January 2019 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Congrats Clint!

 

Thank you, it is a great shaver, same with all my bokers.

 

Thank you, Clint!

Thanks, Jason! I was lucky to get this Black Hawk in a lot of razors from Jared (@PickledNorthern). I got several injectors and the Black Hawk in one fell swoop.

Thank you, Jim!

Thank you, Patrick! I will certainly tackle my Stirling soaps during the letter S time. I will have to go through Soap Commander and Speick before getting to Stirling, so it may be late January or early February until Stirling begins.

Nice shave!

 

Every one that I have been to all look exactly the same, inside and out. But it was too cold for a rocking chair test ride.

 

I don't normally lather anyone else......but that doesn't mean it would never happen. I'll just leave it at that.

 

I won some Stirling south padre in a pif and must say im impressed with that soap. Makes great lather and she loves the smell . I will probably try more scents as everyone raves about this product.

 

I got a sample of Stirlings activated charcoal face wash with my last order. I've been using it before bed. It broke apart tonight. Somehow two bars of soap escalated into an order that qualified for free shipping.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

Haha. I could see that happening. They have so many choices that you just want to buy 1 of each

 

Tonight’s shave

H. Boker 3/4 The Daisy
Mikes Natural soap coconut
Omega boar brush
Stirling coconut and lime aftershave

This was a great way to end the day. The mikes lathered up nice and easy, the boker gave a nicely two pass shave with some cleanup. The Stirling coconut lime went on without any sting. This was the first time using this scent of Stirling sent my way from Perry @PLAla it goes perfectly with the mikes really enjoying it. And it is passing the sniff test from mrs76 too.

 

That seems to happen a lot here! There’s not much restraint in this group.

 

Ok, I’m new here, and glad to be here. You probably won’t read all this, but it’s my journey so far.

I recently decided not to do the same rig for 30 days, so does that disqualify me?

I got my first DE on Xmas morning. A Merkur 34c and the Merkur blade the razor came with. I also got a wonderful sampler of Chiseled Face soaps, which smelled amazeballs. Went with Bay Rum first (yummy) then Midnight Stag (wow, what a scent!) and some others, mixing in my B&M Dickens tub. First impressions was that the CF’s were more enjoyable than the Dickens. I’d been using Proraso green pre-shave and post shave balm, with my EJ super badger (the one for $50 on Amazon) and my Gillette Mach 3. Was getting some good shaves. Certainly more consistently better than before the conversion to wet shaving. The DE was tricky. I was doing OK, but my blade angle and technique were inconsistent. I was getting close, but with irritation.

Then I heard about the 30 day rule, and thought, hmm, that might help. So I decided to try it about 10 days ago.

I decided to ditch the mentholated pre and post in favor of something more “wintery”: Cade Juniper shave oil to start and Proraso red lotion on the back end. Because I had the big tub and was not convinced, I decided on the B&M Dickens fr soap. The Merkur 34c with a Big Ben stainless blade. Basically because it was the blade I received the most of in my sampler pack.

I had a decent shaves, but not as good as before. I decided to add the Ach Brito Lime Glyce soap as a face wash before everything else. I left it on like some recommend and it started burning a little. I quickly washed it off and preceded to have a marvelously close shave (even on day 3 of the Big Ben). Then the wheels kinda fell off. I learned, sadly, that the Lime Glyce soap really irritates my face. I had to cut it out (luckily I bought three rounds to save a little $....). Then I convinced myself that my lather sucked. Too dry...and then was I over watering to compensate? Either way, I didn’t feel I was getting the cushion and slickness that I should be from the B&M, which some say is a top tier soap. Had a few more sub par shaves before realizing that not only did my razor angle suck - I was getting razor burn, chasing that BBS - but I didn’t like my soap or my oil either. Screw it, I said. I need a change. I satisfied a curiosity by buying some Clubman at the local druggist. Liked it! Used it again while also going for a “no irritation shave” (two passes with the grain) and had some serviceable, comfortable shaves.

