March 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Good luck with your first day back.

 

Roger, do you hand load the blade or use the loading mechinism ? My first shave with a C1 will be soon and I am trying to figure out how Im going to get a blade in it.

 

Thank you Clint!

 

Had to go to work to get some sleep, huh?

 

If you are using modern blades, hand load it. Vintage blades were thicker. Modern ones can jam the mechanism. Have fun.

 

A great shave today. I'm really liking this blade.
SOTD
Route 66 Sweeney Todd Soap
Wolf Whiskers Brush
Henckels Friodur 72 1/2 Razor
Lucky Tiger
WSP Gaelic Tweed AS
Have fun!

 

Oh I know I did with our first. She was so colicky she cried what seemed to be non-stop

 

March 7th - Humbled.....

Fendrihan Scientist
Derby Extra
The Phoenix brush
AOS PSO
Stirling SDM


Today started badly. I got to bed late, work called me several times during the night for issues and I had a 5am code deployment. I was exhausted. Add to this the fact that my daughter and I were running late and I have a morning of meetings, today should not have been the day to try a new razor. Nonetheless, I pushed forward.

I did a terrible job making lather. this should have been a red flag but I salvaged what I could. I grabbed too little soap and over watered it so it was thin. Grabbing more soap helped but it wasn't my best effort. The Scientist has two different sides, an open comb and a safety bar. I decided to grab the safety bar side and begin shaving. I was rushing at this point. I was doing my with the grain pass and the cheeks and neck went well. I did not realize that I turned the razor to the open comb before starting my chin when I raised the red flag of defeat. OUCH!!! I hit my chin with the blade and cut it deep. No amount of cold water would turn it off. If I was looking for oil, this would be a rich strike. A gusher!! I reached for the styptic pencil and that slowed it but did not stop it. This was my first lesson in a blade cut, a real blade cut. I reached for my Merkur 34C to try and do a XTG pass but it almost seemed pointless.

To finish up my shave, I performed blasphemy and grabbed my Panasonic 8243A electric to do a quick pass. Oddly, it found little. Band-aides, tissue, Alum all proved fruitless. Finally, only time and ice with pressure finally stopped the bleeding. I have officially been cast from the razor Garden of Eden. I now knew these things can cut!!

One pass, or nearly one pass was all I got before the blood letting began. I became humbled but more importantly I gain huge respect for all of those who use
aggressive DE razors, shavettes or a SR.

This brings me a ray of sunshine that the Scientist is capable of a very close shave. One pass with a smooth blade that is not known for its sharpness did very well. This may be a reason to tame this beast. Having only 5 weeks of DE shaving, this was my first real cut. I am not officially entered into the Safety razor ranks!!

 

He is sleeping in 4hr blocks at night, so not so bad right now.

 

thanks for the tip, Brian!

 

Ouch, but congrats on the one pass SAS

 

They are fun to shave with. Enjoy.

 

March 7, 2017

Gillette SA w Astra SP (1)
WD High Mountain Badger
Soap Commander Endurance
Thayers Unscented
B&M Reserve Spice


Day 4 of the SA focus, day one of the Astra. Same as yesterday- went 5,4,3 on the 3 passes plus touch up. Great, smooth, close shave this morning. Starting to get comfortable with the SA and will change the settings a bit tomorrow. Tons of lather with the Soap Commander. DFS+...only some neck irritation stopped this from being exceptional.
Finished off with the B&M Reserve spice to make this an overall Spicy kind of morning. Have a good day all!

 

Nice setup Jason, how is the face feel on the Reserve Spice ?

 

Thank you, Andrew. The feel is exceptional, and I only use a ridiculously small amount as the smell is quite prominent and long lasting. I don't know how close to the Shulton original it is, but I sure like it.

 

Thank you, Andrew!

The ER 1924 is a shovelhead design razor. The ER 1909 is also of this design, though, and is also referred to as a shovelhead. I personally have not seen a 1909, and they are more difficult to find, based on my personal experience trying to track one down. I would like to get one at some point.

 

The Damaskeene is definitely a favorite of mine. It is always a pleasure to use.

 

Things like this have happened and will happen to us all. At least you get to try again tomorrow.

 

Perhaps. Like I said before, though, feel free to send me any that you need disposed of.

 

March of the Soaps Focus

Stirling Orange Chill, Omega #248
Schick G (?), Schick Chick blade
Alum, Osage Rub, Florida Water


Popped a fresh blade in a flea market found vintage for it's first shave in my den. It had no blade when I bought it, but it's not NOS. The gold color was worn off the cap already. I looked it up and think it's a G for the spring type, serial numbers, and mold lines on the handle. Decided to have a Menthol Monday on Tuesday, since Stirling was number next in my samples from The Box. After wetting my face I rubbed the croap around and face lathered. Took a second dose of soap to raise a decent lather. I'm out of practice face lathering and I'm not loading from a puck. The razor performed admirably as did the soap. Great reduction with no errors. Acceptable residual slickness for clean up passes. Nice dose of cooling menthol that I carried over after alum by applying Osage Rub. A splash of Florida Water to keep the citrus scent going. Pleasant experience all the way around.
Good Shaves Y'all!