July 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

30 Day Rule - July 2015
July 16th
Razor - Feather SS AC/Gillette New LC
Blade - (1) (1 1/3)
Brush - Omega 10066 (BoS)
Soap - Arko
Post - Cold Water splash, Alum, The Veg

What happens when you wake up on time and immediately think of a customer issue that has to be taken care of as soon as you arrive at work? Well, if you're me you get up and do a quick shower and shave and get to work early to start on the issue so it's resolved. Yep, we're talking wake up, jump up, grab coffee, hit the shower and a two pass with the Gillette New LC and out the door all in under 45 minutes. So, no Feather today. Tomorrow morning is much calmer so I'll be on track again. I did use the BoS today (Omega 10066). Grabbed the Arko for a quick and reliable lather and love the brush already! Great lather and really nice feel. I will probably use the brush with the Fat tomorrow for the Feather.

No issues with the finish. It was a DFS on two passes and I finished up with a quiet Alum and The Veg! I'll have the Veg ready for a body splash tomorrow before hitting the 100+ degree sales lot. Summer has finally found St. Louis!

 

30 day SR focus

Torey

 

Better luck next time.

 

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

Shave #3 with 4th Shark Super Stainless blade. A nice shave. Near BBS results. Very close, mostly comfortable, no nicks, weepers, irritation or razor burn.
Pass 1: WTG on my face (N/S), and XTG on my neck (N/S). Pass 2: ATG. At this point I almost had a DFS. Not nearly as close as my shaves with the Silver Blue. There were more spots left that needed attention.
I lathered up and chased the baby for a while, then called it quits. A nice result, but with more work than I spent with the Silver Blue. The Aqua Velva burned more today, but things settled down quickly.
I tried using a little less of the Proraso cream than I have (1/2 inch vs. 3/4 inch). I still got great lather, but there would not have been enough for 3 passes. It also seemed rather thin on my face at first until I went back to the scuttle for more lather.

Tomorrow I'll go back to the Gillette Silver Blue.

Happy Friday!

 

Great looking setup with a couple of my favorites and one I have to try. Love the SS and the CC Bay Rum. I really need to pick up the Omega 10066 at some point.

 

07/17/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2
Blade –Feather Pro (8)
Brush –Rudy Vey with Shavemac Finest
Lather – MdC Fougere
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol F/Extra



Another great shave this morning with the Mongoose. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

Phoenix Dbl OC Focus Day 16:

Homemade PS Oil
VDH Boar Brush
Stirling British Leather
Phoenix Dbl OC
Stirling Unscented PSB
Stirling British Leather AS

Nicked my chin not this morning in a bit of a lost focus moment. Outside of that, it was a good shave with the Phoenix.

 

30 Day Rule - July 2015
July 17th
Razor - Feather SS AC/Gillette New LC
Blade - (2) (1 2/3)
Brush - Omega 10066 (BoS)
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water splash, Alum, Nivea

Rise and shine time. Well, rise anyway. I don't shine very well in the mornings. Got the Feather out and ready to and grabbed the BoS and went to work on the MWF. Really great lather with the new brush. Smaller than the Pro 48 by quite a bit but still gets the Fat worked up very nicely. Went for the first pass with the Feather and it felt pretty good. Still having a few issues on the left side but that's just a matter of practice. Definitely better than when I started. No nicks or other problems so I lathered again and gave it the second pass. XTG and again no blood. That's progress. So, two good passes under my belt this morning and decided to let the Gillette and Voskhod finish it up. Very close to BBS. Ran the alum over my face and had some burn but not as bad as it has been. So, that's progress. Let the Nivea cool it down and it's off to work I go. Overall a really nice shave so there's hope I'll get that final pass on the Feather in the next few days. Happy Friday!

