SEPT 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Wow. Not a fun shave. My only experience has been with the 1912 and I had no issues. Looking at the open comb, though, I wonder if that is a big difference. I know my 1918 Gillette DE is an aggressive bastard, much more so than any closed comb I have. Not sure if that is the same difference in the OC Gems or if it's something else with technique. I'm one to always try and blame the razor first though. I'll be watching to see if any of the real experts with these can solve it.

 

Thanks. I'll give it another try tomorrow and then switch to my Gem 1912 or ER 1914 to see if I notice a difference.

 

Sorry about the bad shave. I have found that the GEM blades are rough for the first use. I have found that I cut down on weepers by hand stropping the blade before using it.

 

Beautiful brush!

 

Thanks. I'll try that tomorrow.

 

It's worth a try at least. Maybe someone more GEM knowledge will chime in with a better solution.

 

September 8, 2015

Morning shave
Hot Shower
Soap: Proraso Green
Brush: Omega Pro 48
Razor: Schick Type E - Canada
Blade: Schick Injector (China) (2)
TSD Witch Hazel
Aftershave Cream: Proraso
After Shave: Proraso Green

Second shave of the week with the Type E. I will shave the rest of the week with it. I want to get to know this one better because my first impression is, that with a little work on my part, it could become a regular BBS shave and deserve to be and everyday razor. Time will tell.

My experiment will begin by switch my first pass from WTG to XTG. I want to see if that reduces growth better than a WTG It should right?!) and thereby set up the ATG for a more efficient and smoother last pass. I’m certain I could get BBS with WTG/ATG, but it may require more repeat strokes and touch-ups.Also, and as usual, I’ll keep up the hunt for the best cutting angle. Right now I'm starting the stroke just a few degrees from flush with the head.

Shave was excellent, with few repeat strokes.

If anyone is familiar with the E type, I continue to solicit and appreciate all the enthusiastic advice to help me improve my shave!

Cheers!
RT

 

The Crazy Ivan in SEptember!
September 8

Razor - Schick E2 Injector
Blade - (1)
Brush - Vie-Long 12601, The Pony
Soap - Proraso Green Tub
Post - Cold Water, Alum, Nivea

Back to three days of SEptember. Wow, time flies when you have to keep up with the Crazy Ivan. Russians are some crazy people I tell you! Anyway, time for the Schick E2 Injector, made between 1935-45. This will be my first shave with an injector in about 40 years and the first one with an injector older than I am. We'll see if the injector can give me as good a shave as the Gem last week.

The Pony and Proraso were a great combination. Let's see, I have the BoSFat for the Omega and MWF....maybe the PRoasPo for this setup? PoProaso? ProPony? But, I digress. Great lather and time to shave so enough fooling around. First pass was good. Better than good. Much better than good. As with the Gem I was quite surprised and very happy with the result. Near DFS on the first pass and I only missed it because I went light on my neck. Lathered again and...........dropped the razor. I shave in the shower so when I reached for it on the rack under the mirror it slipped. Smaller handle than I'm used to and bakelite to boot. Jumped out of the way as it fell, picked it up and relathered. Yeah, running around in the shower tends to wash the lather off. So, lathered up again, picked up the razor and made sure of the grip and went for XTG. Very nice feel and finish. Went Gillette Slide on the neck, well sorry, Schick Slide and finished with a very near BBS. It may be a BBS actually I'm just not generous enough to call it.

No need for a third pass so off we go to the alum. Just a hint of a bite on the neck. Extremely nice shave and finish and the Nivea was nice and cool and all I need today. No wonder I liked injectors when I started shaving. What a great shave and one that I'll revisit in the future.

On a side note, the Schick Injector blades are made in China. I find it interesting that the blade is very high quality and performs beautifully while the local Chinese DE blades are, to be honest, worse than Yak dung. Apparently as long as foreign companies are in control of QC, or at least giving them the specs, the Chinese manufacturers are able to produce some very high quality products. Left to their own devices? Yeah, here comes the Yak again. Watch where you step. Kudos, though, to the Schick blades.

