DECember 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Well, look at that. Brian you made the 4000th post! You should get extra cookies for that!

 

"Are your canals normally small?" Ummmm.....I'm still trying to come up with the perfect answer for that. That could go bad in so many ways. I'll join you in pondering over a cookie. Since they're real.

 

Decadent December!!!

December 27

Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (Neal)
Blade - (2)
Pre-shave - Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip
Post - Alum

Nothing has changed since yesterday in this setup. Sorry, you've seen the picture already, but I'll put it up again. Two passes, touch up, BBS, smooth, fantastic lather, great feel, quiet alum. What more needs to be said?!

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There has to be a CT in there somewhere.

 

4000! That's crazy

 

Are you talking about the black plastic case?

 

Any port in a storm?

 

I hope you are feeling better. I also had the flu after X-mas so I feel your pain.

 

Nice piece of kit Doug! Did Tom make more than just that one bowl?

Thank you Gentlemen of The 30 DC! Being semi-retired takes the angst out of mundane tasks like waiting for my number to be called. They locked the doors at 4 PM, but served everyone already inside. So I ran my phone battery out playing TWD's No Man's Land and people watching. Finished the evening enjoying home made Reuben sandwiches with my parents. Did you know dachshunds eat sauerkraut?

Keith @Keithmax did a test using all his soaps and a hot scuttle? Seems I recall there were some soaps that get weird at high temps.

 

I will sink and take my chances with the sharks on the swim to shore.

 

No pic Thursday

I woke up a little late so no pic and no straight razor. I had my 2011 R41 loaded so it was the weapon of choice, it had Super Iridium with one shave on it in the breach. MdC was a good choice as it was nice and slick, much slicker than I remember. Just short of epic with a weeper and a tickle from the alum.

Irritation A Closeness A+

Razor: 2011 Mühle R41
Brush: Romero silver tip
Pre: Proraso
Soap: MdC
AS: Speick AS, L’Ocitanne ASB
Scent: YSL Rive Gauche

 

My Mom had a dachshunds that ate most anything that did not eat him first. I will be waiting for my Reuben sammach at the mail box.

 

This month has gone way off the charts. Just to put some numbers out there - in April this year we had our previous busiest month finishing with 3754 posts across 188 pages. May was just under that with 185 pages and 3685 posts. We have four days and change left on December and have passes 2000 and 200 pages and are going strong!

I know it can be a bit of a pain to keep up with everything but I have to admit I like the traffic. Having this many people going strong with great shaves, gear, advice, jokes, pictures of kids, shenanigans....I mean.....it gets no better than this, in my humble opinion.

And......programming note - January 1 will be our 3rd anniversary of the thread and the start of the 4th year here!!! That's amazing. Theme for the month - just so you have a few days to prepare if you want to join in - Shavettes and, by request, Jeeves January! So, if you have a shavette or two or three you are welcome to break them out for the month, and if you have Jeeves of Hudson Street soap you're welcome to give it a month of shaves. You can do either, both, or neither as always. You know how formal we are around here.

 

There was a wide range of performance under high heat. I recall MdC and AdP were both a big fail in high heat while the top performers when using my tea kettle are Queen Charlotte Soaps cream and Route66.

Tip for very hot scuttle use:

The lather will look too bubbly and thin when very hot, do not worry. As you apply it to your face it will cool down, become thicker and lose the bubbles. Just try a couple of different soaps to see what works.

 

I have no jeeves...however I do have 3 or 4 shavettes... Just do not tell any of the TOSTers.

 

Theory:

Aggressive razors extend blade life if the angle is kept at its optimal minimum. High angles in mild razors roll blade edges and tear up newbies.

Discuss!

 

That will take a few cups of coffee to ponder.

 

The physics works out in my head.

Google "elastic deformation" "inelastic deformation" and "plastic deformation"

It's why people use a strop on SR blades.

 

Most all DE blades are PTFE coated, advertised or not.

I sometimes wonder.... When the soft Teflon wears away, do we begin to perceive a blade as "dulling"?

 

I'm going to answer this by going more Slim vs. Fatboy, since the Toggle is closer to the Fatboy than the Slim. Acknowledging the difference between the Toggle and Fatboy (weight, balance, difference in moving vs. bending the blade on adjustment) they both have a very close feel and effectiveness with each other. The Toggle comes across as a bit more aggressive, but other than that they're about the same.

The Slim is the lightest of the three and has a different head geometry. I found some pictures that @Jayaruh shared in 2016 that help see the difference.

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I shared that information because I think it explains the difference as I experience it. My own experience is that the Slim is easier to maneuver (probably due to the longer handle and difference in weight, as well as the slimmer head) and doesn't feel as aggressive as the Fatboy. An example is the fact that for the past two nights I've had the Slim on 9 - my namesake setting - and have gotten absolutely irritation free, smooth and wonderful shaves. When I go 9 on the Fatboy or Toggle I get great shaves but I run into some irritation, even if it's light. It just seems to me that the Slim is a bit milder across the board.

Since I don't shave my lip or chin I can't speak to the handling of the slimmer head vs. the larger head of The Fatboy/Toggle, but I have seen a lot written about how much easier it is to work those areas with the Slim.

Are we on the same page? Oh, and to answer the obvious question at this point - which razor do I prefer? I would say the Fatboy first, the Toggle on performance just a hair under the Fatboy, but on coolness factor it would win, then the Slim. But the preference is tiny. My reason for preferring the Fatboy has to do with my preference for aggressive razors over mild in most cases. Its styling just looks a bit cooler than the Slim as well. Boy, am I superficial or what?!