January 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Thanks, Gary!

 

Super smooth shave and nice pic, Clint!

Nice shave, Perry! Hope you get better ASAP!

Good shave, Paul!

Excellent shave and post, Blair!

Great shave and glad that you're ok, Jeff!

Good shave and hope the hot water heater is fixable, Jim!

Awesome shave and pic, Gary! Have a great day as well!

 

It's a non-shave day for me. However, I already laid out my shaving paraphernalia for tomorrow's final shave of the month. I decided that I will use my Rockwell Model T.

 

Awesome Jim! PAA's Lavender Planet is a great blend, strong yet subtle (doesn't project), long lasting.

Nice shave (with a detour) Jim! Great colors in that image too.

Great classic setup and shave Tommy!

 

Thank you Perry.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thank you, Blair!

 

Thank you, Clint!

Glad to hear it wasn't something worse, Jeff! Sorry about the fall.

 

January Focus

C.O. Bigelow~~Simpson~~2011 Mühle R41/Polsilver~~Proraso
Third different hotel room, same countertop.
Doesn't the 2011 R41 photograph well? What a beast!
For a mass produced razor, it shares many of the attributes of much more expensive razors.
The shave products have been lauded by me in the past, so I won't repeat myself.
Biggest difference is the razor and the blade.
These old Polsilvers really shine.
The shave cream is a fine product, but where it lacks is in the post shave.
Luckily, the aftershave more than compensates with its wonderful, nourishing feel.​

 

Great shave, Joseph. Bigelow is a terrific travel software item. You enjoy the eggs this morning?

 

They didn't even offer them. Something called a "bagel topper", nothing more than a half of a bagel (term used lightly) with cheese. NO EGGS. I did refrain from trying the hard-boiled (perfect terminology) eggs.

 

Plan for February:

I had a goal for 2020 to finish off a Stirling tub. After quite enjoying EDSIO throughout January, I've made a choice on what to do in February and March and possibly beyond.

My first choice to target and finish is Stirling's Dirty South Shavers 2019 meet-up soap. Why you may wonder?

• I enjoy the scent of this soap but don't love it. It's based on Azzaro Chrome. Light cologne scent with some fougere qualities.
• It was a limited edition so there won't be a chance to replace it.
• It's Stirling; the quality will be there shave after shave.
• I have the matching aftershave but will also use other splashes that are neglected.

My plan is to use the soap at least twice a week, targeting the weekend and Monday. Sometimes I may use it more than that but twice a week will hopefully put a big dent throughout 2020. I will do my best to load heavily.

I will continue to rotate through my other soaps as there are many scents that I quite enjoy. If I get bored by March or April then I'll change strategies.

 

January 30th
Occam's DE w Polsilver (3)
Omega Pro/Poculi beehive
B&M Barrister's Reserve Cool
Thayers

Had a very early morning shave as I left the house an hour or so earlier than usual. I did change the baseplate after taking the photo, and went with the full 'scalloped' plate instead of the medium plate shown in the pic.
Back to the Reserve Cool to try to figure what is going on after a few subpar lathers with it. I got this soap right after it was released. Not sure exactly when that was, but at least a few years ago. The 3 splashes were made first and I got the Reserve Cool and Spice splashes early on. Loved the scent of both, but especially the Cool. When the soaps were released, I got the Cool right away, so I suspect this is the first batch. Whether that means anything to the recent problems, who knows. It used to lather very differently; of that I am certain. I used to have probably no more than a 15 second load and needed a ton of water to have it avoid being a stringy mess. Full disclosure- I used to bowl lather almost exclusively a few years ago. I face lather 80% of the time now, but regardless the lather is significantly different with it.
Anyway, I did get a good lather today, but I had to work at it. Firstly, I loaded until the knot was good and saturated with soap. That is what I do with most soaps, but not this one traditionally and I'm guessing it was a 25-30 second load. That was the key, and I whipped up a good lather using lots of water. It has significantly 'changed' though- from being a soap that takes time to avoid being a stringy mess to a soap that you need to load the crap out of to get it back to functionality. Performance was fine. The scent? World Class, and that is why is will stay in the den.
The razor is a champion on this 3rd plate, imho. More aggressive but no less smooth than the 2nd plate. Just 3 awesome passes this morning.
Have a great day all!

 

Not sure. I tagged @clint64 on the original response to get his opinion on it too. Mine really is not very thick.

 

Terrific travel shave, Maestro!

 

Nice shave, Jason! Glad you got the soap workable. Why don't you go back and bowl lathering to see if you get it back to what it once was? It may be that some soaps do better in the bowl than on the face.

 

Great picture and shave, Jason! Love the brush!
Interesting what has happened to the Reserve Cool. Curious to hear if your tub of Spice is doing the same.

 

Awesome pic and combo, Jim. Very simple explanation on the Lavender as well.
I have been inspired by that brush since you first showed it off. That brush got me to explore resin/wood mixes for sure. That one, and the distressed Romera that @Keithmax has, have changed how I view what is possible in my little turning hobby.

 

Thanks, Jim! I’m fine! Just an overprotective SWMBO!