July 11, 2015

30-Day Focus - Blade Trials for Gillette Tech

One week trial for each brand:
Personna Red, Derby Green, Gillette Silver Blue, Voskhod

Hot Shower
Pre-Shave Oil: Gingers Garden
Soap: Catie's Bubbles Mile High Menthol
Brush: Omega Pro 48
Razor: Gillette Tech “Fat Handle”
Blade: Derby Green (3)
RazoRock Alum
After Shave: Myrsol Agua Di Limon



Busy day on Friday, didn't get a chance to post. So today was my 3rd day with the Derby focus.

As posted previously, I continue to search for the answer to my "jawline" issue - just never finding the correct point of attack to totally eliminate stubble...until now. I had tried the "wide mouth", the "bull-frog", etc.

Who knew it would be this basic...thanks to @Bama Samurai - A simple stretch of the skin!

(You'd think I'd forgotten shaving basics, I mean that's a basic technique even with a cartridge!) Ain't that life though? Sometimes it's the simplest answer, not the complicated ones.

My skin is so slick while using this soap, so I simply use one of my barber towels to get a good grip on my skin and pull to flatten it out. Done and DONE! As smooth as a baby's....

I can't use that phrase yet, I'm still a newbie and not worthy.

The Derby seems sharp enough. Certainly it got the job done today in 2 passes, but I have a doubt or two about its smoothness attribute for my face. Three more shaves with it next week to tell for sure.

one last thing, after using Arko for a month (worked fine for me), using Catties Bubbles is one heck of an eye opener for me into the world of soaps. I just realized its more of a cream or a croap, but I've been loading the brush up like its a soap and once I face lather.....OMG it's like meringue!



A good day, I hope you all are having the same!

Cheers!
- RT

@NCoxSTL - if you can find me that car, I'm on the next flight out to St.Louis!

btw - nice photo of you Neal, but I thought you were a head shaver?!!

...and nice mustache! How do you ever maneuver the CJB around it?!!!

Thanks Mark!

The toupee looks good doesn't it. And the CJB maneuvers fine.....it's the driver who needs help.

Razor: Gillette SS, 1948-49
Blade: Personna Blue (2)
Brush: Semogue 1305 Boar
Soap: Crabtree & Evelyn Indian Sandalwood
A/S: Captain's Choice Sandalwood
Day 11.

Hot day up here today. Still giving the 1305 a good go. Find I have to reload at least once each shave. I really like the Personna blade along with the Gillette SS. Hoping to get a better water soap mix tomorrow. Added a bit to much water today. The end result was a BBS shave and isn't that what one is after. Be safe...

I started to play with water/soap ratio, and like you I was overloading to the point of having six passes worth in the brush. And we are glad you're here also!

So glad you conquered the jawline for your first BBS! Very nice!

Day 11 - 11 July 2015

30 Days of Maggard and MITA!


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Next up is the Rapira Platinum Lux. This was not my first time trying this blade. It is as good as I remember it and a top tier selection to be sure. I find these blades to be very sharp and moderately smooth, yielding the automatic 2 pass smoothness with ease. Also, as I mentioned yesterday, courtesy of @Rufus T. , the AS today was Myrsol Agua di Limon. This AS is intensely citrus and left my skin feeling really supple and smooth, and the AS felt great upon application, very soothing. I enjoy citrus scents very much and think this is a winner of an AS. It's so hot near Denver today I saw two fire hydrants fighting over a dog. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado!

Have a great Saturday night!
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(Good one, actually never heard that one before!)

July 12 Plans

MdC facial soap
Gillette Fat Boy
Feather blade (3)
Omega Pro 98 boar brush
Arko
Two passes plus touch-ups
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm

This will be the last day with the FB on setting 5. Shaves on 5 are consistently near BBS. I'll bump it up to 7 on Monday to start the new week. Have a great Sunday, all!

Sunday, July 12, 2015
Mongoose Shave #13

Shower, Stirling Soap – Clubman Smooth, Neutrogena Face Wash
B-3 Mongoose with Triad Helix Hex TI
Feather Professional #6
Rubberset 400 #3 Omega Boar
Mike’s Natural Soaps – Barbershop
Alum Block, Stirling Black Ice Witch Hazel, Unrefined Shea Butter
Chiseled Face After Shave – Ghost Town Barber

My @clint64 restored Rubberset 400 #3 Omega 1066 Boar has jumped to the top of my brush rotation. It is a face-lathering gem. Thanks Clint. I had a great shave today. Two passes + clean up, left me with a BBS shave. The Black Ice WH pointed to two spots where too much pressure was applied. The Goose is a big heavy razor. A generous splash of Ghost Town Barber finished it off. Ahhh, nice!

Have a blessed Sunday Gents!

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30 Day Rule - July 2015
July 11th
Razor - CJB/Gillette New LC
Blade - (8) (4 1/3)
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water splash, Alum, Nivea Original Post Shave Balm

An early Saturday shave as always but I took the time to use the CJB on the first pass. Got good results, smoother, no cuts/nicks/weepers and it set up the New LC for a second pass DFS. Going back to a two pass with the CJB in the morning. Still about three weeks left in the month so I've got time to get this down. I may break the rule by changing brushes in the morning to the VDH Boar. Curious as to how it will work with the MWF as compared to the Pro 48. I have a shorter loft Omega on the way (yes, that does mean what you think if you follow a certain other thread on here) so I am curious. The lather is great, but I think a brush change may help. While a rule specifies one specific setup I think the brush change is minor. I'm really trying to get set up to move to kamisori at some point next month. Great Saturday at work even if the heat and humidity are back with a vengeance and I found a beautiful 2008 VW Passat a good home after only 4 hours of work. Hope you all had a successful Saturday as well.

