April 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix&Discussion Thread

04/19/2016
AlumiGoose V1 with Triad SS
Feather Pro (3)
Rubberset 400 #3 with WSP HMW
Tiki Cabernet Neroli
Witch Hazel
Folsom & Co. Shambala
Whipped Shea Butter

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I have been using recently acquired brushes and have neglected this big beast. The 400 whipped up a mountain of rich think lather in short order. I went with the AlumiGoose today to continue to compare it with the Cobra Classic. Going with the same 2 pass shave, XTG & ATG, I had the near BBS without any touch ups. So I decided to chase the baby and caught it with ease. Finished with a splash of F&C Shambala and I am ready for the day. I hope everyone has a fantastic Tuesday.

 

Straights Focus April 19:

VDH Boar Brush
Mitchell's Wool Fat
GACR
Injector Type G
Stirling Unscented PSB
Barbasol Pacific Rush AS

This was one of the razors I got in all my BST the past couple of months. It supposed to be shave ready; it's not. I'll need to send it off to get hones at some point. I decided to finish up with my Injector Type G. I ended with a DFS. Now it's off to start my day. Hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

 

Great picture, Clint!

 

SOTD April 19, 2016
Russian blades focus

Prep: Warm shower
Blade: Astra Superior Platinum (2)
Razor: Maggard MR1 handle with V2 open comb
Brush: Semogue 1520 boar
Lather: Soap Commander Endurance
Post: Witch hazel splash enhanced with Old Spice knock-off, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up



Pretty smooth, nice shave in one pass with touch-up. In the vein of @Rusty blade I am going to finish off this sample of Soap Commander Endurance before moving on to the next soap. This my first use of a Semogue brush and it didn't disappoint. I soaked it while I was in the shower and then it only took a few seconds to load up and then apply to the face. I ended up with great lather.

Astra blade worked well again in the open comb Maggard razor. All in all a nice shave!

Have a great day everyone!

 

Thank you.

 

April 18 - Straight Shave 46
Henckels Twin Works #50
PSO, hot shower, Nivia face wash
Jayaruh #40 Synthetic
Chiseled Face Ghost Town Barber Soap & AS
Alum

I don't think my WTG North-south pass really does much. Changed first pass to ear to mouth, then mouth to ear on second pass. Third pass south west to north east. All neck passes are south north for the most part. End result is BBS!

 

SOTD
April 19, 2016
Prep: Hot Shower. Noxzema
Razor: Mongoose B3 Dr. Bomber Handle
Blade: Feather Professional
Lather: Italian Barber Amici
Brush: Custom Ever-Ready 100T w/Shave Revolution Synthetic 22mm knot by Clint @theFAT98
Post: Thayers Rose Petal WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Italian Barber Amici
The Mongoose is such a great razor!! IB Amici is a wonderful slick, cushion-y and wonderful post shave soap. The matching aftershave is a must have with this soap. Yesterday I received a package from my friend Clint, he had told me he was sending me a jar of soap, well also in the box was this stunning Ever-Ready 100T! I absolutely love this brush!! Thank you Clint. Thank you.
What defines us is how well we rise after falling.

 

How did it perform for you?

 

Soap Focus
I believe this focus has officially moved me over to soaps from creams. I have enough creams to last me a year but doubt that I will buy more when they are gone.
SOTD
Route 66 Cavendish
Doug Korn synthetic brush
Mongoose
Feather Pro Super blade
Alum
Thayers Witch Hazel
Déjà Fougère AS

And when it comes to soaps, I have yet to find one I like more than Route 66. It takes no time to whip up a beautiful slick lather.

Have fun!

 

ArkoApril in Russia!

April 19


Razor - 1959 Gillette Super Speed
Blade - (2)
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Soap - Arko
Post - Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel, The Veg

Up and around for a doctor's appointment today. Well, I see the nurse for five minutes, pay my money and get my prescription. Well, actually pay first, then see the nurse. Doctors are such humanitarians these days. Second day on the mighty Voskhod and that makes waking up a good thing. I will have to admit, 19 days into Arko April and I'm beginning to dream of the Fat or Tabac. Arko is still producing a fantastic and easy lather, but, well yeah.....I may have a shorter attention sp........

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Uh, where was I. Oh yeah. That attention thing. No reason to dwell on that, on to the first pass which was very nice and smooth as always. I made a real point of keeping pressure off today. I felt myself pushing a bit so relaxed and let the razor do the work. I find that I notice my grip tightening and pressure increasing earlier than before I used straights and pain sticks. One of the benefits of using all the systems. Second pass was also a good XTG and I went for the full third pass. Very near BBS so I let it go at that. This blade has nothing to prove to me. I changed from alum to witch hazel today and that may be a problem. I haven't used WH much, and now post-shave I'm feeling some irritation and seeing a pretty good amount of redness. The feel is closer to BBS now, in fact I could call it that, but the irritation is puzzling. I'll go back to alum tomorrow and see if it redevelops. The feel of the WH was mild, no real sting or problems. My face may not like it though.

