September 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

September 11, 2017

Razor: Schick '500' Injector
Blade: Schick Proline B
Brush: Razorock Plissoft 22
Cream: KMF fragrance-free
Post: Alum, Listerine, WH

Not a lot to say. I think the blade may have been a bit off as the shave was a bit rough and not quite as close. Nevertheless, a decent DFS with no issues.

 

See my post in The Stirling Exchange thread

 

Thank you, Clint!

 

Thanks. The guy who made it isn't making brushes anymore, but it's a beast. Its solid aluminum, with a 28mm Ubersoft II knot from Shave Envy. I love how the handle gets warm when you soak it in warm water. I wanted to put a badger in it, but a 28mm badger is getting pretty pricey so I went synthetic.

 

Link?

 

I have maintained partial focus. Yesterday I went off of soap focus:

Haslinger Schafmilch
Maggard Plissoft
CGB Kamisori
Pinaud

Today I kept soap and AS on focus:
Fatboy w/Feather blade (set on 5)
Maggard Plissoft
Stirling Glacial MITA
Aqua Velva Ice Sport

After a month of boar brushes I am on a synthetic kick. Stirling and Haslinger are both top notch. Haslinger gave me a great post shave feel, but Stirling beats it by matching the post shave feel along with superior slickness and scent.




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The Stirling Exchange

 

Ha. That's the first thing I thought of too.

 

Chris how does the Haslinger Schafmilch compare to mutton tallow soap from Stirling? I recently tried Electric Sheep. The scent was off but the slickness of it has ruined all other soaps for me on slickness. I will now base all other soaps off of Electric Sheep.

 

In my estimation the Stirling has the edge. It's easier to get to the sweet spot. The Schafmilch is not bad by any means. The scent is mild and soapy, and if it was all I had I wouldn't complain about performance. But in a side by side comparison I think the Stirling has better slickness.

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Still working on shaving and blindly comparing two samples a showdown between Stirling Spice and Barrister and Mann Reserve Spice. Absolutely in love with the Schick injector though this has become a personal favorite the dark side may be winning gents. I have also been using old spice Aftershave and I really like it so far.




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Lots of folks are down on new formulation OS. I like it just fine. It's different from the Shulton formula, but certainly has it's own merits. I always have some on hand.

 

Smells like the Drug Store SEptember!!!! (Stirling Booster)

September 11

Razor - Schick Injector E2
Blade - (1)
Soap - Stirling Scots Pine Sheep
Brush - 30DC LE
ASOD - Clubman Special Reserve

After three very nice shaves on the Schick Type M I dug out my Type E2 for a few days of shaving. I hadn't seen this razor in so long I had to hunt a bit. Loaded a fresh blade, put some pine scented sheep in a lather with the LE brush and the shave was on.

This razor is a bit more aggressive, or so it seems, than the M. Admittedly I had the M set halfway so it can get more aggressive. Just seemed to feel the blade more with this razor. Nothing wrong with that. Just different. Two passes and some light touch up to a very nice DFS. A third pass would likely have caught the baby but I suspected irritation was rising. And, the alum proved me right. Nothing outrageous but definitely a bit warmer than the past few shaves. Still, no issues at all in my mind and it was a fun and successful shave. Tomorrow morning - Clubman Special Reserve just to change things up. Don't use it much either.

We're now seeing the clouds from the remnants of Irma over us here in the Lou. We may get some of the rain if it keeps coming our direction in the next couple of days. I hope everyone in Florida and all points affected are safe and sound. And - for the Texans - I haven't forgotten about you either. Hope you're getting back to a bit of normalcy from the Harvey visit. Here's to some calmer weather as we move on through September!

 

Tuesday September 12 after midnight - Supply Provision

Supply Provision Single Edge injector on two-dot plate / Personna (8)
Semogue Owners Club cherry wood boar brush
Supply Provision Juniper tallow soap
Alum, re-lather and Thayers Witch Hazel Original

I would describe tonight's shave as aesthetically unpleasing but functionally okay. I soaked the SOC boar, shook it out, loaded more heavily than I would a synthetic or a badger brush, then whipped up what looked like a good lather in my bowl. But when I painted my face, all I had was a nearly invisible runny coat. On the other hand, it was slick enough I could shave.

I reloaded the brush for longer between passes, and the same thing happened again.

In the end, though, my two passes brought me a near BBS with no nicks or weepers and alum that was a bit warm in spots on my neck but nothing exceptional.

I then reloaded my brush for a third time even longer, again whipped up what looked like a good lather, and this time did manage to paint a visible coat on my face. Nothing to write home about though.

I'm not sure if this SOC boar needs more break in time, if I need to change my technique drastically with it, if it just isn't going to work well with tallow soaps, or if it's a combination of all three.

Cleanshaven but puzzled up north.

 

Tuesday shave:

Decided to take my own advice, I was jet lagged and unable to focus after a sleepless night so I put down the straight and loaded my Cobra Classic. 4 passes to an epic shave.

Irritation A+ Closeness A+

Razor: Cobra Classic w/ Feather Pro (1)
Brush: Silver tip from Etsy
Pre: Nivea
Soap: Tabac
AS: Speick Lucky Tiger
Scent: MDCI Invasion Barbare

 

SEptember 12 SOTD:

30DC LE Brush
MWF
Schick Type A
Stirling Unscented PSB
Vintage Old Spice AS

 

12 SEptember

Pre-Shave: Hot Shower
Brush: JR #180 Badger
Soap: Edwin Jagger (Aloe Vera?) w/ Stetson AS
Razor: Valet VC2, Autostrop
Blade: Feather FHS-10 (4)
Post-Shave: Cold Water rinse and Stetson AS
Photo:


This morning I reached to the back of the soap collection and pulled out a soap that I have had for some time, the Edwin Jagger. Now I have had this soap for about 3yrs. I have not used it since the beginning of this year and I have a little left at the bottom of the half pint jar. The scent was a little lacking so to help spruce it up I put a splash of aftershave on it. I loaded the JR #180 like I hated the soap, though I am just trying to use it up that way I can buy another soap. Face lathered to a really good lather followed by a three pass shave. Not the worlds best shave but okay. I need to work on my technique with this razor to get a better shave out of it. Finished off the shave with a cold water rinse and then some Stetson AS to finish it all off. The best part of an okay shave is I get to shave again tomorrow.

 

I don't have any experience with the SOC boar but I recall reading that they do take longer to break in. Good luck with getting it sorted out.

 

The Type A has to be one of the coolest razors ever made. Just a fantastic lineup.

 

12 SEptember 2017 Blade Focus Shave

Pre: Hot water, soap from the puck and a hot towel
Razor: GEM MicroMatic Open Comb, circa 1930-1940
Blade: GEM Blue Star Single Edge
Brush: JJ#1 USS Belleau Wood CVL-24 Tribute Brush by @jimjo1031
Soap: Catie's Bubbles "Tonsorial Parlour"
Post: Hot/Cold water rinse, alum block, cold towelx2 and Dominello Vitali Calming Post Shave Moisturizer
After Shave: The one and only original Clubman

Went for the trifecta this morning. Three days of Catie's Bubbles ended with "Tonsorial Parlour". JJ#1 whipped it into a great lather and the GEM MMOC/Blue Star combo again made short work of my weekday stubble. 2.5 passes of shaving excellence led to a BBS shave. Splashed on some Clubman, the drug store staple and Tuesday was up and running.
Happy Trails y'all!