February 2019 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

February 3rdd
Razor: Blackland Blackbird SB
Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux (2)
Brush: SOC badger
Pre-shave: Stirling Mentholated
Soap: Stirling Piacenza
Stirling Orange Chill witch hazel
PAA Star Jelly unscented
AS: Stirling Piacenza

Super shave for Super Bowl Sunday! Three passes to BBS. Near silent alum.

Have a Super Sunday my friends!

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I think the V2 is giving me IBS....

tp

 

February Focus

MdC~~Rooney~~Dovo 91~~Fine
SR #16
In the past, I have been critical of MdC vis-à-vis drying issues. I have to report, that today was the
best MdC lather, in terms of slickness and post-shave that I have ever had. And I have used a lot of
MdC in the last 5 years.
Used the Aesop bowl and was I generous with the water.

The lather was even shinier that what is depicted above.
Pre-lathered my face/50 laps on the strop (no cuts)/rinsed and re-lathered.
The Rooney is a mountain of hair.


The three-band knot explodes and interestingly, does not give up its backbone; it works
equally as well for face- and bowl-lathering.
So where are we with straights?
After 16 straight, pun intended, shaves using an open blade apparatus, I can safely say that I am
over-taking the learning curve.
I feel almost as comfortable with my left hand as I do with my right.
I have been successful with the angle difference, that these razors require.
The scraping noise today was almost deafening.
Made some ATG strokes on my cheek, just because.
Am I "Dolphin-smooth"? No. Am I better than DFS? Yes, by a touch.
One little drop of blood, on the right jaw line. No ambulance needed.
Finished with one of the best and most affordable lavender aftershaves on the market, Fine.​

 

I hope there will be enough parking. Last year they waxed my G5 for free, it was included in the landing fee.

 

4:20 huh? I get the reference, Jim.
Great photo and shave, too! It's tough to beat Gentleman!

 

It reminds me a bit of my early experiences with a Schick M3 Injector. As I recall, it would seem like I'd hit a point where the lather was gone and the little bit of moisture on the head and my face was actually causing drag (a suction effect, perhaps?). I think that polishing the razor improved things somewhat, but the real change came with I switched to a Twin blade as that subtly altered the angle of the face of the razor.

 

Wonderful picture, Jim!

 

Thank you, Bruce!

 

Terrific set of pictures, Joseph! Now I want a Rooney, so great enabling. Great progress with the straights.

 

Thanks, Jim!

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It is probably a little surface tension with the water.

 

Great shave repot Joseph, your coming right along the path to great shaves. The only piece of advice on stropping is don’t post no cuts to the strop, it seems to put bad juju on your next stropping. Scott @DaltonGang is one of the foremost authorities on the subject. But seriously congratulations on your progress.

 

Excellent progress.


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Great report Terry.


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Excellent photo Jim.


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I was wondering if the problem on the head of your razor could be solved by filling in the engraving with enamel paint to make it flush with the rest of the head. Hopefully this problem can be solved soon Terry.

 

02/2/2019 Shave

RazoRock 400 Noir Plissoft Synthetic Shaving Brush
Salsa Bowl / Timeless bowl scuttle
Stirling Noir Shave Soap
Stirling Noir Aftershave Splash
Nivea Sensitive Post Balm
CVS SE Blade
Every-Ready Shovel Head on Weber Bulldog Handle

I got my first shave in for February late yesterday afternoon. Yesterday was a lazy day for me. I just did not feel like doing anything.

I think for February I will focus on the single edge. I gathered all of my single edges up for a picture and I did not realize I had this many. I think they are multiplying like rabbits.

I chose the shovel-head for its awesome good looks and mounted in on the Weber bulldog. I was amazed at how good a shaver this puppy is. It almost talks to you with the amount of audible feedback. This shovel-head is loud. This is actually my second shave with a SE. My first was with a MMOC and was rather rough. I believe my angle was off because I was shaving like it was a DE. I laid the shovel-head against my face and brought the angle out slightly and let the razor do the work. I am really getting into the SE shave. I like it.

I finished up with some alum which had a little burn. I have got to work on the technique. Finished up with some Nivea post balm and Stirling Noir aftershave.

Looking forward to some more SE shaves this month. Now if I can just pick out another SE razor and I'll have to squeeze in a Fatboy for February as well.

Y'all take care and have a great day!

 

I've been using a synthetic brush straight for a while now, so it seemed like a good time to pull out my trusty VdH Boar (the one from the green kit). When I did, this happened:


I know these brushes have a reputation for falling apart but not usually all at once.

It is interesting, though... the stuff in the middle feels almost like plaster. Now I just need to decide what to do next about it.

Which brings us to today's shave...

February 3, 2019

Razor: Ever-Ready 1919
Blade: Personna by Gem Stainless
Brush: 30DC LE/Pure Badger
Soap: Dr Vergulde Hand
Post: Alum, Listerine, WH

Those of you who read my reports know that I'm not the biggest fan of Gem-type razors. I have an assortment of them but tend to not use them much as I prefer the feel of a DE or Injector. I picked up a small lot, recently, however, which included the head of an Ever-Ready 1919 and figured I should at least try it once.


This razor has the smaller screw size so I had to borrow the handle from my older Gem 1912.

This is, to me, a very loud razor. The feel was about what I was used to though I seemed to struggle a bit to find the optimum angle. I went with a very light touch and got what is mostly a very close shave with no issues, just a spot or two which could have been closer. There was just a little noise from the Alum but it passed quickly. I am starting to feel some itchiness on my neck, so I may need to grab the lotion.

My apologies to Fuzzy and the others who love their Gem-type SEs but I really need to accept that they just do not bring me joy.

 

Thanks Jim.

Thanks Paul, I'll cut out the cut report.