April 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion

b1hart · Apr 9, 2020

brit said: ↑

View attachment 222778
wednesday shave
#77 brit rfb/gsb
omega boar
stonefield bowl
stirling deep blue sea

good morning gents,fabulous bbs shave today with the rfb/gsb combo in 2+ smooth passes.the omega boar/stonefield bowl built a nice slick stirling lather..deep blue sea aftershave to finish.my favorite warmer weather stirling scent .sandpiper and gentleman race for colder weather,though i would use them all anytime..awesome..have a fine humpday everyone..
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Wow, that's a lotta color matching blue! Very nice image & gear Gary!

McCrae said: ↑

View attachment 222783
Hello, everyone. This month's focus had been going very well and I'm starting to quite like the Rex Ambassador now. Since I've been getting good shaves with it, I decided to begin sampling different blades, which were conveniently delivered last night.
I ordered about 15 different blades (2 of each) and I'll be putting them up against my current favorite blade in the Ambassador, the Rockwell.
I decided to load up a new Voskhod blade and get to work. The blade was very smooth, almost too smooth to even mow down my hair. The blade had a bit of trouble on my resistance area on the neck, leaving a bit more stubble than I'm used too after two passes.
The alum gave no feedback which is what's important to me, so good already. I'll keep these blades around and revisit them sometime in the future, for now, the Rockwell blades are still 1st place. I might try out one of the Personna blades next.
Finished off with some Zingari Man balm in their new Sego base, very nice stuff.

I see a lot of great shaves. Take care fellas!
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Super progress with the RA Dan. Awesome!

jtspartan said: ↑

April 8th
RR .68 Gamechanger Jaws w Astra SP
Zenith boar/ BRM
Fine American Blend combo
Thayers
View attachment 222779
Broke up my run of neglected razors as I wanted to get a few days in with my JAWS that I used for several days when it came it last month, but hasn't had a run since. Whipped up a nice lather with the Zenith. Tbh, I like it more and more all the time. If you don't own a Zenith, what you have to realize is that you can't really compare it to an Omega. Yes, they are both boars, obviously, but the Zenith is much softer out of the box and stays softer. If you enjoy the scritchiness of an Omega, you have to be prepared for a different boar experience. I have found, though, that as it has broken in (a very quick process), lathering off of a hard puck is easier with it than it used to be. The handle is massive -easily the largest in my den- but I guess that is my fault.
The GC Jaws delivered 3 very nice passes this morning. A bit of talk about the Astra on here this month- I find it smoother than sharper, but a quality blade nonetheless. I'm completely smooth, seeing no red and smelling pretty good. I guess that makes it Epic on the Keith scale.
Have a great day all.
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Pretty! I have several of the Zenith boar brushes/knots also. Whatever process (extra bleach?) they add to the boar knot, they are definitely everything you mention. I don't get too many shedding strands, but sometimes a few outer strands seem to get 'water logged' or 'gelled' easily. Not a distraction or problem, just pointing it out as a thing in my world. They dry back up just fine. Great setup Jason!

Primotenore said: ↑

April Focus

Chiseled Face Groomatorium Sherlock~~Simpson The "Duke"~~Barbasol Floating Head/Sharp Star
Moment of truth part two...
Brand, spankin' new puck of CFG Sherlock.
I didn't even do a test lather.
Varied my routine slightly, taking a very wet brush on the non-bloomed puck and
began to create the lather. CFG is a soft croap, easily molded. Not as gooey as B&M reserve, however.
As one might imagine, the lather started out fairly soupy.
View attachment 222784
But during the face-lathering, it tightened up and was pretty much at the correct hydration.
I did add a touch of H2O to the tips of the bristles, which always gets me that gorgeous,
sheen, which is universally coveted.
The Sharp Star blade was on its last leg, but I muddled through the shave nonetheless.
Because the blade had lost so much, I was compelled to do some buffing.
The issue of tingling is interesting.
Just as yesterday, after the first pass, some very slight, but noticeable reaction
on the skin begins to occur. It's similar to a numbing sensation.
Once again, I do NOT get this feeling with the Midnight Stag, so I must conclude,
that Ghost Town Barber and Sherlock share a particular ingredient which causes this effect.
So, in conclusion, while these two soaps are magnificent with regard to
facilitating a great shave; have unique and attractive scents;
they will not be repurchases.
I am happy, however, that my favorite, Midnight Stag, doesn't give my skin any issues.
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Great report and super nice image Joseph!

