30 Day Rule/Focus; October 2025. All Are Welcome!

Hi Everyone!

It's my 4th year anniversary since I began overseeing this thread. I just want to say it has been my honor and privilege to serve you in this capacity. Notwithstanding, I want to thank the members that have come and gone as well as the current ones for making it an interesting thread with your shave posts, wisdom, knowledge and the occasional YouTube videos. As I have always have said, this thread doesn't exist without your diligent commitment to it. Again, I appreciate it and thank you all.

Monthly Themes

This month, the themes are straightforward. It's Open Comb and Open Blade Month. It means to brink out your open comb razors Open blades are the straights and shavettes. Another suggestion would be Oudtober month. If you have any shaving soaps aftershaves, etc., then go for it. I know Joe @JACarbone is definitely going to bring out his oudness this month. It could also be Odds and Ends October. It means have a setup that consists of paraphernalia that you wouldn't necessarily pair together. For instance, a warm scent in a soap matched with a cool scent in an aftershave. For the brave, you may be try putting a particular blade in a razor that you wouldn't do for whatever reason. Now, if you go this route, then please be careful. Be creative, you may be surprised. Finally, the reliable standby, Only One October. This implies doing a focus for however long you choose to do. No judgements will be made.

Ok, let's continue with the basic tenets of this thread!

I want to welcome all the veterans of the 30 DC and all the newcomers. This thread is for the purposes of improving your shave technique so that you will consistently get great shaves. There are a number of ways to do it. These are suggestions so feel free to do whatever you want in regards to your shave.

The 30 Day Rule
Take ONE razor, ONE blade, ONE brush, ONE soap/cream and use them EVERYDAY this month. Yes, everyday. But Trigger, I want variety! I know you do, but until you perfect your technique, it makes little sense to constantly change the variables of your shave.

The Focus
For you out there that are not up to the rigors of the Rule, there is this alternative:
Vary the gear for each shave, save for perhaps one or two elements.
This is a more accessible challenge for the majority of shavers. I like to pick a particular aspect of the shave, be it the lather, a certain blade or a new razor, that needs breaking in, and not change it daily, until I have mastered those tools.

Ok, to keep the thread on a nice even keel, I ask everyone to follow the thread etiquette as listed below:
1. New Members always welcome. Start anytime.
2. Old Members always welcome.
3. Respect everyone.
4. Refrain from political conversation.

I also want to suggest that we should try to assess our shaves as to why it was good or why it was not up to your standards and express these reasons in your comments. The spirit of this thread is to improve our shaves and if we share the reasons why a shave was good or bad, then we are giving our experiences to encourage good technique and discourage bad technique so that we have great info to get better shaves. I am not suggesting that we do it for every post, but I think it would make for a healthier thread if we start to do it more than we have in the past years.

Moreover, you don't have to do a rule or a focus. You are free to change your setup on a shave to shave basis.

Finally, I want this thread to continue to be a friendly place. It is ok to disagree because that is how we learn from each other, but let's encourage and respect every member. Yes, even if you think they are off the wall. Let's face it! We all are a little off because of our different Aquisition Disorders. Lol!

Let's have a group hug!



Also, let's have great shaves and fellowship in October!

Sincerely,

Joe (Trigger)

 

fine intro Joe as always. OCtober for me

 

I appreciate it Gary. Thank you.

 

i did notice it says september at the end of the intro..

 

I will change it thanks. I had a long day.

 

1st October 2025.


​

Shaving Recipe for today.

Prep: Warm shower:/ Nivea Men DEEP CLEAN Shower Gel.

Pre:
Cold wet flannel to my face.
Pears Transparent Bar Soap.
Brush: Wilkinson Sword Synthetic.
Bowl Lather.
Bowl: Tesco's Ceramic 'Cosmo' Side Bowl.
Lather: Nivea Men Originals Shave Cream.
Blade: Feather Hi Stainless. (D3)
Razor: Mühle R41. (2013)

Post:
Cold Water Face Rinse. / Cold water face wash with brush squeezing's / Alum Rub. / Cold Water Rinse. / Nivea Refreshing Toner. / Blue Stratos Original Blue ASL. / Nivea Men Replenishing PSB.

Greetings,

Early morning shave,

New shave set up to start the month off.

