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

Thank you Gary.

 

Thanks Chris. I would say Tsuka is semi-defunct because Rod does bring it back. However, this may have been the last year for it. I hope not because I like it a lot. My definition of socially acceptable is when I only do a 1 pass shave, and I have a significant amount of invisible stragglers. My beard is gray/white so a 1 day stubble doesn't show much at the start of my shaves. DFS is a 1 passer and most of the stubble is gone. Two passes can be anywhere from DFS to BBS. 3 passes is usually near BBS to BBS. Sometimes, it's halfway between DFS and BBS. Of course, how I categorize my shave results is subjective. In other words, one shaver's BBS is another's DFS.

 

Friday December 1 - Defunct December

Prep: Hot shower with Aleppo 20% laurel bay oil soap

Razor: Matte black stainless steel Supply 2.0 injector with SE comb plate / vintage US-made Schick Plus Platinum (1)

Soap: (1) Portland General Store Alpine Shave Jelly / (2) LaToja Shave Cream

Brush: Supply Co. 24mm Silvertip synthetic

Lather Bowl: none

Post: rinse, alum, rinse, Lucky Tiger After Shave and Face Tonic, Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum splash

Last shave: Saturday - 6 days



I intended to shave with (and use up) another brushless shave gel -- the PGS Alpine Shave Jelly. It has a very strong but pleasant pine woods scent. However, when I opened the jar, I found the remaining jelly had dried up into a rubbery puck on the bottom of the jar that was beyond any hope of salvage. You can see the rubbery crap sitting in the jar lid in the middle of my shave gear photo. The "Edmund Fitzgerald" had sailed without me and sunk all on its own...

This was the last of my Portland General Store products, and PGS itself is now defunct.

I moved on to the LaToja shave cream, a Spanish product made using the sulfur spring water from the ancient LaToja spa. Good stuff and a very old traditional shave product in Spain. And now discontinued (this year) by the conglomerate that now owns the brand...

The injector blade I am using was made in the US, which Schick hasn't done for about 20 years now. An excellent product and better than most of the modern injector blades - very sharp, very smooth and with superb durability.

It was a good shave. Two passes to near BBS, no errors, silent alum. The Lucky Tiger is getting near the bottom of the bottle (but is still made). The Clubman VIBR was a good pickup scent for a cold day.

Hope the weekend treats everyone well!

 

awesome start to the month John.

 

Great shave, pic and setup John. I always wanted to try La Toja, but it's too late. It's OK. There are so many choices.

 

Agreed.

 

Thanks, guys!

Yeah, you're right. One shave product ceases production, and that just leaves about 5000 others on the market....

 

2nd December 2023.



​

Shaving Recipe for today.

Prep: Warm shower:/ Imperial Leather Bergamot & Sea Salt Energising Body Wash.

Pre:
Cold wet flannel to my face & head.
Cien PURE Fragrance Free Sensitive Bar Soap.
Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia 24mm Synthetic.
Face & Head Lather.
Lather: Tabac Original Shaving soap. (Tallow Version)
Razor: King C. Gillette. (Face) - Gillette Wilkinson Sword. (1)
Razor: Treet Swift II Platinum. (Head) - (D1)

Post:
Cold water face wash with brush squeezing's, Cold Water Face Rinse./Alum Rub./Cold Water Rinse./Homemade (~Autumn/Winter mix~) peppermint lavender, eucalyptus, + Tea Tree essential Oils Mixed Together With 200ml of Care+Witch Hazel./Nivea Men Replenishing PSB./P&G Old Spice Original ASL.

Greetings,

(Face & Head Shave)

Shaving Christmas gifts from Past & Present focus...

First shave of December 2023...For the whole duration of December I'll alternate both the king C. Gillette & Wilkinson Sword classic premium TTO paired up with an assortment of subcontinent Chinese & Asian DE blades, and using both the Gillette Guard & Treet Swift II Platinum Cartridge razors exclusively for my head shaves, alternating the king C. Gillette & WS Premium TTO in-between.

I've been on a near 'no buying shaving products' this year with a few exceptions, such as my birthday, Christmas or stocking up on certain shaving related items when necessary.

