February 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

I'm not sure if it's a thing. Maybe you overworked the soap? It's a balance of air/soap/water. So if you had plenty of product & water but introduced too much air it would look glossy but be dry. There's a "perfect" lather for straight razor shaving. Nearly too wet to stick to your face. It's got that (I dislike these terms) cushion & glide that let the razor slip around properly lubricated.
Any Lather Pros got ideas?

 

Oh, that's squid and octopus textured.
Pass.

 

Great picture!

 

Hardly a lather pro, but:

It looks to me like about halfway through his pics it was just about right, but as he added water and kept working it, it got airy looking. And it was fading. Yeah, I think maybe too aired up??

If all things stayed the same, (time worked, water, etc) I would try starting with a little more product.

The other thing, is I very seldom finish my lather in the bowl. When I was at the point of your third or fourth photo, I would have gone to the face. Then a guy can just barely dip the tips of the brush, or flick it under a dribbling faucet, and keep working it on my face u til it is just right. Seeing what you have in a bowl is tough sometimes unless you are really familiar with the product.

 

Yes, I have two AOS pure badger brushes, the one it the photos is the smaller one that came in the medium kit. I haven't touch the bigger one from the large kit. Funny thing. The smaller one now looks bigger than the one with the bigger knot. I guess they spread some with use. When new, the shorter one was fuller

 

People bash AOS products a lot on forums, but really the only problem with them is that they can be overpriced. If anything you can be pretty sure it is a decent brush, at least to get you going. Pure is just a scratchier badger than other grades. Personally I like a good scratch once in a while, and have a few pure brushes in my rotation.

 

Value Focused February
Day Five



Automatic. What a football game. Blitzing Brady is a very bad idea, that's what I saw. Quiet day at home overeating, back to being a grownup tomorrow. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a magnificent Monday!

 

Bic, Bolzano?

 

Bic - I hadn't thought of that one. Only the best non-Russian out there. Bolzano, a close second I'd say or at least up there. I'll put them on the list.

 

Nice looking pair of brushes.

As far as the lather goes, I did a lathering focus three months ago, and my eventual takeaway was that the true test of lather is in the shaving: do you get a good shave experience with a smoothly gliding razor, no jerking or tugging, and no irritation at the end? If so, then your lather did its job regardless of how it looked. It may not look quite as nice as all those "lather porn" shots of brushes full of perfectly peaked meringue-like lather, but the goal here is to shave with it, not take pinup pics. My lather now is more consistently good than previously but is still rarely "perfect" - some days it's a little too runny and others it's a little too dry or airy. However, even on its "poor" days, it's now good enough to protect my face and get the job done, and that's what is really necessary. Before my lather Focus, I had some days when my face was scraped raw in places because I was essentially dry shaving; since it, I haven't had any.

Your lather in the photos doesn't look "perfect", but it does look like it's "workable". It can always be a little bit better than it is, so by all means work on it, but as long as what you are getting is protecting your face, don't agonize over it.

 

Mühle Rocca R96 razor
Rapira Platinum Lux blade
TGC synthetic brush
BdF Raffinato soap
Pitralon Classic aftershave

The BdF Raffinato is a very slick soap; recommended. There is at least a few days more left in the Rapira blade. I usually get 8 or 9 shaves from them, and I am on shave four now. We'll see how fast they go in the Mühle razor.

 

This is exactly what I look for in lather, too. I never get the evaporating lather when I get it worked to this consistency.

 

Aren't you from cajun country? I thought anything fried would be acceptable. It is across the Sabine!

 

I wish I could like this twice.

 

February 6 SOTD:

Razorock Plissoft Brush
Stirling Frozen Tundra
Gillette SS
Stirling Unscented PSB
Stirling Glacial Lemon Chill AS

Back to the SS for the gym shave. Smooth as always. It was 66 degrees this morning, not exactly a cool one, so the Frozen Tundra and Glacial Lemon Chill AS were perfect this morning. I hope everyone has a great day!

 

Cool pic, my friend.

 

SOTD February 6, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick M adjustable
Brush: Omega Hi-Synthetic
Lather: Wickham 1912 Cashemere
Post: Witch hazel, Skin Bracer, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up

I forgot to set up my post for this thread. I normally upload everything the night before and then type the posts in once I get to work. Oh well. No pic Monday, I guess.

Nice shave. These components were generated through the Excel randomizer. The soap needed a touch more water but I still got nice, rich lather. The Schick Adjustable was easy to use. Everything went well for an easy Monday morning shave.

Have a great day!

 

OK, today's shave I made sure to whip it less and to use more water. It did look glossy but felt thin. It did form 'soft peaks'. It was so soft that even as I applied it, I was tossing it all over the shower.

The sound of the Wilkinson blade seemed to be reduced. Less noise with each stroke. I still got a burn when applying alum and a few weepers (more than Merkur blade) and I did all three passes (WRG, XTG and ATG). Still feel some stubble. Will continue focusing on the 'cap' and lather creation.

Thanks

Frank

 

Thank you, Jared!

 

6 February 2017 Menthol Monday Blade/Focus Shave
I noticed on another thread that Menthol Monday was a thing. So I broke out the Proraso Green(tube) and the Green AS. The Feather delievered a very nice two pass with some neck cleanup. This 99r is like driving a semi though. Absolutely no pressure. Not sure at this point if she's gonna join the rotation or not. Maybe she'll grow on me by the end of the month. Alum was quiet and the Green AS was nice. Still haven't figured out what it smells like. The word "clean" comes to mind. The 10098 continues to shine. I think it's going to be my daily-daily.
Have a spiffy Monday all. And for you Falcon fans, all I'll say is "35 unanswered".