January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

Jan 8 Day 7

Pils razor
NOS Schick blade(2)
Vintage Ever-ready badger brush
MdC Fougure shaving soap
Lea aftershave

Day 2 with the NOS Dutch Schick blade in the Pils, 4th day with the Pils and Im feeling Ive dialed it in. 2 passes, the second ATG, a little touch up under the jaw line for another BBS.

I had intended to focus on Mé artisan soaps for the month but dont really like having to work to get a proper lather. They are capable but finicky and Ive proven in less than a week that life is too short not to be using the great products I have in my den instead of average ones. My focus will continue with the Pils and blades.

 

Another great photo. I really like the looks of the Pils.

 

January 8, 2016 (Shave 4 of this Focus)
Razor: Ontario Cutlery Co. Geneva NY 5/8 muted square tip
Strop: Drygulch Leatherworks Chromexcel Horse/ Linen
Soap: Barrister & Mann Lime, Lavender, & Cedarwood
Brush: 28mm Ubersoft in Aluminum handle
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Alum Bar, Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Stephan Island Lime

For my focus of seeing how different stones change the feel of the edge, I went back to the stones again. Since I reset the bevel last time, I just went back to a natural finisher this time. I used a natural stone quarried in Colorado, and worked the edge until it was well polished. I then did 10 laps on my Chrome oxide pasted strop, 20 laps on linen, and 100 laps on leather. The result was a very smooth 3 pass shave. Two weepers where the tip of the razor bit me, and some irritation at the base of my neck where I didn’t have the angle correct, but my face, chin, and jaw are BBS, and my neck is a solid DFS. Overall shave is a DFS+, Closeness A-, Irritaion A-, Keenness B+, and Smoothness A.

Use a new aftershave for the first time. Stephan is a cheap classic aftershave. It has as much burn as Clubman, but the scent is clean lime. Skin feel is very good. It’s a little longer lasting than the Lustray aftershaves, but not quite as much as Pinaud. Good choice in an office where you can’t wear strong scents.

 

Thanks Clint.

 

I am following your posts on the Pils closely. It's certainly a razor I would consider adding to my collection at some point.

 

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/sos-january-4-2016-january-10-2016.48945/page-23#post-967767

See the link for the photo. I'm struggling with my phone to upload pictures via tapatalk. I can upload one but any other posts seem to time out before I can get the photo up. Oh well.

I pondered changing out the blade yesterday but ended up not. That was a mistake. Today's shave was harsh and tugged. But I muddled through and ended up with a PPS (p*ss poor shave). Guess I'll do it again tomorrow.

 

Awesome Doug! Use it in good health for many years! Very generous Mark!

 

Keith, that's a beautiful Kamisori.

How often do you touch up your blade edges when you're not doing a focus?

Do you ever look at your blade edges with a loupe? I have a 10x loupe and plan to do this. I usually inspect the results of my shaves in a 10x mirror, and that shows me where I can improve. "Mirror, mirror on the wall...."

 

Glad to hear everything is going so well and you have not caused any permanent damage! I have enjoyed following along with the first week of SR use! As a wise Samurai once told me, have patience and keep at it! Have a fantastic Friday and a great weekend!

 

Wow, this is a great idea! Helps quiet all the noise and confounding factors between varying different parameters. As a newbie, I will be focusing on my technique, incorporating the tips I read here on the forums and trying some experimentation to learn what works best for my face. I really only have one setup so I'll be using that lol. My goal by the end of the focus is to know the grain of my beard like the back of my hand. Good luck to all in their quest for greatness.

 

Sorry to hear you are still hurting. Probably wise to be off this board when you have bad ribs though. Some of the shenanigans can cause definite pain from laughing. Also happy to hear the Wild County worked well for you. Somewhere along the way I read it was inspired by Clubman. To me it is sweeter or Clubman has a little extra spice or something.

 

Beautiful picture! Very classic looking!

 

Welcome to the 30DC! Focusing on technique is the best way to get started! Our mantra is TTT Technique Trumps Tools or just Technique Technique Technique. This thread is all about technique . . . well, that is not totally true. We are definitely about technique but we also end up with plenty of shenanigans to go around and are really about having a good time while learning everything we can about traditional shaving. It is a great group and there are some really wise individuals here to assist, offer suggestions, answer questions, or whatever! Join in, tell us about your gear and what you will be using, tell us about your shaves and experiences, and keep the focus on technique. You will find that sticking to one set up, in particular doing the 30 day rule described in the first post, will greatly improve your technique and then will allow you to easily transition into any other gear that you get as a result of all the acquisition disorders that are possible probable guaranteed to occur.

 

Love that brush! Love the size of that 28mm UberSoft. Did you make the aluminum handle or get it from somewhere? On the AS, I assume since you called it clean lime scent it is not that candy life saver flavored lime that some AS end up with?

 

January 2016 Focus -- Blade search for the 1958 Executive

January 8

Razor: Gillette 1958 Executive adjustable
Blade: Ladas (1)
Brush: Stirling Kong
Soap: Stirling Spice
Post: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel, Old Spice

My phone wont let me add a picture, so picture to be added when I get home for lunch.

A very good first shave using the Ladas blade. It is nice to get back to a decent blade after the mess that was the dorco blade. The first pass was nice and smooth and had great reduction. My ATG pass also went very well and very smoothly! A very nice blade for this razor. I did not do a complete ATG pass though because on one part of my neck, near the Adam's apple, I still had a little irritation from the dorco blade. So I took it easy on that spot and did a WTG then XTG pass instead of doing my usual XTG ATG passes. I still ended up with a good clean shave. Even the area on my neck had little irritation (basically nothing more than what it had coming into the shave). I ended up with a DFS+ shave without having to try hard at all.

Have a fantastic Friday and a great weekend!

 

That sounds good let me get more kit together so I have something to bring to table and we will start if you like.

 

Beautiful pic and setup as always.

 

Love your pic and your dedication. Hope you heal up soon.

 

Great pic love that brush.... I need a better brush.

 

Glad you are finally off the dorco's it feels like you've been on them for ages to me, so it must of felt like an eternity to you