For my October focus I'll be using various open comb razors for my face shaves paring them together with a variety of DE blades that I haven't had in my blade rotation for some time, and will be using the Gillette Guard cartridge razor for my head/dome shaves.

Starting with the assertive Mühle R41 & Feather Hi Stainless duo mowing through my face stubble with smooth efficiency.

Finishing the shave off with a few small dollops of Nivea Men Replenishing PSB.

My face is feeling smooth, & smelling divine.

Keep safe, and enjoy your day ladies & gentlemen.

 

Another great introduction Joe to start a new month.

 

absolutely fabulous Barry

 

Thank you Gary.

 

Due to this being October if one could find Orange Shaving items like the Van De Hagen blade package or the Shaving cream in the tube or Apple pie/Pumpkin scents for the shave. I know VDH blades are not great having read reviews on them from users because the brand uses the blades that are Chinese cheap models they just put own logo on.

 

It's fast becoming a pattermn for me to begin one month the same way I ended the previous one(for the most part, that is). A repeat of Regiment soap(Top Gun), and Royal Copenhagen A.S. Very happy with my shave throughout. As this is October, I expect to use a lot of OUD(tober) on and off until Halloween. But as for today, another run with Regiment. Clean and clear across the board. No incidents of negativity. 2 healthy passes. Good work with the aftershave from Denmark. As Outstanding As It Gets.

 

Today's shave is a 9/10 due to re-opening the cut on chin/jawline area and having a small cut on up lip due to the sharpening of the blade with the Twin Stopper on Monday evening but got a BBS using dial 3 after using dial 2 for the entire face. Today is shave 17 on the top/total with the Personna 100 pack made in USA I bought in late 2017.

I used as always, my H 2 or 1962 Gillette Adjustable slim handle shaver without the case.

I shaved after the shower, so I did not need to use any of the shave soap I made from a small hotel lotion and soap/conditioner in the bottle. I did keep the blade wet as needed.

 

fine way to start the month.

 

-The-Mideweek-Shave-
no.44 new rfb
rubberset 400-3
oxford blue
st.james



good afternoon gents
fine OCtober 1st shave
lovely oxford blue lather built with the restored rubberset 400
smooth 2 passer with the rfb,minor pickups
st.james to finish
awesome
have a fine day everyone
​

 

I had used the Twin Stropper and in doing so the hone I did was not very even so once the blade dulls in a hair which the blade is dulling in at an accelerated rate from a new blade, the blade will be fine. I should have left the shave alone with the very light miss of about 1 millimeter of hair everywhere but just I had to see if I could get the 95% BBS for shaving. Once I got the new cut, I stopped trying for the 95% BBS to the hair and only got the parts I missed.

 

Excellent introduction to the month Joe. Thank you for the shout out!
OUDtober will start tomorrow.

 

DE Shave # 609

Rating: 5 / 5

Razor: Merkur 37c Slant
Blade: Shark Platinum
Brush: Wolf Whiskers 24 mm Maggard Tux Synthetic
Lather: PAA Atomic Pumpkin Bay Rum
Aftershave: PAA Atomic Pumpkin Bay Rum
Additional Care:
Omega Alum
Dickenson’s Original Witch Hazel
Stirling Unscented Glacial Balm

Three prong focus for the month.
1. Fall scents (ie: DG Darkfall, B &M Season of the Witch, PAA Atomic Age Pumpkin Bay Rum)
2. OUDtober - Stirling Agar, RazoRock Stallion, Ginger’s Garden British Empire and Hoffman’s TUT to name a few.
3. 1508.5 Project - Catie’s Bubbles (Tub to meet up with the Edmund Fitzgerald by the end of November.)

This morning’s shave featured my first DE razor to the den. I picked it up in the early to mid 1990’s. The Merkur 37c is a solid performer. Barry, @palmolive fox, is an avid fan of its larger version, the Sledgehammer, the 39c. Same razor, just a longer handle.

I had a wonderful three pass shave before my monthly meetup for breakfast with Joe, @Trigger. Once again, we were a couple of chatter boxes amongst ourselves and our favorite waitress, Pam.

Hope you all have had a great day.

 

Nice start to be month Gary.

 

Nice shave Casey

 

Quality shave Barry.