30 Day Rule/Focus; July 2025. All Are Welcome!

came in a tin as well right?

 

Hi, all. Sorry I haven't been able to report in a while. My shave for the day was mind-blowingly good!

Pre-shave was a standard shower, but I used Stirling bar soap on my face, rather than the 'facial cleanser' I've been using for a while.
Soap was Speick's stick.
Razor Emporium synthetic brush
PAA Meta-4 razor
Wilkinson Sword blade

Post-shave was an alum block, then
Saponificio Varesino 70th Anniversary after shave.

I've played around with Speick's soap stick only a little. I probably need to use it consistently for a few days or a week, though, because that was the most comfortable shave I think I've ever had! It was a 2-pass shave, with a partial third pass on areas of my neck to get super-smooth, and there was almost no alum feedback and no burn at all. The lather had so much cushion and protection I could only feel the blade at all in a couple difficult areas. It was truly remarkable.

 

DE Shave # 605

Rating: 5 / 5

Razor: Gillette SS Red Tip TTO (1959 E-1)
Blade: Suneko Amorphous Diamond SS
Brush: Leo Frilot ECWS 2018 Ghost Trails
Lather: Arko Stick
Aftershave: Derby City Chop Shop Small Batch Tonic - Winter Reserve
Additional Care:
Omega Alum
Dickenson’s Original Witch Hazel
Stirling Unscented Glacial Balm

 

awesome red tip set up and shave Joe.

 

I have never flipped the blade, I might flip the razor though, hence the name Double Edge razor. I do remove the blade after each shave, rinse, clean & dry, ready for the next day.

Thanks Gary, Yes it kind of grows on you (and my wife) I was lucky enough to have the Cologne gifted to me recently

Glad you are back safely Joe, nice comeback shave

Wonderful shave Barry

I take it you only use water then? If I were to forgo the preshave and the soaps I would be sure to have a rough time. Personally I prefer to not have to deal with cuts, scabs and rips. When I started wet shaving (with shaving soap by the way ) I did time myself in the beginning, but that added stress and removed the enjoyment factor. I decided to be kind to myself and ditched the timer.

Nice shave Joe, I have yet to acquire a Fatboy, holding out as long as I can!

Lovely shave Gary

Hear hear Joe, well said. Nevertheless I doubt I will ever graduate to straights

Thank you Joe

Thank you Joe

Thank you Joe. Me neither

Lovel those chunky Tuckaways!

There's that "time" thing again. Nice choice Joe. Good decision

Good going Barry, nice shave

Fine setup Gary

Nice prep and shave by the way. Good prep and good lather makes all the difference

Good looking shave Joe

 

25 and 27 Jul 2025



2 Days growth

Hot Water Prep and Preshave = Derby Menthol shave cream
Cream/Soap = Stirling British Leather
Brush = Pura Setola, giving this little brush its due, it’s a good one
Bowl = White plastic
Razor = Gillette Aristocrat ~1947
Blade = Iridium Super extra Stainless (1) and (2)
Passes = 2 + as needed
Post = Usual CWR, Alum, rinse, pat dry, Thayer’s rose petal
ASB = TOBS Royal Forest
ASL = Proraso Rinfrescante
Scent = English Leather cologne splash

9.5/10 both times. No damage and almost BBS both ways in most places. Doesn’t get better than this. I must say this blade is a step up from some others. Nice clean crisp cutting action, no dragging at all. Less strokes per zone to get nice and clean. ATG as needed safe as houses with the Aristocrat

Reasonably grippy handle too.

Of course the Stirling soaps never disappoint. I first tried this one a while ago and from memory was not too fond of its scent, but is actually quite pleasing and does give you that new leather feel

Have a great Sunday one and all

 

t

thank you Chris

 

Sunday Morning 27/07/2025

• Razor : Gillette Aristocrat #16 Rhodium plated 2nd version Circa 1940s. (England)
• Blade : Gillette Nacet stainless 1 (Russia).
• Brush : Yaqi caramel cats whiskers synthetic (China).
• Soap : Rasozero Protettivo (Italy).
• Aftershave : Genuine Ogallala bay rum and Vanilla (USA).
• Weight : 74 grams. (razor).

Hi all,
I had a lovely shave this morning with the Gillette Aristocrat #16.

In my opinion of the closed comb British Aristocrats this is the pick of the bunch for efficiency and smoothness of shave.
It shaved very close and clean with a new Gillette Nacet blade.
This razor has the common problem of a slightly loose barn door which seems to be the case with this early TTO head design luckily it doesn’t affect its performance at all.
The different models can be identified by the handle design and the shape of the safety bar (side on).
As far as I know this razor and case combination was made for the Australian market (I hope this is true).

One pass WTG one pass ATG done.
No touch ups no nicks no worries.

The Rasozero soap works well and is very reasonably priced. it provides good cushioning and aftershave feel with a pleasing aniseed sent.

Finished off nicely with Genuine Ogallala bay rum and Vanilla splash again, in my opinion, one of the best lines of Bay rum aftershaves.

Cheers.

