March 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Oh they are not mine. Simpson brushes post limited edition items on Twitter and Instagram before they are available on the company website.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks Doug. I was gifted that by my Secret Santa last year. He's a pretty good dude, that guy.

 

I certainly hate that.

 

Thanks guys. I'm excited.
Well, I'm off to church to meet up
Have a great Sunday!

 

Well, guys.....I'm afraid I'm losing confidence in DE shaving. I believe my manual dexterity, which I've discussed in here, is causing me great difficulty in angling the razor as I shave-that is, angling it the right way(for me).Knowing what I'm supposed to get it to look like, and ACHIEVING that, are different things for me. It could very well be that I was having similar issues when I was just beginning to shave, in my teen years, and that someone(my Dad perhaps), said "Hey, try this 'disposeABLE' razor-might be easier for you", and the rest has been history. So I think I will be back to the disposeABLE ..
In saying this, I will still keep the Slim around. I've never used the Slim with foam/cream(Rise, Barbasol), and will give that a once-over to see if it does better with that over soap. Whatever happens, I'm sure to find things to "Focus" on. I won't give the Slim a final salute, as did one of our members to a particular razor recently, if I recall. And as for soaps&brushes.....well, that will always be a part of my routine(well, except for when I use Rise/Barbasol), so , no final words about those babies. And I've been so thrilled to discover the fancy brands used(Stirling, Rte 66, WSP, etc). Now....if there could be a disposeABLE 65-Slim(or other name), that would be a horse of a different kettle-a fish.
Let me conclude by saying thanks for reading(some conclusion, eh? .

 

Which part? Not being in control, or knowing we aren't?

Your razor of choice is up to you Paul. No one can tell you what works best for you except you! TSD either as a group or individually is accepting of each persons choice of gear. If you've raised your perspective by trying new techniques & products, your own personal horizon now includes more territory.

 

Razor: Ever-Ready SE w/case, 2 blade banks, and original instructions
Blade: GEM Personna (1)
Brush: Los Tres Amigos Dos Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic LE Jade
Soap: RazoRock XXX
Aftershave: RazoRock XXX
Very close comfortable near BBS with this equipment.

 

Great picture, Doug!

 

Todays SOTD!

Mongoose B3/ Feather Super Pro (23)
Stirling 24mm Badger
MDC Original
Thayers Lavender
The Veg

Great shave today and as always sorry for my inactivity. Work has been crazy. Hope everyone is doing well!

 

Paul, I have given dozens of razors, of all types, the final salute. The entire point of this is to find what works the best for your face, and if it's the Deuce, than I am sure we are all happy for you that you know what your best tool is.

 

Well, go figure. I'm busy writing off shaving with my EverReady 1914 and you're busy getting a BBS with one...

 

All the trudging around in the snow you do for these pictures, I bet you won't mind a walk in the grass soon. Or do you have the saucer sized skeeters like we do?

 

March of the Soaps Focus

Tabac & JR #130 Maggard's Synthetic
'59 Gillette #195, Feather Hi-Stainless
Alum and Proraso Refresh AS Lotion


I haven't paid for a push lawnmower for years. This time of season folks pour in fresh gas into dirty tanks, forget to change oil, don't know how to clean a spark plug, & set em by the curb. I've got a big wheeled Craftsman base that fits any old 3-1/2 HP motor. First new/old donated parts collection I picked up a week ago gave it's motor to my frankenmower. Unfortunately Briggs & Stratton's have two shaft lengths. A short shaft on a premium base meant dropping the base lower causing it to drag and scrape. So that's what I'm blaming for my sore knee. Remember when you were young and when injured you worked through the pain? Later you wondered how long it would take to heal. I'm getting passed that to the question of if it'll get better. Rx; rest, anti-inflammatory, internet. Oh, and a no stress shave.
Tabac for an easy quick lather using a synthetic knot & suribachi bowl. I took a WTG pass on my cheeks with the Weck shavette. Had a bad set down on my right side. So I laid the SE aside and finished with the Fat Boy. Alum sealed up the nick on my cheek that kept turning lather pink. Proraso Green left me lightly scented and smoothly refreshed.
Good Shaves Y'all!

 

Thanks for your kind words Jim. The Sun is shining and you can feel it getting closer to Earth. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring.

 

March 19 (Sunday ) - SE focus test shave, aka "paint me pink and call me a flamingo"

EverReady 1914 / Gem PTFE ( 7) + shim backspine
Supply Provision synthetic brush
Arko stick
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Aftershave

After reading how @Douglas Carey got such a comfortable BBS from his EverReady 1914 today, I decided to give mine one last try. I thought I would see if shimming a modern Gem blade to make it mimic a thick old carbon one would change the shave. So I stripped the back spine off a spent blade (carefully, with pliers), then loaded it under the back edge of the blade in the razor.

What a difference! The razor was still extremely efficient but was perfectly smooth with no noticeable blade presence. After my usual passes, I was even able to relather and then go ATG without setting off the alum. Just one tiny weeper where I nicked a scab from a couple days ago but otherwise nothing. A good solid DFS approaching BBS and obtained in complete comfort.

I haven't yet tried this shim trick with my 1924s, but since the people suggesting it all claimed it worked with any of the pre-Micromatic / pushbutton Gems, I suspect it will salvage them for me too.

All around a most satisfactory afternoon. There weren't any razors worth mentioning at the collectors show I went to earlier today. A couple Gillette Slims (which I don't have) both in decent shape but priced at mint eBay prices. And not a single later model Gem in sight anywhere. But the sun was shining and it's warm enough outside that the snowcover is melting off, so it was still a good outing. And then this successful shave experiment to cap it off.

Hope everyone else is having a good Sunday!

 

Jim, that's a super cool photo. The perspective is great, and it almost looks three dimensional. That's a very nice looking Old Spice mug. I'm gonna hit some flea markets and hunt me down one of those this year.

 

If a shave soap doesn't work out for me, I just use it to wash my face. That's also how I use up the small bits of leftover shave soap.

 

Clint, I hope you had a great time with your mom today!

 

that it does-and I look forward to expanding that(the territory).

 

The part that I hate is the not being in control-we fix something and don't know what we did to fix it.