May 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic-Discussion Thread

Day#22 of the 30-Day Focus
..and Day#2 of 7 with the J. A. Henckels Zwillingswerk #472 'Friodur' Straight Razor.

Late afternoon shower and shave after a busy morning working outside. I didn't feel the need for a shave this morn as yesterday's left me incredibly smooth for the longest time.
Stropped the Friodur with laps of 35 on linen/60 on horsehide. Same soap as Friday's exceptional shave. Three standard passes with minor touch-up on the jawline. Silky-smooth shave again.
This razor could spoil me for any other… Post-shave, rinse and dried the razor and gave it a dozen or so laps on horsehide to ensure a dry edge. Although the Friodur has on it's tang stamped, "No Stain"— I don't take any chances with water and carbon steel blades—no matter the process used by the manufacturer.

 

Brush Focus: Day 23/30
Brush: Semogue Boar 1305, 22/55
Gillette - K-4 (1965) Slim Adjustable. (5).
Gillette Platinum Blade (2)
Soap: Sterling, Cool
A/S: The Shave Den, Coconut.
Old Spice Coffee Mug.(soak brush)

Excellent brush. I find it work no matter what the soap is hard or soft. Doesn't hold water like Badger, but by adding a little water along the way does the trick. haven't had any problems with this brush what some ever. Highly recommended! Gillette adjustable is also a great razor. Work perfectly, just remember to loosen the TTO when adjusting the numbers. First time using Sterling Soap, Cool and I was very happy with it. Not much for smell, but provided a good lather. TSD A/S is a quality product. I'll have to order more.

God Bless all who have served who helped keep America safe and great.

 

You take Outstanding pictures. You should open a tutorial on how to do it.

 

Final Results for MAYhem and Mercy!


Well gents and lasses here’s what we’ve all been waiting for. The final results of my MAYhem and Mercy month. Well, ok so maybe you haven’t been waiting so feel free to ignore this now and gain back a few minutes of your life. I won’t be offended, just a bit lonelier.

For those who want the short version…..here it is. Four of the five blades actually passed, meaning I got at least a CCS on either or both setups. The only one to totally fail was the Flying Eagle. The Baili failed MAYhem but barely survived Mercy. Final rankings:

1. Zaza
2. Sharp
3. 7 a.m.
4. Baili
5. Flying Eagle

For those who want the full summary, read on. The rest…thanks for your time and interest.



I know some of you felt I had lost my mind on this one. After all we don’t normally design shaves using the worst products and seeing how bad the results can be. I am glad that I did have the good sense to listen to the advice of @Darkbulb and a couple of others and hold the MAYhem to two weeks. The blades generally sucked but the gear was just awful. As in dreadful. As in yeah, my mind snapped a few times. I may yet seek therapy. Let’s examine the gear for a moment of reflection.


The Soyuz 1 (as I call it) is a very common Russian find so I suspect they were made in bulk back in the day. The four piece design indicates a travel razor, most likely, though it could just be designed that way for saving space in storage. The metal is a mystery but it is heavy and the gap. Oh the gap. The #&*(%&%&*& gap. Totally inconsistent, and if you don’t pay close attention the blade loads at a slight angle creating a slicing machine with an inconsistent gap that may have inspired the SAW franchise in Hollywood. I used a Voskhod in it one time prior to May and even that felt wildly dangerous and foolish. I can’t imagine the Soviets using that on a regular basis but I’m sure many did. Brave, brave souls and I understand their love of Vodka, if only to deaden the result of this razor.

The Rapira is a modern razor, cheap and actually labeled for sale with the Gillette 7 o’clock as well. You can find these on the bay pretty cheap in a lot of the Russian blade cartel’s pages. It’s one way to get a razor into people’s hands cheaply but a better choice would be the Lord L6. Cheaper in most cases and better at what it does from the reviews I’ve read here and other places. The Rapira could be used if you have no other options but I don’t see it as an everyday razor given its aggressive nature and cheap construction.

The Tweezerman brush. Entry level badger brush, sheds like a Husky in Brazil and is too soft for my liking. Having said that it does work and has gotten a lot of people started. I’d hate to tackle something as hard as Tabac or MWF with it. Williams was almost too much for it. But I started wetshavnig with it using Proraso green in the tub and never had an issue with lather. It’s just the shedding that gets old.