 

Thank you Chris.

 

Yes, flipping a blade and using the other side after X days when the top side is dull is how I can get at least 30 days from a blade.

I do use both sides in shaving as well, but I still often have to clean in middle of the shave about 80%--90% because the shaver clogs up and is not cutting this is true even when I used going back to the original slide on Mach III from the 2000's, hence why I wanted a Butterfly for my adjustable but most of the cheaper are not good in modern Butterfly adjustable as they die easy or the dial moves easy, with one from Viking having 2 different combs for an odd shave experience and then the only good model the Rockwell T2 is $150 and just going up in price. This is why I had to get a Gillette Adjustable slim handle then got a backup because they are not made.

 

27th July 2025.



​

Shaving Recipe for today.

Prep: Warm shower:/Cien Men Kenya Shower Gel.

Pre:
Cold wet flannel to my face.
Pears Transparent Bar Soap.
Brush: Yaqi Naples 24mm Synthetic.
Bowl Lather.
Bowl: Tesco's Ceramic 'Cosmo' Side Bowl.
Lather: Omega Eucalyptus Shaving Cream.
Blade: Lord Shark Super Stainless. (D2)
Razor: 1940's, Fat Handle Gillette Tech. (ENG)

Post:
Cold Water Face Rinse./Cold water face wash with brush squeezing's, /Alum Rub./Cold Water Rinse./Homemade (~Spring/Summer mix~) Lemon, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Essential Oils.5 Menthol Crystals Mixed Together With Care+Witch Hazel./Aloe Vera Gel./ Superdrug Sierran Breeze ASL.

Greetings,

Sunday morning shave,

The Omega shaving cream Omega shaving cream provided slick protective lather, the kick from the Eucalyptus oil has a wonderful cooling effect and a great morning wakeup call for my ageing face sensors.

Finishing the shave off with a generous splash of Superdrug Sierran Breeze ASL.

My face is feeling smooth, & smelling divine.

Keep safe, and enjoy your Sunday ladies & gentlemen.

 

From what I have talked with my dad about his shaver, he gets a really good shave with the 1946 to and of 1948 model of Gillette Aristocrat he has.

 

Very cool setup, pic and write up. Not sure where you are but I see the chooks are enjoying some sunshine today
Love the Rasozero scent too btw

 

Lovely 'wake me up' shave Barry.

 

I find when my razor clogs up it is because the lather is too thick. Quick rinse problem solved, then thin out the lather with some more water. I see some chaps get up to 100 shaves from a blade. When my blades go dull they get punished before they get a chance to punish me, and get promptly binned. For me they are the cheapest part of this not inexpensive hobby and am happy to part company with them sooner rather than later

 

I get that but how some get 100+ shaves is they sharpen the blades to keep using like my dad and he can get now 6 months to a year depending on rusting of the blade. Because my dad he has a Gillette Aristocrat 1946--1948 version, he will keep the blade outside the shaver because these models from Gillette are harder to keep from getting the green blue (mold?) to the shaver and doing this helps more combined with drying it off.

I do not do this using a Parker pressed leather case for my current in use Gillette Adjustable slim handle as the shaver most of it still has the chrome on it, but I do check for the green blue (mold?) on it like recently having to do a deep clean to remove some of the blue green (mold?) from my current shaver. I did the same for my Micro Touch One/short handle Weishi shaver despite being chromed nickel over some type of darker brass as I accidentally scratched early on the butterfly closer and I kept that model in a cover mainly Q-shave until recently going in with my backup case model of Gillette Adjustable slim handle as I no longer use the Micro Touch One unless flying.

 

Just outside the gate of the chook pen down the back just for something different it was a small break of sunshine between all the rain we’ve had of late then again it is winter here.
Ya the chooks loved it.
They Absolutely hate the rain.

Cheers.

 

Same with the Sumer storms where I live in South Dakota I hate them and they suck doing damage at up to 100 mph or 161 Kilometers per hour in the last storm we had.

 

Lol! Me too I’d make a good chook☺️

 

SRS # 1339

Rating: 5 / 5

Razor: Wade & Butcher 13/16 “Bow”
Brush: Jayaruh 337 with Omega #49 Boar
Lather: Declaration Grooming/Chatillon Lux Nefertiti
Aftershave: Chatillon Lux Nerfertiti
Additional Care:
Omega Alum
Dickenson’s Original Witch Hazel
Stirling Unscented Glacial Balm

I had to put out a call to the Captain of the Edmund Fitzgerald to delay the collection of the empty tub of Nefertiti due to an issue with my mother yesterday.

Saturday morning at 3:00 AM I was on my way to the emergency room due to my mother having paralysis on her left side. Fortunately, after about ten hours in the ER the issue luckily was not a stroke but her neuropathy acting up. Given that I had little sleep I elected to do a simple Arko bar soap shave yesterday and put off the final shave of the Nefertiti today.

This morning’s shave was a welcomed finale to a great scent led soap. I really did not need to shave until much later but it felt great to do so.
Three passes to super smoothness.

Hope you all have a relaxing day.