Let's not get crazy...

A Teutonic shave for Saturday.

I usually don't go for theme shaves but I have been enjoying Rasurpur kamisori and missing Tabac so I decided to go German today. 3 passes with the straight, no irritation but I have a need for BBS today so the 4th passes with my Futur... loaded with a non-german blade, oh well almost an all German shave. Finished no irritation and BBS.

I really like the feel of this razor, the more I used it the more confident I am with it. It just feels easier to control than my other razors. Still making a long road ahead to get the same level of shave I get with a DE.

Proraso Pre Shave
Tabac soap
Thater 2 band silver tip
Rasurpur western grind kamisori
Dry Gulch strop
Alum block to keep my fingers dry
Speick AS
Speik ASB
Tabac EDC

Have a great weekend! 주말 잘 보내세요!

I was going to ask the same question.... but .... uhm..... never mind.

Hey, just think of the new skill you'll develop without, hopefully, causing under harm to face!

"No pain, no gain," as my football coach used to say.
:football:

World Tournament of Blades - Russia vs. the World!!
June 26, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Vie Long 12705
Soap - Tabac
Razor - '59 Superspeed
Blade - (3)
Post - Alum, Nivea Balm

We're down to the Final Four! And....we stay on the World side to start the finals. The Bic Chrome Platinum goes up against the Personna Lab Blue and today is its day. This is the blade that has defeated both of the Super-Max entries from India to make it to the semi-finals and it has been fairly impressive. So, onto the field it comes.

The gear for this matchup is the '59 Superspeed with the Vie-Long horse and Tabac. I used some extra water and got the Tabac lathered up well with a slick base and went to work. The first pass was smooth and the blade is sharp. This is the third round for the blade and it is still very comfortable. Second XTG pass was also a great pass and left only the neck to clean up. Still smooth, no issues. Neck was again an XTG with a G-slide to finish. Got the DFS and felt good. Now, to the alum and grading.

Sharpness - Still a 1. Seems to have lost nothing in that regard. Smoothness - Again a 1. No drag, pulling, nothing but glide. Irritation - so here comes the alum at the end and there's a minor burn that quickly fades. That's a 1 in my book. That quick flash and gone is normal for me. Finish? DFS for the 2. That's a 5. Great result!

Total - 5

Tomorrow the Lab Blue gets its day in the sun. Which will move to the finals? And which Russian will it face, the Voskhod or Ladas? Will Penelope be rescued from the train tracks? Oh wait....different suspense. Have a great weekend everyone!

06/27/2015
Razor – Gillette Old Type with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade – Voskhod (1)
Brush – Rubberset 400 with Omega Boar
Lather – Soap Commander Renewal
Post - Witch Hazel & Myrsol F/Extra



This was my first time using both the Gillette Old Type and the first time using a Voskhod blade. After reading many comments about how aggressive the Old Type was in comparison to the New OC, I was expecting something other than the shave I had. I found this set up to be milder than the New LC. Of course this could have been the blade. I ended up with a near BBS shave but it required 3 passes with a lot of touch ups. I look forward to spending the remainder of the July Focus working with the Old Type.

30-days in June
Completely off the tracks this morn as June winds down. I opted to not use a straight razor (the first time in about two months) and instead grabbed my favorite DE in the drawer—the 2011 Mühle R41. I switched out the stock Grande handle for this custom 'heavy' textured handle, nicely counterbalanced on the end. Feather blades, of course. Three passes and a little touch up. Not having shaved with a DE in some time, what became obvious to me is how quickly the shave goes and with relative ease. Darn near-BBS results as well. Compared to SR shaving, DE shaving is the 'express lane' to finishing the morning routine. I still prefer the whole SR regimen over the ease and convenience of the DE razor shave, but there's no arguing that both will get you to the same desired destination.

HR, I'm just in awe of the SR posts I've read of yours and other SR shavers over the past 6 weeks that I've been on TSD.

My grandfather was a barber in Little Italy, NYC. As a kid, I'd sit in his shop and watch his mastery in shaving his customers with the straight edge. I loved the regimen he used from start to finish. There was a timeless order to it. He even did my shave and buzz cut prior to going off for military induction.

When he retired and sold his shop, we split up some of his old razors, I'll have to pull mine out of storage some day. My sister even took one of his old barber chairs. I wish I had learned, but for some odd reasons have used carts all my life and my shaky old hands won't allow me to take that step to SRs now.

But having just found DE shaving and joining this group has been a joy - to not only learn myself, but to understand and experience what others are expressing here of this timeless tradition.

Good to know you think SR/DE both provide great shaves. Though some of us wish we could try SRs, sometimes it's satisfying enough to live vicariously through others! Shave on!

Cheers!
- RT

June 27th, SOTD (Shave 18 of this focus)
One days’ growth
Prep: Hot Water Splash and Homemade Pre-Shave Oil
Razor: W.R. Case & Sons “Registered No 023” 1905-1914
Strop: Drygulch Chromexcel Horsehide/ Linen (Post Shave Only)
Soap: Jabonman Lima-Incienso (Menthol)
Brush: Eveready 100T re-knotted with 22mm TGN Synthetic
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block, Thayer’s Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Clubman with Menthol added

I was going to shave this morning, but I checked a tracking number, and it said my razors from @HolyRollah would be delivered today. The razors look even better in person! Ended up settling on the Case razor, because it was one I didn’t think would be able to be saved.

Used water and homemade preshave oil for a no shower prep. Lather was excellent, I made it very thick and dry for the first pass, to get the oil off my face. Razor was very keen and smooth. N/S pass was almost DFS by itself. Second pass, I added more water to the lather, and went S/N. This razor feels longer than some of my others, but was a breeze to shave with. One cut where I set it down too hard reminded me that it is very sharp. Did some touch up on my neck for a great shave. Mostly BBS, with a few trouble spots, so we will call it DFS. The wood scales are beautiful. First shave with an American Razor, and I loved it!

