OCT 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

OCtober Focus Day 4:

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling Synthetic Brush
TSD Lanolin Pumpkin Spice SS
Gillette New LC
Stirling Unscented PSB
Clubman Vanilla AS

I had a really nice shave this morning with my New. It was smooth and effortless, and I am very near BBS. The TSD Pumpkin Spice has me in the mood for fall. An all around great Sunday shave.

 

Time to switch blades. Next up:

I am so glad I decided to do a blade focus this month. It is showing me how much I have learned recently. It isn't so much the blade as the technique. I have tried this blade before and didn't like it much. Today it was fine. I got another very nice two pass shave with very little touch up needed. This blade was slightly less smooth than the Gillette 7 O'Clock Blue that I just used but more than acceptable.
SOTD
EJ DE89
Personna Med Prep (1)
Rubberset 400
TOBS Grapefruit cream
Glacial AS Splash
Have a blessed Sunday!

 

Great pic! Calendar entry?

 

SOTD
October 4, 2015
Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost
Razor: Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Ladas
Lather: La Cigale Savon Barbe soap
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Gingers Garden OakMoss
Superb shave. 3 new products.
La Cigale Savon Barbe soap from France, I picked this up at Bullgoose for $9 very slick, cushion-y, wonderful post shave. The scent? I want to say it almost unscented. Clean.
RazoRock Plissoft $10. Good brush, won't replace my Plisson and definitely not my Stirling Kong.
Gingers Garden OakMoss $15. Outstanding! 4.2 oz bottle full to the top, great ingredients, my face and head love it! I'll be adding more flavors to my collection.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE

 

Its interesting for me to see blade comparisons. The equivalent for SR shaving is the out of control RAD I have been displaying for the last few months. I agree that technique trumps tools. I can get an acceptable shave with just about any DE set up. Some are ore comfortable than others, but most will do the job. That fact is why I am willing to dump money on mor straights, without knowing how comfortable the shave will be.

 

You just very eloquently explained why I have resisted the urge to use straights. I know I would want to try every blade type

 

Would my SOTD go on my birthday???

 

10/04/2015
Razor – New LC with Triad Helix SS
Blade – Feather (1)
Brush – Romera Olivewood
Lather – TSD Signature Scent Lanolin
Post - Witch Hazel & Captain’s Choice Bay Rum (menthol added)



Rotated from the Wolfman OC to the New LC for the next 3 shaves. To keep things similar I am using the same Triad handle I used on the Wolfman. I did a traditional 3 pass shave this morning and ended up with a near BBS shave. The shave didn't seem quite as smooth or efficient as the Wolfman but they are very, very close in the way the razors work for me. The TSD Signature Scent was very easy to lather and provides excellent post shave feel. I would describe the scent as very much a Bay Rum scent which pairs great with the CC Bay Rum. A really good combo for a cool rainy morning. Hope everyone has a great Sunday.

 

So, if your picture was selected and you had a month that you wanted it featured on, that's a possibility. No guarantees, but all requests would be heard.

 

The calendar with have US and Canada holiday's, along with TSD's monthly events i.e. March is PIF month.

 

ohh ok

 

Good to see the closeup of Eddie P., but that's right, the Vanilla has the different color than, say, the regular.

 

Thank you!

 

And this is part of the reason I am staying with doing focuses. It forces me to select about three blades to work with for a month. So if I let a little bit of rational thought creep into my purchasing of straights, I realize I won't be able to use a new razor for a while. Notice how fast I moved when I decided I needed another razor for this month's focus. I decided that on the 30th, and had the purchase done by the 1st.

I haven't looked at French, Swedish, Russian, or Frameback style razors in depth yet for this very reason. I will say that I have yet to end up with a properly honed straight I couldn't get a decent shave out of. Much like DE blades however, some are more comfortable than others.

For what it's worth, I think should try straights!

 

Been out of touch the last couple days with stuff going on (had a wedding shower and now flooding around my area). Please pray for those in South Carolina affected by the flooding rains. Lots of first responders staying very busy rescuing people from homes and vehicles and evacuating people from various areas. Fortunately, my neighborhood is on higher ground so I just have water flowing through my backyard, though it is taxing the draining system pretty good. Other areas have water covering one story homes and cars, including several areas I travel to visit friends.

 

Thoughts go out to you and others in SC who have to deal with this.

