April 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

That is a great razor! Perfect time for a 30 Day rule! Enjoy!

Props to @Bristle Me !

 

April setup:
Preshave: Homemade Euciliplous preshave oil
Razor: Ikon 102 Slant with bulldog handle
Blade: Wilkinson Sword
Soap: Arko? (was planning on TSD Lanolin Shaving Soap - TSD Signature (2x Menthol)

Should be a fun month. I'm going to try and focus on not too much focus with this bulldog handle. I tend to go hard with it.
Cheers!

 

My left hand still feels funny handling it due to my total right-handedness, but I notice I have a better view of the razor on the left side. I have tried to maintain about a 30 degree angle but, like you, I tend to give it more than that. When I feel it just start to dig it reminds me to back it off. The Kai MG seems to be protecting me pretty well.

I do have a goatee and I am very mindful of where the blade goes in relation to the edges of it. One slip and I lose the connection between chin and upper lip and I'll be down to just a moustache...and I don't like that look! It does take some extra concentration. I have thinned it just a bit I have noticed. Can't afford to thin it anymore!

 

Schizo Troy here with the "final" attempt at the Schick J1 injector. I inserted another new blade this morning and got ready to go. Hmmm....not bad after 1 pass. 2nd pass was near DFS and third pass cleaned it all up decently. I'm not certain that this razor/blade is as smooth as a DE, but I saw no blood and the resulting shave was okay. Guess I'll continue on for the next few weeks and see what I discover. I did make certain that my lather perhaps was little slicker than it has been. The cream whips up pretty quickly and I may have had it a little dry over the past few days.

Prep: warm wash and Cornhusker's Lotion
Lather: St. James of London Mandarin & Patchouli
Brush: TGN synthetic
Razor: Schick J1 injector
Blade: Schick (1)
Post: Captain's Choice Cat O'Nine Tails

How many days might I expect to get from the Schick blades?

 

Arko April Focus - CJB Kamisori
March 31, 2015 - Week 1 Day 3
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Arko
Razor - CJB & '59 Gillette Superspeed
Blade - (3) (3)
Post - Alum & Aqua Velva Ice Blue

Third day of the CJB and still no nicks/cuts/weepers. Careful attention to angle and pressure and, so far, no major lapses in concentration and all's well. Every time I finish with this thing I hear Sweeney Todd singing "The closest I ever gave.....". I've noticed that my left side is a bit of a problem, but since I am right handed I just need more work with the left. Alum was a major pain in the neck this morning but I also spent a bit of extra time on the neck with the CJB before doing the last pass with the Superspeed. Working up to two passes with the kamisori.

 

Congrats on a better shave this time around. I would think you should get somewhere around 7 shaves with the blade. I'm sure that those with more experience will chime in.

 

03/31/2015
Prep – MR GLO
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade –Feather Pro (1)
Brush –Rudy Vey with TGNFinest
Lather – MdC
Post - Witch Hazel, Dove AS Balm and CC Bay Rum AS



Fantastic 3 pass shave this morning. For April I will be focused on the Mongoose with Feather Pro Blades. My goal is to see how long the blades truly last. During my blades testing earlier this year, I changed blades after 7 shaves and felt that I should have been able to get many more. Time will tell I guess.

I will be taking a few shaves off from the focus in order to test drive some GEM razors JR loaned me.

 

Will be watching with great interest as I move up the Mongoose waiting list!

 

I am hoping for a minimum of 10 days per blade. For comparison I never get more than 3 shaves out of DE blades.

 

Decided to trry it out today and learned something: don't put the arko soap on the face too thick while using an ikon 102. Thick lather doesn't clear out of the ikon well. Chopped the heck out of my chin. But I'll try it once more tomorrow with better results...hopefully!

 

I figured that out about the 102 this past month on my focus with it. Soaps like Catie's and Mickey Lee tend to gum it up pretty quickly. Like a stroke or two, and it's full already. Probably the only downside it has for me.

I'm toying with the idea of shimming it this month and see how that does.

 

I bet by the end of the month you will be an expert. My couple of rules with injectors have made me appreciate them as a great tool.

 

My blades have been going 7-10 shaves in the injector.

 

Shimming?

 

Yes. They are talking about placing a shim under the blade to increase the tension and curve, making the razor more aggressive.

 

No shave today I was up almost 20 hours yesterday so I was pretty exhausted this morning. Maybe when I get home tomorrow morning I'll have enough energy.

 

This will be my first focus. I followed the 30 day rule but have never done a focus. I am going to focus on my Fatboy. I have had decent shaves with it but never a really good or great one. I want to get dialed in on it.

 

I may not be the best one to respond, as I get 20 plus shaves out of a GEM stainless coated SE blade. I have gotten between 15 to 20 shaves with the Chinese schick injector blade.

 

I just picked up my Italian barber purchase..... of ARKO and Derby menthol cream..... I bet that confused them!!!
For S and giggles, I decided to try the arko with my first DE razor I ever used....way back in November: the Schick Krona. I used the Wilkinson Sword blade that I left in the razor number of shaves on the blade unknown. I used my cheap, trusty Wilkinson sword boar brush.
The opening of the Arko stick was in some ways anti-climatic. I have no sense of smell, so there was no overpowering olfactory response. Of course, SWMBO is off at work, so there is no feedback until tomorrow.
I got a great three pass DFS+ to BBS shave. I think I will keep this combo for the April focus...pending mama's vote on the Arko smell.

 

I'm still trying to understand the hate behind Arkos scent. It was almost a let down it didn't smell bad when I opened it up lol