January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

SOTD 1/5/17
Razor: Filarmonica Medallin Taurino 14
Strop: Drygulch Leatherworks Horsehide/ linen
Brush: Troth handle, 24mm Envy White Badger
Soap: Wheat State Soap Barbershop
Post: Cold Water, Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel
Aftershave: Fine Platinum

Feels a little weird to use the same razor two shaves in a row. Tuesday's shave was a long lasting one, so I didn't need to shave until today. Software today is all new to me. Wheat State soaps just started their website on Dec. 31, so I got my order in before my no software purchases in 2017 started. I plan on using this for three consecutive shaves, with all three of my brushes.

Lathered with the badger today, soap was easy to lather, if a bit thirsty. Soft soap, but not a croap. Added water slowly, and built a thick and shiny lather. Scent is classic Barbershop, but light. That was my only complaint performance wise, that the soap didn't have a lot of scent. Great cushion and slickness, even slick enough to do a bit of touch up without re-lathering. I need to do a test lather on the soap and add water until the lather collapses, to get an idea of how much water it will hold. I added a coupe teaspoons before my second pass, and it held up well.

I used a light touch with the razor, and listened to it sing as it cut. Rewarded with a high grade DFS, quiet Alum, and no irritation on a three pass and touch up shave. Finished it off with Fine Platinum. Good scent and feel.

 

It looks like it's time to give this razor a touch up on the hones. Today's shave was a lot of work.
Route 66 Perfect Storm
B-400 Brush by Tom
Hien 650 Kamisori
Alum
Thayers WH
Fine American Blend AS
Have fun!

 

Yes. My favorite DE at the moment.

 

January 5, 2017

Razor: Gillette Super Blue Blade (a.k.a. 7 o'Clock Sterling)/Junjie handle
Blade: Astra SP (6)
Brush: Razorock Plissoft 22
Soap: Cella

This was supposed to be Saturday's shave by way of a follow-up to Friday's fail with the Tian Fu blade in the same razor. Not a lot to say about this one. I think the Astra may have been past its prime as the shave seemed harsher than I would have expected from the razor, though with no pulling. I'd say a DFS- overall but with no blood or excess irritation.

 

That is basically the process I use for most of my soaps, especially when new. I have found a few soaps like Stirling that don't seem to be too particular when you add the water, so I add a bunch up front. Otherwise, my experience with MWF taught me to add slowly until I get it right.

 

Best badger you say? That knot does look dense. My experience with badger is limited to a couple Vulfix brushes. Maybe a truly tight packed knot wouldn't be floppy. I haven't considered a horse hair because of that reason.

 

January 5 - and still out of Focus

Gillette FatBoy dial 3
PAL Thin Gold Hollow Ground (carbon steel) (2)
B+B special edition purple-handled Omega boar brush
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream (croap)
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Original

Today's scheduled shave equipment, a Canadian Gillette Tech with a Topaz Platinum blade, was rudely jostled aside by the PAL blade, which wanted to be tried again in a different razor. So the PAL replaced the Gillette Platinum Plus in tomorrow's FatBoy and away we went. (When your shave equipment starts bossing you around, you know you have a problem...)

The Omega lathered up The Eternal Tub nicely in my lathering bowl. Now that I have used it a couple times and learned how much extra water it needs, this brush is working well for me. I expect both it and yesterday's Kent boar will stay in my lineup.

The blade in the FatBoy set on my usual 3 was clearly extremely sharp but also manageable. A single diagonal pass with a bit of touchup gave me a DFS+ everywhere with no blood or irritation. The alum stung only in the two cuts from Tuesday's little faux pas with the 1912 SE but was quiet everywhere else. I used the Thayers to round out the shave but didn't truly need it.

The vintage PAL carbon blade seemed more comfortable to use in the adjustable rather than the preWar Tech, even though the Tech is supposed to be a very mild razor. It also was still every bit as sharp even on this second shave as PAL's advertising claimed it would be; I don’t think I will ever need to get a tuck of Feathers to try because I can't imagine how any razor blade could possibly be any sharper than these ones.

I think my planned Focus - such as it was and what there was of it - has just gone out the window. Instead of running through a rotation of razors and blades and seeing how they do and how long the blades last against each other, I am going to play with this newly acquired PAL instead. Tomorrow I will try it in the Black Beauty, and then I will put it in the Rockwell 6s and run it until it dies. And when it starts to dull down, I will also see if the old 1930s Stanford Sharpener can really extend its life by several shaves.

At least I can continue to test my brushes as planned.

 

Good looking photo Perry!

 

The 99R is a nice, hefty razor! Enjoy it. It's too bad your neighbor didn't give it another shot with a top-tier Feather blade.

 

I asked him what happened and all he said was that the blade(which was a Shark) was well named.

 

He destroyed himself with bad technique as a newbie, it had little to do with the blade.

 

You are probably correct. I'm gonna talk to him again the next time I see him. Point him here and some other sites that I looked at when I was doing my research. I'll just hang on to the Parker for him for now.

 

This is my fourth badger. I won't pay more than about $60 for a knot, so I know I am a little limited, but this is the first one I have been happy with. I don't like a floppy brush. I didn't find my horse hair brush all that floppy, but I didn't enjoy it as much. Brush AD is one I have managed to avoid so far, I have decent Badger, Boar, and Synthetic, and am quite happy with the three I have.

 

The Envy White is an excellent knot and equals knots costing much more. My Envy White has more backbone and scrub than my Omega or Zenith boars by a wide margin. TGN Finest is also a very good knot at a very good price. Not as dense as an Envy White but more economical.

 

Shavette January Focus

Beta Test; Menthol & Lavender Cream
B-400 Tuxedo synthetic brush
Weck Sexto & Personna blade
'59 Gillette 195 on 9, Ladas SS
Alum block, Barbasol Pacific Rush


Testing a New Product thanks to Chris @americanshamrock by way of the Monty Hall for Donors PIF. He has put some time into crafting a shave cream and invited several TSD members to give it a whirl. I selected one of my best brushes and gathered up a snurdle of the pearlescent product. The well drained Tux knot and suribachi bowl brought up smooth thick lather. Additional water didn't break it down and rewarded the wetter lather needed for a straight razor like shave. Plenty of menthol for a comfortable cooling effect. Light on the lavender, but that's in comparison to SCS Bulgarian recently sampled. Application rewarded a thick coat that doesn't fade with my somewhat slow deliberate shavette use. Getting my WTG & ATG passes the lather is as slick as most soaps. Switching to the Fat Boy for XTG, G-slides, and clean up duty rewarded a fine DFS+ finish. The cream rinses off hardware without residue and left my face comfortable. No sensitivities to any products yet used allows me to try new stuff without fear. Cool water rinse, alum bar no louder than normal, and a splash of Barbasol menthol kept the cool going. Now 30 minutes later and still feeling fine - I look forward to trying the Peppermint Patty Test cream that's in the mail. Also going to receive some Unscented product that I'll experiment up into Patchouli and Lime EO flavor.
Good Shaves Y'all
(Collage photo inspired by Jared @PickledNorthern)

 

That looks like awesome cream.

 

I have tried C.O.Bigelow, Cremo Regular & Cooling, and Scentsy brands. Chris's labors have produced a cream that's on par with commercial products. He & I have discussed the process - this is not just something you stir up in an hour. I appreciate the opportunity to be a tester! I'm looking forward to more uses of his products.

 

Glad you like it Rick

 

Objection, Your Honor! Counsel is speculating!

 

Testimony from the Expert Witness already in the Record.
Break for lunch?