Looking at using these three razors for my focus next month, and maybe trying to limit the rest of my stuff to American made as well.

Adam, that is great. You guys have come so far in just a couple of months. Of course have the masters get your tools in top working order doesn't hurt either.

I've been thinking of my July Focus. After spending a month with DE razors, I am ready to go back to SE Razors, consisting of my Mongoose and a couple of GEM razors that I received as a PIF. Keeping with that same theme, I will use only shave soaps I received as PIFs as well.

Glad you enjoyed your initial run! That Case had (has) developed some severe hone wear over the years & also developed a frown. The frown is gone and surprisingly the razor took a nice even bevel and keen edge. This goes to show you that even razors that look too far gone can sometimes be redeemed and still be good shavers. Of the bunch, the Green Lizard was the tricky one with that funky striated thin blade….

I am switching up the plan...I am declaring Williams to be done. I have a couple of soaps I want to try before blade trials in July. Will be using a new Derby and a new soap later to see how Derby reacts to 2 more soaps before I close the books on June. Williams was great and all...

30 Day Focus with Cadet OC!


​

New Blade today in order to try La Toja Shave Stick. I switched to the Plisson and lathered in shave stick fashion. One good coating and a wet brush made enough lather for the usual 2 pass smoothness plus a little touch up on the chin, all with plenty of lather to spare. Good skinfeel 30 min post shave. Finished with alum and FW. Hot, sunny and super dry, other than...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a Great Sunday!

​

Every element besides brush in July is forum PIF stuff for me. I like that theme!

How would you describe the scent of La Toja?

Good minds think alike.

Maybe I am nuts here, but rosewater is what came to mind. Slightly citrus too. Not strongly scented though.

Thanks sound like I would like it. I need to finish up some of what I have first.

World Tournament of Blades - Russia vs. the World!!
June 27, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Vie Long 12750
Soap - Tabac
Razor - '55 Gillette Superspeed
Blade - (3)
Post - Alum, Nivea Balm

The final contender from the World is up today and ready to go. The American Personna Lab Blue takes the field to try and defeat the Greek Bic for the honor of going against the Russian finalist. I even got up a bit earlier than normal even for a Saturday to make sure I had plenty of time and focus to make it an even match. Had a couple of cups of coffee and headed for the shower. Whipped up another excellent lather with the Horse and Tabac and had a nice slick base. This is gonna be good!

First pass. Still sharp. Like the Bic, this blade seems to age well with sharpness. However - there is a hint of drag. Nothing major by far, just a light drag that isn't quite enough to cost smoothness points. However, what will the irritation be? Second pass, XTG as always on face and neck. Still just a hint of drag but it cut well. Rinsed and lathered the neck for the cleanup. Picked up the razor and.........wait.......that spot on my left neck.......red.........uhoh......yep boys and girls we have a nick that showed up on the second pass. Went ahead with another XTG but skipped the G-slide as I had DFS after the XTG on the neck only. Well, there it is....the final horn sounds and the round is over. Now to check the scoreboard.

Sharpness - Still have to give it a 1. Performed as well as it did the first time when it comes to how sharp it is. The light drag may indicate sharpness is fading but not much. I hit the alum after the shave and there was a burn but it didn't last except on the one nick. I'm going to say a 1 as it all faded before it was time to rinse. The result? DFS for the 2. That's 4 so far. Now, to the smoothness and drag issue. I was prepared to stay at a 1 for smoothness since the result hadn't changed from previous shaves but......it did nick me. Technique was solid, the blade simply failed on that one spot. I'm adding that to smoothness so that is a 2.

Total - 6

By the slightest of margins, mainly a little blood, the Personna dropped the ball and lets the Bic slip ahead. Yes, you got it...the winner of the World round is...........

​

My reaction to the Bic winning its division? I'm not totally shocked or surprised, but I hadn't picked it out of the lineup to win. Based on pairings I expected it to beat the Super Max SP, which it did, and thought it would go against the Kai and likely lose there. Instead, the Kai lost against the Super Max SP which was then defeated by the Bic as it made its way to the win! My pick for the world division? I thought the Kai and Feather would meet and the Kai would win based on my previous uses. Shows how much I really know, eh?

Tomorrow we return to the vaunted Russian division. It's Voskhod up first, followed by the Ladas (a crowd favorite) on Monday to determine the Russian finalist. I know many of you suspect the Voskhod is an easy winner based on my personal bias but just like the rest of the shaves I'm going to judge based on what I get on each shave. I'm actually eager to see how these two blades fair on their 3rd shave against each other. They are both favorites of mine. Hope you all had a good Saturday and I'll see you tomorrow from Russia!

An All-American artisan shave for Sunday.

To follow my German theme yesterday I decided to honour my motherland and go as American as possible. The main character being William's Purist kamisori. The French point seems to be the biggest challenge for me. I did 3 passes and some clean up, on the positive side very little irritation. On the negative two small nicks, one above my lip and the second I caught my ear with the French tip. The frustrating, I am still just short of a DFS. This month I have been able to greatly reduce the irritation when I use a straight and I am getting closer shaves but no where near where I want to be nor what I can achieve with a DE.

Homemade Pre Shave
QCS Iced Key Lime cream
Rudy Vey Bog Oak brush with a xxx D02 silver tip (xxx censored since was not made in the USA)
Robert William Purist kamisori
Dry Gulch strop
Alum block to keep my fingers dry
Homemade AS
QCS ASB
Sonoma Scents Studio Tabac Aurea