April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

To say the least... Right now I have 2 wins and well it didn't kill me with the shavette. It will take me some time to get up to speed. Progress will be slow as I am only using it on the weekends at the point to give myself time to heal if needed.

 

SOTD April 18, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick L1 injector
Brush: Jayaruh boar
Lather: Fine Lavender
Post: Witch hazel, Fine Lavender aftershave
WTG, touch-up

Smooth, easy, and enjoyable shave this morning. The Fine soaps are really quite good. The lavender scent on the soap isn't as strong as the American Blend or Platinum soaps that I've tried, and the aftershave scent is a little more muted as well, but the scent is quite nice. The soap lathers easily and is nice and slick. The splash has some good menthol and always feels good. No complaints at all with this setup.

Have a great day!

 

Which one do you have. I have the Dovo and the Lord one that I posted the video of.

 

I keep seeong the Fine products. Where might they come from?

 

They are available from all the major online shaving retailers. They also have a website - www.fineaccoutrements.com. Their scents and the quality of the products are top-notch.

 

Thanks for the info. Like I need more stuff in the hutch. But need has very little to do with anything.

 

The stain is actually not Stain, but rather an Aniline Dye that you mix yourself. It is from Lee Valley and is at least 5 years old. The urethane is Helmsman Spar Urethane in a Clear Gloss. The top part is painted. I mix brown craft paint with some black until I get the really dark brown that I thinks looks good.

 

I have always loved seeing and hearing a craftsman at work.

 

April 18
Gillette Old Type w Lord Platinum (1)
TGN Finest Fan
Proraso Green
Thayers Unscented
Stirling Barbershop AS


Day 13 with the Old Type, day 1 with a Lord. All of the Proraso talk on the thread had me pulling out the Green this morning. I used the Lord blade for the first time- it came with my bulk order of Sharp Stars as a throw in from the seller. Had a 3 pass plus neck touch up nice shave. The Lord seemed fine and the Proraso lather is very dependable. Ended up with a DFS. The Proraso does feel a little drier on the face afterwards than all my other soaps. Finished with the Barbershop splash, which is one of my wife's favourites.
Have a great day all!

 

I have the Parker SRX. I will have to check out your video once things quiet down at work.

 

Now batting for the Mets, number 12, third baseman, SLIIIIIIIM PIIIICKens

 

April 18 (Tuesday )

Gillette Canadian pre - War Fathandled Tech / Topaz Platinum ( 2 )
Supply Provision synthetic brush
Supply Provision Arenella Coast shave cream
Alum and Supply Provision Arenella Coast postshave balm

I ended up with an excellent shave today but it took awhile to get there. The final result was a near BBS. The scent of the cream was wonderful throughout, the postshave feel was soft and smooth, and the postshave balm continued all those aspects. However, it was a messy journey to achieve those results.

The problem was that I don’t yet know how to use this new shave cream correctly. The cream is a very soft croap sold in a 2" diameter glass jar, so the brush cannot be loaded directly from the jar. The recommended ways to use it are to scoop a fingerful from the jar, then either work it into the skin and face lather or else rub it firmly onto the surface of a lather bowl and bowl lather.

I tried both methods.

When I rubbed the croap into my face, I ended up with odd little chunks stuck here and there and the brush had a hard time whipping them into a lather. The best I got was a thin runny film. I think maybe I should have massaged the cream into my skin longer until the lather started and then moved to the brush. But then Arko is the only thing I directly face lather; I bowl lather everything else.

So for my second pass, I tried to bowl lather a fresh bit of croap. Unfortunately, smearing the paste onto the surface of the bowl firmly enough to keep it in place while the brush loads it requires a bowl with a slightly rough surface. I use a horn quaich finished with urethane. It's not just smooth, it's slick. When I rinsed out my lather at the end, there were still chunks of croap in the bowl. I may have to find a different bowl for this cream.

On the other hand, even with thin runny lather, this tallow-based cream had protection, glide, cushion and slickness to spare. After diagonal passes, an ATG pass, and some buffing, there were no complaints from the alum. Clearly it has a wide usable performance envelope. I must have been right at the bottom of it today though.

 

Awesome. I am a bit out of practice with the shavette but no blood. Lol

I knew he was a rodeo guy. Did he play baseball also?

 

18 April 2017 Blade/Soap Focus Shave

Pre: Plenty of hot water, plus some bloom water from the soap
Razor: VDH safety razor
Blade: Wilkinson Sword
Brush: JR #161, NY Mets edition
Soap: Cella
Post: Hot/Cold rinse, alum block, cold towelx2
After Shave: Cella

Today's shave was the maiden voyage of JR #161. It definitely lived up to it's advanced billing! I'll post a review separately. The shave was an okay WWS. This razor/blade combo was my starter setup. I can see why I stepped up to the DE89BL. With the '52 SS Black Tip waiting, further blade auditioning for this razor is on an indefinite hold.
That's all I've got this morning. Have a great one!
Carry on!

 

anyway, back to shaving...,I must say that Lee at Wet Shaving Products gets the gold medal in the "Pack That Soap Tight" Olympics. Each time I swirl it, some soap slides over the edge-or I should say, more so with WSP than with other brands.

 

Day 23 of 30 days of Henckel straights

Another good day with the 7/8 Henckel. I am now consistently getting shaves that are as good as what I can get on a DE.

DIY Pre-Shave Oil
MDC Face Lathered
2 passes, WTG, XTG
24MM silvertip set an extra 10mm deep
Sampsons All Natural Aftershave Balm
Square Toe 7/8 Henckel 17

 

Beautiful Executive, Doug!

 

Great picture and line up. The Fine Lavender scent is their take on Cambridge and Oxford which is a blend of Lavender and Peppermint. I think the peppermint mutes the lavender scent some. Like you I still like the scent. Fine soaps really work well for me.

 

You have done amazing work on this handle Jason, I love it just the way it is. With being such a big handle I think a 26MM knot would balance it perfectly! 30DC LE for the lettering seems perfect as well. Fabulous work!

 

Andrew, this one is a 26mm opening for a 24mm knot. Are you saying you'd prefer a bigger knot?
I ask because making a bigger opening would change the dimensions.