April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

I've been buying a ton of razors and can see how it can feed HAD.

 

So it is business as usual here in the 30!!

 

Omega 10066 Boar will fit in the handle perfectly. Sacrifice the Omega handle and then cut off the black cup Omega uses.


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Yeah, sorry, I guess that last part was obvious and unnecessary.

 

And you should have seen me, in an hobby that i know better! Here's another one, to understand how enjoyable it is to read Italians. This is the most critical Dorco ST301 review on my Amazon:



Translation: "Greetings and have a good 1st May. For me, destructive blades, they literally almost sliced my throat. ISIS thanks They cut brutaly and i find them a bit unrefined, but maybe i was used to Personna Platinum. I don't know, but let me see...I still have 99 left. Worst case, i will end up with the face of the Thing, in the Fantastic 4. Ahahaha. Goodbye, i am bleeding, i have to go. Greetings and have a good festivity".



You won't be reading such reviews in the german Amazon, that's for sure!

Ah, Highlander, Sean Connery and Braveheart! So much choice! Who to pick!

 

I've purchased three Cremo versions. The Lady Cremo went to my Lady friend before I tested it. I assume it's just the scent that makes it different from Regular. She approves and uses it. Regular formula is great bang for the buck lather, and lather it does. If you are into mentholated lather, the Cooling is right up there with C.O.Bigelow/ Proraso Green. A dab of Cremo added to other soaps also works for "SuperLather".

Guess I got lucky, mines just a general reminder to think before I post.

Embrace your Inner Idiot. You'll be sporting a CT before you know it!

Here's the Omega line up for a visual reference. Check websites for dimensions.

 

April 22

Portland Razor Company Hydra quarter hollow 6/8" straight razor
Kent BK 8 silvertip badger
Castle Forbes Lavender shaving cream
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, and unrefined shea butter
Floid Vigoroso aftershave

I've been inspired by everyone using their beautiful straight razors this month. So today was my first straight shave in a long time. I purchased this razor more than a year ago, and I've shaved with it less than five times. The bulk of my experience shaving "this way" results from more than six months of using my Feather Professional Artist Club SS shavette. The process of stropping the blade is still new to me, and I have much to learn. For now, I lay my hanging strop flat on the counter and go at it - 30 trips on nylon and 20 on leather. After the shave was complete, I did a few more trips on nylon to dry the blade.

Anyway, the shave went off without a hitch. The blade was tuggy, but that could be entirely due to my technique. I'll give it a few more tries and then send it off for a proper edging if it's still tuggy or gets worse. I performed several WTG passes on my cheeks, and the subsequent passes after the first, when most of the stubble was removed, were pretty easy. That leads me to believe the blade edge is probably OK. I performed two passes on my lower neck and even went ATG in some areas. I shaved super sloooowwwwly around my lips and the bulb of my chin. My chin's fairly close, my upper lip not so much. The alum was quiet (big surprise), and I finished with some Floid Vigoro for a mild menthol hit.

All things considered, I'm happy with the bloodless, not-so-close, comfortable shave. It was fun, and I may try to use my straight more often in the future.

Thanks to @Douglas Carey for PIFing me the cool Fendrihan shave towel.

I hope everyone is having a big Saturday!

 

That is an awesome looking razor. The Portlands get such praise. I have a Hydra coming from them with a shortened blade, to make it sized more like kami or a feather. It has been nearly six weeks, so I am impatiently looking for a shipping confirmation.......

I know there are a lot of schools of thought on stropping, but I do 60 ish on the leather before shaving. More the first time after touching up the blade. The way you are doing it laying it down like that, I don't see how you could hurt it by doing a few more.

 

@Jayaruh harvested an Omega 10098 boar knot for use in JR # 160. The knot is currently loaded with shaving cream to remove the animal odor. I plan to try it out next week after the odor is gone.

This link shows Jim harvesting the knot. I don't think I could have found a better knot for this finely crafted handle.

http://jrshaving.blogspot.com/search/label/Jayaruh #160

 

Thanks, Clint. Omega 10066 is on order and inbound from Maggards along with some AS samples and tucks of Russian blades just for giggles. (Pretty sure that's as much levity as they get in Russia, but what do I know?) fisticuffs averted. Nothing to see here…

 

One of my favorite boar knots. If I didn't already have one in a custom wooden handle..... Maybe a pair of them would look cool.

