DECember 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Very well put. Thanks.

 

Yes sir. But I've read the best way to do it is low to high. I can't wrap my brain around that technique, so I do what makes sense to me.

Although there are 9 settings, I consider it 3 different gaps...some days it may be 9, 6, 3...others 7, 4, 2. It really just depends on how much growth I have to start with.

3 separate base plates, so to speak, available at my whim. No changing, simply turn a dial. It's the perfect package, to me.

However, I no longer use them exclusively. I have modern razors that are better shavers, but I don't change the plates between passes with those.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

Ah cool. I have not played much with modern stuff.

 

Decadent December!!!

December 28

Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (Neal)
Blade - (3)
Pre-shave - Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip
Post - Alum

No reason to change a thing when this shave began, so you get the same boring picture one more time. I'd like to say the third shave in a row was as awesome as the first two. It was, with one exception. That blade chatter that was mentioned last night in the Slim vs Fatboy/Toggle discussion - it showed up on the XTG pass. If it wasn't chatter I don't know what it was, but I got a nice clean cut from the blade near my ear. It was after the set down and I had begun the stroke and I felt movement from the blade and the sting of defeat. Nothing major, but I'm thinking I may have been jinxed from the discussion.

The result of the shave, sans cut, was BBS. Other than that one moment everything was smooth sailing. In fact, I was contemplating writing the entire shave up in two words. Dialed. In. Well, it would have been nice. And it was still awesome. I could make this a daily setup without much convincing.

​

 

Glad to hear you are feeling better.

I start with an agressive setting and then dial it down for my last pass which is ATG.

Well done Mrs. Loot. Absolutely it is a green light

 

Friday Shave

Today's razor was a Mastro Livi and even with some shaves on it, the edge was very very smooth. MdC produced a nice lather and everything worked together for an epic shave.

Irritation A+ Closeness A+ Smoothness A+ Sharpness A

Razor: Mastro Livi Grifetto
Stop: Dry Gulch black latigo
Brush: M&F
Pre: Proraso
Soap: MdC
AS: Spieck AS, L’Occitane ASB
Scent: MDCI Invasion Barbare

 

Calling @John Ruschmeyer - Found it! Here are a couple pics. If you want it I'll give it a quick cleanup (hasn't had anything in it since the day I got it, I just tossed it into a box so it needs some attention) and send it out next Tuesday when I'm off. Just PM me your info!

 

Sweet!!!!! Yes, I'd say extra slots mean razor buying is now in season!

 

It took me a try or two before deciding I liked an adjustable. The first time I tried one was with two Slims that are now in someone else's den after I sold them to Delta Echo. Then I won my current Slim in a raffle, and @RyX captured my Fatboy in the wild at a price I could easily afford. Why did it take two tries? I found it pointless to spend a lot of money on a razor that I figured would stay at the optimal setting all the time, thus rendering the whole adjustment thing a moot point.

Gillette seemed to push the adjustables as a way of moving people to a more expensive option that everyone could buy, regardless of their preference in aggression. The three Super Speeds had been a huge success for them with the blue tip, flare tip and red tip providing different options. Priced around $1.29 to $1.49 they were affordable. If you look at vintage ads for the adjustables the main theme is that it's a razor for everyone. And, with the $1.95 to $2.49 price point on the Fatboy, they would make extra profit by just getting the current Super Speed guys to buy a new razor at the higher price point. They would set it however they were comfortable and go on down the road until Gillette gave them another option. So, yes, that's a long winded analysis of a marketing ploy.

I have seen people who will adjust up or down with each pass, supposedly matching the gap to the needed reduction. I've also seen people change settings based on blade choice. Of those two procedures I would say that changing based on blade makes some sense to me, while changing on the pass doesn't. Not saying it's wrong, just doesn't compute in my brain. But, yes, a sharper blade may do better at a lower setting and a Derby or such better at a higher. It does give you the ability to fine tune the shave to the rest of the hardware and even how the soaps and such are working.

Adjustables. Necessary? Nope. But they are cool looking, do provide some options in setting up the shave, and I suppose could even negate the need for so many other razors in the den. But....what's the fun in that?

 

The Cookie Revolution has failed
Because a tin of cookies got mailed.
As quick as that
Randy's revolt went flat.
And now his proletarian fervor has paled.

 

That sounds much more politically correct than saying the revolt was crushed under the iron boot of the Cartel.

 

That is more or less how I think of it. You have down so much work with them and I was waiting for your reply. I have a few but they stay at Neal as they say here. I like how you explained it. Personally I do not change settings for blades but can see where some may feel they should. It is always interesting to read peoples thoughts on these kind of things.

