July 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

SOTD July 7, 2017

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

Terrific shave this evening. Really close and comfortable. I love The Fat. Using it once a week is a treat for me. It makes Friday even better! I'm getting low and need to start planning on a replacement. I need to get the ceramic dish and get away from this cheap plastic container.

Have a great evening!

 

July 7 - Dickens and a Straight

Straight ( WTG Pass 1)
Merkur 34C(WTG,XTG,ATG)
Sharp Star(day 2)
30 D.C. LE brush
DIY PSO
B&M Dickens soap
Alum/Thayer/ AOS PSB

DFS+. Hair felt longer. SR was cutting but I did not get a close WTG pass. Being pressed for time, I went to the Merkur to finish. Dickens was so thirsty that I had to reset the first pass. B&M make great soaps. It was much thicker and slicker than the Razorock with only 15 sec. of loading. Kept adding water and still have enough for another 5 pass shave. Alum stung.

Question:
I have been attempting to keep a spine's width of space between my face and razor. Am I too shallow? Hair is coming off but rather slow. Also the alum has stung more than before I started using the straight. So far, only a small nick and a couple weepers with all my SR passes so I think things are going well. Suggestions for improvement are welcome!

Thanks
Frank

 

Try adjusting the angle, and find what works for you and the razor. Depending upon the the pass I change the angle which changes the agressiveness. The angle maybe a little different for each razor. Straight razors are the ultimate adjustable, you can't even change aggressive level mid stroke.

 

Welcome @Primotenore! Glad you joined us. This thread is all about critiquing our technique, it is not about passing judgment on hardware or software.

 

Today is my last day in Phuket . I did a mini focus trying to do just two passes. Are usually do for passes but because this is a guys only vacation no need for a close shave. I brought my Ikon Tech and Feather DX.

I confirmed I cannot even get close to a BBS level shave on two passes. I was also waiting more than the normal 24 hours before a shave and I found I got a lot of blade chatter from the Ikon while the extra stubble was no problem for the Feather. All the shaves were zero irritation and SAS level shaves.

Irritation A+ closeness B

 

It's a great crew I loved it so much I went for a second month to really hone in on my technique. It definitely paid off I'm significantly better than I was and built some comraderie along the way.


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July 2017
Barbasol Grail Shave Edition



One ATG for the win! Good alum and a cold finish! Day 13 blade! Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have an awesome weekend!
​

 

It's also a great crew because you contributed to it!

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July 7, 2017

Razor: Schick E2 Injector
Blade: Personna
Brush: Razorock Plissoft 22
Soap: Williams
Post: Alum, Listerine

I had the house to myself and since there has been so much chatter about Williams lately, I decided to break it out. I'm definitely out of practice with it since the lather came out a bit thin. OTOH, that forced me to concentrate on technique with a resulting BBS with no issues.

 

Thanks!

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July 2017 - Time to straighten up!

July 7

Razor - 1918 Gillette Old Style
Blade - (2)
Soap - Tabac
Brush - Jayaruh #46
Post - Alum

Yeah, yeah, I know. Tonight was supposed to be back to a straight. But, I had the Feather in the Old Style and couldn't resist another run with it. After last night's pretty near perfect performance it was too tempting. Plus, I have a new tub of Tabac that's been on the shelf for months. Time to revisit that old classic as well.

The lather with the Maggard synthetic knot? Fabulous on a very short load. Enough for all the passes I wanted to take or would ever want to take. The first pass on the shave was very nice. Smooth, though you always feel the blade on this razor. The second pass, well, not bad if you don't count my right side on the neck. Apparently I let the angle get a little steep and had several nice nicks and weepers on that side. And the burn was evident even without adding anything to it. Yep, irritation is high. I got over confident apparently and let my guard down. And when you do that with the Old Style......especially with a Feather in it.....you pay a price.

Alum sealed the bleeding and had me dancing a bit. As I sat down to type this I got back up after about 30 second and added Nivea to the finish to try and calm it down. Even the Nivea stung going on but it's cooling off now. Ironic, isn't it, that if I had stayed with the original plan to go pain stick or straight I probably would have less irritation and no blood. Such is the price for going vintage and getting careless.

Oh, it's a DFS. I realized it was getting a little out of hand so skipped some touch up. Hope you have a great weekend!

 

The tap water in your location can have an effect. Without getting too sciencey - if your water has lots of mineral content first thing the soap has to do is clean the water. Also sounds like you didn't get all frugal with the product. Congrats on having a good lather from a "difficult" soap!

Shave karma. These sub par experiences are balanced by Zen Shaves. Namaste.

This from the guy who sports a bottle of Pinaud Special Reserve...it's RED! He acknowledges it's red but gives no hint how or why. Shenanigans I tell you.
Welcome Joseph!

 

You'll never leave. Glad you're here! These focus months allow sanity in a chaotic forum world. Not that reading this thread helps with the sane part, but participating does! I've read a lot of forum posts and shave reports. You learned and applied more knowledge through focus in one month than some guys do in their whole forum existence. You learned hardware isn't the answer to issues, and that it makes no sense to buy a racecar when learning to drive. You've learned it's about the man holding the razor, not the guy who built it. You're one of us.

Welcome to the 30DC.

 

Great advise there.

Your part of the great!!

I can name that song in one note!!! Out of the park my friend. The 1924 rocks.

Nothing to report...all quiet down South.

 

Oh wow! That means a lot thank you so much!


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I got a little misty eyed....just a little.

Edit...I know guys that have shaved for like 30 years that do not understand all that.

 

@Primotenore

Welcome aboard! Let's treat that razor like it's a straight. It might as well be compared to most safety razors. We're gonna teach you SR shaving routines, and they'll maximize your results. Once you have mastered this razor, you should be having the best shaves of your life. Stay up on the cap, and skin stretch like it's your last day on earth with the r41. You got this easily. Good luck!

 

Me too thanks a lot.


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Thank you, Doug.