Lol I really thought everybody was going to hate me for posting about disposables. They have their place although they aren't a part of my normal routine.

Focused February


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Dad's Schick Revere Handle Injector
Chinese Schick
L'occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Eucalyptus Tub
Today's Great Cheap AS™ is Brut!

Finally reaching the end of this first blade...a little tuggy with a couple weepers...but overall another good one! Proraso is super easy to face lather on a Plisson, and the thicker Injector blades make quick work 24 hour growth...it's truly a joy to use!

Hope everyone had a great Sunday!

February Focus - Blades
2/6/15 - Day 7
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Cream - C.O. Bigelow
Razor - EJ89L
Blade - (1)
Post - RazoRock Alum and Proraso

First non-Russian blade of the trial to compare the Indian Gillette Super Platinum against the Russian Yellow Platinum.

This blade feels really good, a bit smoother perhaps than its yellow cousin. First pass went great and seemed to remove about the right amount. Second pass XTG also smooth and no issues. Third ATG pass also nice and no dragging on this pass like the yellow did. So far so good. Did have a few touchups in trouble areas.

Alum bit slightly in the areas I touched up. Definitely a better shave with less irritation than the past three! There does appear to be a difference in the blades, either the coating or the manufacturing technique, but we will see if it lasts two more days.

Overall not bad and definitely improved over the yellow. Today's grade - A/1.5. Enough burn to have to drop it slightly.

Gotta run.....time to catch the train!!

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02/09/15 February Focus on Blades

Prep – MR GLO
Razor - Mongoose Satin B2
Blade – Kai Sharp (2)
Brush – RV with Shavemac Finest
Lather – MdC
Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm



Great 3 pass workday shave this morning. Initial thoughts are that the Kai Sharp blade is smoother than the Feather Pro while being just as sharp. It will be interesting to see how the blade changes as the week goes along.

There are uses for every tool!

me too!

You are quickly discovering that blade bevel and coating really do matter.

For general consumption:

Let's talk routine...start to finish. All water is tap cold for me.

1. Wash face gently with Bee & Flower Sandalwood soap.
2. Apply 2 drops PSO, let sit for a minute, rinse with cold and wet face.
3. Load damp Plisson with Proraso, face lather.
4. Perform 2 pass shave.
5. Rinse face many times in cold, apply Alum block.
6. After Alum dries, rinse in cold, pat dry.
7. Apply Mentholated witch Hazel.
8. Apply Great Cheap AS!

What do you guys do?

Routine. I always shave using hot water and rinse with warm water. Had enough cold water shaves in the Army to last a lifetime.

1. Wash face MR GLO and rinse with warm water ( this is a new addition before just a hot shower with face washed in shower)
   
2. Load damp brush with soap of choice and face later
3. Perform 3 pass shave most days some days 2 pass shave.
   
4. Rinse face with warm water
5. Apply Witch Hazel
6. Apply AS Balm or AS.

I need to look into Mr. GLO.

Routine

1. Soak brush in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Shower with hot water.
3. Soak face with hot towel in shower.
4. Lather and shave.
5. At sink, rinse with cold water and alum.
6. Let sit 30 seconds then rinse and after shave.

Routine

1.Soak brush in hot water
2.Take a hot shower
3.Splash hot water from the sink on face/head
4.Attempt to lather
5.Usually 2-3 passes
6.Cold water rinse
7.Balm and plenty of Old Spice

@NCoxSTL I used the Voskhod blades today. I really wanted to notice a big difference compared to the rebranded Personnas I've been use to using, but it just wasn't there. I'm going to finish out the week exclusively using that blade so maybe I'll be able to notice the differences. Don't get me wrong it was a good shave....actually looking back on it probably took a little less effort to get the same smoothness. Gracias for the pack! The more I shave I'll probably be able to pick up on some of the differences yall do between blades I'm just not sure my skills are there yet.

Glad you liked the Voskhod. Yeah part of it is using a blade enough to learn it as I am finding out this month. But, YMMV too.

Focused February



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Dad's Schick Revere Handle Injector
Chinese Schick
L'occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Eucalyptus Tub
Today's Great Cheap AS™ is TSD 2x Iced Barber Shoppe!

still on original blade...better today! Another great 2pass!

Day 8 Feb Focus Slim Adj
Missed my shave yesterday, so today was shave 8. Great overall shave. The Personna 74* in the slim adj is probably impossible to beat with any other razor/blade combination I can create. Cut down 2 1/2 days growth with no issue for a DFS+ result.

Routine:
1. Soak brush and soap
2. Face wash or hot shower
3. Apply Cornhusker's Lotion
4. Load damp brush
5. Face lather
6. 2-3 pass shave
7. Rinse with warm water
8. Rinse brush, shake dry, hang in cabinet
9. Rinse and dry razor, palm strop blade 20X-30X per edge
10. Apply aftershave
11. Wipe down sink and mirror

The whole routine takes me about 15 minutes.

