April 2018 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

And to think that most of us spend our time trying to avoid lame shaves...

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we just won’t tell her.


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ThThThanks, gentlemen! Your willingness to lie through your teeth about the new Karve razor to help a fellow Crewmember overcome a sudden rough patch of RAD demonstrates the kind of supportive networking that makes the 30DC such a great place to hang out. (Look -- the Razor Acquisition Disorder even had me stuttering while I typed.). Now you just need to work on your sincerity a bit -- if you can successfully fake that, you've got it made...

Uhm, @GawainandtheGreenKnight, you will be giving us a report on the dreadful differences between the horrible B and C plates in that rotten razor once you have tried both out, won't you? Not that I am at all curious anymore, but it is For Science after all...

 

Arko Adjustable April!!

April 21

Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (6)
Blade - (3)
Pre-Shave - Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap
Soap - Arko
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Post - Alum

Final shave on this combination. Third day on the Perma-Sharp and it's definitely not done yet. Great blade from St. Pete. Still as smooth as day one, as sharp it seems, as effective - The BoS and Arko were awesome and I opened the hole in the ring of death in the mug a bit more. Still plenty of soap left, of course, but we're getting there.

Two passes, touch up, BBS, quiet alum - all around great shave. Nothing more to say. Now to figure out whether to go another three shaves on an adjustable or break off and give a Fuzzy loaner a try. That's a decision for tomorrow. For now I'm just enjoying a fine shave.

​

 

Canned spray cooking oil. There's a definite on the MAYhem list.

 

Louisiana. Where men are men and sheep are.......oh wiat, that's more Wyoming. Nevermind.

 

Big Sunday

I prepared the aircraft carrier class brush and the dry dock in an attempt to accelerate the ending of this AoS puck. A big smiling M Martinez joined the party and it was game on. Just a tickle from the alum and my face was smooth and ready to enjoy Sunday.

Irritation A Closeness A+ Smoothness A++ Sharpness A+

Razor: M Martinez Irish Grin 8/8
Strop: Mastro Livi
Brush: Kent BKL 12
Pre: Proraso
Soap: AoS tallow
AS: SMN Patchouli AS, Edwin Jagger ASB
Scent: Dior Patchouli Imperial

 

Of course, I'm scientist after all.


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@Edison Carter covered most points but I want to stress: Use styptic pencil ONLY to stop cuts and weepers from bleeding. Do NOT use it as a replacement for an alum block as a general rub -- the two are different chemicals. There is a good chance that the styptic pencil rub is making your razor irritation on your neck much worse than it originally was. For that matter, alum is basically a skin tightener and toner that we use mainly as a teaching aid to point up the areas where the razor pressure was too strong by stinging on the irritation there. We then rinse off the alum (to stop further irritation) and apply some sort of balm which actually deals with the irritation. Alum, like styptic pencil, actually does nothing whatsoever to help stop or prevent irritation and may actually make it worse if left on -- although not as bad as the styptic pencil.

Now witch hazel is excellent as a remedy for irritation and once it arrives, you should make it a regular part of your postshave routine, especially on your neck. If you look at most of the effective postshave balms, witch hazel will be one of their ingredients and is there to reduce or heal irritation. Another ingredient that does the same will be aloe vera. The balms will generally also contain glycerin and various oils, which are intended to hydrate the skin and protect against irritation by providing a moisturizing cushion. The active ingredient working to heal the redness though will be witch hazel (and/or aloe vera). There are some other ingredients that help too, but those are the big ones. Which is the reason that simply using a generic witch hazel as a regular postshave rub can be so effective.

 

Karve Christopher Bradley (C)
Rapira Swedish Supersteel
Yaqi Slivertip
Tabac Shave Soap
Aqua Velva Ice Blue

Used plate C tonight for a damn fine, BBS shave in most areas. The C is much more aggressive than B plate, so the alum sung a little. The C so, far is my preference, I get a better shave, with pinch less irritation post shave because I don't have to over shave, to get the shave I want. Tomorrow, I'm going to load a sharper blade, and see how the milder plate performs with a sharper blade. My plan going forward is just to try different blade, plate combos, and see what I can't figure out. Have nice morning, Gentlemen.


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Thanks. I have some Sterling aftershave balm and it has witch hazel and my Alum is on its way too.
Where I used the styptic stick is where it's red so I won't use it that way anymore.


Cheers
Montie

 

It was an awesome concert. Opening band was a Southern rock group called Cordovas that was awesome. Shooter was even better. Venue was small, with less than 200 people. Great show.

 

Made the same mistake when I first started, holy cow did that pencil irritate my skin, it felt like my face was on fire.


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Ya but it stopped the bleeding and so I stupidly thought it was good for the razor burn.


Cheers
Montie

 

It's a very common mistake. Another common mistake is assuming that because the styptic pencil is an aluminum compound (aluminum sulfate anhydrous) and because antiperspirant deodorants also contain an aluminum compound, therefore the styptic pencil can also be used moistened and rubbed sideways as a substitute for deodorant... This is also not a good idea...

 

They all do. I’m right there with you, buddy.

@montieg Oh, and use less pressure. And when you successfully reduce pressure and think “Aha! I’ve got it!”, you still probably need to use less pressure.

 

If we didn’t hack on each other, what fun would it be?

 

That’s SO cool. I love shows in a small venue.

 

Sunday April 22 - preshave glycerin experiment part 3

Generic glycerin
Supply Co. v2 SE injector on two-dot plate / Personna (8)
JR #267 birdseye maple and boar brush
Renaissance Faire horn quaich lather bowl
Vitos Eucalyptus shaving cream
Alum and Osage Rub

I adopted a proposal made by the Honorable Member from Louisiana and did a half-and-half shave today. After rinsing my face, I put glycerin on one side and left the other bare. I then bowl lathered the cream today so that each side of my face received identical pre-whipped lather, ensuring that the glycerin would not affect how the brush face lathered on each side. I then shaved in my usual pattern and for my usual two passes.

The result? No discernible difference. The lather wasn't any better on one side of my face than the other, and the razor didn't feel any slicker when shaving the parts pre-coated with glycerin as compared to the same parts on the other side. There is no detectable difference in the degree of closeness of the shave on the two sides. And the alum sparked to the same mild degree in roughly the same places on both sides of my jaw and chin.

It was a good shave -- two passes to a DFS with no irritation. And the Osage Rub provided a pleasant chilly finish... And both sides of my face enjoyed an equally good quality of shave.

Which brings me back to my original conclusion after all: preshave glycerin makes very little difference to the quality of my shave, at least when I am using a good shaving cream or soap and a good razor and blade. Maybe @RyX will come to a different conclusion when he tries a comparison shave for himself. But for me, I think the jury is now in.

 

April 22nd
Cold water
WTG/XTG/ATG
Timeless Bronze SB
Feather HS (fresh)
Semogue Owners Club Badger
Stirling Soap
Stirling AS
Thayers

Good morning gentlemen! I hope everyone is well!

Nice three pass shave this morning. Near BBS. A whisper from the alum on my neck. I'm still amazed how much the quality of my shaves have improved in the last couple of months. I feel clean and refreshed rather than having a warm face from razor burn and a red irritated neck. Life is good.

Probably my last shave of the month with the bronze. She has served me well. New razor should be arriving tomorrow, I'm excited to try it!

Happy Sunday and happy shaves!
Time for bed.

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