No Variation November - A TSD Challenge

Kudos to all who can stick to the same set up for a whole month... I can barely use the same set up two days in a row.

 

I found it harder not to buy anything in July during NBJ.

 

Well I had another shave today with the Progress set at 4. Not as good of a shave yesterday at 4...hmmmm.... Not sure why. Not sure if it's due to being hesitant/worried about a nick or cut. I think I will go back to setting 3 for the rest of the month and try to get consistently good shaves. If I have success then I will try dialing it back up. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

That's another thing I couldn't do... refrain from buying goodies... thanks but no thanks!!

 

I managed to refrain from buying anything for 5 consecutive days now

 

I made it thru NBJ and carried on with my own personal NBA and then went crazy and bought a ton of Stuff in September

 

Day 6 - No Variation November!

6 November 2015



Utopia 3-piece
Gillette Silver Blue (6)
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Barbe Dure
Alum
TSD ISZ AS Splash under the Veg
​

I am settling into a nice routine with this razor. Day 6 on GSB and still going strong. Was able to get to two pass DFS with no issues. Just a lazy evening at home with Mrs. Samurai. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a great weekend!
​

 

Shave 4

So I get home and nobody is home. Yippee I can have our one and only bathroom to myself. So I take a nice leisurely HOT shower.
When I get out I prep for my shave. Whipped up an awesome bowl of lather. My brush with the WD SYN can really make a lather. Anyhow I lather up and gram my ER 1912 with my GEM blade (4) and start my nice relaxing shave WTG. I get about 2/3 done and I here the front door slam. Oh well I think there goes my ME time. Sure enough my son pounds on the door saying he has to use the bathroom now. A guy just can't catch a break. So I real quick finish my chin and upper lip. Then let him use the bathroom.

So I go and sit down in my chair and wait. All the while I am kind of mad as I had an awesome lather sitting there drying out. So when he finally gets out I get to go back to work. Thinking my lather will suck now I re wet my face and start to lather. Goodie the lather is still good. Not so mad now. Do my second pass XTG this time I take short strokes with no pressure to try and get my problem under jaw hairs. Do quick rinse and check for reduction. Pretty good seems to be very even all over.

Lather up again and give it a go ATG. Going nice and slow with short strokes. I finish my last pass and feel for missed areas. As usual there is a bit under the jaw. My face is still slick feeling so I do a light buffing only in two small areas. Rinsed off with cold water and felt around. Another DFS with the ER. These are the 4 best shaves in a row I have ever had. Loving SE shaving.

I think I will start shaving every day for the next 4 or 5 days to see if I can get the same results with only 2 passes. I will experiment with XTG and ATG for my passes. Also to see if I get any irritation. So far I have had ZERO irritation. One other thing my wife has noticed how my shin is looking much better. I have to agree. It looks very healthy for a lack of a better description.

Oh almost forgot went with Aqua Velva AS Nice and cool. My face feels great.

Tom

 

November 6

Feather Artist Club SS
Feather Professional (6)
Semogue 830
MdC scented
Two passes plus touch-ups
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Fine Platinum

Goals
Further develop my two-pass shave technique by practicing the basics
Break in and get more experience with the Semogue 830
Get more experience with MdC

I think this blade will last a full week. I completed WTG and ATG passes with no problems, other than one small nick near my ear (a giveaway). A DFS+ shave and an A- on irritation. My challenge continues to be the areas above and below my mouth. I tried some careful ATG and oblique strokes in these areas, but I still have some things to learn here.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

 

I didnt buy anything today....

 

Planned Day 7

I will be trying Myrsol Emulsion as a pre shave tomorrow just to change it up.

 

Makita?

 

I am also on day six with the Feather AC SS with a Professional blade. This blade is still smooth so I am going to give it a day seven tomorrow.
Today's shave was a DFS two pass with one bloody spot. I tried to remove my Adam's Apple, which was operator error. I am still scared to try for a BBS pass and will wait another week or so before throwing caution to the wind.
SOTD
Feather AC SS
Feather Professional (6)
TOBS Grapefruit
Rubberset 400
Pinaud Lime Sec AS
Have a great weekend!

 

Boooooooring: Not enough stubbles to justify a shave this morning - have been too thorough yesterday.
Have a great saturday y'all!

 

And I hope you have a great weekend!

 

Well - gotta work today and tomorrow, but the the weekend might still turn out to be good

 

Tony Esposito (Blackhawks) and I think Gerry Cheevers (Bruins).

Great display.
Your mask?

 

November 6, 2015

No Variation NoVember
This No Variation month is perfect for me to learn skills with new-to-me equipment.



Razor: Mongoose B3
Blades: Feather Artist Club Professional (5 and 6)
Soap: Saponificio Varesino Manna
Brush: Omega 31025 Scarlatti Boar
AS: Changes at will. Today: Myrsol Blue

Reporting on my Thursday and Friday shaves. My first week with this razor/blade resulted in a week of excellent shaves.

The razor/blade is a great shaving combination, which I think can provide BBS shaves on a regular basis. The shaving angle is easily found, however, care is needed with each shave. After two or three shaves I began to think this was a foolproof razor. It is not. This is not a shave to be rushed, nor do I think one can master it after a few shaves.

I began to lose focus during my shaves later in the week while rushing to work. I quickly realized that while some hardware is forgiving - this combo is not one of them. I had more weepers / nicks in my latter shaves this week than in my initial ones - due primarily to losing focus.

In addition to patience and focus, lather is very important too. Through the advise of others and this week of initial shaves, I’ve learned that cushion and slickness is critical with this razor as well.

Learning a new soap and brush on it’s own is one thing, but going from face-lathering to bowl-lathering as well - was a bit more than I should have taken on. The cold and damp Seattle weather has begun, so I thought I should break out my new scuttle and bowl-lather...even though I had never really bowl-lathered before - WRONG!

In my second week I will go back to face-lathering and develop a technique with this soap and brush to give me the lather required for this razor. I’ll put the scuttle on the side for now.

I really like every one of the four core elements of this week’s shave. I just have to get them all working together to get the best that they can deliver.

Cheers!
RT

 

Uh-oh....looks like Mongoose Season is 'In' around Seattle these days and Rufus has bagged a Live One!

You know Ru....you can always whip up a form of Uberlather....Fire up that scuttle and apply the stick to your face first and then load your brush from the scuttle and hit your loaded face with that......should provided Mt Ranier style lather of epic proportions...

 

Thanks, Ive got a bit of a goalie shrine going on (authographed photos, Mcfarlane figures, masks) for Esposito, Cheevers and Bernie Parent (not shown....yet)