February Focus - Blades
2/10/15 - Day 11
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Cream - C.O. Bigelow
Razor - EJ89L
Blade - (2)
Post - RazoRock Alum and Proraso

Day two on the blade and a bit of a change. Hit the DFS on the second pass with only a minor touch up so I stopped there. Alum confirmed much less irritation than yesterday, though there was a bit still. Obviously less passes should produce less irritation, but with the platinum seeming to irritate me anyway the change to a 2 pass seemed to make a pretty big difference, perhaps more than with a teflon blade.

Tomorrow I'm going to try one other variable change since I'm chasing down a specific issue. I'm going to change soaps and try the 3 pass. Just to see if that will affect the irritation issue.

Grade A/1.5

Today's inspirational picture, well, I couldn't find anything I liked from India so I guess a Russian Valentine's greeting is appropriate since it is this Saturday. Hope you have a great day!

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February Blade Focus/Face Lather
2/10/15
Prep: warm wash and cornhusker's lotion
Lather: TSD Grey vetiver type
Brush: Omega 10066
Razor: Weber PH
Blade: Shark super chrome (2)
Post: Old Spice pure sport

I looked back at my records and I have not used Shark blades in a DE before (there was the ill-fated shavette month but that's another story for another time and this is not the time ). I must tell you all that I am very impressed so far with this blade. Smooth and close shave with no problems at all.

I look at today's set up and I honestly think I could stick with this every day from now on out. The Omega brush does an outstanding job of creating a slick and shiny face lather. The CH lotion seems to be a regular for me now. The Weber...well, I think it is a great razor. I put away my New razors for it and that is just fine!

02/10/15 February Focus on Blades

Prep – MR GLO
Razor - Mongoose Satin B2
Blade – Kai Sharp (3)
Brush – RV with Shavemac Finest
Lather – Captain’s Choice Sandalwood Test Soap
Post - Witch Hazel and Captain’s Choice Sandalwood AS



Very nice 3 pass shave this morning. Not BBS but close enough to scare the baby I had emailed Captain's Choice to test a new sandalwood soap he his developing. The soap proved very easy to lather and proved to be very slick and provided good cushion. The scent of the soap was a perfect pairing with his sandalwood aftershave.

Smoothness is precisely what you should notice in a Russian Voskhod...and you are right, the differences may not become apparent until later. It took me about 2-3months to get the real hang of it...you are right on schedule.

The Omega brushes are top notch! Skunks, shavettes...this should be good!

Shave 9 Feb Focus Slim Adjustable
Another great shave. This Feb focus challenge has really helped. The comfort of the shave from the 1st until now is noticeably better. The only downside is I am doing this in conjunction with use it til it gone RR XXX. An OK soap, but far inferior to other soaps I have. Will be very happy to see it go, but my guess is it will take probably take until the end of my 30 day challenge to do so....

DAY 10

So, I realized fairly early on that it would be somewhat difficult to post in the thread as often as I would like. With an ever-increasing workload, and two boys (1 & 4) who keep me on my toes, finding time to shave, read, and enjoy an occasional pipe is about the best I can hope for (though I still lurk, read, etc. almost daily). That said, I definitely wanted to post some periodic follow-ups on my 30 days.

All in all, everything is going rather swimmingly. The only shortfall (and it's a small one to be sure) is the Feather blade. For whatever reason, I don't find myself getting as close of a shave as I did with the Personnas. It's definitely a super smooth shave, and I have had zero irritation, knicks, etc. It's just not as close as I had been hoping. I've tried getting a little more forceful with the razor rather than my usual approach of letting its weight do the work, and still no marked improvement. It's kind of funny as I had originally dreaded these blades for their notoriety of being laser sharp-- now, I have found myself actively trying to give myself a knick, weeper, etc. just to prove that it can do it... no dice for me. I figure at this point, either I'm doing something subconsciously, my razor is not aggressive enough, or some cosmic force wants me to have a sandpaper-like face come 5 o'clock. Not sure the cause, but I'm rolling with it.

I may be making this sound worse than it is. I do get a very presentable shave every morning, just not on that BBS border I had already started getting used to. The trade off of course is worry-free, irritation-free shaves, and an excuse to shave every day (not a habit I have ever been in previously, opting for every other). Some other select highlights:

• The menthol in the Proraso feels fantastic and the lather I've been getting with it and the Plisson is spectacular
• Loving the Whoostheman scents, and the wife is too. The AS feels great, smells great and just adds a tremendous amount of pleasure to the whole experience. Will definitely be picking up some full size bottles from them soon.
• Lastly, and most importantly: I've been DE shaving for about 1.5 months now, and I will never (you heard it here), NEVER go back to cartridges if I can avoid it. I truly look forward to shaving- and it's hard to express how foreign that is to me. As someone with reasonably coarse, wiry facial hair who struggled to get 5 shaves out of a cartridge without putting myself through unnecessary pain/discomfort, this whole experience has been life-changing. I know, I know-- strong words. But as a man, shaving as often as we must, a change like this is nothing less. I really can't thank everyone here enough for sharing their insights, experiences, and camaraderie.

See you in 10 days -- Hopefully sooner!