January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

Straights Focus January 5:

Homemade PS Oil
VDH Boar Brush
Stirling Electric Sheep SS
Ontario Cutlery Co.
Stirling Unscented PSB
Stirling Glacial Lemon Chill AS

Pre work shave number 2, and overall it was a DFS. I spent a little more time working on my lather, but I still find it dries out towards the end of a pass. On my second pass, I have been lathering up portions of my face instead of my entire face. This seems to help out a bit. I did spend a little time doing some clean up as well. Overall a nice, relaxing shave. I am ready for my Tuesday, and I hope everyone has a good one.

 

1/5/16. Ikon focus

Prep: warm wash and bloom water
Lather: Dusy Kabinett
Brush: TGN synthetic
Razor: Ikon B1 standard
Blade: Astra SP (3)
Post: Old Spice

Shifted my passes to WTG and XTG. Very close shave. Also tried out a bowl lather instead of my usual face lather. It was good, but I think I prefer my face over a bowl for a slick lather.

 

01/05/2016
Razor – Ikon B1 OC with Hempel Ti
Blade – Feather (1)
Brush – Rudy Vey with TGN Finest
Lather – Route 66 Lumberjack
Post - Witch Hazel followed by Folsom & Co. Shambala



This will be the maiden voyage for my new Ikon B1 OC. I ordered the head last week during the Ikon sale. Just to good of a price right before NB 2016. The razor did not disappoint with a near BBS 3 pass shave. Route 66 Lumberjack is a winner also. Finished off with a splash of F&C Shambala and I am off to fight Atlanta traffic. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

 

That's great to hear, nice pic as well. I've looked at the doc. Does the head design allow lather to remain for extra passes as the description says?

 

SOTD January 4, 2016
Focus Day 2

Pre: Warm shower
Blade: Rapira Swedish Supersteel (2)
Razor: Wet Shave Club 3-piece (modeled on a Muhle?)
Brush: Satin Tip 'The Purest' synthetic
Lather: Proraso White
Post: Witch hazel splash, Speick a/s, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up

I went with just a one-pass WTG on my upper face with slight touch-ups around my chin. Did more touching up on my neck area. My beard growth wasn't too hearty after shaving just 24 hours ago. I saw some discussion about number of passes and beard growth yesterday. I'm going to go with a "less is more" approach and try to do just WTG with touch-ups during the week. Over the weekend I can take more time and add an XTG pass.

The Proraso continues to be a good choice as well as the Rapira blades.

Hope you have a great day!

 

Thanks! Done on my Note 5 but using PicSay Pro app as an editor. Just decided I would play a little and noticed it could do the color pop thing.

 

Great photo! That DOC is one heck of a cool looking razor! Glad the GSB worked well for you. I would imagine as mild as people say the DOC is that the sharpness of the GSB suits it well.

 

Welcome aboard! Glad you joined the 30 DC!

 

Hello everyone.

The second razor in my OC/2-band-badger focus month entered the stage today.



- Mitchell's Wool Fat
- Whipped Dog 24mm High Mountain Badger
- Phoenix Double Open Comb
- Polsilver Super Iridium (#1)
- Speick Men ASL

After reading @Bill_F 's posting today I decided to use the DOC a little earlier than planned. First I thought about loading it with the GSB as well but I want a relatively fair comparison of my OC razors and so I decided to use the Polsilver (as I did with my first merkur shaves).

My praise of MWF might be a bit repetitive, but it just IS a great soap. Slickness and post-shave skin feel are top notch and I never had any problems lathering this soap, despite our very hard water. And the WD brush never ceases to amaze me. At only half the price it gives the Semogue OC a real run for the money. The large handle is very good too, and I love the massage effect (knot has been set 5mm deeper than usual for a little more backbone and less lather hogging).

The DOC is a great little razor. Just a tiny bit more aggressive than the Merkur and at the same time more efficient. BUT - this is probably one of the most angle-dependent razors I own. It has a pretty narrow sweet spot and one might need a few shaves to adjust to that. What's funny though: The more you're closing in on "riding the cap" the smoother the shave gets - and at the same time seems to improve in efficiency. At least that's what I observed today. Steep angle = rougher shave but less efficient.

Two Passes (WTG and X/ATG) plus a bit of touchup work resulted in a very close to BBS shave with zero irritation and next to no Aftershave burn. Very good!

There's one thing I have to criticize though and that's the razor handle. It's a bit too short for my taste and the finish is not great. In fact the knurling has been executed pretty poorly, with some sharp edges and an overall cheap feel. I'll stick to it for now but maybe switch to the Bulldog or the RazoRock handle in a few days.

 

Welcome aboard.

 

Or Edwin Jagger DE89

 

Based of my shave this morning, I will be adding the B1 standard base plate in 2017. I'm closely following your focus this month.

 

Congrats. You are moving right along with your focus and getting very good shaves. Way to go.

 

January 5th, day four

First complete shave with the pils is in the books. It will take a few shaves before Im ready to give it a thorough review but first impressions are positive. Three pass BBS except a few areas that will need closer attention as I learn to use this beauty.
The Mé soap performs wonderfully with the synthetic brush Ive found. It doesnt retain water like a badger which can be a detriment to building lather with this artisan soap.

 

That razor is a real beauty. I have always admired the looks and clean lines.

 

SOTD
January 5, 2016
Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost
Razor: Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Super-Max Titanium
Lather: Stirling Bay Rum
Brush: Stirling Synthetic
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Layrite No. 9 Bay Rum
Outstanding shave. I love the Gillette Aristocrat! Stirling Bay Rum is awesomely good.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE!

 

What? I was just encouraging you to encourage your fellow 30DF Crew members to explore the full potential of their gear without fearing possible blood, menthol burns, or poorly designed equipment. It makes us focus more on our Technique.

 

Welcome aboard! Clowns to right, jokers to the left. Great group of people and a great way to focus on learning your gear. There are a lot of people here with experience in a lot of different razors and gear, and shenanigans and help are given freely.

 

That's cool as

 

Sounds like things are progressing well. Tell me a little about the brush. How do you like it? It looks great in the all black with gold lettering, but does it feel any good on the face?