June 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Thanks very much Clint. I want to get the razor finished, but I'm not to sure which way to go. I'd like something a little different.

 

Thursday shave

Today's razor was a Dovo Bismarck 2 that is on it's second shave after a touch up on Shapton glass 16k. The edge was very smooth and sharp. Four passes and no blood, just a slight tickle from the alum and a smooth face.

Irritation A Closeness A Smoothness A+ Sharpness A

 

Wednesday June 7 -

Rockwell 6s on plate #3 / Topaz Platinum ( 1 )
30DC LE brush with Cashmere knot
Pannacrema Pure2O tallow soap - Vetiver
Alum and leftover lather as balm

Having settled earlier on using the Gillette Slim for the month, tonight I changed my mind (such as it is and what there is of it) and switched to the Rockwell 6s instead. New plan is to use it for the month, blade stays as Topaz Platinum, and I focus on the 30DC LE brush (which is already pretty much dialled in) and tests of an everchanging batch of soaps.

Tonight's soap was the Vetiver version of the newer Pannacrema tallow soap line, Pure2O. Performance was much the same as last night - quick to load on a slightly damp brush, easy to lather, and good shave performance and face feel. I drizzled in too much water tonight and ended up with lather that was soupier and runnier than I like, but it still provided all the slip, glide and protection that I needed. A two pass shave with no touch ups gave me a BBS without any irritation. I used the leftover lather as a balm and am enjoying a hydrated but non-greasy face now.

Unlike the DFS offering and, from what I hear, Pannacrema's Nuavia Blu, Rossa and Verde, the Vetiver scent is not at all complex. So far as I can tell, it smells solely, purely, and quite strongly of vetiver. In the tub, on the brush, and then in the lather, it gave out a strong scent reminiscent of a newly mown field of a spicy grass. I quite enjoyed it.

I will be keeping both Pure2O soaps, using them regularly, and probably replacing them if and when they run out.

 

Once again I am not sure whether I am more impressed with the beautiful shaving setup or the square miles of clear counter top.

 

Good job on the shaves, and hope the first day went well.

 

Happy birthday, Big Dog!

 

I didn't take the video of me moving all the crap out of the way.

 

Which finish does it have now, the machined or polished?

 

First day went good. Just training and learning about the job for the first week but after some education I'm feeling pretty good about it.

 

June 7 - B&M Bay Rum

Merkur 34C
Astra SP (day4)
DIY PSO
Barrister & Mann Bay Rum
Alum/Thayers/AOS PSB

Another Day, another new to me B&M soap! My first foray with bay Rum scents was. C&C Port Royal Bay Rum. To me it was rich, dark, nicely spiced and had a Rum and Vanilla finish. I liked it very much.

B&M was different but in a good way. This was my first real smelling of the Pimenta racemos or West Indies bay oil. No strong clove scent could I detect. This bay Rum was a bit brighter and shows to me this bay scent followed by an orange scent that finishes with a light Rum and Vanilla scent. I might even go so far to say that all of this was only experienced once lathered. In the jar I mostly smelled the bay oil. I will say that I did not love this soap at first but it did quickly grow on me. I often opened the jar to smell the soap and these scents would pop out. Depending on what I had smelled recently, the soap appears to me to change on each opening. I became a bit excited and did a test lather that I left on the counter and felt that the soap change over time like a good cologne. The lather remained excellently for over 1/2 hour. In the end, my wife started to like it and used it for herself! Today's lather was a little over watered but still was excellent. I now love the complex way it changes and it makes you want to take your time to experience it all. Unfortunately I was rushed today.

The Astra SP was not up to its usual standards and resulted in a DFS. It needed to be retired but I felt it could do one more shave. With an early morning software deployment and time marching on, today's shave was rushed which is part to blame for not getting the BBS. I needed 3.5 passes to get the DFS but took about 12 min to go from creating lather and all the passes and clean up. Never do I rush this quickly. For me, I takes several minutes just to make my lather. 20 or so minutes just to shave 3 passes is more normal.

In the end, B&M proves to make another interesting and wonderful soap. I am glad I was able to experience it all. For someone who felt bay rums might not be to my liking, B&M has proven otherwise for me.

 

SOTD June 7, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick G8 injector
Brush: Omega Hi synthetic
Lather: Route 66 Lavender Woods
Post: Witch hazel, Stirling Executive Man aftershave
WTG, touch-up

My focus this month is back to injectors but also trying to use up some samples and other small items that can be finished off. This Route 66 Lavender Woods is a sample and today is my second use of it. Terrific as always. The Stirling Executive Man splash is also a sample. Great scent. I would buy both of these products again. I have some other Route 66 scents and won't seek out the Lavender Woods at the moment, but it's great soap. Solid shave all around. Enjoyed the Schick G8 and it all came together nicely.

