January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

You can never have too much lather, plus it good to call in a BBS debt from the soap.

 

That is certainly what makes this place a unique and special oddity on the interwebz. What kind of guitar are you playing? I play a bit as well.

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1/16
Continuing my focus on hard to lather soaps.
Mystic Water Vetiver & Oakmoss
I soaked the Parker finest badger and then shook & squeezed dry. It started to load up pretty well. Better than I remember from the last time I almost gave up on this soap. I didn't add any water and transferred to my serbiachi bowl. It started to whip into a very creamy lather that I thought may be a little too dense so I added a splash of water to the brush tip & continued. The later went on pretty well, but by the time I was finishing the first pass, the lather on my face was dissipating. I think this soap is meant to be creamy and I should not have added that splash of water. Overall okay lather, yet still a very slick soap. Finished off my shave with Fine Green Vetiver aftershave splash and a good amount of Guerlain Vetiver Eau De Toilette. Made for a very vetivery Monday.

 

I had a sample of the Obsidian. It was seriously powerful stuff. Great for those stuffy nose days.

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SOTD January 16, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: PAL Adjustable
Brush: Vie Long horse and synthetic blend
Lather: Route 66 Barbershop Hop
Post: Witch hazel splash enhanced with Stirling Mountain Man aftershave, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up

Great lather again from Route 66, although I'm experimenting with this brush and got the lather a little too wet. I think this brush needs a good soak before using. I also bloomed the soap and all of that was a little too wet. But, it whipped out pretty well and made nice, slick lather. The shave with the PAL Adjustable was much improved from last time! No blood today. That sensitive area on my lower neck was a tad red but I think it has since subsided. I went nice and easy with the pressure and really focused on the angle. Nice results in the end.

Have a great day!

 

nanos gigantum humeris insidentes - Bernard of Chartres.

Watching Chris @Bama Samurai, Jarad @PickledNorthern, & others wield their shavettes brought me full circle. Although my first non-cartridge razor purchase was a straight, my first shave was with a 1/2 DE blade shavette. Having experienced many other options, I'm back to the shavette. This time with good soap & brush, but more important, with Technique.
Charlie, my friend, Stay Focused!

 

Route 66 Cranberry Citrus Soap
B-400 Brush by Tom
Dubl Duck Dwarf
Thayers WH
Pinaud Lilac Vegetal AS
Have a great week!
Queue up the "Veg" comments.

 

"It's deja vu all over again"- Yogi Berra

 

Again with "the Veg". Don't youse guys ever get tired?

 

Does the Heroic Hungarian Cavalry get tired?
The Few, the Proud, The Chosen!
(apologies to The Marines )

 

January 16 SOTD:

Razorock Plissoft Brush
Stirling Cool
Gillette SS
Kramperts Finest Frostbite

 

Careful that @Douglas Carey doesn't see that blasphemy!

 

The Marine Corps says, " The Few, The Proud, The Brave". I think he is okay.

 

January 16 - PAL and amended brush Focus

Gillette Black Beauty on 3
PAL Gold Thin Hollow Ground carbon (13)
eBay artisan badger alleged brush
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap )
Alum alone
Stanford 5-Second Sharpener

My eBay artisan badger continues to underwhelm with its uber-floppy performance. Ended up with a thin and consistent layer of lather covering all areas to be shaved that stayed wet and protective throughout the shave. It was definitely not the nice yogurt I routinely get from The Eternal Tub now with my synthetics or boars though.

I ran the PAL blade through the old honing gizmo before using it. About 5 seconds twiddling a lever to move the blade back and forth across the angled sharpening steels. The result was ... remarkable actually. The blade didn't seem as sharp as when it was brand new, but it was smooth as silk as it mowed through the stubble.

It seems that at least some of those fancy old bladesaver honing gadgets actually worked very well on the old carbon steel blades! Some of them like the Twinplex were the size of schoolroom pencil sharpeners and used gears and cranks to turn blades against mini buffing wheels - and had prices to match. Even if they worked, I imagine it took quite awhile before they paid for themselves, and you couldn't easily travel with them. The Stanford though is the size of a cigarette lighter and cost $1.00 according to the box insert, so I imagine it was well worth it back in the day.

I think I'll see how long it can keep this blade smooth, sharp and usable.

The shave, by the way, was fine. Good respectable result with one diagonal pass and touch ups and the alum was dead quiet. I didn't bother with my normal Thayers Witch Hazel or any kind of balm or AS.

 

But will you forget it again? It's a vicious circle in the Matrix.

 

The Veg - only for those worthy enough to be chosen. And those of us that are - are a humble and lucky group.

 

And some of us, alas, did not notice the vast hole in our shaving supply inventory caused by a total lack of The Veg until it was too late. And now we have no chance to be proven worthy and to demonstrate our luck and humility until next year. Or is there an exception to NB'17 for obtaining The Veg on the grounds that it is a crucial necessity?

 

It feels good to be chosen

 

The Cartel will grant an exception for the Veg or Rapira blades (any).

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Razor: Gillette Black Beauty w/case R-2 1971
Blade: Personna 74* Tungsten Plus (2)
Brush: EverReady 100 T w/ Tuxedo knot
Soap: Route 66 Frozen Margarita
Aftershave: Route 66 Frozen Margarita

Andrew (@Linuxguile) had suggested that the Tuxedo knot might look good in the EverReady handle. I think he was right. A great 3 passes with a clean up for a very near BBS.