April 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion

Great looking shave Charlie.

 

Thank you Gary.

 

Tim, you do realize that the ultimate goal to straight/shavette shaving is to be your own master barber.

 

I liked it. The Missus said, "It smells like the flower section of Michael's Crafts." Now, I am highly in tune with my wife's very subtle and sophisticated methods of communication, so when I heard that for the 5th time in a row, I had an almost psychic revelation that she, perhaps, did not fully approve of the scent. Finished the sample as a shower soap--the things we do for love.

 

I agree with you Jim. It's one of the main reasons why I prefer straights because they offer many different variations in aesthetics and shave feel.

 

I guess I don't understand, Joe. Are you saying DE'S and SE'S don't vary in aesthetics and shave feel?

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So true! But I can do that for under $300 (and without the wait). Scratch that--it'll probably take a couple years to reach that level, so I suppose I am on a waiting list after all

 

Thanks Tim. I agree. I've started collecting and reflecting on some of my favorite quotes. This is an ever-increasing list and one of the ways I choose to feed my mind. I find many similarities between the teachings of these thought leaders, and their lessons are timeless. We live in a time where we - falsely - think we think we're the smartest and best generation for a variety of reasons. Thanks to technology, we certainly have more information at our fingertips. In many ways, however, I think this has been to our detriment. <drops mic and steps off soapbox>

John Maxwell:
Wisdom is always extracted from maturity.
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best.
The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.
The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.

Thomas Edison:
I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

Stephen Covey:
Begin with the end in mind.
Live out of your imagination, not your history.
The way we see the problem is the problem.
Seek first to understand, and then to be understood.
Put first things first.
Think win-win.
You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smiling, nonapoloegetically – to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside.

John Wooden:
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.
Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.

Chuck Swindoll:
We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.
Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

Abraham Lincoln:
I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.
The best way to predict your future is to create it.
Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.
How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? Four. Saying that a tail is a leg doesn't make it a leg.
You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.
Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.

Daniel Boone:
I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.

Winston Churchill:
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.
History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

 

April 17
Shavette Shave #44

Gear

• Razor: Max Headroom Focus R21 Shavette
• Blade: Personna Blue (2)
• Brush: Stirling Finest Badger
• Soap: Stirling Texas on Fire
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
• AS: Clubman Original (1 Frost Drop)
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave...
Favorite Friday. I love being smooth. I love seeing how far I can push things. But I also love not feeling irritation--what to do? Here’s what I came up with: (a) three passes, (b) no, or at least very few, repeat strokes, and (c) try to get the shave finished in half an hour. Now I know you aren’t supposed to rush shaves, but my reasoning was it reinforces my focus on only putting steel on parts that have lather on them (which in turn) is a fantastic way to cut shave time. Here’s how it went down:

1st pass (WTG). Kept it quick, confident, and kept steel on lather only. For me, working the chin on the 1st pass takes short, strong strokes. Not quite buffing, but it does look somewhat similar. This is where I am most in danger of repeating stokes. I did pretty well, though.

2nd pass is an exact repeat of the 1st, but I decided to take the blade at a slightly more aggressive angle. It worked fairly well, and if I had quit there I’d have a CCS (excepting the chin).

3rd pass was the XTG/ATG hybrid. Rather than focusing entirely on the direction my hair grows, I focus instead on which action is easiest to perform with the shavette. I knew I was pushing the 30 minute mark here, so rather than going faster, I dropped touch ups and buffing (I spend a lot of time with those two things).

Results: DFS (CCS on the chin, though), no irritation, and about 35 minutes. Not quite the ideal I was shooting for, but still I’m still pretty pleased with the results

Congratulations, folks--you made it to Friday! Enjoy it

44 down, 56 to go!

 

Thanks Clint. I hope things are starting to calm down for you.

 

I am not saying there isn't any differentiation among DE's and SE's. However, there's more variation in straight razors based on different scales by color and material, grinds, blade size, different toe designs and blade feels. Now, of course, that's my biased perspective. This does open up an interesting discussion based on one's shave preference.

 

thank you Clint..

 

Those are awesome!

 

Great Favorite Friday shavette shave Tim!

 

I completely agree with you, Joe. That is a biased perspective.

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Thank you Jeff

 

Great report Bill. I can see most businesses taking everyone’s temperature going forward.

 

Fantastic photo and shave Blair. The Supply Co is looking good.