January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Glad to see that today's shave was better. Be careful not to drop the brush since it blends in with the snow. All kidding aside, a great setup Doug.

 

Thanks very much Clint. It was a much better shave today.
Did you happen to notice a few of the brushes on the Simpsons Twitter feed today?

 

No I missed the Tweets today. I felt like I was fighting fire today. I worked through lunch and by the time I noticed that I decided to just skip lunch and leave a little early.

 

Nice Floating Head. I definitely enjoy mine, at least I hope to once again when I get back from re-plating. I agree with @mrchick that it is a favorite.

 

January 18 SOTD:

Razorock Plissoft Brush
Palmolive Classic Shave Stick
Gillette SS
Clubman AS

It was a quick shave this morning, but very good. The Palmolive Stick was very similar to the La Toja yesterday. I find the scent of Palmolive to be very familiar. I was rewarded with a DFS using this combo this morning. I hope everyone has had a great day.

 

Thursday, January 19, 2017


Elite Razor Acrylic Burl with Envy White 2-Band
Mystic Water Lavender Lime
RazoRock Wunderbar Slant with TRIAD Aristocrat
Gillette Silver Blue #1
Chatillon Lux Champs de Lavande


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The Barbasol Floating head is the only vintage DE that made the cut in my den. I liked it so much I had it replated.

 

Day 3 with the Kent BK8. Went with MdC and some lanolin and expected greatness. Shaved late and very close yesterday so no straight razor today instead it is DOC Evolution with a Super Iridium blade.

It was cold so I fired up the kettle and broke out the scuttle. MdC does not hold up well in high heat so I tried to make the lather just warm. I guess it was too warm as the lather was a bit airy, unusually for MdC. Still it must have worked as the shave was bloodless, irritation free and smooth.

Irritation A+ Closeness A+

 

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Beautiful brush, Mark!

 

Keith, your Floating Head looks terrific. What did you replate it with?

 

Happy Anniversary January!!

January 18

Mostly Shavettes

Razor - Fatip Piccolo
Blade - (1)
Soap - Route 66 Sweeney Todd
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip
Post - Alum

Time to get back to a DE/Shavette comparison so it's off to the Shark Super Stainless in the Fatip to start. I'll do two shaves with the DE, then two with the Magic shavette with the same blade.

I've used the Shark Stainless before and remember not being overly impressed by it. Maybe it's just a faulty memory. Lathered with the Sweeney Todd and my clean Wolf Whiskers. I cleaned almost all my brushes yesterday and this one is back to being silky soft. It loaded well but I didn't load enough the first time around for the whole shave. So I did a reload before the second pass. Just too hasty with the process.

Two passes and I finished with a nice DFS. Nothing exceptional but a nice feel. The blade isn't the smoothest in the world but it's certainly nowhere near as bad as yesterday's choice. The second pass was smoother than the first which makes sense due to there being less to clean up. It did take a few touch ups on the neck to get the DFS but it's there.

Alum was a bit warm but nothing shocking. I can easily do another day on this blade and I'm eager to see if it does the same thing as most seem to in the shavette format.....essentially allow for a smoother shave due to more angle options. This is kind of a fun thing to do.

My Monday is over and done with thank goodness. I woke up not feeling the best (thank you pancreas) and hit the store and walked into a half a dozen problems waiting for me. Nothing huge but just enough to put me in a foul mood. Then it was inventory day for the quarter, meaning it had to be finalized after my count from Sunday. That just means a bit of hassle with the Area Manager. Then follow that with a slow day of sales, only minor improvement in the pain level from this morning and SWMBO constantly sending me a list of things for the garden in the Spring (really? It's still January!) and my shave quickly became the highlight of the day. I'll relishing the scent of the Sweeney Todd and that after feel the lanolin leaves and feeling better by the minute! Have a great night and a fantastic tomorrow!

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At your leisure Neal, I'm curious about your brush cleaning procedure. Is brush maintenance a thing? If anyone else has (reasonable) suggestions let em fly!
I give mine a thorough rinsing out after I use them. They hang knot down to dry for at least a day before going back in the line up. Guess I never considered a tool used to apply soap would need to be "cleaned".

 

I liked this one so much I went for the Rodium so it should last long after I'm gone.

 

Great looking brush and I like the razor handle also amigo.

 

Hmm, 75 and overcast. I could handle that. Good picture and display of fine shaving tools.

 

January 19, 2017
Timeless OC .95 Gap
Feather (1)
Zenith B02 Boar
Route 66 Rum Runner



Nothing exciting about the shave this morning just the same consistently smooth close shave. I hope everyone has a great Thursday. ​

 

I never spent any time cleaning brushes, or worrying about it for that matter. I spend a LOT of time after each shave rinsing in warm water; probably as much time as I spend making lather. I buff them dry on a towel and wipe/polish the handle. If I face lather with a badger, and get particularly scrubby with it, or every time with a horse, I run a comb through it.

Recently, my oldest brush, a Semogue 830, just sort of stopped picking up soap. I would think I had a ton of soap sucked up into the brush, but I could barely get two passes out of it. I shampooed and conditioned it, then gave it a soak for a few minutes in a 50%-ish vinegar and water solution, combed it out and let it dry. Brand new brush. Not sure if over the years it just grew a coating of soap scum on the bristles or what, but it totally helped.

 

I shampoo and condition my brushes every 30 uses or so. I recall, Rudy Vey commenting on a shedding thread on another forum, that many times it is not shedding but accumulated soap broken down the bristles to the point that they break without any abuse as such. Like you indicated, the cleaned brush behaves like new.

 

Thanks Doug!