March 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

My wife originally upset me by saying it reminded her of her grandpa

 

Thursday, March 3, 2017

Simpson '58 Manchurian
Mike's Natural Soap Barbershop
Asylum Evolution
Gillette Silver Blue #1
Stirling Soap Co. Barbershop Aftershave
Brooks Brothers 1818


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Thank you Frank! I swapped some hardware with Tom @twhite a while back. He got straight razors, I received DE's. There may have been a Bunny involved. The Aristocrat is User Grade for the gold worn off the cap. The nickle plating is still intact underneath. It's a heavy razor. I don't know the weight, but similar to a Fat Boy.

 

Can you change me to 82?

 

First shave of the month and I am almost 30 pages behind. I think another record is in the works.

My package of mixed Russian blades arrived today and I grabbed a couple to start off my tournament of blades. It is going to be fast, brutal and ruthless. Each day one blade will get cut until one reigns supreme. I will be grabbing them in no particular order and making them face off gladiator style. Each one gets all passes on half of the face. Winner of the face shave gets head shave honors for the day for some extra scrutiny.

The set for the shaves:

Each will be used in the same razor on the same day. I will alternate blades between sides of the face. I decided to use my Tech for today's test. It is a somewhat mild and very smooth shaver. For soap I chose Stirling Baker St. I can lather this stuff with my eyes closed and not having to worry about the lather lets me focus on the blade. Maggards Plissoft brush, Thayer's Witch Hazel and Florida Water rounded out the setup.

Today's blade shootout was between the Rapira Platinum Lux and the Sputnik Teflon coated. I have to admit that I had expected the Rapira to be the superior blade. The packaging was nicer, and I had not heard anything about Sputnik blades. I had a couple of days growth so there was plenty there to test the blades. Without drawing it out, the Sputnik was the hands down winner. I would go so far as to say it was the best performance I have ever had out of a blade. It was sharp and smooth. No tugging whatsoever. I have never been so smooth after one pass. The final results on the Rapira Platinum Lux side were also good, but it didn't get there as easily as the Sputnik did. I also did my head shave with the Sputnik and it is by far the closest head shave I have had. The Sputnik Teflon has set the bar high for this month.

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Very nice! Seems like you get a little better each time.

 

My money is on the Jayaruh handle synthetic. #8, 86 aggregate

 

Major shenanigans last night, we've died down a bit! Sputnik is a solid stand in for an blade.

 

This has me hankering for a late night burger. There are several really good options in town.

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Route 66 and Stirling is going to be a tough matchup. Two of my top 5 there.

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1.) mrchick - #8, 92/100
2.) keithmax - #16 Kent BK12 87/100
3.) hodge - #5, 88/100 (#5 was an obvious pick for me.....see avatar)
4.) jtspartan - #4, 93/100
5.) clint64 - #5, 88/100
6.) ryx - #22, 90/100
7.) norcalnewb - #9, 82/100
8.) Fly2High - #3. Rudy Vey 28 mm Shavemac, 88/100
9.) NCoxSTL - #13 Maggard Synth 82
10.) Ob1page - # 11 Manhandled Woods Ubersoft II, 64
11.) Bama Samurai - #8 Jayaruh synthetic, 86/100
12.) Screwtape - #4 Nathan Clark Envy White, 80/100

 

Man, that Sputnik REALLY surprised me. The closeness and comfort were stellar.

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March 2 (Thursday) - still partly unfocussed

Schick E2 injector / Schick Chromium (4)
Chinese hardwood w/ Maggard 24mm plissoft knot
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap )
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Aftershave

It's been a couple months since I gave my rather aggressive Schick E2 injector a run, so I took it for a spin today instead of starting in with the Gem-style SEs. I did work on continuing to empty The Eternal Tub, however.

I recently started experimenting with holding my razors lightly at the very tip of the handle to ensure I was really using no pressure during the shave. It seems to work quite well for me so I did that today with the Schick. It seems especially important with the Schick Krona DE and with the Schick injectors because they are such light razors that I find the temptation to "help" them by pressing almost overwhelming. Today I got the best shave I have ever had from the E2 while just holding it with my fingertips. I not only did my usual diagonal passes but also managed an extra ATG pass everywhere except my lower neck.

The result is a near BBS with no nicks, weepers, or irritation, and not a peep out of the alum.

I think I am going to refocus my Focus. I will spend the first part of the month practicing truly truly light pressure with my familiar razors until I have it written in my muscle memory and only then will I go play with the new SE types - possibly not until April.

 

March Madness & Spring Cleaning!!

March 2

Razor - Feather SS &Fatip Piccolo
Blade - (?) (2)
Soap - Route 66 Sweeney Todd
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Post - Alum

Time to get the pain stick involved this month and since it was already loaded with a Dorco blade on a few shaves I figured I'd give it another go and see how the blade has held up while in the plastic cap on the razor. I grabbed the Fatip with Sharp Star as a backup.

Ok, quick question for the soap guys. I grabbed the Route 66 for this shave and it seemed like it went on a bit dry. Actually it went on about like it usually does, not overly wet but very slick and by the time I got to the left side of my face it was dry and sticky. I worked a bit more water into it and got it back to where I needed it but it does beg a question. Do you find that Route 66 prefers more water than, say, Stirling? I'm just wondering I haven't noticed this particular issue with it so far and think I may have just used the brush a bit too dry.

The retouch on the lather was the first issue with the shave, the Dorco blade was the second. This blade, in spite of its name and association with less than excellent DE cousins, usually does well for a few shaves. It's milder than the Feather or Kai blades but is adequate. However, it has reached the point beyond that stage. If I remember correctly I think this would be the 4th shave on the blade. Perhaps 5th. Whichever, it was pretty clear it was one too many. I completed a full pass with the blade and was unimpressed with the result. The feel wasn't bad, just not as effective as a pain stick pass should be. I switched to the Fatip/Sharp Star for the second pass and finished it off for a near-BBS and an overall nice shave. Alum was a bit warm, nothing to worry about. I'll take that for a result.

Friday is up next!

 

The poor man's Voskhod is how I describe it. Now if it would just beep like its namesake.

 

March Madness!
Day Two

Gretsch Electromatic
Super Slinky (nickel 11-50)
Teton 15w Chorus Amp
Livewires
Onespot
ABT-3 BlackTeeth
EHX Memory Man Analog Delay/Modulator


I got a little distracted and skipped shaving while trying to dial in that sweet surf rock sound. It worked. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a fabulous Friday!

 

We hadn't had a run on shenanigans in awhile so we were due. But I like where it's headed in a couple of weeks! Ides and all that.

 

The jawline was my biggest challenge as well. The good news is that after about two and a half years I think it's mastered. Just keep working the angle and direction needed to match the beard growth in that area.

 

In my world if the lather's pink it's definitely not a good sign. Well, for me anyway. For those who follow some of my shaves it's the ultimate goal.

 

Feels right. Keeping it charged up for springtime!

also @COMPNOR

Neal isn't kidding, it also took me a while to master neck and jaw. These are the areas where angle control tends to break down, and it just takes practice to hold the correct angles.