 

I came back and have about 200 or so posts to read. I think I need an Adam (@Drygulch) synopsis of the last couple days. I also have a couple shave reports to catch up on.

OCtober 30 Day Focus -- Cadet Open Comb

October 2&4

Razor – Cadet Open Comb
Blade – Gillette Silver Blue
Brush – VDH Board
Soap – Stirling Sharp Dress Man and Proraso Red
Post - Cold Water Splash, Witch Hazel

Friday's shave was a night time shave knowing I would have to get up and get going early for a wedding shower that was scheduled for lunch. It was a very nice comfortable shave. Found the angle easily and kept it. My usual 2 pass shave and very little touch up. A great DFS shave that lasted almost all day Saturday which is most impressive as fast and thick as my beard grows.

Today's shave started off great. Had wonderful 2 pass shave. Face was definitely DFS+ at a minimum. Well, it was a different story on the neck and it was all my fault. I got a good shave but had some usual touch up to do. Wellllll, instead of being smart and relathering I decided to attack the couple small areas dry and get them done quicker. Well, that resulted in two weepers and some irritation under the chin. I knew better, I even said to my self not to do it, but I did. So it ended up being a great shave other than the areas I messed up by not just putting a little soap on the chin to do the touch up. Live and learn!

Hope everyone has had a good weekend and again, please send prayers and positive thoughts to South Carolina for all the people having problems with all of the flooding.

 

OCtober - Trick or TREET
October 4

Razor - Edwin Jagger DE89l
Blade - (1)
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Proraso Green Tub
Post - Cold Water, Alum, Proraso

Sunday, Sunday so it's a double shave day. Head shave then face shave. Last week I managed to take a chunk out of my temple due to the razor loosening up but it's finally healed up. Needless to say I double checked the razor today after changing blades. My head setup is the Merkur 23c with Astra SP, VDH Boar brush and VDH Deluxe soap. Unless something out of the ordinary happens (like last Sunday) this is a smooth, comfortable, and blood free shave every week. I've considered mixing it up with different setups but considering the tenderness of the area I say if it ain't broke don't fix it! I had a fresh Astra in today so it was especially nice. And.....it is the only Russian blade I'm using all month so I had to spend some extra time just communing with it. I know, it's a St. Pete blade but hey, you take what you get.

My regular shave, of course, is not treated with such a philosophy and today we move to the second Trick or TREET setup. It's the Trig Stainless blade from Treet in the EJ DE89l. I chose the Omega Pro 48 and Proraso just because I was in the mood to make gallons of menthol/eucalyptus lather to play with and it didn't disappoint. The Treet King was a really nice blade and the Trig proved to be a great blade too, if a bit rougher than the King. Seems like the Trig is a bit duller which probably caused a bit of drag and the finish after the first and second passes was definitely not quite as good as the King. I was able to achieve a high level DFS with an extra ATG pass along with the usual neck work. So, all in all I can't complain. I'd compare this to a Derby in its sharpness and effectiveness with one caveat...Derby may be a bit smoother. They deliver about the same result though.

Day one was a good day, though, so again a TREET without a trick. If the month keeps up like this I may have my most enjoyable and least bloody month in awhile! I'm posting both setups today. The Merkur 23c on the left with VDH soap and brush. I use an empty Proraso tub to hold the VDH. And the EJ DE89l with Proraso on the right.

​

 

Ok, I'm looking for a little help. I definitely need to step my post shave game up. I'm trying to find a good set of alum block, and other post shave products in a bundle to save on shipping cost. Wouldn't be a bad thing if it had a pre shave in it either. Right now all I use is dove after shave balm, and a styptic pencil and I'm being left with quite a bit of irritation. Any info would be great! I will be shaving this evening so I will follow with an update!

 

Not sure about a bundle but......Bloc Osma alum is available on the bay with free shipping as is Razorock alum. I use the Razorock but lots of guys like the Bloc Osma. Honestly, as long as it's Potassium Alum it's good no matter what the name on the package is. Avoid the Ammonium Alum...totally different product.

Aftershaves? I'm sure the PX probably has some of the classics available. Aqua Velva Ice Blue and/or Musk, Brut, maybe some others. Again, free shipping on the bay for a lot of good aftershaves as well including Proraso. And, even though you'll pay shipping, TSD products are awesome and includes the aftershave milk in your choice of scents. Great soothing product and it supports the board too!