July 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

@Rufus T. stated it well. Astra will work fine for now!

 

Re: 7 oclock blues on eBay - are you referring to those sold by th Russian Federation? Are they the same blades?

 

Remotely possible. I used the Slim several times and just did not enjoy using it. I'll try to use it a couple of times next month and see if my opinion has changed before I commit to a focus.

 

Yes they are. Looks like businkaolya is the seller. From Chelyabinsk. One of my regular suppliers and the ad mentions this may be the last time to buy them so it looks like the stop in production is real. At $7.00 that's about twice the normal price you often see so there's a bit of profit-taking going on. But, a lot of people love those blades. Gillette makes another super platinum 7 o'clock, in the black wrapper from their Indian plant. It's a good blade but not as good as the blue, in my opinion anyway.

 

1956 Gillette Super Speed Flair
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Proraso Sandalwood cream
Aqua Velva Ice Blue
Current Blade under review: PolSilver Super Iridium

Shave #2 with PolSilver Super Iridium blade. Fine BBS results, a great shave. Very close, really comfortable, no nicks, weepers, irritation or razor burn.
2 Full passes: Pass 1: WTG on my face (N/S), and XTG on my neck (N/S). Pass 2: ATG based on my updated grain map. At this point, I had a near BBS shave.
Applied lather to the areas that needed touch up. I used some stretching to get the remaining spots. Today there was less to cleanup than yesterday, but I needed to go over some of them twice. The Aqua Velva burned a bit, but much less than yesterday and quieted down quickly.

The PolSilver Super Iridium turned in a very comfortable 2 pass BBS shave with very little touch up required except for my typical trouble spots. Reviewing my grain map and making updates really paid off.

 

07/22/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Triad SS Helix
Blade – Feather Super Pro (9)
Brush – Rudy Vey with TGN Finest
Lather – Soap Commander Renewal
Post - Witch Hazel and Fine L’Orange



Another great 2 pass near BBS shave this morning. About as good as I get most work mornings. Finished off with Fine L'Orange.

 

30 day rule - Day 22
MDC Lavender Face Lathered
Ladas blade
Slim Adjustable set to 8
3 passes

Well, I knew it would happen, and it did. This morning I started face lathering without wishing I were bowl lathering. It took a while, but today showed that an old dog can learn new tricks.

 

July focus has been good to me. The pace of my job, now that's a horse of a different color. So I haven't had the opportunity to post my last three shaves but they've been with a Lakewood full hollow round point, Tobs sandlewood, and clubman as.

In the beginning of the month I mentioned that I've preferred the wedge blade to the hollow since I felt like the hollow jumped a bit on my face so moving back to full hollow had me a bit nervous. I discovered though, if I get a proper skin stretch, that jumping sensation goes away. Below are a few pics that I hadn't not posted from the last couple of shaves. I hope to share more the rest of this month you you all.
Pre
Post


The mustache is going to be going straight out rather than curled up for now. Might need so suggestions on trimming or thinning it out. First time with a big stache.
Cheers,
Eric

 

Congrats on your great shave! I have been watching your progress to see if you would be able to get results without a five pass shave, and looks like you made it. I like the new addtion as well!

 

I will second this. A tour with a Feather Artist Club type razor will allow you to focus on your shave very well. When I use a DE, even the agressive ones feel mild, and it seems like using the AC made me much more aware of grain and pressure than DEs. The few times I have used DEs since going to straight razors, they seem very easy to find the angle on and get a great shave.

 

July 22nd, SOTD (Shave 12 of this focus)
Two days’ growth
Prep: Hot shower
Razor: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co Green Lizard Model B54GL
Strop: Drygulch Chromexcel/ Linen (10 laps Linen/ 10 laps Leather pre and post)
Soap: Maggard Orange Menthol
Brush: Spalted Maple Brush with Badger Knot
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block, Thayer’s Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Maggard Orange Menthol Splash

50th Straight Razor shave! I am half way there now, right?

Monday’s shave was a little uncomfortable, both during and after the shave. The biggest problem was the way the razor was skipping rather than cutting smoothly. I thought maybe this had to do with the light weight of the razor, or the thinness of the blade. I have previously dealt with razors skipping by applying more pressure (carefully.) That doesn’t always work out well. I wanted to see if giving some attention to the blade could help. I did ten laps on a Chrome Oxide pasted linen strop, and then ten on cotton webbing and leather. Right before the shave, I did my normal 10 laps on linen and leather. Night and day difference from Monday. The razor glided through the whiskers, and I didn’t need to apply pressure to get it to cut. Lesson learned: a razor can need attention if it is tugging, and also if it is not tugging, but seems to be skipping. I got a BBS on my face, jawline, and chin today, and DFS on the neck. A little bit of alum burn, but overall a great shave.

