The handle was made by @jtspartan for the second 30DC Meetup in St. Louis in 2019. The knot I purchased and replaced the synthetic that the brushes were made with. Can't remember where it came from, but it's a badger/boar mix and it's fantastic, like the handle.

Note of interest perhaps - I still have two brand new brushes from the meetup. Same handle design, though each is unique because of the grain, and with the synth knot in them. Any interest in owning one? Let me know.

Wonderful Joe.

Two other JTSpartans out there. Someone better pick it up. I have one he did for me about 3 years ago. I fitted it with a boar brush.

Tempting but I have over 40 brushes between the two dens.

I am getting careless in my advancing years. I correct my post to state the correct author I was responding to. My apologies Neil.

Awesome Proraso shave Barry. I did enjoy the Proraso with the Aloe Vera when I did have it.

Fine Mac’s Root shave Gary.

Excellent shave Chris.

It is a great scent. I wonder if Scott has discontinued it for a while as it is not on the Declaration Grooming website. Hope it is listed again.

Great shave Joe. I see you put a lot of thought in how you Fitzgerald soaps. By the way, I got a woolen hat, gloves and a scarf for Christmas.

Thanks Joe. It was a relaxing shave.

Thanks Chris

Thanks Joe

Thank Joe and wishing you and your family a Happy New Year as well.

The Razor Company aluminum razor.
Astra SP blade.
Razorock 400 Plissoft synthetic brush.
Razorock P160 shave soap.
Timeless Razor shave bowl.
Vector Shirley May Deluxe Eau de Toilette spray.

Awesome Tuesday shave. Three very nice passes.

Yesterday was a no shave day.

Take care everyone.

Excellent setup and shave Danny. The black and white pic gives it a vintage vibe.

No problem. I noticed it but decided to just be Chris for the time being. I've certainly been called worse things in my life. And, I answer to "hey you", "you there", "are you deaf" and many other such things.

January 7, 2025

Jillette January

Razor - '47-'48 Gillette Superspeed
Blade -
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush - Omega 10066 Boar
Finish - The Mighty Veg

A week of Gillette shaves and tonight's wasn't the best. The '47-'48 Superspeed is identical to the one I used last night, except this one has the center bar notched. Wouldn't expect there to be any real difference in how the razor performed. The soap is the Fat. The real Fat. And nothing but the Fat. The brush, my Omega 10066 boar. The lather was great. Nice and cushy, slick, the usual for the Fat. So where did things go wrong, you ask? Simple.

Blade selection. I'm using only Gillette blades this month and clearing out a lot of singles in my collection. For the really, really old timers - the OG 30DC guys, you may remember me doing my blade trials in the first year. I bought every blade I could find, and was tryablade.com's best customer I'm sure. I'd then try each blade and rate it. Boy did I find some stinkers, but also found out that, for the most part, a blade is a blade. Some are sharper, some are smoother. In nearly every case, however, one can get an acceptable shave as long as their technique is strong. The saying, as we know.....more like the gospel of the 30DC is "Technique Trumps Tools". There is an addendum to that, however, which is....."Unless the tools are defective".

Well, the Gillette Super Thin blade, made in Vietnam, isn't quite defective, but it's close. This is not the sharpest blade you'll find, and even though it's Platinum coated, it definitely isn't the smoothest. Two passes (and I know my technique was right) and I still feel like I need to keep shaving. Definitly not as smooth as I'm used to, and my face is buring even without adding the Veg. I decided against any more touch ups or passes simply because I knew it wasn't going to get better without adding irritation. I'll take this one to the house for the night and we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Coldest night of the year so far here with a low predicted at 6. Still a white winter wonderland outside. Stay warm!

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thank you Joe,

awesome tuesday affairs gents..

Great setup Neal. Too bad the blade wasn't great.