August 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Even the franchise tagged player has to tryout for the team. Today is my PRC round nose western grind kami.

Shave went very smoothly and the razor demonstrated she is ready to start the regular season. 4 passes and just the faintest tickle from the alum and finished a solid BBS.

Irritation A Closeness A Smoothness A+ Sharpness A

 

Awesome Adjustable Arko August!!!!

August 21

Grand Blade Trial -Week off


Razor - Edwin Jagger DE89L
Blade - (4)
Soap - Proraso Green
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Post - Alum, Aqua Velva Musk

Final day of my week off and, even though I haven't gotten done everything I'd hoped, I'll be back to the Grand Blade Trial tomorrow. Rockwell blade up first. But, today, the EJ DE89L and NOS Gillette Blue for the fourth day. Not one problem at all. In fact, two passes, a light touch up pass and the baby won the day. NICE! This blade really isn't done yet, but I'm letting retire after today. Fantastic four days.

I used the Omega 10066 boar today for a next day comparison to the Semogue 620. The Omega has been my overall favorite brush for probably a year now. Love the Omega boars. I've also had a Pro 48 that SWMBO took over. Both are great performers. However, I'm leaning toward promoting the Semogue to top spot. I know it's still a bit stiff but man does it produce great loads and lathers. The Omega is good, don't get me wrong, but the way the Semogue works really impresses me. Looking forward to using them both in rotation on the Trial days with Arko face lathers. I may have gotten both of them due to peer pressure and just a general loss of control to my Acquisition Disorders, but man I'm glad I did.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. For those of you with kids, may the new school year bring you some peace and tranquility as well as some more control to your life. For those of us without kids, hey.....we did our time. Or will in the future.

 

Thank you guys. It's fun to hang out with you!

 

August Focus Day 22:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
Stirling Cool SS
Gem Damaskeene
Stirling Unscented PSB
Stirling Glacial Lemon Chill AS

Nice to be back on the Damaskeene. I would say this razor is a keeper, and at this point I am really just seeing how any shaves I can get out of this blade in this razor. This is number 14 so far. I hope everyone has a great day.

 

Monday Shave

Brush- AOS Fine Badger
Razor- Schick Adjustable/PAL Adjustable
Blade- Schick Twin/Chinese Schick
Soap- Stirling Barbershop
Post Care- Crystal Alum
Thayers Witch Hazel
Osage Rub
Stirling Barbershop AS

I had a fantastic shave this morning. I decided to see what the differences are between these two razors so I used the Schick on the right side of my face and the PAL on the left, the next shave I'll switch them around. I have a Schick twin loaded in the Schick and a Chinese Schick loaded in the PAL. I had a few days growth to get through so I lathered up some slick, protective and great smelling Stirling Barbershop and went at it. Right away there was an immediate difference, the Schick had a slight hesitation and I could feel the hairs being pulled ever so slightly, the PAL just mowed them down. The heads are fairly similar in maneuverability working equally well in tight spaces. As far as comfort goes, the PAL won. Closeness I believe the Schick won. I relathered for a second pass and now both razors had zero issues with tugging. After a third pass I'm BBS everywhere with no discernable differences between the two sides on closeness. The alum however told a different tale, slight feedback from the Schick, zero from the PAL. Once that settled I tried a Osage Rub/Stirling Barbershop combo which was real nice. I will have to give this round to the PAL however the right side of my face is the more difficult side so the next round will help decide the winner. Have a great day folks!

 

WOW! 14 shaves from a blade, excellent!

 

Day 7
AoS best badger brush (broken in)
Proraso Green Shaving Soap Jar
Gillette New Long Comb
Astra Superior Platinum Blade.
Alum
TSD Lavender Aftershave Splash

Saturday night shave. Armed with my new AS and plenty of time, I decided to go for BBS. After over analyzing the direction I should be shaving to achive my goals I lathered up and took one pass E to W... and started bleeding like a stuck pig from the giant nick I created under my nose. New golden rule. ONLY N/S under my nose. Luckily, I stopped just short of needing a tourniquet around my neck. I got some good experience with my styptic pencil and continued on with two more passes. Other than the nick, there was some moderate feedback from my alum. I splashed on some of my new AS and the wonderful aroma made it all better. My wife like the AS so much, I re-applied. Overall, this was DFS bordering on BBS.

