July 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Thanks.

 

1956 Gillette Super Speed Flair
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Proraso Sandalwood cream
Aqua Velva Ice Blue
Current Blade under review: 3rd Gillette Silver Blue

Shave #2 with 3rd Gillette Silver Blue blade. Fine BBS results, a great shave. Very close, really comfortable, no nicks, weepers, irritation or razor burn.
2 Full passes: Pass 1: WTG on my face (N/S), and XTG on my neck (N/S) except for the outsides which were WTG (S-N). Pass 2: ATG. At this point, I had a near BBS shave.
Lathered up again for touch up. I used some stretching to get the remaining spots. Today there was a little more to cleanup on my neck than yesterday, and I needed to go over some of the spots a couple of times. Most of them were places where the neck curved. My blade angle may have been a factor. The Aqua Velva burned a bit more than usual, but quieted down pretty quickly.

A great 2 pass shave from the Gillette Silver Blue, very pleased with the results.

Have a great Lord's Day!

 

Phoenix Dbl OC Focus Day 18:

July 19 SOTD:

Homemade PS Oil
Simpsons Commodore X3 Best Badger
Stirling Glacial Wintergreen
Phoenix Dbl OC
Stirling Unscented PSB
Old Spice Classic AS

Another good shave with the Phoenix, a great way to start my Sunday. The Stirling Glacial Wintergreen was nice and cold, and the Old Price topped it off perfectly. Have a great Sunday.

 

30 day rule - Day 19
MDC Lavender Face Lathered with a touch of TOBS Rose
Ladas blade
Slim Adjustable set to 8
3 passes

Yesterday and today I have left the slim at 8 for the first 2 passes (WTG and XTG) and changed it to 4 for the third pass (XTG). Late last night my face still felt very trimmed. I repeated the process this morning and my face feels extremely smooth. This is a better shave than with the slim always set to either 8 or 4.

 

Good idea!

 

07/19/2015
Razor – GEM 1912
Blade – GEM Stainless PTFE (3)
Brush – Olivewood with TGN Finest Fan
Lather – Mitchell’s Wool Fat
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol Formula K Sample



Really good shave this morning. When I do my part, the GEM 1912 delivers a very smooth shave. The Olivewood with the TGN Finest has turned into my favorite brush to lather MWF with more than enough backbone. Hope everyone has a great day.

 

30 Day Rule - July 2015
July 19th
Razor - Feather SS AC/Gillette New LC
Blade - (3) (2)
Brush - Omega 10066 (BoS)
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water splash, The Veg

Back to the shave today. Head shave first since it's that day. I have one setup for that which is the VDH Boar brush and VDH Deluxe soap and the Merkur 23c with an Astra. I am so dialed in on this setup for my head I don't even consider a change. Great result every time and it's smooth as can be when it's done.

On to the face and we're back to the Feather SS. Decided to do a bit of experimenting today. I've been working Japanese style all month, using only my right hand and the same side of the razor to my face. It's a fairly high learning curve and I've gotten mixed results as expected. For today I decided to go to the less difficult two handed approach using each hand on its own side. No change, obviously on my right side but it brings the left hand into play. Grabbed the BoS and went to work on the MWF. I think I've found the perfect match with those two. Effortless to load the brush and even get the lather going on the puck and the face lather is just luxurious. First pass with the SS on the right side was about as good as it gets. Very good feel, great near DFS result on that one pass and all is well. Switched to the left hand and made a couple of strokes. Re-lathered that spot and did it again and stopped to ponder. Yeah, my left hand has always been the weak and semi-useless stepchild but it just didn't feel right. So, I switched in mid stroke to the Japanese style again with my right hand. Wow. That was easy. Finished the left cheek that way and went back to my left hand for the left neck. Now THAT felt ok and got a good result. I may have developed a new style for AC shaving. Right on right, Go Japanese on the left face then left on left on the neck. The result of that one pass (with all of its changes) was a very near DFS. At that point I grabbed the Gillette, went a quick XTG over everything and have a very very nice DFS for two passes. Hard to beat that. No nicks, cuts or other issues so I hit the cold water, toweled off and got out the Veg. Yeah, so it gave me a quick burn.....the afterglow and aroma was worth it!

I think I'm going to try that modified approach again tomorrow and see if I can repeat the result and even go XTG with that approach. If it works I may have invented the Russian style for using an AC. Or, perhaps since it's a mix of Japanese and American styles it should be the Alaskan style? Hawaiian style? Sushi with a beer style? Hmmmmm.........

​

 

July 20 Plans

MdC facial soap
Gillette Fat Boy (8)
Feather blade (2)
Edwin Jagger XL Synthetic STF V2.0
Geo F. Trumper's Coconut Oil cream
Two passes plus touch-ups
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Trumper's Coral Skin Food

Today was my first experience with Trumper's Coral Skin Food (I like it) and the FB on setting 8. I notice a difference in aggressiveness between settings 7 and 8. I will need to take extra care on 8 to avoid getting weepers and irritation. So far, the FB on 7 for two passes suits me the best. The EJ synthetic brush is changing my opinion of synthetics in general. It doesn't perform as well as my natural hair brushes, but it's awfully close. I can see it being my "go to" travel brush due to its overall ease of use.

