March 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Thanks, Keith.

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Thank you good sir.

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Well said

 

That is a beautiful razor Keith. I like Kamisori a lot.

 

Hang in there, we're praying for relief.

 

Thanks, Mister. It isn't nearly as hard as it just takes putting the time in. If a guy does a focus and gets those first thirty out of the way, it is all downhill from there. I tried doing it as a weekender before, and it was just frustrating. Now it's the only way I want to shave. It is so comfortable on the skin, and I guess you could say, infinitely aggressive at the same time.

 

March Madness Brush Tourney resumes:





I have company still, so these are quick writeups, but I would like to hit on some things:

Simpson Duke 3 - I really, really like this brush. The Simpson synthetics are different than most others. The density is over the top, while the tips are Plisson soft. This really lends itself to a synthetic brush that feels like it could be an expensive natural hair brush. With the Duke offering, Simpson fixed the issue of being difficult to start the splay that the Chubby has. Even with the extra loft, it is by no means a pushover, and gives your face a scrub that no other synthetic I've tried can match. Scoring aside, I can state with no hesitation that this is my "pick one for a desert island" brush, based on function alone. If you are a butterscotch fan, the Simpson stock is a deep color, and has an absolutely classic look. Did I mention that I really like this brush?

Manhandled Woods Ubersoft II - This particular brush was turned out of a really beautiful piece of spalted Tamarind. I love it's appearance, but it loses some score in functionality. It is difficult to hold onto. It is a little slippery, and doesn't have a pronounced enough shape to get a good grip. The Ubersoft II is probably my favorite synthetic knot after the Simpsons. It almost has some scritch to it. I know that sounds odd, but if I had to compare its feel to a natural brush, it kind of reminds me of my Duke 3 in pure. The fan shape gives it a natural feeling splay, without requiring a lot of pressure. This is another synthetic that has some scrub to it. If you want a synthetic, but want some more feedback than one gets from most, and don't want to spend a fortune, this is a knot worth trying.







EDIT - I forgot to change the asterisks on the leaderboard. If you notice, we now have three brushes tied for first place.

 

Much appreciated.

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March 12 (Monday ) - Gem SE focus
Gem 1912 SE. / Gem PTFE ( 6)
Supply Provision synthetic brush
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap )
Alum and cold water

The Eternal Tub is down to the last few shreds of soap -- one or maybe two shaves left and the tub is done. The SP synthetic is about a 25 or 26mm plissoft knot in a heavy solid acrylic handle. It whipped up an excellent lather tonight with about half a bowl to spare.

The Gem 1912 handled nimbly and shaved well tonight. I did an extra ATG pass on my neck, chin and cheeks, achieving a near BBS finish. The alum said nothing; I didn't bother with any postshave products after I washed it off.

Tomorrow I will try out the slightly reworked EverReady 1912 and see if correcting the shave angle on it has improved it as much as the same corrective bending improved the Gem 1912.

 

Can you compare the loft to a different synthetic, just for a reference? I would maybe even buy one from them just to give them the support. Patrick is a super nice guy.

 

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic
Tabac
Asylum Evolution
Gillette Silver Blue
Tabac Aftershave


​

 

Well, according to my inexpert measurement with a soft tapemeasure, the loft is about 55 or 56mm.

The Supply Provision website says the brush is Silvertip Synthetic fibers and the knot is 24mm. All I can say is, if the knot is 24mm at the base, then it is dense enough to be 25 or 26mm where it comes out the handle.

I stood the brush next to my Omega B+B Essential Boar. The handles are the same height and so are the bristles, except the SP is thicker - enough so the brush gives the impression of being stocky. What it reminds me of sort of just from your pictures is the Simpsons Classic 2 brush.

My other synthetic brushes are two small Muhles and three that I reknotted with Maggards 22 and 24mm plissoft knots. I would say the SP brush definitely has more presence and more backbone or scrub than the others. It's just a very nice solid brush.

Hope that helps. And in visiting the SP website just now I see they have ditched their original tallow shaving soap in favour of tubs of a concentrated tallow shave cream in three different scents with postshave balms to match. I may have to try them...

 

Thank you. I have been looking at them for a while, I just didn't know anyone who has one.

 

Shaving that early with a straight and a groggy head - that shows some SkillZZZZZ!

 

What's the worst that could happen?

 

Add the Fatip to "must have" aggressive razor list.

 

Or lack of judgement

 

First up, may good fortune be upon you Friday.

Cinco de Julio. Go ahead and buy some Popsicles now.

 

March Madness & Spring Cleaning!!

March 13

Razor - Kai Captain Standard
Blade - (1)
Soap - Stirling Bay Rum
Brush - Semogue 620
Post - Alum

How ironic is it that I've been able to keep up better around here on my work days than my off days lately. Today was just an extremely lazy day after a pretty tough week last week at work. Guess I needed the down time. As usual I'm trying my best to get caught back up. And, I need to assemble my fine shaving instrument for Wenesday's Ides shave. I'll deal with that tomorrow.

Changed the blade in the Kai to the Captain Original to see how it performed tonight. Chose Stirling Bay Rum and the Semogue 620 and got a thumbs up from my wife when she walked by the bathroom and could smell the bay rum. Slick lather too, though on the first pass the left side dried up a bit before I got there. I was taking my time, though, so my fault on that. I believe this is the 4th shave on the Stirling sample puck and it barely looks touched. Anybody done a count on how long the full pack lasts?

This blade is definitely sharper than the mild and more effective but it lacks the extra sharpness of the Feather Pro. It's a nice in between from the Kai Mild to the Pro. They make a sharper version too so I'll need to order a couple to try them out. I'll probably throw a Feather Pro in this razor too in a day or two but I like trying it with the blades "made for it". The only issue was a slight reopen of the cut from last night but it bled one small drop and that was it. Just enough that I could have used it to do my blood sugar test for the night.

The finish was CCS after two passes. I did a third pass with the Flare Tip Gillette and Rapira Swede just because I was lazy. Finished in the DFS range. Definitely a nice shave for the end of a day off. Tomorrow I'll be a bit more energetic. No choice as I have a Dr. appointment and it's our grocery and run around day together.

Freeze warning here again for a couple of nights. Other than that, it's all good.