April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Really neat pictures, Jared!

 

Arko Adjustable April!!!!!

April 13

Razor - 1959 (E4) Gillette Fatboy (9)
Blade - (3)
Soap - Arko
Brush - WCS Synthetic
Post - Alum

Well there is a limit to the Platinum. And the wide open 195 seems to have found it. Definitely a little less smooth at 9 and the nice little nick it put on my right jaw was proof that this blade doesn't like the aggression as much as some. Still a great shave overall with a near-BBS finish. But, it could have been BBS if it wasn't right on the edge of disaster and I could have done another full pass. Still, a good blade and one that would work great in a lot of razors. I can see why it's popular.

Bounced back to the West Coast synthetic and loaded from the Arko puck for 20 seconds. Enough lather for all of us to shave with. Lovin' it!

Had a day filled with conference calls and resets for the new beds on the way - all the non-fun part of store management. I'm chilling out with some fun music. I'll leave you with a taste of what I'm listening to tonight.

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Good Report! Injector blades are noted for longevity, and the razor seems to be helping you work on more precise control. Pretty soon, it will become normal and automatic Dfs. Bbs if you want it. Bad news though, nowhere to go but Straights from here!

 

Awesome April
13 April 2017
Day Thirteen - The Arko Challenge



Two passes, No clock needed today...Hero Finish. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a fantastic Friday!
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Some random mid April musing...

Parker is worth every penny. It's a well done shavette. Ostensibly it's Arko April, but the goal is also to give the Parker a true test for a while and see what it's all about. Thirteen days in, and I could stop now and declare it a winner. On another thread, I called the Magic my favorite razor. It just seems "cooler" to me and kinda fun. However, I can't say a single bad thing about the Parker, and if it were the only razor I had, I'd be cool with that!

 

Still not back to Adjustable Arko Focus April!

Route 66 Barbershop Hop, B-400 Tuxedo
The Bunny V3.1 Injector and a Chick blade
Skipped the alum, straight to the Clubman


The Arko has been staring at me with those puppy dog eyes, but I had a different idea. Tuxedo and Route 66 for that great lather, The Bunny for an unbeatable smooth error free reduction, and straight to the Pinaud AS. Dare I claim a BBS, this must be what they feel like. Schick made some fine SE razors with the help of an R&D department, a bunch of engineers, and a factory. Tom @twhite must be related to Tony Stark.

 

Thank you tried to hide my obsession and I have collected far more perfume than shaving gear. My favorites change with the seasons and moods.

In no particular order and subject to daily change.

YSL Kouros, Mr. Blass, YSL Rive Gauche, Guerlain Vetiver, Roja Dove Vetiver
Chanel: Antaeus, Cuir de Russie, Dior Cuir de Canage, Knize Ten
Creed Green Irish Tweed, SMN Acqua Di Cuba, Guerlain Mouchier de Monsieur, MDCI Invasion Barbarie
Serge Lutens Musk Koblai Khan, Montale Auod Cuir d' Arabia, Frederic Malle Musc Ravaguer

Today TdH was in my favorites, good juice.

 

Congrats Charlie. The brush looks fantastic.

 

April 14, 2017
Colonial Razors “The General”
Feather Pro (7)
WDC-8 with Druida Manchurian
Reef Point Test Depth
Witch Hazel with Menthol
Cool Water EDT

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It's Friday and another week will soon be gone. The lineup this week has really delivered consistently enjoyable shaves. The WDC-8 easily whipped up the Test Depth into a rich slick lather. The crisp clean scent with hints of citrus add to my enjoyment. No reason to mess with success so I went with a traditional 3 pass shave with minimal clean ups which ended in a near perfect shave. The small area on my neck continues to be my nemesis. Overall the shave is a solid "A". I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday.

 

April 14 (Friday ) - off focus

Gillette Canadian pre-War Fathandled Tech / Topaz Platinum ( 1 )
Canadian Rubberset 100V reknotted with Maggards 22mm plissoft knot
TSD Lanolin soap - Sandalwood

For my early morning Good Friday shave, I abandoned both my testing of shave creams and my "anything but Gillette DE" monthly focuses. I paired a pre-War triangle-slotted Tech with my Topaz Platinum blade for a simply superb BBS shave.

And for the shave product, I left off the creams to pull out a soap instead - TSD's own lanolin-infused version of Sandalwood. The scent is mild but woody - as far as I can tell a straight sandalwood without other scents mixed in. The soap base is excellent. Half a dozen swirls loaded the synthetic brush and the addition of a palmful of water in the lathering bowl produced several passes worth of rich, creamy lather. The protection, glide and face feel were what one would expect from a lanolin soap. After my shave, I didn't use any postshave products as none were needed. In short, I can fully understand the excellent reputation these soaps have on the forum, and it definitely isn't just because the operator of the forum makes them.

The shave was a good start to the day.

I expect tomorrow I will return to where I left off in my alphabetical creams (I am up to Proraso I believe). However, I think I will change the other part of my setup and continue to use the Tech with the Topaz Platinum blades from now on as my test platform in place of the Schick Krona.

