March 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic-Discussion Thread

March 26, 2015: Last nights shave

Pre- Face wash with warm water, Pacific PSO
Brush Soak- Sriracha Mug of Doom™
Razor- Ikon 102 Slant
Blade- Personna (3)
Soap- Dr. Jon's "Classic"
Brush- Omega boar
Post- Cold water rinse, Osma Alum, Thayers Witch Hazel
Aftershave- The Cool Fix balm

Two and a half passes :WTG , XTG, cleanup w/ a little ATG

Got to use my new Omega 10066 that I got in the PIF from @RaZorBurn123! Defunked after three days of off and on soaking
and drying. Caught a tiny whiff of wet dog last night. Just wasn't sure if it was the brush, or my actual wet dogs that I had to
rush to bring in as the bottom fell out. Much better brush than my VDH that's been in rotation.

Still loving the Dr Jon's soaps. The ones I have are my favorite scents, hands down, of all that I've tried so far. The performance
isn't as good for me as Mickey Lee, but it's still in my go-to pile. And to be fair, the ML stuff has just been so awesome for me,
it's hard to contend with. I'm nowhere above saying that it can still be a learning curve with the DJ soaps. They tend to be
more thirsty soaps, and the ML just lathers if you look at it hard.

I'm judging everything now on whether I'd buy more when I use up what I currently have and Dr Jon's and Mickey Lee are
both definitely in the re-buy category.

The Pacific PSO just doesn't work well for me for some reason, so it'll be PIF'd for sure. My Mickey Lee order should be here
today, and I've got some of their Pre Shave Butter in there to try out. Anxious to check out the other soap scents too!

 

Arko you say?

 

Nice! The 10066 is a favorite of mine.

 

Now I can't wait to try out the Russian blades when this 30 Day Focus is over...

 

Kerry- very nice. Super cool of you.

 

Off topic but relevant to newer guys probably


Attn: Newer DE Shavers

Cadet TTO OC DE Razor up for grabs:

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/last-blast-pif-seeking-an-aggressive-april.44206/

 

March Injector Focus



Automatic 2pass smoothness! Even with Blue mystery soap!

Happy Friday!
​

 

Big Spender!

 

March Focus - Vintage and Carbon - COMPLETE
March 27, 2015 - Week 4 Day 6
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Saint Charles Shave Sandalwood
Razor - Edwin Jagger 89l
Blade - (1)
Post - Alum & Aqua Velva Ice Blue

Decided to load up a Sharp Star Platinum today. The wrapper looks like something third graders might create but the blade was surprisingly sharp, smooth and really produced a great shave. This blade is from Mostochlegmash in Moscow, the company that produces the entire Rapira line including Voskhod. So, another Russian blade that I am happy to recommend. Although, finding them seems impossible. I got a couple of them from www.tryablade.com and have not been able to locate any other source for these blades. I'm extremely curious about them and won't stop digging until I get some answers.

On the soap side of the equation, I tried Saint Charles Shave soap for the first time today, the Sandalwood in the wooden bowl. The scent is subtle but very nice. The lather, well, I'm not going to judge until I play with it a bit more. It was slick but dissipated very quickly. As in Williams quickly. I face lathered the first pass and had to add more after half of the pass. I took the time to bowl lather for the second pass and it made only a slight difference. I will be playing with the water etc. for a couple of days to see if I can dial it in. I really want this soap to work as it is made locally and has a good reputation. Would love to help a local out!

There is a much knowledge about Sharp Star blades in this picture of the Russian plains as I have been able to find. Maybe they drop off of the exploding meteors that frequent the country?

 

03/28/2015
Prep – MR GLO
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade –Feather Pro (3)
Brush –Rudy Vey with TGN Finest
Lather – MdC
Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm



Fantastic 3 pass shave this morning. Up for tomorrow's shave is a GEM 1924 on loan from JR. At the start of the month, this brush would have been one of my least favorite. Now after using it so much this month, I have come to really like it and look forward to using it in the rotation. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

March 2015 ... 30 day rule ... technique, technique, technique

pre: dr.bronner's, PSO(diy)
brush: EJ best badger medium
lather: proraso green soap
razor: EJ89lbl
blade: derby extra
post: alum block, thayer's witch hazel lavender toner

03/28/15 ... blade6(1)

another ... ON TOP OF THE WORLD ... shave today ... probably THE best shave of my whole two months of DE wet shaving!

two days growth, 2-pass ... the only slight change was the addition of avocado oil to the PSO. while i can't imagine that making much difference, this morning's shave was FANTASTIC! it's not necessarily the closest; there are still a couple of patches that i can feel some stubble ATG. however, i had absolutely no nicks, irritation, or feedback of any kind ... from the rinse, alum, or WH.

the first pass was nice and smooth ... all N-S. during the second pass, i wondered at times if i was at the right angle as i couldn't feel or hear anything. i even checked twice to make sure the blade didn't dissolve or something ... and once i checked the blade to make sure it was a derby.

absolutely no changes for tomorrow morning ... let's see if we can duplicate

 

I'm considering a silvertip. I've never owned one. What's your opinion on Kent brushes? Is that a large? Thanks.