Williams Mug Shaving Soap. Need I comment? Hate it. Hard to lather and even when you get it figured out it’s way too thin for my liking and dissipates way too fast. More than that…..the smell. Anyone who hates Arko for its smell and says they like Williams better……go to the Doctor…you have nose issues. Disclaimer – I used modern Williams, not vintage. Two different soaps. Same box, but wow did they ruin a good thing. Also a bad thing.

Disclaimer – As with all shaving gear everything I used is subject to YMMV. I see some people in SOTD using Williams and loving it…yes, modern Williams. If it works for them (or you) you will receive no argument from me about that. These results are my experience and preferences.

The Mercy gear. Good stuff all around. The DE89L is my go-to razor for trialing blades as it is not as mild as a superspeed but not as aggressive as some either. The RazoRock TTO is an impressive performer, especially given its price. It’s also nice to have a solid brass razor from a modern manufacturer. I found it useful as a more aggressive platform to get a better feel of the blades to compare to. I find it useful to shave with a LOT anymore. Just another shameless plug. That’s the RazoRock TTO. Available, well you know.

My soaps of choice were Arko, Proraso Green tub and a day with Tabac. All three produced great lather for me and I love all three scents. Proraso was my first “real” soap so I will always have a tub handy. Never an issue with any of these soaps during this phase.

The brushes – Omega Pro 48, VDH Boar and Vie Long 12750 Horse. Different characteristics from these three. The Pro 48 is, as most know, an outstanding performer. Really attacks harder soaps and lathers easily. It’s a big brush and the splay covers half of my face when I use it that way. Nice stiffness too yet soft as it’s well broken in. The VDH Boar is from the smaller starter kit with the green bowl and soap. For a cheap boar this is one of my favorite brushes. Rarely sheds, very short loft and is great with harder soaps as well. Very quick to rinse after use and I find the feel to be perfect…that mix of soft and scratch. The Vie Long I’m still learning but love it so far. It also works well in the harder soaps even though it requires a bit different approach. Produces great lather though and is definitely a nice scratchy soft brush with 35% mane and 65% tail.

And now, without further ado, the blades. My final ranking is as follows:

1. Zaza
2. Sharp
3. 7 a.m.
4. Baili
5. Flying Eagle

The only blade to fail the entire trial is the Drowned Duck……I mean Flying Eagle. Horrible, horrible. Did I say horrible? Dull, rough, absolutely a waste of good carbon steel. Again, I recognize that carbon blades perform differently than stainless. I’ve used Treet carbon blades and love the black beauty. This blade looks similar but performs totally differently. Treet Black Beautys provide a nice feedback and result. The Crawling Eagle just drags and reminds you that unsharpened steel is useless to cut with. By the way I have a list of 10 alternate names for the Flying Eagle. My favorite…the Limping Hummingbird. Another shameless plug for my thoughts. @Keithmax was kind enough to donate two of these things for my enjoyment and he bet the farm they would be the worst blades I would find. Congratulations, you kept the farm!

The Zaza – a bit surprising that it performed well. Not Voskhod level but good enough that I would keep a few around just for variety. Turkish blades should be good and I think the Zaza passes muster. Just don’t expect perfection.

The Sharp – voted by many in reviews as a horrible dull piece of steel. I found it to be good enough to barely pass muster with bad gear but its performance with good gear improved greatly. Not good enough to make me want to order more but if that’s the only blade I could find I could live with it.

The 7 a.m. – Bangladesh is a clothing center, not a steel making center, and this blade and the Sharp prove why. This blade showed great inconsistency in the two blades I used as well as in the results. It passed both but barely in MAYhem. If it’s the only blade available you may want to consider skipping the day just to avoid a bad blade in the bunch. Otherwise it might be ok for a short time.

The Baili – Absolute disaster in bad gear, better in good but I just can’t see myself using it. My assumption is that if I was in a position that I could only get that blade I’d probably also be using a bad razor. Nope, not gonna happen. Say hello to the new beard.

The Flying Eagle – Two words – RUN AWAY. Definitely no use to try and get a decent shave with this one. Won’t work. Guaranteed beard if I was out of other options.

