JUNE 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Bama, I totally agree. I have been holding the Tech just below the head, and the angle of the blade is almost SE angle. Seems to work well that way. YMMV

 

But then, aren't we used to SWMBO giving us "that" look, muttering, and shaking her head??? That's how we know all is good in our world..

 

Today was day 4 with the Derby Extra. What can I say??? I can admit when I'm wrong. After all, I am a man, and I can change.... if I have to. I got another great shave, with no irritation, and on to day 5.... although I think I still like the Astra SP just a bit more..... (can we say subjective)

 

Cold water shave focus day 4:

Homemade PS Oil
Vie-long Horsehair Brush
TSD Lavender & Rose Wheat SC
'58 Gillette TV Special
Stirling Unscented PSB
Barbasol Brisk AS

Not a great shave this morning. I used a Gillette Platinum blade, which I have not used a lot in the past. It didn't seem to work too well. The scent was great and the AS calmed things down a bit for me.

 

06/04/2015
Razor – Gillette New LC with Triad SS Helix
Blade – Feather (3)
Brush – Rudy Vey with TGN Finest
Lather – B&M Seville
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol F/Extra



Great near BBS 3 pass shave this morning. I find the shave from the New LC to be very similar to the Mongoose with the regular Feather blades. Now that I am back in the groove this razor is the smooth, efficient shaver I remember. The scent of the Seville soap is intoxicating to me with hints of citrus and barbershop. I take the time to add water as I face lather which really brings out the best performance from this soap. The lather has great cushion and slickness. The post shave feel is very good. This is certainly a soap I will buy again. Finished off with Myrsol F/Extra for a great work morning shave.

 

I swapped razors this morning because I needed a quick and clean shave. Man! I am glad I did! I've had this Gillette New SC razor for just at a year and have probably used it more than any other razor over the past 12 months. 2 passes with a shallow angle (rode the cap on purpose) and my shave is as smooth and clean as any I ever get. The Big Ben Super Stainless blade performed flawlessly on shave #2 (#6 of the focus) and was just amazing.

 

World Tournament of Blades - Russia vs. the World!!
June 4, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - VDH Boar
Soap - Proraso Green
Razor - '59 Superspeed
Blade - (1)
Post - Alum, Nivea Balm

Day four. The Gillette Silver Blue steps up for its turn. This legendary blade is a teflon blade and one that normally performs above much of the pack. It's a legitimate contender to the Voskhod. And on to the shave!

Great Proraso lather today. I'm actually getting close to finishing the first tub I ever purchased. Seems like this soap lasts and lasts. First pass was very very nice and effective. Even in the mild Superspeed it really reduced the beard. Smooth, effective and all around just a nice pass. Went XTG as usual for the second pass and my face was done.....baby smooth done. Neck was a very high DFS. Impressive. Did a couple of touch ups on the neck and BAM!!! That's what we call BBS. My neck felt a bit irritated so I wasn't too surprised that the alum burned but I was surprised at how much it burned. My face was totally quiet but the neck.......ouch. Something of a mixed response between the two.

Grading - The GSB is a sharp blade, among the sharpest. Not the sharpest but definitely in that class. Gotta give it a 1. Smoothness - Excellent. Couldn't tell there was a blade in the razor most of the time. Have to give it a 1. Irritation - Somewhat of a disappointment here as my neck lit up. The face, however, was very comfortable and clearly not irritated. So a 2. Result - Gotta give it a 1 for the baby.

Total score? 5

Winner of this round? The Gillette Silver Blue!

Tomorrow the Sputnik has its day in the razor as it battles the Sharp Star! Happy Thursday everone.

 

Day#4 of 6; 30-Days of June
Third day of use the the Big Red Imp. I also broke out my tub of Tabac—a soap I've not used in some time. Lathering up with the Tabac was as I remembered it to be—thick, dense lather that lasted—but the Tabac powdery fragrance reminded me why I have not used this fine soap. Not a fan of the scent.
The shave was outstanding, however, despite my dislike of the lather scent. Three passes plus some touch-up got me into near-BBS territory. This Red Imp performs right up there with the exceptional Friodur I had used in previous weeks. Smooth edge, no tugging nor pulling—just simple, noisy shave strokes leaving my face ultra-smooth. In two more days, I'm going to miss this razor!

 

5/04/15 - A Month of Proraso!!
This razor is a masterpiece.

