August 2018 30 Day Rule/focus Pix & Discussion

Great response and to the point. I've found the only real trick to it (if there is one) is a wet puck and a dryish brush. I do remember, however, using the whole "soak until it fills the dish, use a dry brush, load upside down then whip etc. etc. etc. Once I figured out wet puck/dryish brush - perfect lather every time. I still have to put the Fat on the top of my soap list. It has gained some serious challengers in the past year, but it's still on top for me.

 

I'm wondering where he got the picture to post, actually, as you are the only member of the Russian/Yakuza alliance that has actually laid eyes on it. I suspect it was taken by a spy from the cookie rebellion in an attempt to prove that the money the Cartel claims to spend on cookies actually goes to stockpiling a sufficient number of Sharp Stars and Voskhods and other assorted Russians to last through the end of days. Of course we know that's nonsense. We would never skimp on the cookie budget.

 

Have you tried Gin and Tonic, Andrew? I find it a good lemon/ lime scent as well.

 

I have a TGN Finest (2 band) in a fan, and find it a very recommendable knot indeed, Bruce.

 

Interesting that you mention the difference between the classic soap characteristics vs. the artisans. I have thought to myself that the artisan soaps, while quite nice and certainly offering some fantastic scents as well as performances, may actually be formulated to be "too easy" to lather. When I can grab almost any brush and whip up Stirling, Jeeves, Oleo and those like it with barely an effort, I'm pretty sure that speaks to the manufacturing process more than my skills.

 

Best value/performance combo? For me, some Palmolive with an Omega ‘49 is tough to beat. Add in an $8 Canadian prewar Tech, and I’d put that cheap combo up against anything in the same price range.

 

A Sharp Star morning in Georgia. A fine way to start the day.

 

Sorry to hear this week has been stressful. Hope things get better very soon, John.

 

Good to hear it's getting better, Paul.. and that you were able to spend that anniversary the way you did. Over time, I hope the grief will fade and the good memories grow stronger.

Yesterday was a jolt for me. I realized it was Mom's birthday -- she would have been 88 and I would have been bringing home a cake for her -- if she hadn't died two weeks short...

 

So...I’m out of the NB ‘18. For nothing, really. To be honest, I was feeling guilty about getting an exemption for the Blood on Steel Combo, and then for winning a generous razor PIF from Andrew. We hit a local craft fair / flea market near the lake today. I saw a cased E2 with a vintage Schick injector cartridge for $11 Cdn and an unusual looking vintage Canadian Rubberset brush for $3.50. Grabbed them. Then saw a local, rural earthy type place selling shaving soap pucks for $6. I usually avoid those like the plague, but looked at the ingredients- lanolin, glycerin, fullers earth, only essential oils and thought ‘for 6 bucks, why not?’.
I owe Neal @NCoxSTL a brush handle for our bet (I’ll Include it in the package that was going out anyway next week). Sorry to John @Screwtape, we were kind of in this together, and I feel like I let you down a bit.
I still don’t plan to rush out and buy stuff, so I guess the whole premise worked. Made it 7 1/2 months. Sigh.

 

Why do you call it "Ol' Shedder" when that brush should clearly be named "Ol' Scrubby"?

 

But Jason! Who's going to keep me from running amok and filling my Want List now? We were doing so well at this! I hadn't bought the Karve razor with the C or D plate. Or the Rex Ambassador. Or the Mystic Waters Lavender Oakmoss soap, the Mike's Natural Soaps Hungarian Lavender, the Soapy Science soaps, the B+M Reserve Spice, Fern and Lavender soaps and matching splashes, the Stirling Iced Coffee and Iced Pineapple soaps and splashes, or the new Fendrihan Bay Rum and Charcoal creams...

Like I said, I have a List. And for 7 1/2 months I have avoided filling it, not because of NB'18 but because of our mutual bet with Neal. Now what do I do?

(Have I managed to turn the screws on the guilt trip yet? )

Mind you, if you have managed to find a local small craft maker who makes great shaving soap, that will be kind of neat... I trust you will put that soap through its paces soon and report on it...

 

I’m the opposite, dry puck wet brush

 

The sad thing is who knows if the soap is any good? Not a great reason, but I’d already bought the E2 for next to nothing.
You have every right to put the screws to me. I don’t intend to go hog wild at this point, and to honour the spirit of restraint, but I seriously think if I didn’t get the Blood on Steel combo I’d still be in this.
You’ll be good, John. We’ll still buy those Karves together at the end of the year, and I’m sure Neal can make do without a knot in the brush...

 

Saturday August 11 - MWF Part Deux

Gillette Canadian pre-War triangle-slot fathandled Tech / Wilkinson Sword Classic (3)
JR #276 white ash and boar brush
Renaissance Fair type horn quaich lather bowl
Kent / MWF In beechwood tub
Lucky Tiger balm

After yesterday's shave, I left the soap tub filled with water to the top of the puck. Overnight, the dried MWF puck absorbed all the water and expanded from roughly 3 inches out to 3.5 inches in diameter, going from a very loose to a tight fit in the tub. I took pictures of yesterday's and today's setups showing the change. Unfortunately my wretched BlackBerry PlayBook will take photos but now refuses to let me upload them into these posts...

I found the difference between yesterday's dehydrated puck and today's well-hydrated one was about 30 seconds of loading and whipping time. Yesterday, I swirled my soaked boar brush on the damp puck 50 or 60 times to get a well-loaded brush that I then took to the bowl. Today my similar boar brush had lather exploding out of the puck the moment I began to load and about 20 swirls got me to the same place. In short, it was slightly quicker and easier to lather the MWF after soaking the puck, but not enough that I would bother doing so in future. Since I plan to use the MWF regularly for the next while, I expect the soap will stay well moistened in its covered wooden tub. However, when I next store it for awhile and it dries out, I won't worry about re-soaking it.

The lather was pleasantly slick, and two easy passes brought me to somewhere between a CCS and DFS. Not as good as my usual result but acceptable. It may have been the blade, or it could have been sloppy technique. In any event, I used the setup to do a pit shave and then junked the blade. I would say that MWF lather and a Tech is an excellent combo for an underarm shave -- gets the job done but with absolutely no irritation.

 

Schick E2s are really nice razors. I like being able to open the razor to check or clean the blade if I want.

I figure by year end the Karves should have a decent track record with the early adopters in this thread; they look good so far. I'm just trying to figure out which plate would be best. Based on Clint's experience with most of the plates, I am thinking either C or maybe D... Waiting until January gives us time to work that out.

In the meantime I will try to continue to deprive Neal of his knot. Whenever I get a yen for a new soap or splash, I will keep trying to divert myself by pulling a barely used one I already own out of the Tickle Trunk under my sink...

 

Paul, thank you for sharing that, I find it helps to share the happy memories with family and close friends.

 

Sunday Shave

Broke out the big smiling Silverloaf symmetrical grind kami and the Blood on Steel. I thought I nailed the shave but two weepers left some blood on my steel along with some feedback from the alum.

Irritation A- Closeness A Smoothness A+ Sharpness A

Razor: Silverloaf 8/8
Strop: Mastro Livi
Brush: Simpson Tulip
Pre: Proraso
Soap: Blood on Steel
AS: Blood on Steel AS, Stirling AS
Scent: Creed Original Vetiver

 

Just out of curiosity, which of these two razors has the best condition finish? One is natural-looking brass with a nice patina. The second is a highly polished brass finish... Has the highly buffed one stripped away all of the finish to get that shiny?