McCrae said: ↑

Very nice gear. American Blend AS is one of my favorite scents. I've been looking at Zenith brushes for a couple of weeks now, might just pull the trigger now!
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Nike thought....Just Do It.

clint64 · Apr 9, 2020

jluc said: ↑

Lovely color coordinating, Clint!
Have a great day!
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Thank you Jim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Trigger · Apr 9, 2020

Paul Turner said: ↑

OOOOOH I came so close to giving my shave this morning the highest grade/comment possible. What stopped me. A tiny nick over my upper lip, and a tiny miss on my right side. Yeah, I know, nobody's perfect. But how great it would have been to go all the way on Throwback Thursday. I repeated with the Jeeves Bay Rum soap(centuries old, well, not the Jeeves version of course, but without the ancient Bay Rum, no Jeeves Bay Rum). Followed that up with Stephan Bay Rum A.S. (1897). And, for good measure, I administered Stephan "Stay Styled" Hair Ge(1897).l at the sink post-shower, pre-shave. But as for the shave itself, really well-done, I felt. I had a different brush than yesterday-the Crown King Spindle Duro Tali. Solid brush. Two passes, just the aforementioned nick and miss. And the grade for this morning is....Super Duper Excellent.
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Fantastic Shave Paul! I would like to say that you will be yelling like Jack in the movie Titanic,"I'm on top of the world' very soon. May I suggest that your perfect score shave should be Top of the World Excellent. It also symbolizes reaching the summit of Mt Everest which is a rare feat. Have a nice day!

clint64 · Apr 9, 2020

jtface said: ↑

Great shave, Terry. Fuzzy would be proud!

Beautiful shave with the Brassbird, Clint!
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Thank you James

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b1hart · Apr 9, 2020

jgreenepa said: ↑

View attachment 222799
SOTD 04/08/2020

A man can definitely become addicted to the delightful velveteen feeling smooth skin arising from a barber close BBS shave. The truth underlying any safety razor is that it really is nothing more than a blade holder. The transition many make from safety razor to shavette to straight arises for a variety of reasons. There’s the danger coupled with the mastery of technique of straight edge open shaving. There’s the connection to our past and the history of shaving dating back to the Egyptians. Then there’s just the feeling of belonging to a small select club. But most importantly, it’s that feeling of shaving mastery, understanding shaving angle and the accompanying skin stretching required for a great shave that contributes to the improvement of safety razor shaving. In my case a neurological condition prohibits my joining the open edge family.

Safety razor designers can attempt to engineer blade angle and blade exposure into their blade holders, but technique still reigns supreme. The safety razor shavers’ acronym, “YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY (YMMV)”, exemplifies the role technique plays. But is that all there is to it? I own a variety of vintage and modern artisan safety razors, and can elicit a decent shave from all of them, but there are certain razors that that just seem to perform better for me within certain blade parameters. For example, my Rex Ambassador shaves beautifully with Wizamets or Voskhods, not so much with Feathers or Nacets. Whereas my AS-D2 and Occam’s DE reform best with Feathers or Nacets, and not so much with Voskhods or Wizamets. When it comes to my SE razors, of which I own many, my favorite DE SE, the G.E. Jones Shake Sharp performs best with any stacked DE blade, but the blades of choice for my smoothest and closest shave are Sunekos.

I can achieve a BBS shave with any of my razors, but have recently discovered that the closest barber-level BBS is best achieved with a Feather Super blade in any of my SE AC blade holders. Today’s one and a half pass BBS was delivered through my newest SE AC razor ordered back in December of 2019, the Colonial General V2. What I most love about this razor is the sense of effortless competence I experience when shaving with it. It truly feels like I’m just sweeping away the lather. The Feather Super blade is incredibly sharp, but the balance and weight of the razor in hand allows for old, shaky me to exert negative pressure with no effort. So much so, in fact, that there is no audible or tactile feel of the blade cutting. I will always insist on Feather Super Blades in future AC SE shaves. I truly enjoy shaving both face and noggin with this razor. I feel clean, velveteen smooth, and refreshed.

