April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

OK, got to catch up my posts. These were posted in the Pass Around Box thread. I will add a little here pertaining to tool and technique

April 15 - Col. Conk's Lime
Merkur 34C with BIC Chrome Platinum (Day 2?)
JR #72 - French Vanilla brush
Col Conks Lime
DIY PSO
Alum/Thayers/Nivea

Holidays and all, I have been busy to post anything. This is a hard weekend to get the pass around box.

Col. Conk's Lime soap if very hard and waxy. I had a hard time putting a sample in my SS bowl. I even put hot water in the bowl trying to soften it but eventually, it did break free. I did not measure the amount of soap but did put a larger amount in at the recommendation of someone here at TSD. I am sure it helped.

With the sample moving around, I had a hard time dissolving it. I placed hot water on the sample and then poured that back over the brush. I used JR #72 (French Vanilla) synth brush because it has the firmest backbone of any brush I have. After some time, it did dissolve and was extremely thick and creamy. No real bubbles were forming. It only took a dribble or two of water to get a thick, rich and somewhat shiny lather.

Scent was like described above: pick your favorite green lime candy and insert that here. It was pretty strong but washed away when shaving was done. It was pleasant.

Shaving went well. I test what I call, 'hydraulics' by placing some lather between my hands and squeezing them together to see how much resistance the lather adds. This is a new test for me. It provided nice resistance. Slickness was adequate. The soap wasn't as shiny as others but was enough. I did get a nice BBS shave. This was my last shave with the BIC Chrome Platinum even though it was only used for 2 shaves in total. I wanted a new blade for Easter.

The negatives for this soap are that you need much more than most soaps to create a lather and use rather little water. Slickness was good but not up to the upper tier guys. At $3/2oz or $9/6oz, it is up there in price to so many better soaps. Add the difficulty bowl lathering, I think this soap will not be purchased by me. I do appreciate the test and would use it if I was on vacation or in a pinch if available locally.




April 16 - Stirling Glacial Wintergreen
Merkur 34C with Astra SP (day 1)
JR #148 - Dark Chocolate brush
Stirling Wintergreen
DIY PSO
Alum/Thayers/Nivea

This was my first Stirling Glacial and what a wonderful soap it was!!! The scent was bright and full of wintergreen smell. If you cannot smell wintergreen in this soap then you need a doctor because your nose if messed up.

With my experiences with Conk's, I decided to load a bit more than I would normally, probably closer to 2 gr of soap into the bowl. Applied water and again poured this into Jr#148(Dark Chocolate) brush. The scent erupted even more filling the shower. I made the lather with rather little water to first dissolve the soap. With this paste, slow and methodical additions of water were done. I was not going to overshoot. Much less water than I have added in the past with Stirling yet more than what was used with Conk's resulted in a thick and shiny lather. It was not as voluminous as I had done in the past but was slicker than in the past. To me, I have been over watering and whipping and resulting in dry stiff meringue. Sure it took up lots of room but I whipped out and watered down the soap. I feel I hit the sweet spot when the resistance to whipping reached a maximum, a small addition yielded after this point a perfect lather. Will need to see if reproduction of this effort proves the process is sound.

I shaved with a new Astra SP. Being Easter, I wanted a close shave. BBS resulted. Unfortunately, the alum stung but dissipated quickly. I was very careful to focus on angle and kept pressure feather light. While the soap was on my face I did not feel anything. Then again, it was frozen! Upon cold water rinse the alum indicated the Astra SP and my technique irritated me some regardless of how careful I was.

Stirling is a very shiny slick soap that also has lots of cushion. The hydraulic test proved it had loads of resistance when squished between my hands. Of course, it was shiny and very slick.

As for cold, once applied, I felt like I just stepped outside on a -20 degree day. It was not enough to bring tears though . I was very happy with the chill.

this will be on my to buy list when it is released.



April 17 - Stirling Orange Chill
Merkur 34C with Astra SP (Day 2)
The Phoenix brush
Col Conks Lime
DIY PSO
Alum/Thayers/Nivea

this was the soap I was really looking forward to. I love orange scents and my recent introductions to menthol, I felt this would be a perfect soap. I used less soap than I did for wintergreen but maintained my low water start. Again, rich, thick and shiny lather with excellent hydraulic resistance resulted.

I have never smelled an orange soap form Stirling other than Pharaoh's Dreamsicle. To me, the orange kinda leaned towards the orange scent slightly towards that form a pure orange scent. I was very pleased by the orange scent. After having experienced a B&M and Stirling 'Glacial' product, I will say I found the Orange Chill to be light in menthol. It was good if you only are looking for a chill feeling that you get from sticking your face in the freezer from a warm room. I got a nice cold breeze across it but I did not feel frozen. I realize I prefer a colder sensation especially since I never feel cold.

With a 1 shave old Astra SP and the alum results form the day before, I was working real hard to slow my strokes down, keep an eye on angle and see if the Astra SP can give me a alum silent shave. Alas, it would not be today. My beard was rather short this morning. I shaved around noon yesterday and the Astra really get a very close shave. If it was not for work, I almost could have skipped. Even with all the care and caution, the alum stung a little. It was definitely less stinging than the day before. With this lather, I could barely feel the razor and blade gliding effortlessly across my face. It is possible that this blade is too sharp for my skin or the blade angle is too narrow for me to hit reliably. Whatever the reason, the soap was excellent. The lather was shinier than glossy wet automotive paint on a classic restored car, thicker than real maple syrup and placing it under the tires of a car could lift it and move it around. All that I could ask for in a lather was there. technique , blade or lack of growth was cause for my irritation.

I whole heartedly recommend Orange chill to anyone looking for a cool feeling and excellent orange scent. This too will be on my to buy list.

