I went down the same road . Eventually you'll find your ground and be shaving with nothing other than what makes you happy. 20+ razors and cheap soap . Good luck on your journey.

MAYhem!!! 2019

May 1

Razor - The Cheap Pain Stick
Blade - (1)
Soap - Stirling Iced Pineapple
Brush - 30DC LE
Post - Alum

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Welcome Comrades to most glorious First of May!! In the past most glorious parades were held to the Motherland and then to International Workers Day! Now - the Cartel proudly celebrates the month by watching (and joining in) while grown men with supposedly big brains do things that could scar them for life. Don't tell me we don't know what a good time is.

I'm just getting my first post in on page 15. Looks like we're still in business. Good enough! I have no idea what I'll be doing for the month but I'm sure I'll find some inspiration from this group. I do know I'm starting off with the super-cheap pain stick from China that I bought. This thing looks very similar to the Kai Captain, both inside and out. The main difference - the finish. The Kai is stainless with a brushed finish. The cheapeezee one is, um, gold colored. Don't know the metal but it feels ok. And it's a shiny gold. The weight on the two - 48 grams for the Kai, 44 for the el-cheapo. Not a huge difference, but I'm sure it has to do with a lesser quality metal. As you can see the two are very similar, including using the same spring inside. Clearly a clone, down to the marker band on the handle.

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The razor came with some generic blades but I decided to stick with the Feather Pro for the first shave. Let's find out how this baby handles and find any obvious flaws. Then, once I have those handled I'll give the generic blade a try in the razor. I also put away the Arko after April and broke out the Stirling Iced Pineapple for a menthol kick and an awesome scent to start the month! 30DC LE brush for the total win.

The lather was obviously a no-brainer and exceptional. Nice to be back in the land of Stirling. With the Feather Pro in the razor I know the blade will be solid, so it's all about how the razor handles it. I will say it seemed to do fine. I didn't notice any unusual drag or other issues. Angle was easy to hit, the blade didn't move and it all came off very nicely. A typical pain stick shave with three passes, very nice DFS finish and no blood or other problems. Alum was 99% quiet as well. I'd say the razor performs solidly with a good blade in it. I'm ready to give it one of the generics tomorrow and try again.

Not much MAYhem to start - but it's great to see May finally here and here's to a fantastic month ahead of us!!

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You did 100 traditional straight razor shaves so I completely understand. It is a good idea to switch razor types because it keeps your brain and eye/hand coordination in top form. Oh, yes, great shave and pic, Robert. I liken your situation to dancing with a plain Jane who happens to be a great dancer and conversationalist.

No explanation needed Comrade . In the cartel we trust. Use the goo if you feel like it . We are a loyal bunch here .

hello fello shavers, wednesday may 1st shave..loaded the british flat bottom new with a new nacet blade and added a brit ball end tech handle..nice. a dime sized amount of cyril r salter sandal wood cream in the fire king bowl , wet the wcs synth and got an outstanding slick lather, lovely 2 combination pass shave dfs+. no drama..love the oc razors but don't care for the factory light handles. the ball end tech handle adds nice weight, finished up with some tweaked thayers and hugo edt..blast from the past. nice way to start the month. happy shaves gents..

Great start to the month, Neal! Even if the head of the Russian Blade Cartel did use a Japanese blade in a Chinese razor with lather from an American soap lathered by a Canadian brush with a Chinese knot...

Nice shave, Gary! I tried a sample of the Salter Indian Sandalwood once. Really nice stuff but I already had so many soaps and creams I didn't go for a full tub. May have to revisit it sometime...

Wednesday evening May 1 - Probably the start of a No Rule, No Focus month...

Fatip Grande / GSB (1)
30DC LE maple cashmere brush
My Italian frankensoap
Alum and Clubman VIBR



After months of neglect, I hauled out my frankensoap tonight. It's a mixture of Cella red tub, Vitos Red and Green Label soaps, Valobra soft soap, and a sample-sized pinch of 3P. All Italian and all traditional soft almond soaps. The croap had hardened somewhat but it still loaded the 30DC synthetic in no time flat and produced a great face lather. Excellent stuff!

I went with the Fatip Grande tonight. I find it feels smooth but is quite aggressive, dealing out weepers generously if not treated with respect. I wanted to see how the shorter strokes I worked on during my recent Rule fared with this more aggressive razor. My normal two passes took me from a two-day stubble all the way past the DFS I aim for and clear to BBS! The alum stung a bit in a couple spots but nothing much, and I noticed two tiny pinpoints of blood on my chin - just enough to remind me which razor I was using.

Overall a great shave and clear proof that my 30-shave Rule did indeed improve my technique incrementally.

thank you sir, it is a nice sandalwood scent , nice soap..i need to use it more often..

very nice shave sir,

Love them hotrods Gary. Great shave.

Fantastic John!

Agreed!

A gentle touch with a sharp 1/2 DE is amazingly efficient. I'm glad I was able to invest the time to learn.

thank you Patrick,more to come , on the build..

Slosh it around with your brush in a container with some water added.

You might like it.

Thank you!

Yeah, and a new Feather too!

That could've opened him up and he still doesn't know it.

Thank you. I appreciate it!

Thank you!

Great shave, John! I have always stated that short deliberate strokes are the key for minimizing nicks and cuts. You have made great progress!