 

SOTD August 22nd


G.E. Jones Shake Sharp
Astra SP
Arko
Stirling 24mm Synthetic
Lime AS & Nivea Sensitive ASB

Good Morning Friends! Every once in a while its good to go back to one of your baseline components to evaluate the shaves you've been getting. I did that this morning by going back to the beloved Astra SP. WOW what a difference a blade can make. Comparing the Astra SP to the Personna lab blue is like comparing a steak knife to a butter knife IMHO, YMMV. As usual I got a super slick lather from the Arko and the Shake Sharp still sung its sweet song. It was kind of odd getting the loud audible feedback from the Shake Sharp while getting no tactile feedback on the skin from the blade. With a lesser blade I have a tendency to put more pressure on the the skin but with an Astra I can just let the blade glide over the cushion and slickness of the lather leaving no whiskers in its path. After 3 passes I am BBS and there was not a hint of feedback from the alum. My homemade Lime AS left my skin feeling great and mmmm mmmm I love the scent of lime! Have a great day my friends!

 

Day 8
AoS best badger brush (broken in)
Proraso Green Shaving Soap Jar
Gillette New Long Comb
Astra Superior Platinum Blade.
Alum
Stirling Glacial Lemon Chill AS splash

Only two passes for a Monday morning. Lathered up, and rode the cap all the way. First pass North to South, second pass E to W. I was careful to avoid the nick under my nose and only go N to S under my nose. No nicks or weepers. Very little feedback from the alum. Splashed on a good amount of AS and enjoyed the strong menthol blast. As I was applying the AS I realized that today's shave was as close to BBS as I have gotten and I wasn't necessarily trying. Note to self. Don't overthink or try too hard. I firmly believe that is how i nick myself. Slow & smooth, riding the cap is all that is needed for a decent shave.

 

What a difference 8 days can make! Here's to the next 22!

 

So do I move this over to the Sept thread when it starts or finish it out in the Aug thread?

 

You can do either. I don't do very rigid focus, so I think about a new one for every month. With the progress you are making, I think you should keep at it, or change one or two things only, and do a new one. Either will help improve your skills.

 

Congrats on 5000!! Keep em coming!

 

Congrats on the shave and on figuring out one of the most important lessons . . . don't over think. My easiest BBS shaves come when I am not trying to get BBS.

 

Thank you!

 

August 2016 Adjustable August

August 22

Razor: 58 Executive set on 2
Blade: Rockwell Stainless
Brush: Maggard 24mm
Soap: Stirling MITA
Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block, M-bombed witch hazel with Peppermint EO



The next couple days I am using the Rockwell Razors stainless blade to coincide with Neal's blade review. Loaded the blade up and used the Executive on 2. The blade was totally unknown to me so I was hoping this would not be a repeat of the Royal Red "baldes" that I experienced. This blade indicated it is made from Swedish Stainless Steel. The Rockwell website seems to indicate they designed the blade, but I am sure they are getting someone else to do the actual manufacturing. More on that in a bit.

So got a great slick lather from the Stirling soap as always. The touch of menthol is just a great way to start without losing any feeling of the blade. Went to work on the WTG pass on my cheeks. First pass down a cheek was fairly impressive. Good reduction and no irritation. It did not pull or tug at all. I finished my WTG passes on my cheeks and then switched over to XTG for my first pass on the chin and neck areas. The entire first pass went very well. No irritation good reduction. Not a bad start, especially with the Executive on 2 which is just so very mild. On to the ATG pass. Again, a nice shave overall. There was no irritation from the pass. It probably ended at a DFS, maybe a low DFS if I'm being honest. I did some touch up along the jaw line, on the chin, and on the neck. In the end, it was not BBS, but it was a very good high end DFS. Certainly respectable given the executive set on 2 and making me look forward to the shave with it set on 6.

