August 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

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Thank you. Isn't it amazing what we can learn if we pay attention? I'm going all the way up to 9 to see what happens. Why not join me? Like you said, we just have pay closer attention to technique the higher we go. What's the worst that can happen - we take a couple extra layers of skin off?

 

It takes a bit of practice and I'm not quite there yet.
It makes things interesting though!

 

I actually get pretty good results with my off hand. Since there isn't muscle memory to overcome, if I concentrate I can set it up, and have things seem easier each time I do it.

 

I totally agree with the "pay attention" part.

My knees are getting a bit wobbly regarding the "going all the way up to 9" part.

I'm assuming you've used an adjustable before?

 

If you are already at 5 why not try out 7 first. In a way going up the dial does force you to pay attention to technique. It for certain teaches you the meaning of no pressure. Herm, going up the dial is no way near as intimidating as my first use of a GEM razor and that paint scraper of a blade.

 

Razor: Gillette Executive (1960)(5)
Blade: Gillette Platinum (3)
Brush: WDC-4, Silvertip Badger, Butterscotch. (VIG) 24/67
Cream: The Real Shaving Company
Bowl: "One a Marine always a Marine"
A/S: Pinaud Lime
Day 5
Picked up The Real Shaving Company cream today on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart. Thought I'd try it today and I am very impressed. Very easy to work into a great lather and gave me a very close BBS shave. The Executive FB is a very good razor. It also works well with the Gillette Platinum blade to assist in providing a close smooth, and comfortable shave. Pinaud Lime is one of my favourites.

 

If you ride the cap and exercise strict blade angle discipline, you could use nine any time you like. I thought the Slim was underwhelming until I opened it up to 7 and higher. All this of course depends upon how your skin will react. Nothing wrong with a slow steady progression though....

 

Pinaud Lime is on my "must try" list. I love all of the Pinaud stuff I have tried.

 

@Herm2502 and @Douglas Carey I am also curious at what # the shave is similar to your Red Tips.

 

Good question. I believe it is difficult to compare the Executive FB to the Red Tip as they are very different in construction and feel. (IMO) They both give outstanding shaves. I will take a wild guess and say the Executive at #5 would be close. Like I said they feel very different in the hand. I will be interested in @Herm2502 response. He is a very wish man.

 

Thank you. That would have been my guess as well.

 

Crashing the Adjustable Party: I am late to the party on this Focus thread, but I wish to pop in with another 'one week-one razor' evaluation. I've found that, thanks to the previous two months of the '30-day' testing, in order to truly get a reliable and accurate assessment of a straight razor, one needs to spend sufficient consecutive days using the item. Seven consecutive shaves gives a pretty good idea of what the razor brings to the shaving experience. This has allowed me to separate the keepers from those expendable and heading for the selling block. This isn't a knock on those razors destined to leave the fold, but merely indicates my own personal preferences when it comes to what I personally look for.

Starting tomorrow, I'll commence with the initial seven-day trial using a razor new to me — a lovely Japanese-made FEON 172, a 3/4" full-hollow Takehana, generously loaned to me by Mike @entropy1049
This is the first Japanese Western (J-West) straight I've had the pleasure of using so looks forward to the experience.
In subsequent weeks, I have two other razors I'll be trying out for the first time as well. TBD.

 

I see a bunch of J-Wests in your future Kevin...

 

The more the merrier! Welcome back!

 

August 5

Gillette Slim G3 (3)
Feather blade (3)
Edwin Jagger XL Synthetic
Trumper's Coconut cream
Two passes
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Trumper's Coral Skin Food

A fantastic shave to start the day!

 

I agree on keeping razors for at least a week. That is the basis for me doing only three razors in both July and August. Looking forward to your posts.

 

Well Herm though I'm pretty ugly already, losing a few layers of skin tomorrow was not on my bucket list. Plus my medical plan renews this month and personal disfigurement is not covered in my new plan.

So I'm gonna choose to go from 5 today, to 7 tomorrow and see how that goes.

I never approached the slim as having to get to 9, so if 7 gives me BBS in one pass then I'll be jumping for joy.

If not, I'll continue the quest through 8 and 9.

Heck, it's only the 6th, what would I do the rest of the month if I went right to 9 and a BBS? It's not like I have a whole bunch of other hardware to try out!

 

Fantastic! You're making some huge strides in the quality of your shaves. Congrats!

 

If 9 gives you a BBS in the first week of the month, then you have the remainder of the month of good shaves.

 

It's fun following the discussion on settings. Everyone has a different approach, and this is what makes the hobby so much fun. For me, week 1 will be on 3, week 2 on 5, week 3 on 7, and week 4 on 9. I'll try to keep most everything else in my routine constant. Kinda boring, but I figure it will give me the best overall feel for the razor's capabilities this month. I'm confident enough to go all the way to 9, but I'm sure it will take more attention to avoid nicks and irritation.

Vince, if you feel like you want to try 9 out of curiosity, dial it up and take one or two easy strokes on your cheek (or wherever your shave is easiest). Then then dial it back down to your 'normal' setting. You'll have the next 24 hours to evaluate that small area in relation to other areas of your neck and face. That would be a way to minimize the risk of overdoing it at a high setting. That's a cool thing about using an adjustable...you can even change the setting mid-pass. Just a thought. It's your shave...and you know the rest of that story.

It's early in the month, but I've already noticed an improvement in my complexion using the Slim.

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