January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

thank you for the warm welcome!

 

Welcome aboard.

 

Sounds like a PIF.

 

Welcome to the Focus! You'll love it.

 

Or at least know what your favorite is.....

 

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic
iColoniali Mango
Wolfman WR1-OC with Darwin Deluxe Titanium
Feather HS #3
iColoniali Aftershave Balm

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Welcome to the 30 Day Crew! With so many variables committing to a Rule is tough. More important for a brand new Newbie? Easier for someone who only has one each razor/brush/soap. Good luck breaking in that brush. I kind of miss the scrubbiness of a new boar.

 

Don't worry, if it gets by Adam I'll catch it before it crosses the big muddy.

 

I know Slims and Fatboys are the same. Not sure about the toggle though. Another research opportunity!

 

Welcome! After 30 days that brush ought to be good to go!

Sent from my Galaxy S6 using Tapatalk

 

January 4 2017 - and already out of Focus

Razor: Gillette Tech, bar handle, triangle holes ... PreWar?
Blade:. PAL Golden Thin hollowground - carbon steel(?)
Brush: Kent woodhandled "badger effect" boar - no particular model number
Soap: The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream (now croap)
Post: Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Lavender

Having set up a rigid 7-day rotation of razors and blades, I promptly ditched it today to play with something new. In the December TSD Raffle, I won a box of 350 PAL Gold Thin blades donated by @stingraysrock. They arrived today (and turned out to be more like a box of 650). Naturally I wanted to try them out.

I loaded up another vintage razor and went to town. First I lathered using a little-used Kent boar brush, which seems to be breaking in nicely. The boar and badger brushes do definitely need more soap and water than the synthetics to get the same amount of face coverage though.

Then I tried the blade. It was extremely sharp but also felt very rough or tuggy. I noticed the blade wrapper said "PAL Hollow Ground is extra sharp. Use lightly for first 3 or 4 shaves." So I hauled out a 1930s razor blade honing gizmo called a Stanford Sharpener and gave the blade a few strokes inside it. (This particular device uses smooth hardened steel tongues that the blade is run across like butcher's steels). That smoothed out the carbon steel edge and I then enjoyed a very good but still aggressively close shave.

I suspect this means that, so long as I dry the blade carefully to prevent rust, I may actually be able to use this Depression-era blade-saver hone to keep a PAL going almost indefinitely (some of them used to claim to keep blades usable for up to a year of shaves.) I will try it some other month(s) and see how that goes.

Overall a good shave today with no heat from the alum. And back to the regularly scheduled focus tomorrow...

 

Nice picture and that is one gorgeous Aristocrat!

 

Welcome aboard! Glad to have you along.

 

That's the best picture you've posted here Marine. Great looking family! Semper Fi.

 

Happy Anniversary January!!

January 4

Mostly Shavettes

Razor - CJB Greager
Blade - (1)
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush - Semogue 620
Post - Alum

After noticing the dragging from the razor yesterday I switched blades to the Feather Pro. Given the fact that the Fat has always performed perfectly for me and that I've used the Greager before and don't remember it being a problem, I decided to switch the blade to the sharper Feather from the Kai Mild. See if that was what created the drag. And, after tonight's shave, I'm still in full diagnostic mode. While it seemed the shave was a bit smoother with the Feather in the razor, I still felt like it was dragging. And, the angle of the razor didn't seem to affect the drag much. The result was ok, with a near DFS at the end of two passes, but I went ahead and did a quick pass with my '59 Super Speed and Sharp Star combo to take it to near-BBS. And now I have to figure out what to try to diagnose the drag.

There seem to be two possibilities. The first possibility is that the Greager is creating the drag due to its finish. Seems a bit unlikely, especially since it's only the lip that is touching on the pass, but that may be enough. The second possibility would be that the Fat is not slick enough. That seems preposterous given the fact I can barely hold the soap bowl in my hand without it slipping out when it has lather on it. And, the finger feel of the lather is super slick. So, tomorrow I'll stick with the Fat, and the Feather Pro, but switch to the Feather SS razor. And, if that doesn't cure the problem, then on Friday I will go back to the Greager and switch to Arko since I know it will provide the lather I'm looking for. And, if none of that works........then I guess it's my face. You may fire away with the jokes now.

In any case, I'm going to solve this problem one way or another!

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Your comment about increasing aggression as a blade dies brings up a larger point. In general, mild razors work best with very sharp blades, and more aggressive geometry will make a smoother, yet less sharp blade really shine. It's a system, and matching geometry to different blade edges is one way to later the performance of a given razor design. This is where the whole "what blade is best debate" falls apart. It's only half the question.

 

Feeler gauge time?

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Journey Down Route 66
4 January 2016


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Go ahead, take the day off tomorrow. Let your boss know I said it's ok. Nothing going on here, a storm rages on the other side of that wall! The shave however, was the normal two pass goodness. Shark SS and R66 did their voodoo and left me feeling right once again. Shavettes are all about angle and pressure, and I am really close to declaring myself a full time shavette user after getting it down. The results are superb. Now, I don't wanna scare off @wristwatchb with too much heroics this month, so the Adidas seemed like a non threatening AS option. Hope he's enjoying retirement, next thing you know he'll be dreaming about barre chords and playing in Honky Tonks until three in the morning on a Tuesday, but I digress. Big storm as mentioned, so I may be online a lot tomorrow, so look busy . More shenanigans and cookies all the way around, please. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a terrific Thursday!