May 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic-Discussion Thread

Blade Focus Day 7:

Homemade PS Oil
Vie-long Horsehair Brush
Latha SS
EJ Chatsworth Barley
Bic Chrome Platinum
Stirling Unscented PSB
Latha Post Shave

So I said good bye to the Feather and hello to the Bic. I mean sticking with the plan of letting my daughter pick out my blades, and she picked the soap, too (her favorite scent; thanks again @Drygulch). The Bic is definitely more tuggy than the Feather, and my neck is quite irritated. I'll give it another go tomorrow.

 

Shave 8 in the brush focus. Today I used my Omega 10066 with the Dusy Kabinett. Quick observation - while the boar brush did not create as much lather as quickly as a badger or a synthetic, the lather was simply outstanding and was very slick and shiny with a great yogurt like consistency. A 20 second loading of the brush provided all I needed for my shave today and probably for tomorrow if I had a way to keep it!

Prep: warm wash with Kirk's CocoCastile soap and a dab of Cornhusker's Lotion rubbed in after the wash
Lather: Dusy Kabinett
Brush: Omega 10066
Razor: Gillette New SC
Blade: Rapira Lux (1)
Post: Old Spice Pure Sport

I'm going to have a difficult time selecting a "favorite" brush with this focus. Each brush is just slightly different and each one has been fantastic so far, just in a different sort of way.

 

05/7/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade –Feather Super Pro (11)
Brush –Shavemac Silvertip D01
Lather – Strop Shoppe Baker Street
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol F Extra



Another great near BBS 2 pass shave this morning. No nicks or irritation but did require a few touch ups in the trouble area. Still no tugging or problems with the blade but I can tell it is not as efficient after 11 shaves. Interested to see if I can get 14 shaves out of this blade. For a reference point, I have never been able to get more than 3 shaves from a DE blade. I really like the post shave feel of this soap and Myrsol aftershave combo.

 

MAYhem & Mercy
May 7, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Tweezerman Badger
Soap - Williams (Better......better)Mug Shaving Soap
Razor - Soyuz 1
Blade - (3)
Post - Alum, Nivea Replenishing Post Shave Balm

Final opportunity for the 7 a.m. during MAYhem. I reloaded the Soyuz in spite of its nasty performance two days ago but focused on blade alignment. Definitely got it straightened out. Not perfect but this razor doesn't have a perfect that I can find. The first stroke proved my theory that it was alignment that caused most of the issue before. The shave itself proved again that the two edges are different in sharpness and that the entire blade is rather dull and uneven. Not a quality product. However, I was able to finish with a very nice CCS. In the milder Soyuz it just couldn't muster a DFS as it can in the more aggressive Rapira. I can live with the shave I got for the day and.....no blood.

The Williams did respond again to lots of water with a damp brush. Two days in a row of a persistent, though thin, lather. We'll call it a good day!

 

Day#6 of the 30-day Focus
Cold-water shave, part of my regular routine. I've been doing the cold water shave probably the past 6-7 months, having previously been a hot water shaver, often using a scuttle for hot lather. Why the change? I find the cold water shave more invigorating; more refreshing. I get the pampered, luxurious feel of a warm basin of water, the warm lather and brush on the face. But my skin really responds well to the chilling splash of the cold and I like the feel of the cold steel. Less drying of the skin, post-shave. Now normally, I do soak my beard with a hot washcloth before shaving to soften the face, skin,whiskers—however, since a broken hot water heater meant NO hot water this morning, a hot shower beforehand was not an option.
I still managed a comfy 3-pass shave this morning with no blood-letting. I have come to truly appreciate the ease of using this Böker razor these past 5 days.
It could easily become my everyday razor and I'd have no qualms about it—although I would miss the variety.

 

Is that glorious Russian Ideal I see? On my list to buy as well comrade despite its reputation for aggressiveness.

 

Aggressive Apri...errrr May? - Day 25 & 26 (5/6 and 5/7/15)



Prep: Hot shower
Soap: Arko
Brush: Omega 13522
Razor: Cadet OC
Blade: Sputnik
Post: Witch Hazel, Nivea Sensitive Balm
Scent: Tommy Bahama Very Cool

Forgot to post yesterday so here's a double. Yesterday was a quick 1 pass XTG. Today was a nice 2 pass WTG & ATG DFS.

 

Messi...

 

Late post for Wednesday and plan for Thursday!

30 Day Rule with a Schick!


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Day 6 went off without a hitch. I am still amazed by the longevity of Chinese Schick blades. No issues, 2 pass automatic BFS...I am kinda missing Arko, but I do enjoy the light menthol of Proraso. The skin stretching technique is cutting down on touch up and giving great results...will repeat for Day 7 later today...

