October 2018 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

A couple of hardware experiments the last two days...

Yesterday was a bit of a "Parts Drawer" razor: an OT baseplate with 1917 serial paired with the only spare OT cap I had, a thick cap that had required some work to smooth out corner burrs from having been dropped too many times in a previous life. The blade was an Astra SP and the result was decent except for one reopened wound from last week.

Today was the combo of a New SC baseplate, a frosted Tech cap, and a Fat Handle. I recently replaced the baseplate of my New SC with a nicer one from a parts lot (the first one has a missing inner tooth). On a whim, I decided to see if it would be possible to add the New SC baseplate to my "mix and match" Tech set. I was a bit concerned about this as New SC's don't seem to match well with certain caps. In this case, however, everything came together nicely for a smooth, comfortable shave using a Nacet blade.

 

Thank you Jim.

 

Yes, I have convinced myself that I need more room for straight razors, so time to whittle down the soap inventory. I found that consistently using the same soap I was able to produce a better lather as I got to know the soap better.

My 'approaching normal' target is to get to 10-15 soaps. I am not sure exactly but I have about 40 but 7 of them are AoS tallow.

Brian, you have taken it to another level, now you travel with a pet rock too!

Andrew, Happy Anniversary!!! Declan looks happy and healthy, keep the pics of the boys coming, they always brighten my day.

 

Thursday shave

I wanted some bling and flash for today's shave so a gold washed with fancy spine Revisor was my choice. This razor has the same feel, shape and performance of my Dovo's, it makes me wonder if they were not produced by the same person. Next up on the to be destroyed soap list is the tallow version of Crowne and Crane, this is a soap I really like.

Irritation A+ Closeness A Smoothness A+ Sharpness A+

Razor: Revisor 6/8
Strop: Kanayama
Brush: Shavemac
Pre: Proraso
Soap: Crowne and Crane tallow
AS: Enhanced Alcolado Glacial AS, L’Occitane ASB
Scent: Tauer L’Air de Desert Marocain

 

Thank you, Keith!

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Nice pimp stick!

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OCtober Oleo and Odd Balls!!

October 17

Razor - Gillette NEW LC
Blade - (3)
Soap - Oleo Soapworks El Caballero
Brush - 30 DC LE
Post - Alum

Third shave on the New LC and Sharp Star and the soap is back to Oleo. I normally do the first shave with it this month (per razor) but didn't take it with me to Kansas. So, it got the third shave on the razor. The more I use it the better I appreciate its qualities. Slick, plenty of cushiness, and their take on the Bay Rum scent with this one isn't half bad. Thinking about a few samples from them perhaps. Maybe. We'll see.

Three passes to the baby again tonight as the lather from the LE brush lasted that plus had plenty left over. Enjoyable shave to finish the day. Two days off now, after working one so I can't complain about that schedule. Have a fantastic Thursday!

 

hello folks,missed a few lines.,wednesday night odds n sods shave,used the favorite brit new rfb,with the nacet,2nd use..lathered up a pea size amount of lpl oud-santal soap in my stainless finger bowl..the simpson commodore best badger did the job,lots of creamy slick slug snot...awesome 2 pass combination shave,dfs+,no drama.rr alum,pacific s/s with some fern concerto to finish. face feel awesome, like i didn t shave but the whiskers are gone...have a great hump/hemp day,gary .

 

SOTD October 18, 2018

Prep: Cold water and Stirling mentholated pre-shave soap
Blade: vintage Personna twin
Razor: eBarbershop Type O clone
Brush: JR #60 synthetic
Soap: Hendrix and Classics Company Barbershop
Post: Witch hazel, Country Club for Men Sweet Water aftershave

Finished off this sample of Hendrix (@Drygulch). What a terrific soap. That is certainly a soap I would purchase. Slick lather with nice post-shave qualities. Really enjoyable. The shave was nice. Twin blade loaded in the Type O clone for some smooth sailing. Can't ask for much else.

Have a great day!

 

Excellent picture, Perry!

 

October 18 SOTD:

Razor: PAA Ascension SS
Blade: Voskhod
Brush: PAA Atomic Rocket
Lather: PdP
Aftershave: PAA Will-O-The-Wisp Shave Jelly

We'll, the weather isn't cooperating this weekend, so my trip has been canceled, and I am off to work. Luckily, I had a great shave this morning to get me somewhat motivated after anticipating a very different day. I hope everyone has a great day!

