January 1 SOTD:

30DC LE Brush
CK Atomic Age Bay Rum
Classic Samurai Shavette
Stirling Unscented PSB
CK Atomic Age Bay Rum AS

Well, first blood didn't take long this year. My littlest wandered into the bathroom while I was shaving, and my attention drifted to her. As I was about to start a stroke down my cheek, I looked at her, and ended up putting the razor down on my cheek bone at a very steep angle. I instantly knew what had happened, and sure enough a streak of blood appeared. I had to keep wiping it away for the rest of the shave, which actually went fairly well. I would call this a DFS after two passes. The short blade when compared to a typical straight was a little odd, and it meant I had to clean the blade more frequently, but the razor was smooth.

I am using these Derby Premium half blades that came with this razor. According to the box, they are coated with ceramic, platinum, tungsten, and polymer. To my memory, these are the first Derby blades I have tried. They were certainly sharp enough for this shave. I hope everyone has had a great January 1st.

Thank you Jim. You can be sure I will pay better attention tomorrow morning.


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Forgetting The Bieb is a conscious choice. I assume his early teen age fanlettes have reached their twenties by now. They'll look back on their insanity and wonder what they saw in him. A candidate for The 27 Club?

Monday January 1 - Jeeves and Shavettes

Gillette Aristocrat / Gillette Platinum Plus ( 5 )
Canadian Rubberset 100V reknotted with Maggards 22m plissoft synthetic
Jeeves of Hudson Street Key Lime shave stick
Alum and Florida Water

Where's the shavette, you ask? Well, I pulled it out and looked at it before shaving with the DE. One must approach these things in a careful deliberate fashion after all...

Once I got the shavette nonsense out of the way, the first shave of the year proceeded in style. The synthetic face lathered the shave stick in fine form, then the Aristocrat did a noble job of cleaning everything off. The alum was silent and the Florida Water gave a cheerful finish to the shave.

I haven't quite decided if I will use each Jeeves soap for several days in a row or grab them at random. I suppose tomorrow will tell.

I agree. We got out in December 15 which was a little early so I guess they’re making it up on this end. It’s too early for me!

Now, Ward, don't you think you're being a bit hard on the Bieber?

That makes sense then. Maya was in school until the 22nd.

A Rule about open blade shaving; if it doesn't feel right - don't do it.

More likely that he will, ultimately, hit some mature stage. Our grandchildren will likely marvel at his recordings of the Great American (Canadian?) Songbook.

Ahh yes... I can see it now ‘The Biebs sings Anne Murray’ with special bonus duet with Celine Dion. Top of the charts in 2029. Perhaps he needs a manager, John?

01.01.2018
Pre-shave: hot shower
Brush: VDH Boar
Soap: Tabac soap puck
Razor: Magic by Master Barber shavette
Blade: Derby (1)
Post-shave: Dickinson's Original WH, Nivea Sensitive Skin PS Balm, British Stirling AS

Well my friends, today was the day. Not only was it the first day of 2018, this was also the day I used a shavette for the first time. I almost put it off, but I girded my loins and faced the unknown. I proceeded cautiously and concentrated on the angle. Normally when I shave I either listen to music or news, but this time I needed quiet so I could hear the sound of the blade moving across the face. It did not disappoint. The audible response of the blade cutting whiskers was profound. I took short strokes, and at one point during the first pass I rewet the brush to add water to the Tabac lather drying on my face because I was going slow.

This was in no way a perfect shave today, but it was a challenging one.

First... it was awkward trying to find the best way to hold the razor. I don't know that I did, but I managed.

Second... I was a couple of videos of people using a shavette, and they learned to shave with both hands. I considered that. I held the razor in my left hand (I'm right hand dominant) and decided, "No way." Question for those of you who are experienced in using shavette and straights, do you use both hands... did you practice it and become comfortable with using both hands? Or do some of you simply use your dominant hand?

Third... I managed a BBS on my cheeks, surprisingly. But then again, I think I can manage a BBS shave on my cheeks with a dull pocket knife. Not that difficult. The tough part of my face is the neck. I was very careful around the neck... I'm not even sure I cut much of the whiskers down. I thought about going to a safety razor to finish off the neck but decided I'd given myself enough razor burn. Anyway, shaving the neck with this razor will require practice... it was not going well today.

Fourth... Besides using the shavette for the first time, my primary goal was to shave with it and not draw any blood. I did two primary passes, and a clean up pass on the neck and at the end I was delighted I had used the shavette without blood! BUT.. during clean-up I noticed a single nick just off the edge of my goatee. Not big, but it did bleed a bit.

I'm looking forward to another fun month with the 30DC crew! Have a great week everyone!

That is an excellent layout. I really like the barberpole. It’s colors are very vivid.

Star/Kampfe Bros Lather Catcher
GEM blade
30DC LE
Stirling Red Eye soap and aftershave

My kids got me soap/aftershave sets of Stirling Red Eye and Clubman. I took it for a spin and it's a ringer for Polo Red. This is a good thing, as that is my wife's favorite scent. She approves. This set will be getting a lot of use. The Star/Kampfe Bros is a fun razor to use. It has a feel totally different from any other razor I own and gives a good, close shave. It has a lot of tactile response.

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I sure hope you feel better soon, Perry. You are taking a flurry of punches.

Congrats on making your maiden voyage (mostly) unscathed! I use both hands. It took some practice, but in the end I much prefer it. I find it easier to get the right angles that way.

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Perry, I am praying that you get to feeling better and y'all get some relief from all the stress.

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Great write up and photo, Dan!

Does anyone have experience with the Yaqi synthetic brushes? I'm considering one in either a 28 or 30mm. I have amassed such a large quantity of soap that I need a soap destroyer class brush, and the price looks right on them.

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Thanks, Jared and Chris. I would go to bed super early tonight to try and gird up for tomorrow, but Alabama plays Clemson in a little while. It'll be a later night that I hoped for, but gotta watch it!

Me too. What I do on my right side is very different than the left.