OCT 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

You are 100% correct.

 

Or my pain threshold is just that much higher than the sane.

 

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks again.

 

So correct. You also see a lot of people quickly moving up to more aggressive razors in hopes of improving their shaves before mastering their technique. Even if the shaves improve, they all just masked the real issue, unsound technique. I see this all the time in the motorcycle world with people chasing horsepower to ride faster instead of mastering the skills first.

 

Thank you.

 

My rule starts tomorrow, but I am planning an OCtober Kickoff shave later.

OCtober 2015 - Kickoff Shave

 

This post should be mandatory reading...

 

Clint, that could be deadly. You need to learn to crawl before you can walk.

 

Razor: Gillette SS 1947 NDC (Birth Razor)
Blade: Personna Prep Blade Blue
Brush: Fendrihen Silver Tip Black Faux Handle 22/49
Soap: Proraso Green
A/S: TSD Iced Signature

Day 1
Not 100% sure what to do this month so I'll work on technique, and also add menthol to some of my products i.e. A/S and shave soaps. I'm not sure if anyone has added menthol to shave soaps, or I haven't seen any posts to that affect. (Menthol Crystals) (thanks @clint64) As far as razors are concerned I believe I'll just wing it this month. I'm waiting on a strop from @Drygulch, so I'll want to try it out on my Auto Strop Model "C".
If you have added menthol crystals to your shave soap PM me, if you don't mind. If not follow my post and we'll see what happens. I also think I'll post some of my Old Spice Decanters. I will use another A/S as sum of them are full and unused.

 

OCtober - Trick or TREET
October 1

Razor - Gillette 1918 Old Style
Blade - (1)
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water, Alum, The Veg

Day one of a new focus and I'm posting my first shave on page 13. Wow! Anyway, it's trick or TREET season. A month with Pakistani blades. Ten of the twelve they make and I've only tried one of these before. I did notice last month someone on SOTD in Islamabad who was using the Treet King so I know it has fans. As I said in my intro yesterday the order of blades and razors was randomized individually so the Old Style just happened to match up with the King for the first setup. That does mean I'm starting OCtober with an OC. So there ya go!

Used the BoSFat today to get that unbeatable lather and I'm thinking this has become my number one soap. Love MWF. I have it dialed in to a perfect lather everytime and it's just hard to beat for slickness and cushion. Loaded the King into the '18 and ready to go. This razor can be hyper-aggressive and with the wrong blade it's hostile. Time to find out how it matches up.

First stroke was nice and before I even realized it I had finished up the first pass WTG. It was such a smooth pass I really didn't even think about it until I was ready to rinse. Very surprising since most of the time this razor is fond of reminding me of its capabilities. The result of the first pass was also good. Nice. Second pass XTG and all that was left was a clean up pass on the neck. Finished that up with one minor nick right under my chin on the goatee line. This is a spot I tend to catch with aggressive razors so I can't really blame the blade. I tend to "hook" as I come across the jawline to get directly under the chin on an XTG pass and the corner will catch. Other than that it was smooth as silk. Near BBS all over and the alum was mostly quiet. A bit of burn on the neck and of course it bit where I nicked myself. Added the Veg just to burn it all out and smell like a champ! Great first shave for the month and I got a TREET and not a trick! Onward and forward. The October bus is on the roll!

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Thank you for the kind words Doug.

 

On The Road Again! We will be traveling to Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD for a family wedding on Saturday. Unfortunately, we may be on a collision course with Hurricane Joaquin. Into the Eye Of the Storm, perhaps. Evening shave tonight. This will be my travel set up.

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Safe travels Mark!

 

Mark have a fun and safe trip. Great travel setup.

 

Stay dry Mark! Have a safe trip!

 

First shave of OCtober brings up the Ikon OSS. Thankfully my month of SE shaves made it easy to remember not to flip the razor as only one side of the OSS is open comb. I'm also only using blades I haven't tried before so all Russians are banned from my den.

Sorry, I thought I heard Ivan at the door.
Today's blade is the Greek offering. The Bic. Lather was provided by Soap Commander in the form of Commitment a limited edition sandalwood scent whipped up by the Kong. First pass WTG was smooth and I was impressed with the reduction second pass was mostly good except for a spot on the right side of my neck. I usually feel a little tugging and today was worse. I believe it to be operator error as its on my non dominant side and I tend to forget to watch the angle. I go too shallow and scrape more than cut. Can't blame the razor or blade as its always only that one spot.
Third pass ATG smooth and effective. A little touch up and I'll settle for a DFS maybe DFS+ The alum lit up the trouble spot but Stirling witch hazel and aloe cooled it down quickly. I'll splash on a little Myrsol after a bit.

 

awwright-Menthol is gaining ground!!!! (I know..this is just the first day)

 

I did a 2 pass shave with the rolls. I was wrong about how sharp it was. It shaved me to a CCS in 2 passes but I could feel it tug. Still a better shave then I've had the last 2 days but the rolls blades need some hone time. Lathered up Palmolive classic cream into perfection with my semogue pig. No aftershave since I didn't hurt myself trying to make the blade work.

 

You are so right on the technique. I'm 17 months into wetshaving and only in the last month or two have I really started to enjoy consistently nice shave regardless what razor I use.

 

Friday, October 2, 2015

iKon OC DLC with Bulldog Handle
Polsilver Super Iridium #1
Rubberset #4 TGN High Mountain White @clint64 Ocho
Vermont Goat’s Milk Soap Spearmint Bergamot
Alum, Dickinson’s ++Menthol, Cucumber Melon Whipped Shea Butter
Fine Orange Noir
Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet EDT

Early morning 2 pass BBS including clean up. Vermont Goat's Milk Soap not an easy lathering soap but the Spearmint Bergamot scent is nice. Finished with a dash of Fine Orange Noir. Ready to spend the day with Southwest Airlines. Chicago Midway first stop. Joaquin here we come

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