October 24 Focus Shave 15 I just got a shipment in from Queen Charlottes Soaps which included a tub their Green Irish Tweed Type shaving cream. It's Saturday so I broke out the scuttle and went to work. I am not sure why Dovo does have a better reputation, I only have one a Bismarck 2 and it shaves great. The first three passes were good and once again I got through just 2/3 of the 4th pass but I did get farther down my neck. One tiny weeper but when I applied the alum on the slightest reaction. Almost BBS, so close I can taste it. Irritation A-, closeness A-, a good shave to start the weekend. Proraso Sensitive pre-shave Thater 2band fan silver tip QCS Green Irish Tweed Type shaving cream Woodhead Scuttle Dove Bismark 2 SRD strop followed Dry Gulch horsehide paddle strop Razorock Tight Buns AS Edwin Jagger ASB Creed Green Irish Tweed
10/24/15 Gillette NEW LC Vulfix Super Badger (660) Proraso Sandalwood cream Aqua Velva Ice Blue Shave #2 with the Rapira Super Stainless in my New LC. Face lather and 2 full passes: Pass 1 XTG. Great reduction. Nicked a mole, but it was out of bounds, so operator error. Pass 2: ATG. On my neck, I tried a 45% angle towards the chin in an effort to reduce touch up. I was rewarded with a very nice DFS at this point. A cold water rinse followed by much more touch up than yesterday. The baby seemed just out of reach for a while, but I ended up catching him. Aqua Velva screamed again today, but quieted down in a few seconds. Part of that extra touch up was due to a change in my ATG pass. Since my beard on my neck grows in all different directions, ATG can be from the bottom up, side to side (ears toward the chin) or an angle between the two. I tried the 45% angle today. The result was a nice DFS, but more cleanup effort to get the BBS. That's because much of what was left was hard to find until I had rinsed with cold water and searched for it. A nice BBS from the Rapira Super Stainless in my New LC. Once again, I ended up going over some areas several times pursuing the baby, and the Aqua Velva let me know it. I could have stopped with a DFS++, but I really wanted to see if I could catch the baby today. This was the 11th shave with a Rapira Super Stainless. I've tried it in four razors: my Fat Boy, gold Tech, Old Type, and the New LC. The first shave was a near BBS, but the rest have all been BBS. 10 in a row! I didn't want to break that streak through operator error. I only have one more of these blades in my Den, so yesterday I ordered 100 from the Bay. Coming from Turkey, it may take a couple of weeks. I also ordered 25 GSB since I was out of them. These are my first non-sampler pack blade buys. Have a Super Saturday!
SOTD October 24, 2015 Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost Razor: Gillette Aristocrat Blade: Personna Lab Blue Lather: KnockOut Shave Cotton Brush: RazoRock Plissoft Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate Aftershave: Folsom & Co. Shambala I thought yesterday's shave was great, today's shave was outstanding. KO Shave Cotton is fresh, crisp, clean smelling. I really like the RR Plissoft brush, I will admit my first couple of uses weren't that positive. Shamabala!! Never let the things you WANT Make you forget the things you HAVE
10/24/2015 Razor – Gillette Red & Black New Deluxe Blade – Feather (2) Brush –Olivewood with TGN Finest Fan Lather – B&M Latha Post - Witch Hazel & Captain’s Choice Bay Rum Not quite a BBS shave this morning but very close. With the bar end handle the New Deluxe is much lighter than the Wolfman so it took me a while to get used to the weight difference. I might use a different handle for tomorrow's shave. Only about 3 more shaves left for the Latha. Finished with a splash of CC Bay Rum with Menthol added. Hope everyone has a great Saturday.
Way to go, Neal! I plan to join the No-variation NOVember using my Feather SS Artist Club right along with you. It would be great to see a few more guys on the 30-day focus do likewise. It's a great razor, and I guarantee it will improve your overall skills. The will to live is a powerful thing. All kidding aside (and I know that's frowned upon here), it is a fun razor to use. It demands solid technique. The shaves require a little more time and care. It can prove to be a challenge at times, but it delivers great shaves. That's what this group is all about. In 30 days, you go back to a DE and you won't believe how easy it will be to use. (I understand that some guys can't use these razors for various reasons, and I respect that. Reference my earlier comments on 'will to live.') But, seriously, a guy that travels on a motorcycle with two cases of adult beverages and not room for a change of clothes for a weekend trip... Now that guy is a ready-made Feather Artist Club shaver. I don't know if we have anybody like that here or not.
You guys are tempting me to join you. I pulled my Feather AC out today. Me, a spandex wearing, non drinking, bicyclist.
Sounds great. You're from Cali, so we'd expect the spandex. I'm from Kentucky, and I'll spare you the details of my attire. Let's just say that Saturday night is a big time here in my neck of the woods.
All this talk of using a Feather AC NOvember got me thinking. My October focus has been on DE blades and has started to get boring. I have a Feather AC SS that I have used five times prior to today. Always with a DE touch up. I decided to shave with it today without using a DE at all. I did a two pass shave, one WTG, one ATG. I got a decent shave that I would call DFS. I had three small weepers, but no open wounds which is progress for me. I am thinking that this thing would not get boring and it might be fun chasing BBS with it. SOTD TOBS Grapefruit cream Rubberset 400 Feather AC SS Feather Pro (6) Florida Water Back to my DE blade focus tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
October 24 New LC head on Mongoose "Dr. Bomber" handle Feather (3) Semogue 830 Arko Two passes plus touch-ups Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, CC Bay Rum I slept in (not something I normally do) and had a great shave this morning. I decided to try a few more ATG touch-ups, and that probably wasn't my best idea, according to Mr. Alum. Overall, I'm near BBS and satisfied with the result. The SS handle on the New LC head allows me to easily maintain the correct angle. I prefer its weight and grip compared to the ball-end handle. I can already tell that I'm going to like the Semogue brush. It has great backbone and soft tips. The handle is formed with a small "ledge" on top, and it fits my hand well. It will get a good break-in during no-variation NOVember and hopefully develop those Woodstock hairs. The Arko is a fantastic soap, and I would recommend it to anyone for its top-shelf performance and ease of use. I've just started using the CC Bay Rum. It's a great finish and ready-made Fall/Winter aftershave. I hope you all have a wonderful, restful, and blessed weekend.
Rich, I'm guilty as charged! I'm just plain content and comfortable. You get the last word today, my friend. Have a great weekend!
I also have bike bags for adult beverages. Notice how happy I look...Saturday night is bath night here too.