July 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

30 day SR focus. Day ? 17?.... Who's counting?
today the Bur
Strop on my homemade 2" latigo strop
40x Canvas 20x leather
Pre shave oil by me (Sara's recipe)
WD HMB brush
AOS soap
AOS post balm and
Clubman original
Dfs BBS shave.
Good thing I have the SR focus. Wife used my DE. Definitely time to get new blades.

 

30 day rule - Day 14
MDC Lavender Face Lathered with a touch of TOBS Rose
Ladas blade
Slim Adjustable set to 8
3 passes

I changed the setting on my slim from 7 to 8. This has helped the areas where I have the heaviest growth and did not seem to cause any discomfort. I will keep it at 8 for a few days and see what happens. In the past when I set the slim too high I would start getting weepers, so I will keep a close watch.

Since I drastically cut down the amount I am loading the brush, I thought that I should also seriously cut down the amount I put on my face when using a second soap. Since I use the second soap for scent, I was a bit concerned that the scent wouldn't last through the third pass. I was wrong. There was plenty of rose scent for all 3 passes and the left-over lather in the brush was still heavily scented . I am very happy that I am only using about 1/4 of what I used before beginning the 30 day.

 

July 14, 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: TSD SubZero
Brush: Omega Pro 48
Razor: Gillette Tech “Fat Handle”
Blade: Derby Green (2)
TSD Witch Hazel
After Shave: Myrsol Agua Di Limon



Perfecting my new stretch move for the jawline, will take awhile, but it's my best strategy for a clean jawline so I'm gonna make it part of the everyday routine.
Best shave I've had with the Derby so far.

Cheers!
-RT

 

30 Day Rule - July 2015 - **MODIFIED**MODIFIED**MODIFIED
July 13th
Razor - Long Feng
Blade - (2)
Brush - Vie Long 12705
Soap - Tabac
Post - Cold Water splash, Alum, Nivea Original

After yesterday's surprisingly good shave with the Rimei I as pretty stoked to try the Long Feng. Again, less than $3 on the bay shipped from China. I think I paid around $5.60 for both. The Long Feng is a bit lighter than the Rimei, feels a bit cheaper and they clearly cut back on the metal as can be seen from the underside. The head geometry features more of a curve on the base creating a steeper blade bend than many razors so aggression is possibly higher. Looking at the blade gap, though, it's hard to tell.



So, I put Tabac in the Vie-Long saddle and lathered up. Again I added a bit of water to get the right consistency. Love this brush and Tabac is one of my favorites. First pass was quite interesting and very nice. Probably due to the thin metal in the head this razor really sings. Yet, it was extremely smooth. But it provided a better first pass than the Rimei as far as reduction is concerned. Lathered again and went XTG. Again great feedback from the razor and smooth and comfortable is how I'd describe it. Lathered again all over and did an ATG followed by a couple of minor touchups on the neck. I noticed just t bit of burn on the neck so I may have some irritation but overall a great feeling shave. The finish.........DFS but extremely close to the baby. Almost but not quite. Hit the alum and did feel a bit of extra burn compared to yesterday but not bad at all.

Once again I'm very impressed and pleasantly surprised. The razor looks like a Yuma or maybe a Merkur 1904 clone, feels like a cheap toy and shaves like a Vintage Gillette. Very very nice. I will be keeping both of these razors in my den. I can see them as travel razors, especially the lighter Long Feng, as well as just something to keep for a break in rotation. I could honestly use one of these as my daily shaver and be very content. I'm not sure how the finish will wear on them but hey, for the price, I could order a dozen in and have backups for a long time. These would also be great choices for a newbie wanting to get in as cheaply as possible. The only downside is the shipping time from China but there may be stateside suppliers if I looked.

The Feather is in the mailbox. I'll be unpacking it in a bit and getting ready to go back to the Rule in the morning, but this has been great fun and enlightening as well!

 

Thanks for the input Chris. Have a good week.

 

The Whipped Dog High Mountain knots are high on my list.

