30 Day Rule/Focus; April 2023. All Are Welcome!

Great controlled shave experiment, Chris! And it sounds like you solved your mystery with it -- in future, use the alcohol aftershaves AFTER the Arko, not in it.

A suggestion: if you want to add scent to a scent-free soap (or drown the scent of your Arko), add a few drops of an essential oil instead. That will change the scent profile without affecting performance. I know the maker Hendrix Classics & Co., for example, sells a variety of essential oils so shavers can change their scent-free soap and balm to taste.

Blades are very much YMMV.

 

Great shave and photo, Gary!

You are inspiring me to break down and actually photograph my shave gear later today...

 

thank you John.

 

Very interesting shave tutorial, Joe.

I have only ever used Arko in sticks. With the stick, I wet my face, sometimes wet the end of the stick a bit, and then scrub the stick over my stubble. Your dryload brush method with the tub soap seems to get you to the same starting point as this stick scrub does -- a thin layer of soap deposited on the face to then be worked into lather with a brush that is re-wetted regularly.

I do find that face lathering is easier with synthetic brushes. Using boar, badger or mixed boar/badger brushes, I invariably have to reload in the tub again (or re-scrub with the stick) after every pass. And sometimes during each pass for that matter. The natural brushes just seem to "eat" the lather instead of working it up and spreading it around. They are much easier to control with a bowl.

There seem to be as many ways to lather as there are shavers...

 

Double Thanks Gary.

 

Once again, Mr. Gillette had an awesome shave! Enjoy your day Gary!

 

Thanks John. I use this method on soaps that are filled to the brim like Arko, Proraso, etc. I find that it's a good method for newbies that just can't get a decent lather. The shaver has more control by adding small increments of water and therefore, it prevents a drippy, transparent lather.

 

Thank you Joe

 

Awesome Shave Gary

 

thank you Joe.you as well.

 

thank you Joe.

 

Sunday, April 9 -- Arko Adjustable April




Prep: Hot shower

Razor: Gillette SuperAdjustable refurbished and cerakoted by Delta Echo Razors (dial 4)
Blade: Israeli Personna Super Platinum (2)
Brush: Semogue Owners Club cherrywood badger reknotted with APShaveCo Tuxedo synthetic
Soap: Arko stick

Post: Rinse, alum, rinse, Lucky Tiger Face Tonic, Clubman VIBR splash

My last shave was on Wednesday, so four days ago. Better than the ten I have been averaging recently...

I use the stick by wetting my face, then scrubbing the stick over my whiskers until there is a visible layer of soap on them. I then wet the synthetic brush and start swirling. I keep wetting the tips of the brush as I go. It took about a minute for me to have a thick layer of slick lather painted over my face.

I have mainly used injectors for the last year, so it took a few strokes before I fell back into the correct "riding the cap" angle and stroke for this DE. After that, it was easy.

I set my Gillette adjustables on 4 and just leave them there. I can shave with the razor set wide open on 9. However, I find the razor sufficiently efficient to shave me cleanly when set only midway and see no need for it to be any more aggressive than is needed for a good shave -- I am not in a macho "my razor is more aggressive than yours" contest with anyone. Actually, I find the humble and mild Gillette Techs work perfectly well for me.

One pass WTG on my face and ATG on my neck had me cleanshaven again. No blood spots or nicks and the alum was silent.

I like to use either Lucky Tiger or Thayers non-alcoholic witch hazel before putting on the VIBR. The balm buffers the burn of the splash. I am now smooth and smell good.

I hope everyone has had a good long weekend and, for the practicing Christians, a meaningful Easter.

 

Wonderful shave and setup John! I used to go full throttle on my adjustables, but I learned that it wasn't necessary for mowing my 1 day stubble. With heavier stubble, I will go for the maximum warp speed.

 

Thank you Gary.

 

April 9 SOTA

Good afternoon.

Shavette Shave #447
Parker SRB
Laser 1/2 DE Blade (2)
Stirling Boar Brush
Stirling Triumph SS
Fine Accoutrements Platinum AS
Stirling Alum Block
Beard Growth: 25 hrs



Wow! What a shave! This is the 2nd time using this blade and it felt really smoooth.
The result was a BBS shave without any problems. Of course, the creamy Stirling lather helped. Did get a nice alum feedback on my neck. Splashed the aftershave to finish the session. Take care.

 

Exemplary Gary! You make it look so easy!

@Screwtape Nice write up John.

"I hope everyone has had a good long weekend and, for the practicing Christians, a meaningful Easter."
Indeed.

 

Thanks, Chris.

 

10 Apr 2023

Arko/Adjustable April

Late afternoon shave 30 hours growth.
Today I tried the synthetic brush face lathering, as per @Trigger: It worked out fine, less mess with my still full and new Arko tub.

Thought I would bring out a recently scored Gillette OC, feeling sure the Arko would help with protection.

Left side of face: Gillette OC with GSB (2)
Still draggy, but also a bit more aggressive with the OC and some more blade exposure than I am used to.

Right side of face: this was my fall-back plan: Gillette Slim I4 with Perma-sharp (1)

First Pass was a bit rough, so finished the shave with the Slim.

Overall very pleased with the Arko and the Slim set to #4 all the way.

Super smooth, alum was a bit zingy alright, Tabac AS balm and some Aloe Vera Gel were called for to finish off another satisfying shave.

 

Yaqi Sentinel 1.5mm stainless steel head.
Homelike Shaving Voevoda stainless steel handle.
Feather blade (fresh).
Fine Accoutrements Fresh Vetiver shave soap.
Yaqi two band badger brush.
Timeless Razor shave bowl.
Scottish Antique by Andy Hilfiger cologne.

Smooth sailing with the Sentinel this morning. It has a wide gap and even with a Feather it does not want to bite. It handles like a razor with a lot narrower gap. This is one very nice head and shaves with any of my top razors.

Happy Monday everyone!

 

Very nice shave and setup Chris! Thanks for the shout out. I am glad that the dry loading the brush method worked out for you. Enjoy your day.