May 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion

Freedom said it best...

 

That's what I'm talking about, Yea Baby

 

Congrats, Ray!

 

SOTD May 11, 2016



Prep: Warm shower
Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick G1 Injector
Brush: Semogue 1520 boar
Lather: VDH Luxury scented
Post: Witch hazel splash, Speick, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up

Pretty good shave with the G1 injector and VDH soap face lathered with the Semogue boar. VDH isn't my favorite soap. It's not a bad soap by any means but I find it a little finicky to lather and it never seems to be able to thicken up as you face lather like other soaps I have. I'll continue to experiment out of necessity because I plan to use it up.

No nicks or weepers or irritation. I did one big pass with touch-ups around the jaw and neck areas.

Have a great day!

 

05/11/2016
AlumiGoose with Hempel Ti
Feather Pro (3)
Rudy Vey Rover with TGN Finest
Mystic Water Lavender
Witch Hazel
Fine L’Orange
Whipped Shea Butter

​

A very good shave this morning. I loaded the MW Lavender like this morning's shave would be my last. After slowly adding water as I face lathered, the result was a rich slick lavender with a fantastic lavender scent. Going with a 2 pass shave, XTG and ATG, followed by minimal touch ups ended in a near BBS. The usual spot on the bottom right of my neck prevented catching the baby. Finished off with a splash of Fine L'Orange. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

 

Does your G1 have a seam on the handle? Nice setup.

 

Good looking brush razor combination. How is your inner ear situation. Have a good day.

 

I'm not sure. I'll look later today and see.

 

This Schick is listed as a G3.

 

Thank you Doug for the kind words and asking about my inner ear. The inner ear is a little better this morning. Maybe the change in meds have things on the right track. It has been decades since I had ear problems.

 

The guys in the Injector thread said what I have is a G1. Clint and I originally thought it was a G8, but they corrected us. That's a really pretty razor you have there Doug.

 

May Focus Day 10:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
Stirling Bay Rum SS
Injector Type J
Stirling Unscented PSB
Stirling Bay Rum AS

Gym shave today, and the picture was taken in the locker, so excuse the poor quality (at least I have an excuse today). I have now convinced all the other guys there that I am officially crazy. First it was using a shave brush and soap, today I was taking pictures of the inside of a locker.

The shave was very good, though. This was the first time I have used this razor, which I've probably had for at least 6 months. It was definitely more mild than my G but I got a quick DFS that was verging on BBS. I don't pack my alum, but I wish I would have today. I didn't feel any irritation, but in my experience the alum is the best test of technique and irritation.

I am off to Houston for a meeting this morning. I hope everyone has a great day.

 

Wednesday Shower/Shave

Shower- Noxzema facial cleaner, Dr. Bronner's All-One Hemp Peppermint bar soap
Brush- RazoRock Plissoft
Razor- Muhle R41 on a Maggard MR5 handle
Blade- Personna Red (2)
Soap- TSD London for Men lanolin with M-Bomb
Thayers Witch Hazel with grapefruit EO
AS- Florida Water with M-Bomb

A very rare morning shave today, I hadn't shaved since Sunday night and it was driving me nuts. This was my first wet shave without a PSO and I couldn't really tell a difference, maybe I don't need it anymore. Time will tell. Everything else worked flawlessly, three passes and I'm BBS. I'm sold on this Personna blade, it's been the best this month and as of now will go head to head with the GSB.

Up until now, my blade choices have been random however for my next shave, I'm purposely picking the Voskhod. I want a back to back with this Personna. The rest of the focus this month is going good. Riding the cap truly makes for a better shave for me. Have a great day folks!

 

Actually, the Marvy brush you have is the 923 "Retail Brush". If you look at the Shaving Supplies page of their website (http://www.wmmarvyco.com/Shaving1.html), they also list three Omega shaving brushes which, I assume, are OEMed for them.

 

Shave 5 "riding the cap" focus. Riding the cap is much harder with a SS then I would have imagined. Starting with the cap against my face, added a little angle check the stoke and I hear the cries of whiskers being severed. The handle is nearly perpendicular to my face ? Is this right ? Try again on the other side, yep. This razor requires a extremely shallow angle to ride the cap, so much so that I had a hard time keeping it there. I guess i need to spend more time with this razor to get use to it because I gave myself a weeper on the chin and got a little irritation on the neck. Even still I managed to pull off a DFS. Happy shaving my friends

 

May 11, 2016- Soap/Lather Focus

Razor: Standard 160 Goodwill
Blade: German Wilkie (4)
Brush: Chinese Pure Badger
Soap: Williams

Today's lather was courtesy of my cheap Chinese Pure Badger brush. It's very floppy, so it always seems a bit of a challenge for me (I should really do a focus some time based around it). Soap loading and initial lather building was a bit of a dance to get enough hydration. (I tend to say dry-isa with this brush, otherwise it turns into a paintbrush.)

Part way through, I had to stop to handle a small crisis (daughter got scratched by her cat), lather drying on my face the whole time. Back at it with more soap and more water, resulting in a lather which was not great, but stable.

I must have done something right, though, as I ended up with a DFS and no blood for the first time in a few shaves.

I definitely need to try and work some more with this brush. My preference is still a Boar, though I may have to start looking for a Horse or Synthetic just to scratch a nascent BAD itch that seems to be forming.

 

The 923 is the brush I referred to as "the thing he calls a brush". I was wondering if the Omegas he has are exclusive for him.

 

I still prefer boar as well, though my Silvertip has almost convinced me it's the best one. Love my horsies too, especially 35/65, but they do require some effort with certain soaps. Still love that scritch.

 

Good morning!

The @Drygulch shave is in and I'll post it tonight. That sets up the @PLAla shave for tomorrow which will be as follows:

Blade - Dorco 300
Razor - Aristocrat
Soap - Tabac
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip

Almost a perfect lineup! Only the blade is questionable but I should get a feeling for how it actually works in this setup. Last time I had it I couldn't tell for sure if the blade or razor was the problem. Now we'll know. Not as much fun as watching blood flow, I know, but at least it's good for shaving science! Enjoy your Wednesday everyone. Off to my Monday.

Oh, almost forgot. @Joe Babb you're up! Time to determine my fate for Friday. 1-15 for the blade, same for the razor, 1-6 for the soap, 1-7 for the brush.

 

Very nice - glad my choices worked out!