DEC 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

I was a little surprised that his focus didn't involve a Gillette Psycho

 

Word on the street is that it may have been named after him!

 

I'm still just exploring set ups, focusing on technique and optimizing the balance between Comfortable, and close. I tore myself up pretty good tonight with the Schick. So tomorrow my planned shave is a Maggard OC head, on a Phoenix handle. Indonesian Teakwood TSD soap, Classic Brand Best Badger, Feather blade, WH, TBS ASB, and some AV ice blue to seal the deal.

 

Having lived worked at a psychiatric hospital for nearly 30 years I would love to find a Gillette Psycho with original key. However everyone on the 'bay seems to think they are nickel plated gold or something.

 

So I see you've been reading my wish list of razors. Yeah, one of these days with a little luck.

 

Yeah the price of those things is a bit on the hard to believe side. I keep scouring antique shops when I get a chance too and a few other sites. Hard to find though.

 

As I lie here pondering tomorrow's shave, and considering a day in the life of Neals face. I have realized one important thing that I have recently learned in this short life.

Guinea pigs are incredibly spastic.

 

I am excited about the December focus. My last two focuses have used one razor per month. October was a blade focus where I used my EJ DE89 for the entire focus followed by a NOvember with just the Feather AC. December is going to have some variety. Like @RufusT I was a December baby. I have two 1961 birth quarter razors (G4), a SuperSpeed and a Slim. I also have a G3 Fatboy that I am going to use to honor my G3 wife. What excites me most is the opportunity to use the soaps, brushes and blades I have acquired during my previous focus. Tomorrow I will start with the SuperSpeed with a Feather blade (to honor the Japanese cartel) along with my new Route 66 Sweeney Todd soap.

Have fun!

 

That is a very fine brush handle. I still wish I had jumped on that when I had the money to spare.

 

So did you name the Guinea pig Neal? When it comes to strange razors or blades he's our Guinea pig.

 

I actually named him aspen because the first thing I saw after purchasing him was a bag of "Aspen Wood Shavings"

 

Aspen was probably a better choice than Shavings.

 

December 1

Feather Artist Club SS
Feather Super Professional (3)
Semogue 830
MdC scented
Two passes plus touch-ups
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Pinaud Clubman

I'm finishing up the blade in my Feather AC before beginning the December focus. 100 brush swirls on the MdC, and then I went at it. Today's shave was automatic - WTG, ATG, and touch-ups - for near BBS results. A on closeness and A+ on irritation. I splashed on some Clubman out of a Frank's RedHot Sauce Bottle, and I'm ready to go.

Unlike what you might expect from Neal, Adam, or Mark, I rinsed the hot sauce out of the bottle before I poured the Clubman in it.

Have a great day!

 

12/1/15

Gillette New LC
Rapira Super Stainless (1)
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Pinaud Clubman Original

Today is my first day with another gift from @clint64: a large sample of Mitchell's Wool Fat.
I put about a tea spoon of hot water on the top of the soap to soften it a bit while I soaked y brush. Afterwards, I up ended the soap container over my scuttle, but I didn't see any moisture come out. I squeezed out my brush, then went to the soap container to load up. I swirled the brush for about 20 seconds and then went back to the scuttle. At first the lather was so full of air bubbles that I thought perhaps I had ended up with too much water. The bubbles disappeared as I worked the lather. I had not added any water to that point so I checked the consistency. It felt as slick as any soap or cream I've ever rubbed between my fingers.

It went on my face nice and smooth. 2 full passes: Pass 1 XTG. Very good reduction. Pass 2: ATG. Afterwards, I did a small amount of touch up where I could feel stubble. A cold water rinse followed by a moderate amount of touch up and I had the BBS. The Pinaud Clubman was mild.

A wonderful BBS from the Rapira Super Stainless in the New LC with excellent slickness provided by the Fat. The fragrance was pleasant and subtle. It held up well on my face, gave good protection, and maintained its slickness throughout the shave. I still had loads of soap when I finished, probably enough for 2 or 3 more passes.

