DECember 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Thanks Dan.

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Awesome, Dan! In case your Bride needs more fashion ideas...

 

Merry Christmas, Jim. Enjoy the time off.

 

Thanks, Charlie... but there's a strong possibility I will not show her that picture.

 

I've been away from the forum this week as I was out of town. Came back to over 600 unread posts! Good grief! Not sure I'll ever really get caught up, but I'll try some.

 

You had better eat dinner first, use the bathroom and tell your loved ones “good night.”

 

I'm quite late to the party concerning this but please know I am praying for you and your employees. Tough news to deliver but I'm sure you did it with as much compassion and grace as is possible. Working for your guys to help set them up with new jobs says a ton about your integrity.

 

You mean he walks you???

 

Just caught up. Glad it's slow at work. Lot of good looking gear and pets. I am also hoping the hard times smooth out.

 

@jtspartan sorry this took so long. Is this what you are looking for?

 

I am caught up on the reading. Great pics, great shaves, everyone. No way I could ever catch up commenting on how great they all are.

Home for five days. Seems like a vacation. Lots of family and good food.

Did a couple of straight shaves on the road this week. No different than one at home, duh. Except it really is nice to go through the comfort of the routine when I am gone.





I have been using shave sticks a lot lately on the road, and the DR Harris is really a good one. Thanks to @Bama Samurai.



I hope everyone has a fantastic, peaceful and joyous weekend.

 

December 22, 2017- Fatboy Friday

Razor: F2 Gillette 195 Adjustable (5)
Blade: German Wilkie (1)
Brush: 30DC LE/Pure Badger
Cream: KMF fragrance-free
Post: Alum, Listerine, WH

Time to honor a tradition that I've been neglecting lately- the celebration of Fatboy Friday. I'm not sure if it qualifies as a "decadent" razor, but it's a great one. Easy BBS with, unfortunately, one weeper. (Technique fail; I forgot to adjust for the heavier razor)

 

Absolutely! I’ll PM you.

 

Fatboys definitely qualify as decadent razors. But, then, technique can make even a cheap Chinese knockoff a decadent razor.

 

Awesome!!

So your saying that technique trumps tools?

 

Great picture of that Toggle.

 

Take your time, master angle and pressure, and you'll be able to shave with any razor you like, even Straights.

 

That's a rumor that I've heard around here once or twice.

 

Decadent December!!!

December 22 - Toggle vs Fatboy

Razor - 1959 (E4) Gillette Fatboy & 1960 (F4) Gillette Toggle (6)
Blade - (3)
Soap - Stirling Barbershop
Brush - 30DC LE
Post - Alum

Well here we go. Final night of comparing the Toggle and Fatboy as I near the end of my time with a Toggle in my den. It's been a fantastic couple of weeks, and very fun for me even if it has brought my reputation as a stunt shaver into question. This much luxury gear and this many luxury shaves in a row haven't made me soft, I promise. But I have found myself in no great hurry to grab the Soyuz 1 and a Tiger.

My plan tonight is to use both razors. Half a face each and rotate passes. So, here's how it laid out. Fatboy on the right for the WTG pass, Toggle on the left. Toggle on the right for XTG, Fatboy on the left. And, half of each side with each razor for the ATG. Looking for feel of the razor, handling, ease of the shave, differences in balance etc. that might cause someone to choose one over the other. Ignoring the cool factor of the Toggle in modern times and also ignoring the price difference when manufactured. That's as objective as I can make a shave. It isn't perfect, but it's somewhere down the road.

Stirling Barbershop with the 30DC LE Tuxedo. Fantastic lather so that's a neutral. Let's skip to the final result. BBS in three passes as usual. Nothing extra needed.

So what's the difference? It's subtle, but the Fatboy's balance is superior to the Toggle by juuuuuuuuust a hair. That extra weight in the Toggle, and the fact it's shifted slightly to the head, creates a difference in handling that doesn't feel quite as "easy" as the Fatboy. However, it isn't difficult to adjust to the Toggle and make it work perfectly. It just isn't quite the "intuitive feel" of the Fatboy. The feel on the face during the shave? The same. The result? The same. Ease of holding the razor? Extremely close but the Fatboy just wins out. Knurling seems a bit nicer and that balance thing still applies. Again....subtle difference and I tried to shrug it off during the XTG pass and ignore it but it never completely left my awareness.

Fantastic and double decadent shave that settled the issue for me. I am working on a complete review of the Toggle that will include my comparison with the Fatboy, but the short version is this. Given the slight advantage in feel and handling the Fatboy seems to have, and applying the price difference back in the day, $10 for the Toggle, $1.95 for the Fatboy (or up to $2.49 depending), it's pretty easy to see why testers back then put the Toggle down and kept the Fatboy in their hands. A legend was born while a really cool and unique design faded into history. Until we showed up. I'm glad we are seeing more of the Toggles around. Maybe some day I'll find one in the wild I can get for a steal to add to my den. It is a fantastic shaving tool with a great and fascinating history, and it's just a cool thing to have around.

Hope your weekend plans are joyous, fun, and most of all safe! I know many will be travelling over the next three days or having company in your homes. Check in whenever you can and we'll keep your place at the table here until you're able to sit back down and relax from the holidays.

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