​

 

September 30 Day Focus -- Blade Sample
Sept. 6-8

Razor -- Lord L6
Blade -- Derby
Brush -- VDH Boar
Soap -- TOBS Lavender
Post -- Cold water splash and WH, M-Bombed TSD Bourbon Vanilla AS

Hope everyone had a good weekend and Labor Day for those in the US. I am trying to catch up on the thread from the past few days. Went out of town this past weekend to spend time with my fiancee and so have not had a chance to post about my shave on the 6th. Another shave using the Derby blade. The second day with this blade was definitely better than the first. Much less tugging and pulling, but still not a close shave. After the first pass, my fiancee felt my face and told me I had a ton of work to do. So on to the second pass. ATG all the way on this pass. Face cleaned up well, but still not a super close shave. I decided to to a third pass, which was XTG and some touch-up ATG in areas mostly around the jaw line and chin. After the third pass, I had her check again (figured her approval is most important so why not go straight there). Her response was, "Well, it will do." That does not sound very encouraging. I checked and it definitely was not a DFS or BBS shave. It was merely ok. No nicks, no weepers, no irritation, but not a close shave.

Used the same blade for the last time today. This shave was much more like the first. Lots of tugging and pulling to get through. The shave seemed relatively close in the first pass, but was not the most comfortable. Did my usual second pass with XTG and ATG depending on which area. When finished I rinsed and felt lots of areas still needing work. So I set out on my third pass, ATG all over just to see if I could get the shave close and at least to DFS. Nope. It was another acceptable shave, but not a good one. No blood, but did have irritation trying to get through this one. Oh well. Derby blade and the Lord L6 razor do not appear to be a match for me.

Tomorrow I will be moving on to my next blade. I am trying to decide between the Ladas, the Voskhod, or the Rapira Platinum Lux. Obviously it is Russian time next.

 

Thanks Doug!

 

So I busted out the r41 for another day today. After the great shave the other day I figured this was gonna be a great shave. Wasn't exactly rushed but I think this is an every other day razor. Everything was the same as the day before. Used the GSB, same soap, same everything. Just wasn't as comfortable. On top of that it scratched my neck somehow. Not a cut or a weeper. The GSB seems to be the blade to go to for me but I must've caught the corner some how. Glad that wasn't a bleeder! It's about an inch long. Haha! Either way I think I will keep my focus on this but use it as a weekend only razor for the rest of the month. Or till the derby blades come in. I enjoy the morning ritual too much to not enjoy the shave.

Time to bring on the Fatip OC tomorrow. I've read that it was an aggressive razor but after cutting my teeth on the r41 it didn't seem to be aggressive at all when I used it for a couple weeks. The blade sits slightly off kilter so that should be exciting. Maybe.

 

Well that doesn't sound fun. Brings back the r41 and Walgreens razor shaves. Yikes!

 

The second best part of my Labor Day weekend (the best was of course being with my fiancee) was getting to go antique store shopping. It is something both my fiancee and I love to do. Well, this one was especially fruitful and provided me with a new favorite place to stop in on occasion.

Went into this little antique shop and started poking around on a table full of knickknacks and whatnots. Well, after moving a couple large items out of the way, I found the stash of old shaving items. She had two old spice mugs (though both had chips in them), several shaving scuttles that I was not really interested in, and a bag of razors. I started picking through to see what she had and found quite a few to ponder and examine closely. After deciding against several GEM razors, a couple Gillette SuperSpeeds, and a blue tip that was not in the best condition, I found several that caught my attention. I ended up buying three.

I know two are schick injectors that many are using this month as their focus. My guess is the caramel colored one may be an E and the cream/marble one may be a G. The cream one came with the box.


My favorite pick up is one that I do not know much about but am definitely looking forward to getting cleaned up and shave ready. It appears to be a gold plated fatboy Gillette adjustable. It appears to be in good condition with some minor gunk buildup under the head. Otherwise it appears to be in excellent shape. The TTO works fine and all the adjustments click into place. I completely forgot to look at the date code, so will have to do that when I get home.


So questions for all of you. 1) Any idea which Schick injectors I got? Are they and E and a G? 2) What is the best way to clean the injectors? The usual scrubbing bubbles method, or will this damage the handles and I should use dawn and warm water? 3) Any know anything about the gold fatboy? and finally 4) What is the best way to clean the gold fatboy? Scrubbing bubbles again or just dawn and warm water or what?

 

The Gillette looks like an Executive to me. Dawn and warm water would be a good start I would think.

 

Thanks for identifying it. I had thought Executive, but then saw something in a post about it being Rhodium plated and then somewhere else indicating the Executive came in several including gold, so was not sure if that is what it was or not.

 

I think I graduated from high school with him.

 

Norcalnewb's Razor:

Oh My! I gotta get me one of them monogrammed razors!

Who's your jeweler Jim?!!

 

It is some quality work isn't it. I had it engraved before it shipped.

 

Ah I see, bought "as is" !

 

Pretty sweet finds you got there. I'm jealous!