OCtober 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Perry, you are my shaving Yoda.

 

Good morning, Mark. Thank you for the kind words. I'm blessed to be here among friends!

 

John, congrats on your outstanding results with the Gem 1912, particularly on your first trip around the block!

 

Actually no - I have a few GEM SE Razors, Injectors and Straight razors I use pretty regularly. But I never owned or used a Shavette before - I must admit I have been a bit scared by these instruments

 

That makes my day!!

 

Mark, that's an awesome set up and a beautiful photo!

 

Calling @richgem to see if "Charlie's shaving Yoda" is worthy of a CT suggestion.

 

Thank you Mark.

 

Andrew, that is a nice looking razor and congrats on your first excellent shave with the Voskhod! I've never seen this soap before. How does it compare to others you've used?

 

Well the fact that you continued on in spite of mortal danger does prove you've been hanging around here for awhile. Only the dumbe......er......bravest among men show that kind of courage. Or lack of judgement, whatever.

Now, as to the problem with that blade of yours. You see, while the Feather is no doubt a fine shaving instrument, if it can be foiled by such a minor slip up on the part of the operator, well, I'm just saying. Russian steel is equally sharp, IMHO, but not nearly so fragile and temperamental. A good Russian blade, like V O S K H O D, (another chance to learn spelling) will bounce off the inside of a tank and still keep right on going. Kind of a requirement over there, though, as so many of them have to shave in moving tanks.

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Grumpy Pengu-cat says: no

(But, .... shaving his yoda... might make the cut. )

 

Why is yoda using a mach 3 ?!

 

Hmmm.....

 

Points taken, sir. Who am I to disregard the wisdom of my Comrades?

Продаем кучу вещей сегодня!

 

Downhill fast, things went.

 

Мы сделаем вас очень хорошая сделка на чуть-чуть, используемого моста. Доверься нам.

 

OCtober-een!

October 3

Grand Blade Trials

Razor - 1961 (H1) Gillette Slim (2)
Blade - (1)
Soap - Arko
Brush - Semogue 620
Post - Alum, The Veg

Welcome back to the Grand Blade Trials, OCtober edition. Moving onward and forward with the next to last Israeli blade, the Viking's Sword. Still a Personna blade and from the name I figure it's either aimed at the Scandinavian market, or else those of us who are fans of the show Vikings. Anyway.

While several of the Israelis feature Platinum coating, or are just listed as stainless, this one lists a Polymer coating. Not sure exactly what that would be, though we do find this definition......A polymer (/ˈpɒlᵻmər/; Greek poly-, "many" + -mer, "parts") is a large molecule, or macromolecule, composed of many repeated subunits. Because of their broad range of properties, both synthetic and natural polymers play an essential and ubiquitous role in everyday life.

Clear? Good. Ok, simplified down it's just a coating probably like plastic, but can be many things. Designed to provide smooth feel no doubt. Oh the things we learn in the 30 DC whether we want to or not.

Semogue and Arko for more lather than we all needed this morning and the first pass was, well, meh. Now, I'm on 2 on the Slim so wondering if it will work with this blade and the immediate answer is yes, just in the fact it did provide reduction, though nothing spectacular. The feel was not the smoothest but wasn't horrid either. Second pass, XTG more of the same and the final ATG and Slide pass pushed the shave to barely DFS status. Alum was quiet except around my goatee where I put in a few extra strokes to clean up but the after-shave feel is a bit irritated. The Veg did provide a burn so perhaps that's what I'm feeling here.

I'm thinking this blade would be a candidate for the extra "3" pass so that's what I'll do tomorrow. See if opening it up that .002 inches will provide a significantly better finish.

Another day closer to two major events. The first being my birthday (a national holiday nowhere) and, of course, Samhain (Halloween to the masses). As a public service, here's another potential Russian themed costume for any parties you have that night.

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I know, I know, kind of lame, but if you'll BEAR with me they'll get better.

 

I really like the 1912. Always enjoy shaving with it but I do so rarely. I know what you mean by "using a razor from a more genteel time". I just imagine when that was as good as a shave had ever been.

 

Thanks Charlie! The Blades Grim soaps are very nice. Excellent sickness and cushion. They are actually made by an artisan that makes other house brand soaps for other vendors including Maggards. The scents are very unique and this one smells like roasting marshmallows by a camp fire. This is also my wife's favorite scents of all the soaps that I have.

Sent from my Galaxy S6 using Tapatalk

 

Menthol Monday Shave

Brush- RazoRock Tri-color
Razor- Ever-Ready 1914
Blade- GEM
Soap- Stirling Ozark Mountain
Post Care- Crystal Alum
Thayers Witch Hazel
Osage Rub
Bombed Aqua Velva

Another wonderful shave with my Ever-Ready 1914. This Stirling soap may be my favorite scent especially for fall. My RazoRock brush has been packed away for a couple months. It whipped up a wonderful lather instantly and I didn't have to reload it like the boar and badger. Three passes and I'm BBS everywhere. Finished up with some Osage Rub followed by the bombed Aqua Velva. Excellent menthol kick. Have a great day folks!