DECember 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

My Blackbird is pretty danged aggressive already. It shaves above it's. 58 blade gap...no doubt.

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Thas a great looking blade!

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So...earlier I mentioned I was on the fence with Stirling Rose. Here's why...some days I get lazy and don't remove the lather from my lips. Today I was lazy. I noticed my lips were tingling, no biggie, just a weird sensation. Once I applied the Aftershave, my face kinda lit on fire. Not hurting fire, more like an uncomfortable burn. Let's say a 4.6875 on a scale to 10. It lasted for maybe 15 minutes, then tapered off over the next 15 min. Or so.

Stirling's Bay Rum burned me too. Rod told me it was cinnamon oil. So, today I asked @ezlovan about Rose in an email. Very quickly he replied...my skin must not like the fragrance oil blend. Rod told me discontinue use and credited my account $10 to help toward a replacement product! <--- that is a big reason why I'm Stirling exclusive. That's class. That's honor. That's integrity.

Anyway...my loss can be your gain. I'll PIF the puck and AS, both used just the once. I'll pay shipping. Send me a PM if you are in. If i get more than 1 PM, I'll find a randomizer to pick the winner.

Shave on!

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The trick is to not eat your soap.

 

Absolutely! It was a dutch treat event and we had about 16 total people there. Wilson (our boy's name) sat near the middle but my wife and I were relegated to the far side. So we ordered what we wanted for us - a full slab of ribs, large fries, and a half pound of smoked sausage. We were hungry and put most of it away with ease. Oh and then the whole table had banana pudding. It was a great meal!

 

Yesterday:



-Dovo Bismarck
-Jayaruh 400
-TFS Bitter Orange
-Stirling Port au Prince

Sometimes things just don’t click. This was the first shave off a refresh, and I just knew I didn’t get it right from the feel on the strop. And I was right. Not sure why, all I did was touch it up. Well, time to try again.

The TFS soap (Thanks Secret Santa) makes one of those lathers that is just voluminous. I don’t have a very talented nose, but I can’t really get any citrus from this soap. What I do get, is Hot Tamales. It’s pretty cool.

Tonight:




NT Vigour Futur Knockoff
West Coat Shaving Synthetic
La Toja Stick
Stirling Piacenza


I bought the WCS brush on the off chance that it wasn’t a Plisson type, and I have been exploring different synthetic knots. It is colored differently at the tips, but on visual inspection seems very similar. Well, I will tell you one thing: If I was staying at this hotel for more than one night, I would have to leave a FAT tip for housekeeping in the fear that she would be cleaning the toilet with my toothbrush. This thing sproinged so much lather all over the mirror, it looks like a painter hit it with orange peel texture. Oof. Time to adjust my lathering technique with this one. And not use it at home.

 

Decadent December!!!

December 11 - It's TOGGLE TIME!

Razor - 1960 (F4) Gillette Toggle (5)
Blade - (2)
Soap - Jeeves of Hudson Street Bay Rum
Brush - 30DC LE
Post - Alum

Kick it up to 5 and here we go again. Only one notch below my preferred setting for a Gillette Adjustable on most blades and it should be a great shave. The Toggle is feeling like an old reliable to me now. No more awkwardness with the toggle at the end and the weight and balance is fine tuned in my hand.

Jeeves Bay Rum for the soap tonight and it quickly made a great lather with the LE brush. Not even a challenge and this lather is slick. Super product and super scent. As I mentioned earlier when I used it, this is not your Father's Bay Rum. It's not even your best friend's Bay Rum. It's such a unique take on it.

Two passes, touch ups, very near-BBS is definitely what I'm looking for and totally happy with. Great face feel, quiet alum, and all's well in the Lou.

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DECember Vintage Focus

Colgate Cup Soap 15¢
Ocean vintage brush & original boar knot
Osaka Suribachi bowl, cool water
Gillette 88 Black Beauty on 6
Feather Hi-Stainless blade
Alum, Shulton Old Spice
Lime Patchouli Shea lotion


Second try at lathering a NIB vintage soap. It fit just right in a painted steel tub, and got soused heavily after my last attempt. The puck swelled to fit the container & softened enough for better loading. Unlike modern products there was no inner wrapper and the scent has dissipated. It does make good lather, almost on par with vintage Williams. The old boar brush is like many of it's day - a smaller diameter knot that fit the soap dish well. Dropped a slightly used Feather in the 1970 DE and lowered the setting to 6. Somewhere between the lather, a blade of unknown usage, and a new-to-me DE I avoided any nicks and pulled off a respectable DFS+. Alum was silent as the night. All that vintage gear called for a nice AS. Since I've done well scoring Shulton juice I used enough to please me. Finished with a shook up Shea butter lotion to sooth my outside all day face.
Good Shaves Y'all

 

That is a good feeling! I don't often go more than 48 hours, but when it happens a Fat Boy on 9 gets it done.

 

Decadance: self-indulgence

..... Here's some decadence I've engaged in for the last week!







Amazing thread this month gents... About to light the pipe and catch up. Maybe. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a killer Tuesday!

 

What a cool vintage set up, Rick!

 

Looks like a great week, Chris.

 

Thank you. It's a party in here this month! Somebody make some coffee....

 

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Here, I'll work with the pitch you threw me.

Essentially, I am doing a focus on soap. Normally I do mostly Rules, for solidarity with brand newbies and all, but it's December.

The single biggest advantage I see in artisan soap are the ranges of scent available. It's been really different to shave with different scents. November was all about the polarizing Turkish Magic Lemon Goodness, so these are quite a change. The new Bay Rum from @Drygulch is really nice, and R66 has long been a fave. They are definitely more fun than the mass market stuff!

 

Two questions;
1) What soap did you use?
2) Drug Store AS?

I'll try that match up with Jeeves Bay Rum & Florida water.
Thanks for the Inspiration!

Thank you, Jason! I spend enough Hobby Time poking around antique & thrift stores to spot some odd, but interesting gear.

 

That soap is the house shave bowl made by the Boots drug store chain in the UK. The AS is the matching product. The scent is a cedar-patchouli spice thing. Since I am the king of drug store stuff, I brought back a backpack of cheap shave goods from the UK. The Ingram cream is from same trip.

 

Threw you a softball apparently. We can go on tour together. I’ll play a modern Ed McMahon and lob you hanging curveballs.
Turkish Magic Lemon Goodness? I actually just got my first stick of Arko in a package from John @Screwtape. Insert non-DEcadent joke here... over to you, Johnny.

 

I, personally, like Arko very much. Especially on warm toast. Also makes great s'mores. Also, didn't mean to sell it short...

"Turkish Lemon Scented Manna from Above, God's Gift to Wet-Shavers Everywhere"

Make sure you tip your waitress. I'll be here all week.

 

You didn’t sell it short...In fact you used it long enough that Mulder and Scully are coming out to investigate it. I want to believe.