January 2015 30 Day Rule/30 Day Focus Pic and Discussion Thread- All are Welcome

Then by all means I'm going to stick with derbys for the 30 days unless they absolutely tear me up. The disposables aren't treating me that well and I've stuck with them for 10 years what's 30 days lol

 

Derby is way better than a cart, IMHO. I put them on SOTD last week...>read it here<!

Technique trumps tools.

 

I wanted to also point out, you can get 100 derby blades for less than 10$ on Amazon. So if you start with one tuck you can probably get the rest in before you run out.

 

Sadly not sure why I didn't think about that. Even if I decide they aren't for me I could always give them away to somebody who would want to try them out. Thanks for the advice.

 

I am sure the Derby will be fine. Just keep a low angle, your face lathered well, and don't go over dry areas. If you feel tugging then slow down, reduce the angle more, and use shorter strokes. After the January event is over it would probably be a good idea to purchase a good sampler pack that has a variety of blades with different types of coatings. Teflon and iridium seem to rarely get complaints.

 

@Spit_Fire

First Prototype Test - and another way to utilize a dry shave stick...





Off to photo some head geometry. Decent shave, will address it coming up. LEA probably won't be my soap...smells like weak rose water, lathers like VDH Luxury, and I prefer VDH. Glad I finally tried it, but it will probably be the only stick I ever buy. No issues with LEA, just not a fave.

What he said.

+1

 

@txskimo hearing things like HEB and Hill Country Fair brand make me feel like you are a fellow Texan? I'm up in Ft. Worth, but I grew up in the RGV, so I know what you're saying.

 

Tx eskimo lol...Houstonian

 

Nice choice of gear.

 

I would like to try but I am not sure if I can do it. I like to rotate brushes to give them time to fully dry. I also like to shave with a straight razor on Sundays.

 

Was it the new tallow formula for the LEA, from what I understand they changed it recently. Maybe I'll just grab some arko sticks. Thanks for the review, I've read about people chopping the sticks into pucks also, or just rubbing the brush on it.

 

Glad to see you used this to slice soap. Saw this photo & at first I thought, "So help me if Chris strops that knife & tries to shave with it…at least get a shavette!"

 

Had an excellent shave with the RazoRock Stealth Slant. If your looking for a great soap at a very reasonable price $13 100g try LPL.

 

No sir, just a Case knife I keep in the den for opening packages, slicing soap, etc...if I were gonna try straight shaving using only normal on-hand Samurai stuff, I would use this...

Pro Model Shavette by Masamune

Kidding...this sword actually belongs to the Harry Truman estate and library. Masamune swords are considered national treasures of Japan.

It was tallow, the LEA stick seemed a bit too dry to face lather.

 

So I started a little early, since I already had the gear. My list:
Razor & Blade: '63 Gillette Slim and Gillette Platinum
Brush & Bowl: Semogue 1460 brush and hand thrown soup bowl with flat bottom and ridges
Soap & Aftershave: Maggard Orange Menthol


My usual method is a 2 and half pass shave. After a shower, WTG and ATG on the face, and North, South, and ATG on the neck. I do a cold water rinse, use my Alum block, dry my face, and rub aftershave in. I typically shave every two to three days. I chose this razor and blade combo because I can't seem to get it to work consistently. I have gotten a BBS shave after six day's of growth with it on setting six, and have shredded my neck with one day's growth on setting three.

Shave One: Dec. 26. One day's growth. Fresh blade, set on 1. Visibly bad shave, with stubble showing. Had nicks and weepers on neck, and stopped before I did more damage.

Shave Two: Dec. 28. Two day's growth, plus what I missed on the last shave. Second shave on this blade, razor set on 3. Face and Jaw, BBS with a little burn. Neck- DFS with a little bit of stubble and irritation. Three weepers in the usual spots. Used a lot less pressure, checked with my fingers, and realized the grain on one part of my neck goes the opposite of what I had thought. Whoops.

 

Which razor would be best for improving technique for a 5 month noob a 1951 ball end Tech or a Gillette New?

The New I have had a week and I and like it get good shaves with it. The Tech I used a couple weeks and thought it just ok pretty mild. I'm leaning towards the Tech because I want to like it and master it.

Would using such a mild razor cover up bad technique or would getting good results from the milder razor mean my technique is good?

 

Many times a mild razor will make you be more diligent and expend a little more effort to achieve a good shave. That is a technique builder because you may have to make that extra pass to get the shave you want. More time, but more chances to improve your shave.

 

I shaved with my Mongoose razor this morning for the first time in preparation for the January run. For starters, I kept everything else in my routine basically the same. I used my Kent BK8 brush and an uberlather consisting of MWF, AOS Sandalwood, and glycerin. The two-pass plus touch-up shave was OK, but I had some tugging. I need to work on my angle, for sure. I opted for the smaller of the two Bomber handles, but the razor still felt heavy.

At one point during the shave, the razor started gliding easily over my cheek. I realized that I was "shaving" with the back-side of the head. I'm used to flipping a DE razor head when it fills up with cream. Maybe I will need to re-think my strategy with an SE.

I typically change my Feather DE blades after every two shaves. I'm going to try for a few more shaves with the Feather blades in the Mongoose. We'll see how it goes.

For the month of January, I plan to use Feather blades, a Kent BK4 brush, and face-lather Mike's Natural Soap with the Mongoose.

Have a great week, everyone!

 

Both are excellent razors, for my face I'd go with the ball end tech.

 

OK I am locking in my Selections

Razor - Merkur 34c HD
Blade - Asrta SP
Brush - L' Ooccitane Plisson Synthetic Brush
Cream - Proraso Green