Proraso Green Soap
Kent Infinity Synthetic
1922 Gillette Bostonian
Pol-Silver Blade (1)
Aqua Velva

 

Stirling month:

Prep: Hot shower, Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub, TSD Jasmine Sambac preshave balm
Brush: Simpson 56 Best Badger
Soap: Stirling Bay Rum
Razor: RazoRock Bamboozled RAKE OC
Blade: Bic (2)
Passes: WTG, XTG, XTG (1, 2, 3)
Post: Cold water splash, Dickinson's WH, Captain's Choice Cat o' Nine Tails Bay Rum AS splash
Cologne: Gigember Estragone by Dr. Vranjes

Yep, still not there yet getting Stirling to be a solid performer for me. It looked good in the bowl and on the brush, but was collapsing a bit by the 2nd pass, and needed all the lather I made for 3 passes.

 

I found that with Stirling that I had to really load the brush heavy before I started lathering. If you can get it dialed in it is a very good soap.

 

I gave up on getting Stirling to produce a thick lasting lather. I wind up mixing it with another soap (such as Cade) as I love the scents and BIG menthol blast some of the Stirling soaps provide.

 

Are you feeling all better?

 

June Open Comb Focus
Day 4

Prep: Coconut oil, Hot shower
Razor: Gillette New SC
Blade: Voskhod
Brush: Omega 10083 Boar Brush
Soap: The Copper Hat Shaved Ice Soap/Kiss My Face Lavender Cream
Post: Cold rinse, Alum, Witch hazel, TBS Maca Root ASB

I'm noticing that this razor makes my whiskers grow a lot slower.

 

My experience is with Glacial Obsidian. After the first pass, I have no idea what the lather looked like, as I was crying.

Just kidding, Stirling is temperamental on water to soap ratio for me as well.

 

Chris, thank you for asking. About the best I can say is that the drugs are working. I am just trying to make it until my orthopedic appointment on the 12th. I hope the doc can get things back to normal.

 

June 4 - Shave 2
Prep: Hot shower, Nivia Face wash
Brush: Omega 48
Preshave: Stirling Mentha Preshave oil
Soap: TSD Lanolin Bay Rum scent
Razor: Gemstarcustom Sheffield 5/8 square point hollow.
Growth: 2 days
Post: Cold water splash, frozen towel, alum, Clubman Bay Rum AS, Proaso Green + m-bomb post shave balm, styptic pencil
Passes: WTG, XTG, WTG

I took my cold water shave to the next level today - frozen towel after cold water splash. Don't remember where I got the idea from, but put a wet towel in the freezer last night and pulled it out this morning preshave to let it loosen up a bit.

First pass with dominate hand was fantastic. Smooth, no pulling or tugging. I think I got all excited, because when I put the square point to my face with non-dominate hand, I nicked right below my sideburn with the point - man did it bleed. (WE'VE GOT A BLEEDER!) Once I got the bleeding to stop with the styptic pencil, I was able to continue. N/S from sideburns to under jaw line seems to be doing the trick and getting all my trouble spots covered with the straight. My 2nd pass was XTG again on face and ATG on neck with light pressure - so amazed at how letting gravity and the sharpness of the blade do the work I'm left with little irritation. 3rd pass was WTG again

Alum/Clubman combo was a nice little wake up call - but not too stingy (I'll continue to make words up as I like thank you very much!) The real winner of the shave today was the frozen towel. Once I finally got it unrolled, pressed the coldness to my freshly shaved face was very refreshing. Monday, I mentioned that stirling post shave balm felt a bit heavy so I went with the proaso with a few drops of m-bomb and I think that's the combo for now. Can't call it a BBS - since I consider BBS perfection and I nicked my check with the point but still a great shave today.

 

I found that I have to work it over like it owed me money to get a great lather.

 

In my recent shaves after the first two passes I did not feel any irritation so I want to find out if it is the third pass or just it takes time before I feel the irritation. So today it was 2 passes with the SR and then final 2 passes with my Futur loaded with my top blade, Super Iridium.

The two passes went smoothly with the exception of small nick under my nose. It was operator error as started a stroke and put razor to skin. The two passes felt good and it felt like I had a little more beard reduction than usual with a SR. After the final two passes with the Futur BBS and I did not feel any irritation. To make sure I used the alum and just a small amount of stinging. It looks like I need to improve the 3rd passes which has some tough angles.

Home made pre-shave oil
MdC Fougere (with a little liquid lanolin added)
Shavemac zebra beehive with super silver tip
Ralp Aust 5/8 round point
Futur with a Super Iridium
Home made AS heavy on the menthol
Speick ASB
Creed Himalaya

 

Yikes, that looks like allot of blood!

Sometimes I rub ice on my face after the shave. Even though I am not a cold shaver (tried it, hated it) I will put some towels in the freezer. It should like a great idea. Maybe I will add some of my home made AS to the towel before I put it in the freezer.