February 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Agreed! Thanks for the good thoughts!

 

Beautiful photo and shave, Jim!

 

That's true, although I do prefer SWMBO's charms to the LaResche!

 

February 8, 2020
Rex Ambassador
Gillette 7 O’clock Black
Mondial Boar
Eleven DFS 2019 LE
Shave Soap & Aftershave

​

I have had a relaxing morning this morning. It was nice to just enjoy the day without having to be in a rush. The Antica Barberia/Mondial boar brush is breaking in nicely. The boar loaded and lathering the Eleven DFS soap with ease. For the first time, I had an excess of lather after 3 passes. I find that boars produce a larger volume of lather as the break in. After a couple of blood free shaves at 2.5 to 3, I decided to ramp things up a bit today. I opened the RA up to 5. Now that is some serious blade feel. I really have to wonder if the RA openings are more aggressive than the Gibbs. Perhaps catering to modern desires for more aggressive razors. I can tell you at 5 the RA is more aggressive than any vintage Gillette adjustable I have tried. Given the blade feel I really took my time and like @b1hart said used "negative pressure". I left the razor on 5 for all three passes, WTG, XTG and ATG. Wow, the best shave to date with the RA. I did nick myself on the point of my chin during the first pass but that was clearly my fault. Ended up with a super close BBS shave. A splash of the matching Eleven DFS aftershave and I am ready for day of doing absolutely nothing. I hope everyone has great Saturday

 

Thanks, Jim! I must say it is one incredible shaver.

 

Jim:
If there's such a thing as razor porn, you certainly capture it! Gorgeous image! Visual enablement at its best! I want that brush!

 

Makes for some good shave pics, though.

 

Week 2
Feb. 8
So, the beginning of a new week. After doggedly pursuing a routine that I disliked, I'm soul-shaving this week--do what feels right. The only parameters is nothing more than 3 passes. I got lazy and used a random order generator rather than cut up slips of paper and draw from a mug (which always feel more exciting for some reason). The results...



Week 2--Brush & Software



The Razor--MMOC & SS gem blade (2)



The Shave
The shave started out pretty well. 1st pass (WTG) seemed to go okay. Another slight snag at the left corner of my mouth, but after waiting several seconds, no blood... shave on! Cold water rinse reveals a sting at the aforementioned corner of the mouth. Look more closely, and... still no blood. Time for pass 2...

Pass 2 (XTG) starts well. I start on my left cheek and nearly finish when I see that the left corner of my mouth is, indeed, weeping--crud! Shave over. I believe I almost cut this exact same area the last time I used the MMOC. Hmmmm. As I start to do the rinse of shame, I now notice a small weeper on the underside of my chin, also from the 1st pass.

In retrospect, I'm still shaving a little too quickly, though I'm keeping the pressure light, so that's a plus. I'm pretty rough everywhere except for the left cheek which I'd call DFS. No irritation anywhere, so that's a plus, I suppose.

Tomorrow
Next up in the rotation is the 1912, who is going to have her work cut out for her; I'm going to be pretty scruffy tomorrow morning



Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everybody!

 

Fantastic black and white photo! Glad the shave on 5 was good!

 

Thanks, Perry! I never expected the kind of shaves I've been experiencing, when I bought the razor. I'd had a user 51 from the 30's, and just wanted a cleaner example! What a great surprise! One of my French friends at B&B, Julien, explained what I had and made an open offer for it. He'll have to wait until they throw the dirt on me!

 

Right back atcha, Clint!

 

Excellent report, Tim! The MMOC is a beast, my personal 'meat grinder'. I have to put the cap almost flat against my face and use negative pressure. It's very easy to slip and cut yourself with one. You mention the corners of your mouth a good bit, as far as irritation or weepers. What direction do you shave there? I always start at the corners and shave toward my ears in an XTG fashion to get the corners. I never shave up or down right there. But that works for me. Just wondering if there is an alternate approach for that spot for you that would yield better results.

 

We need healthy resiliency. You shouldn’t have to live through trench warfare, but you should be put in stressful, complicated situations. It is how our brains develop and adapt when we are young. Snowplowing every problem just results in people who cannot handle those complicated problems when confronted by them.

 

Stunning shave and set up, Jim. I keep getting lost in the depths of that beautiful blue brush handle. Glad the Noble Otter is working so well for you. The only thing I dislike about N.O. Monarch is that ridiculous wig--poor otter's nobility is significantly reduced

 

Agreed. Cold steel is dubious comfort when the Missus gets frosty

 

I saw those on the Simpson site, too. For that price I don’t mind bashing a handle out.

 

Sorry to hear of your rough shave today! Que sera sera! It happens! Why quit? Just finish the shave and chalk it up to learning the razor. Enjoy your Saturday!

 

That is a good idea. Mmm, I might have to try to take at least one for tomorrows shave.

 

Wow! Fantastic photo, report, and results, Clint. Minus the weeper, it sounds like you had a fantastic outcome with the increased aggressiveness. Any increased irritation come with the additional closeness?

 

I agree with you. I will let you know what the knot is like in comparison when it arrives.