August 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

I few tricks I've picked up I over 400 shaves with Artist Club razors. Generally speaking a thinner slicker lather seems to work best. I've had much better luck with longer shaving strokes than shorter. I found the General to be a smooth efficient razor with the Feather Pro. Stepping up to the Feather Super made it more efficient but a touch less smooth. It took me a couple of shaves with the General to get the angle dialed in. My guess is the tugging was the angle and not the blade. I've found that in certain areas such as under my nose I use only part of the blade since the contour of my face does not allow the entire width to be in contact. Artist Club razors like the General are one of my favorite types of razors. Keep us posted and good luck.


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Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

 

Yeah I figured it was the angle moreso then the blade. Another shave tomorrow night.

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You'll get it figured out. The General is really a fantastic razor.


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I will say there were a few places on the neck where I didn't feel a thing, had to run my hand over to see if it was even cutting and sure enough it was...

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It is fantastic on my neck as well. The General led me to sell my Mongoose and AlumiGoose razors. It was just that good.


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Super fun pic!

 

Thanks, Jared. Fun shave too.

 

Thanks Jim! Sorry about your flight.

 

Adjustable August Throw-back shave

Van Der Hagen Deluxe soap
Van Der Hagen Deluxe bowl
30 DC LE brush - Cashmere
Gillette #195, Rapira PL blade
Alum, Pinaud Clubman ASL


Accepting that I take inspiration like Jared @PickledNorthern, I dusted off the VDH 'Luxe for a glycerine lather. After finding Marvy soap unusable I purchased the Premium Shave Set. Don't have the brush since it shed too much and was replaced by Omega products. The beige tinted soap has aloe vera & shea butter but had lost most of it's scent. Still lathers up well and gives decent glide, although I recognized when I got too much water in the bowl. Fresh blade in the Fatty for my Focus Variable. Seemed a little harsh. I checked doors, centering of blade, and adjustment setting - all good. Might have been the thin early lather because by 3rd pass I'd loaded more soap and had it tuned. Still & all finished well with no blood on steel. Alum sparkled a little, as did the Clubman but the beard reduction was efficient and comfortable. Should I ever decide to do a NoBuy I'd use this soap. Maybe. With something to spice it up SuperLather style.
Good Shaves Y'all!

 

Tonight's shave was a parade of oddities.

QShave Futur clone
QShave blade
Stirling Boar
Stirling Glastonbury
Clubman Pinaud

I piled up two days of growth in anticipation of the arrival of the QShave razor. I'd heard it was rather aggressive and wanted to give it a fair test. The razor arrived today and I was quite surprised by its heft and the quality of the build at its low cost point. I decided to roll with the provided blade for the full experience. The blade gap is huge, even at the lowest setting. Exciting. I loaded up the Glastonbury, which I hadn't used in a while, and really enjoyed the scent. The Stirling brush shed a few more bristles on me. I'm still fighting with the knot a bit, but after a little work got a nice lather worked up and went to work with the QShave. I found the blade to be pretty decent. Not one I would buy over my current stash, but quite capable and not total rubbish. I started off with the razor set on 3. I really had to ride the cap. It took me a few strokes to figure out the angle. I did a full WTG on 3, realized I had quite decent hair reduction, reloaded my lather, and decided to dial it up to 6 just for giggles. This is where it started getting weird. I was amazed at how much smoother it felt at a higher setting. I did a full XTG pass on 6 that was much more pleasant than my first pass. So I reloaded yet again and did an ATG pass, which I rarely do, on 6? It was the most comfortable ATG pass I have ever done. This razor is an incredible value for the cost, and I can see myself using it often. This was perhaps my best shave result yet. I did still default to my Schick Krona for my head shave. It is my favorite head shaver. It just works for me.

As I was finishing the head shave the weird factor ramped up. My wife walked in and asked me what smelled so good. She said she could smell it outside our room in the hallway. Now understand that my wife has never had much of an interest in my shave hobby. It's my thing and she RARELY comments on it, and never on my soaps except to wonder why I need yet another. She will occasionally comment on an aftershave if she really likes it. So for her to take the time to walk in and question what a scent is was a big thing. And she usually hates Patchouli so I couldn't believe she like it that much.