As for the blade, I found it very similar to the Personna Lab Blues or something along those lines. It is sharp, but not Bolzano or feather sharp. It is fairly smooth but not GSB smooth. I know Personna makes blades for other people and so I wonder if this is a case where Personna is making the blades to the specs offered by Rockwell. Maybe Neal will educate me more on the origins of the blade. In the end, looking forward to tomorrow's shave.

 

Awesome Adjustable August


Applied Arko with a TBS Synthetic, three passes with a 195 set at seven and loaded with a Voskhod. No nicks, quiet Alum, cooling AV AS. Simple, effective, comfortable. It's been a pleasant month with few but grand diversions from The Rule.

Mispeeled Via Kyocera / Tapatalk

 

Went with this awesome setup again today. The Feathers wont replace the Kais as my favorite for the Goose but I am least getting blood free shaves from them now. DFS today with no nicks or irritation.

 

Awesome Adjustable Arko August!!!!

August 22

Grand Blade Trial


Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (2)
Blade - (1)
Soap - Arko
Brush - Semogue 620
Post - Alum, The Veg

Annnnndddddd........we're OFF! The trials start up again today as we continue pushing through 109+ blades. My week off was great, got lots of writing done, though not fully ready for posting but it's close, so you'll see lots of stuff popping up on the blog in the next couple of days. Also the time to use some other gear besides the trial setup was NICE! Got into the Fat and Tabac again and I feel like a new man. Nothing wrong with Arko, but 5 weeks of that was enough of a stretch for me.

As a note, it appears I may be taking another week long break in September. We are planning a week of camping and I won't do the trials that week. I'll just go to a camping setup and enjoy my time there. Anyway, here we go!

We go to the Rockwell blade today which is, of course, made by the Rockwell Razors people. A number of TSD members have used the Rockwell 6S razor and love it. When you buy the 6S you get five of the blades. Pre-order the Model T that is estimating shipping next March and they send you 100 blades. Or, you can buy the blades for $9.99 per 100. Not a bad price. But, are they worth it?

Mild start on the Slim as always, and the lather from the Semogue 620 and Arko was beyond belief. Seriously. Anybody who is a Semogue fan who wants to say "I told you so"? I have always stayed with Omega and love them, but this little brush is kicking butt and taking names. I'm seriously thinking of getting another Semogue just to make sure it's not just a one brush wonder kind of thing.

First pass WTG and it wasn't the smoothest I've had. I've heard mixed reviews on this blade and my first impression was that the haters are right. Not horrible by any means, but fairly rough. Second pass XTG was better. Still noisy but felt somewhat smoother. The reduction on both passes left a little to be desired. Third pass ATG and Gillette Slide were quieter and also smoother. Well, any blade should get quieter and smoother as the shave goes on. Great blades should start smooth even if they provide good audible feedback.

Alum was overall quiet. A hint of burn. Result is....well....CCS. Even my cheecks feel a little rough after three passes. Normally it's just my neck but it's all of it today. Quite disappointing, really, considering how it seemed to be improving with each pass. Turns out CCS is the best it could do.

Tomorrow we'll dial it up the 6 and see if the results improve. As of right now, I'd never buy another one, but two days may find the more aggressive setting to be the key.

One more point, I have emailed the company for info. Fairly skimpy description of the blade on their website. Mentions they are stainless so they don't rush and have a special coating to maintain sharpness. Same description as on tryablade.com. I'd like to know more, including where/who makes them. Hard to believe they'd have their own manufacturing of blades going on given the equipment necessary. Nothing on the wrapper helps out. Hope your Monday has been a good one. It's a fantastic Saturday for me, as Mondays go!

 

Blood free shaves from a Feather Pro?! You?!?! You're doing it wrong.