September 2018 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Great photo and lineup Jason. What do you think of the G&T scent?

 

It could be, I wasn't saying that there was actually clove eo in it. Just that it has a stronger clove vibe

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We should ask Fuzzy @wchnu to weigh in on this one as he is the REAL SE expert around here. I don't remember ever seeing anything like that in any of the original instruction manuals for Gem razors though, and I have always just stuck the blade in flat. From the razor design, it looks like the blade was clearly meant to lie flat. What this guy is doing is basically a variant on sticking a shim under the blade to raise it a little. Some people do that with the older Gem razors, on the theory that they were originally intended to be used with thicker (carbon) blades so this makes the modern blades sit the same way the older thicker blades would have. That only applies to the earlier razors though -- 1924 and earlier. It shouldn't be necessary with the MMOC, because it was designed from the outset to be used with blades the same thickness as our modern ones.

 

Neal @NCoxSTL and Jason @jtspartan -- today, September 7, I did leap, plunge, plummet or otherwise hurriedly debark from the NB'18 bandwagon. I have ordered your knot, Neal. I should have it next week and will forward it to you along with a questionable Russian shaving cream, an even more questionable Soviet era razor, some new Rubie blades, and some decent North American products to make up for the Russian ones.

 

I like the G & T, Clint. I think the name is a little deceiving as it isn’t boozy at all. I get mainly limes with a bit of juniper. If you like limes in an SS, I recommend it.

 

You fought valiently for the NB. I look forward to the planned package.

 

SEptember is a Stirling month!

September 7

Razor - Gem Micromatic Open Comb - OCMM
Blade - (2)
Soap - Stirling Mountain Man
Brush - Stirling Two Banded Synthetic
Finish - Alum

Something is up with this blade and I think I know what it is. I dropped it while loading it and saw as it landed in the sink. It hit the spine on the original hit but when I went to pick it up it had settled on the drain. I suspect the metal drain did a little number on the edge. Definitely a rough shave, though not horrible. Just enough to leave the alum burning a bit and a low-end DFS for the finish. Not what this blade is capable of. I may try to strop it for tomorrow and see if it will improve or it may get tossed in favor of a new one that I will be more careful with when loading.

Whatever the issue I didn't draw blood, nor did I have any other real problems. The OCMM did its job quite well on a two pass and touch up and the Mountain Man soap left me in good spirits from the scent. It reminds me of Nautica - one of my favorite colognes from days gone by. Very nice indeed.

I did a little over 8 hours of GrubHub work today and it's raining cats and dogs. I'm a bit more tired than usual, visibility out there sucks and everybody driving is an idiot in this stuff. I'll be staying in for the remainder of the evening. Enjoy the beginning of your weekend!

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Well, you made it almost a month longer than me, John. Congrats.

 

Thank you Jason. I was afraid it would be heavy on the juniper. Sounds like a scent i would really enjoy.


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September 8th
Razor: ATT S1
Blade: Ladas Super Stainless
Brush: Switchback/TGN Finest
Pre-shave: Stirling Mentholated
Soap: Stirling Barbershop
Stirling mentholated witch hazel
AS: Stirling Barbershop

Good morning!

Haircut day today so of course Barbershop was the chosen scent. Two pass with touch up. I spent some extra time with touch up on my neck and got some warmth from the alum in the hollows. No redness or irritation just not silence from the alum. All in all a great shave to start the weekend.

Have a wonderful day, gentlemen!


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Wonderful shave and photo Jim.

 

SEptember 8, 2018s
Blackland Sabre L2
Gem PTFE
SOC Mistura Taj
C&S Oxford and Cambridge
Fine Lavender

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I know I was supposed to use vintage razors on the weekend but I just couldn't help myself. The SOC Mistura continues to break in. The brush feels very nice when face lathering. The brush does still have that trait of eating lather that some boar brushes have until they are fully broken in. I hope this improves with time. Three passes and touch ups ended with the baby fully in hand. A couple of weepers robbed me of an Epic shave. A splash of Fine Lavender and I am ready for a busy day. I have a client meeting at noon and then I will take my mom to an early dinner. I hope everyone has a great Saturday.

 

Here's the setup I'm using this month. After a rough first couple of days, it has served me well.

 

Thank you, Clint.

Love the picture, Clint!
I should do the same with my Mistura. I've been sticking with the TGN finest but I'm about ready to make a change. Enjoy your dinner with your mom.

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Nice photo, Jim!

 

Nice photo, Clint!

 

Nice picture! Good to hear your shaves are improving.

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Thanks, Perry!

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Survey update: Lather Catcher and Shick Injector continue to be tied for the lead, with Clog Pruf third. Cookies can't be counted out. Poll Man can be.

 

September Focus

Stirling Glacial Wintergreen~~Vie-Long Beehive~~Feather AS-D2~~Polsilver SI (1)~~B&M Cool AS
Focus Gear: Stirling Wintergreen, Barrister & Mann Cool AS
After 4+ years of reading about how Jeff @Yehuda D freezes his face off with the glacials,
I finally took advantage of West Coast Shaving's Free Shipping Offer and picked up a tub.
(Along with a tub of Myrsol Don Carlos 1972 shave cream; to be discussed at a later time)
Opened up the tub and was greeted with the EXACT same smell as when I was eating
Wintergreen Certs. (Two, Two, Two mints in one!)
Sorry, I became "unfocussed" for a moment...
Stirling has never had a large representation in my den.
I have only two soaps remaining, this and a 1/2 used tub of Clubman.
One of the characteristics I LOVE about Stirling, is how wonderfully shiny the lather is.
Slick, baby!!!
But let's get real about the menthol level in Stirling's glacials.
On a scale of 1-10. 10: your face literally freezes and you can't even open your eyes;
1: Is there menthol in this soap?
I have to give the Stirling a solid 6. That's right. I expected to be in pain with this soap!!!
Didn't happen.
Nice cooling effect, no doubt, but I had more menthol in my first puck of vintage Williams
in which I used the @GDCarrington method. I had used about 7-ish grams of menthol crystals
and THAT soap made my face hurt.
HOWEVER, that being said, I want to make it perfectly clear that the Stirling is a
wonderful soap. It always provides me with a lather that facilitate the best shaves possible.
Haven't used the Feather in a while. Yes, the gap is small, but with the correct angle, no problem
achieving a BBS shave (which I did).
Once again, I finished with the B&M Cool. Funny, on the sample package it says: "2-3 uses"
I slathered the entire contents on and thought to myself,
this doesn't pair well at all! ​