April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Remember when your mother said "well, if the other kids jumped off a bridge...."?

We're THOSE kids.

 

Thanks for the manufacturer information, it's cool to see how they work it.

 

My mom quickly realized that if I thought jumping off the bridge sounded fun, it didn't really matter what the other kids were doing. In high school, I used to ski jump and take pictures of my friends flying 20 feet above the water upside down and sprawled all over the place on their first couple of jumps. We could always find another sucker… Errr... I mean... student no matter what version of carnage ensued. Now that I'm old and fat, sharp blades are currently the best substitute I've found for jump skis without the likelihood of follow up surgery. Still looking with an open mind though.

 

Just be sure to put on clean underwear before starting your shave. My mothers greatest fear was not that I was in the ER spurting blood to the ceiling, but that during the examination I would be found wearing dirty underwear.

 

Arko Adjustable April!!!!!

April 20

Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (3)
Blade - (1)
Soap - Arko
Brush - WSC Synthetic
Post - Alum

Awhile back Jason from tryablade.com sent me a couple of freebie Derby Premium blades. These are a new version of the old Derby Extra that we're all familiar with. Of course, Derby always draws a lot of heat for being a "bad" blade even though it actually performs very well in an aggressive razor and not exactly badly in a mild one. It's not the sharpest by far but it is typically smooth. So, what's the difference between the old Extra and the new Premium? Apparently just the steel. The ads for them mention "premium Swedish steel". No idea if it's even a difference from their usual steel or not to be sure. And the coatings, chromium, ceramic, platinum, tungsten and polymer, are the same as on the Extra. It is entirely possible that this is the same blade with a new wrapper and name. The only way to find out how they really compare is to shave with them. So, the Premium for three shaves followed by the Extra for three shaves in the Slim.

If there is any one characteristic of synthetic brushes that could convert me away from the natural brushes it is definitely the convenience. My plan tonight was to use the Wolf Whiskers custom silvertip but I forgot to start the brush soaking. I picked up the WSC synth instead and instead of waiting for a brush to soak I just dunked it for about 10 seconds, shook it, then face lathered the stick into the usual ridiculous amount of Arko lather. I did two full passes, WTG then XTG and did almost a full pass of touch ups. I'll say I got it to DFS but, yeah, it was smooth but not really the best finish you could ask for. The alum was silent. In the mild setting on Slim this blade is as tame as a de-clawed kitten. On 6 tomorrow we'll get a feel for it in a better setting for the blade, but I wanted to set the comparison mark at the mild 3.

Another busy week with all kinds of in-store moves, new beds showing up, paperwork to be done, so I may be a bit behind for a day or two around here. Nothing some extra breaks since I'm the boss won't fix.

​

 

When Jason gets the Derby Amateur back in, I want a truckload. I am the typical story, used Derby early on, then revisited and realized how wrong I was about the magnitude of variance between blade brands.

 

Every one should have a Burma Shave mug.

 

Been there done that....we all survived.

 

Forget about DE. Grab a Schick E or G. If you master that, straights are but a small leap of faith.

 

Good man. We need to push SE and Injectors more around here!!

Carry on.....

 

I stay up late to catch up on forum reading, very little time put into posting. Then I sleep late to make up for staying up late. Get out the house, make a little money, and stay up later again... If this keeps up I'll end up sleeping days and working at night. I need a couple 35 hour days to get back on track.

Ok! SOTD post incoming.

 

I just wish it was vintage.

 

You picked a great newbie razor. Good luck ad have fun.

 

It's April, I'm adjusting & using Arko!

Arko infused with Avon, Omega #98 boar
The Bunny V3.1 by @twhite , Chick blade
Alum, Vintage Avon Wild Country AS


Reading Scott @DaltonGang's thread about adding other scents to Arko inspired me to give it shot. I picked up another weird flask of Wild Country (it was free, and I have three now) and dribbled some into my shave bowl. With moistened brush I loaded the soap, and combined them for a great lather that did take on the aftershaves scent. The lemony goodness was still there, but enhanced. No ill effects to the unfailable Arko. Pre-production Injector in hand, three passes were quickly done. Several Bunny slides to catch the problem neck areas, a little chin buffing and the usual Smooth Comfortable DFS+ was alum certified Error Free. Another splash of the Avon, and ran my scented hands through what's left of my hair. A twenty minute experience that will leave me not needing to shave tomorrow.
Good Shaves Y'all!

 

My philosophical and technique hardware benchmarks:

Gillette 5blade>>>Harry's 5blade>>>Utopia DE (Muhle type head)>>>Weishi 9306>>>Cadet OC>>>Gillette 195>>>Schick G>>>Schick E>>>Schick J.

I went directly in to SR. Shavette now. Pull out a noteworthy DE for fun, like in August maybe.

At the time, I passed on the entirety of original SE, stroppable or disposable, out of a desire to master the open blade stuff, mostly just to see if I could. SE is literally the one genre that i have no experience using, and will even tag other guys rather than try to answer a newbie question about SE. They seem like they would approximate the SR-type feel that injectors possess, with all that gap and exposure, though I realize there are comb styles and varying degrees of geometric aggression. Given the chance, I'd essentially treat it as an SR shave with good stretches, and then proceed to move the bevel parallel to my skin at a low angle of attack.........though, as stated above, I wouldn't help anybody with one specifically, because I haven't yet done it.

 

Most sane people work nights and sleep days. These Day working people are weird.

Burma Shave was originally brushless. How old a mug is vintage?

The neat thing about a SE is that finding the angle is super easy. You would enjoy it I bet. After that it's all just shaving.

 

Older than a modern mug with a cheap rubberized logo. LOL

 

Speaking of sane people...

When the zamak in the Utopia threads became worn out, I cut the safety bars from the base plate, resulting in DIY DEVette. It's actually easy because of the Muhle cap radius, but watching oneself in the mirror is almost panic inducing. You gotta use the Force.

 

I wonder if their are vintage burma shave mugs.