May 2020 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

A Classic shave, beautifully photographed, James.

 

I don't know about the CNC machine, but I know where you can get a soap with some granules.

 

Thanks, Joseph!

 

Great shave, Jason. I still would like a Cooper that closes correctly.

 

All-around terrific, Blair.

 

May Focus

Williams~~Mondial~~Fatip/Gillette 7 O'Clock~~Alt Innsbruck
Let's give this Fatip a second go and see what's what.
First of all, there was a doughnut sighting at the bottom of the above-pictured tub of Williams.

Of course, this only means that the remaining soap will hang on for an extended period of time.
M-Bombed the product and let my Mondial brush tear into it.
Face-lathered to gorgeous goo and used copious H2O for a luscious lather.
Now to the razor...
As some have suggested, I did break out the alum stick to facilitate a better grip.
Inserting the new-to-me Gillette 7 O'Clock blade I went to work.
Side note: Love, love, LOVE this razor blade.
Maybe it was the blade; maybe it was the better grip; maybe it was my technique; OR...
maybe it was a combination of all three, but I got one heckuva shave---even on those pesky spots on my neck.
Brilliant...and made even more brilliant with a half-dozen spritzes of Alt Innsbruck.​

 

Thanks, Tim. This original Baker St is nice. A little more powdery than the Stirling redo, but a very nice performing soap. Truth be told, I probably do prefer the Stirling scent.
I also found a tub of Strop Shoppe Black Tie in their original non-tallow formula a few years ago in Winners (a Canadian Ross's/TJ Maxx). It was also a nice scent, but not a very high quality lather. I either binned it or piffed it, can't remember.

 

fine shave and pic Joseph,love those blades as well..

 

Thank you, Gentlemen. The MonoBilt is a fave shaver, no question. Such a cool design as well.

 

Terrific shave, Joseph!

 

Fantastic shave, photo and report, Joseph! Super glad the set up worked out so well for you today

 

Wonderful photo and shave report Primo. Glad the razor worked out better for you today.

 

”May 6--In the Mix-it-Up-of-Mystery May”
(Yeah, you read that right!)
Shavette Shave #60

Much thanks to Charlie @wristwatchb for the generous PIF of his winning raffle prize which allowed me to get a wonderful sample of all kinds of razor blades. I reached into "Paul" today for my In-the-Mix razor selection and drew...



Gear

• Razor: Utopia Care Shavette--there are some things I don’t like about this shavette: it has exposed edges, but they aren’t nearly as bad as I initially thought, and I haven’t had any problems. It also has a very thin profile which can be difficult to control at times. That said, it offers me one of the most shallow cutting angles I’ve ever shaved with--that I can appreciate.
• Blade: Treet Platinum (1)--honestly, a shavette is a horrible way for me to gauge blades, so I won’t. DE’s with their fixed positions take all the variables out, so I'm holding judgement on blades; however, I don’t mind saying that today’s shave was fantastic. Surely the Treet Platinum had something to do with that, right?
• Brush: Semogue Boar
• Soap: Iced Iced Glastonbury--Mix-It-Up May today featured Stirling Iced Pineapple and Glastonbury chilled in ice water. I figured it would play well, but it went beyond that. It was awesome! The bergamot and lavender really accentuate the pineapple by taking some of the sweetness out of it, but the real magic happens after all the top notes burn off and Glasonbury’s mutton-tallow laced fougere-like notes start to step up. Of all the mixes I’ve tried so far, this one will be repeated throughout the year.
• Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
• AS: Pinaud Citrus Musk (1 Frost Drop)--it’s so easy to go too heavy with this, and I overdid it a bit today.
• Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented

The Shave
The boar whipped up a metric ton of chilly, yogurty lather. I was scared at first, because I used a lot of water, and it started off with huge bubbles at first that eventually got worked into the nicely hydrated micro-bubbles that I really should insist on for shaves. I love the feel of this brush, as well as how it distributes the lather. Of my two brushes, boar and badger, I’m having the most success with the boar. It was touch and go for a bit there, but I’ve got her figured out now. The greedy badger, on the other hand, seems to want to hang on to the lather rather than let my face have any, but I’ll get it sorted out yet.

3 passes (WTG/XTG/ATG). The first pass was uneventful. Like yesterday, I went ATG over the area where I had a set-down mishap from a couple days ago. No issue, and I’ll probably be able to shave it normally tomorrow or the next day

XTG still is tricky on parts of my cheek, but went pretty well. I did manage to get a weeper on my upper lip though, and got another on my chin on the 3rd pass. They were baby weeps, and didn’t require the styptic, so it’s all good.

I didn’t initially feel like chasing on my chin, so I took the remaining, wonderfully chilly, lather and applied it to my face while I cleaned up. But when I got ready to rinse it off, I thought I’d give the chin another once-over. Glad I did! Very close to BBS on the chin today, and no irritation for my efforts. Wonderful, wonderful shave, almost epic in scope, but so much work went into it that I don’t feel comfortable using that word. If I can get the same results with greater ease, then that truly will be an epic shave--still, an awesome 60th shavette shave!

The greatest of hump days to you all!

60 down, 40 to go!

 

fine shave and pic Tim..

 

Awesome, Tim! Congrats on the progress!

 

Another catch up gaggle for everyone's shave posts....

Nice red tip Neal! MWF & Tabac...might have to try that. Great report!

Very cool handle! Some awesome images there too! BTW, welcome! b1hart = blair

Sweet image Gary! Love the setup.

Wowzer image again Jim (yes with the selfie!). Great shave!

Nice image Clint. Awesome colors, love that brush. A&E huh?....

Great report Joe. Lots of variety there. Awesome!

Love the razor Jeff. Fun image and shave!

Nice Monobilt Jason. Wanted one of those for awhile. Sounds like a great overall shave, nice warm toned image!

Love the razor and setup Evan!

 

Thank you Maestro!

 

Thank you, Blair!

 

Fantastic shave Maestro!