30 Day Rule/Focus; February 2025. All Are Welcome.

Very nice shave Barry

Great shave anyway Joe. Stirling does it again.

Good going Joe, it's kind of satisfying to finish one product, but it's a bit like saying goodbye to an old friend. Good thing you have another one.

Heavy indeed. My heaviest weights in at 139 grams which is ridiculous. Not quite friends with that one yet.
Looking forward to your skillset tomorrow with it wide open!

 

03 Feb 2025
Trying to be-Friend the Fat this Feb.

1 Days growth

Usual Prep and Preshave = T&H No 10
Soap = Mitchells Wool Fat
Brush = Pura Setola
Bowl = White plastic
Razor = Gillette No 66
Blade = Bolzano (2)
Passes = 2 +
Post = Usual CWR, Alum, rinse, pat dry, Thayers rose petal, Nivea Balm
ASL = Imperial Leather
Scent = TBS Black Musk
Score = 9 / 10
Damage = None

Day 2 this month with the MWF. Soaked the brush in water. Shook and squeezed it dry. Had the fat soaking in water for the last 2 days: poured the liquid into the cup. Stood brush in the 'fat' in the cup. Prepped. Loaded the brush heavily from the puck adding only around 2 cc of water in the bowl. It rapidly degraded into a bubbly mess. Shaved anyway. The so called “lather” dissipated or should I be honest and just say evaporated half way through each pass despite re-application. The shave was Ok though. Interesting that the “Fat” component is readily visible floating on top of the puck and certainly does protect the skin during and after the shave. During the shave so much so that there is noticeably less blade feel. And after the shave so much so that it is almost sacrilegious to use the Alum and then the ASL

It has potential, but I am not be-Friending it yet. I don’t have any probs with the Tallow Tabac or the Cyril R Salter which is interesting. I will keep this puck in its ceramic container in a zip lock bag to stop it drying out. Next time I might just load from the puck and not add any water to it and see what happens

MWF 0/0
Sterling 1

Happy Monday to everyone

 

Thank you Chris.

 

Thanks Chris. I have 2 different brands of Lavender soap that are quite distinct from each other. I am glad that I bought an extra puck for each because both companies don't make shave soaps any longer.

 

Still a nice shave Chris. I have heard that it is difficult to lather MWF with hard water. As a suggestion, try distilled water.

 

I figured I had to do some extra work getting used to a "Fixed" DisposeABLE razor. That was a purchase error on my part, as at CVS I forgot to make sure te bag said "Pivot". No...got stuck with "Fixed", and didn't ralize my error until last night . Ahhh, I'll try it. Actually, it worked out all right, except for more needed work at both ends of Porcupine. I was thinking, "Oh, now I know why men grow mustaches...they don't have the best razors." Here's where that 2nd pass really comes in handy. Even after 2, I find I need to get rid of some hairs at Porcupine(as mentioned). South Porcupine was OK, except for a clump in the middle. And North(above upper lip)didn't quite meet to my satisfaction. Solid finish from the Stoylin A.S. Amazed at how the cheeks&sideburns ended up fine. Most Outstanding.

 

February 3 SOTM

Good morning.

Van der Hagen TTO
Voskhod DE Blade (fresh)
JR #290 Cashmere Brush
Spearhead Seaforth Spice Lime SS and AS
Stirling Alum Block
Beard Growth: 41.5 hrs.



Did a 3 pass error-free BBS shave with my VdH razor. With a fresh Voskhod blade, it did a great job mowing down my 2 day stubble. I didn't bother squeezing out the excess water from my brush and still achieved a nice lather. It was thin, but it was really slick and that's all I need to get a nice shave. Here's my lather:



The alum feedback was minimal. Finished with the matching aftershave. Take care.

 

fine start to the week gentlemen.

 

Thanks Gary. .

 

-Monday-
#22
semogue 820
fine platinum
explorer



good morning gents
fabulous platinum lather built with the semogue boar
smooth 2 passer with the 4th gen 'crat
thayers and mont blanc to finish
awesome
have a fine day everyone
​

 

February 3, 2025

Freedom February

Razor - Merkur Futur (6.5)
Blade - (3)
Soap - Stirling Black Ice
Brush - Jayaruh JR#230

It's Monday morning and time to open the Futur up to its maximum gap and see how it performs. I think the picture does justice to the size of the gap. The blade bends down to point at the curving baseplate, creating the gap and it's a somewhat sobering sight up close. I like aggressive razors. My standard setting on Gillette Adjustables is 9. This one makes those look like Techs in comparison. I'm on the same blade, the Astra Superior Platinum. Also using the Stirling Black Ice again as I've decided to 3017 this sample puck. I went to the JR #230 synthetic to get a great lather.

Talk about the sound of a razor working, you can hear it well with this razor, especially wide open. I concentrated on keeping only the weight of the razor on my face and maintaining the correct angle once set. It took a bit of a stroke to find it, but once I dialed it in I was good. Something about feeling that much blade on my face had me super focused and I definitely wanted to avoid any mistakes. I worked the first pass, face then neck, then went in for the second pass. My neck was a bit rough still so I decided to go all in with the G-slide. That's how I usually finish my neck with other razors. I went both angles on my entire neck and was able to achieve BBS goodness. Felt my face again, found a few spots needing attention, so pulled off an ATG pass on my face.

So, no blood, great finish, but what about any irritation? Beastly razors can saddle you with plenty of that. Best way to find out was to break out my alum stick and give it a go. I was a bit hesitant at first but finally just went at it, covering my entire face. The result? No sting. No discomfort, no obvious irritation. I survived with a perfect shave and can honestly say I like this razor. I will also, say, however, that I'd recommend it only to those who have perfected their technique. There were a few times where I felt the angle change a bit and I know if I hadn't caught it instantly there would have been a problem.

Great way to start the month of February! I'll figure something else out for the next three days.

​

 

Thanks Gary.....I'll work with these, but then will go back to "Pivot".

 

Stellar looking shave Gary.

 

Very nice Futur shave Neal. Congrats on the new acquisition.

 

Wonderful shave Neal.

 

SE Shave # 432 - DECLARATION GROOMING MICROMATIC MONDAY- Lamplight Penance

Rating: 5 / 5

Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb
Blade: GEM Stainless
Brush: Brent Jacobson Tamarind and Ebony w/ Paragon 24mm boar
Lather: Declaration Grooming/Chatillon Lux Lamplight Penance
Aftershave: Chatillon Lux Lamplight Penance Toner
Additional Care:
Omega Alum
Dickenson’s Original Witch Hazel
Stirling Unscented Glacial Balm

Another fabulous DG/CL shave with the MMOC. Three passes to super smoothness. No errors plus a silent alum report. All is good.

I was out early in the driveway getting the missus car ready due to having about a half inch snow overnight. After Anthony left for school I proceeded with my X3Bar Chest workout, a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood and a 60 minute stint in the sauna blanket. I was refreshed with a warm shower and great shave.

Hope you all have a great day.

 

Thank you Chris. The young’uns lasted about 2 hours on the slope. Very difficult for them as there was a misty rain overnight Ishtar which then froze.

 

Well done Joe.

 

Loading the brush with a 60-90 seconds swirl on the puck.

 

Thank you Joe