 

Great memories, thanks Chris. One thing I remember about those Saturday trips to, for me, John's Barbershop was one of the barbers had a Myna Bird that talked and swore alot. That bird kept everyone in the shop in stitches and taught us kids a few choice swear words. Good times.

 

Razor: Gillette SS, 1948-49
Blade: Personna Blue (4)
Brush: Omega 10066
Soap: Razo Rock XXX
A/S: Osage Rub
Day 13.

Another good shave and lather using the Omega 10066. Excellent lather with the Razo Rock XXX soap. I also like the Osage Rub finish.
Have a good Tuesday night.

 

Do I own a Tech. Hey, I may not collect razors like @Darkbulb but I know the classics. Here are a couple of shots of my '59 Ball End Tech and post-war Fat Handle with the Rimei. Yes, very similar, especially the ball end. As far as performance I think they are almost a clone with each other. The ball end is one of my favorite mild razors and the Rimei gave about the same feel and performance as the Gillette. I haven't used the Fat Handle as much due to the need to get it plated but the performance is basically the same.

 

Stay dry Charlie. Build an ark if you need to!

 

That's is hilarious.

 

Thanks for the pic! I really like the feel of my 53 Ball end, and will infer from your posts that Rimei would work out just fine.

 

I have been looking at the radars, mostly around Murray, but noticed you guys have been getting soaked. That's th order of the day here in Colorado too. Weird weather.

 

Late post Day 14 - 14July 2015

30 Days of Maggard and MITA!


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Day 2 of Platinum. The shave today was much better. I think yesterday was just an off day. These are also perfectly fine blades. No weepers or irritation, and the edge seems quite sharp. AS today was TSD 2x iced Barber Shoppe. Will start with the GSB tomorrow, then select the four blades that live on, a miniature tourney, if you will. Other than a lot of rain tonight...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a great Wednesday!

​

 

Yes. If you like the ball end you'll like the Rimei. The Long Feng is a bit more aggressive and raised the irritation level.

 

It has a certain Yuma look, like you say. I did the Yuma thing, will skip it for the Rimei. The last two days were a cool detour!

 

Well good things come from broken razors. lol. I enjoyed trying them out, especially since they both performed above my expectations. I usually can't say that when I experiment. I might have to plan a 2 day event during my monthly focus or rule.

 

It was cool they both did so well. Honestly the Yuma wasn't that bad either, just not an attractive razor. Rimei and Weishi both seem like bang for buck champs. As for me, probably back to a formal 30 Day rule next month...it's just my thing.

 

Phoenix Dbl OC Focus Day 14:

Homemade PS Oil
VDH Boar Brush
Stirling Port-au-Prince SS
Phoenix Dbl OC
Stirling Unscented PSB
Fine Fresh Vetiver

Loaded an Astra SP this morning and was rewarded with a great shave. The Gillette Platinums I was using previously are not my favorites, and I could tell a big difference this morning. Looking forward to see how the next few days go with this blade.

 

1956 Gillette Super Speed Flair
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Proraso Sandalwood cream
Aqua Velva
Current Blade under review: 4th Shark Super Stainless

Shave #1 with 4th Shark Super Stainless blade. A nice shave with near BBS results. Very close, pretty comfortable, no nicks, weepers, irritation or razor burn.
Pass 1: WTG on my face (N/S), and XTG on my neck (N/S except for the outside wings where I went out to in).
Pass 2: ATG. I had a near BBS at this point, but not as close as it was yesterday with the Silver Blue. There were more spots left that needed attention. I lathered up and chased the baby for a while, but he was always just out of reach. After my Aqua Velva dried, I could feel stray whiskers in one spot, but all the others had snuck away. I think the Aqua Velva tightened up my face and caused most of the short whiskers to recede below the top layer of skin. At least, that's what appears to have happened.

A nice result, but with a little more work than I spent with the Gillette Silver Blue. The Silver Blue seemed a bit more comfortable. Based on this shave, I think I'd rate the Shark a little under the Silver Blue. Less sharp and less comfortable, but still a good blade for me. I will keep the Shark in the razor for two more shaves and then try another Silver Blue to try to confirm this assessment.