 

Thanks for the helpful information. I like the handle shape and the flare looks perfect.

Being in Canada, there are a couple of websites that supply them. I'm seriously considering them. My one and only brush is a Vulfix pure badger. It was a step up from my BodyShop synthetic but I'm yearning for a silvertip. I'll let you know when I pull the trigger. Thanks again.

Jeremy

 

March Injector Focus


Automatic!

Have a Great Saturday Night!​

 

March Focus - Vintage and Carbon - COMPLETE
March 28, 2015 - Week 4 Day 7
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Arko
Razor - Edwin Jagger 89l
Blade - (2)
Post - Alum & The Veg

Great shave this morning with the Sharp Star. Still haven't found out anything about them, nor have I found a seller outside of tryablade.com. Frustrating because I'd add some of these to my rotation. Great Russian blade. Two pass DFS with very little if any irritation. Great way to start an early Saturday before heading out to solve the world's problems by selling cars.

Now, on to tomorrow. I had planned to wait until Tuesday to start my April with the CJB Shavette. Well, that is the last day of the month so no day off. Because I want to start when I have plenty of time I am abandoning March and starting April tomorrow! It's Arko April with the CJB! I'll post specifics tomorrow but for now here's a picture of my plan. Oh, it also includes my usual Sunday head shave, but with the Bald Guyz Clear Shave Gel to graciously PIF'd by @Sara-s ! It arrived just in time today to get a tryout tomorrow. Thanks again for the great PIF!!

​

 

Now ready for @wristwatchb to get crazy with the divinely inspired, lemon-scented gift of sheer goodness from the Turks!

April 2015:
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threa...ocus-pic-discussion-thread.44235/#post-813300

 

My Friday shave was a very quick, and frankly, not up to my usual standards, with a CCS to DFS two pass shave. The blue carbon PAL blade was getting dull, and I was in a hurry.

Today (Saturday), however, I chose a new GEM carbon blade, and ended up with a wonderful BBS two pass plus touch-up. even now, some 8 hours later, I still have a DFS quality to the shave. The blade and razor combination is very good!

 

03/29/2015
Prep – MR GLO
Razor – GEM 1924
Blade –CVS GEM
Brush –Rudy Vey with Shavemac Finest
Lather – MdC
Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm



A pretty good 3 pass shave this morning. Not sure if it is the razor, the blade or the nut holding the razor but I ended up with several weepers and irritation on my neck between my Adams apple and chin. Much different shave than the Feather Weight I tried earlier. I have ordered some coated blades that should arrive Monday afternoon. Think I am going to try this again with a different blade.

 

March Focus- Be modern, Learn to use my Feather Artist Club razor. Any touch ups with a modern DE. (Nope, done with the VDH.)

March 28th, SOTD (Shave 16 of the focus)
Two days’ growth
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor Feather Artist Club SS non-folding with Pro-Guard Blade (1st shave on blade)
Razor Finish: Prewar Fat Handled Tech.
DE Blade: Big Ben- Stropped 30 times per edge (1st shave on blade)
Soap: The Shave Den Barber Shoppe Scent, bowl lathered plus five drops of M-Bomb
Brush: Omega 10066 Boar
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block,
Aftershave: The Shave Den Iced Barber Shoppe Splash

Got back from my trip, and didn’t want to mess with the VDH anymore. Check out the PIF for it.

I did a single pass with the Artist Club, and did two passes with the Tech. I have missed efficient razors. Ended up with almost a BBS, I would call it a DFS Plus. Pretty happy overall. Starting to figure out what I will be doing next month for focus. Happy weekend all!

 

March 2015 ... 30 day rule ... technique, technique, technique

pre: dr.bronner's, PSO(diy)
brush: EJ best badger medium
lather: proraso green soap
razor: EJ89lbl
blade: derby extra
post: alum block, thayer's witch hazel original astringent

03/29/15 ... blade6(2)

one day growth, 2-pass, touch-up/buffing underside of the chin ... everything went nice and smooth this morning. i did have one weeper; it didn't even appear until after the final pass, the cold rinse, the alum, the cold rinse, and the WH. a touch of styptic shut it down. this was in the area that i was doing some touch-up/buffing ATG.