Nov 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus

Congrats Perry! Have a great time with your friends and be safe!

 

MITA @Jayaruh #116 defitch 91. Shave 17 still going great. Better and better technique since start for sure.

 

Have a great time Perry.

 

Great photo. Congrats on the steady progress.

 

Congrats on the progress. Nice picture!

 

Sounds like a great day, Perry!

 

That is cool, Jason. Keep it up.

 

November 11, 2017

Razor: Sterling Tech
Blade: Dorco ST-301
Brush: Cremo by Vie-Long Horse
Soap: Arko
Post: None

On the road in Chapel Hill, NC. I didn't plan this, but realized that this was pretty close to a minimalist shave. The razor was the Sterling Tech which, depending on your feelings, is either the latest iteration of the Gillette Tech or a sad pretender. Either way, it is an inexpensive razor from a good company. The blade is the regular Dorco ST-301, a platinum blade but not the double-coated Prime Platinum. The brush is a small but serviceable horsehair and the soap is Arko- enough said.

As for the shave... I left the brush a bit on the wet side and it worked the Arko into plenty of lather for the two passes. The razor is comparable to any Tech and the blade is decent. Overall, I'd call it a DFS with no issues but maybe a spot or two that could be a bit closer. I forgot the Alum, etc. so it was just a cold water rinse and no irritation.

 

Great travel kit. Have a safe trip.

 

Happy Veterans Day 2017!

Many who gather here have given parts of their lives in the armed services. Thank you for your time and sacrifice on behalf of others, and for your faithful service to the United States of America.

 

Gem Micromatic Bullet Tip
Gem Stainless (2)
Semogue BC Mistura
Iced Mandarin Arko Stick
Superior 70

After the first shave, I had a few missed spots. Other than that the shave was excellent and lasted nearly 14 hours for me. I used it again tonight and received another spectacular shave. It is nice and mild but shaves very nicely. After 2 shaves with it, I am feeling confident that I will get it dialed in sooner rather than later. It may not unseat either of my other micromatics but it will be a nice addition. As always, the franken Arko stick performed very well.

 

So what is everyone up to on a Saturday?
https://www.facebook.com/adam.mcquarrie.3/posts/1564222403663424

 

Glad you used the glove. You wouldn't want to go nuts with that. My favorite part was the little woman's sarcastic tone. " why don't you get your straw"?

 

If you don't make it, Adam, have your Bride send me your razors and brushes. I can be a Dark Sider. I already like cookies!

Who wants Adam's soaps and creams?

@Paul Turner has dibs on the Mandom!

What are we missing?

 

That would change his CT to Icy Hot Balls.

 

NOVember!!!

November 11 - Qshave Focus

Razor - Qshave Futur Clone
Blade - (3)
Pre-Shave - Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap
Soap - Route 66 Sweeney Todd
Brush - Stirling Synthetic
Post - Alum

Dialed the Qshave down to 1 tonight since I have had such good luck with the higher settings. Let's see how much of a difference it makes. The usual pre-shave face wash I've been doing and a great Route 66 Sweeney Todd lather off of the Stirling brush. Note to self - order more Sweeney Todd - you're about out.

The Qshave at the lowest setting is still more of a gap than most other razors. It's just under a Gillette adjustable at 9. You'd think it would be very similar to a shave with a wide open Fatboy or Slim. Well, it's not. At least not for me. Or, perhaps I'm just feeling the difference from the Qshave at 6. Either way, this thing is rather finicky at the low end. The head design is quite intuitive in helping set the angle. Match the the cap and the guard bar on your face and it's perfectly aligned. On the higher settings that still gives you the ability to adjust angle either direction. Huge gaps equal more room to move. At the lowest setting that angle is very tight. You have to stay right in the groove to get it to work right.

It's safer at 1 than 6, true, but my finish is a high end CCS at best. No DFS after two passes and touch ups. I felt like I was fighting the whole way to keep the razor working. It's still very audible at 1 which helps, because if you aren't hearing it you aren't removing anything. But even after all of that I finished short of my usual goal by quite a bit.

Does that make it a bad razor because of that? Nope, not at all. Surprisingly finicky for a big beast with a reputation for being aggressive, but that reputation is built on the high settings. My recommendation for this razor? Stay above 4 for the best results. 3 isn't horrible, but anything below certainly doesn't work for me.

Tomorrow night I'm going to continue the Qshave focus but move to a three day focus on the Qshave blade. I've requested some info from the manufacturer about its origin, since it says USA. That may be an exercise in futility to learn anything but I'm trying. I'll be using the blade in my Fatboy for a regular three day blade trial setup to see what it does.

Happy Veteran's Day to all!

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Respect

 

Great Balls O'Fire

 

NOVember MMXVII A.D.
No Variation - Day Eleven



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120 into the Arko Stick Eternal! Did some ink therapy earlier, just finished the Georgia and Bama football tapes. Good stuff. As an aside, shaving one's pectoral with a shavette works out just fine. Normally I'd use a Fatboy for pre tattoo prep, but today, since it's NOVember! Fwiw...shave was good. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a superb Sunday!

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Charlie- would you agree that within that group, the difference between one and five is not enough to foil good technique?