07/12/2015
Razor – GEM 1912
Blade – GEM Stainless PTFE (2)
Brush – Olivewood with TGN Finest Fan
Lather – Mitchell’s Wool Fat
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol Formula K Sample



Another great shave this morning. MWF lathered up great and had enough for a 4 pass shave. Finished off with a splash of Myrsol Formula K from the sample pack. Great peppermint scent and menthol level. Off to the N GA mountains for a motorcycle ride this morning.

I completed the Nacet phase of my stainless steel blade focus. A box of Nacets provided 22 head and face shaves. Like many blades, the Nacet seemed to perform best and have the longest life when paired with my Weber. Pretty smooth and good for 4-5 shaves per blade. I don't know that Nacet displaces Rapira as a top performer, but it is a good blade and worth the search if you find some.

1956 Gillette Super Speed Flair 1959 E3 Fat Boy
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Proraso Sandalwood cream
Aqua Velva
Current Blade under review: 2nd Gillette Silver Blue Astra Superior Platinum

I received my first Fat Boy late Friday and decided I needed to play with him at least once so I could leave feedback. So I’m taking a one day hiatus from the 30-day focus to check it out. My regular routine will resume tomorrow.



First shave with my new 1959 E3 Fat Boy with Astra Superior Platinum blade. Fine BBS results, a great shave. Extremely close, smooth, no nicks, weepers, irritation or razor burn.
Pass 1 (set to 3): WTG on my face (N/S), and XTG on my neck (N/S except for the outside wings which were out to in). The Astra blade was very smooth and when set to 3, the razor seems to be close in aggressiveness to my Super Speed.
Pass 2 (ATG set to 6): I wanted to make sure that the adjustment nob really worked, so I cranked it up to 6 for my ATG pass. I was very careful not to add pressure to avoid any self-inflicted wounds. No issues. The pass was pretty comfortable and the results were very nice. At this point, I had a near BBS shave.
Lathered up again for touch up. I used some stretching to get the last few hairs from my just below my jawline. I was careful not to add any pressure. Aqua Velva seemed to sting a bit more this morning, but that passed quickly and the Ice Blue kicked in. Picture shows still had plenty of lather when I finished.

Over two hours later, and my face and neck still feel BBS. A great BBS shave from a nice Fat Boy! I think I'll let him stay.

Strop.. Handmade latigo 2" leather and Canvas. 25x Canvas 25x leather
Handmade unscented pre shave oil
Hot towel
24mm WD HMB brush
AOS sandlewood cream
Wood scale "true Apollo ring" Geo. Emerson. Wedge
Self honed on accusharp Arkansas soft and hard wet stones.
Single pass.
AOS sandlewood balm
Clubman original dime size splash.

No problem with the shave. Blade could have been sharper, but my first Successful self polish and hone on a vintage blade.

30 day rule - Day 12
MDC Lavender Face Lathered
Ladas blade
Slim Adjustable set to 7
3 passes and another great shave

Well, the truth of the matter is that I know I am still grossly overloading the brush. I just am not psychologically prepared to cut it down below where I am. But, I probably will be by the end of the month. We are still only on day 12.

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30 Day Rule - July 2015 - **MODIFIED**MODIFIED**MODIFIED
July 12th
Razor - CJB/Gillette New LC
Blade - (5 1/3)
Brush - VDH Boar
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water splash, Alum, Proraso

Please bear with me as I have experienced a major equipment malfunction. The CJB is out of commission, most likely due to my cleaning efforts. I decided to clean it and change blades today before starting. I slid the razor apart, removed the blade and discarded, then took my cleaning toothbrush to the edge of the CJB and a quick brush over the spring and latching holes. Did the same for the outside piece, just a quick brush scrub and wipe. Set it down to dry. Shaved my head, which was magnificent as always. Reassembled the CJB and somethign felt funny. It slid together way too easy. And, when I squeezed it to check it.....it came apart. Hmmmmm. Must have assembled it wrong because the spring should.....the spring should....the spring.......ummmmmm......there's a spring on the inside of the handle side....ummmmm...there should be a spring........yeah, no spring. So, thinking I must have knocked it out while cleaning I looked on the sink, on the washcloth I use at the sink, and then at the gaping drain hole. Well, let's have some hope...looked all over around the sink, on the rug, under everything and.......no spring. I have just rendered the CJB useless.

So.....thus ends my Rule, or at least it pauses until I figure out a solution or get another CJB or Artist Club razor. I went ahead and used the New LC and Voskhod for the whole shave. I also used the VDH Boar like I had planned and got a really fantastic lather. The shorter loft may be a bit better with the Fat. Two passes to a very nice DFS and I called it a Sunday. Now, trying to figure out if the CJB can be fixed or not. I haven't found anything on the spring or other parts for it. And, in the meantime, deciding what to do with the Rule/Focus.

Hope you are all having a Sunday filled with rainbows and puppies instead of technical problems!

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And I thought I was the only one who has stuff like this happen. Good luck getting the CJB back in working order.

Aha!!!

Could it be NBJ karma?!


Careful, this may only be the start....