Nov 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus

And totally different active chemicals. Probably more like OC Bear spray than sushi joint green paste.

 

Never tried the bear spray, but I’m pretty sure this stuff was comparable. In fact it was kinda like 5 star Thai food with bear spray sauce on top.

 

FYI, outside of Japan, 99% of all “wasabi” is ground up, colored horseradish.

 

Monday shave:

I usually would not use a straight with just 16 hours since my last shave but I wanted to put this cream to the straight razor test. This razor was touched up on a GMK 20k and then went through the pasted strops including 50k and 100k diamond paste. The edge was very sharp and still smooth. The cream took a little work to lather in the bowl and get the right amount of water. It did produce a slick and wet lather, nice for a straight razor shave.

Four passes yielded just tickle from the alum, I thought I nailed the BBS but fell a little short. It is hard to follow up with a BBS after just 16 hours.

Irritation A Closeness A- Smoothness A Sharpness A+

Razor: Brian Brown 7/8 half hollow
Stop: T Miller
Brush: Thäter silver tip
Pre: Nivea
Soap: “A”
AS: Speick, Antaeus ASB
Scent: Chanel Antaeus

 

NOVember 12th
Gillette Flare Tip w Nacet (4)
Omega Pro/ Walnut & Brass Handle
TFS Mastro Miche SS & AS
Thayers

Shaved this evening, still on focus with the this set-up. No time for a photo tonight. We (my wife and therefore me) decided that the textured ceiling in the living room had to go.

I think it went something like this:
Me: 'Can we host my office christmas dinner at our place this year?'
Mrs. Spartan: 'Sure, as long as the living room gets reno'ed before hand'
Me: 'Ok, by reno'ed, you mean the ceiling and new paint?'
Mrs. Spartan: 'Absolutely, plus the crown and baseboards should match that adjacent rooms, and the decorative fireplace I bought can get built in, too.'
Me: (silence)
Mrs. Spartan: 'I almost forgot about the door frames, they need to match as well'.
Me: 'I'm sorry, I meant the Christmas dinner for this year.'

Suffice to say I've been redoing the ceiling for two days. Door frames, crown and baseboards to follow.

The shave was fine...

Have a great day tomorrow, all!

 

That sounds like a busy weekend. I've had a few of those in the past, and they have seemed to have started in much the same fashion as your weekend did.

This weekend, though, I have to give it to my wife. She surprised me while I was hunting with my son by putting the Christmas lights up outside. A neighbor who is in the construction business saw her about to climb the ladder to do the roof line and sent a couple of his hands over to do it for her. We have a peaked roof that is about 30' up at the top, so I am very thankful she thought of me!

 

Good of your neighbour to help your wife. 30 feet up on a roofline is no picnic!

 

Just a catch up on my last few shaves. I am continue to rotate through my razors, making sure they shave well before I put them away. Also rotating through my Soaps, using the same one every other shave until it is gone.

Tuesday’s shave was a second round with my Dubl Duck Special #1. This one doesn’t close on center, so I keep ruining the edge. I keep a barber’s hone and a pasted strop in the bathroom for quick touch ups. The razor was still a little tuggy after that, so it needs to hit some stones before it goes back to the case. Still got a DFS, but the Alum was hot. Love the super soft brush for this shave.

Thursday’s shave was with a Cattarangus Green Lizard that Kevin restored for me. The edge only has a few shaves on it, and reminded me how much the Duck needs work. Two passes and a DFS, touched up and almost caught the baby. Also refilled the Stephen’s Island Lime. I have only ten ounces left. It’s good stuff, and matches the Lime soap really well.

Today’s shave was awesome. This is my first straight razor, a post 1891 5/8 Wade & Butcher that someone loved so much they made a one piece walnut set of scales for it. It came from an estate sale two doors down, and the house has big walnut trees. I hope he carved a branch into the scales. The balance is different, but I caught the baby again, with zero irritation. I love the scent of the Sweet Tobacco, and it was just a great shave.

 

NOVember!!!

November 12 - Qshave Focus Blade Trial

Razor - 1959 Gillette Fatboy
Blade - (1)
Soap - Arko
Brush - Semogue 620
Post - Alum

While I gave the Qshave blade some shaves on the razor itself, I withheld judgement on the blade since the razor was new to me. So, starting tonight, three shaves for an "official Cartel blade trial" on this blade. It wasn't horrible in the Qshave razor so it's worth a bit of study. The company claims it's a Titanium blade made in the USA. That would be a rare find indeed. So, out of curiosity and the search for shaving truth, I emailed the company and asked about it. I received a rather quick response, something that is unusual for blade manufacturers, and here is their response:

Hello Neal,
Our blades are OEM products by Personna. All blades are imported.