Still looking for volunteers to pick numbers for MAYhem. So far the following have raised their hands:

@ob1page
@DDuckyMark
@Bama Samurai
@English expat
@mrchick
@Norcalnewb
@Mr. Freeze93

I can take up to 30 volunteers so don't be shy. I'll be sharing the details closer to the start of the month.

By that time I hope to have the guys back in their dungeon. They were making good progress yesterday until they ran into a great example of fine Russian engineering.

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That looks more like what I saw living in South East Florida.

Why not make the trip the way Putin would?


On second thought I don't think the shark was working out as I found this image later.

 

Today was Shave #7

Prep - soak brush while showering. Wash face with Neutrogena soap.
Razor - Edwinn-Jagger DE89bl
Blade - Derby (came with razor)
Brush - Parker Safety Razor Silvertip
Soap - DR Harris (Arlington)
After - Aftershave (Mary Kay Domain)



Was very pleased with the shave - still loving the cold water, and plan on staying with that. The shave itself went well - WTH, XTG and a quick ATG - not going for perfection, but I've spent so much time "touching up" areas, that I just went with a quick third pass. After a third pass ATG, there wasn't much that needed touching up. And, I wasn't looking for BBS, so adding the quick third pass seemed to actually save time...?

Lathering - good grief! Still can't get a reliable lather without doing something. This video (http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/newbie-with-operator-error.50702/page-2) added by SRNewb (post #38) makes me get it that I should have no problems. Well, crap. Ended up rinsing bowl and brush out, and starting again. The 2nd time I choked up on the brush a bit, and got it loaded. Kind of ticked at myself for not getting this yet...but I'm sure it will come eventually!

Have an odd work schedule this week (for me at least - actually have to work 8-5 the next 2 weeks...
So, I suppose I'll be shaving daily this week before the trip comes on Saturday...

 

I don't soak anything, i dip my brush in ice cold water and shake it out and load or face lather my brush semi dry, i then add water as needed for my desired slickness. If you start with a soaked brush and or soap, you most likely will end up with a sloppy watery mess.

 

Razor: Gillette Gold Tech 1940's
Blade: Derby Extra (3)
Brush: WDC-4 Silvertip Butterscotch Handle (VIG)
Soap: Route 66 Ghost Town
A/S: Myrsol F/Extra
The Derby blade is working much better now. Must have been that I need some time working with this Tech. The Route 66 Ghost Town has a warm base of spiced woods with subtle hints of leather and powdery vanilla. Accented beautifully with a heart of floral ylang and soft lavender, all brightened with sparkling citrus top notes. This is one more in a line of excellent of shave soaps from Route 66.

 

Great photo Doug. Looks like things might be warming up for you at last.

 

Thanks Clint. Yes finally some heat.

 

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Simpson Chubby 2
Savonnerie Du Bon Berger Cedar Mandarin
The One Blade
GEM SS Coated #2
Witch Hazel, Unrefined Shea Butter, Fine L'Orange Noir

Savonnerie Du Bon Berger easy lathering, super orange scent, great lubrication, excellent skin care. Two pass drama free shave with close to bbs results. The One Blade is a champ with the trouble spots. Finished this fine shave withFine L'Orange excellent matching scent. Have a terrific Tuesday everyone.

 

Arko April!!!

SOTD - 19 April 2016





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Another great two pass automatic DFS from a day-five Derby Extra. Arko never fails...alum was good, the Veg congratulated me for making good life decisions! I really am enjoying this month's kit, flawless performance every time! I must admit though, I mis using a straight.... Weather is back to springtime, other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Fatip Grande
Derby Extra (5)
Arko!!
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Alum
TSD ISZ AS Splash
Pinaud Lilac Vegetal

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
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Monday April 20th

Second shave for my Every Ready Lather Catcher.

While this skinny, small, light weight handle really annoys me it delivered an epic shave today. Long lasting BBS, zero irritation. I have no choice to keep this and try to find a solution to the lousy handle.

Irritation A+ Closeness A+ Smoothness A Keenness A

Definitely staying:
Genco Easy Aces SR, hard to let go of cool looking, great shaving piece of vintage American steel just because it is smaller than I like. It is also my only vintage American SR.
Ever Ready Lather Catcher

Leaning toward staying:
Wade and Butcher will stay in the SR stable until a much nicer specimen can be sourced.
Ever Ready Lather Catcher
GEM Junior

Released after further use:
JR 5/8 round point. I will use this razor to improve my honing skills.

Leaning toward releasing:
Jerry Stark 5/8 SR. Looks great, shaves great just to small a blade. I would prefer to sell this and trade up for a larger blade

Will be released:
Sight unseen Whipped Dog SR. This shaves great but I want to PIF it to someone who wants to get started with SR. (PIFed)
Merkur Vision - despite major coolness she can't compete with an aggressive Futur.
BBS-1 - Give my move to the dark side it is just not aggressive enough to remain in my DE stable. (sold)
Fatip Piccolo (sold)
Mongoose
Merkur 37C slant (sold)
GEM Micromatic Open Comb - or in short MMOC (silver coloured)
GEM Micromatic Open Comb - or in short MMOC (in gold)

 

I volunteer, pick me, pick me!