April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Cool frameback spine. Faux?

 

Yes, it's a nice faux frameback.

 

It's one of my faves out of your arsenal. Classy looking steel.

 

You should always remember that the ultimate goal of the whole blade sampler thing is not to sample an infinite number of blades for the sake of sampling blades but to try a few different brands in order to find a blade you are truly comfortable using for your daily shave. That's it - that's the whole purpose of the exercise.

Some people find they really enjoy testing and comparing blades, to the point that these comparisons become a mini hobby in themselves. but just because some people really enjoy testing dozens of brands of blades, that doesn't mean everyone else must or even should do the same.

Meanwhile, for those simply wanting to find a comfortable blade, some people have to try a dozen or two brands before finding some that really suit. But others find a blade good enough to be "theirs" after a couple tries - or maybe even on their first attempt. And they settle down happily to use that particular blade without any further experiments -- and don't feel they have missed a thing.

Personally, I did the whole blade sampler route - sort of. I got a couple sample packs that gave me somewhere between 30 and 50 brands to test (I don't remember the exact number). I started to work my way through them, beginning with the higher-rated ones. But by the time I had tried about 10, I found that they all worked not too badly for me, a couple were excellent and a couple were very good. So I decided that was sufficient, ordered 100 each of the very good ones and several hundred each of the excellent ones -- and then PIFed everything else. I never even bothered trying at least 3/4 of the sample tucks I had - because I had found some blades I was comfortable using and simply couldn't be bothered continuing testing.

If Astra SPs work well for you, then by all means continue trying different brands if you still think something else might work better or if you just like testing blades. Otherwise, you might want to consider buying your Astra SPs in bulk and just using them.

 

April 12 (Wednesday ) - testing the excessive cream and soap inventory
Schick Krona / Topaz Platinum ( 1 )
Alluminati Envy White brush
Palmolive Classica shaving cream
Alum and cold water

Tonight's cream was Palmolive Classica, which advertises that it's made with "real palm oil". To be honest, I couldn't tell much difference between it and the plain Palmolive apparently not-so-classic that I used yesterday. Both were very good.

My usual shave resulted in a DFS+ with no complaints from the alum. After rinsing off the alum, I used a final lather with the Palmolive as a balm to see how its post shave feel was. It has left my skin feeling smooth and pleasantly moisturized without either greasiness or dryness.

 

I second this proposal, Astra SP is a fine blade. Why keep sampling?

 

Arko Adjustable April!!!!!

April 12

Razor - 1959 (E4) Gillette Fatboy (6)
Blade - (2)
Soap - Arko
Brush - Jayaruh #46
Post - Alum

As good as last night's shave was with the Fattie on 3, it was that much better on 6 tonight. Seems like that's a sweet spot on this razor for me. The Lord Platinum was smooth and very effective, pulling off the BBS in two and touch ups. No problems and nice quiet alum. Hard to complain about anything with the razor and blade so let's go to the lather.

Oh wait. Arko and the Maggard Synthetic. All I can complain about is the total waste of lather from what was left over in the brush. How in the world does it create that much and hold that much while still releasing the mounds it does?! I'm thinking some sort of wizardry is involved. I will admit I'm looking forward to going back to some other soaps with the synthetics. I seem to have the technique down now so I'm thinking lather should never be an issue for me. I'm even thinking (hang on, I'm about to say it) that I might even get Williams and.......dare I mention it.......Marvy to lather with it. I feel like MAYhem may include a bit of that. Among a few other things.

My Monday today and I was buried in paperwork and other non-selling work items. Way behind on here but I'll get caught up. Hope everyone is having a great week!

​

 

I think I have some curiosity of "is there something better out there?", but for the moment I've got enough Astra SPs to last about a month. That should give me some time to try some soaps while hopefully continuing to get consistent DFS or better results while improving technique and avoiding de-motivating mediocre shaves. I think if and when I branch out, per you guys' suggestions I may just limit it to a few highly rated blades like Feathers, GSBs, etc., but I don't think I'm gonna spin the wheel with all the blades in the sample pack. I probably should take the same approach with soaps too. If I don't love the scent, why mess with the sample at all?
FWIW, having input and perspective on this is really helpful. Much appreciated.

 

Define better....DFS is DFS.

I am actually an equipment agnostic. All razors are simply a handle to drag a blade bevel over the skin at a 20-25 degree angle. The "better" comes from within you. Tools are almost irrelevant. You may notice that when people ask "How do I solve my irritation and shave issues?" it results in threads featuring pages of gear suggestions. You notice we don't do that here. We want you to be able to auto-DFS with a DE blade stapled between two Popsicle sticks, or whatever $300 machined Stainless razor you wanna buy. It's all the same on this thread.

 

You know what you doing. Take off every Zig, if you know what I mean.
Haven't experienced that bit of internet history in years. Thanks Chris!

 

Jayaruh 46 ends brushes for you. Told you Plissoft type knots are amazing, now you understand why it's my daily. I have a Williams project coming up in May also.

 

...For Great justice.

 

Thank you. I like its classic lines.

 

I've made a strategic decision not to pursue straights right now. Something about a nasty guitar effects pedal and sound equipment habit...but I digress.

You've got a great eye for buying straights, and it's been awesome to watch you undergo the transformation from new convert to vintage straight aficionado!

 

Great minds think alike. And, so do ours.

 

@wchnu will be happy to learn that my test subject puck of Williams found its way into my hands. I will be reviewing his vid and employing his method to start, and trying it in AL and KY, and also CO. For control, I will first figure out how to make it work with distilled water. The idea is to figure out if my high CO mineral content is thwarting Williams.

 

Thank you. It's been a fun journey. I'm glad I'm not a musician. Your toys are more expensive.
Thank you for all you have done to encourage me.

 

I wish I were a musician. That would be cool.



Thanks for all you do, I see you teach people and answer questions all the time. Everything I learned about shaving is a synthesis, drawn from the fraction of the 1.2 million posts that I've read on TSD. We all have encouraged one another, and that's why this thread has so many success stories. We get to see almost all the razor styles, with actual commentary, every day. Many here in this tiny corner have mastered most or all of those styles. Watching new members to our group succeed, over and over, is pretty cool. Having guys like you with a broad base of razor technique around is why it works, as someone always knows the answer and is happy to serve it up in a helpful way.

 

Let's get ready to RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEE!