@wmbjr

Very, very kind of you to include me in a phrase of praise with BamaSamurai.

If I've made any progress, and IMHO I believe I have, it's because of the experienced guys on TSD who have hung in with this forum. Starting with GDCarrington and his shaving theorems and not only the analytical skills of BamaSamari in this 30day thread, but also his ability to guide beginners like me through these early stages and beyond.

All the while, he and the scores of shavers on TSD, and especially on this thread, just have a knack and willingness to relay their experiences in a respectful and non-pedantic way so as to make newbies like me feel comfortable while we learn - whether its with humor or just the nuts-and-bolts technical approach.

Anything I do or say that helps anyone is from a 'pay-it-forward' perspective, because I have received so much from the people on here.

Last piece of thanks to Chris - for allowing this thread to take some interesting detours from time-to-time to keep the environment lively. The wit on some of the characters on here keeps me hanging around as much as anything else.

Looking forward to more of the same!
Cheers!
RT

Thank you very much. I want this thread to always remain unhijackable and open to topic drift, but openly welcoming to all.

Go back and read your early June stuff. You have acquired the necessary skills, mostly in the first 15 shaves. Kudos for doing it right. An initial 30 day rule followed by blade trials kept the cart behind the horse! I bet you can get a decent shave out of almost any DE razor and blade at this point. But I also believe you're not a decent shave kind of guy. You seek great shaves, and it's looks like you're attaining one daily.

...following this thread with dictionary in hand.

Welcome to Adjustable August

For me I want to increase the settings to the max that my technique,skill level and face will allow minimizing chance for irritation.

I too have trouble with the exact same area. For me, I use my tongue to press out just below the bottom lip. Doing this flattens out the area making that area a little easier to shave.

No shave day today, but looking forward to the first shave with the slim tomorrow!

30 day Focus - Day 1
MDC Lavender Face Lathered
Sputnik Blade (Day 1 on blade, Day 1 on Sputnik)
Slim Adjustable set to 8

After completing a 30 day rule in July, where I face lathered MDC, used a Ladas blade, and set my slim set to 8, I took 2 days off and used whatever soap I felt like. Then, I decided to do a 30 day focus. This focus will give me 6 days with each of my Russian blades. I actually have 6 types, but I am not including the Ladas blade, because that was used during my 30 day rule. I decided to start with the Sputnik blade because this has been my least favorite. I only use a blade twice, so this should test the shave of each blade without factoring in longevity of the blade.

The Sputnik blade seemed to not be as sharp as the Ladas blade, with some noticeable tugging on the first pass. This also happens to me before when I make my lather too dry and I will reserve judgement at least until I complete 6 days with the Sputnik. That being said, this was not a great shave. It was acceptable in terms of closeness and there is no significant irritation, but not a great shave.

Dear Mr. T. No SWMBO gift this one. Early in my wet shaving adventure I picked it up on eBay for too much money in miserable condition. Cap'n Murphy had to take it short want straighten everything, then RazorPlate did a replate. And, yes, I'm showing off. Glad to be here.

No special criteria, I tend to use a higher setting at the beginning with ATG. Then do down for the XTG and ATG passes. Usually 7-4-4.

Bigelow is a great cream Doug, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I used it for a week and liked it a lot. My only problem was that because it has that wonderful menthol, it was neutralizing the hot lather that my scuttle provides. So I decided to go with its cousin: Proraso Sandalwood cream. It’s in a red tube. Same great lather, but now I feel the heat while lathering for every pass.

Thanks to some advice from Drygulch, and some experimentation, this is what I’ve come up with. Soak the brush thoroughly, shake it out well, and apply about 3/4" of the cream near the end of the brush. Start making your lather and dip the tip of your brush in water and work the water into your lather. I end up going back for 2 to 4 dips depending on how much I’ve shaken out the brush at the beginning. One nice thing about this is it gives me pretty consistent lather.

Happy shaving!

Phoenix Comparison Focus:

Homemade PS Oil
VDH Boar Brush
Latha SS
'48 Gillette Milord
Stirling Unscented PSB
Latha Post Shave

After some thought, I am going to spend this month comparing each of my DE to the Phoenix I just spent last month on. I had such a great experience with it, I want to see exactly how the others stack up. I will spend the first 4 days of each week with one DE then the last three with the Phoenix.

