DEC 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Great write Vince. " Rubbing the puck on your face" cures most lathering problems for sure.

 

She just hit 15 so we are working on getting the permit to drive. Definitely not looking forward to it, except at times like this past weekend!

 

My youngest just turned 16. She still has to complete drivers training and drive so many hours with parents before she can take the exam. The law here changed to make it more difficult to obtain the license and then restricts the hours and number of people that can be in the car until 18. So I still have a few more months at least.

 

Seeing as how we both learned at the feet of the same Sensei, I figured it only appropriate to throw you under the bus.

 

Ha-ha-ha! great gif, I'm saving that one!

 

Day 7 - DEcember 2015

Planned Menthol Monday



Stirling Closed Comb DE
Gillette Silver Blue
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Green
Alum
TSD ISZ AS under Osage Rub
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Planned Day two with the Stirling Closed comb. This is the second month in a row on an 89type three piece. The Stirling razor is well done, nicely finished, and produces a two pass DFS with good technique. I am really enjoying being able to vary things up a bit this month. @Rufus T. and @wmbjr - of course I am right! Actually kidding. Doing an upward progression on an adjustable is simply best for my face, and seems most intuitive. However, I endorse any method that produces a replicable great shave for the individual. Had a super busy but good weekend, got a little behind on TSD stuff, but all is well. Early end to the day out on the prairie as the rain falls on a gloomy 51F day. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a terrific Tuesday!



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Epic diplomacy, saving face for the vanquished opponent!

 

By the time I get to Phoenix....

Ooh, I'm getting some song writer inspiration.

Have safe travels.

 

Ali vs. Frazier

Original vs. Extra Crispy

Coke vs. Pepsi

Metamucil vs. All Bran

Mandom vs. The Veg

...and now...exclusively here on the 30 day focus...

Chris vs. Vince

May the best Gentle Man win.

 

...well under that criteria I guess I'm cooked already!

 

That's like a tank vs. a squirt gun full of cat urine.

 

Razor: Gillette Super Speed 1948-49 No Date Code
Blade: Gillette Platinum (1)
Brush: WDC-5 Silvertip Green Handle Whipped Dog 24/65
Soap: RazoRock Don Donato
A/S: Booster Iced Lime
Excellent 2 pass shave tonight. Back to Gillette for another week. RazoRock is a great soap and the WDC-5 boar is nicely broken in and loads up very well.

 

December Focus

The Twelve Blades of December!

Hard to believe we've almost put this year to bed. Wow. Where did the time go? But, here we are and as a gift to everyone here I'm offering up my shaves with twelve blades that have never touched my face, randomly paired with twelve of my DE razors. Two shaves with each setup to finish on Xmas Eve. So, sit back, get the fire burning and enjoy what I hope is an enjoyable month of further proof Technique Trumps Tools. I hope for that....my expectations aren't as optimistic.

December 7

Razor - Razo Rock TTO
Blade - (1)
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - TSD Lanolin Bay Rum
Post - Cold water, Alum, Nivea

I'm just going to start this by posting the following.........


Now that the expectations are correctly set, let's begin. Monday and Tuesday are now my days off. So, I moved my head shave from Sunday to Monday. And that apparently upset the shaving gods. As well as every other god in the neighborhood, given how this day has gone. Set up for the head shave as normal, Merkur 23c, Astra SP(2), VDH Deluxe soap and boar brush. Notice, no Feather SS involved this week, so nothing deadly in my hands. Started above and around my right ear and everything seemed ok. Getting the usual result, no problems, no worries. Went to the left side, lathered around the ear and on the side, got the side done and went to go around the ear, starting at the neck and coming up as always and......I have no way to explain it other than to say instead of the blade coming around the ear as I turned it, it instead just slid straight toward the top of my head. I felt the blade slicing its way merrily upward right behind my ear. Never had that happen before. Ever. I stopped, grabbed my wet towel and put pressure on while I grabbed the hand mirror. Removed the towel and there it was. About a 3/4 inch slice bleeding nicely. Just merrily sending a red stream down my neck. How in the world......I really don't know. I'm thinking maybe as I went around the ear with my hand I didn't have quite enough pressure on the head of the razor and it slid instead of turning. Whatever, the damage was done. Took a 10 minute break with a cold compress, seemed to be mostly stopped so continued. Now, normally the Astra SP is very smooth and effective. Every stroke after that seemed jumpy or just wasn't as close as usual, or missed a spot. Simply a terrible shave. I had to go back over spots to the point my entire head was clearly irritated by the time I was done. The cut was mostly stopped, but I was as red as a beet all over. Sheesh!

