Razor: Gillette Aristocrat, 1947, Birth Razor
Blade: Gillette, Platinum (1)
Brush: Semogue 1305 Boar Tri Colored Wood Handle.
Soap: Proraso White
Mug: Soak my brush in the Old Spice coffee mug for about a minute.
A/S: Lucky Tiger

Still sticking with the boar brush. Made a good lather with Proraso soap. I got the water mix just right tonight. The Aristocrat is an excellent razor.

Day 18 - 19 May 2015

30 Day Rule Focus with a Cadet OC!


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Day 4 and still going strong on this blade. I stuck to the shave stick method again and was again rewarded with a super easy 2 Pass DFS. This seems to be the best way to use Williams. I am having really great success by focusing on angle of attack ("riding the cap") and strict adherence to growth pattern. Just got home from Comida, a great little eatery inside an old 1880s brick foundry. It's a cool little place to hang out on a 98F day. Had early dinner with Mrs Samurai! Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado!

Have a great Weekend!

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6-19-15
shave #6

Shaver = Dovo Astrale 5/8 round nose
Soap = SRD for sensitive skin
Brush = VDH Boar
Witch Hazel
ASG = AOS Sandalwood

Very comfortable shave today. The edge is staying keen. No weepers or beheadings.
3 pass shave with DE cleanup. The shaves are getting better with this razor...and that makes me happy...
it has turned out to be a quality razor.

Keen blades & Smooth shaves Gents !

World Tournament of Blades - Russia vs. the World!!
June 19, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Vie Long 12705
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Razor - Edwin Jagger DE89L
Blade - (2)
Post - Alum, Nivea Balm

The battle of the Teflon Titans continues. Or should I say, the Tremendously terrifically terribly tense Teflon Titan battle commences! OK, yeah I know, enough. It's the Gillette Silver Blue today following the Voskhod's performance yesterday. I was really interested in the matchup because usually head to head these two are nearly too close to call. Once again I ran the Pony through the Fat for lather and it is always a delight.

As with the Voskhod, this is the second shave for the GSB. And, much to my early surprise I felt a difference in performance. The GSB just seemed a bit dull and definitely not smooth as I expected. It wasn't horrible but was enough rougher that it was obvious. First pass produced a fairly poor result so the XTG on the second pass had to be on the money. And........it wasn't. Felt even rougher and didn't get DFS on the face, much less the neck. Lathered for the third time, which was the best part, and went ATG on face and neck and then G-slide on the neck. That did produce a DFS and I called it good. If it takes more than three passes the baby isn't in the house.

Scoring for today. Sharpness.......I'm going to go ahead and say a 1 just out of respect. I don't know if the blade was that much duller than the first run with it or just rougher, but smoothness is a 2, and that's a bit generous. Irritation? Alum proved what I feared.....2. Definitely burned. Result? DFS for the 2.

Total - 7

The winner - VOSKHOD!

This was not the result I expected. I really thought a tie was the likely outcome and didn't expect such a difference. Going back through some notes, though, I did find that my one complaint about the GSB is its tendency to get a bit worse with each shave while the Voskhod tends to improve on the second use and even the third. Whatever the difference in material or design, the Voskhod tends, for me at least, to last longer than the GSB.

Tomorrow it's the early Saturday shave and the Sharp Star is on the line. I'll be using the '59 Superspeed, VDH Boar and Arko as it sets the pace for its run against the Ladas. Onward and forward as the Elite Eight continues.

Total thread hijack Alert.



Looking west (275) toward Henderson Colorado USA, 21:26, 19 June 2015.

From top: Jupiter, Venus, and the waxing crescent of the moon over my neighbor's porch.

Now back to the usual fun. Thread Hijack over.

I probably shouldn't hijack my own unhijackable thread.

Now I'm confused!

Can you, or can you not hijack a thread?!!!

( btw - just kidding......Great photo!) :wave:

DOG! You beat me to it !!!
stop "following " me on the Test thread!!

I actually thought tapatalk was malfunctioning. I had no idea it was on the test forum....

and for once I thought I might have out-Jedi-ied the Master!

It is actually possible to hijack threads. I aspire to only do it to myself.

You did beat me to it. I actually saw it my mistake while struggling to operate tapatalk. You cannot outwit my incompetence.

I am on a serious Florida Water kick of late. AS can change within the guidelines of either system.

Does anyone here go through "AS phases"? How do you choose what to wear?

Yes you can, it's called nitwit!

btw - I'd suppose this entire inane exchange qualifies as a hijack.

Sorry all - now back to our shaves.

The only thing that will surprise me is if it doesn't win it all

In the razor, GSB and Voskhod are exactly the same to me.

Well played.

The only gillettes I've tried were the yellows and I absolutely hated them so I think it put me off of trying any others

I tried the GSB early on, and I loved it. Have not tried Yellow. I think these blade trials are very interesting. Blades are probably the most personally subjective subject in DE, and also hard to precisely talk about. I'm finding out I was wrong about Derby as a newbie. I think I would've disliked most blades though, I didn't really know how to shave. The Russian Teflon softness saved me from myself a couple of times early on.

I go through phases on AS for sure. Before starting DE shaving I never really us AS at all. For the January Rule/Focus I picked up the habit of using AS to change up the routine and prevent boredom for setting in. I am hopeful that the girls get me some more AS for father's day. I try to match up the scent of the AS to the the soap I am using. Not sure I am that successful but it's fun trying. I am finding I like AS with menthol for the warmer months and love bay rum when it's cold out.