The King C. Gillette razor + 5 blades I purchased from my local Morrisons UK super market in the November clearance sale section for £8.00p
In addition with the king C Gillette DE razor purchase I placed an order for 2 spare Gillette Guard razors with 18 cartridges,+ the Treet Swift II Platinum cartridge razor "Indian made Trac-II clone" with 6 Cartridges ,+ a Gallant II Platinum cartridge razor another "Indian made "Trac-II clone" Cartridge razor with 12 cartridges, from eBay UK which will keep me in head/dome shaving hardware for quite some time.

The Wilkinson Sword Classic premium(TTO) razors .Yes, I was gifted the same razor from family & friends as Christmas gifts which I've now had a few years now. One is still in it's orignal box with a tuck of blades.
The quality and finish on the king C Gillette razor is remarkably good considering it's price bracket. The razor base plate of the razor is a hybrid of the Merkur 34c with a Muhle r89-EJ 89r top cap. However, after the first few strokes the razor felt very comfortable & slightly more efficient than the 34C, DE89, R89 etc...The long partially knurled handle doesn't cause any slipping issues, that said I do prefer smaller shaving handles, it has great audio feedback which I like, the handle has a good heft to it making the overall feel of the razor well balanced and nice to hold... All in all even though I find it to be slightly milder than the WS Classic Premium (TTO) in efficiency, but both razors are equally comfortable & smooth in performance.
The blades that came with the King C I'll keep for future shaves as I'm continuing with my infrequently used DE blade focus.

After my recent extended focus using the Indian made Gillette guard cartridge razor for my head/dome shaves I was curious to try using a trac II type cartridge razor for a head shave so I placed an order for the Treet Swift II Platinum & Gallant II cartridge razors. The verdict?....Over all the Treet Swift II Platinum's performance was very acceptable feeling smooth mild and efficient enough to get the job done. If I had to choose which i prefer then it would be the Gillette Guard purely because the closeness that it gives is significantly better than the Treet Swift II Platinum....That being said, both razors are equal in smoothness & comfortable, but the Gillette guard would be my first choice over the Treet Swift II Platinum.

Switching from using cartridge/disposable razors for the best part of my shaving life to traditional wet shaving using DE/SE razors, brushes soaps creams etc has taught me how to shave properly, and as my technique has vast improved over the years I now know if you apply good technique,& preparation along with shaving confidence which are the main keys to successful wet shaving IMHO, I can get good results from all of razors that I have in my shaving arsenal.
I'm not yet sure how many shaves I'll get from each of the Treet Swift II & Gallant II Cartridge heads, time will tell, but if I can get 3-4 max from one head as I do from the Gillette guard then I'll be quite content.

I could never revert back to using cartridge razors full time, as I now use DE/SE razors 98% for my shaves, but from time to time I'll add a Cartridge razor to my rotation for my head shaving or when I'm travelling.

I will do a head/dome shaving focus with the Gallant II in January 2024.

An enjoyable comfortable face & head shave to start December off on a high note with no errors to report.

Finishing the shave off a with a generous splash of P&G Old Spice Original ASL.

My face & precious swede are feeling smooth and smelling divine.

Stay safe, and enjoy the start of the weekend ladies & gentlemen.

​

 

fine tabac shaves Barry.cool start to the month

 

Thank you Gary.

 

another fascinating setup John, tried finding the La Toja on line a while ago, no luck. As you say there are plenty of other products out there.
Would you replace the Lucky Tiger?

Lovely post Barry, that's a nice idea of using Xmas gifts for your shaves.

 

02 Dec 2023



26 hours

Prep = Hot Water Prep and shave, Tabac in a tube as Pre shave
Soap / Cream = Saponificio Varesino Felice aromatica Beta 4.3
Brush = Razorock Plissoft 400 synthetic, I prefer long handles
Bowl = Timeless
Razor = Single ring Gillette 102 1912 date code
Blade = Bic Chrome Platinum (2) still nice and smooth
Passes = 3 +
Post = CWR, Alum was definitely stinging all over. CWR. Thayers. Rinfrescante.
Scent = Proraso Cypress and Vetyver
Damage = no cuts, nicks, polka dots, scratches, slices, dices or delayed weepers, v happy with that