Regards,

Iris

Clear as mud, right? Ok we have Personna which would make sense for a US made blade. But they're imported?! From where, South Carolina? I have asked for clarification, but my gut tells me that they are Personnas imported from Israel. Since Personna is an American company I suppose they could claim made in USA while bringing the blades back from the factory over in Israel. Hopefully we'll get a better answer from the mysterious Iris.

So, on to the official blade trial. Arko for the soap, Semogue 620 just because and the Fatboy on 3 to start it mild. A couple of lather notes. I loaded from the Old Spice mug, not from a stick. What seemed like a very good lather with the Semogue wasn't as good on the second pass. I've used the synthetics too much I guess and didn't really load quite enough into the much smaller 620. The lather was still very workable, just a bit thin on the second pass.

The blade is just a tad rough on the first pass but quickly smooths out as it is reducing the beard. Not thrilled with that semi-rough feel but at least it's effective. Second pass was smooth and the XTG was easily done. Some ATG on the neck and additional slide touch ups to finish with a DFS. The baby is in the distance but not close enough to chase. So not a bad result on the mild setting but not the best I've ever had. We'll call it a "high 'meh" result, how's that? Tomorrow I'll dial up to 6 and we'll see how it handles there. Have a great start to your week!

​

 

I agree. True fresh ground wasabi is wonderful and nothing like green spackle

 

November 13

Weber SS
Voskhod (3)
Simpson Chubby 2 Super
Mike's Natural Soap - unscented
Thayers Lavender witch hazel and unrefined shea butter

No scents today...spending time with my favorite kids! Happy Monday!

 

Great looking razor Keith.

Oh my. I have had weekends that started like that and drug on for weeks.

Love the translucent scales on the first razor.

So the Qblades are Personna blades. It could have been much worse.

Lovely photo Charlie.

 

November 13, 2017
OneBlade Genesis
Modified Gem PTFE (3)
Zenith B2 Boar
Nuàvia Rossa

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Weekends are entirely too short. It hardly seems fair for the workweek to start this morning. At least I was able to get a great shave which helps some. The big Zenith whipped up the Rossa easily. The Gem blade continues to smooth out and three passes with touch ups along my jaw line and buffing the neck caught the baby with ease. This razor really makes buffing along my neck easy with little to no chance of irritation. I hope everyone has a great Monday.

 

Monday morning November 13 - all Supply all the way

Supply Single Edge V 2.0 matte black / Personna (2)
Supply Provision 26mm silvertip synthetic brush
Supply Provision Juniper tallow soap (now renamed Sierra Ridge and reformulated as a dense cream)
Osma Alum and Supply Provision Juniper Postshave Tonic (now renamed Sierra Ridge)

Since I abandoned my Rule yesterday to play with my new Supply razor (the company seems to have dropped Provision from its name now), I decided to go all out today and use Supply/Supply Provision items for everything.

I used the super goop lather method on the soap, swirling the brush for quite awhile in the tub and adding water once before eventually moving to my lather bowl -- and whipping there for awhile longer and adding even more water. The result was the best lather I have ever made with this soap.

My usual two passes brought the baby home today. It would have been a perfect shave, except I hurried a bit, making my strokes too quickly, and in the process I pressed. This razor demands a light touch. No weepers or visible irritation but the alum was downright hot on my chin and the underside of my jaw. Fortunately the Supply Provision balm is very good and calmed everything down again.

Hope everyone is heading into what will be a great week!

 

Excellent picture, Charlie!

 

Beautiful picture, Clint!

 

November 13 SOTD:

Razorock Plissoft Brush
@Vlasta Sample E
Gillette Red Tip
Stirling Unscented PSB
Aqua Velva Musk

I enjoy so many of the razors I have, but I don't know that I could say that for just picking a razor up and shaving that there is a better razor than the Gillette Super Speed. And, the red tip may be the best variant of these. It was gym shave, and so like normal, I was a bit rushed. These razors aren't flashy, but they allow for an easy, almost auto pilot shave. Two passes, very near a BBS. You can't ask for much more than that. The cream was sample E from @Vlasta, and the performance was pretty good. I didn't get much scent from it, but it was pleasant. Slick and cushiony. The AV Musk put a finish on this great Monday shave. I hope everyone has a great day!

 

Gem Micromatic Bullet Tip
Gem Stainless (3)
Semogue BC Mistura
Iced Mandarin Arko Stick
Superior 70

Another nice shave from this set up. I am not sure why I am in a rush to use up this Arko stick. There are still 28 more of them waiting in the wings and it will be replaced in rotation...

 

Great write up. Seems like Supply Co has really delivered some quality products.

Great picture Jim. Happy Monday.

 

Thank you Jim .