April 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion

Thanks for the heads up!
Apparently the coatings, although they say platinum, are a variety of things. Just a matter of finding what works!

 

thursday sneak peak..

 

Riding the cap and using almost negative pressure on the razor was a big thing. I went up and down the dial but discovered for me the razor works best on 3 or 3.5. The other was do dial it down from those settings for buffing and clean up.

 

Welcome! I'm Charlie, and I'm glad you're here with us. The Rex is a top notch razor. I will follow your focus with interest.

 

Cool picture, Gary!

 

Welcome back, Simon. I'm glad you're here with us. We had a few new guys last month too.

Scruffy on the way in...



But transformed in 30 days...

 

April 1



Shavette Shave #30

Gear

• Razor: The Max Headroom Focus R21 shavette
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (1)--Honestly, with my lack of refinement using a shavette, all blades seem to perform similarly. I did feel it shaving my beard, and it didn’t mow it to BBS on my 1st, WTG pass. I’ll see what they are like in the Slim this Sunday, then have a better idea as to how well they work.
• Brush: Stirling Finest Badger
• Soap: Stirling Iced Pineapple--today, after years of just missing picking up a sample before it went out of season, I finally got to try Iced Pineapple--Meh. Just kidding… it was awesome!
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops (only for the AS today)
• AS: Pinaud Citrus Musk--I enjoyed the pairing of Frost drops with CM so much yesterday, that I went with an encore performance. Pairs very nicely with Iced Pineapple, too.
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave...

I was inspired by Chris’ display of quick and easy face lathering, so have decided to focus on it this month. Considering that all three of my soaps are in sticks, it really does make sense to get that technique perfected. My favorite method, currently, is palm lathering. It’s tactile and really lets you get dialed in with how much water I put in my lather. It’s also pretty messy and requires rinsing off your hands before shaving. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it’s another step to take, and it’s also more water wasted.

I wet my face and threw a generous amount of soap on it, then with a very wet brush started to work it into a lather. Didn’t take long actually, and I started my 1st (WTG) pass. Got about halfway through and decided the lather could use a bit more water. Wet my brush at the base a couple times and got it nice, yogurty, runny, and slick… much better! Finished the 1st pass with no issues. The GSB’s, btw are pretty smooth on their 1st shave--probably more so than my Personnas.

2nd pass went mostly ATG, and there was plenty of lather with some squeezings left over. The shave went more quickly than previous shaves, which is heartening. It was also blood free. I know what you’re thinking, “Sure it was. Find your April Fool some other where, sir!” but it’s true--nary a weeper or set down error. Even with the left hand.

Results were on the DFS side of DFS/CCS, and no irritation. It's rare that I get such results for a 2 pass shave with a DE (although I get BBS with a 3 pass shave a lot easier with a DE). Took the brush squeezings and applied them to my face while I cleaned up, then gave myself a final, wonderfully chilly cold water rinse--I will most definitely enjoy this soap. I added a drop of Frost drops to my Citrus Musk AS, then topped it off with some Glacial Unscented Balm. Wonderful!

Have yourselves a wonderful hump day, and be safe!

30 down, 70 to go!

 

nice steel!!!

 

Thanks Jason! I mentioned the razor, but I am still toying with a few combinations to round it out.

 

Thanks, Charlie, I'm Dan. I've been around the forums for a couple of years but never participated in a focus.

 

I'll do Feather Friday in solidarity

 

Glad you found us!!!!

 

That's a really cool filter effect, Gary!

 

Super cool shave, Tim!

 

Thanks Chris! I am assuming Feathers are your fav blade!

 

Great to hear from you, Perry. Hope all is well, my friend. Good here.

 

Fave is probably GSB, all things considered. However, Feather really shines in a Fatboy, and delivers nice results.

 

Congrats, Jim. It's a looker! You got the matching stand, right?