Have a great evening!

 

This morning I went back to the Classic Samurai Shavette. I checked the blade, and it was a Sputnik. It did just as fine a job again today. I used my Lisa's Natural Herbal Creations Cedar & Saffron soap, and finished up with some Osage Rub. I then took a couple of sprays of Versace Blue Jeans and was off to face the day.

My Turkish shave bowl arrived today, and in true Turkish style it came complete with a stick of Arko. I also ordered Lisa's newest soap, Gentleman's Lavender, and two of her new post shave balms, Gentleman's Lavender and Cedar and Saffron. The Cedar and Saffron she mixed up just for me. She told me she has some new formula premium soaps curing. They will be more of a cream/croap. I look forward to trying them when available.

And a trip to my local Burlington's turned up a tub of Proraso Green and some Proraso Green aftershave, which is one of my favorites, for about half of what I payed online for it before.

Finally, I have a Kampfe Bros Star lather catcher on the way as a Father's Day gift. These will keep me busy for a while.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

Excellent picture, Clint!

 

Happy birthday!

 

Great picture, Doug!

 

Jun 7 SOTD:

Razorock Plissoft Brush
La Toja Shave Stick
Gillette Diplomat
Voskhod (4)
Stirling Unscented PSB
Aqua Velva Ice Blue/Musk mix

Fourth shave with this blade, and a DFS result this morning. Been busy, but I hope everyone has had a great day.

 

June 2017!!!

Trials and Tribulations

June 7

Razor - A plastic pink shavette kinda thingy
Blade - The one in the plastic pink shavette kinda thingy. It's 1 3/8 inches long and sharp.
Soap - Route 66 Sweeney Todd
Brush - Jayaruh #46
Post - Alum, Cold compress, Styptic. Repeat. And absolutely no sympathy from my wife.

Well here comes the first of the Tribulations for the month. These will be "catch ups" of things I had planned for MAYhem that got "mayhemified" out of the picture last month. Tonight's shave features a really cheapo plastic pink shavette kind of of a thing sent to me by, if memory serves, @mrchick . If I'm blaming the wrong person please let me know. It was sent to be a part of MAYhem with the other el-cheapo Japanese thingy some of you apparently hated.

I chose the Sweeney Todd because I need it slick and the JR46 usually provides that with the R66 soap. And, it did. Can't complain there. The first few strokes were actually pretty nice. Easy to get the angle as the plastic head tapers to the blade, and the only problem was the grip. It's hard slick plastic so I had to dry both my hands and the "razor". I thought about using alum on my fingers but decided that would be cheating. This is, after all, a stunt shave of sorts.

Right side of the face and neck were a great first pass, actually, and I turned to the left side. Rinsed the razor and rinsed it again because it seemed like it wasn't getting quite clear of the first side. I had rinsed it a couple of times on that side, but it seemed to need some extra help. Started on the left and all was well after I again dried my hands and the handle. Worked down to my jawline and as I was coming down on the second stroke I felt a twang. Checked for blood, saw none, and went to continue. Set the razor down, it wasn't cutting right, rolled the angle steeper and...........the blade is 1 3/8" long and that's exactly how long the cut is. It was a perfect line cut that bled instantly and profusely. A couple of choice words later and I rinsed my face and checked it. Not deep, just the full blade length. Cold water seemed to clear it, I re-lathered and picked up my emergency backup - 1959 Super Speed with Sharp Star - and completed the shave with blood running down my left cheek and dripping into the sink. I haven't had a cut like this since I was learning pain sticks.

Got cleaned up, alum slowed it down, styptic slowed it more so I checked the razor. There is a slight gap between the blade and plastic where it's held. And, the soap and debris had slowly packed into that gap and down onto the blade. After several efforts to clean it completely I gave up. Apparently as the debris built up it caused the razor to stop shaving ever so slowly until I felt the difference on the restart and over-angled the blade to try and get it cutting again. Design error and operator over-confidence contributed to that bloody mess.

The good news - it stopped completely but it's stinging - and that's after rinsing again with cold water. This one will be with me a few days. My recommendation? If this gets sent to you it would make a good letter opener. Beyond that, I can't say I'd recommend it! But hey - it's a pretty pink!

 

I'll take the blame for that one. Somehow you and Adam were the first ones that popped into my mind when I bought the package. It worked much better for me. It must be technique

 

It has to be. No question. Actually, if I had just taken a minute to realize what was happening it would have probably finished fine. Like I said, hardware design flaw together with operator over-confidence equals blood on the steel.

 

WOO if there is sure to be a trip that way in the near future to visit the sister.

I have no idea what you are talking about.....

YESS more lather catcher love !!!!!!!