 

And you made us see it twice

 

I haven't found much difference with a straight. I might make my lather just a touch thinner with a straight.

 

<soapbox>
Here in America you can't just buy assault rifles either. If you're lucky enough to find one for sale and want to shell out the $$$ for it, you have to submit finger prints, a photo, and under go a lengthy processing period as you are purchasing a National Firearms Act item. You go into a registry with said assault rifle, and if you plan on traveling outside of your state you have to let the ATF know. If you're moving, you have to let the ATF know. All this of course assuming your state lets you.

Now what you can buy is a semi-automatic rifle that is lightweight, easy to shoot, and highly customizable for any shooter.
</soapbox>

 

April 18 - RazoRock XXX and Astra SP (Day 3)

Merkur 34C
Astra SP (Day 3)
23mm AOS Pure Badger brush
DIY PSO
RazoRock XXX
alum/Thayers/Nivea

Today was the third day with the Astra SP and so far I have been a little disappointed with it. Been irritated to some degree, granted not a lot, each day of use. I tend to get a BBS shave with it but just cannot escape some level of irritation. I was hoping to rectify this today.

This is my first shave with a RazoRock product. From what I have been told, XXX is meant to complement Parma which I do like from the other soaps emulating it. Also, RazoRock is suppose to be a very good product. the soap is softer than Stirling but had a very pleasing scent. I do smell the similarities to Piacenza. Lathering yielded a very shiny and slick cream that was good in hydraulics but was a little lighter than Stirling. I only needed a few additions of dribbles to get a very good lather. The scent was very good as well. I do feel thought that it dissipated during the shave and I needed to smell the bowl to really smell it. Stirling EM tends to fill the room. RR was still very good, just lighter.

3 passes yielded a BBS nearly everywhere except a spot on the jawline. Irritation was again lighter than the 2 days before. I was careful shaving but I am not sure if this was due to blade dulling or technique.

If the other RazoRock products are anything like this, they too will be good. I think I could have gotten more cushion with either more soap or slightly less water. I think it was reasonably easy to get the lather tuned.

I would like to find a RazoRock product to purchase but , for now, Piacenza fulfills my need for Parma. It is just a bit better or the same but I have learned already how to tune it so I will stick with it. Not sure I want multiple Parma like scents. then again, I do have several Sandalwoods....

 

I tend to use soaps more than creams, but have some of both. If I load enough soap, I can get as thick and luxurious a lather from a soap as a cream. Fragrance depends on the soap. I have a 28mm synthetic brush that I refer to as the Soap Eating Monster. It will lather anything. The only change I made to my lather with straights is to make it a little wetter, so there is more glide, as long as I have enough soap in the brush.

 

Or avoid it, as the case may be.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I appreciate your questions and observations. It's always good to mix things up and keep people thinking. Keep rolling.

Here's my story. I worked in a manufacturing environment for a long time. We lived by the Deming quote below. It fueled our continual improvement process. Sometimes people with opinions only (and no data) derail a business' goal to make lots of money. However, in a hobby (the reason I'm here), I think everyone's opinions and all the banter that goes along with it make things interesting and fun. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun if I had to defend everything with data. In fact, I come here to take a break from the real world. That's just my opinion.

You can look at many people in this hobby and quickly tell that subjectivity often rules. Just look at the vast collections of gear and software that many folks have. Some folks simply like variety and the experience of trying new and different things. I purchased PolSilver blades recently because I liked the colors on the packaging.

Here's my take on technique. I was a beginner when I started wet shaving, but I have a decent technique now through several years of focus, practice/repetition, and learning from others. The theory of wet shaving is pretty basic. I understood it, but I cut myself routinely when I got started. I really think focus and practice helped me develop proficiency. I've never seen two people shave the same way (I've watched a ton of YouTube videos), and I wouldn't expect them to do so. I'm always ready to steal someone's good idea and incorporate it into my technique. If developing good technique is your goal, there's no other way to get there, in my humble opinion.

Here are a couple of quick examples where blind reliance on theory alone falls short for me:

I know the theory of why an airplane flies, but I can't fly one because I have not practiced.

I've heard dermatologists and others advise against shaving ATG. I've been shaving ATG for several years. I've not had a single ingrown hair, and my skin has never been in better condition. The theory of ATG shaving causing skin problems makes logical sense, but I'd be curious if folks who espouse this theory have actually practiced it for themselves using good shaving technique.

My two cents. Carry on!

 

Thanks, all. I'm just starting to work on a collection of creams & soaps, and thinking WAAAY ahead here, wanted to make sure I didn't end up with a bunch of stuff that would become obsolete if I ended up on the dark side one day...

Now, back to SAD/CAD purchases!

 

+1. I could not agree more! Per my signature, I think Yogi Berra said it pretty succinctly...

 

Buy away. We can help spread it around if it does not work out.

 

I prefer the SP over the SS as well

 

XXX is actually a dupe of Acqua Di Parma Colonia, on the Stirling side Piacenza is the same scent profile as XXX. SWMBO doesn't like XXX so much but LOVES EM. I like them both!

 

Andrew, I could add an extra mm or so to the opening without changing the dimensions. That shouldn't be a problem and then wouldn't cause me to have to redo dimensions for the whole handle to correspond to the opening. I do hollow them out individually with lathe tools and not a bit, so that shouldn't be a problem. FYI-The knots that you see in my other brushes in that one picture are 24mm (nylon), 24 mm (boar) and 22mm (Finest Badger) in similar size handles.

 

I'll ship 'em anywhere...especially since you guys are paying your own shipping

 

Cool pic, Brian!

 

No biggie either way, all of your brushes look fantastic!

 

Fantastic, Charlie!

 

Thank you.

 

Love the stained glass effect!