 

I have my first synthetic brush the Jayaruh 137. I used it for the first time yesterday and it was ok. I think I will just use it for awhile until I get the hand of it. Anyone have tips on a synthetic brush, It has an Ace synthetic in it,

 

I am pretty sure that whoever named your soap that way, had that song in mind. It's a traditional folklore song from the Ciociaria, the southern part of Lazio (Rome's region). It's about an old man, uncle Joe, who was going out to play his musical instrument (that sort of long tamburine with a stick in the middle, that you see being played by the leftmost man in the orchestra), when a young, pretty woman passed by and asked him what kind of instrument was that. Uncle Joe, being polite, volunteered to escort her to the barn to teach her how to play the instrument. She accepted and she liked it so much that the barn almost fell down.

In fact, in the italian google, if you search for the name of your soap, you will get all the first hits about that song. The soap appears way down.
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Shaving report: Who am i kidding? I can't go back to the Derby as long as i have untested blades. Focus will resume next month.

Weishi FL + Astra SP = BBS (1)WTG, (2)XTG above jawline, ATG below jawline, (3)WTG above jawline, ATG below). 0 cuts, 0 irritation, much closer shave than Derby, plus, today i REALLY nailed the lather. Didn't make much, but for the first time, i couldn't discern my skin beaneath and it was compact and skiny amd thick. As soon as i started cutting with Astra, i felt the difference with Derby. Much less work, much more cutting power. I haven't nicked myseld, but i 've no dount i can cut myself with this blade if not careful. But concentrated and had my 1st BBS. The cutting power of this blade, is beyond comparison to the Derby's. I have still to try Shark SS, Dorco ST301 and Personnas, but i really don't think i will be buying more of them, as i don't see what they 'd have to offer that Astra doesn't. Plus, 100 Astras, in my favourite barbers' website, are sold just 10 cents more than 100 Derbys (this is almost sacriledge) and 1-2 EUR less than Dorco and Shark and 4 EUR less than Personnas. I am sorry, but no matter what they can do, i can't see how they can beat Astra's price/performance. No wonder, i read it's the no1 blade in Italy.

My first BBS with DE, almost anniversary shave (5th shave). At this point:
- Derby: OK shaves, the biggest advantage is that you can do pretty much anything without cutting yourself. Definitely a blade for a newbie, definitely for a quick shave without worrying about cutting yourself.
- Astra SP: For real shaves, albeit with more concentration, because this blade cuts much more. Overall, much less work to get a better shave than Derby. And i suspect that you can extract more shaves from an Astra, compared to Derby.
I 've bought 300 Derbys + 100 Bluebirds (which are Derby made), because i thought "not being able to cut is good". At this point, my next purchase (soon), will be 400 Astras SP. It's completely different shave level. When i will start the razor rotation, i will probably use the Derbys in the DE89. It seems to be able to cut a bit more. The Astras in the Weishi, are a match made in heaven.

Yeah, i don't think Dorcos, Sharks or Personnas can beat Astra. And certainly not for the price (they cost more than Astras!). But, maybe between Dorco and Shark, i may find a better option than Derby for the "quick, non dangerous blade". I am going for a high-low mix. Astra will be the high sharpness blade. Maybe one of them can be better than Derby for low part. I don't want sharper than Astra either, it would become too easy to cut myself. Yeah, i 'd better build a stock of Astras ASAP. The only good thing with Derby, is that you can probably shave drunk with it and it still won't cut you. And that they 're cheap. But, not cheap enough compared to Astras... Still, i can use them. But definitely not the blade to have BBS, at least, not as a newbie, neither with Weishi nor with DE89.

 

SOTD April 14, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick Adjustable injector
Brush: Omega 10049 boar
Lather: Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post: Witch hazel, Fine American Blend aftershave
WTG, touch-up

Very enjoyable shave this morning. The Fat always works well for me. Tons of rich, slick lather with great post-shave qualities. I really enjoy my Friday combination and it even better today after a long and really busy week. I'm tying in the Adjustable theme with my Schick adjustable injector. Love it - smooth, efficient, and reliable.

Have a great Friday!

 

Thank you now I enjoy the soap more.

 

I thought you might! Just don't look too happy and whistling when using it, in front of your wife.... She might ask an Italian and start making strange thoughts.

 

Good picture with a great looking bowl Brian.

 

Thank you very much Charlie.

 

14 April 2017 Blade/Soap Focus
Shave
Have a day off today. I wasn't gonna shave, but I woke up at my usual work time, so what the heck, might as well shave
On it's last day the GSB loaded into the ball end Tech did it's usual thing.
After getting my lathering back on track, I broke out the Catie's Bubbles again. This time apparently I didn't use enough water. I still got the shave in, but I'm putting this soap away for a while. I now shave cause it's relaxing as well as practical. Using this soap is not relaxing.
Anyway I still was able to get a 2.5 pass WWS out of the deal. Splashed on some Canoe and I'm ready to face a full day of yard work.
Next up as far as blades is the Wilkinson Sword in the black case. This was my first blade when I started wet shaving so I'm looking forward to using it.
Have a great day!

 

That's a fantastic collection of colognes, Keith. Thanks for sharing your full list of scents.