Focused February

On the road...

Dad's Schick Injector
Chinese Schicks
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Eucalyptus
Mennen Skin Bracer

Another Great Shave! All is well in Murray KY. I am still on the road through next Tuesday, pics are hit and miss due to Internet service.

Have a Happy Wednesday!

02/18/15
Prep – MR GLO
Razor - Mongoose Satin B2
Blade – Feather Pro Guard (4)
Brush – RV with Shavemac Finest
Lather – AOS Sandalwood Cream
Post - Witch Hazel and AOS Sandalwood AS Balm



I enjoyed the AOS Sandalwood Cream so much on Sunday that I decided to use it again today. Fantastic 3 pass shave.

February 16th SOTD (Shave 9 of the challenge)
One and a Half Day's growth
Prep: Hot shower
Razor: '52 Gillette Super Speed Black Tip (X2)- Steel Handle and Baseplate
Blade: Feather Platinum Coated, third shave on this blade, stropped 30 times per edge
Soap: Dirty Deeds Beer Soap- I can't remember the scent.
Brush: Vie Long Horsehair
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block
Aftershave: Something my wife got at the hippie grocery store.

Did a quick shave today, S/N then XTG on the neck and jaw. A few rough spots, but not too bad. My shaves are better when I have at least two day's growth. After Monday night's attempt at Old Spice, my wife got something from the natural grocery store and said to use that instead. I did. It didn't seem to do much, but it smells nice. Think I have finally figured out the right amount of water for this soap with the horse hair brush. Nice lather today.

I wish I understood some women's (especially Mrs Samurai) objection to OS....

Shave 17 Feb Focus Slim Adjustable
Another very good shave, oh so close to back to back BBS, but will settle for DFS.

My wife has been smelling OS on me for 27 years so even if she didn't care for it then, it is what she expects me to smell like. She did mention that I actually am an old man now, so the old man vibe of original Old Spice is appropriate. Not sure whether I ought to be insulted now?

February Focus - Blades
2/18/15 - Day 19
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - C.O. Bigelow
Razor - EJ89l
Blade - (1)
Post - RazoRock Alum & The Mighty Veg

Onward to the Gillette Rubie. A Platinum blade that seems pretty obscure. And, we all know that sometimes those obscure items turn out to be the ones we've been looking for. Nope, not this one.

How many ways can I describe how much I hated this blade. Let's see, it drags, it left a nice weeper, it required 3 passes and a lot of touch up to ALMOST get a DFS and it left enough irritation to create an hour long burn. Seriously, this is a blade??
I know YMMV and I also know it's not PTFE (nod to @Bama Samurai) but seriously this thing is a dog. I actually used two of them to check that the first wasn't a dud. First pass with one, second and third with the backup. Couldn't cut it. Literally.

Grade - FFFFFFFFF
Cost - Best price today is $21.50/100 so 22.5 cents per blade.

This is a ONE AND DONE blade. Moving on and hoping for better from the Polsilver Super Iridium tomorrow. I have a small stock of Rubie's from buying sample packs on the cheap so I see a PIF in my future for those who might like these or be curious. Maybe Platinum lovers would find something redeeming.

​

I just went straight to the Veg. Heh.

The splendor of God's creation, as displayed on a cold Kentucky morning.

Focused February

On the road...

Dad's Schick Injector
Chinese Schicks
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Eucalyptus
Mennen Skin Bracer

Another good one! Happy Thursday!

Decided to take a break from blade trials for a day. Will post this evening on my "Russian Roulette" shave I did instead.

02/19/15
Prep – MR GLO
Razor - Mongoose Satin B2
Blade – Feather Pro Guard (5)
Brush – RV with Shavemac Finest
Lather – MdC
Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm



Fantastic 3 pass shave this morning. I have really enjoyed this razor over the last 45 + days. The worst shave I have had has been better than average with many nearly BBS even without trying.

Shave 18 on Feb Focus Slim Adj
Another DFS on a GSB with now 4 three pass shaves on it and no tugging yet.

