February '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion Thread

That's a fine looking focus in my opinion.... I should do something like that Just kidding. I do agree with you about MWF...even though I struggle at first to get it to lather once I get the ration right there is no denying it is a top quality soap. It would easily be my absolute favorite if it had menthol.

 

And now Part 3 of the seemingly never ending saga of my 30 Day Focus for February...my soaps. I am going to use a 7 day rotation, so I can use each soap with each of my four razors....with my Gillette 7 o'clock Super Stainless blades. I might mix in the occasional cream, eg. TOBS Natural.
1. Cella
2. Haslinger Schafmilch
3. MWF
4. Pre de Provence
5. Proraso
6. Saponificio Varesino
7. Valobra

 

You could always M-bomb the MWF. I'm yet to try M-bomb myself but I've heard good things.

 

Which variety (color) of Proraso?

 

I agree with @Mr. Freeze93 that this focus/rule looks really good. I also really enjoy MWF. I've only used it a couple of times so far but it's going to get used a good bit more this month.

 

Proraso White!

 

Just an ok shave tonight. Shave #3 for the gem ptfe so I didn't push to hard. The 2 pass routine is really growing on me as is the kistna balm.
Now for my discovery, some of you may remember I had issues loading my blades. I've just realised 1 of the 2 teeth that hold the blade at the start of the comb was bent in more than the other. We are talking half a mm. But I knew the blade was never in straight. Ive bent it back level with the other by eye and now the blade sits in just right. It would seem I've been using my ER 1924 as a slant inadvertently. I have high hopes for tomorrow's shave.

 

Hmm... Never thought about how hard it would be to add menthol to a hard soap. You could do like I do sometimes and use Noxema as a Preshave I suppose. I never had the lathering issue a lot of others struggle with. I don't know if that's our very soft water or what.

 

I thought of that but seems like it would be a PIA with a hard soap. Regardless, M-Bomb is a killer menthol additive.

 

I looked into getting some to M-bomb snake bite, thankfully these fine gentleman (no pun intended) talked me down.

 

Coming off a month of Gillette Old Types, I'll just be glad to get away from every blade load being loosy goosy and eye balled. Wishing you luck!

 

Thanks. I was putting it down to operator error, until I really scrutinised it.

 

Good job on spotting the issue with the teeth. I would think that the shaves should improve with the blade being straight.

 

Thanks clint. I wasn't sure if the left side had bent in or the right had bent out. Logic says it would be bent in rather than out as that would require prising. Guess we will see tomorrow. I'm happy with the exposure so think I bent the correct side.

 

It hurt too!

 

Ok, so I'm not crazy. On the neck and cheeks I've been scything/sliding like a slant razor. Super close shaves. Skin stretching is the key! I will try the really short stroke pattern again later today.

 

Sounds like a good month! Maybe try stropping the Voskhod on your jeans, palm, or forearm before day one? Some here are big fans of that technique, primarily @Drygulch , he strops everything, I believe. Good luck with your Focus!

 

To go frozen with a hard puck, just scrape off a bit of soap, place scraping in bowl, add M Bomb 3-7 drops, and enjoy!

 

February Focus - German blades

February 1

Razor - Merkur 23c
Blade - (1)
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip
Soap - Arko stick
Post - Cold rinse, Alum, Aqua Velva Musk

And so it begins. The second month of 2016 and I dispatched the cartel boys to Germany to find some blades to try out. Now, sending Igor, Ivan, Boris, Yuri and the rest of the clowns boys to a country famous for making and consuming mass quanities of beer is almost as stupid as sending them home to Russia where the vodka runs like rivers in the streets. They did send me a picture of them doing research on blades, though, which made me feel......well.......anyway.......

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Once they regained consciousness they did manage to send me some authentic German steel to try out in my authentic Merkur 23c razor that I normally reserve for head shaves. Couldn't let a German razor go to waste with German blades around though.

Today's selection is the Timor blade, manufactured by Feintechnik GmbH, home of the Croma brand. Their website includes some basic information, mentions they have been making blades since 1920, and also features lots of pictures and links to their cart systems. Of course. We don't care about stinking carts though, we have legitimate DE steel to use. The blade is branded with the Solingen name as well, though the company is located in the Thuringia region (for those of you who just love love love geography).

I chose to start the month with Arko stick and the Wolf Whiskers for a fantastic face lather and went to work. I must say, if all the blades this month feel like this one I will have a very good month indeed. Not only is it sharp but it is smooth. The first pass was highly effective and incredibly comfortable and when I followed with the XTG on the second pass I was essentially done. I'm talking BBS in two passes. Well, maybe I have to call it a near BBS as there was one spot on my neck that needed a touchup. But that was it. Unbelievably smooth and two passes and a touch up to BBS. I'll take that all day everyday. However, some sharp blades can leave behind irritation to deal with so I have to wait for the alum to make the final call. Cold rinse felt good, and the alum....quiet as a kitten taking a nap on a soft carpet. Seriously a fantastic shave to start the month.

In order to rate each blade I'm using the "stein-o-meter" method. A rating from 0 to 5 German beer steins. Day one of the Timor gets the top rating! Enjoy your Monday!

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It's your face, freeze it your way!

(H/t @swarden43 )