 

Thursday OCtober 18

Gillette New Improved in Richwood box / Astra SP (3)
APShaveCo U-Brush with 24mm Flat Top knot
Stirling Sharp Dressed Man soap sample
Alum and Stirling Red Delicious splash sample



I recycled yesterday's photo because it also showed today's razor: the 1925 dated New Improved in a box declaring it to be a "Richwood" model. As far as I can tell, the only difference between a Richwood, a Bostonian and a New Standard model is the type of case the razor came in -- the razors themselves were identical. This one is tarnished, suggesting it is silverplated, but is otherwise in very good condition. The Astra SP blade loaded with no trouble and I was off to the races.

For my soap today, I used another Stirling sample sent to me by Jason @jtspartan, this one being Sharp Dressed Man. Jason indicated that this particular soap gave him a tingling or burning sensation although he liked the scent. It didn't give me any trouble at all, but I wasn't too wild about the scent. The synthetic brush whipped the soap into the usual slick Stirling lather. The razor then wiped lather and whiskers away in two easy passes to an excellent DFS. The alum was mostly silent and the Stirling splash finished off the shave. The splash is Red Delicious, which is supposed to smell of apples; the smell reminds me more of apple jack.

I would say that today's Stirling samples have fulfilled their function of letting me test scents without buying large quantities of soap or splash. And for me, today's soap and splash were both definite misses. The Sharp Dressed Man scent simply doesn't thrill me, and the Red Delicious smells too much like booze, which is not a scent I like to wear when out and about.

The razor on the other hand is a hit: a pleasantly solid feeling instrument that provides a good shave. Aggressiveness seems to me to be similar to most Old Types -- more aggressive than the NEW but definitely manageable even as a daily driver.

Hope everyone has a great Thursday! Tomorrow I am moving back to the Injectomatic injector for a few days to finish trying it out before returning it to Jason...

 

Enjoy your time off, Neil.

Sounds like a great shave to end the day.

Very nice, Perry. Congrats finishing off your sample.

Super picture, Jim. Sorry about your fishing trip.

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Excellent report, John.

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Thank you, Jim!

 

OCtober 18th
Razor: Gillette New LC, Timeless Bronze handle
Blade: Polsilver SI(3)
Brush: Jayaruh 151 boar
Pre-shave: Stirling Mentholated
Soap: Timeless Razor Signature Scent by Oleo Soapworks
Stirling Bay Rum witch hazel
AS: Captains Choice Cat O'Ninetails

Open comb and Oleo for this morning's shave. The scent description of the soap is bay rum, musk, amber, with a hint of spice. It's blended in such a way nothing really stands out. Nice subtle scent that could probably be paired with any aftershave. Awesome shave to start the day. Two pass with light touch up. DFS and just a tickle from the alum on my neck.

Have a great day!

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Classy photos today, gentlemen!

Today's straight is certainly elegant, Keith @Keithmax!

Jim @Norcalnewb, sorry about your tuna fishing trip! Will you be able to do it later?

Gary @brit -- you're right, yesterday really was "Hemp Day" as well as "Hump Day" in Canada, wasn't it? (For our American friends, yesterday was the day that the federal legislation went into force in Canada making marijuana partially legal across the country for personal recreational use as well as for medicinal purposes. Individuals can now possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to four marijuana plants for casual recreational use and therefore there are now highly regulated legal sellers of the drug too.)

 

Ok so I keep seeing sharp stars posted up here how are they?

 

The Timeless Bronze handle looks really good with the Gillette NEW LC head. The spirals on the handle somehow match with the teeth on the baseplate to make them seem like a complete matching razor! Sounds like a great soap.

 

According to Neal @NCoxSTL, the Sharp Stars are absolutely dreadful blades, so terrible in fact that he has volunteered to take them off the hands of anyone who has them so that no 30DCer is forced to put up with them... Make of that what you will. In all seriousness, they were a special run of blades that are no longer in production and those who have used them generally consider them to be the best of the Russian blades, by a small margin.