January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

January 15

Gillette Flare Tip Super Speed (Z3)
Feather (2)
Rudy Vey Shavemac two-band silver tip badger
XPEC unscented
Two passes plus touch-ups
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Alt Innsbruck

 

SOTD 1/13/16
Prep: Hot Shower/ Nivea Original Moisturizing face wash
Pre-Shave: PAA Ice Pre-Shave Soap
Soap: Barrister & Mann Latha Limon
Brush: Semogue OC Badger
Razor/ Blade: Merkur 37c Slant/ Personna Lab Blue (2)
Astringent: Alum
Post-Shave: Soap Commander Integrity Balm
Aftershave Splash: Fine L'orange Noire

Last night's shave was a great one. I'm not going to talk about what i used, but I will talk about what I used relating to my January focus. First time using the Semogue OC Badger and I am very impressed. It whipped up a great lather and was noticeably softer than a boar, however still had good backbone because it is so dense. It also is a great sized knot--not too big or too small. I really enjoyed it. I will continue to break it in and see how it goes from there. Also used a 37c slant 2 days in a row with no irritation. Pretty surprised and now another razor is in the running for my primary daily razor. Is it too late to add a focus for January? The focus I want to add is to choose my primary razor by the end of January. Right now, I'm stuck between 4--Muhle R89/ Maggard MR5, Merkur 1906, Merkur 37c Slant, and 1965 Superspeed Flair tip. Thoughts?

 

SOTD January 15, 2016
Focus day 12

Prep: Warm shower
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Razor: Wet Shave Club 3-piece
Brush: Omega 10049 boar
Lather: Arko
Post: Witch hazel splash, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, XTG (neck and jaw only)

This combination produced a nice, efficient CCS this morning. I had never used the Gillette Silver Blue or the Omega brush before. Both seemed to be fantastic, especially the brush. I had tons and tons of lather on the brush from the Arko in the shaving mug. I soaked the brush during my shower and then shook out the water so that it wasn't dripping wet. Then I went to loading for about 20 seconds and then on to face lathering. Huge amounts of lather! That brush is much larger than any others I have, but that worked really well in the deepish mug and then on my face. I really enjoyed it.

The GSB blade seemed to work well also. I've been using Rapira mainly over the past three weeks, and have tried Personna lab blue. The GSB was smooth for me.

I haven't used Arko in a couple of weeks and today's experience was different than any other Arko use. The boar brush just made so much lather with nice consistency. It helped the shave tremendously.

My focus has been focusing on general technique with using the same razor all month. I can happily report my technique has certainly improved. I only had one small weeper this morning around my Adam's apple but haven't had any nicks or weepers much in the past two weeks. I generally am irritation free. So those are all victories in my book. I still need to work on reducing pressure from time to time but all in all I'm feeling more comfortable with it each day.

I hope everyone has a great Friday!!

 

Well, I know little to nothing about razors. It looks like you have a great selection. Why select just one to use more than the others? Why not rotate through them, or pick one that strikes your fancy on that day? If you're set on finding a primary razor then I do feel that would be a great 30-day focus.

 

In honor of NB16, I passed up a vintage Schick injector for $14 today at the local antique mall. It was displayed in a glass case next to a bedpan.

The guys on the SE/injector thread said that I should have snagged it. The razor. Not the bedpan. If the seller is still sitting on it (the razor) tomorrow, I may make my move.

 

Day 14 - 14 January 2016

90 Day Intro to SR



Whipped Dog "Sight Unseen" 5/8
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Route 66 Lumberjack
Alum
TSD ISZ AS under Pinaud Citrus Musk
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Days 11-14 were spent wth the WD straight. The first couple of days were a bit of an adjustment. After two weeks, my strong point is skin stretching, and my weak point is still blade angle. I am definitely getting there, I can get to DFS regularly now, and if I chase a bit, I can get BBS everywhere except the point of the chin bone. But on the bright side, I am gaining confidence and trying to improve each day. Decent shave today, the Route 66 was a treat as always, the alum felt cool today, and the TSD AS is a guaranteed winner! My hand is feeling great, no issues, no worse for the wear. Typing is feeling better, so I will try to read and post more often, I see great stuff here each day! Warmer today and then back to the snow tomorrow. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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Kerry, for science....could you photograph the new Ikon next to a Tech if you have one, side view? I wanna compare the geometry. Thanks.

 

Sorry to hear of your injury, welcome to our club. You are official now. Hang in there! What's the worst that could happen?

 

I'll see if I have a Tech, I may have given it away to my son..

 

No hurry, just if you get a chance. Your "efficiency" remarks intrigue me.

 

I'm not sure if I need to shave tomorrow...14 hours and I'm still pretty smooth.

 

I am having that issue with SR. If I do it well, smoothness lasts hours longer than I am used to.

 

In case you did not know, TSD does not make Pinaud Citrus Musk AS. Just giving you a hard time. Glad everything is going so well with the SR!

 

You could always honor the spirit of NB16 and buy it and then send it to me.

 

Is it a bad thing? No. But I really don't want to miss out on a relaxing shave tomorrow, and I certainly don't want to force a shave and cause irritation. Milder razor tomorrow..

 

Thanks actually, I wanted to link up the TSD AS, got distracted. Fixed now.

 

No problem. Glad I could help. I love the TSD ISZ. Definitely one of my favorite purchases since finding this site. It and the bourbon vanilla are some of my favorites! Like you said, definitely quality products!

 

I wanna shave every day! I hate missing days.

 

Look out......He's BAAAACCCCKKKK!!!!! Landed in the Lou a couple hours ago and finally got home after stopping to eat. All done in Chi-town after three days of nonstop meetings. Yeah, fun fun. Anyway, I'll be catching up tomorrow with what went on with my shaves. The Mongoose didn't get to see much in Chicago but did enjoy the flight both ways. Felt FREE!!!!! I know I have lots to catch up with on here so I'll get to it. Hope you've all had a good week. It's good to be home....both here and in the "real world".

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All a Goose ever asks for is a 'wing'side seat!

Sounds like he had one.
Welcome back!