 

I like seeing all of the different thoughts and opinions as well. I think we try to do a lot more with adjustables than Gillette ever intended, but on that same theme we do a lot more with our shaves than anyone would have thought sane 60 years ago. Three passes?! Pre-shave oils and soaps?! Delta-echoing razors?! This crazy bunch of kids nowadays! (Yeah, we can still be kids when comparing to those guys)

 

Getting a great razor still makes me feel like a kid. I am there today with the Superior LC that came in before I came to work.

So did guys back when just rip a beard off with one pass?

 

I remember seeing my dad shave a few times. He usually was up and out long before I got up due to his job but once in awhile I'd catch him shaving. I remember he always did a full lather (canned foam) and a full pass, then do some clean up work where it wasn't quite where he wanted it. Then, after shave and out the door. If he had something to do in the evening like a concert one of us was in or if company was coming over or he and mom were going somewhere, he'd whip up a quick one pass for the evening. I've seen others who have described their dads shaving the same way. A full pass, some clean up work on rough spots, after shave and gone. Sometimes the second quick pass to make themselves presentable for the evening. Seems to have been a trend based on anecdotal evidence.

Also, as excited as you and I get over a new razor - yeah, not so much my dad. When I was around 11 or 12 I was just starting to need to shave my upper lip every so often as it looked dirty from all that dark fuzz. I was, as all boys usually are at that stage, excited, thrilled, and ready to start this shaving thing. My Mom had actually pointed out the need to do something when it got to that point and I was telling my Dad I needed a razor, shaving cream, you know.....talking my head off about this new phase of life. I remember him looking me in the eye, and asking me with total seriousness....."Are you sure you want to start shaving? Because once you start, you can never stop". It was clear in that moment that my Dad didn't think shaving was fun and cool and all of those things. To him it was a chore. Something that had to be done and the quicker you could get it over with the better. What became incredibly clear a few days later when I returned home from the store with my very own brand new shiny and totally cool Schick Adjustable Injector (M), was how much of a Gillette man my Dad was. I got an earful for bringing that "damned Schick piece of junk" into the house. That is a quote I have never forgotten and now love to remember.

 

Thursday December 28 late night as usual - sampling onward




Gillette Aristocrat / Gillette Platinum Plus (1)
Simpsons CH2 Synthetic brush aka the Soap Destroyer
B+M Latha Sandalwood
Alum and TSD Milk Aftershave Sandalwood

A last minute change in the lineup as my TSD Raffle prize arrived today and I opened it just before shaving. Sweet looking Aristocrat! Thanks for donating it @John Beeman! He called it User Grade; I would call it beautiful. Maybe some wear on the lacquer protective coating on the doors but that's about it. Anyway, I loaded in a fresh vintage Gillette Platinum Plus and away we went.

The Latha Sandalwood is different. It lists the scents as Currant, Sandalwood and Amber. What I got from it was mostly the currant. The TSD Milk Aftershave is pure Sandalwood with no other fragrances mixed, and the two smelled completely different to me. The Latha line lather well, however, and the Soap Destroyer munched up the blob of soap and churned out a bowlful of lather. Again, the Latha line soaps provide good slickness and protection, although I have other soaps that do both better.

The Aristocrat was a smooth shaver. It is maybe slightly more aggressive than my adjustables on their usual "4" -- more like my Fatboy on 5 or 6, I think. Three passes brought me a high DFS with no problems. I like it; it's going in the rotation. With the shape it's in, there's absolutely no need even to consider a replating job either.

Overall, a great shave with an okay new soap scent and a fantastic new razor!

 

Sweet Aristocrat! Congrats! I have always loved mine and it is one of the best Gillette made. As to the aggression - The gap on the Aristocrat is .025, right in between a Gillette Adjustable on 2 and 3. So the gap isn't all that aggressive. I was surprised when I discovered that about the 'Crat. Once again - head geometry plays a bigger role in the feel and result than gap.

 

How long did it takefor it to be a chore?

I started about that age for the same reason. Mom. We had a black beauty and lady gillette in the house. I still have them. I remember vagely using them. I do not remember what razor I actually started shaving with. I am sure it was a cart. I picked up the mug and brush and soap somewhere along the way and used them off and on over the years. I can never remember feeling shaving was a chore.

 

My writting is much easier to read if you do it in a captain kirk style and voice in your head.

 

I'm glad the razor arrived safely and I'm glad you like it. They're great shavers so I've always got my eye out for one at a good price. It was fun to be able to include one in the raffle.