January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

That is a very interesting looking razor. Is it VERY light?

 

I hear that. Just thinking about it makes me laugh.

 

-Irving Barber Co. Razor
-Simpson Classic 2
-Lavender Cream
-Ogallala Bay Rum Limes and Peppercorns

I am really getting dialed in with this razor. I am very nearly BBS, and MAYBE would be except the blade was getting down there, so despite spending quite a little care, I didn't quite get there. I am quite pleased with today's results, however. DFS, no red stuff, and no irritation. I think I am going to shift my focus to the pain sticks, mixing in a DE shavette or two for fun.

 

January 9 SOTD:

Razorock Plissoft Brush
Stirling Frozen Tundra
Gillette SS
B&M Artique AS

What a way to start a work week. I used one of my favorite soaps, Stirling Frozen Tundra, and I got a great lather this morning. It was slick and protective. The SS did a great job this morning, firmly cementing it as my travel razor of choice. I skipped the PSB again this morning, but my skin feels soft and smooth. That is two Stirling soaps I have tried in this focus, and both have done a good job in the post shave feel department. They are as good as the Route 66 or Stubble Trubble. The Artique really had my eyes watering this morning, but it felt great. I hope everyone has a great day!

 

January 9, 2017
Timeless OC .95 Gap with Windrose SS
Feather (3)
Simpsons Chubby 2 Synthetic
Route 66 Twisted Tweed
Witch Hazel
Floid Amber Sample

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Well it's Monday entirely too soon. My youngest is back to high school and my oldest returns to Tuscaloosa today. I have enjoyed having them both around for the holidays. With the Twisted Tweed whipped up into a rich slick lather, I went with a two pass shave and minimal touch ups ending in a near BBS. I finished the shave with a splash of Fine Amber. I'm still trying to decide if I am off to work or off to the doc with this creeping crud. Either way, I hope everyone has a fantastic day.

 

Thanks Doug! Druida makes great brushes don't you agree?

 

So, day two of my NEW blade Focus. Over in the Shave Cream thread I posted that though I have a tube of Proraso Green sitting on my counter I don't use it much. Gonna fix that. For the rest of the week Green is Good(jeez that was terrible). The Feather blade is performing well. Two passer with some neck touch up. Jaw line is still a thing. I've tried stretching the skin, not stretching the skin. Not going to monkey with the blade angle. I'll keep working on it. Happy Monday(hey, stop throwing things!)

 

Beautiful picture and setup amigo.

 

I most certainly agree Mark.

 

ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!

 

Love the B&M Arctique. It is icy cold for Menthol Monday.

 

The bowl is beautiful, Clint.

 

Love the blues, Mark!

 

Thank you Doug,

Yes indeed Roll Tide.

Thank you Jared. The bowl was one of my wife's craft show finds. As soon as I saw it, SOTD Photo came to mind. I don't think that makes me a bad person.

 

It has been an interesting weekend and, as a result, I am off on a new Focus. On Friday night, my wife and I were discussing some issues when the topic turned to issues she was having with my traditional wet shaving. Basically, it came down to the fact that the smell from the shaving soap was making her sick and that I needed to do something else.

I think I've mentioned in the past that she and my daughter both have sensitive noses. What I don't think I've mentioned, though, is that my wife also suffers from chronic nausea from a botched Gastric Bypass and from PTSD from childhood abuse. The latter is especially relevant in this context as one of her triggers is traditional shaving-related scents (e.g., Old Spice, Skin Bracer, etc.). In the past, I've tried to address this by staying to pretty simple soaps (VdH, Williams, Cella) and not even considering A/S or cologne. Apparently, though, this is no longer enough (or she has finally had enough). I'm not completely positive if the issue is the residual smell in the bathroom or the smell on me, but I suspect both based on her various comments.

At my request, she gave me a suggestion as to what to try instead- women's shave cream, no floral scents, preferably Vanilla or Baby Powder scented. On Saturday, I picked up two, one from EOS and one from Gillette, both Vanilla-scented. More on that in a moment.

So, this is my new shaving challenge and Focus- Find a replacement for using a shaving soap which is acceptable both to my and to my spouse. The challenges: no soap, no traditional "male" scents, no florals. I'm starting with the women's cream per her suggestion but, after calming down and doing some reading, am also looking at alternatives such as oils, hair conditioner, and body wash. The alternative appears to be to go back to what I "used to do" which was to shave in the shower with a multi-blade disposable and bar soap.

This brings us to today...

December 9, 2017

Razor: Gillette Adjustable 195 (3)
Blade: Astra SP (1)
Cream: Gillette Venus with Olay, Vanilla Cashmere

I've never been much of a canned goop person; it always seemed too messy as compared with a bar of soap. The Venus with Olay is an aerosol can of gel which you rub on wet skin and work into a lather. It's a simple enough process, though I feel like I have to rinse my hand off before I actually shave. I ended up using a bit too much on the first pass and got a somewhat dry lather that threatened to gum up the razor. For the second pass, I used less product and got a slicker, shinier lather. I can't say that it was as comfortable as I'm used to, but that may be a function of not having the lather dialed in.

A quick comment about the scent- It is definitely pleasant (at least if you like Vanilla), but seems more pervasive to my nose than the soap smell. In this case, though, I'm not the sole judge.

In the end, a decent DFS. The Alum seemed a bit less quiet than usual, but that's probably to be expected until I dial in the lather.

 

SOTN January 8th


Gillette Red Tip
Dorco ST-301
RazoRock XXX
Satin Tip The Purest
Crown King Scuttle
Homemade Lime AS

Good morning friends. Last night I tested out the Dorco ST-301 DE blade. I couldn't recall if I used this blade before so I evaluated it with an open mind. There were no tugging sensations with this blade but I did notice that reduction wasn't quite as close as I was experiencing with the Astra SP that I used last. After 3 passes I ended up with a very nice DFS. Definitely not a top tier blade for me, but not bottom of the barrel either. A serviceable blade, that while I won't be ordering more of them, I also wont have any qualms about using the rest of the blades in the tuck either. Have a great day my friends.

 

John, would unscented shave soap be a possible alternative ? I know there are a lot of unscented options out there from both artisans and commercial vendors. as an example both Stirling and Soap Commander have unscented products. And there are quite a few well received unscented options that can be had on Amazon like VDH, Imperial, AOS, Mama Bear, and Green Mountain just to name a few.

 

SOTD January 9, 2017
Route 66/Injector and SE focus

Blade: Kai Captain Mild
Razor: RazoRock Black Hawk
Brush: Semogue 1520 boar
Lather: Route 66 Cavendish
Post: Witch hazel splash, Fine Platinum, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up

The Black Hawk continues to be a fun razor. Nice lather from Route 66. Nice shave all in all. Not much else to report!

ROLL TIDE!

 

1/9
Continuing my focus on hard to lather soaps.
Mitchell's Wool Fat made with Omega 10098 boar.
Today, following the advise of a previous member, I soaked both the brush and the soap in warm water while I showered. I loaded the brush with what seemed like plenty of soap. I started to whip up a lather in the serbiachi bowl and stopped when it seamed creamy. Still too many bubbles popping of my face. I think I had too much water in the mix. I will try the same process tomorrow, but squeeze out the brush instead of giving it two hard shakes before loading.

 

I really like the suribachi bowl. It is the only bowl I have & I use it about 90% of the time. I have a scuttle that usually has some croap pressed into the bottom and a mug that is rarely used. Typically I will only use my mug for something very easy to lather like Prorasso tub soap.