So, what was the point again? Testing @GDCarrington on his three T’s….”technique trumps tools.” Can you become solid and consistent enough with your technique to overcome even bad tools (not defective)? Yes. I think the results prove that much. While the good gear produced better results overall, I was able to take some incredibly bad gear and produce a passable shave. The only exceptions – the Baili and Flying Eagle. Neither of the Chinese blades worked with bad gear and the Eagle didn’t work with either. Given the quality, or lack of quality, though, I would have to say that the Baili borders on defective and the Dancing Owl is just flat out defective. You can’t have a blade that dull and rough considered anything but defective.

Thanks for following along. I hope it was informative to a point as well as entertaining, if only to try and figure out what is wrong with me. (If you discover the answer to that please forward it to my wife. She’s been trying to figure it out as well.)

Coming up in June – still thinking about it. Due to the need to conserve finances a bit I am delaying the purchase of a strop and getting my kamisori honed so no focus on that for now. I’m considering a mixed bag – a “blade tournament” to determine my true favorite out of my top 12 along with continued work with the CJB to help perfect my holds and moves for a true kamisori style shave. More on that later.

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Thanks! Here's a brief overview of the sequence I use. Fast n' not a lot of time involved.

 

Arko is also a joy bowl lathered! Just put a thin slice or two on the bottom of a bowl and go nuts if the face lathering is too frustrating.

With the silver tip Omega, are you loading a damp brush and face lathering per usual?
Also, that blade looks great. Did you buy it new? And thanks for the glimpse into your photo editing process.

 

Yes. The omega is softer than any boar brush, so it requires more effort to load. Silvertip badger is MUCH, much softer on the face as well. One of my favorite brushes.

You're welcome! That razor was a used (it was made circa late 1950-mid 60s). Bought it from a seller in japan. Blade was in great shape, but the scales need some cleaning & polishing…

looks near-new in the cellophane sleeve...


Ewww. Gunk at the pivot point. A sure sign the previous user wasn't a stickler for thorough post-shave cleaning & drying

 

Day four with the Astra SP was a hurried shave (darn hockey game going into overtime, when I need to get ready for work).. The result was still a DFS+ shave, although there was some "dragginess" which could very well be technique, not blade. We will try again tomorrow, when I will be less pressured to get out the door. May all of you good folk below the 49th have a great Memorial Day Weekend, and thank you all for your service.

John

 

Outstanding post. Thank you!

 

Blade Focus Day 24:

Homemade PS Oil
WD High Mountain Badger 30 mm
Stirling Port-au-Prince SS
EJ Chatsworth Barley
Astra Superior Stainless
Stirling Unscented PSB
Tabac AS

Swtched to the Astra SS today. I had used Astra SP previously but this was a new blade for me. The initial shave was pretty nice; this blade has some promise for me. Looking forward to shave number 2 tomorrow.

 

05/24/2015
Razor – GEM MMBT
Blade – GEM Stainless PTFE (7)
Brush – Shavemac Silvertip D01
Lather – Mystic Water Lime
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol Limon Sample



Very good 3 pass near BBS shave this morning. First time using the GEM MMBT. It seemed to be very mild and not quite as efficient as the GEM FW I used for yesterday's shave. I think I have finally mastered lathering Mystic Water soaps. Today's lather was nice, thick and supper slick. I love the lime scent. Finished off with some Myrsol Limon from the sample pack.

 

Recovery and play with soap week!
May 24, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Razor - RazoRock TTO
Blade - (3)
Post - Alum, The Veg!

Well I have a week before June to relax and play with some soaps. Since I recently added Tabac and MWF I wanted to spend a bit of time showing them some love and seeing if I get any in return. I'm also going to work with my Vie Long more to get totally comfortable with it. Today, however, I chose the Omega Pro 48 since it is my first time attempting to lather MWF. I've watched a couple of videos and taken some notes. Some say this is a difficult soap to lather so I wanted all the help I could get.

I soaked the top of the puck in warm water while I showered then shook out the Pro 48 from its soak. Started loading the brush and loved the mild scent this soap has and noticed it almost instantly produced some very big bubbles. As I continued to load the brush it began to lather up a bit in the brush and on the puck. Went to work on a face lather and loved the feel and aroma and it didn't take long to get a decent lather up. Nothing spectacular but enough to shave with. I added a bit of water and kept working until I had a very slick lather. Still a bit thin but not bad.