Today was my '48 Milord. Really, it is a good shaver and was the first razor my family gave me, so there is some sentimental value there as well. A nice DFS this morning. Honestly, though, a bit of irritation on her neck as I sit for a while. We'll see how the next couple of days go.

1956 Gillette Super Speed Flair
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Proraso Sandalwood cream
Aqua Velva Ice Blue

Shave #3 with the Gillette Silver Blue. A smooth shave, very close and comfortable, fine BBS results. Good lather. I shook out the brush well, then after putting 3/4" of Proraso cream in the scuttle and while working my lather, I went back for more water twice. At this point my lather was creamy and exploding.
2 full passes: Pass 1: WTG on my face and XTG on my neck. Pass 2: ATG. This gave me a near BBS shave. Touch up took a bit more time than yesterday, but succeeded in nabbing the baby. The Aqua Velva had the hint of a sting on my throat, but quieted down quickly.

Another nice 2 pass BBS shave from the Gillette Silver blue.

Happy Lords Day!

Well we might have to put it through the blade committee...so sometime in 2023 we'll have an approval. You know how things work here. In the meantime, I'll just issue an executive order to approve your choice. Blessings given...let the shaves begin.

Yeah, the college words. I sometimes get a nervous feeling I may need an attorney. That could just be because of my marriage track record too.

Just a personal note - I prefer Ladas to Sputnik and agree with your observation. Sputnik is not the best Teflon blade, IMHO. It is also a Gillette product from St. Pete's and those don't generally work as well for me as the Moscow blades. Again, a personal observation and preference.

08/02/2015
Razor – Gillette Slim (J3) set on 8
Blade – Lab Blue (2)
Brush – Rubberset 400 with Omega Boar
Lather – Mystic Water Lavender
Post - Witch Hazel & Myrsol Metilsol Sample



Traditional 3 pass shave provided a near BBS result. But I'm not sure on the Lab Blue. Much rougher today with slight irritation. Think I will change to a different blade before my next shave. Blades on hand include Feather, Gillette 7 o'clock black, Gillette 7 o'clock yellow and Ladas. Today was the first time using a boar with Mystic Water soap. This is a very fussy soap to lather. Much more so than MWF. But the boar whipped up enough lather for 5 passes. Once you master lathering them, Mystic Water soaps have proven to me to be among the best in terms of slickness and post shave feel. The scents are out of this word.

Im sure it's a thing of beauty! Can't wait to see it. I'm jealous of course.

btw - I'm certain that you weren't the only newb to dive into the Bay and overpay for the object of our desires.

Re: non-pedantic

Sorry, not showing off...Mrs. F ghost writes most of my entries and I missed that one before it was posted.

I barely write can in complete sentences so need I the help I can get all.
(See what mean I ?)

August Focus - Slim and Feather AC
August 2
Razor -Feather SS AC
Blade - (1)
Brush - Vie Long 12705
Soap - Proraso Green Tub
Post - Cold Water, Alum, Proraso

It's an AC day since it's Sunday. I woke up all ready to dial up the Slim and remembered the order. So, grabbed the Feather and off we go. It's been awhile since I used my horse so the Vie Long was chosen. It's also been awhile since I've used Proraso so that gets the call as well. Great lather and I think the horse works really well with the softer soaps. It was really easy to load and the face lather was awesome with the extra scritch. Love the 35/65. I keep looking for another horse brush but almost all I've found are 50/50 and I'm not sure I'd like that as much.

Settled in on the first pass and everything worked great. Thought I felt just a slight bite near the right ear but didn't see anything. Continued on with the right side then switched and went full Japanese on the left using only my right hand and same blade side. Very comfortable in the hand and the first pass finished very nicely on face and neck. Much more consistent than a month ago. Picked up the brush and noticed two tiny nicks near the ear where I felt the bite. Even with the Kai Mild blades you get away with very little with this razor. Second pass was ATG and the left side was a bit awkward still but I made it. Lathered again for the neck finish and found a DFS at the end. Good enough.

Alum was hot but not terrible as usual with this razor so far. Hit the Proraso A/S for the extra burn and nice smell. All in all a great shave! Tomorrow it's back to the Slim. I think I'm on schedule now.