August 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

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.

 

The criteria I used is this:
A) Start at a low setting.
B) Shave for a minimum of 2 blades. This reduces the possibility of a bad blade making you think the setting is too high.
C) Increase by one
D) Shave for a minimum of 2 blades. This reduces the possibility of a bad blade making you think the setting is too high.
E) Is the shave "better" than with the lower setting? Note: Your definition of "better" may be smoothness, lack of nicks, closeness, or anything YOU determine is the limiting factor.
F) If "better", go to step C
G) In not "better", reduce by one and go to step B and try again one time
H) Repeat steps C through G again in 6 months

 

For my August Focus I will be limiting myself to three razors, and two brushes. Straight razors are the ultimate adjustable razor, so will that work for adjustable August? The razors will be my Dubl Duck Satin Wedge, Wade and Butcher pre-1890, and a hardware store “Our Leader” razor. Brushes will be limited to my trusty Omega 1066 boar, and a vintage handle I need to install a badger knot into. Strop and software are open for changes. I would like to accomplish six things.

1. Create and maintain a shave ready razor using my hones on the “Our Leader” razor.
2. Improve the edge of the other two razors as needed.
3. Get a good feel for the boar brush again, as I haven’t used it in 3 or 4 months.
4. Finish the re-knot I started several months ago, and use the brush.
5. Get my stones lapped and a better idea how to use them.
6. Instigate and participate in the community shenanigans.

Part of what will make using my stones such a challenge is that I only need to shave every two days. Its very tempting to go right from the hone to the face, but I can’t always do that. I have not done any honing before. The Duck was sold to me as shave ready, and has been refreshed with past a few times. The Wade & Butcher was professionally honed and has only been used about 10 times since, so will be a good basis for comparison.
Prior to the first shave, I did some work with my translucent Arkansas stone on the “Our Leader” razor. This razor was the closest to shave ready of my eBay finds, and had no chips in the edge. From what little I could see, the bevel was in good shape. I did 10 X laps, and 30 circles on each side, then did 20 laps on a Chrome Oxide pasted strop, and 50 each on linen and leather, prior to my normal pre-shave routine.

8/2/15 SOTD (Shave 1 of this focus)
Two days’ growth
Prep: Hot shower
Razor: “Our Leader” JAS. G. BARRY Co. Chicago, ILL’S Made in Germany
Strop: Drygulch Chromexcel/ Linen (20 laps Linen/ 20 laps Leather pre and 10/10 post)
Soap: The Holy Black Gunpowder Spice Glycerin Soap
Brush: Omega 1066 Boar
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block, Thayer’s Witch Hazel
Aftershave: The Holy Black Whisker Whiskey Gunpowder Spice

I love the smell of this soap, but haven’t used it since I first got into wet shaving. It lathers easily, but the lather is not long lasting, and didn’t give much cushion it felt like. The razor was not silky smooth, but it wasn’t bad to shave with. No tugging, but a little hesitation. No cuts, and a DFS shave. Had some alum burn on my chin, but no sting from the aftershave. Love the smell of the aftershave. Going to spend a little more time on the hones with this razor today.

 

Great goals for the month! Especially #6 - I'm right there with you on that one!

 

+1

 

Nice plan and +1 on six

 

August - 30 Day Rule with PAA Double OC


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These will be the four elements for a strict rule in August. I will be starting this later this afternoon, and hopefully will catch 30 great shaves from the nine Rapira blades I have in my stock. I don't anticipate using up the blades, but if needed Rapira PL will be the fill in. La Toja made great lather yesterday, so I will use it exclusively for a month.

Goals

1) Produce a unique photo each day.
2) Perfect the use of a shave stick by finding the optimal amount to apply before lathering.
3) Optimize each shave through the use of SR style skin stretching and blade angle discipline.
4) Evaluate the razor for inclusion into my rotation.
5) Use an "old school" AS or a TSD exclusive each day.
6) Shenanigans per usual.

This is my third month in a row on OC DE, and feel like if will be another good experience. I had believed that injectors were my fave, but these OC models (Cadet, Maggard, and now Phoenix) are smooth efficient shavers, and are winning me over. I plan on sticking to a minimal prep, cold water only routine, employing Alum to gauge the shave as well as condition the skin for the day. I am a huge advocate of Alum for beginning shavers. It provides an objective feedback on pressure and blade angle. And as stated earlier, old school AS scents this month as I want to complement the soap. La Toja is a ubiquitous product in Spain, much like Arko or Derby in the Mideast, or Proraso in Italy. It is a mass market soap, non-tallow, but the mineral formula makes cushiony slick lather and leaves my skin feeling great. It can be found online, readily available at reasonable prices, normally US$3.50 to US$5.50. Off to do a few chores and then catch day one of my new month. Thanks everybody for participating, I hope August is yet another great month on TSD!

 

Wait just a minute Comrade. When you requested use of the Rapira SS earlier, I thought you meant . Now I discover you meant . I must now rescind the permission request I sent to the Central Committee for blade allocation and resubmit for the correct blade. (SIGH) Your final approval is hereby moved back to 2028. However, under the 5 year plan for improving shaves for the people I will still allow a temporary use permit for the Swedes. This will entail filling out the necessary paperwork on your end which will arrive by mule cart from Siberia within 7 to 10 years. Please insure you fill it out in triplicate when it arrives and give it back to the mule. Thank you for your cooperation. We won't exile you this time.

 

Oops.