January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

My best lather over the past few months has been MWF with Tabac right there with it. So that's why I haven't strayed from them with pain stick or TSR. I'm thinking though that Arko is easy to make a good wet lather with so it should be a good choice.

 

Just take it easy. Stop in after each shave and we can talk about it. Just ask anything, me or someone will have an answer for you pretty quickly. Thanks for joining in!

 

Slow and steady sir, and keep listening to @Bama Samurai - Master of the TTT. (Technique Trumps Tools)
As a newbie, he limited me to one razor, one blade brand, one brush and one soap for almost TWO months!
6 months later I almost feel as though I can shave with any DE or SE on any given day and get anywhere from a decent shave to great shave.

Everything I learned about shaving was through him and the regular contributors to this thread, though the questionable stuff I learned from @NCoxSTL !

 

Thanks Vince,
I am just trying to keep up with @Boojum1 (Mark) and his pics, and the ninja skills of Charlie Danger, aka @wristwatchb...

 

You guys are having a lot of fun
I think next month I will join in for a month of well deserved focus.

 

Igor hid a cookie variety platter for you in the HQ vault. I'd love a Darkbulb focus! What are you thinking of doing?

 

I'm thinking I'll do a whole month just using New Forest brushes
I'd number them - next month I should have hmmm....17 of them I think....and try them one by one

 

Well that's a nice one.

I was gonna say - Isn't a @Darkbulb Focus an oxymoron?

 

I'm thinking baby steps

 

Throw in a Leresche or three in B&W photos? The brush maker focus sounds pretty cool, a lot of short term useful data would be generated.

 

Well you're in the right thread then!

 

Sounds like a plan!

 

He's probably just hypnotizing us as part of his eBay 2016 campaign of world domination, but we'll let it slide. I am serious about Leresche. They're about as classy as it gets in DE design.

 

Ride the cap is good advice @Bama Samurai has given you. I spent several months not listening to this piece of advice, but when I finally did, my shaves improved almost immediately.

Welcome to the thread, BTW. There are lots of knowledgeable folks here who are more than willing to help. I have learned a ton from them, and they are lots of fun, too.

 

1/7/16

Phoenix Double OC
Gillette Silver Blue (3)
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Pinaud Clubman Original



Third shave with my Phoenix DOC loaded with the Gillette Silver Blue. 2 full passes: Pass 1 XTG. Pass 2: ATG. Both with very good reduction. Followed up my second pass with a small amount of touch up with the lather already on my face. A cool water rinse and a small amount of touch up brought home the baby again. The Pinaud Clubman stung very little today. The MWF left me with enough lather for at least another pass.

Another nice comfortable BBS with the Phoenix DOC, the GSB, and MWF. I needed to go over a couple of trouble spots a little more than the first two shaves with the GSB. It may be it is time to swap out the blade. But today's shave was still closer with less effort than any with the Lord Platinum Class blade.

I hope everyone has a great Thursday!

 

Guys - my new (well used, but new to me) Merkur Futur arrived yesterday and I just HAD to try it. You understand that, right?
So since i'm out of focus today, you can read about my amazing shave here

 

Trust me I understand the need to try new items before a focus is over.

 

01/07/2016
Razor – Cobra Classic
Blade – Feather Pro (7)
Brush – Rudy Vey with TGN Finest
Lather – Haslinger Sandalwood Shave Stick
Post - Witch Hazel followed by Captain’s Choice Sandalwood



Another great shave this morning. The Haslinger soap is very light scented to the point of basically being unscented even though it was labeled Sandalwood. What it lacks in scent it makes up for in ease of lathering and slickness. Going with a traditional 3 pass shave this morning, I was able to do touch ups as I went by rubbing a wet hand along my trouble spots. The water and residual slickness of the soap, allowed me to do the touch ups with no irritation. I would grade the near BBS shave as an A for Closeness and A+ for irritation. I hope everyone has a great Thursday.

 

I have a TGN finest that I received from @HoosierTrooper as well as an Omega silvertip badger. In my mind, the finest is just as good as the silvertip.

 

Straights Focus January 7:

Homemade PS Oil
VDH Boar Brush
Stirling Cocoa Forest
Ontario Cutlery Co.
Stirling Unscented PSB
Clubman Vanilla AS

I had one of those mornings where I was running just a tad late. I briefly thought about using a DE, but I went for the straight instead. I decided I would just take my time, and run a minute or two late if need be. I ended up with a decent two pass shave. I didn't spend time cleaning up, and there is a spot or two on my jaw line that probably needed some clean up, but the rest of the shave was pretty decent. I will say that the Stirling Cocoa Forest just seemed to explode with great lather this morning. It was super slick, and provided great protection.