January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

That's right Chris....this show never ends. We may THINK it does as we finish our daily shaves, but......NEAUPE.

 

Charlie, I see a whole new role for your here, sought of a TSD Razor Robin Hood thing.
Scouring the world's flea markets, taking from the razor rich and giving to the razor poor.

 

Focus - Hard Soaps
Today was the fourth shave on the road with my travel kit of an EJ DE89 and Arko. The DE 89 was my first safety razor and I forgot how well it shaves. With a Feather blade I can get two pass BBS with it consistently. I had intended to throw a Palmolive stick in the kit this week for variety, but forgot. That's not a problem because the Arko provides a great face lather.
SOTD
Arko
AoS Pure Badger travel brush
EJ DE89
Feather (4)
MK Sport Cologne


I'm a little behind on keeping up with the threads as this has been a busy trip. I hope everyone is well.
I'm heading home today and can't wait to dig into the pass around box that is waiting for me at home.
Happy Friday!

 

Glad you made it safe and sound. Okay safe!

 

Interesting, I find my pre-war tech to be slightly more aggressive than my newer ones. I love using a really sharp blade in it, and can usually get a two and half pass BBS.

 

I will certainly keep it in mind I looked at ordering mbomb and shipping was 3x the cost of it so I think I need to order a good load of stuff at once.

 

Planned 15 January 2016

Day 15 - 90 Day Intro to SR



Whipped Dog "Sight Unseen" 5/8
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Route 66 Lumberjack
Alum
TSD Barber Shoppe AS Splash


Have a fantastic Friday!
​

 

Razor: Gillette Black Beauty (R2) 1971
Blade: Personna SS Lab (1)
Brush: Frank Shave Finest Badger (travel brush) 20/45
Soap: Stirling Soap Co. Cool
A/S: TSD 2x Iced Yin Yang

 

Glad you survived. I know how bad Columbia traffic is when it is raining, I can only imagine how Atlanta traffic gets! It is a death defying exercise on a good day! Love that olivewood brush handle too. I think I am going to have to get one of those. The grain is just beautiful!

 

Like the travel tin for the razor. Almost looks like an Altoids tin or something along those lines. Was it bought or did you make it?

 

That is what I've been doing up till now. I will still rotate through all my razors, I would just like one that works well for me all the time, like a baseline. I'd use it the most but still use my other razors and it would be the one I travel with.

 

It is an Altoids tin. I bought it on Etsy from a shop called ShaveStash. I like it a lot.

 

Good morning Everyone (or afternoon)!
I am enjoying my last few days at home before heading back out to school, so get ready for the crappy dorm SOTD pics haha. Again, I will post a pic of my SOTD but I'm going to talk about my focus in this thread instead of the shave. So I paired a Voskhod blade with my 65 Gillette Super Speed Flairtip. I was expecting pretty poor results to be honest because it is a smooth blade (not that sharp) and I paired it with IMO one of the mildest razors on the planet. It worked much better than I thought. Very smooth but still pretty close. I like Personna Lab Blue blades better in this razor, but am getting great results with Voskhod blades!

 

Shave six of the january focus.

I'm using a Merkur 37C and Astra SP blades. So far, everything is going very well, except that I'm yearning for my other razors and blades! I admit that the 30 day focus is HUGELY beneficial, but I am a loose cannon shaver, and part of me resents the restraint! I find myself dreaming of that first- post focus - shave.

All the same, I am learning a lot. The whole point is to focus on a particular aspect of my shave -- that is going VERY well! I'm learning more about shaving than I could from a year of whim shaving. That has been my shaving philosophy so far. I enjoy the random fun of whim shaving, but it does not give me many insights to aid in moving forward -- a month long focus is brilliant for showing me all the ways that I can improve.

I can't say enough good things about the FOCUS -- major improvement in my shave satisfaction! I plan many personal focus months in the time ahead.

 

January 2016 Focus -- Blade search for the 1958 Executive

January 15

Razor: Gillette 1958 Executive adjustable
Blade: Bolzano Superinox Inossidabile (1)
Brush: Stirling Kong
Soap: Stirling Executive Man
Post: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel, Fine American Blend


Wow! I have never used a feather so cannot compare, but this is definitely the sharpest blade I have used. However, it is INCREDIBLY smooth! It sliced through my coarse hair without any issue. Ended up with one weeper which was user error because the angle was not perfect and the blade is so sharp. I actually dialed the second pass down to 6 instead of having it on 7. The ATG second pass was great! So smooth. Hardly felt anything as it just glided through the hairs. Did touch up on my jaw line and around my Adam's apple. Ended up with one of the closest shaves I have ever had! Definitely BBS and with no problems except the one user error weeper because I got complacent in watching my angle.

Definitely looking forward to day 2 with this blade. I am glad my beard grows pretty fast because as smooth as this shave was and still is 7 hours later, I may not have much tomorrow to shave! Thinking if this blade holds up for a couple more shaves I may have to order some. Found a great price for them at http://www.giftsandcare.com.

Have a fantastic Friday and a great weekend!!

 

Is the inside material foam? I am thinking about making me one of these because it is an excellent idea!

Edit: Never mind, I found where it is a 3D printed piece inside. The Etsy shop is currently on break, but I think I may try and make my own inside using some foam. Thanks again for the info!

 

I must say, the Fine fellas work fast. Just out of the gate, and already we see the aftershaves come in spray form.

 

I've got some Bolzano blades -- can't wait to try them. The january focus forbids me, but I've got them queued up for february.

The whole travel kit razor question is certainly a fascinating problem -- particularly in view of today's travel restraints. I have a wonderful Shavecraft 101 that I keep for travel, and it is a recurrent fear of mine that I'll accidentally leave it in a carry-on bag and that the TSA will confiscate it! Above The Tie offers a beautiful leather travel case beyond compare, but I don't want to risk confiscation -- I've heard horror stories of the TSA confiscating even bladeless DE razors (shudder).

 

My Fiancee got me a sample pack of all their scents for Christmas from Maggards. Love the Fine AS!

 

Today's use with the Bolzano was definitely a great first impression! I am looking forward to the next couple shaves to see how well it holds up. Trying to find them at a decent price was not easy, but it looks like thanks to a strong dollar now is the time to order from the UK and get them from giftsandcare while the getting is good.