I will be continuing my focus on enjoying shaving with whatever strikes my fancy while maintaining favorable results. I will be using a variety of DE, SE and shavettes, particularly the ones that have seen the least usage. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Kinda unfocused focus..errr or something like that... So I am using my first synthetic brush...the JR #137...for the next month. If I am going to preach it I am going to live it. I should be able to use this brush just like any other after the month. First week will be shave sticks. Second week creams. Third week soaps. After that a mix of whatever seems to need work. I have also about decited to pack all the DE stuff away and focus on SE and Injector shaving with a dab of open blade stuff. We will see about that as we go. Proceed along the path!!
May 1, 2017 Colonial Razor “The General” Feather Super Pro (1) Shavemac ATG LE D01 2 Band Mystic Water Raspberry & Lemon Folsom & Co. Shambala The weekends are entirely too short. I will be using the General in brass for the work week. The big Shavemac loaded the MW Raspberry Lemon easily. I get a hint of scritch while face lathering in a circular motion that totally disappears when using paint strokes. Overall this brush is made for face lathering providing a wall of badger feel with excellent backbone and scrub. I wanted to give the Feather Super Pro in hopes that I could get the desired results in 2 passes. That part of the experiment was a success. I easily achieved my normal near BBS in 2 passes with minimal touch ups. However the Feather Super Pro was not as smooth as the Feather Pro. I hope the blade smooths out because I do like the increased efficiency. A splash of F&C Shambala was a great end to the shave. I hope everyone has a great Monday.
Parker SRX Perma-Sharp Super (1) Semogue BC Texugo Arko SS Superior 70 I over did it at the gym and with yard work yesterday. Shaving with a tech would have been tough this morning, but went with the Parker regardless. Far from the closest shave, but I was able to pull a presentable shave with no irritation. Onward and Upward...
well, I never thought I'd apply something warm to my face in May, but Spring has turned into a short month.
May 1 SOTD: Razorock Plissoft Brush CO Bigelow SC Gillette Tech Stirling Unscented PSB Proraso Green AS What does it say about a shave when the brush draws more blood than the razor? My one year old gave me a little scratch on my cheek the other day, and I managed to exfoliate the scab off. The shave itself was fairly smooth. This was my first use of a Gillette Rubie, and it went well. Two passes for a DFS. I really find myself liking this shave cream, and the AS has long been a a favorite of mine. I hope everyone has a great day!
SOTD May 1, 2017 Blade: Feather Pro Razor: RazoRock Black Hawk Brush: Artisan badger Lather: Stirling Iced Pineapple Post: Witch hazel, Stirling Iced Pineapple aftershave WTG, touch-up Really nice shave this morning with Stirling Iced Pineapple. I actually could take more menthol. This soap and splash seemed a little muted to me. However, nice scent and the terrific performance from Stirling as expected. The Black Hawk with Feather Pro blade was smooth and efficient. Really enjoyable all the way around. Have a great Monday!
I got surprisingly good results from loading the Pure Badger with the Russian Leather soap this morning. It's been so long since I last used the RL so perhaps I was still in the phase of not running the brush under warm/hot water first. I'm glad to be out of that phase now .
May 1, 2017- Tech Mini-Focus Razor: Pre-War Gillette Tech Blade: Dorco ST-301 (1) Brush: Razorock Plissoft 22 Cream: KMF fragrance-free Post: Alum, Listerine, WH Today starts a week-long Tech mini-focus, two days each with three versions of this iconic razor: Pre-War, Post-War, and Modern (a.ka. Sterling). Since it is MAYhem, I would be remiss not to throw some random factor into this initial shave of the month. As you may recall, last week I revisited the Dorco STD-301 blade (a.k.a. the Dollar General/Family Dollar blade). While some people list this as a go-to blade, I found the experience to be tuggy and unpleasant. Curiosity got the better of me, however, and so I stopped by the local beauty supply store and picked up a tuck of the better-known ST-301 blades. Frankly, Dorco makes this all too confusing with similar part numbers and minimal description of the actual blades. Trying to read between the lines, I think it goes like this: STD-301 (Dollar Store Blade) is a basic SS blade (made from "high quality" stainless steel) ST-301 ("Prime Double Edge Blade") is a Platinum blade (according to the card in the tuck) STP-301 ("Prime Platinum Double Edge Blade") is the newcomer and has a "double Teflon coating" for "extra smoothness and to ensure a long-lasting shave" This list omits the ST-300 in the cardboard pack which is supposed to be the same as the ST-301 except for packaging. I'll let a blade expert explain what double Teflon coating is (is that two layers or two different kinds of Teflon) and how that affects how the shave lasts. A huge open question is whether the three blades share similar grinds and just differ in coating/treatment. So... we have a somewhat symbolic pairing: the epitome of pre-WWII manufacturing combined with a poster child for post-Cold War consumerism (unfortunately, Samsung does not make DE blades that I'm aware of). As for the shave... it was surprisingly nice. The ST-301 is definitely several cuts above its dollar store cousin. I did my usual two passes to a DFS that I am happy with and that generated no heat from the Alum. I think I can see, though, why this blade is not for everyone. I suspect that it is not the sharpest and that might give some pause or flat-out problems to those with heavier whiskers. Now I'm curious to try the "Prime Platinum" blade. Off-topic... in another thread, we were talking a bit about North Korea. Anybody have a clue as to what they shave with there?
She can't even watch me shave with a straight.... which is a good thing since I get running commentary. I will shower her what I'm using and share her witty repartee.
Straights are easier to learn (relatively) but pain sticks are a appropriate for Mayhem. Straights are more forgiving and usually give a warning before drawing blood. I find shavettes very light making them harder to control for me.