April 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion

The stropping and honing is the part that has me worried

 

Great info on the post, Jeff. I really like the Occam’s aggressive plate as well. Glad to hear the cream is a good, cheap product for you...sorry to hear about the canine induced red spot.

 

A very nice ‘special Saturday’ shave, Joe. Always love seeing that brush.

 

Straight Shave #2
Razor: John Watts (Sheffield) Service Razor
Brush: Yaqi Tuxedo
Soap: Body Shop's Maca Root & Aloe
After Shave: Body Shop's Maca Root & Aloe

After enjoying my re-entry yesterday, I figured I'd go all out and start MAYhem early! I performed 2 WTG passes with my straight razor and called it a day. I added more water to the lather today, but the slickness fell off a cliff. The razor wasn't gliding as well as yesterday. No cuts, no irritation and a SAS with a DFS on upper lip, cheeks and some parts of my neck!

I'm not sure if I'm imagining it, but my skin (particularly on my neck) feels smoother than when I use a DE.

All in all, I'm happy with this one. I'm going to keep the Fatip under the sink for now, but just in case!

Stay safe and enjoy your shaves gentlemen!

 

Wonderful shave, Jeff! That Occam's DE is gorgeous

I'd be careful with Gromit around--the timing of that toy drop is mighty suspicious. Coincidence? Perhaps... but mighty suspicious

 

awesome shave Keith..

 

Awesome, James! I'll be following your straight exploits closely

 

fine shave James..

 

A fave combo, excellent. That Tabac EdC will be like a Seoul ‘mating call’ for German ex-pats who wear Capris or ladies in the 55-70 age demographic who wear socks with sandals...
Hey, who am I kidding, if SWMBO loved it I’d bathe in it...

 

Well, right, in my case of grading . Haven't seen you for a while, Tim.

 

I don't know about a CT, but I could use a haircut. And if you write back saying, '"Yeah, we ALL can", I'll just say Yeah, yeah, yeah, nyahh nyaaa"

 

Thanks, Jason! The “Grom” will do what he’s going to do! No biggie, just surprising!

 

You’re spot on, Tim! I had neglected to play with him, instead opting to get a shave in!

 

Great shave, James! Enjoyed your report!

 

Sorry the shave didn’t work out the way you’d like. Great report!

 

April 25th

Razor: JS Holler & Co
Brush: DSCosmetic Galaxy
PS: Proraso Green
SS: Chiseled Face Bay Rum
AS: TABAC

I love my relaxing Saturday straight razor shaves. This 100 year old razor is very light in hand and is easy to maneuver around my face. I wanted a little more classic shave so Bay Rum seemed appropriate.

The 3 pass shave was excellent with a near BBS finish, no irritation, and no blood.

I admit I only purchased Tabac because @Keithmax teased/challenged me. Not liking Clubman and really only liking AV and OS for their place in shaving history, my expectations were somewhat low. Well, initially my wife said, "what's that?" In her sour, "I don't like it" voice. Then a few minutes later she said, "Okay it's growing on me." To which I had to ask, "Like athlete's foot or...?" But she admitted the scent was pleasant. My daughter (oldest) also said she liked it, but added that I smelled like Grandpa, meaning my wife's father.

So I have to say, TABAC is the best o̶l̶d̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶ classic scent I have tried. I like it.



During a "Social" conference call my boss informed me he's been DE shaving for about 6 months and even participating on forums. He's purchased 4 razors, but no vintage razors yet. This hobby is contagious.

 

YMMV, but I respectfully disagree, maybe it’s because my Hawk has the traditional SB?

 

Thanks Jeff.....I think I'll do a focus in these areas for next month. This must end. Dog OK??? I'm reading something happened.

 

TLDR Warning!
Sorry for the insanely lengthy catch up! But because I love you all, here's a tip: pretend to read it, then just type "I laughed; I cried; It became a part of me," and we'll call it good

April 18
Shavette Shave #45

Gear

• Razor: Max Headroom Focus R21 Shavette
• Blade: Personna Blue (3)
• Brush: Stirling Finest Badger
• Soap: Stirling Iced Pineapple
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
• AS: Pinaud Citrus Musk (1 Frost Drop)
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave...

Lots to do last Saturday, but still wanted to do a very quick 2 pass shave. Both passes were WTG, the 1st to knock the stubble back a bit, and the 2nd to make things look presentable. It worked fine and netted me a CCS for all areas except parts of the neck and almost all of the chin.

No blood last Saturday (not even the smallest of weepers, and no issues with irritation either). I’d call this a decent enough work shave if the chin were just slightly better.

45 down, 55 to go!