As a note...I will be very busy and sporadic until likely Sunday afternoon. I hope everyone had a great Thursday and a better Friday!

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On Williams Mug Soap...

I test lathered a puck yesterday. It seems thirsty and tricky, will work with it more. Didn't seem too awful, but I did not actually shave with it.

 

May 7 - shave 4
Prep: Stirling Metha Preshave oil
Soap: Col Conk Bayrum with 3 drops of M bomb (thanks TSD store!)
Straight: Left side Gemstar DFS Razor #214- blade AJ Jordan, 5/8, Double Hollow Grind, Spike point
Straight: Right side and most of the rest of the face Whipped Dog Sight Unseen Straight - Clover Brand, 5/8, Round
DE Razor: Merkur Progress
DE Blade: Wilkinson Sword (4)
Post: Cold water, alum, TSD Milk signature x2 ice, Stirling post shave balm
Growth 2 days

I talked to Glenn about a rehone but he suggested a 50 lap strop session a bit firmer then another 50 lap strop with super perfect light strokes. So I gave it another try. First pass on left cheek SB to JL - took the hairs sort of off, but it wasn't comfortable. Lots of pulling and "snagging" don't think that's normal. First pass on the right with the whipped dog, went pretty ok. A lot closer and less drag and pull.


Left cheek results

Since the whipped dog was performing better for me, I finished the 2nd XTG pass with it. My confidence comes and goes with a blade like this against my face so I'm sure there's some inconsistency in my passes. I love that I am getting better with the strokes but know there is much farther to go.


2nd pass with straight results. Eh - chin is a tough one to navigate still. Normal chin I suppose but "confidence" is the key on the chin.

The finished product with Merkur progress left my face feeling pretty smooth. One pass ATG and a little clean up along the jawline. Alum feedback was not nearly as bad as my first couple of straight shaves, but still a bit stingy! Not sure where I learned to rub the alum to help with stretching the skin but it's been a life saver for those akward places to stretch.


Today's line up.

When I first started stropping, I was rolling the blade along the edge and not the spine as depicted on my lovely gemstar bench strop. That may have affected the edge of the gemstar razor (@gssixgun) Learning...

 

Sorry that ended up so long!!!

 

Brush Focus: Day 7
Brush: WDC-3 Whipped Dog Sliver Tip 2, 24/6 Olive Wood Handle
Gillette Super Speed, 1947 Birth Razor.
Gillette Platinum Blade (6)
Bowl: KO Shave
Soap: Jack's Soap
AS: Afta AS & Conditioner
Old Spice Coffee Mug.

This brush is deep set and what a difference it makes. Although the Whipped Dog knot was not cut very well (uneven) The deep setting makes all the difference in the world. This brush performs amazing. Produces an outstanding lather and loads extremely well. Three passes and a clean up no problem. Probably one of the best shaves I've ever had and I owe to this brush. The blade preformed well, but I will change it tomorrow along with a different razor. Afta is a nice change.
The knot is 22mm deep and I added a 0.25 to raise the not a bit and for weight.

 

I am enjoying reading about how you are doing on your shaves. Its helping me get mine better too. I struggle with my chin way more than anywhere else with the straight. With a DE, my neck was the issue, but I seem to have that down now.

 

Thirsty tricky and picky. I used a soaking wet brush but never got it. It seems to want the water in/on it and not from the brush. I also haven't tried boar yet either.

 

Yall are making me want to go pick up a puck! Shaving seems more fun trying to torture yourself lol

 

Just make sure and remember the safe word.

 

Была́ не была́

Без труда́ не вы́тащишь и ры́бку из пруда́

Век живи́ — век учи́сь

These didn't check out in google translator lol....so here is where I got them from http://www.linguajunkie.com/learning/russian-proverbs-sayings

 

On a first pass down stroke, ideally that cheek should be near BBS with very little or any visible stubble—even with 2-day stubble.
You've probably seen this video of Glen's 'shave test' but it depicts HOW a properly-honed razor behaves in removing hair...


I just finished honing a W&B razor that required a second trip to the hones as it left 'whiskers' after the first initial pass, especially at the toe of the blade. This was my error in my honing.
Now it sounds like you may have inadvertently rounded the edge on that razor you got from Glen. A razor he has honed shouldn't tug, snag or pull.

 

I knew if posted result photos, I'd get good feedback. I'm committed to learning this craft and grateful to you all as resources!