August 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Thank you Mark, Clint, and Jim! Hope you have a great Friday.

 

Cognac & Cubans is a fantastic scent.

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I did Stirling Gentleman yesterday, Cognac and Cubans today. I'll have to do Wholly Kaw Jamestown Gentleman tomorrow to finish off my little tobacco streak. Cognac and Cubans is definitely a great scent!

 

Thank you. Black and white can be fun to work with once in a while

 

Thank you Jim.

Great photo and lineup Jim. I can't get over how good the 400 and the Futur look together.

 

Great picture and lineup Randy.

 

11 August 2017 R E D Friday OLD Blade Focus Shave

Pre: Acqua calda, soap from the container and a hot towel
Razor: Gillette 1911 Single Ring OLD Type
Blade: The Voskhod
Brush: Rubberset 303
Soap: Route 66 "Rum Runner"
Post: Hot/Cold water rinse, alum block, cold towelx2, Dominello Vitali Calming Post Shave Moisturizer
After Shave: Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum, "refreshing as an island breeze."

Final blade audition week comes to a close. Another tie. Shark Super Chrome & Voskhod finished pretty much neck and neck. That makes two razors that can have a split personality. The other being my '52 Super Speed Black Tip.
Today being Friday, I broke out the Route 66 "Rum Runner". @Salty Belle's creation did it's usual outstanding job. The Rubberset 303 whipped up a slick, fragrant lather that left my face feeling great.
Got a bit of an early start this morning so I was able to get in a 3 pass shave. When I was done, thanks to some J hooking on my lower neck, the baby strolled in and plopped down.
Some VIBR put the finishing touch on a very nice weekday shave.
Going to put the OLD aside for now and enjoy the rest of Adjustable August.

Wear RED today.
Oh yeah, before I forget...Fat Boy Kim can suck a MOAB.

 

You my friend make an astute prognostication. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons my DE shaves have improved to the point that they have is that I was indeed previously not being careful with skin stretching. The way I stretched my skin with my straight shaves (more just tilting my head in various directions) was not as pronounced as I needed for the DE. My shaves have improved since adapting a bit more drastic stretching technique for DE shaves and actually using my second hand.

 

I find myself drawn to this unit. I can say that if it were using Feather AC blades (of which I have a lifetime supply hoarded for my AC shavettes), I'd already have one. Still, the attraction is strong for me with this one...

So agree. My favorite brush currently is a little 21mm Trimmy with a TGN silver tip. For me, it's the perfect size and shape, does everything right, and simply never fails.



I should be receiving some Sudsy Soapery Lavender and Peppermint in the mail today, hoping to give it a spin for tonight's shave before I start my 30 Day Obligation tomorrow. I've seen a couple of posts in this thread today Featuring T&S, L&L and Wholly Kaw donkey milk soaps...these are next on my SSAD check list. For those of you who have experience with these, how do you all feel about them?

EDIT: OH! Has anyone tried the Pure2O soaps? Hearing great things about this one as well...

 

Looks great also.

 

I don't recall if you have tried the General razor but it is one of the best AC razors I have tried.

Great looking brush.

 

If you want a fantastic tobacco hit, RazoRock Puros nails it. Especially the aftershave.

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I haven't tried the General yet, so thanks for that . It's on my radar now. I have some research to do. This is the brass version, of which you speak?

It's amazing that little brush. I have lot's of TGN knotted custom handles but none of them check off all of my boxes the way that little guy does.

 

Adjustable Arko August - and Fat Boy Friday!!!

Today's shave was brought to me by the following:

Razor: Gillette Fat Boy
Brush: JR113
Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Soap: Arko
Post: Nivea Post Shave Balm
A/S: Pinaud Clubman Classic Vanilla

Today I swapped the Slim for the Fat Boy....after all, it is Fat Boy Friday, right??
I'm still in awe with the Arko shave stick. It's almost like magic the way the lather just explodes! Just from the initial lathering, there was plenty on the brush for three passes, plus the back of my neck. The JR113 boar has such a great feel on the face as well! Yep...got a little greedy today and threw in the ATG pass - which did result in a few small weepers. A cold water splash was enough to stop them, though. A wiping with some witch hazel, some Nivea Balm, and a generous splash of the Clubman to finish it all off. What did I get for being greedy, aside from a couple of weepers? A most excellent close shave! Were the weepers worth it? Absolutely!!

Enjoy your shaves and have a great day everyone!!

 

I'm right there with you. Those are on my list to try too. This morning was my first experience with T&S, and based on the scent and performance today I'll definitely be looking at more of their stuff. It's really good. I've tried Nuavia, but not the Pure20 line. The Nuavia is fantastic but is really pricey, so I'm hoping the Pure20 is to Nuavia what Latha is to B&M.

I'm curious to know what you think of the Lavendar and Peppermint. My only Sudsy Soapery soap is Jack Frost, which I didn't like the scent of (I'm not a fan of "spice" scent in my soaps), and is now up on the trading block. I felt like the "whipped" thing makes it a bit pricey as well, but some people rave about it. I couldn't get past the spice smell to give it a few tries, but considered the L&P scent for a future trial.

 

I think I have decided on the T&S West Indies as a first order. My understanding is that the new scent profiles from T&S really have people divided into either a Love It or Hate It camp. West Indies looks to be most in my wheelhouse. If the performance turns out as good as people say I'll venture into another of the new scents.

The Pure2O line supposedly performs like the other PC veggie offerings, just made with tallow at a significantly reduced price point. I have enough fancy soap bowls in my den, so I'm definitely not trying to increase those numbers with a bunch of used PC bowls. The Pure2O line seems like just the ticket...

 

Adjustable August Focus

VanDerHagen Luxury soap
VanDerHagen Luxury mug
B-400 / Tuxedo brush
'59 Gillette Fat Boy @9
Sputnik Teflon Coated blade
Alum, P&G Old Spice AS


Keeping on Focus, another blade from the stash. Taking inspiration from TSD - dusted off a soap from my Newb days. If the formula hasn't changed VDH Lux is a "hypoallergenic shave soap with glycerin, emolient shea, mango and cocoa butter". I picked up the puck as a single item. The mug came later. Quick wetting & shake out of excess cool tap water on the Tux knot followed by easy loading of soap. Face lathering happened needing just a touch of additional water. I stopped and checked - Luxury shares a scent profile with Tabac! Three easy passes with the Sputnik loaded #195, a little bit of chin buffing, nice blade. I'll leave this one in the razor until tugging ensues. Alum sparkled just a little. New Old Spice blended well with the lingering soap smell. DFS was achieved in all aspects.
Good Shaves Y'all!

 

Good photo and great description of your shave.