Ok, not a great start. Hit the shower and found that the result on the head shave was atrocious. I ended up grabbing a cart just to smooth it out. It's still not a great shave but workable. Time for the face. Today's selection, the RazoRock TTO with the Dollar Platinum blade. Vidyut Metallics in India makes this blade and they also make the Super Max line so usually pretty solid. Lather was the Pro 48 and TSD Lanolin so great lather and the shave started out feeling very aggressive. Which, I know, the RRTTO is a more aggressive razor. The blade seemed to work fine, though, not really uncomfortable and I got a pretty good result from it. The aggressive feel seems more the razor's issue than the blades. And, as I went for the second pass I noticed that one of the scuttles on the razor looked different. Now, I've used this razor before on a number of occasions and never noticed that before, but clearly the cutout is not even on one side of it. I don't think it affects the shave at all, but it left a bad taste in my mouth for the razor. It's never been a total favorite, but that kind of quality control issue, even if just cosmetic and only visible to the trained eye, lessens my enthusiasm for them. Oh great, first a cut on my head, now my mood is taking a hit. Finished the second pass and was at DFS. Did a third pass neck only just to clean it up and go high level DFS and called it a day. Alum was pretty quiet on my face and neck. Just rinsed my head again with cold water and checked. The cut wasn't bleeding so that's a positive. I found myself, though, just in an overall bad mood after that. Between the fouled up head shave and the discovery on the RRTTO.....I should have gone back to bed.

But no, had to go get a prescription filled. Common medicine, easy to get except CVS didn't have it in 5 different locations I tried. And, when SWMBO and I tried to pay for lunch at Denny's the girl swiped the card wrong which ended up setting off a fraud alert at the bank, causing them to freeze my card until I got it unlocked on the mobile app. The only good news? Dispatch today from the Cartel. Maybe the day is salvageable after all. Here's hoping my Monday's off don't follow a pattern!

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Sing it!

 

If not for a little rain, the sunshine wouldn't be near as enjoyable.

 

Nothing like a gift from a comrade to turn things around!

 

Well it was a delivery long overdue. Took over a month to arrive which is quite unusual. The package dropped off tracking as it left Moscow, which is normal, but never reappeared in the U.S. Then, when I took the notice to the post office to get it, they took 15 minutes locating it as they said it was "misfiled". Again, another part of this great and enjoyable Monday. Can we call it Tuesday yet? At least it was all there. 100 of a selection of the best Mostochlegmash has to offer along with 20 Sputniks from St. Pete's.

 

Vince, I think Chris's post is pretty self-explanatory. He is claiming victory. (Just ignore the ellipses. They don't really change the meaning of what he said.)

Of course that whole YMMV thing does come into play I guess. So who knows, maybe you will both be winners.

 

Well, big congrats on the turn of fortune! (and hopefully a long turn away from misfortune!)

btw - PSA for all the PIFsters and mail-order addicts amongst us this holiday season...

I had the same experience as the @NCoxSTL story. Not pointing fingers but, a "misfiled" or "lost" package was quickly found nearly immediately after my inquiry and the manager in charge (of the PO in the postal black hole of Texas) called me personally to let me know it was found and would be delivered the same day. My takeaway - Don't wait too long after the expected delivery date to put in an inquiry!
:mail:

 

Sorry to hear about your rough shave. Expected more blood from the unknown blades randomly matched with razors than from the head shave standard.

As for the cartel, glad you got your delivery! (You sure you want your address out there for this crew to know though?) I was supposed to get a delivery of Ladas blades over a week ago. Well they finally tried to deliver it today. Of course the cartel required my signature on $11 worth of blades and a couple "free gifts" so I will now have to pick it up at lunch tomorrow.

I think Boris is just trying to catch me and force me into using a pain stick.