 

30 day rule - Day 17
MDC Lavender Face Lathered
Ladas blade
Slim Adjustable set to 8
3 passes

I have been cutting down on how long I load my brush for face lathering. When I started the 30 day, I was counting to 20. For the last two days I have been counting to 2. Tomorrow, though, I will increase it back to 3. While a 2 count will give me enough for 4 passes on the face, the lather is a bit thin and not as luxurious as I like. Therefore, I believe the "magic number" for me is 3. This was not a test to see how little I could use, but rather a test to see what is a reasonable amount to use.

 

Thanks @clint64.

 

Razor: Gillette SS, 1948-49
Blade: Personna Blue SS(6)
Brush: WDC-5
Soap: Crabtree & Evelyn Sandalwood
A/S: Captain's Choice Sandalwood

Outstanding brush. Happy I made it and added extra weight to get a better loft. Probably the best boar brush I have.

 

And the four labels that advance are Asco, GSB, Rapira SS, and Gillette 7 o'clock Black. Will be retesting Asco shortly. I am kinda busy this weekend, but am trying to stay caught up. Hope everyone is getting ready for a great weekend!

 

I did a quick shave in the hotel room this morning. One pass with the straight, and one with the DE. DFS, and headed to the airport.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Saturday, July 18, 2015Day #17 with the B-3 Mongoose
Shower, Mystic Water Soap Yemaya, Neutrogena Face Wash
B-3 Mongoose with with Triad Helix Hex TI
Feather ProGuard #1
Doug Korn D-7 Ivory & Aqua Marine Finest
La Savonniere du Moulin
Alum Block, Stirling Black Ice Witch Hazel, Unrefined Shea Butter
Chilled Proraso Aftershave Lotion
Brooks Brothers 1818

I changed blades for today’s shave. The Feather ProGuard blade in the Mongoose gave me a noticeably closer shave than the Feather Pro or the Kai Mild. The shave was too close in a couple of spots. I overloaded my DK D-7 Aqua Marine with the La Savonniere du Moulin Soap, 30% ‘Asses Milk and whipped up a reasonable, yet underwhelming lather on my face. The AM has a pleasant soapy scent with decent moisturizing. Two pass bliss today. The Black Ice made me stand up straight and the Shea Butter felt incredibly soothing. Topped today’s shave off with refrigerated Proraso Aftershave Lotion. Whoa Nelly, what a chill!

​

 

I have backed off loading as well. Twenty circles around the mug gives me a wee bit more than three passes of face lather. Like you, I am also trying to optimize the mix.

Great pic again! Is that shave soap a fougere type scent?

 

Have a safe journey my friend!

 

Nice comparison of the two experiences. IMHO GSB simply outclasses Shark in sharpness by quite a bit. Did you sense the Shark blade dulling over the course of its life?

 

July 17, 2015

30-Day Focus - Blade Trials for Gillette Tech
Weekly Trial for: 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: Gillette Silver Blue (3)
TSD Witch Hazel
After Shave: Myrsol Agua Di Limon
Mustache Wax: Dirigo Blue

3rd day on GSB. Two-pass shave. Don’t need to continue their trial any longer - the three shaves on this blade have been the best I’ve had since converting from carts. This will be one of my preferred blades for this razor.

Onto another blade tomorrow!


Received sample of Dirigo Blue Mustache Wax from @swarden43
- TSD Tutorial author on How to Grow, Maintain and Wax your Handlebar Mustache

My fairly thick mustache is near the start of handlebar length. It’s fairly well-trained, but will naturally grow straight down into my mouth without wax. So it needs a strong hold to get through the day. I’ve looked forward to trying Steve’s formula after using various commercial brands over the years with mixed results.

Initial thoughts:
Scent - pleasant, mild and subtle beeswax aroma.
Application - Easy. Just as described in the tutorial.
Hold - Just after application, hold appears ready to face the business day.
Tough day for a 1st-day trial - Seattle weather forecast - 90 degrees!
Will report the user experience after an extended test period.
Thanks Steve!

Stay cool all!
Cheers!
RT

 

Not bleeding is usually good!