January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Adam the Stahly is one smooth ride. Like a Caddy brother.

 

I'm glad you like the Stahly. It's the one I often reach for when going for a DE shave. I have quite a few soap samples as well. Sounds like a good idea for a focus.

 

Keith, that razor is an absolute beauty!

 

Apparently you didn't drink enough!

 

Happy Anniversary January!!

January 30

Mostly Shavettes

Razor - Feather SS
Blade - (?)
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Post - Alum

Next to last shave in January and I stayed with the exact setup from last night except the brush. The Omega did a fine job with the Fat and set up for a great two pass experience with the Feather. I am thrilled with how automatic these two shaves have been given I hadn't worked with this razor for awhile. And, having said that, I now shut the heck up so I don't jinx tomorrow night's shave with a bloody spectacle of ineptitude.

Alum was its usual heat so irritation wasn't a problem and I even added a touch of the Veg just to make SWMBO happy. And myself. And the world. Here's to one more day before hitting February!

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With a little over 24 hours left in January I can already say I think we've set a record!! What a great month boys and girls. Now, let's finish it out strong here and when you're ready I have FEBRUARY READY TO GO!!

 

Just like that...round 26 begins, 28 in a row for me!

 

Well you are the godfather of this exercise in social learning. Wait, that makes it sound so dull. And dull we are NOT!!

 

A Journey Down Route 66
Grail Shave



One ATG for the DFS. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a terrific Tuesday!


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As we come careening to the end of a wonderful month of shavettes, today was a beauty:

The Soap: RazoRock Tuscan Oud
The Brush: Maggard 24 Synthetic
The Razor: CJB Kamisori
The Blade: Feather Pro
ATG duties: RazoRock German 37 slant (Kai blade)
Aftercare: Osage Rub, Stirling Sandalwood Balm, Proraso Green

Today was a scent smorgasbord. The Tuscan Oud really does hang around for quite a while. Even with the Sandalwood Balm and the Proraso aftershave, I was still catching whiffs of it a few hours later. The CJB mowed down 24+ hours of whiskers with ease, and the Feather Pro on its 3rd shave performed admirably. Quick ATG pass with the slant, and I was DFS and ready to roll.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

The CJB is a fine razor and I love seeing others have success with it. My first pain stick was the original CJB thanks to @Keithmax and I still think I may eventually go pain stick full time. Maybe, if I run out of DE blades to try.

 

Mine was also courtesy of @Keithmax. He's quite a generous fellow. If I didn't enjoy variety so much I could happily shave with it alone. Still haven't mastered ATG with a pain stick, but 9 times out of ten I don't worry about an ATG pass. Just on special occasions.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

I have found that WTG and XTG are sufficient for DFS which is usually fine for me. I've played with ATG more on my neck than my face. So far no major blood but it can be a bit tricky for sure.

 

I can handle it on my face, but my neck is very prone to breakouts, and my neck hair growth patterns are so all over the place that it does not usually pay off. A solid DFS is all I need, and shaving every day is my quiet time, so I enjoy it.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

January 31 (Tuesday) - badger and blade focus

Gillette Black Beauty on 3
PAL Gold Thin Hollow Ground carbon ( 27)
Edwin Jagger Super Badger medium brush
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap )
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Lavender

For the final day of my brush focus month I decided to revisit the sole surviving badger offering in my rotation. The result: One final brush bit the metaphorical dust. I never did get a good lather tonight; what I finally used was thin and runny. It worked okay but that was all thanks to the inherent slipperiness of the soap and none to the job I was able to do with the brush.

At this point, with a soap I know extremely well, I am getting inconsistent and mostly poor results with this brush. I have two choices: 1. Spend a focus month working with this badger brush until I finally (maybe) achieve results comparable to those I already get with my boars and synthetics; or 2. just dump the badgers altogether and stick with what already works well for me.

I'm voting for door number 2.

I started the month with 17 user brushes: 4 badger, 9 boar and 4 synthetics. I am now ending with a rotation of 9: no badger, 3 boar and 6 synthetics (3 of them re-knotted vintage boar). One 1920s vintage badger is staying in my collection. The rest are going to hit the road (apart from the 3 that already hit the garbage).

Despite the thin, runny lather, the shave itself was okay. No problems from the carbon blade on its 27th outing, no heat from the alum and a nice final rubdown with the Thayers Witch Hazel Lavender.

Looking forward to seeing you all in FatBoy February. I intend to run the PAL blade into the ground and will use a FatBoy for at least part of that.

 

January 31, 2017
Timeless OC .95 Gap
Feather (1)
WDC-6 with Sunrise Synthetic
Route 66 Rum Runner

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Another great shave this morning. The Timeless OC is a very efficient razor. This morning was no exception with 2 passes and touch ups ending in a near BBS. A splash of Captain's Choice Bay Rum. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

 

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I started this month with a focus on the Timeless OC razor and Route 66 soaps. I did use the razor and one of the Route 66 soaps each day this month. The Timeless OC has the fit and finish that nearly equals that of the highly regarded Wolfman razor. The only difference is the inside of the top plate on the Timeless is not mirror polished like the Wolfman. Both razors clamp the blade firmly with perfect alignment. For those that want a Wolfman without the wait, I would recommend taking a close look at the Timeless. I really don't like taking a lot of time during the week with my shave routine. I have it down to under 10 minutes from start to everything cleaned and put away. As such, I prefer razors that are efficient and drama free that allow me to zip it around and get things done. For the same reasons, I prefer soaps that work without a lot of thought. Both the Timeless and Route 66 delivered on these requirements.

From the 15th I used a brush and soap pairing for a week at a time. Going forward, I will continue the Soap and Brush A Week and add the Razor to the mix. I will finish out this week with the Timeless, WDC-6 and Rum Runner before moving onto the next. I feel this will allow me to more fully enjoy all the items in my shave den. So that will be my focus going forward.

 

Another great picture of your set up. Nice wrap up to the month.

 

January 31 SOTD:

Omega Boar Brush
MWF
Ever-Ready 1914
Clubman Special Reserve

I can't believe another month has passed. I have spent the month finding out which soaps do well on post shave feel and which need some help. I found that one soap definitely seems to outperform others I have tried: Nuavia. This soap really leaves me soft and smooth. Three others perform nearly as well for me: Stirling, Route 66, and Stubble Trubble. I could be perfectly happy with any of these. I had expected MWF to be a top performer, and it did well, but didn't match these other soaps. Most of my shave sticks were just a bit drying, although Arko was definitely more so. A little PSB takes care of this, though, and Arko does so well in other areas, I will keep it. Erasmic was a casualty this month. With its lacking lather and drying performance, I ended up throwing it away. It was an interesting and fun month. I greatly enjoy spending time on this thread; thank you for all the good times.