Stay cool!

 

Razor: Gillette Black Handle Flair Tip (P1)
Blade: Wilkinson Sword (1)
Brush: WDC-5
Bowl: KnockOut Shave
Soap: Jacks Shave Soap
A/S: Afta
Day 19

Really good soap. Excellent lather for 3 passes. I like this razor, blade, and A/S. Excellent shave.

 

July 19, 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: Voskhod (1)
TSD Witch Hazel
After Shave: Myrsol Agua Di Limon


First shave with the Voskhod - the 4th brand of blades in the month-long Focus. This will be a 3-pass shave on a two-day growth.

1st WTG - Nice. Provided a bit more feedback then I remember from the GSB but it sang a slicing tune, no tugs.

2nd XTG - quiet smooth, so smooth I thought I'd go on a chase, but...

3rd ATG - decided to just go thru my new motion (pulled skin for jawline) and just stay with technique.

Very nice shave. Obviously this will be a contender to join GSB on the "Preferred" list for the Gillette Tech. We'll see!

Stay cool all!
Cheers!
RT

 

Doug, I'd love to see all your beautiful vintage Gillettes in a group photo sometime. You have a bunch of them, and they all look great! How do you like the Afta as an AS? I've used it as a electric razor pre-shave for many years -- but not much since I discovered wet shaving. It worked great for me, and it has a nice, light scent.

 

I'll see what I can do. The Afta is a good conditioner. I also like the scent.

 

Thanks Doug. I may have to try the Afta ASB, then. I look forward to seeing the group photo. Have a great week.

 

You also.

 

Menthol Monday, July 20, 2015
Day 18 with the Mongoose

Shower, Dove Soap, Neutrogena Face Wash
B-3 Mongoose with Triad Helix Hex TI
Feather ProGuard #2
Paladin PK-47 Butterscotch Marble Two Band 26X47mm
Stirling Soap Co. Margaritas in the Arctic
Alum Block, Dickinson’s ++Menthol, Unrefined Shea Butter
Krampert's Frostbite Aftershave
Brooks Brothers 1818

Late shave Sunday night. This is the second shave with the Feather ProGuard (FPG) blade. Initially I thought the FPG was sharper than the Feather Professional (FP) blade. Perhaps not sharper but maybe more aggressive, or my blade memory is short. The true test will be the blade’s longevity. So far the FP went 9 shaves, the Kai Mild 7. The Paladin P-47 Butterscotch Marble Brush generated enough lather for 4 or 5 passes. This Paladin has the same two-band badger hair as the TSN LE Paladin, however it has a denser knot and a shorter Loft (47mm) giving it more backbone while maintaining substantial splay and a slight scritch. It holds lather very well and has excellent flow through. Stirling MITA’s first time out the gate, using a Modified Marco Lathering Method suggested by @ram57, generated a creamy slick lather that chilled my face with decent moisturizing. Mmmmmm, Finished with a healthy splash of Krampert’s Frostbite After Shave. I’m hooked, on good smelling COOL!

Have a great week gentlemen!

​

 

I really need to buy a bottle of Myrsol. I really do. Is it as good as everyone says?

 

And another one I must buy! Trumpers Coral Skin Food. August!

 

I was intrigued by the reviews I've read elsewhere, plus here and there on TSD SOTD. This one looks like the most recent.

I'm partial to citrus scented AS paired with cooling menthol soaps in the summer. I found that Garry's Sample Shop had most of the Myrsol products. (see below.)

I tried the lemon and really like it - fresh lemon scent, subtle, not sweet, great face feel for hours yet the scent does tend to diminish in time. Though I don't want to be that guy in the office who overdoes the AS/cologne, I wish the scent lasted a bit longer - for me!

So I purchased the Limon and the Blue and really like both.
It's not cheap, but was well worth it for me - once I tried the sample first.

RT

From Garry's Sample Shop:
Myrsol Agua Balsamica 1/4oz sample $2.50 - NEW!
Myrsol Agua De Limon 1/4oz sample $2.50 - NEW!
Myrsol Antesol Pre/Post 1/4oz sample $2.50 - NEW!
Myrsol Blue 1/4oz sample $2.50 - NEW!
Myrsol F Extra 1/4oz sample $2.50 - NEW!
Myrsol Formula C 1/4oz sample $2.50 - NEW!
Myrsol Formula K 1/4oz sample $2.50 - NEW!
Myrsol Metilsol 1/4oz sample $2.50 - NEW!
or
1/4oz sample of EACH (8 Myrsol Scents Listed Above) $18.00 - NEW!

 

I know you asked RT but I thought I would chime in. For me, Myrsol was even better than people say. I went with a sample pack from Garry's sample to help me decide which scent I liked the best.

 

I'm also going to chime in. I enjoyed Myrsol Aqua Balsamica so much that I followed @clint64's lead and ordered the 8 Myrsol Scents from Garry's Sample Shop. Great skin care and wonderful scents.