SOTD
October 9, 2015
Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost
Razor: Gillette British Rocket
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: La Toja
Brush: L'Occitane Plisson
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Folsom & Co. Shady Past
Fantastic shave! La Toja is wonderful. I really like this Gillette British Rocket. Everyone wants to copy the Plisson, but the Plisson still shines through. I need to shave my head today as I am out of regulations. I'll do that later today.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE

Glad to help out. And yes the handle is bakelite. Very interested to see how it shaves.

Awesome looking razor!

Good one...

Thank you, Clint. I understand YMMV, but that was a very helpful review. Thanks for taking the time to help me out. I have so many soaps and creams (in my view, anyway) that I want to be selective about those that I add. B&M Premium and Soap Commander are now on my list. Enjoy your day, and have a great weekend.

Kerry, I'm a huge fan of Mike's! I watched his website and pounced on a few bars of unscented when they became available. He's also a super nice guy. You can ask my Bride (she's in charge of my shipping and receiving department), and she would tell you that I haven't limited myself too much with this hobby.

I appreciate the feedback on Catie's. I've read so many great reviews, and your feedback confirms them! Thanks for helping me, and I hope you have a great (knee pain free) weekend!

I know the feeling. I took the time this week to actually add up the number of soaps that I have currently and it surprised me. I have stopped buying soaps and plan on using up a lot of my current inventory before purchasing any more. I hope you have a great day and weekend as well.

While it sounds like you're taking good care of your brush, you might be doing something that encourages the wild bristle behavior and if that is the case, you may find your next brush behaves the same way. On the other hand, you might just have a poor brush and your replacement could turn out much better. Just in case it might help, I'll just add a little advice:

When cleaning up, I sneeze out the excess lather, then with the bristles pointed down, give it a good soaking from the running water. I squeeze it frequently until there isn't any more soap coming out Then I hold it with the bristles up under the running water while keeping the bristles held closely enough so they can't splay. I squeeze the brush several times while doing this. Then, squeeze it out again, and then give it a few shakes trying to leave the bristles as close as they want to be. I store mine upright, not hanging down.

If you're considering a synthetic, I'd encourage you to read this great thread from GDCarrington:

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/the-four-generations-of-synthetic-fibers-clarifications.37568/

I wanted a synthetic for traveling, and after reading the thread, ended up buying a Frank Shaving Pur-tech Synthetic. I've been pretty pleased with it, but it doesn't hold water very well, so I tend to end up with either a too thick dryer lather, or a wet drippy lather. I can make do with either, but I prefer my Badger. It's a Vulfix (the Super Badger Shaving Brush - 660) bought on Amazon.

Best of luck on your next brush!

OCTOBER FOCUS - Gillette Old Types

Razor: 1907 Single Ring
Blade: Gillette 7 O'Clock Blue
Brush: Omega 10049
Soap: RazoRock Don Marco
AS: Old Spice Classic

Yesterday, my cheeks hurt all day (strangely, not my neck) and I was really wary of today's shave. Last night I slept with some of my wife's Dermacil lotion on my face to help soothe things. But, I am pleased to say that after several days of miserable, face-scraping shaves with my Single Ring, I think I finally got my act together again this morning.

Today, on Kerry's advice I really "rode the cap", and was very, very light on the touch. At times I thought I was just "riding the cap" with no blade in play because I didn't think I was accomplishing anything. I used a very, very shallow angle and after 2 passes I called it quits, both out of concern for my face and because I was running out of time. To my surprise, while it wasn't the closest shave of my life, I can call this a reasonable CCS or maybe a lower level DFS. There was no baby in sight in my bathroom, my house or in the neighborhood. My skin feels fine, is not screaming, and actually it feels soft and moisturized. This razor is really light-weight and sometimes I find it difficult to maintain the ideal shallow angle, but I'm not giving up. This why we FOCUS, right? Obviously the equipment...er...my technique is to blame.

Sounds like you are on the way to getting the Single Ring sorted out.

Thanks Charlie! Tonights the night for D&M.

The show is pretty good, and has been voted Best Las Vegas show for 3 years running. I wouldn't resist the inevitable, a happy wife makes for a happy life!

How does one "sneeze out the excess lather"? That's a technique I'm unfamiliar with. Is it Chinese?

The lather is a commonly occurring creature that infests the knot of a shave brush. It does not want to leave its nest on its own, so it must be squeezed to force it to leave it's home. Running water while squeezing the brush is an often recommended method of purging the brush of the infestation.

So does one need to sneeze while squeezing? Since you did say sneeze on your original post.

I am weak, and you guys are enablers.

HaHa, I never noticed!

That's a great order. I'm interested on your thoughts on the Bay Rum and the shave stick.

I try to keep the lather out of my nose to start with.

Thanks Clint. This is my first Bay Rum soap and aftershave. I will gladly share my thoughts on both products.