April 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Homemade Pre-Shave Oil.
Razor: Bluebeards Revenge
Blade: Wilkinson Black
Brush: WD Marble Handle Silvertip, 24/67
Cream: Bluebeards Revenge
A/S: Lucky Tiger

Day-7, First time I made PSO and the first time I used it. Didn't know how much to use, I could have used more IMO. Big thanks out to @Sara-s for the information on how to make the homemade PSO. The Wilkinson Black Blade made it through the entire shave tonight, however, I should have changed the blade half way through. I did find the Bluebeards Revenge Razor handle a little slippery tonight. Probably the PSO.
I will add that I had to improvise the materials for the PSO.
Everything else seemed to fall into place.

 

Those French soap guys...

 

Improvised PSO is bonus points!

 

Focus- Injector Razors
Pre- Organic virgin coconut oil
Razor- Schick M39
Blade- Chinese Schick
Soap- Arko, of course
Brush- Semogue 1305
Post- Cold water rinse, alum as needed
Aftershave- Shulton Old Spice Lime




New razor tonight with the Schick M39. Had a fabulous shave with this setup!

My neck is getting to the usual 2 pass DFS/BBS territory, and 2 pass BBS everywhere else is now the norm. I am really enjoying the injectors now, and plan to stick with this setup for a week.

I then have an Eversharp to try and will finish off the month with the M2 adjustable. It is honestly all I can do to not jump right to the M2. I am sure I am going to be able to dial into shave nirvana with it, but want to save the best for last.

Enjoy your shaves and evening gentlemen!

 

Arko April!!



April 9, Day 9, (day 2, blade 2), the mighty mighty MTO!

Automatic!
Added a little TSD exclusive Iced SubZero to this shave! Go get some!

Have a Great Friday!
​

 

Homemade PS Oil
Cella
WD Silvertip
FB w/Gillette Silver Blue set on 3
Proraso AS

I dialed the FB one click to 3. A better shave this morning if not quite as close.

 

Thanks, I edited my post to include the forgotten "O".

 

Woke up late today so no shave. Luckily yesterday's shave was good enough that I don't look terrible. And tomorrow is a big day so letting my face recover a bit more will probably be a good thing anyway. May have to cheat a little tomorrow, need to look my best.

 

This last week was very busy, out of town, so no posts, but the shaves continued. I REALLY like the arko, as does my wife. She almost follows me around to get another sniff of my soap, witch hazel, and aftershave each day. I can tell that the last few months have really improved my technique, because I started with the Krona and double edge blade, which I felt to leave me with a rough result, but now, after all the SE and injector shaves, I find the Krona and Wilkinson Sword blade to be very gentle, with a very good two pass result..... DFS at minimum!. Just for fun, yesterday, I broke out the Lord L6, which I have not used since I purchased it back in November. I found it to be as easy to use as the Krona, with maybe a bit more agressive shave, but not enough to be concerned. All in all, it has been a great week of shaves.

 

I like the Lighthouse.

 

Good picture. I found a place where I can get Arko. I'll join in style next April.

 

I've just started making PSO, and would like to know your formula. Any PSO making advise would be appreciated also. Thanks.
Good flick.

 

Arko April Focus - CJB Kamisori
April 10, 2015 - Week 2 Day 6
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - VDH Boar
Soap - Proraso
Razor - EJ89l
Blade - (5)
Post - Alum and A/V Musk

Checked out the damage today and thought it prudent for another day or two of healing before resuming the CJB. Yep, that cut was a bit deep. Went to my EJ89 with the fabulous if hard to find Sharp Star on its fifth shave. BBS in three passes, still performing like a champ. Very little burn from the alum. A day closer to returning to the CJB. I'll just start assembling the things necessary now.

 

Thanks! Ebay find that I filled with Shulton Old Spice Lime...

 

Is the lighthouse an Old Spice product?

 

Yes, they made a whole bunch of special edition containers. There are also ships wheels, spyglasses and a few others. If you hit up Ebay and search "old spice" or "old spice decanters" you will find a bunch of them at fairly cheap prices. I want to say I got mine for around $10 shipped...

 

Douglas, I use 2 T castor oil, 1 T olive oil, 1 T grape seed oil, and 1 T Vitamin E oil. I also add some EO of whatever I feel like. It seems to work for me, and my wife uses it with success as well.

 

April 10th , SOTD (Shave 4 of the focus)
Two days’ growth
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor Feather Artist Club SS non-folding with Pro-Guard Blade (4th shave on blade)
Razor: Gillette Red Tip- B2 (1956)
DE Blade: Big Ben- Stropped 30 times per edge (1st shave on blade)
Soap: The Shave Den Barber Shoppe Scent, bowl lathered plus four drops of M-Bomb
Brush: Tulip Wood Brush- TGN Best Badger Knot 22mm x 54mm loft
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block
Aftershave: The Shave Den Iced Barber Shoppe Splash

Had a really good shave today. Was very careful with the Feather Artist Club, and did two passes with it. First pass would have been a CCS. Second pass was DFS. Did a third pass with the Red Tip, and it is a solid DFS, and except for two spots on my neck, would be a BBS. I did get one cut, but it was from the Red tip, not the Feather. Go figure.

I am starting to like this brush more and more. It holds a ton of lather, and works well to bend and get the lather worked into the face, but also does well with paint brush strokes and bowl lathering. This is the first time in a while I have used both the hand turned bowl and matching brush handle. It’s a nice set.
The TSD Soap and Aftershave are really easy to work with. The biggest thing I noticed today is that I was able to get my chin BBS. Usually, I get a fairly rough shave feeling after a two or three pass shave on my chin with a DE. Some DEs give a better shave, if they are more aggressive. I notice I use a lot of pressure in this area with a DE, and that has led to some cuts. The Feather Artist Club gets a really close two pass shave in this area, and the shave stays smooth for a long time as well. It makes me keep wanting a more aggressive DE razor, but I don’t know if they can match the other razor. I have two straights out for honing right now, so I will probably be experimenting with those next month.

 

Thanks.

 

04/10/2015
Prep – MR GLO
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade – Feather Pro (7)
Brush – Rubberset 400-3 with WSP HMW
Lather – Strop Shoppe Baker Street
Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm



Fantastic 2 pass shave this morning. First pass ATG followed by XTG with just a small bit of cleanup. Certainly one of my better shaves. The Rubberset whipped up enough lather for 4 or 5 passes. Have a great Friday and a better weekend.