July 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Wasn't that Nixon / Breshnev?

Oh oh, did I just show my age?
No, no, I'm just a student of history, yeah that's it!

 

Well they are "apparently" over, like the GSB was for awhile but that doesn't mean they won't be back. They are on the NOS page at tryablade so I assume that means they aren't in current production since he is usually up on what is happening in the world of blades. Interesting, though, that they showed up on Ebay and other places fairly recently when they had been unavailable before. Makes me wonder if they had a bunch in stock they dumped on the market or what actually is the whole story.

 

Very good. We have an historian among us. Yes it was, beginning in around 1971 when they met to try and thaw relations a bit. It was the earliest attempt to cool things down that would eventually lead to the Berlin Wall coming down. Their first meeting followed Nixon's trip to China and some think the Soviets were concerned that their two largest enemies would join forces. Plus it included a deal for the Soviets to purchase grain which helped Nixon's image with middle America. Plus, the two trips took attention off of domestic issues and the Vietnam issue and put it on foreign policy which was going well at the time. Even then the bait and switch worked.

 

Whoa, now we know who the real historian is! Thanks for bringing it all back - all I can remember of all that is the ping pong in China!

 

In Soviet Russia- you didn't repeat history, history repeated you.

 

IPad, briar, thunderstorm, and TSD. Who knew?

 

I had similar experience. Went through many blades in a few weeks just to find one for the 30-day rule. In the end I just picked one that was "good enough" to get me through the 30-day technique building. It's in the following month that my technique was then "good enough" to help me better evaluate blades.

Good luck!

 

@Rufus T. stated it well. Astra will work fine for now!

 

Re: 7 oclock blues on eBay - are you referring to those sold by th Russian Federation? Are they the same blades?

 

Remotely possible. I used the Slim several times and just did not enjoy using it. I'll try to use it a couple of times next month and see if my opinion has changed before I commit to a focus.

 

Yes they are. Looks like businkaolya is the seller. From Chelyabinsk. One of my regular suppliers and the ad mentions this may be the last time to buy them so it looks like the stop in production is real. At $7.00 that's about twice the normal price you often see so there's a bit of profit-taking going on. But, a lot of people love those blades. Gillette makes another super platinum 7 o'clock, in the black wrapper from their Indian plant. It's a good blade but not as good as the blue, in my opinion anyway.

 

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

Shave #2 with PolSilver Super Iridium 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). Pass 2: ATG based on my updated grain map. At this point, I had a near BBS shave.
Applied lather to the areas that needed touch up. I used some stretching to get the remaining spots. Today there was less to cleanup than yesterday, but I needed to go over some of them twice. The Aqua Velva burned a bit, but much less than yesterday and quieted down quickly.

The PolSilver Super Iridium turned in a very comfortable 2 pass BBS shave with very little touch up required except for my typical trouble spots. Reviewing my grain map and making updates really paid off.

 

07/22/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Triad SS Helix
Blade – Feather Super Pro (9)
Brush – Rudy Vey with TGN Finest
Lather – Soap Commander Renewal
Post - Witch Hazel and Fine L’Orange



Another great 2 pass near BBS shave this morning. About as good as I get most work mornings. Finished off with Fine L'Orange.

 

30 day rule - Day 22
MDC Lavender Face Lathered
Ladas blade
Slim Adjustable set to 8
3 passes

Well, I knew it would happen, and it did. This morning I started face lathering without wishing I were bowl lathering. It took a while, but today showed that an old dog can learn new tricks.

 

July focus has been good to me. The pace of my job, now that's a horse of a different color. So I haven't had the opportunity to post my last three shaves but they've been with a Lakewood full hollow round point, Tobs sandlewood, and clubman as.

In the beginning of the month I mentioned that I've preferred the wedge blade to the hollow since I felt like the hollow jumped a bit on my face so moving back to full hollow had me a bit nervous. I discovered though, if I get a proper skin stretch, that jumping sensation goes away. Below are a few pics that I hadn't not posted from the last couple of shaves. I hope to share more the rest of this month you you all.
Pre
Post


The mustache is going to be going straight out rather than curled up for now. Might need so suggestions on trimming or thinning it out. First time with a big stache.
Cheers,
Eric

 

Congrats on your great shave! I have been watching your progress to see if you would be able to get results without a five pass shave, and looks like you made it. I like the new addtion as well!

 

I will second this. A tour with a Feather Artist Club type razor will allow you to focus on your shave very well. When I use a DE, even the agressive ones feel mild, and it seems like using the AC made me much more aware of grain and pressure than DEs. The few times I have used DEs since going to straight razors, they seem very easy to find the angle on and get a great shave.

 

July 22nd, SOTD (Shave 12 of this focus)
Two days’ growth
Prep: Hot shower
Razor: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co Green Lizard Model B54GL
Strop: Drygulch Chromexcel/ Linen (10 laps Linen/ 10 laps Leather pre and post)
Soap: Maggard Orange Menthol
Brush: Spalted Maple Brush with Badger Knot
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block, Thayer’s Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Maggard Orange Menthol Splash

50th Straight Razor shave! I am half way there now, right?

Monday’s shave was a little uncomfortable, both during and after the shave. The biggest problem was the way the razor was skipping rather than cutting smoothly. I thought maybe this had to do with the light weight of the razor, or the thinness of the blade. I have previously dealt with razors skipping by applying more pressure (carefully.) That doesn’t always work out well. I wanted to see if giving some attention to the blade could help. I did ten laps on a Chrome Oxide pasted linen strop, and then ten on cotton webbing and leather. Right before the shave, I did my normal 10 laps on linen and leather. Night and day difference from Monday. The razor glided through the whiskers, and I didn’t need to apply pressure to get it to cut. Lesson learned: a razor can need attention if it is tugging, and also if it is not tugging, but seems to be skipping. I got a BBS on my face, jawline, and chin today, and DFS on the neck. A little bit of alum burn, but overall a great shave.

 

Razor: Gillette Black Handle Flair Tip (P1)
Blade: Wilkinson Sword (4)
Brush: WDC-5
Bowl: KnockOut Shave
Soap: Jack's Shave Soap
A/S: Captain's Choice Sandalwood
Day 22

Excellent shave with this combination again tonight. Very happy I added extra weight to this handle to achieve the correct loft.
DFS.

 

July 23 Plans

Gillette Fat Boy (8)
Feather blade (3)
Edwin Jagger XL Synthetic STF V2.0
Trumper's Coconut cream
Two passes plus touch-ups
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Trumper's Coral Skin Food

If I take my time and focus, which is what I love to do during my morning shave, the FB on setting 8 provides really close shaves with no nicks or weepers. I need to stay with two passes and keep my touch-ups to a minimum. Now, I'm curious to see how it will shave on setting 9, and that's my plan for next week. This is my first experience with Trumper's Skin Food, and it provides a nice, lightly scented finish to my shave. The EJ synthetic will be great for travel, but it doesn't generate lather like my boar or badger brushes. It may get better as I spend more time with it.

Have a great Thursday!