January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

I applaud your logic.

 

You guys who head shave think you have it rough. Think about those poor Palace Guards.

 

So THAT'S where the Coneheads disappeared to.

 

Today's shave took a slight deviation in that I used a DE instead of a shavette for the first time this month (lost focus for a moment) and managed a slight bit of shenaniganery in the process.

Pre-shave prep: Hot shower and a sip of sake/vodka (not great, not terrible)

Razor: RazoRock German 37 slant

Blade: Kai

Soap: CRSW Barbiere Sapone

Aftercare: Alum, witch hazel, Barbasol Brisk

Since I was done with all other important tasks for the day, I took it upon myself to answer the question everyone is asking and no one is answering: Sake/Vodka? It was only a sip, and a sip was enough. I can't manage to highly recommend it. I've tasted worse (mostly on dares) but it won't be a go-to. That said, I did feel a bit better going into my shave with the question answered.

I've been faithful to shavettes this month, and picked one up for a go today, but saw the slant sitting there and said to myself, you know, it's been a while, and tonight is a date night. So I took it up instead. I'm glad I did. It seems that the shavette focus has taught me a lot about angle, and that knowledge transferred over to the slant. I took a slightly different angle with it tonight. It made a huge difference and I got the closest thing to a baby dolphin butt smooth shave I have ever gotten. I am usually quite happy with a DFS considering I have a very sensitive neck and my neck beard growth patterns are meandering at best, so I don't often pursue the BBS as I almost always pay dearly for it. The slight angle change put me precipitously close to a BBS without much difference in effort. I had a couple of spots where I could feel some stubble ATG in my notoriously troublesome spots so I took them on with largely marvelous results.

I hadn't touched the Barbiere Sapone since late summer and was surprised at how much I enjoyed the scent after the absence. I wish they still had it, as I am low on it and think it should have been a keeper.

The only negative to the shave is that I am noticing some late-arriving irritation that looks like ingrown hairs - the reason I stopped chasing a BBS in the first place. So now the conundrum: better angle + smoother shave results = ingrown hairs, or poorer angle + passable shave results = irritation free.

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Next brush up is an Omega silver tip in an elk antler, extremely soft and a little bit floppy. It is the floppiest brush I own but feels very luxurious.

Decided to start off with a challenge and used the AoS tallow hard soap. The razor of the day is a Dovo Master's. The brush did surprisingly well and made lots of lather. The lather was excellent and the edge smooth and sharp. Since today is a holiday and no reason for a BBS I did just three passes. No irritation and just DFS, no way to get BBS with three passes for me.

Irritation A+ Closeness B+ Smoothness A+ Sharpness A

 

January 29 - PAL and brush focus

Gillette Black Beauty on 3
PAL Gold Thin Hollow Ground carbon ( 25)
Kent wooden "badger effect" boar brush
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap )
Alum and Portland General Store's Willow Toner

EBay artisan badger brush "Rene le Car" - critically ill, possibly deceased

First, on the brush side, I decided to prepare Rene for reknotting by removing the original badger knot. That hasn't gone well. I cut the old knot flush and then drilled and chipped to remove the base and the epoxy. This worked very well with the four vintage brushes I have done but not this one. The socket is still half filled with immovable rocklike glue of some sort, and I slipped and gouged a large deep chip out of the edge of the handle. I will either have to grind out the socket and then grind down and totally reshape the top of the handle, or else just throw it out and call it a day.

On the "plus" side, while researching knots, I found my eBay "artisan's" "hand-lathed" handle "hand turned from alternative ivory" is in fact available pre-molded from TGN for $19.95, so I haven't exactly destroyed Michelangelo's David here... And it looks like my NB'17 is safe for awhile longer...

Overall a pretty disappointing start to my Saturday evening.

At least my consolation shave went better.

The Eternal Tub provided reliable lather as usual. I think I'm down to within 1/4" of the bottom in places, so this tub may not in fact be eternal after all. Probably the first week of February will see it done, which is only about two months longer than I thought it would last.

The Kent brush is now a good little lather machine, especially for a finishing face lather. I originally thought I would be learning to work with Rene and dumping the Kent brush; this focus month has had the exact opposite result.