I'm not sure what to make of today. A bunch of nicks, a big patch that was missed but also a lot of smoothness. It's been about 2 or 3 days growth and I switched over to a derby blade. I kept hearing how bad these were but I think these might be the best blades I've used so far. Tomorrow I'll slow down a bit and hopefully correct the problems that led to a bunch of tiny nicks Where it's smooth it's bbs so I know this blade has waaaaaay more potential then I ever thought and the comfort was awesome. My neck issues seemed a little better as well and that followed with a closer shave in that area. Could it be that some how the skipped shaves have help improve some trouble areas or are these blades actually working better? Only time will tell but I'm getting excited about shaving again after being in a slump.

IMHO, Derby gets a bad rap because most people using it are new to DE. You have just proven that you have way better technique than when you started out, and many blades will give a fine result now. It is a fine blade.

I really hope so because it was about the nicest shave I've had since the switch. Well I say that and I also had a bunch of nicks but again it just cut through 3 days of growth and was still pretty much smooth. The problem stems from not respecting the blade since I thought it was going to be bad from the get go. Tomorrow should glorious hahahahaha

february 2015 focus ... blades ... still in pre-"30 day rule" mode

every-other-day shaves, two shaves per blade, two pass, ...

pre: n/a
brush: EJ best badger medium
lather: proraso green soap
razor: EJ89lbl
post: n/a

02/17/15
blade: (2)

one nick between chin and lip during E/W XTG pass ... some irritation in one section of the neck during XTG pass which turns out is more like ATG in that section. i was always a one WTG (mostly S) pass shaver with the fusion cartridges. obviously still relearning growth patterns.

02/19/15
blade: (1)

the derby did me right today! i was pleased as punch with my two pass. one nick on the lower neck, and i know exactly when it happened ... just got a bit careless for a moment. i didn't learn from two days ago as i had some irritation in the same section of the neck. practice, practice, practice ... fun, fun, fun!

February Focus - Blades - BUT NOT TODAY
2/19/15 - Day 20
Brush - VDH Boar from the premium kit
Soap - Arko
Razor - RAPIRA
Blade - (1)
Post - RazoRock Alum

After yesterday's extremely disappointing one and out with the Gillette Rubie I found myself two days ahead of schedule and with a new toy in my arsenal. When I got my last order of Russian blades I had my supplier throw in a Rapira razor. Yes, they do make one and it is a marvel of Russian engineering. Well, maybe compared to Soviet era engineering or, well, maybe not, or, well here's the truth...........



This is the mighty Rapira razor. You can see the incredibly high quality metal the head is made of....definitely high grade tin can. The handle is a rare cheap plastic that absolutely feels like it in your hand. The blade is held in place, sort of, by the corners of the razor head and trust me, after only about 10 minutes of aligning the blade it was very nearly aligned. Close enough for Kremlin work. After getting the blade just right, or as close to it as I had the patience for, I realized what an opportunity I had in front of me. This was my chance for the legendary RUSSIAN ROULETTE SHAVE!! How could I pass up the opportunity? After looking at the blade in the razor and realizing how little the razor bent the blade and how it was sort of even and not, and how it might actually slip during the shave I knew it was my destiny. Load that baby up with a Voskhod and put it to my face and may the odds be ever in my favor. And, just to make it a truly unique experience use the mighty Arko to help keep things slick and try to avoid disaster.

How to describe the result? Several adjectives come to mind. Rough, uneven, rough, tuggy, nick city, weeper heaven, ouch, oh that's gonna leave a mark.....well you get the idea. To say the alum had a bite is to say a great white shark is a little nipper. What amazed me is how badly this razor made the Voskhod perform, and if you can make a Voskhod rough and dangerous you have accomplished something. Kudos to the Russians for such an unbelievable accomplishment.

I skipped the AS due to the desire to avoid anymore pain and went to work satisfied knowing I had done something few others have had the courage to. I had stood up to the Russian Roulette Shave and walked away unscathed. Sort of, well, so not so much. It was fun though, to be honest, to try out something like that and see what I could make out of it. I'm not saying I'll ever use the mighty Rapira razor again, but it definitely has more the makings of a conversation piece than a regular spot in my rotation.

Tomorrow it's back to the trials with the Polsilver Super Iridium in the EJ89l. For now, a tribute to Mother Russia and the best and brightest she has to offer!

​

I laughed so hard that I might have a hernia...

In case of hernia...let me know the surgeon who will be fixing it...I'll loan him the Rapira as a scalpel. I'm sure it's precision enough for that.