August 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

A lovely summer shave coming to the end of the season with PAA Crown King Pineapple Bayrum and VIBR. Sticking with the Schick adjustable and JR191 this week as well.
Smooth 2 pass shave no sound from the Alum.



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Schick Krona
Dorco Platinum Prime
Omega 10049 Boar
Mystic Water Sandalwood Rose
KMF Lavender
Thayers Rose Witch Hazel
Brut

I decided to try the Dorco in a milder razor today. It was a head shave day, and I always use the Krona for head shaves, so I decided to use it all the way through. Results were a solid DFS in three passes.

The Mystic Water Sandalwood Rose is the earlier iteration of their soap formula. The scent is incredible and fairly strong. The rose is very forward, with a woody spiciness that adds a lot of depth. The initial lather with the soap is pretty good, but I found that it broke down fairly quickly. I want to try this scent in their reformulated soap, as I really enjoy it. I ended up adding some KMF Lavender for a super-lather for my head shave, and it was quite nice. Thayers and then good ol' Brut finished it off.

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Adjustable (Arko) August!!!

August 29 Grand Blade Trials

Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (3)
Blade - (1)
Soap - Arko
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Post - Alum

Some of you probably thought I had forgotten the Arko this month. Nope, finishing off with it. And some of you are probably looking at the blade choice and thinking "doesn't he hate that blade?" Why yes, yes I do. Or at least I always have. Well, hate may be too strong a word. The Flying Eagle? Despise it. Tiger? Abhor it. Gillette Rubie? My least favorite Russian and a blade I have often expressed some harsh feelings toward. However, believing as I do that technique trumps tools, I figured it's time to give it a trial to have a fair shot to see if my skills are now honed enough to turn it into a good performer. I know some people love it, so it can't be all bad, right?

Speaking of all bad, it's been awhile since I've used a boar brush. Or a badger. I've been Captain Synthetic lately and it showed in my face lathering tonight. Rubbed the Arko stick on as usual with it, went to work with the Omega and had a great lather for the first pass. Barely enough lather left in the brush to even cover on the second pass though. If I had done a third I would have had to start with another run of Arko. Yeah, that bad. Clearly I've forgotten that the Synths are much easier and faster to lather with. But, Arko is slick even when a bit on the thin side so it didn't present a problem for two passes and touch ups.

The result? Well, the Rubie didn't disappoint, in that it disappointed as I expected. However, the feel wasn't all that bad. Actually smooth on the mild setting and irritation is very low if there is any at all. However, the finish is CCS/DFS. Not the best but certainly not the worst. I'm sensing the issue may just be the lack of sharpness that may improve as the razor gets more aggressive.

Well, for those of you holding your breath (all 2.5 of you) my decision on the job has been made. I'll be jumping ship to the new offer. I'll notify my current boss tomorrow (that should be a fun conversation) and start the new job on Thursday. I'm sure when she hears where/what I'll be doing she'll be happy to show me the door. Could be an interesting, if a bit shortened, day. Have a great one!

 

Good luck at the new job, Neal!

 

Hope the new job goes well for you, Neal! Assuming, of course, that you get out the door alive from your current one...

Btw, what's the trick with boar brushes? Just much longer and heavier loading of product than with the synthetic?

 

Hey Neal, been catching up on your blade trials. Have you used any of the Gillette vintage super blue blades, the ones that come in the dispensers?

 

Hammock sales?

 

Even worse. I'm going to a competitor - selling AND training their staff in mattress sales. Bonus based on percent of bed sales in the store. It's a full line furniture store instead of a mattress specialty like I've been in. Should be LOTS more opportunities to sell, meaning more money plus the bonus on every mattress sold should mean even more money.

 

Thank you Clint. It took a little to get used to the knot, however, all worked out.

 

Congrats on the job, buddy. Good luck dragging up. Never any fun.

 

Good luck with the new job.

 

All the best at your new job Neal.

 

Good luck with the new job Neal - and giving your notice! Hopefully it'll prove to be a good move for you!

 

Lavanille wafts back and forth between vanilla with a touch of lavender and dirt (I don't mean that as an insult I mean it is an accurate depiction of me smelling dirt in the fragrance). It's a hard one to figure out but I kind of like that about it.

 

August 30, 2017
Gem Damaskeene Open Comb
Gem GTFE (5)
Ever Ready 100T with TGN Finest
CRSW Jeff’s Soap
Floid Blue

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Another very good shave this morning. The little Ever Ready is just the right size for the Jeff's Soap container. Face lathering the soap was easy and I went with a traditional three pass shave. Paying attention to detail and skin stretching let me skip the extra pass on my right neck. Despite nicking myself, I am pleased with with the results. After a splash of Floid Blue I am ready to fight Atlanta traffic. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

 

Great picture Randy.

 

Another great 2 pass shave delivered with Caties Bubbles Irish coffee this morning. I love this scent then some TSD Vanilla Bourbon to top it off. Breakfast of champions



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Well, it's most likely an issue of getting the right amount water into the soap I would guess. Some boars can be a bit moody during break in.

I'd try this: Next shave, get your Go-To soap, the one that never fails and you've had the most experience with. When I'm "dialing in" a new soap or brush, I palm load. Soak the lower 1/3 of the bristles in your boar for 3 or 5 minutes in warm water, then shake it out as much as possible. Starting with a barely damp brush, load the brush on the puck until you have a creamy proto lather. You may have to add a few drops of water to get the proto lather to develop. Then build the lather in your palm. Paint stroke motion works best as opposed to swirling. Slowly add water by quickly passing the brush tips under running water every 30 seconds or so with vigorous paint strokes on your palm and really pound the water into the lather. By the time you've done about 5 of these water additions, you should have lovely lather.

We want to "train" your boar at this point, and the vigorous paint stroking is also going to help fatigue the bristle tips and accelerate some splitting, which is going to help with the face feel and absorption of water into the bristle. Once she's broken in, you'll just load and go in whatever fashion you've become accustomed to.

I'd do a mini-Focus with the SOC. It's a truly great brush, and it's going to reward you if you spend some time with it. By the end of the Focus, the SOC will be sufficiently broken in and you'll have developed sufficient familiarity that you can proceed to normal operating conditions.

Edited to add a pic of mine. It has a couple hundred uses, but the tips are wonderfully soft, with great boar backbone.

 

SOTD August 30, 2017

Blade: Schick
Razor: Personna injector
Brush: Artisan badger
Lather: Fine Platinum
Post: Witch hazel, Fine Platinum aftershave
WTG, touch up

Easy and effective shave this morning with Fine Platinum. Great scent, terrific lather, and nice post shave. The Personna injector is mild yet effective. Overall satisfying way to start the day.

Hope you have a great one!