April 19
Slim Sunday

Gear

• Razor: Slim Jim (Gillette Slim)
• Blade: Personna Blue (2)
• Brush: Semogue Boar
• Soap: Stirling Glastonbury (4 Frost Drops)
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
• AS: Clubman Original (1 Frost Drop)
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave...
Three no-nonsense passes (WTG, XTG, ATG). Since the Gillette Slim is an adjustable razor, I thought I’d play with the settings a bit: ‘9’ on the first pass, ‘7’ on the second, and ‘5’ on the third--I think I’m over that now. The ‘9’ setting is so smooth that there really isn’t any need to play with it further. Perhaps buffing and touch ups at ‘7’ but even then, I don’t know if that is necessary.

One way or the other, I am smooooth today with three passes, minimal chasing required, no blood, and no irritation. A month or two ago I would have considered that a rarity. I’ve got cotton balls lined up around the house waiting for a turn on the slide--no fear of snagging.



April 20
Shavette Shave #46

Gear

• Razor: Max Headroom Focus R21 Shavette
• Blade: Personna Blue (1)
• Brush: Stirling Finest Badger
• Soap: Stirling Texas on Fire (4 Frost Drops for Menthol Monday). “Wait!” you say, “Frost Drops? For Texas on FIRE!?!” What can I say… I’m a madman.
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
• AS: Avon Wild Country (1 Frost Drop)--Okay. Now this actually does sound crazy, but when you add a drop of menthol to WC, there is a 45 second window where everything together smells like Robitussen cough syrup, then… it goes back to being WC.
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave...
Another quick 2 pass shave (one WTG and one XTG) that got me between DFS and CCS. No irritation, but plenty of weepers--I really need to slow things down with a brand new Personna blade

46 down, 54 to go!


April 21
Shavette Shave #47

Gear

• Razor: Max Headroom Focus R21 Shavette
• Blade: Personna Blue (2)
• Brush: Semogue Boar
• Soap: Stirling Iced Pineapple
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
• AS: Aqua Velva Ice Blue (2 Frost Drops--daaaang!)
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave...
A 2 pass shave ( WTG and XTG) with some hefty touch ups that got me at DFS and CCS on the chin. The stars and planets were all aligned just so--no blood or irritation for Tuesday!

47 down, 53 to go!


April 22
Shavette Shave #48

Gear

• Razor: Max Headroom Focus R21 Shavette
• Blade: Lord Chromium Plated (1)--I… I don’t know where this blade came from--maybe my son’s Q-shave? I figured I’d take it out for a spin. Not awful. I found I had to steepen the blade angle a bit, but I’m not sore from it. Probably means it’s a mildish blade.
• Brush: Semogue Boar
• Soap: Stirling Glastonbury (4 Frost Drops)
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
• AS: Clubman Original (1 Frost Drop)
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave...
A 2 pass shave ( WTG and ATG) and some beefy touch ups. DFS and CCS on the chin. A repeat of yesterday’s comfort results--no blood or irritation!

48 down, 52 to go!



April 23
Shavette Shave #49

Gear

• Razor: Utopia Care Shavette--I was kind of curious to see how I’d shave with this shavette after a month and a half of Focus R21 shaves. The slightly more exposed corners were not nearly as problematic as I thought they’d be; the overall design, however, has some definite pros and cons. Pro--this is a very thin shavette that lets you shave at incredibly shallow angles. Con--this same thinness makes shaving difficult. The tang is literally less than 1/16th of an inch, so if you aren’t on your game with the grip, it really wants to flip flat at a 90 degree angle. Kind of a dangerous ride. Also, I’m fumbling around a bit with scales. The R21’s scales popped off and I’ve been shaving kamisori style.
• Blade: Derby Premium (1)--these came with the shavette, and I noticed that Gary used them recently, so that’s all I needed. It’s a decent blade in a shavette
• Brush: Semogue Boar
• Soap: Stirling Texas on Fire (3 Frost Drops)
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
• AS: Avon Wild Country (1 Frost Drop)
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave...
In spite of figuring out the scales and fighting the too-thin profile, there was no drama other than a disappearing weeper on my chin. 2 passes (WTG, then ATG), and some focused chin touch ups netted me a DFS and a CCS on my chin

49 down, 51 to go!



April 24
Shavette Shave #50--”Past the Point of No Return”

Gear

• Razor: Max Headroom Focus R21 Shavette
• Blade: Lord Chromium Plated (2)
• Brush: Stirling Finest Badger
• Soap: Stirling Iced Pineapple (2 Frost Drops)--next time I’ll go with 4 for the full Glacial effect.
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
• AS: Aqua Velva Ice Blue (1 Frost Drop)
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave...
2 pass shave ( WTG and ATG) and once again, I spent some major touch up time on the goat zone. DFS and CCS on the chin. No irritation, I thought I saw a weeper on my chin as I was going over it, but the blade wiped through it, and no blood returned to the scene of the crime. Could it have been a trick of the light? It was probably blood.

50 down, 50 to go!

In honor of the halfway mark... some topical 80's pop!