January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

30 Day Soap Focus
Today I tried a new soap; Dr John's Aphrodite. This soap was a pleasant surprise. It is a fairly soft soap that immediately whips up a nice lather. It has a nice scent and provides a nice cushion. Today was the second day on an NOS Gillette blade. It will be the last day. I have too many other blades that are smoother. Have a great day!
SOTD
Dr. John's Aphrodite
Omega Boar
'61 Flair Tip
NOS Gillette blade (2)
Alum
Pinaud Lime Sec AS

 

SOTD
January 20, 2016
Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost
Razor: Mongoose B3 Dr. Bomber Handle
Blade: Feather Professional
Lather: Route 66- Retro Spice
Brush: Oscar11 28mm Silvertip
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Myrsol F/Extra
Great shave. Man Retro Spice is slick as ice! I love this soap!! Head shave later.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE!

 

Kerry, so many pretty colors in this photo!

 

Razor: Gillette Black Beauty (R2) 1971 (5)
Blade: Personna SS Lab (6)
Brush: White Handle Nylon 3-D WD 24-67 Silver Tip
Soap: Proraso Cream
Bowl: White Nylon 3-D
Another excellent DFS with this combination of shaving gear. For some reason the number 5 setting on this razor provides me with a close comfortable 3 pass shave. The other Gillette adjustable razors I have it is the #7 setting that works best for me.

 

Douglas, very beautiful, colorful, chilli looking photo!

 

Thanks very much. It's difficult to keep up with people at TSD.

 

.
Laser focus...

 

No! It's....Science!

 

Route 66 was my biggest happy discovery of 2015 in TSD world. @Douglas Carey knows a winner!

 

January 20, 2016 (Shave 11 of this focus)
Razor: Cattaraugus The Magnet
Strop: Drygulch Leatherworks American Bridle/ Linen
Soap: The Shave Den Iced Yin Yang
Brush: 28mm Ubersoft in Aluminum handle
Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Alum Bar, Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Fine American Blend

Picture includes today’s watch and ring selection. Band on the watch is Zuni inlay, and the ring is Navajo. I’m not a watch collector, so all of my watches are Timex, which I don’t have to feel bad about when I bang them on something.

My focus this month is on finishing treatments for straights, but is turning more into a focus on honing in general. This razor was a recent acquisition, and did not have a shaving edge at all when I got it. The blade is actually magnetized. After a little clean up on the blade, I set the bevel on a 1k Japanese waterstone, then progressed through my three Welsh natural hones, using slurry on the coarsest one. I am getting better at seeing where I am in the honing process, but right now have two pretty much bald forearms, and my calves are getting bald as well from testing. I finished up with 10 laps on the Chromium Oxide pasted strop, 40 on the linen, and 100 on the leather. Viewing the edge though 30x magnification, it was somewhat polished, but I could still see scratch marks from the honing. I thought I had done a pretty good job with this razor, but the only way to test a straight is to shave with it.

Did my first N/S pass. Tuggy. Rather than going to my S/N pass, I did an XTG pass. I realized that this is my technique to deal with razors that aren’t quite sharp enough to go right to ATG. Not sure what it says about my sharpening skill that I have adapted my shaving methods to compensate for them. Did a S/N pass, using more blade angle than normal to get the whiskers cut. Over all, the shave ended up a DFS but had some irritation. B+ for closeness, C- for irritation, C for keenness, and C for smoothness. In the way I have been rating my shaves this month, I have noticed a solid link between how sharp/keen the blade is and how smooth and irritation free my shave is. Going to go back to the hones and see if I can work those scratch marks out of the edge, as that should make the shave more comfortable.

 

Nice photo.

 

Thanks, Doug! One of these days I am going to drag my gear out into the snow for a picture to get a good one like yours, but I am normally shaving when it is still dark outside.

 

Your stuff still looks very good I really like the watch band and ring. Nice touch!

 

Beautiful gear Adam, your mug looks super!

 

January 20, 2016

30-day focus with my Schick Type C1 - The Simplified Schick Automatic Razor.

Shave 13 - on the road in WA.state.

Razor: Schick Type C1
Blade: FergieFeather (2)
(Feather AC Pro, cut down to fit as suggested by @Billyfergie
Soap: RazoRock P.160



Growth from yesterday's first shave with the FergieFeather was minimal, like so many shaves this month.

(hmmm...internal philosophical interlude - could there be something to all this talk about facial hair growing more slowly during the winter?...is there something to be said about this global warming stuff?...if a train leaves NY for Chicago at the same time as one from Chicago to NY, but in the winter...OH sorry)

Anyway, minimal 24-hour stubble so I challenged my early morning shakes again and used the modified Feather AC Pro for a one-pass ATG shave.

Once again a very sharp, close and mostly smooth shave. Still working on the best approach to my chin since I've abandoned the goatee. (Mustache has survived.)

The success I've had this month with each of four different blades, so far, has me thinking that I will continue the blade trials with the rest of my injectors over the course of the next few months, possibly into the summer.

Cheers!
RT

 

Great write up @Rufus T. Introspective and funny too.

 

Well, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! (He said, while his eyebrows danced on his forehead.)

Thanks Roby!

 

Do you think that guy shaves with a razor or something else?

 

Good post. The growth of facial hair in the Winter is directly related to the amount of time one spends outside in cold weather. The colder the weather, the more time outside the faster the facial hair grows. IMHO

 

Sorry for late response I haven't shaved or been on TSD for almost three days now. had one of those busy periods life throws at you sometimes. I am in the UK and will check the link out now as well as catch up on the 300 posts I imagine I have missed.