RAZOR: Colonial General V2 in 316L SS
BLADE: Feather Super AC
PREP: Cold water rinse
BRUSH: Alpha Shaving T-400 with 26mm Silvertip Badger Knot
SOAP: Pannacrema Nuavia Blu
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Thayers Lavender WH and finished with Fine Fresh Vetiver AS Splash
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Wow....what a write up Jeff. Awesome! The CG V2...one I thought about. <deep meditation> 'I do not need another safety razor. I do not need another safety razor.'

jtspartan said: ↑

A very informative review of the Cella, Blair... your colour matching was so good I didn’t even notice the missing brush...
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Jason!

blondblue · Apr 9, 2020

Trigger said: ↑

Fantastic Shave Paul! I would like to say that you will be yelling like Jack in the movie Titanic,"I'm on top of the world' very soon. May I suggest that your perfect score shave should be Top of the World Excellent. It also symbolizes reaching the summit of Mt Everest which is a rare feat. Have a nice day!
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Stories of daring mountain climbs always fascinate me. Your suggestion has been received by my one-man staff and will be given proper consideration. I never saw "Titanic". Throughout today's shave I kept saying "This one has to be IT! But in good faith, I had to be honest with myself and "settle" for "Super Duper". You do the same(have a nice day).

b1hart · Apr 9, 2020

brit said: ↑

thursday sneak peak.. View attachment 222815
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jgreenepa said: ↑

Great shave report, Blair! Cool-looking razor!
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Thank You Jeff!

McCrae said: ↑

Performance-wise, it's excellent. A&E soaps hit every checkmark for me. As for the scent, it's loosely based on Aventus. If I didn't know what it was based off, I would never be able to tell. However, it's a great scent on its own, I mostly get a smokey pineapple and blackcurrant. Also, the scent is really light, much lighter than their scents usually are which is a bit disappointing, hence why I'm trying to work through it. The AS is quite nice too, more pineapple forward.
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Thanks for the info, appreciated!

Trigger said: ↑

April 8
Good afternoon guys!
Schick Injector Razor E-3
Schick Blade (8)
Semogue OC Super Badger
Stirling Sandalwood SS and AS
Nivea ASB
Face lathered and got a beautiful wet lather. On a 30 hr stubble, achieved an IBSS+ without any mishaps on my face or fingers. Lol! I decided to only complete 2 passes because I was doing too much buffing for this shave. Well, I guess it's time to eject the blade and inject a new one. Liberally applied the aftershave and ended with Nivea. Ok, this Saturday, I will be using a straighr razor once again. At that time, it will be 8 days since I used a straight so I am looking forward to it. Have a nice afternoon guys! View attachment 222822 View attachment 222822
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Nice finger safe shave Joe! Great setup.

timabababaluka said: ↑

Beautiful set up and shave, and awesome report, Blair. You've got the color matching thing going on great even without the matching brush

I didn't realize Cella had an entire line of shaving software--thought it was just soap. I still use the jar my Cella came in long after I finished the shave soap. Just a very handy, perfectly sized container.
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Thank You Tim!

b1hart · Apr 9, 2020

Norcalnewb said: ↑

Beautiful picture, Blair!
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Thank you Jim!

timabababaluka said: ↑

Considering how many people here feel about Clubman, that makes perfect sense

I haven't tried Vanilla either--so many AS and SS to try, so little time. Definitely piqued my interest for both products, sir!
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Primotenore · Apr 9, 2020

timabababaluka said: ↑

Beautiful photo (well, except for the one of Soupy Sales), and another excellent shave report, Joseph! Sorry to hear that GTB and Sherlock are still giving you that tingle--they sound like terrific scents, but I get it: why give room to items that don't deliver 100% satisfaction... every time? You've still got the Midnight Stag, though
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Thanks, Tim. I am going to keep the GTB and the Sherlock, just not repurchase them.

Primotenore · Apr 9, 2020

Norcalnewb said: ↑

Excellent picture, Joseph! I hope they didn't sneak some Slippery Elm Bark in the soap on you.
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They wouldn't dare!

Primotenore · Apr 9, 2020

wristwatchb said: ↑

Better copyright that term 'afore @Primotenore's lawyers a get hold of it.
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Primotenore · Apr 9, 2020

MrEE said: ↑

April 8th
Anything goes in April

Razor: Dovo Inox
Brush: DSCosmetic Galaxy 26mm Silvertip
PS: Proraso Green
SS: Palmolive w/ Menthol
AS: Proraso Red

So, I know it's not Saturday but this Dovo still had the factory edge on it and it was starting to pull (just barely sharp enough to begin with) so I blunted it and worked my way up to a completely fresh edge and I was excited to use it.

The Palmolive Men with Menthol made a nice lather and I went to work. From the very first stroke the shave felt wonderful. Gental easy buffing took the stubble off as easy as the lather.

I did get slightly overconfident on my chin and continued a stock outside the area I was stretching. Which resulted in a small nick. Didn't even feel it, it just started bleeding a few seconds later. Oh well. A little styptic did the trick.

Getting an amazing shave with a blade you honed yourself is a special experience.

Need to point out that I used Palmolive and a razor with olive wood scales during the Passover. That has to be good luck.