The PAL blade on shave 25 was smooth again after yesterday's postshave honing. As an experiment, I bumped my Gillette up to 4 for one side of my face. The blade started to tug and almost vibrate again, so I backed it back down a notch. I guess 3 is really the sweet spot on the SuperAdjustable for this blade, at least for me with this particular Black Beauty and this particular blade.

The result was a near BBS, and the alum was still quiet all over despite my experiment. I finished with the PGS Willow Toner in a minor changeup from my usual Thayers Witch Hazel Lavender. I find it a mildly astringent cleanser with a pleasantly natural scent and overall quite refreshing.

 

January 29, 2017
Timeless OC .95 Gap
Feather (2)
WDC-6 with Sunrise Synthetic
Route 66 Rum Runner

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I am continuing with the Soap and Brush A Week routine. The soap for this week will be Route 66 Rum Runner that I have previously used for a week this month. The brush for the week is the WDC-6 with a Sunrise Synthetic knot. The WDC-6 brush is made from brass by our resident Marine. The Sunrise Synthetic knot is a plisson type knot that I find very soft and little backbone. Even so it is a little lather making machine. With a base of rich slick lather, 2 passes and touch ups ended in a near perfect BBS. This combo is going to be fun to use for the week. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.

 

Nice setup for the week. Danged if that brush doesn't look like it's floating. Great photo.

 

Thank you Jared. You don't have to worry about that brush floating. It is heavy enough to use as a weapon if someone storms the bathroom while I am shaving.

 

Shave #35:



-Kai Captain w/Feather Pro (2)
-Doug Korn DK7 Envy White
-Route 66 Lumberjack
-Stirling Gin and Tonic

A perfectly pleasant shave this morning. I have been making a concerted effort to temper my obsessiveness about getting my neck to BBS. Some mornings I will hit the same spot seven times trying to get a slightly different angle.... I am just going to do my passes, maybe a little touch up, and I get what I get. They are getting better on their own, and it is always during cleanup that I nick myself; trying to buff this spot, or putting pressure on that spot, etc....

Enjoy your Sunday guys.

 

Leave it to a marine to design it for a dual purpose.

 

Great picture, Clint! That WDC brush is fantastic!

 

Every Marine a rifleman. Cooks, bakers, bandsmen and clerks. Oh yeah, airdales too.

 

Route 66 Frozen Margarita
Culmak SM2 Brush
Hien 650 Kamisori
Thayers WH
Azzaro Chrome Legend Cologne
Have a great Sunday!

 

January 29:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
MdC
Merkur Futur
Irisch Moos AS

All I can say about today's shave is: Fantastic! This was truly the way to start my day. MdC is definitely a favorite soap, and it is so easy to get a perfect lather. After my first pass, I heard my wife telling the kids we are going to late service at church, so I had some extra time, so I did a full three pass shave, the first in a very long time. I got a smooth BBS. This razor seemed even smoother today, and I kept it set on 1. After this terrific shave, I splashed a little Irisch Moos on and went to find the wife. A quick hug led to a "You smell good," which always makes me feel good.

The one downside to this shave is the MdC is definitely a little drying. Certainly not as drying as some soaps I have tried, but not in the same category as my top soaps. This isn't enough to bump MdC out of my top 5, as the scent is just so good and the lather is even better.did

I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

 

Great photo Jim!

 

Thank you, buddy. Have a great Sunday!

 

29 January 2017 Blade Focus Shave
Pre Shave- VdH Shave Butter w/hot towel
Blade- Gillette Silver Blue
Razor- Gillette NEW SC ca. 1932-1940
Shave Cream- Trumper GFT
Brush- Omega 6212
Bowl- Lenox Holiday pattern(don't give my bowl enough love)
[B]Post Shave- [/B]Hot/cold rinse, Alum block, icy cold towel(twice), Dominello Vitali Calming Post Shave Moisturizer
[B]After Shave- [/B]Aramis. Herself is off today so I gotta smell right
We're coming down the home stretch. GSB was my pick until the Voskhod's and Green's came along. Today's shave was near BBS. But everybody is like that on a two day growth. The M-F shaves are what decides things, so we'll see. The GFT was it's usual lathery best. Alum was quiet, and the Aramis is smelling great.
It's gonna be a good day! Enjoy people of the Den!

 

I have probably said this before, but I really like that brush.

 

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