October 2018 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Great to, Jason!

 

Thank you, Jason! After using the Ascension for almost two weeks, I was surprised at how much blade feel this razor has. It is definitely a great shaver!

 

Thank you, Clint!

 

Beautiful picture, Clint!

 

Thank you, Gary!

 

thank you..

 

Thank you Jim.

 

Thank you, Jason! I got a couple of mugs, a Fatboy, a couple of Slims, a Schick J1 (the one that I use now was his and I took my other one and moved it to the dopp kit), a Schick E2 (also the one I use now), four straight razors, and some odds and ends. There was some soap in there, a VDH puck and a Burma Shave puck and something else. Most of it is packed away at the moment due to us attempting to sell our house this past summer. I'm glad my dad thought of all that stuff to bring back home to me.

 

Awesome, Perry! How cool is it that he was an Injector user as well.

 

I know! He was in the medical field as a soldier in WW2 and then worked as a surgeon's assistant for decades after that. I guess he knew a thing or two about shaving! They lived in Salt Lake City. He came to Alabama to visit one time when I was younger. I met him then but otherwise didn't know him well. My dad got closer to him as the years went on, particularly once my sister moved to Boise and they would visit her and drive to Utah to visit him as well. He passed away back in March and was in his late 90s.

 

Terrific picture, Brian!

 

Looks like a great shave, Gary!

 

Apologies to Rod at Stirling for surprising him with this picture but it is a quick shot I took of him holding court today at Schlafly Tap Room in downtown St. Louis at the Fair Debonaire. I enjoyed getting to meet him and Mandy for the first time in real life and hearing a few stories about soap making and such. His was the most popular table there so I didn't try and monopolize his time. However, for those of you who missed out on the Iced Coffee soap when I did my best to get you to buy it last year, he assured me that scent will indeed be rejoining the lineup. That's the good news. The bad news? Not this year. He is reworking the formula to use more real coffee in the ingredient list which will also allow for an after shave to be made alongside. So, if you snoozed, you lose, but it's not a permanent loss.

A few others there at the event today including Chuck from shavehq.com and the owner of Chatillon Lux with some of their products. The most unusual vendor? Carmella Simpson of C. Simpson and Co. with a table full of handmade bow ties - all from vintage fabrics - and all unique. I'm the proud owner of one after today and now just have to figure out how to tie the darned thing. She gave a demo but it will take a few tries.

​

 

Sounds terrific, Neal! I love Stirling products and would enjoy meeting Rod and Mandy. Furthermore, I'm a bit of a dandy at times and wear bow ties - a lot - so I would've walked away with one or two as well. I wore a bow tie this past Friday night at the Homecoming game.

Anyway, thanks for sharing and glad you had a good time!

 

Sunday evening October 21

Gillette USA pre-War fathandled triangle-slot Tech / Rapira Platinum (?)
Semogue Owners Club cherrywood Tuxedo brush
Stirling Coniferous soap sample
Stirling Coniferous splash sample

Today was a bit of an experiment. The worst of my cleaned razors is a Tech with a base plate that, after cleaning, scrubbing and polishing, still has patches of roughened corrosion on it that also cover half of one of the bar guards. I wondered what effect the corroded portion might have on the shave quality, so I used that Tech tonight. Short answer: none. It's purely cosmetic; doesn't affect the shave at all.

The Tech loaded with a Rapira with an unknown number of shaves behind it mowed down a day and a half of stubble with ease. Two passes and I am back to a cleanshaven DFS. I am now ready to go out for supper, smelling like a northern pine forest...

 

"30DC member or TSD general population". I just had a flashback to Emerald City - Oz. HBO. Some of you will get it. The rest - you might want to look it up. Great series, actually. If you like that sort of thing.

 

OCtober Oleo and Odd Balls!!

October 21

Razor - Gillette New SC Deluxe
Blade - (3)
Soap - Stirling 2018 Fair Debonaire
Brush - Stirling Two Banded Synthetic
Post - Alum

Fun day today as I used a Floating Holiday at work to attend the Fair Debonaire in downtown STL. Great venue at the Schlafly Tap House and they had a full set of taps on the bar in the room we were in. I wanted especially to meet Rod and Mandy from Stirling and had a great conversation. Iced Coffee will be back - and improved - next year. They have a few new things going on in addition to the new line of Eau de Toilette they recently released and it was a fun time. Rod follows us here and had the same basic comment about our humble thread that I hear from most of you. Basically - "that thread is out of control". But in a good way.

They had produced a limited edition soap for the event today, the 2018 Fair Debonaire soap and after shave. So when it was time to shave tonight there was no doubt what soap would be up. I believe he said it is a tobacco/vanilla scent and it is very nice indeed. Of course, being Stirling, the lather was incredibly easy and rich. Slick, protective, the usual. I gave it three passes with the haunted SC and I'm pretty sure I heard the razor murmur its approval as well. Near-BBS for the finish and I'm a very happy camper. I did a composite shot for today's shave including the bow tie I purchased at the event as well. Vintage material, hand sewn and created by a very nice lady who took the time to demonstrate how to tie it. I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure I'll mess it up at first.

Have a great Monday and start to the new week!

 

Thank you, Gentlemen. A safe and uneventful flight as well.

 

Sounds like a great day, Neal. Very cool to meet Rod and Mandy and to get an LE combo as well. Tobacco and Vanilla? Perhaps it is in the same scent range as Gentleman...
Neat story on the bow tie as well. When you tie it and wear it- pics or it didn't happen.
Chatillon Lux was there? That makes sense, obviously, being from St. Louis. I would have enjoyed that table. I love their splashes. Pick up anything from them? Any new products coming?

 

Alas, I didn't get but a moment with Shawn. He was deep in discussion with someone and holding down his own table and a soap table as well. By the time I did my time with Stirling and got "tied up" we headed down to grab something to eat in their restaurant at Schafly's and when I stopped back upstairs Shawn had an even longer line in front of him. I've never tried their stuff but am curious.