January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

The dark side is proud.

 

Outstanding attitude. I love the quitters never win, and winners never quit.

 

Don't tell Vince but it's tied to the tail getting a great view!

 

Jan 12 Focus Shave 9

Big shave today, huge brush and a big heavy Hart Steel 7/8

Today's razor is a Hart Steel finished with Shapton 12k, CrOx then Fe3O2, diamond. The shave felt very smooth and the blade sharp.I did 4 passes and the only blood was from a nick on my ear. The alum confirmed the smoothness, just a tickle and the bonus was I finished with BBS.

Irritation A Closeness A Smoothness A Keenness A-

I am not sure I can tell the difference between the different treatments of the edge but one think I do notice, my technique has improved. I have allot more consistence in my results. Today's blade was smoother than yesterdays with the only difference being the diamond paste finish and the 7/8 is bigger and heavier... and the QCS

QCS Fougère
Simpson Polo 12 super badger (This brush is huge)
Large Whitehead scuttle
Hart Steel 7/8 Shapton 12k CrOx, Fe3O2, diamond
Dry Gulch strop
Speick AS
L'Occitane Cade ASB
Houbigant Fogère Royale

 

Shavettes are the most aggressive least forgiving shaving tool there is... if you want a challenge it is a good choice. My first and second shaves with a shavette left me blood, scarred and delayed my straight razor journey by a year.

The blade exposure may look the same but it is not even in the same league regarding aggressiveness and requires a completely different technique.

 

I like to set my Futur to 6 (but not with a Feather blade). It is one loud razor. Enjoy, the Futur is one of my top DEs.

 

I'm one of the chosen. It leaves the urine smell in the bottle. My fiance thinks its a very mild flowery scent. Her exact words were " Yummy and sexy smelling"

 

my Semogue is M favorite brush. I forgot which model I have but it was a very cheap wood handled one 14 something I think. It releases tons of lather but I have to shake pretty hard to get the extra water out before I load up. Then when I add water I just dip less then a half inch of the tips in a bowl of warm while I'm face lathering.

 

I do 20 laps on the green side clean the blade 20 on the red , clean the blade then 40 on leather. I end up doing that about once every 5-7 shaves. My beard is rough on blades it's got very thick hairs and its fairly dense as well.

 

Shave Five of my focus, and I was a bit rushed, once again, but I managed to get another great shave! I do a three pass with touchups, and I just have to run through my mental list of problem areas (anything I'm forgetting?) before the final cold rinse. After January ends, I will take February off and return to random selection and whim shaving, but I plan to inaugurate my own system of focus months periodically through the year.

Such a great way to really fine tune my shave.

 

Shavettes are less forgiving and more likely to bite then straights. To this day I have only once cut my face with a straight but shavettes bite me regularly. I have cut myself more with safety razors then I have with straights and I've been using straights a long time. Stick to the DE/SE razors for at least a few months before trying straights and save the shavette for after you are comfortable with the straight.

 

Tuesday, January 12, 2015

Blackland Blackbird
Gillette Silver Blue #1
Rubberset 400 #3 Omega 10066
MDC Original
Witch Hazel + Menthol, Whipped Shea Butter
Fine Platinum

I began shaving with much trepidation today due to the mixed reviews of this razor. This is a solid razor with good weight. It’s heft did most of the work and I had no trouble keeping a light touch. The long handle is a perfect fit and has a great grip even when soapy. My shave today was two passes +clean up, closeness A and irritation A+. The razor left very little stubble for clean up. The angle was easy to maintain throughout the shave. The Blackbird is one cool razor and a great DE shaver. The honeymoon period has officially begun. Finished with a splash of Fine Platinum. Have a terrific Tuesday you all.

 

Sorry to hear you hurt yourself. Hope you're feeling better soon.

 

ok I got done reading my back log of over 200 posts. Now I need to go shave so I have something to post about. I have been under the weather and suffering with leg pain due to Army injuries and a snow storm passing over us. I have a good 3 or 4 day growth to mow down. I'm going to use the heavier ground unmarked straight today since it deals better with heavy growth with less blade flex. Proraso white and the semogue brush for lather. Probably axe shield to help hydrate my skin for the cold dry weather we finally have.

 

I'm actually chosen as well. My wife actually likes it on me. I couldn't resist posting the picture I posted though.

 

SOTD January 12, 2016
Focus Day 9

Prep: Warm shower
Blade: Rapira Stainless (2)
Razor: Wet Shave Club 3-piece
Brush: Satin Tip 'The Purest' synthetic
Lather: Proraso White
Post: Witch hazel splash, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up

Quick and efficient shave. Light beard growth from 24 hour shaving interval so only needed a WTG pass with touch-up on my neck. The ability to shave with those limited passes is good for me to help avoid any possible irritation and over-shaving. The urge to get every single hair is not good for me! My face can't take a 3-pass shave on a daily basis. In fact I could probably shave every other day and be okay, but I don't want to do that! So I'm enjoying the "less is more" approach.

The Proraso lather needed a touch more water this morning as it started to dry up a little bit on my neck. There was a little tugging down there and it wasn't too comfortable. The touch-up lather was much better.

Hope you all have a great day!

 

That is basically what I did. It definitely smoothed out the razor a bit.

 

There is a Korean saying for an injury or mishap at the the beginning of the year. It is pronounced Aeck Daem, it means that all the bad for the year happened at once and at the beginning of the year so you will have good luck for the rest of the year.

 

Hoping the Alabama football game is relieving your pain! (21-14 3rd Qtr)

 

Sheesh, your Aristocrat traveled first cabin on its cruise with me, you're "treating" my Goose to steerage?!!!