December 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

There is an easy way to fix that.

 

Great brush, Doug!

 

Thanks very much.

 

Well Cinco de Julio is a ways off....

 

It's never too early to develop shavette skills!

Tapatalk Via Kyocera

 

It was 19 degrees here this morning, so I took the day off.

 

I doesn't appear that Burt went for a baby smooth shave, so that might tell you something.

 

Troy, that New LC is a beauty! Great set up today. If I had to pick one razor, one blade, and one soap, this might be it. I love the perspective of your SOTD photo. Have a great week.

 

I like the brush handle, thank your explaining it's origin.

 

Kathleen, the devious plot worked! Murica's best soap has now taken over Neal's den!

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You know, for some peculiar reason, that picture didn't make it onto the shave cream tube... I wonder why?

 

Doug, that's a beautiful SOTD photo. The Executive is stunning!

 

Decadent December continues with Tabac, day 2.

Used a Simpson Chubby to try to make a dent in the Tabac and today's razor was a Vorpal(modified Gold Dollar). Four passes, wet slick lather, smooth but sharp edge and excellent shave. No irritation and BBS.

Irritation A+ Closeness A Smoothness A Sharpness A

 

"Taken over" may be a bit of an overstatement but nobody could accuse you of not having some sales skills. The fact that it's part of the lineup does say something though. Soaps/Creams are the items I have paid the least attention to in creating my den. I have tried quite a few, usually a sample someone sends, and this is the first I've decided to add since Tabac I think. I started with Proraso Green Tub, and tried Bigelow cream, since it's Proraso. That's how I discovered I preferred soap to creams. Then Arko got its permanent spot, followed after some time by Mitchell's and Tabac. I tried those two just to say I had tried some "vintage" choices and discovered I liked them both. I have always used VdH Deluxe for head shaves mainly because it's slick and cheap. Honestly, Arko could replace it for the reasons I use it. (I don't want to use a high end soap on head shaves.....I'm cheap that way I guess). Not that Arko isn't high end in performance but certainly not in cost.

Catie's Bubbles got some consideration early on with a couple of samples from a local guy here but it didn't thrill me beyond yeah, it's a good soap/cream.

So, my lineup as of right now is the Fat, Tabac, Route 66, Arko, Proraso (Green/Red/White). Lanolin definitely suits me so that puts the Fat and Route 66 at the top of the list.

 

"Muu ha ha ha" she says rubbing her hands together

 

Where do you think my one scared came from?

 

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

PAA 400 Aluminus with Tuxedo Synthetic from @Douglas Carey
Saponificio Varesino Stella Alpina
Wolfman WR1-SB with WRH7 Polished Titanium
Polsilver Super Iridium #2
Saponificio Varesino Aftershave Balm Stella Alpina


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SOTD December 19, 2016

Blade: Chinese Schick
Straight Razor: Genco
Rescue Razor: Schick I1 injector
Brush: Vulfix 2006c badger
Lather: Stirling Ozark Mountain
Post: Witch hazel splash, Stirling Ozark Mountain aftershave, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, WTG (cheeks, for practice), touch-up

December late mini focus; straight shave #2.

I shaved WTG on my cheeks two times with pretty good results. I got a cut under my right jawline near the area that I scraped yesterday. It burned for a while but didn't bleed too badly. I also did a couple of strokes on my upper lip with good success and attempted some of my chin before stopping. My neck still scares me tremendously. My neck WTG pattern is left to right, and I can't envision how that's going to work that well with the straight.

Now, for observations and questions. Shaving with the straight doesn't feel comfortable at all. I know that's probably par for the course since I'm a neophyte, but it feels like I can sense each individual hair as it's being cut. When I switch to the injector to finish off it feels completely different. The injector seems so buttery and smooth and the straight seems like fingernails down a chalkboard. Is this normal???? I feel like I'm doing it all wrong. I think my angle my actually be too parallel to the face. I need to arc it out a little bit more. My pressure was better today (I think). I didn't notice it skipping or bouncing as much as yesterday.

I'll admit that my cheeks are quite smooth and the areas on my upper lip that I shaved with the Genco are smoother than the injector shaved areas.

It's scary and alluring at the same time. About halfway through my left cheek I thought "this is crazy, just put it down, shave with the injector, and send the box back to Adam". But you get drawn in more and more.

The jury is still out but I'm not going to judge it after just two shaves. Your thoughts and advice are most welcome. Have a great evening!

 

You're doing just fine from the sounds of it. It does feel totally different from what you're used to because it is. Once you get into the rhythm of it more it will begin to feel natural. Angle is key with a straight, or one of the keys anyway. Too shallow and you don't cut anything, too steep and you cut everything....including you. If you're getting a good smooth result, though, your angle is close enough. Keep working with it. The learning curve is steep. Baby steps!

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Love that photo, Mark. The Tuxedo sure matches with that handle. They are great knots when a guy is in the mood for soft.