SO, that led to a conversation about soaps and which scents she likes. I never knew she noticed them. So at my request she went through and smelled each of my soaps and gave her opinions. Again, she really shocked me with her likes/dislikes. Many of them were simply "that's ok" or "not bad". A few got strong reactions.

Good strong reactions?
Tabac coming in at number 1
Stirling Glastonbury
Stirling Iced Pineapple
Lisa's Natural Cedar & Saffron
The Body Shoppe Maca Root
TOBS Eton College and Sandalwood

Bad strong reactions?
B&M Latha Taiga ("don't ever open that near me again")
B&M Petrichor ("Oh dear God")
Stirling Port Au Prince ("That is AWFUL")
Anything with menthol with the exception of Iced Pineapple

It was very cool to have a conversation about something I enjoy. Some soaps might be headed to the trade block, not because she is making me, but to further encourage conversation around my hobby. AND...she is going to let me lather up some soap for her next. Good times.



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Adjustable (Arko) August!!!

August 7 - Grand Blade Trials ***Special Razor Trial***

Razor - QShave (Futur Clone) (Me)
Blade - (3)
Soap - Stirling Barber Shop
Brush - 30DC LE
Post - Alum

Final night on the QShave Futur Clone and it's wide open baby. As far as the dial will go and it looks, well, wicked. I'm trusting the LE brush and Stirling to give me a lather that will be super slick and cushy. I may need it.

I decided not to overthink the angle. Just go with the angle that's been working. The razor is pretty intuitive to use in that way. Make contact with the bottom lip and basically ride the cap at the same time and the blade seems in perfect alignment. The first stroke confirmed I had it right. Great audible feedback as always and the feel was awesome. Smooth but you know you're on the edge of taking more than you want off. Like skin. Second pass was XTG and I even dared a bit of ATG touch up, though I really didn't need it. The baby was easily in the house on this setting as the Voskhod performed like the Russian champion it is. Even in a stupidly aggressive razor!

Those were three fun shaves. I'm glad I spent the 20 bucks on the razor and stand. Something I'll play with from time to time I'm sure. I can see throwing a few blades at it just to see what happens!

Tomorrow night we start the run through the Dorco blades using the Fatboy.

 

Www.boisemudworks.com

 

Thanks very much. It's the only razor I have from England. It looks cool and give a good shave.

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Thank you Jim.

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When my wife comments on the soaps and aftershaves, it makes the entire experience more enjoyable. Between her and the girls, I have no shortage of opinions.

 

Gem OCMM
Gem Stainless (3)
Semogue BC Texugo
Iced Orange Arko SS

Very nice and easy shave this morning.

 

Good shave this morning 2 passes and close to BBS. Had a little irritation around the cheek and neck felt a slight sting from the alum.
Razor: Gillette slim open all the way
Blade: Shark Chrome
Brush: Razorock Bruce
Soap: Stirling Sharp Dressed Man
Post: Alum
AS: Stirling Sharp Dressed Man with menthol


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SOTD August 8, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick M adjustable injector
Brush: Jayaruh boar
Lather: Soap Commander Courage
Post: Witch hazel, Pitralon Classic aftershave
WTG, touch up

Very enjoyable shave. I'm still using this sample of Courage. It's a holdover from last month where I was focusing on using up samples. This one doesn't want to give up and has provided 18 shaves at the moment. I'll use it again later this week in the hopes of finishing it, but I bet it will go to 20 shaves. Nice results in the end.

Have a great day!

 

August 8, 2017
OneBlade Genesis V2
Feather FHS (1)
WDC-6 with Tuxedo Synthetic
Route 66 Bay Lime Twist
Folsom & Co Shambala

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Overall a much better shave this morning. The WDC-6 handle and the Tuxedo knot seem to be made for each other. The brush easily loaded the Bay Lime Twist and the knot has enough backbone to make face lathering enjoyable. I changed out the de-spined Gem blade for a Feather FHS and proceeded with a three pass shave. After minimal touch ups I would grade most of my face as near perfect and give my bottom right neck a B+. Even though I stretched the skin and paid attention, I was just off my A game today. A splash of F&C Shambala and I am ready for the day. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.