August 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

I've been soaked by that truck many times growing up. Never ran after it though.

 

We used to follow it on bicycles. Insane.

 

(list redacted to save electrons)
Thank you Neal for the list.
I don't think I've seen photos of ten percent of them.
Quite the Grand undertaking!

 

No shave for me today. I am gonna open the Fatboy all the way and chase the grail tomorrow.

Meanwhile...

...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

 

Tryablade has pics of the tucks. Surf it.

 

Jason at tryablade.com buys Royal Reds direct from MD Barber so has no extra information on the blades. I replied and asked him about the Germany thing on the shavettes. See if that clears anything up or if it was just a typo there. I have to plug him too as he also told me to send a list of any blades missing in my stash for the trials and he'll donate them. Show him some love if you ever get the chance and order some blades. I've used him for well over a year and never had any issues at all. Plus, it's the best way I've found to buy a small number of blades.

 

He is definitely a great person to do business with. I had a package arrive mangled like it spent the trip in the wheel well and not in the cargo area of the truck. He sent a second package out immediately even though it was entirely the post office's fault. He is definitely a good guy.

 

Word that, when I travel I always bring a stick of Arko. You never know what type of water you will encounter or shaving environment. Arko work no matter what, great stuff plus it great at repelling the bugs.

 

August Focus Day 2:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
MWF
Ever-Ready 1914
Stirling Unscented PSB
Old Spice Fresh

My first shave with this razor. I'll post details later. I hope everyone has a great day!

 

SOTN August 1st
(shaved before bed last night)


Ikon X3 Slant
GSB
Stirling 24mm Synthetic
Stirling Executive Man
Homemade lime AS

First shave with the Ikon x3 slant happened last night. First of all it feels very mild on the face, like shaving with a SuperSpeed or a Merkur. There was no tugging or sense of dragging, but f course that may have been due to the GSB. Performed my normal 3 passes and then rinsed off inspecting the results expecting to be somewhat near BBS. Not so, I could feel micro stubble on my face as though I had only gone WTG. I lathered up again and did a 4th pass with some additional buffing but still there were spots that felt like 2000 grit sandpaper, not rough but you could tell that it wasn't that close. The good news is that the Alum was completely quiet. And my home made AS smelled delicious! It also felt very nice on the face with no need to apply balm afterward. I will have ti play with the angle on this razor more, It seems like finding the optimal angle could be tricky. Have a great day my friends!

 

Tuesday Shave

Brush- Semogue 620
Razor- Schick Fashion Razor aka the Hussy
Blade- Chinese Schick
Soap- PAA King R. Emporium
Post Care- Crystal Alum
Thayers Witch Hazel
Osage Rub
Old Spice Lime

A nice shave this morning. First use of this soap and it's a keeper. Excellent barbershop scent, easy to lather and plenty of protection. I used a little more water on the 620 and it worked better. I'm getting it dialed in. The Hussy performed great this morning. Three passes and I'm completely smooth. I wish it had a little more weight but it is easy to maneuver. For anyone interested I'm doing a pass around with this razor starting next week. The alum was silent and I like the Osage and Old Spice lime combo. Have a great day folks!

 

August 2, 2016

Razor: 60's SuperSpeed
Blade: Gillette Platinum Plus (3)
Brush: Floppy Chinese Badger
Soap: Arko

After yesterday's soap letdown, I decided to mix things up a bit for the third shave with the SuperSpeed and went with the Arko stick and the floppy badger. The Arko and badger are usually part of my travel kit and work well together. A little trouble with reduction today which makes me think that part of yesterday's issues may have been blade-related. Either way, I'll move on to a new blade tomorrow.

Despite the blade issues, a nice DFS.

 

Sweet looking razor! And that soap.....doesn't get better than that.

 

The GSB was a great choice for the first shave. Interesting that a slant would take 4 passes but yeah, angle could be the issue.

 

This may be one razor where riding cap doesn't work.

 

Awesome Adjustable Arko August!!!!

August 2

Grand Blade Trial


Razor - 1962 (H1) Slim (6)
Blade - (2)
Soap - Arko
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip
Post - Alum, Nivea, Aqua Velva Ice Blue

Second day on the Royal Red Baldes. Oh wait, that's blades. Sorry. Yeah, even Jason at tryablade.com was making fun of the misspelling on the wrappers. After yesterday's dive into their origin (which is still not settled but kind of is) we know the blade is certainly in production and in a mild razor can't really give a great shave. Two of us had the same problem. We both agreed it's not a sharp blade, though not truly dull either and that it's smooth enough to work. But, can it ever produce a quality shave?

Up to 6 on the Slim today and the lather is great as it always is. First pass WTG and it's a nice audible blade. Sounds like it's doing a fine job. It's a bit rough as it does it but not so rough you feel like you have to stop. The result of the WTG was quite a bit better today than yesterday. That's encouraging. Second pass XTG and again a nice audible and a better result than yesterday. ATG and Gillette Slides to finish. Not nearly as noisy but that is due to the reduction obviously. Finished it off with alum and found only the slightest burn on my neck. Not enough that I would normally report it. Pretty nice. The finish was clearly better than yesterday but I decided to let it sit a couple of hours or so before judging. And.....a very nice DFS it is. Almost near-BBS but definitely a solid DFS. Clearly this blade likes the extra gap.

Well if it's happy with that gap tomorrow we'll give it the whole thing wide open. Looks like another case of a duller blade liking aggressive razors. It's just a question of how much is too much. Hope you have a great day!

​

 

It could be. The slant may require you to get off the cap to get the right angle. Hadn't thought of that before but it seems reasonable. Says the guy who shaves with anything.

 

Here's a question...

One could surmise from the fact that the blade is pre-scored and from the fact that MD Barber primarily sells shavettes, that this blade was intended for use in a shavette. Is it possible to "optimize" a blade only for use in a shavette?

 

I've never shaves with a slant. Maybe that will be my first post move shaving purchase.