I still had the Sharp Star blade (all hail the Russian blade gods) in my RR so I used that for three passes. Felt great, the lather was very slick and the second lather went a bit better. My face was wet so I think the extra water helped. By the third pass I had a very nice DFS with only one nick that was caused by my over exuberance at having a great shave! Alum was a bit biting on the neck and the Veg lit it up but smells ohhhhhh so good. The Fat is a great soap and I am looking forward to working with it until I master it.

Todays picture is just a combination of some of my favorite new things, other than the Lord Platinums. They were just included with the razor. Hope you all have a great holiday weekend! I've gotta get the grill fired up and the ribs on before the next round of thunderstorms rolls through.

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May 24th, SOTD (Shave 13 of this focus)
Two days’ growth
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor: Dubl Duck Satin Wedge with obnoxious orange scales
Strop: Drygulch Chromexcel Horsehide and Linen (25 Linen/50 Leather)
Soap: Barrister & Mann's Seville
Brush: 24mm Finest Badger in Quilted Walnut handle
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block, Thayer’s Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Pacific Shave Company Caffeinated Aftershave


This blade has been less than smooth since I purchased it. I just received some chromium oxide, and pasted a vintage linen strop with it. I did 10 laps on the pasted strop, before going to my main strop and doing a few more laps then I normally do. This made the razor very smooth and easy to use. I did one pass N/S, then a second pass S/N, except on my chin where I went sideways. What was interesting, was while doing the ATG pass, at a very shallow angle, the wedge blade seemed to suction itself to my skin, and still glide up my face. Where it did this, there was some lather on the face side of the blade after the stroke, and my face was BBS. I had this happen on my cheeks, and on my neck, under my jaw. I was very happy with my two pass shave, but tried to get the trouble spots on my neck, and ended up getting some razor burn. Third pass on my chin was ATG, and with skin stretching and a smooth razor, I got one of the best shaves I have ever gotten on my chin.


I broke my Mayhem rule of a different brush every shave, and am glad I did. I used lots of water and overloaded the brush, so I ended up making a very watery lather, but very thick and slick. It worked great. I switched to a different aftershave, because of the irritation on my neck, so the actual aftershave I used isn’t pictured. Pacific Shave Company makes a very soothing balm.


Overall, DFS, with a bunch of BBS. I am very happy I didn’t screw this razor up trying to make it more comfortable.

 

Neal, I found out the MWF puck is so dry that after a few uses it becomes much easier to load the brush and the quality of the lather improves.

 

I had heard that mentioned. I appreciate the confirmation. Some suggest soaking the puck before use but I didn't want to soak it in a wooden bowl so just soaked the top but I assume it will soak in over time. And yes, MWF is a very hard puck. Freeze it and I think it could take the place of a puck on the ice!

 

I wouldn't bother soaking it but if you use it several days in a row you can see the water absorb into the puck. I borrowed some last year from a friend to try. I never got fantastic lather but it got better with each use. The stuff is so super slick that it made shaves a pleasure.

 

Day#23 of the 30-Day Focus
..and Day#3 of 7 with the J. A. Henckels Zwillingswerk #472 'Friodur' Straight Razor.

Early morning shave & late-posting of this. Another day, another flawless, comfy shave with this razor. I do appreciate that I've actually taken the time this month to use these razors for consecutive days. The daily use of the same razor for seven consecutive days is truly eye-opening as to allowing me to recognize the merits of all these razors. I may continue to do this after May as I am eager to 'thin the herd.' I'll keep those razors that really mesh well with my face and ease of use. Those that don't will be sold. This would be a very difficult decision if I had to part with any of the four razors I've used these past 3 weeks—but I've a drawer-full of other razors still awaiting this type of testing.
This Friodur will not be on the 'for sale' list…...

 

I'm sure when you "thin the herd" some people will end up with some very nice razors!

 

I finally made time to shave although it was a bit of a let down. Several minor nicks and some rough spots after three passes which I was hoping for a smoother finish. Tried out P160 for the first time and man what a great soap scent and performance wise. I placed an order for alum blocks so hopefully that will help with stretching the skin and getting closer shaves but overall it was still a passable shave.