If you can't get the baby with Nair it's time to hang up your razor.

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True, but I suspect that the Alum would be *really* unhappy after the shave.

That's the problem with alum. It's so touchy. The slightest irritation really sets it off. I think it may need anger management.

Thanks for the input. Clearly you're a very talented and knowledgeable shaver since you are replicating my results . You did, however, miss the weepers I found which is a good thing. I'll add this to my list to get put into the results. Thanks again and I'll see you at the Rapira!

Final shave on the Dorco ST-300 is in. I was hoping to have time to post it but nope. Got behind this morning so I'll take care of it this evening. Hope you have a great Saturday and I hope I'm so busy today I can't check in here at all until we close. Nothing personal. It's all about $$$$$$$ today. Have a great one!

July Focus Day 16:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
MWF
Case Barbers' Notch
Stirling Unscented PSB
Gillette Cool Wave AS
Musco Real Oak Moss Cologne

First shave with this razor on loan from @Drygulch. This was probably the best shave I have had with a straight in a while. This razor is great. It seems a bit narrow, but it is easy to shave with. I kept it to one pass and some clean up, as I was running late, but it ended with an easy DFS. Tomorrow, I will plan on a full two passes. I will add that I really had the MWF dialed in today as well. It provided a great base for a great shave. I hope everyone has a great day!

July 2/3 Focus Badger Brush


The Vulfix 660 served up scraps of Strop Shoppe tallow like a champ. I still have one sample I haven't used - London Fog I think. Shame they shut down. I ordered 6 different little ones, never bought a full sized tub. Thanks to @Bama Samurai for the trade of this Schick type J. I'm still enjoying the Chick blades, too. Heavier gauge steel makes for longer service than DE blades. Three passes + touch up with no errors, quiet alum, and a splash of Lime EO & Patchouli infused witch hazel FTW!

Rockwell 6S/R5 Plate/ Voskhod (4)
Stirling 24mm Finest 2 Band
The Fat
Thayers
The Veg

Well my attempts to skip shaving until Monday to see how the razor handles heavy growth got killed. Got a call at the unholy hour of 3 a.m. (about 30 minutes after I finally fell asleep) asking if I could come in for 5 a.m. as one of the new guys called and woke up the boss man saying he couldn't handle the stress and wasn't coming in. Told him I'll be there quicker than two jiggles of a jack rabbits rear end and hung up. Flew out of bed to iron my Chef's Coat and what not and bolted into the shower after setting up a pot of coffee. Grabbed my "No Brainer" setup (stuff that can give me a great shave even if I am not coherent enough to talk) and hopped in the shower. After an insanely quick shower I was right back at the sink loading The Fat like I hated it. Face lathered and went to town on my pretty mug while drinking coffee in between passes. 3 passes and I am BBS all around including my trouble spots. Finished off with a cold water rinse, Thayers, and enough Veg to kill a horse and was out the door.

Tom @twhite was kind enough to send me some stropping blades to try out. Since I purchased an Ever-Ready lather catcher last weekend I decided to toss one of the vintage Ever-Ready blades in it. I did put the blade in a stropping handle first and gave it ten laps on my Drygulch strop to freshen the edge. I got a very nice and very noisy shave with the blade. It will be interesting to see how long the blade lasts. Thanks Tom!
Route 66 Twisted Tweed
Rubberset 400
Ever-Ready Lather Catcher
Vintage Ever-Ready Blade
Alum
Thayers WH
Fine Clean Vetiver AS
Have a great weekend!

Excellent shave with this brush and razor. Used Route 66 Bourbon Jungle soap, and Myrsol Blue aftershave.

Looking for redemption is the Dorko straight. This time I went with a more aggressive angle, what I usually use and the results were similar. Zero irritation, closer than last time but just DFS. The edge is sharp, no doubt, just a mystery why it does not shave as close as my other straights.

Irritation A+ Closeness B+ Smoothness A- Sharpness A

In the Good Old Shavertime!

July 16

Grand Blade Trial

Razor - H1 Gillette Slim(9)
Blade - (3)
Soap - Arko
Brush - Vie Long 12601
Post - Alum, Nivea, The Veg

Well, I have a confession to make. In spite of my experience, my confidence, my proven ability to produce a fine, rich, slick and perfect lather with Arko, I didn't make it happen this morning. I know, shocking, right? It was for me. I did my usual routine with Arko, soaking the brush, wetting my face, rubbing the stick until a nice coating appeared and then hit it with the Pony. I noticed after lathering it seemed a bit, ummmm...well less than Arkoy. But, hey, it's Arko, so it's gotta be great right? And with a Dorco in the razor and the Slim wide open at 9 it needed to be.

Not so much. Now, the pass was a decent pass. The blade felt ok, actually quite smooth for that wide open setting but I was up on the cap and stayed there. It wasn't until the switch to the left side that I noticed the razor clogging with soap. Yep, too dry and thick. I rinsed the razor as well as I could and finished the first pass and was happy to see a nice reduction. Definitely the best by the Dorco. I stopped at that point and cleaned the razor and blade completely. Lots of soap stuck and jamming things up. I then dipped the tip of the brush in the mug after rewetting my face and did a face lather like I was trying to flog the skin off my face. THERE'S the right lather. Ok, ready to go. I'm amazed the first pass did so well.

Second pass XTG and a very smooth feel even though I could feel the difference in aggression. And the final ATG and Gillette Slides, comfortable and landed a very near BBS. Even now it's still better than the past two days. Not as smooth still as the Sharp Star on 6, but definitely a great shave with a blade that isn't widely loved and at a very aggressive setting. There are those who will preach that less sharp blades work best in aggressive razors. In this case, it appears to be true. The 9 and Dorco went very well together.

The downside? Irritation was pretty high. The alum threw a nice burn across most of my face and neck but it was short lived so not terrible. And the first pass with the dry soap may have contributed to that.

So, three days on the Dorco ST-300 and I can say it worked all three days, but got better as it got more aggressive. The Sharp Star started very nice, went perfect, then backed off as it went up. Clearly this blade likes the bigger gap and exposure.

Tomorrow is my first day off from the trials. Sunday is my "use anything else" day. I'm thinking a pain stick may come out or perhaps just a different DE with a Russian blade. We'll see what my mood says in the morning. No matter what, though, it won't be Arko. Again, not because I don't like it but, yeah, I need a day to enjoy a little luxury.

Trial resumes Monday morning with the newest of the Dorco blades (or newest packaging perhaps) - the Dorco Prime. The second blade starting Wednesday is the Zorrik SS. I'll try to get all of my blogging caught up before Monday. Hope you all enjoyed your Saturday!

​

I say Marvy for tomorrow.

No shave today! Long good day... Too tired to do much else. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.

​

Because we all know its your favorite soap.

You're less than convincing. I did see an ad somewhere online for a shaving supply company that featured Marvy soap prominently in their ad. I was rather shock, surprised, and confused.

More likely a toilet paper ad.

July Focus Day 17:

VDH Boar Brush
TSD Lanolin English Fern SS
Case Brothers Barbers Notch
Stirling Unscented PSB
TSD English Fern AS

I had a fantastic shave this morning with this razor. I did two full passes, just a bit of clean up on my neck, and ended in BBS. @Queen of Blades really nailed this scent, too. It was nice and slick, and when combined with the matching AS, it had me smelling fantastic. We are off to a family camp this week, so I will likely be a bit sporadic in my posts. I hope everyone has a great day!