This morning I said “screw it”. It was 2 degrees outside. And I have a sample of Cryogen. The one and only. Plus, I got my green Proraso pre shave and post shave balm (these are two different products, btw). And I’ve swapped out Noxema for the Lime Glyce. So I’ve got the eucalyptus/menthol superfecta at my disposal...and I availaed myself of it.

And I’m glad I did. The Cryogen felt marvelous on the face but I was crying like a baby during my shave. So weird. I’d read it can make your eyes water. I did. But it was a glorious shave. 2nd day on a Big Ben, 4 passes with touch ups, chasing the baby all the way! And I caught that little f*ck3r! No cuts and no pain....so the moment of truth: the alum bar (I may have forgotten to mention this). No sting! A cold rinse and then some witch hazel (just added this in recently too)...ahhhhh! Refreshing! Then the milky crisp balm. Glorious!

When I went outside I had the most pleasant, effervescent chill on my face.

I think I’ll try a different CF tomorrow, and another the day after. I’ve ordered some CF AS samples and I intend to pair them.

I’m way too ADHD for the 30 day experiment. Have pity?

 

Congrats on the great shave!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

My rule is whatever needs to be done in order to get a DFS or a BBS shave.

 

Classy steel

 

Welcome! Glad you found us.

Soap
Brush
Blade

It's all you need. Results are highly technique dependent. We'd love to help.

 

January - Shavettes and Jeeves!

January 21

Razor - Parker SRX Shavette
Blade - (1)
Soap - Jeeves Blood On Steel LE
Brush - 30DC LE
Post - Alum

After several days of blade trials I decided to rejoin the focus for a few shaves. Well, I should say the theme. With all of the shavettes on display this month I've seen a number of you using the Parker SRX. I finally couldn't resist the enabling going on and ordered one. It's been burning a hole in my desk this past week. It came with 5 Shark blades in the box so I figured why not just use one. I'm not a huge fan of Sharks in a DE, though it's my wife's favorite blade. However, as we've learned, blade choice in a shavette isn't really an issue. With the shavette theme covered I needed Jeeves to make it 100%. Blood on Steel handles that, and of course, requires the 30DC LE brush. Did I have a problem with lather? Don't make me laugh.

The Parker is a really solid feeling razor, if a bit slick. Once I got it in the right grip, though, it balanced well and felt good. Obviously it's not a bad razor given how many people like it. The Shark felt smooth, as it should in a shavette, and I did three passes with no expectations of perfection. It wasn't a perfect shave but it was better than some I've had with shavettes. No blood, no issues at all. Out of curiosity I split the third pass between the Parker and the Luxor. The main difference is the way the holder on the Luxor covers the blade corners. I didn't have any problem with either and would recommend either as great shavettes to use. I'll stick with the shavette for another shave or two before taking on the next blade trial.

Busy day at Cartel HQ today as we road-tripped to Illinois. We got within about 250 miles of Louisville and realized that in about 4.5 hours we could be at @wristwatchb 's for dinner. It was tempting to see how he and his bride would react to the Czar and Czaress (working on a name as she thinks I'm unimaginative) knocking on the door unannounced. Decided we didn't want to face any surprise gunfire or police surrounding us and just took care of the business we were out to do. Spent money, drove home and got in out of the cold wind. Hope you had a profitable Monday as well! Hey Adam @Drygulch - I should have the stuff I'm picking up for you tomorrow afternoon. Lynn and I are supposed to meet early in the afternoon. Hopefully I'll either have a honed kamisori after seeing him or at least a line on someone who will do it. That will add a new dimension to my February plans as well!

​

 

So we had a lunar eclipse last night, major cold wave going through, continuing blizzard conditions in the Northeast and.......someone found the bottom of a brain bowl?! It's the end of the world as we know it.

​

 

Very cool, Charlie. I’ll let you know if I decide to take you up on your generous offer sometime.

 

congrats and welcome..you are the best teacher of what works for you..we are all learning here..