February 2019 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Fantastic shave Andrew.

 

Improving with a straight razor is a very slow, incremental process. So much so, that it's hard to detect any noticeable change from day to day, but over a long period of time the difference in technique is dramatic. Seems like the learning comes through osmosis more than discovering some grand revelation all at once. Anyway, today was a unique day in that, with all the focus on the straight I've been doing, I actually noticed something that made a slight, but notable difference.

I realized the following:
Since a long, straight blade cannot possibly intersect the same with my round face, the closeness of the shave at different parts of the blade will, by definition, be different. (This part is not new revelation, but wait...) Since my hand controls the razor where it holds the tang (i.e. nearest to the heel end), then the heel end of the blade is the part that is most precisely controlled and has the lowest margin of error in achieving a close stroke. (This concept is similar to choking up on a baseball bat to increase accuracy in placing where the ball goes.) Therefore, counterintuitively, the heel end is most able to precisely do touch up work on my neck in those areas that are difficult to get BBS, and a closer touch up results. (Prior to this I'd been doing touch up work with the toe end.)

Between more aggressive skin stretching aided by alum, and this little revelation, I expect osmosis to speed up a bit this month. Time will tell. Curious to know what other, more seasoned darksiders have experienced...

 

Thanks Jim! Could have been the was the blade was set.

Thanks Perry! Lucky you, I think our high today is about 20 degrees.

Thank you, Clint!

 

Fed-X truck roaming the 7 bldg. complex here. I find that to be extremely impossible. Why. Because I didn't order a shave product.

 

Days 3 and 4 Fatboy Shaves:

Razor: Fatboy
Blade: Feather
Soap: Proraso White with Cremo for slickness
Preshave Oil: Homemade lemon scent
Brush: Prefecto Pure Badger
Mug: Henry Cavendish

Day 3 was better than day 2. Still not a great shave.

Day 4 was the first really good shave. Contracted on having a light touch and riding the cap. I had little to no razor burn. Trouble spots are getting better. Under the nose is still tough to get close going wtg. Need to just go xtg, or as in between as I can on the first pass.

How often should you clean your vintage razor? I'm talking dish soap and a soft bristle gun cleaning brush (lightly, of course).

 

Nice shave! Scrubbing Bubbles works well on razors. Spray on, let is sit, wash off and then lightly brush with an old toothbrush. It sanitizes and shines them up quite well. Maybe do that once a month.

 

Thanks.

 

Thank you very much, gentlemen!

 

Keeping up lately has been like treading water for me. I do apologize for not commenting on all the wonderful photos and posts.


Parker SRX
Astra S/P
Van Der Hagen brush
Tabac
Clubman


Just……..Wow…..





Hope everyone has a fabulous day!


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Fantastic photo, Bruce!

 

Your making me wanna break out the "Grandma's Purse" soap, Bruce!

 

Terrific filter, Jason!

 

Have you tried Jamestown Gentleman from WK? I find this to be similar to Stirling Gentleman!

 

Thank you, Jason! I actually find the Arko scent very familiar for some reason.

 

Great picture, Terry!

 

Great photo Bruce.

 

I haven't tried that one. I have Merchant of Tobacco. The cocoa dominates the scent on this one.

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February Focus

Figaro Sapone Speciale~~Rubberset~~Boker~~Myrsol
SR #19
This edge belongs to me. I honed it on a 4/8K Norton, followed by the 12K Naniwa.
Very sharp. I have tried to tighten the front pin, as the blade swings open far too easily,
but so far no success. I am leery of hitting too hard. Don't want to use a punch.
Figaro Sapone is fantastic. What wonderful lather. Great, albeit subtile scent.
Love it.
The Rubberset loaded easily and delivered flawlessly.
Nice smooth shave with a touch of ATG on the cheeks and ATG on the neck,
resulting in a legitimate DFS.
Had to work, so I chose a super-non-odiferous post-shave: Myrsol.​

 

For a lot of the tougher areas on my neck I use a scything type stroke, kind of pivoting the blade. When doing this you really need to focus on angle and no pressure because you can fillet yourself very easily. I try to use the heel to about the middle of the blade most in this area, it provides the best results for me. Sometimes Randy it’s some of the smallest changes that end up as major game changers.

 

Thank you, Perry!