'm actually fairly impressed. Serious improvement at the higher gap without adding irritation. I'm ready to see what tomorrow brings when I turn it wide open!

​

 

Latvia....formerly a part of the Soviet Union. Latvian girls tall, Russians wide? Hmmmmmmm.

 

I'm alive!!!!

Sorry I haven't stopped in since last week but life, work, and everything else has been crazy. Been keeping up with my head shaves but haven't shaved my face since last Thursday and seeing as I have a day off the beard will be coming off even though SWMBO wants me to keep it. Picture and report coming soon. Hope I haven't missed out on too much and hopefully @NCoxSTL has broken out a Tiger Blade for our enjoyment in my absence. I got a lot of catching up to do as well as taking a picture so I will be back soon.

 

Well doggone it.......I may not be able to recall Boris and Anatoly in time to stop them from kicking in your door. I was afraid something had happened to you (like bleeding out from a million pain stick cuts) so sent them to do a "health check". Yeah, that's what we'll call it. I just sent a text to tell them to come back. But if they don't get it in time I apologize for the damage in advance and suggest you greet them with vodka and caviar. Heavy on the vodka.

No Tigers have been out of their wrappers here lately. I was sorting blades last night, though, and found my remaining 9 Quick Tigers - the Chinese knock off. Still need to figure out who gets one of those as a free gift.

I suspect SWMBO just wants you to keep the beard thinking it will end your shaving purchases. Don't give in to the dark forces!![/quote]

 

May I request a Quick Tiger for the shavette? Science...

 

Got my newest mug acquisition today. Couldn't resist adding a logo of a classic from long ago! The lettering is actually formed by putting a rubberized cutout on it....so it grips better when shaving. I was considering using it as my coffee cup around here but not sure those decals will hold up to a constantly hot surface. Still, love the nostalgia. Now, to find a vintage one.

​

 

It's your face so why not? Could be quite interesting.

 

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She said she likes the beard better then just the goatee. You probably are right...more then likely just a ploy to get me to slow down on getting new stuff. Guess I will have to see for myself as if I am keeping the beard I will more then likely start buying beard oil and a brush and shampoo and what not like I use to when I wore only a beard. Not sure the beard will stay though as I still have nightmares from the last time I had a beard. Went out for a smoke break at work...flip open the zippo...wind kicks up and I proceed to singe/burn most of my beard off.

Hopefully you are not this years secret Santa


All out of Vodka and running low on caviar.. Not too worried as the boys probably got distracted somewhere.. Boris did say on his last visit if he had to come back he would bash my head off the keyboard though....


All right I am off to go take a pic and will be right back... if I am not back in a few that means the boy's finally arrived and are kldsjhflskdjglksut94teofjsjvlkds 458wuv50 b nwis ejtowito8wu elhflsj9oseut4gss4df
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