 

Razor: Gillette Black Handle Flair Tip (P1)
Blade: Wilkinson Sword (4)
Brush: WDC-5
Bowl: KnockOut Shave
Soap: Jack's Shave Soap
A/S: Captain's Choice Sandalwood
Day 22

Excellent shave with this combination again tonight. Very happy I added extra weight to this handle to achieve the correct loft.
DFS.

 

Thursday shave #12

Allot of prep and great lather but some operator errors resulted in 2 small cuts and 2 weepers. Almost DFS but with irritation, definitely not on the same level as yesterdays shave. The weird part is the right side of my face is DFS bordering on BBS but the left side... not so good. Tomorrow I will go with a DE shave and then back to the straight on Saturday.

Proraso Pre Shave
Razorock Tight Buns
Thater 2 Band
Rasurpur western grind kami
Dry Gulch strop
Alum block to keep my fingers dry
Homemade rum AS
Spieck ASB
Tom Ford Lavender Palm

 

Thursday, July 23, 2015
Day 20 with the Mongoose

B-3 Mongoose with Triad Rolling Hex Titanium
Feather ProGuard #4
Oscar11 Light Blue Omega Boar
Chiseled Face Shave Soap Ghost Town Barber
Whitch Hazel ++Menthol, Unrefined Shea Butter
Chiseled Face After Shave Ghost Town Barber
Brooks Brothers 1818

Today’s shave was wonderfully smooth. The Feather ProGuard blade has been giving me very close shaves. Two passes including clean up, missed the baby but it was an extremely close shave all over. My Oscar11 Boar made a mountain of creamy Ghost Town super lather. I closed out with Ghost Town Barber After Shave. Whoa Nelly! That’s a great old time barbershop scent. Hope your shave was as good or better than mine. Have a great day gentlemen!

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30 Day Rule - July 2015
July 21st
Razor - Feather SS AC/Gillette New LC
Blade - (6) (3)
Brush - Omega 10066 (BoS)
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water splash, Nivea

If I ever achieve consistency I will be a happy camper. Not there yet. When it comes to the BoS and MWF I'm consistent. (Probably cursed myself to terrible lather tomorrow for that remark) When it comes to the Artist Club razors, not so much. I had a couple of nice days with it to the point I was planning on all three passes with it today. The first pass started great and finished pretty well too. I did hit the old cut on my right chin area but really didn't open it up. It was the second pass that got me. I managed a small nick on my left cheek while going XTG and then, while working down my neck directly under my chin I added too much angle as I set the razor down. Got a slice right there. Are you kidding me? Just a technique error but once again I got to cold rinse and alum it closed with the attending sting. Really a bit frustrating as I was really close to a decent second pass. Used the New and Voskhod for touch up instead of a third pass and called it good. I think I need a little Zen to get me to the next level so I'll spend the rest of this evening sitting cross-legged and chanting Kiiiiinnnnnggggg........Cccccccccccc.....Gilllllleeetttttttttttte until I find peace with the blade. I'll be at it again in the morning. I'm going to stay with the Artist Club through August, though not every day. More on that later.

 

Day 22 - 22 July 2015

30 Days of Maggard and MITA!


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A simply superb shave today! I almost hit the Grail...was nearly DFS afte one and definitely caught the baby! The alum was the most quiet today so far this month. These blades really shine in this mild OC. This month has been interesting, I had not done blade trials in a long while. Tomorrow I will continue on this blade, see how it lasts, then give GSB another chance. It's a tight race between ASCO, these Gillette 7OC and GSB. I may even slip in a Voskhod just to see it stack up against these. 94F with 22% humidity on the range today, and the Arctic Blue was a nice finish. Gonna use Myrsol blue tomorrow! Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a triumphant Thursday!
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That handle is amazing! Beautiful machining and it looks awesome in your photo!

 

Nice work! Knowing the grain of your beard is essential for good shaving.

 

Looking good! Glad to see you around again!

 

You will love nine! I promise!