June 2022 30 Day Rule/Focus and Discussion. All Are Welcome!

Very nice shave and setup, Barry! I know what you mean about respecting these vintage SE razors with rigid blades. My GEM Featherweight taught me that this morning! I must have used a bit too much pressure which was easy to do with such a light razor! No permanent damage tho. Just a little bit of burn and a bruised ego.

Happy Bday!

 

My first shave with the GEM Featherweight taught me that I need to respect this razor a bit more. It can bite! Small size and light weight can fool ya!

My first shave with the Featherweight and a GEM blade 1st use was OK. I got close and smooth. It did bite me on my neck and in 2 spots on my chin! So, 3 errors this morning...

I showered before bed so, I washed face this morning and did the hot washcloth to the face routine. I bloomed the Chiseled Face "Ghost Town Barber" and filled the room with very nice scent. NICE soap! Smell reminded me of dad shaving and the smell of his soap/cream. Preshave was TOBS Herbal Gel. The soap was very easy to lather and gave me enough for a 3 pass shave. WTG, ATG, and XTG got me nice and close. I did find it harder to navigate under my nose but managed to not cut myself there. It was harder to get the correct angle. I am sure I pressed too hard on my neck. My chin I simply got too careless with.

This little razor demands respect or it will bite!

Alum bar stopped the leaks and gave me plenty of feedback. I will adjust my shave tomorrow and hope for a better result.

Washed the face and dome with the last of the lather from bowl and brush. A dab of Proraso Balm & splash of Wiskey Woods AS was nice.

I shaved early enuff that my face has time to heal now. Nice little razor once I stared using lighter hand.

I almost forgot about the new brush! Trafalgar T2 Simpsons synthetic. VERY nice!

 

Lol!

 

Wonderful shaves Barry! I haven't tried a headshave with my Gem MMOC but that will happen sometime this summer. Enjoy your day!

 

Despite the boo-boos, it was still a nice shave for your first time with that razor, Hogie. I remember my first time with my Schick injector. I got a fine shave, but it was no where near my standards. I used it again for the following shave and changed my technique just a tad and was able to get a great shave. It was then that I realized that every razor has a personality of its own and I couldn't always assume shaving with the same angle or use the same touch for every razor.

 

I am starting to see that each razor has a personality of it's own

 

I neglected to mention that the geometry of each razor is different that a shaver will sometimes need to shave accordingly. I can't remember the razor, but a YouTube shave Mark Szorady shaved at a 15 degree angle per the manufacturers instructions.

On the other hand, the Hensen DE razor has the sweet angle incorporated in the cap so there isn't any guesswork which is great for newbies. However, it's not an aggressive razor.

 

It was a pretty steep angle for the shave with the GEM. 20 degree angle or less.

 

SE Shave # 259 - Gemini Shave

Rating: 5 / 5

Razor: Gem Feather
Blade: GEM Stainless
Brush: Leo Frilot ECWS 2018 Ghost Trails
Lather: Tim’s Soap Busta’s Blend
Aftershave: Pinuad Citrus Musk
Additional Care:
Stirling Alum Block
Stirling Unscented Glacial Balm
Thayer’s Witch Hazel - Original

Excellent shave this morning. Earlier in the week my original plan for the weekend shaves was to use an injector. However, to celebrate with Hogie, @Hogie, his new acquisition of the GEM Feather razor I decided to use the GEM Feather instead. Thinking about it, since he received a delivery of the T2 as well, I should have used my T2 as well.

The soap, Tim’s Busta Blend, is no longer attainable as this artisan closed up shop years ago. I won this soap in a raffle. The scent notes are described as follows: “Citrus, cedar wood and herbaceous notes.”

The synthetic brush whipped up a very nice lather. The razor easily took down this morning’s growth with little effort. The post shave alum report was negligible. I am smelling good with the Pinaud Citrus Musk aftershave.

Shortly the pastrami will be coming out of the smoker. Nice a slow at 225 degrees for about 22 hours. Wrapped in pink butcher paper, it will be placed in a newspaper lined cooler until it is ready for slicing this afternoon.

I will post a picture of the finished product later today.

Beautiful day for a party. Enjoy your day gentlemen.

 

Very nice on the shave and the food, Joe!

I guess my first run with the Featherweight was OK. I will have to adjust the shave tomorrow to do better. It's such a light razor that it is easy to press too hard.

I have ordered the open comb base plate for the Hawk too

 

Wonderful shave Joe. Enjoy your son's birthday celebration.

 

June 30/30 -- Saturday Morning Luxury Shave edition

Razor: Blackland Blackbird (ss)
Blade: Schick Stainless Steel Krona Coated
Brush: Omega 48 boar
Soap: MWF
A/S: Chatillon Lux Bon Vivant

Stupendously wonderful shave this morning pairing a vintage Schick blade with the Blackbird. Two passes with absolutely no touchups required. Although shave time was abbreviated, less passes means more life on the blade

Chatillon Lux is wonderful. The maker is so a talented. I wish he continued making aftershaves. I heard in an interview that he was unable to make a profit on aftershaves and had to discontinue. However, he is finding success as an award winning perfumer. He still collaborates on shaving soap scents. I feel very fortunate to have received a half-filled bottle of Bon Vivant in an extremely generous PIF two years ago, long after the aftershaves were discontinued.

 

Yes, the geometry of the Flatboy is another one that is different. Also the same with the DX or the shavette japanese style. The Hawk is as well. I don't seem to have any problem finding the correct angle. My problem is often too much pressure. The GEM is so light, it was easy to use too much pressure. It feels as light as the old twin blade or 4 blade carts I used to use for so many years. Auto-pilot kicks in and the razor bites me! There is no shaving on auto-pilot with many of these razors and the GEM is one of them! My first foray so, I have taken note. I am lucky I didn't do any bad damage to my face. Just 3 nicks that the alum bar stopped. I hate the burn the most!

 

Light pressure is the golden rule, Getting the occasional bite keeps us on our toes!, Thanks for the Bday Greetings, it was actually on the 7th June, but thanks anyway... Take care, and enjoy your weekend.

 

The 1912 Star may arrive today. I do want to give the GEM another try tomorrow before putting it away.
The Razorock "Hawk" is so nice it would be SO easy to simply do all my shaves with it.

I will have to be even more careful with the Star. I hope it clamps the blade well and locks it in place. Older blades were thicker.

 

,i thought young Austin Powers..

 

gotta watch those paint scrapers Gary...cool shave and pic.glad you got the older version gtb soap.a fine member here had the newer labelled tub and thought it didn't lather as well.

 

Great shave, setup and pic Eric! Enjoy the day.

 

awesome weekend shaves gents..