Score = 9.5 / 10

Brush = Brush: normally I would use a stiffer brush for hard soaps, today I tried a synthetic, no blooming of the soap, wet the brush, shook and squeezed it dry, straight to the puck. It works this way, I don’t want to dilute the expensive soap with excess water, it needs to last me a long time at this price

Razor comments = This came to me from an online purchase as a “display” razor, complete with case. I piffed the case away, it was a bit worn and felt I didn’t need that. The razor’s thread as you can see is worn, when I disassembled this to clean I found some plumbers tape holding the whole thing in place. Without the tape it won’t screw down and hold the blade and I didn't think it would be useable. So, today I added some plumbers tape and gave it a go. It still clamps the blade nicely for such an old razor. The blade alignment is a bit off and needs manual adjustment to make it even. Could be from the worn thread, or maybe not, because I have the same idiosyncrasy with my Fatip Lo Storto which is new. The cap is worn and pitted and has seen some sandpapering in the past. Previously I would not have considered using this, but I now understand that (aesthetics aside), provided the lather is good that the condition of the cap is not that critical. I really like the thin cap on this thing. It gets really close under the nose which is nice. For some reason it also makes finding the cap and correct cutting angle more intuitive. Cleaning this could be chore because of its construction and the thread tape. Normally I disassemble, remove blade and clean and dry the razor after each shave. I could have the thread restored somehow but think I will keep an eye out for a replacement for this in better condition. Really like the way it shaves. Next step is to try a Feather or similar with this razor and see how it performs...




Hope your Saturday is a super one

 

Thank you...I shall be adding an assortment of more new Xmas gifts over the Christmas/new year season what the Big fella leaves for me from family & friends.

 

Rating: 4.5/5

Prep- Hot shower, Stirling Executive Man Soap
Razor: 1967 Gillette Super Speed
Blade- Kai Japan. First shave on blade
Two Pass Shave- One WTG, one XTG/ATG
Brush: Semogue Owners Club Boar
Lather: TOBS Grapefruit Shaving Cream
Aftershave: Lucky Tiger Aftershave and Face Tonic
Post: Old Spice Fresh Lime
Soundtrack- Genesis, Abacab



My first go with the Kai was successful for the most part. This blade feels different than any other I have tried. It has less blade feel so you don’t think it’s doing anything, but it mowed down the beard well.

It was not “quite” as efficient as the Feather and the shave was not quite as close. However, it was not a fair test. I’ve had a busy few days and missed my 48 hour shave yesterday. My beard gets significantly tougher to shave at 72 hours, so the real test will come on the next shave.

I have heard that the Kai’s will last longer than the Feathers, so I will shave with this blade at least three times to see how it holds up.

I’m going to keep a scorecard this month and try to finish with a “top 4 or 5 list”to use for my next blade order.

So far the current standings are:

1- Feather
2- Kai and Gillette Silver Blue (tie)


Have a great weekend everyone!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Great start to the month everyone! I’m loaded up with kids sports and holiday stuff. I don’t have time to individually call you all out, but I read all of your posts…

Bravo gentlemen

 

very nice Scott, I have Kai on my might-want-buy-list so will be interested to see your comments.

 

Thanks Scott, so for only used the SV twice my impression is it's a great hard soap, lathers well and provides good protection. The scent of the Felce Aromatica is nice when you open the puck, but not as strong when you lather up. Maybe just me dulled sense of smell. I would have preferred the scent to be stronger and more in-your-face if you know what I mean Great idea to purchase the sample packs that's the way to go.

 

A very good shave this morning with some Bay Rum(light clove). I am on a path to regaining my olfactory sense, as the cold wasn't a problem for me today, as it was during yesterday's shave. The Plissoft brush snatched up a lot of the Jeeves BR soap for two healthy passes. No cuts, Knicks, and two small polka-dots at the side of my lower lip. No pain. Nice work down at Cactus. Gresat finish with the Stephan Bay Rum A.S. Super Duper Outstanding.

 

I woild highly recommend trying the Kai blades. Considering it was coming in to shave a 3 day growth and following behind a month of Feather shaves, it made a really good showing. I’m “splitting hairs” here if you can pardon the bad pun

 

I always enjoy reading your very detailed posts Barry. Excellent shaves as always. Enjoy your afternoon.