 

Beautiful picture, Mark!

 

Thank you, Jared. Your kind words on the razor are high praise, considering you have such a fine collection of straight razors!

I'll try a few more laps on the strop next time, as you suggest. It can only help, and I need the practice anyway! Do you put any sort of conditioner on your strops, or do you just rub in the oils from your hand?

I like the weight and feel of the hydra. It just feels really good in hand. The quarter hollow blade don't sing, but it sure can dance. (I made that up.) It was a pleasure working with PRC on the order. I'm sure you'll be very happy with yours, and I can't wait to see it!

Have a great weekend, my friend!

 

After seeing this pic, I shimmed up my elite manchurian a bit. Bigger, softer, better. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

I haven't done anything to oil them yet except rub my palm on them.

I don't know if it helped anything except my confidence when I bought a paddle strop, but it really let me focus and see what I was doing. Your laying it down would do the same thing. If nothing else it let me know I wasn't doing any damage to it with my hanger. So with that boost in my step, I started stropping more laps, and it seemed like my edges were keener. Who knows, I am only a couple of months into this, so it is still a major learn factor.

 

Thanks Jared. That's helpful feedback. Thanks again!

 

Today was a good shave.

-Schick E3 Injector with Schick Blade
- Maggard's 24mm Synthetic Brush
- Conk's Pre-Shave Oil
- Stirling Pharaoh's Dreamsicle soap

And for the post...
- Thayer's Witch Hazel
-Alum
- Conk's High Desert Breeze Lotion

No shave yesterday (no work), so once again I am faced with two days stubble. In an effort to avoid lather drying out on me, I decided to take a different tactic. I soaked my brush, but instead of shaking it out I went right to work on the Stirling soap. It didn't take long for the suds to start foaming and sloshing out, so much that I had to pour some of it out. But I kept working, and more came, so I decided to transfer it all into my shaving mug to finish it off. So much lather, so little face.

I did two passes, WTG/ATG and then some touchups. First pass went well, but I got a tiny weeper on my chin. Don't know how, because I was actually looking real close when I was shaving that part. I got a second weeper not far from the first on the second pass, but that one I felt. For my touchups, I decided to first do some with some lather, applying it where I could still feel some stubble. After that, i rinsed and dried my face, and then splashed on some WH for a few more touch ups. Worked like a charm.

I decided to test the alum, and it was 90% quiet. The only place it burned was where I knew it would, on the neck where I had touched up with some witch hazel, and then was foolish and touched up some more. But it silenced quickly.

Some Conk's high desert breeze lotion to round things out while I cleaned up the area, and then some spritzes from Invictus (my favorite cologne) and I'm ready to go watch the Blues beat the Wild.

 

What stones and other supplies do you have for razor sharpening? Where did you go to learn how to do it? Is this is $150 investment with minimal time involved...or a $500 investment that ends up consuming a lot of time? I'm all thumbs, and I'm wondering if I would ever be any good at this. At the same time, I don't want to send my razors out for edge maintenance. Quite honestly, this is my biggest hesitation with straights.

 

I bought a set of the Welsh Slates on Ebay that a guy sees talked about a lot. It is three stones with approximate grits of 8,12 and 15k. Of course naturals don't have a grit rating so it is all guesswork for me. I am sure Glen or Kevin could run a blade across one once and say "it's around a 10", all I know it they actually do a pretty good job. Those were $60 shipped from the UK.

I have a 1/6k King stone which sells for about $30 on Amazon. So basically I have a full progression that cost me a little under $100.

I have also been experimenting with lapping film, and it is a ridiculously cheap way to do it, and it works insanely well. I built a little base out of hockey glass plastic and some rubber feet I found in my junk drawer. It cost me $3.



You can buy enough lapping film to refresh razors for years with a sawbuck.

So my answer would be that like all things wet shaving, it is only as expensive as you make it.

 

AFAIK