October 2018 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Tuesday Shave

This razor is always a pleasure to use, nailed the shave.

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

Razor: Dovo Bismark 2
Strop: Kanayama
Brush: Paladin
Pre: Proraso
Soap: MdC
AS: Speick AS, Stirling ASB
Scent: Hammam Boquet

 

Wonderful picture, Keith!

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Tuesday
October 2, 2018

Blackbird Sabre L2
GEM PTFE
El Druida Blue Water Manchurian
Fine Accoutrements Platinum Soap & AS
Stirling MITA Witch Hazel & Aloe
Creed Aventus

​

 

Terrific picture, Mark!

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Sounds good to me...

 

The Hammam...first time outside of my den, that I have seen it in a SOTD post. Love it. Best Rose ever. I save this for really special occasions.

 

Terrific picture, Mark!

 

Monday evening October 1

Pre: Wash with Hendrix Classics & Co. Barbershop hand/bath soap
Probak head on Gillette New Improved Tuckaway handle / Astra SP (1)
APShaveCo U-Brush w/ 24mm fan-shaped SynBad knot
Hendrix Classics & Co. Barbershop soap
Alum and Hendrix Classics & Co. Barbershop balm



After declaring today a No Shave Day, I fell prey to curiosity and shaved anyway with the vintage Probak razor. Incidentally, Jason @jtspartan, you were absolutely correct that my minty Probak is in fact a Probak head on a Gillette handle . When I examined the handle carefully, it has no maker marks on it, but it is marked around the base in the same manner and place where Gillette used to mark its old razors: Pat.Jan.13.1920 U.S.A. More to the point, the Probak Razor Company wasn't founded until 1928...

The brush loaded and lathered the soap beautifully, and I got the performance I now expect from the Hendrix soap. The razor brought to a DFS, nearly a BBS, with my usual two passes. The alum stung a tiny bit in a few places but nothing major. This is a rather loud razor -- I could hear it rasping through the whiskers in much the same way I hear a Gem 1912 or an injector. It doesn't seem especially aggressive, although I could feel a definite blade presence when shaving my chin and under my nose. The one thing is that the handle is shorter than I really prefer; since it's a mismatch anyway, I may try replacing it with a Ball End handle and see how that works.

I finished off with the Hendrix balm. I told Pete that I would use the balm for at least a week in his suggested manner -- twice a day as a general facial moisturizer with one application directly after shaving. I will therefore continue to use the brush, soap and balm combo I used today for the rest of the week, while cycling through various OC razors.

 

Nice collection, but the verdigris on the brass ones would drive me crazy.

At least, however, I no longer feel bad about tomorrow's planned razor: a junk box New LC. My parts lot arrived today and it included a #160 Goodwill baseplate and cap, a New SC baseplate and what I believe is the matching cap, and a New LC baseplate. The only spare cap I have, however, is from a Nickel-plated pre-War Tech. So, tomorrow's shave will be with a New LC base, a Nickel cap, and a banged-up gold ball handle from a Tech.

I suspect, however, that it sounds worse than it will actually be.

 

Great report and pictures, John!

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Come on man. Nothing wrong with a little mercury fulminate and ammonium nitrate amongst friends.

 

11 pages in one day! Yeesh...

I get the same consistency from Reserve soaps if I underhydrate a bit as well. Excellent pic, Joseph.

Love the look of that Epsilon, Andrew. Any tangles in that horse yet?

Have you figured out how to get that knot to give it up a bit yet, Rick?

I agree, Clint, I LOVE OCtober as well. Great pic as usual.

How will they shave? Awesomely.

Epic right off the hop!

Welcome back, Mark!

Great report, John! Pull one of those LCs next...

Shave Fu out.

 

Thank you, Gentlemen.

 

Thank you Jason.

 

Check your bag and shave like a man

 

When you say "little" are we talking shoe heel packed, pressure cooker in a back pack, rental truck, or railroad freight car quantities? Oh, amongts friends, so party size!

I'm either getting better, or lower my expectations gradually. When I unpacked the brush it had an O-ring around the base of the knot. I took it off and commenced cleaning procedures. Since it didn't smell bad that was a single ARKO lather. Now that I've used it with several different soaps I may have washed out any remaining badger oils, and I put the O-ring back on. I'm loading heavily, dipping the tips of the loaded brush to add water while face lathering. I've bowl lathered 90+% of my lathers for last couple of years. It's getting better! Or I'm accepting that this is the way a badger knot works. The test will be when after my Focus I try another badger and get better results. Might even try face lathering with a boar, too.

 

Sounds like an interesting frankenrazor. As long as it shaves well, the cosmetics while testing it are not that important. If it turns out to be a great razor, you could always have it replated or coated to be matching.

For my razors, I found a tube of AutoSol metal polish and a can of Brasso under the sink today. It will probably be a quiet night on the phones being a Monday, so I may spend a few hours between calls polishing razors.

 

Just spit my Diet Dr. Pepper all over the room. Jennifer is not amused. But I am. Nice touch to the bait.

 

I agree, Jason, we're off to a verbose start for OCtober, aren't we?

I expect the razors will shave well even though they still look like crap. They are all in good mechanical shape. I think tonight I will see if a little metal polish and elbow grease can't improve the looks though.

The next shave tomorrow is going to be the Robak again but fitted with a ball end handle to see if it shaves better that way. After that, I think the Fatip Grande to give me a razor I have used before to act as a yardstick for comparison. After that, the LCs and then the Old Types.

 

OCtober Oleo and Odd Balls!!

October 1

Razor - 1918 Gillette Old Style
Blade - (1)
Soap - Oleo Soapworks El Caballero
Brush - 30 DE LE
Post - Alum

Annnnddddd....we're off! Well, I'm off. Yes, yes, I know in more ways than one, but I did at least get the shave for October 1st in the books. I chose my oldest OC (and razor in fact) for the honors of starting OCtober. I paired it with Sharp Star. The finest Russian steel for the finest old DE razor. El Caballero to get Oleo into play and the 30 day synthetic brush to pay respects to all of you. It's been a fun day around here today. If you are already behind I feel your pain. Already over 200 posts in and we're a day old. Well, two counting yesterday's early start. It's worth a read, though. The shenanigans are out early for the start of Halloween month.

Three pass shave with a light touch and lots of focus on the angle. I stayed on the cap to give this razor a very nice and mild feel and it rewarded me with a BBS and silence from the alum. No better way to show off some technique with some truly classic gear. Onward and forward we go!