I squeezed out my brush and the lather still felt very slick. A great shave with some fine accompaniment. Thank you @clint64 for your generosity!

Have a great Monday!

 

Bill, I am glad you have enjoyed both soaps. The MWF is certainly a very slick soap.

 

12/01/2015
Razor – Schick Type G
Blade – Chinese Schick (3)
Brush – Shavemac Silvertip D01
Lather – Catie’s Bubbles Santal Sensuelle
Post - Witch Hazel and Captain’s Choice Sandalwood



I did start the December focus on vintage razors a day early with the Schick Type G. A 3 pass shave with touch ups got me very close to the baby. More than close enough for a work day. This is only my 3rd shave with the Type G and in all honesty I can't tell a lot of difference to my Type I1. I'll finish out the work week with the Type G but I am not at all sure it will stay in the den long term.

I used my Shavemac Silvertip D01 today which has been neglected of late. This brush is not for the those that want a soft pillowing experience. The D01 has the backbone of a boar with a good bit of scritch. I plan on using this brush frequently during December.

I finished off with some CC Sandalwood with menthol added. Off to fight Atlanta traffic. I hope everyone has a great day.

 

Pain Stick Focus:

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling Synthetic Brush
Mitchell's Wool Fat
CJB Pain Stick
Stirling Unscented PSB -- Mentholated
Old Spice Classic AS

Today was my third shave with the Pain Stick, and I started pretty much the same as the past couple of days. Up a bit early, take my time, and focus on the angles. I got good reduction on the first pass and proceeded to the second. Overall, I was pretty pleased, but there were one or two spots I could get a bit better, so I do some clean up on the right side, and everything there looks good. I move on the left side to get the jaw line. This Pain Stick isn't too bad, and then it happens. A nice little cut on my jaw. Not too long, but it took quite a bit to get it closed up.

As often happens, just when I get too comfortable with something, I have a way of getting humbled up a bit. Well, lesson learned for tomorrow.

 

Hello everybody.

As I already wrote here, my focus for the next weeks will be on my really inexpensive stuff. I have a few very cheap razors, some of which I have never used before, some soaps around the 2- or 3-Euro price range, one or two low priced brushes. So let's see how this stuff performs. This is the setup for the first week:

- Proraso white
- Omega 49
- Rimei 2003
- Rimei blade
- Tüff sensitiv Rasierwasser



Well - that was a very pleasant surprise and a really excellent shave

I started with soaking the brush while I brushed my teeth and washed my face with warm water. After that I loaded the Omega just like I did last month with the Semogue and D.R. Harris soap. But boy, what a difference it was. The huge, soaking wet Omega produced ridiculous amounts of lather already at loading up (I made quite a mess actually) and even more on my face later on. Great lather, thick and creamy, and probably enough for 4 or 5 passes. The scent is okay, I'd say, a little citrusy with a hint of laundry detergent.

Since I knew nothing about the chinese razor and the blade, I was very cautious with my first few strokes, but this cheap little razor really amazed me. Super smooth, very very mild, just a great 2-pass-shave. I would say this one is pretty similar to a Gillette Tech (from which it was cloned obviously). The blade, of course, did a fantastic job as well - I absolutely had not expected that. First pass WTG, second X/ATG, a little touchup at the jawline - no nicks, no weepers, I'd place the result somewhere between DFS and BBS. Not to bad for a completely unfamiliar tool.

Upon closer inspection I saw a little dent under the top cap of the razor, but this doesn't seem to affect the performance at all. And of course that chinese knockoff feels and even sounds cheaper than the "real thing", but it does its job - much much better than expected at this price point.

The Aftershave did not sting or burn, the skin felt really good afterwards - very, very nice.

 

Lovely seasonal picture.

 

Thank you Mark. Trying to master using a DSLR which is more work than I had hoped. I have a feeling, the SOTD photos will go back to the iPhone shortly.