View attachment 222827
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Nice shave and well done on the honing, Evan. I have been neglecting my honing recently.

Primotenore · Apr 9, 2020

MrEE said: ↑

Hi! My names Evan and I'm a soap bloomer...
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blondblue · Apr 9, 2020

Primotenore said: ↑

Thanks, Tim. I am going to keep the GTB and the Sherlock, just not repurchase them.
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Gonna repurchase Midnight Stag?

Norcalnewb · Apr 9, 2020

Terry said: ↑

Good morning everyone!
Not much internet yesterday, down most of the day.
Maybe, just maybe it will be better today.
I noticed a mention of a GEM Junior from what I could read, so I got out the First SE I owned to do the job.
Installed a new Pesonna GEM blade, this combo never lets me down.
Decided it needed a vintage type software to match.
View attachment 222852
Got out my Choo Choo mug and a beautiful brush to finish off the appeal.
The lather was sufficient to complete the work and was usable at any standard.
2 passes head and face only one little leak, high on the left cheek.
Though it was a crash landing, been a while since I'd done that.
Further inspection showed a small bump that was smoothed out.

Clean and smooth ready for the day.
Stay healthy
Keep safe

ENJOY!
tp
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Great shave, Terry!

Norcalnewb · Apr 9, 2020

clint64 said: ↑

April 9, 2020
Blackbird Brass SB
Gillette 7 O’clock Black
CH2 Synthetic
SV Felce Aromatica
Shave Soap & Aftershave

Another very busy day ahead. I didn't sleep well thinking about all I have up for today. At least I was able to get a great shave with some of my favorites. Trying to keep up with @jluc , I paired the CH2 Faux Jade synthetic with the SV Felce Aromatica which produced a wonderful rich, slick lather. Three passes and touch ups caught the baby. Used too much pressure and caused a couple of weepers. A splash of the matching aftershave and I am off to a client site for the day. I hope everyone has a great Thursday.
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Outstanding picture, Clint! I hope your day isn't too busy.

blondblue · Apr 9, 2020

Primotenore said: ↑

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@MrEE were you once on What's My Line?

Norcalnewb · Apr 9, 2020

Paul Turner said: ↑

OOOOOH I came so close to giving my shave this morning the highest grade/comment possible. What stopped me. A tiny nick over my upper lip, and a tiny miss on my right side. Yeah, I know, nobody's perfect. But how great it would have been to go all the way on Throwback Thursday. I repeated with the Jeeves Bay Rum soap(centuries old, well, not the Jeeves version of course, but without the ancient Bay Rum, no Jeeves Bay Rum). Followed that up with Stephan Bay Rum A.S. (1897). And, for good measure, I administered Stephan "Stay Styled" Hair Ge(1897).l at the sink post-shower, pre-shave. But as for the shave itself, really well-done, I felt. I had a different brush than yesterday-the Crown King Spindle Duro Tali. Solid brush. Two passes, just the aforementioned nick and miss. And the grade for this morning is....Super Duper Excellent.
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Sounds like a great shave, Paul.

Norcalnewb · Apr 9, 2020

b1hart said: ↑

View attachment 222853
April 9th

Proraso PS - Red
Ever Ready 100 w/synthetic
Fine SS & AS - Fresh Vetiver
ShaveSmith Kamisori

Everything worked well, great lather from this Fine shaving soap and Ever Ready 100 loaded with a flat top synthetic knot. Light, nimble and square handled ShaveSmith kamisori, super sharp. Shaves and sounds like a half/full hollow, even though the blade profile is a wedge. It's a small razor...but like a 120 pound Rottweiler in a 3 pound Chihuahua body. The grip requires extra thought, as rotating your hand/wrist is needed rather than twisting the angle in your fingers. Twisting the handle in your fingers will make the blade jump 90 degrees if not careful (BTDT, scared the bejesus out of me first time it happened).

Finished with a quick application of Fine's Fresh Vetiver's AS....a nice everyday blend, wifey approved.

Easy trouble free shave. 2 passes with neck clean ups to a DFS+.

Hope everyone has a Terrific Thursday!
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Beautiful picture, Blair!

blondblue · Apr 9, 2020

Norcalnewb said: ↑

Sounds like a great shave, Paul.
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Yes Jim, thanks....I was very happy with it.

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April 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion

Is Arko the greatest value in all of shaving?

Yes

Yes

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April 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion

Is Arko the greatest value in all of shaving?

Yes

Yes

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Trigger Double Jedi Knight

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b1hart Speed Racer

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