April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

@RetLEO-07 - I completely agree. Spend a month with it to dial in your technique and you will be rewarded with awesome shaves.

Most of the blades I used in other razors were pretty good for me.

 

I will definitely second (or maybe it is third or fourth) Clint's comments. I have learned a bunch these past few months watching Jared's pictures and reading his descriptions.

 

Thank you all. You should stop, my head is already pretty swollen as it is.

 

Yep, shave in the morning before work on weekdays. Weekend shaves are also quick because of a toddler ruling the roost. That's why I'm one pass with touch-up almost every shave! Load, face lather, and shave.

 

April 2, 2017

Razor: G3 Gillette Aristocrat Adjustable (4)
Blade: Gillette Platinum Plus (1)
Brush: Cremo Horsehair by Vie-Long
Cream: KMF fragrance-free
Post: Alum, Listerine

No shave yesterday, so we start the month with my birth quarter razor, a G3 Aristocrat Adjustable. The blade is a Brazil-made Gillette Platinum Plus (you know, the one thy advertise on the website as being suitable for use in wet environments). On another forum I read that the consensus on the Cremo brush is that it is the same as the Vie-Long 12601 and is a 35/65 mane/tail mix.

I got the brush nice and wet and had no issues with the lather. Two passes to a near-BBS with no irritation; there was one minor weeper which stopped with the Alum (typical for me with the PP blade). All-in-all a great start to the month.

 

Thanks for the welcome, guys! (And cheerleaders.. again, sorta...) I think I wasn't clear in my OP, but this week I am completing my 30 day rule with my current setup, based on the advice of many of you guys more learned than me. As a result, I've really started getting much more consistent shave and learning a lot by not changing things up. (I did use use a sample pack of TOBS, so I've tried most of the current scents, settling on Peppermint & Jermyn St. as my favorites). My goal at this point is finish my 30 days this week, and then shift to a focus changing only soap samples for the remainder of the month (some arriving this week, and some coming from the soap pass around shortly thereafter), As far as swapping out blades I've concluded that I've got more than enough Astra SPs to last way more than a month if I toss one every 3 days, so that's the plan for now. Looking forward to the learning and the banter this month. Cheers!

 

Sounds like you have a great plan for the month.

 

Thanks for that. I always enjoy blade auditioning. It really can solidify technique. An observation on the 7 o'clock Blacks. Usually after a Sunday shave I don't start sprouting stubble until about 1600-1630. Today around 1130-1200, I could start to feel it. Not a good sign for the Blacks.

 

As I continue to make "prOHgress" in getting over this stomach-flu thingy(may have been just a 24-hour bugbite), I will find tomorrow's shave a bit of a challenge in that it's my first soap&brush shave since being sick. I may not have the loading strength I'm beginning to develop, but perhaps my soap of choice(Stirling)can be of some help, just by being Stirling.

 

Razor: Merkur 34C
Blade: Personna 74 Tungsten Plus (2)
Brush: Elite Razor Tres Amigos Desert Ironwood Beehive w/Envy White
Soap: Route High Mountain Mist
Aftershave: Folsom & Co. Capri
Bowl: Symmetrical Blue & Lt. Purple Dottie Bowl

The Masters!

 

Beautiful photo Amigo.

 

Thanks very much Amigo.

 

Sounds like you are off to a great start and have a solid plan going forward this month! I'll be interested to see how it goes for you.

 

Charlie, that sounds like a wonderful trip. I agree the scenery in the Caribbean is terrific. My wife is from Puerto Rico, and she has taken me to some amazing places on that island.

 

Great picture, Doug! I am surprised the Turkey Whisperer didn't have more of those great birds in the shot!

 

Thanks very much Jim. Turkeys where at the house this afternoon. The SOTD picture was taken down by the river.

 

Sounds like a good plan for the month. Just watch out for that soap. First, you get a good soap that works well (like TOBS), then you start playing around with samples of all the soaps you've read people praising, and the next thing you know, you have a fullblown case of Soap Acquisition Disorder and you're trying to figure out where you can store several dozen tubes and tubs of the stuff...

 

April 2, 2017...Day 2...

So this evening was my second shave with the Feather Popular TTO, and well still learning it.

- Feather Popular TTO with Polsilver Super Iridium
- Simpson Case Best Badger travel brush
- Maggard's Orange Pre-Shave Oil
- Dr. Jon's Savannah Sunrise soap
- Alum + Stirling Margarita's in the Arctic Balm

So the prep was a shower. I shower relatively quickly. 10 minutes or less. While I do enjoy a nice hot shower, only rarely do I take the time to enjoy it (usually with a pretty lady). Otherwise I'm efficient. While I was showering my brush was soaking in the styrofoam cup of hot water. After the shower, I took the brush and gave it several shakes in the sink, 4..5...6 even I think. And then went to work on the soap. Lather wise, it didn't disappointment with suds coming up quickly before I had some nice lather. Scent wise... I'm unsure. I really don't smell anything during the shave. But as I sit here writing this, I'm not sure if I'm catching a whiff of it or if it is just my imagination.

So anyhoo... I splashed water on my face, applied the pre-shave oil, and took the brush and went to work. I Got a nice coating, and took hold of the razor. For the cheeks, I am doing the "Gillette slide" which I feel does a good first pass, better than just downward WTG pass. All other areas of the face were standard WTG, though for the first pass the upper lip I go between a WTG/XTG. Two more passes, plenty of lather left in the brush, but still some spots. I tend to use just hot water for touch ups, as I feel everything is still nice and slick. Though for some patches, I did apply a thin coat of lather. After some work, I got what I felt was a good enough shave. No DFS here, just a shave. Afterwards came the alum, which set fire to my face (expected), and then the balm which also did the fire thing.

So about the razor...

it is different. And getting the angle right I find it different, especially the neck and under the chin. Also, I never noticed it before, but when I try and go sideways under the nose, I feel like the ends of the blade are sticking out further than my V3A, leading to some stragglers right under the nose.

So for those who have experience with the Feather Popular, or maybe the Schick Krona, do you apply a bit more pressure? Do you hold it down at the bottom? Or do you just let the razor weight do all the work? I'm holding at the bottom, and let the razor do the work which I guess does a decent enough job. But when it comes to the touchups, I find myself needing to apply some pressure to really get those patches gone. Which leads to irritation. Though I don't apply soap, so maybe soap + more pressure won't be as bad. But I could feel the irritation, and the alum only confirmed it. I also don't know how much blade type matters, so I'm not going to give up on it just yet. It will just have to wait until I get home. Until then I'm stuck with the Polsilver.

 

My first shave for April

Gillette Tech (triangle slots) Bulldog Handle
Polsilver Super Iridium (2)
Arko SS
Semogue BC Texugo
Alum
Superior 70

Took care of 3 days of growth in a 2 pass near bbs shave. I had a little irritation on the neck where I was sloppy, but overall it was a nice shave.

 

I think the Popular does best with a Feather blade. Do you have any at home? If not, I would mail you a tuck if you want to try them.