NOV 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

Well weather is the new "shock" news item for the local guys it seems. We had a system move through about a week ago that was supposed to be incredibly violent, thunderstorms, tornadoes, death from above, all of that. The day it was predicted every weather and news guy in the Lou was out preaching doom and gloom and we ended up getting a stiff breeze and a few clouds. It took them until evening to finally shut up.

 

I think my work with the straights and pain stick has gotten me to really know my face. I can't always get a BBS with a New or Old style OC, but all four shaves with the the Tech this month have been BBS, and one of them didn't even have any prep.

 

Thanks Clint. It would warm our hearts to see some of our other 30 day brothers go for Pain Stick December.

 

Thanks for the encouragement! Yes, I'm enjoying my Semogue as well and also wondering how long that sticker will survive.

 

I have a new in box CJB that is looking for a home...

 

I weep tears of joy.

 

I wish I had the funds. Best I can do is Hurt Hinge

Maybe another year.

 

Chris, this razor is sweet! I wanted one ever since @Shotwell had 3 of them.

I don't, but I do keep all of my SOTD's on a app so I could search and count I suppose. I do look and see what I used one year ago today and compare what I'm using today, shocking!! No. Really different setup with much different results. Learn it. Love it. Live it. TTT...

 

San Jose toooooooo! Love cold rainy days/nights.

 

There's a sticker on the Semogue brushes? Huh, never noticed that it was a sticker. Mine is loosing color but it isn't peeling at all I thought it was under a coating until now when I noticed the color being worn off.

 

Reading all of these posts is making my inner crazy come out. I almost want to try one in December, but my wife has me in the no buy mode.

 

SOTD
November 17, 2015
Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost
Razor: Grafco-Merkur 3-Piece Open Comb
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: Vintage Yardley
Brush: Red & Black Acrylic Silvertip 22/50mm
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Myrsol F./Extra
Was I going to go TABAC Tuesday? I went back and forth.. I took a whiff of the Vintage Yardley and knew I had my soap in hand! Amazing stuff. Nice lavender scented soap, thick, creamy, mountains of lather with my custom made Silvertip. Silvertip? Yeah I used a Silvertip today, it's going to be warmer today so I think it'll dry ok. The Grafco-Merkur OC is yes a whisker slayer. Guys, since I've gone to one pass WTG my shaves have been the best they've ever been, I'm doing anywhere from 2-3 passes ATG and having no irritation at all! My neck has never looked/felt better.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE!

 

I think we should promote that. Sounds like a good way to share joy with the group!

 

November 16

Razor – !974 Gillette SS
Blade – GSB
Brush – AOS Badger
Soap – Gada Cool Mint shave cream
Post - Cold water splash, Witch Hazel and Javon Musk

Well, decided to try some new stuff with the 74 SS to see how close to BBS we could get. Continued doing the three pass shave. This time changed it up a little as I still try to find out how to get a BBS out of this razor and blade combo. Started with a new GSB. First pass I went back to my first pass that worked so well with the Cadet and the L6, WTG on cheeks, XTG on neck and chin. Good reduction, not as good as the Cadet OC but still good reduction. No irritation at all, blade just glided through. On to second pass. Decided to do ATG all over. Again, no irritation. Smooth, but not super smooth. It was just ok. Could have stopped here and ended with a DFS- shave. Decided why not go for a full third pass. So went ATG all over again. Ended this pass again with no irritation noticed. So after a cold water splash to bring out everything that was hiding and feeling around, I definitely still had some touch up to do. Re-lathered (this cream really makes plenty of lather for 3+ passes without any problem at all!) and did my touch up. Still a little rougher on my neck (especially around the adams apple) and my chin than what I would call BBS.

Decided at this point to give some other techniques a try. On the neck, I re-lathered and tried some J-hooking. When I had finished this area was actually very smooth. Some very minor irritation, but not bad. I was quite happy with it. On my chin, I was not sure exactly what to try. So I did a little buffing on the chin. It worked well. Again some minor irritation, but this was basically a fourth pass in these areas and something my face is not used to having only needed two passes and touch up using the L6 and Cadet.

Cold water splash and the result was BBS! However, it was BBS at the cost of some irritation on the neck and chin. Both were a little red and the Javon musk aftershave definitely had some bite in these two areas. My face is still smooth almost 6 hours later. Will be interesting to see how it does 8-12 hours later. My cadet could give me 10-12 hours of smoothness and the L6 achieved 8-10 regularly. Tonight I plan to cut it back to two passes my WTG/XTG first pass and then an ATG pass. Afterwards I will use the J hook and the buffing to see how close I can get to BBS without the need for a third full pass.

 

"Share joy" . . . is that code? I am like several others and would love to give it a shot, but am not going to buy a pain stick and blades right now. I still have a DE/SE razor or two I need to master before I can justify the new additions. Looking forward to reading the experiences of any that decide to give it a try!

 

Charlie, not very likely. I am limited to the number of hobbies involving possible injury. I'll stick with motorcycles for now.

 

November 17, 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 (4)
Soap: Saponificio Varesino Manna
Brush: Omega 31025 Scarlatti Boar
AS: Changes at will. Today: Proraso Green



Two-pass shave. (XTG,ATG) Face-lather.

@clint64 you were right!
I used a cutting angle just a bit off the slant part of the cap by dropping the handle ever so slightly. I got more feedback and a more complete cut - both being most noticeable on the ATG pass.

Four hours later and I’m still smooth, unlike yesterday. So I will continue to work at using this new angle consistently. Hoping that with about 10 more shaves this month I can find that consistency. But as Clint also commented to me at the beginning of the month, it would probably be best to do a second month focus with this razor to solidify the technique.

That’s the dilemma.
I already have my next 5 - 6 months mapped out just with the razors i currently own!

Cheers!
RT

 

Well it is in keeping with the holiday spirit. Red and green are the seasonal colors. We're saving green by dumping carts for traditional methods (yes in theory but let's pretend) and the red from slices, dices and other effects of learning makes it a truly joyful holiday experience!

 

I am glad that worked for you. What you might consider is a Monday -Friday focus on the Mongoose and leave weekends open to explore other razors. That at least gives you a chance to use some of the other razors.

 

365/8= ~46 blades per year. At that rate, I will be set up until 2019.