Welcome home. good to hear the trip wen well. Can't wait to see some pictures and all the DE shaving stuff you purchased.

August 27 Shave 17

New Razor in the house! This arrived yesterday after a long wait, I ordered it in late March. I prefer the feeling of kamisori handles but prefer a thick western grind. Since I am still learning I am thrilled it has a round point and rounded heel.

To the shave, Everything I expected of it, no cuts or nicks, nimble despite a large heavy blade, very easy to adjust the angle of the blade and it felt very smooth. Three passes and no blood and I did not feel any irritation. I was tempted to go for a fourth pass but I am trying to stick with my focus for the month so I finished up with my Joris DE. After shave alum showed some light irritation and I was just short of a BBS.

My first impression is that I love this razor. I will do more comparisons to my other favs, Hart Steel 7/8 and Dovo Bismarck 2. This maybe the winner because without the scales it is more nimble and easier to control the angle.

Proraso Pre Shave
Tabac
Rooney butterscotch brush
NEW Portland Razor Company western grind Kamisori 6/8 1/4 hollow grind
No strop
Alum block to keep my fingers dry
Speick AS
Muhle ASB
Creed Royal Mayfair

Nice looking razor. I'll be seeing how it works for you, as I have been interested in the Portland Razors as well.

First shave was fantastic... but I am still pretty new to straight razor shaving. It took forever to fill the order, I am not sure how quick they are if it is not a custom.

I think there razors are all 1/4 grinds, which I prefer. The workmanship seems outstanding. We will see how long it keeps the edge. It came honed and stropped from PRC and the edge was extremely sharp but smooth. I think the quality is the same level as the Hart Steel razor I own.

Thank you Douglas!!

August 26

Gillette Slim G3 (9)
Feather blade (3)
Edwin Jagger XL Synthetic
Trumper's Coconut cream and glycerin
Two passes
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, Trumper's Coral Skin Food

My Slim on 9 commands more respect than my Fat Boy on the same setting. Today's shave was good, not great, with one weeper and a scratch to boot. I even used some glycerin to give the lather more cushion and glide. I'll load a new blade and examine the alignment and exposure closely tomorrow to look for any signs of problems. I'll also pay extra attention to eliminate as much operator error as possible. I have three more shaves planned during my Adjustable August focus on 9 to see if I can improve my result.

Have a great evening and a fine Thursday!

Thanks Doug. I didn't buy any shaving goodies, but I did some window shopping in Victoria, BC. I also talked shaving with one of the guys in the shop. He favors Merkur DEs for his face and a shavette for his dome. Did you notice the featured DE blades in the shop window -- Feather!

My Bride and I also shopped for vintage razors in an antique shop in Sonoma Valley, California after our trip to Alaska. We saw three or four razors, but nothing too tempting. I was looking for a $3 Gillette Toggle, but I sadly didn't find one. No doubt, @Darkbulb has purchased every nice vintage razor within a 100-mile radius of San Francisco!

I love the looks of a kamisori and this is a beautiful one. Someday.....

August Focus - Slim and Feather AC
August 26
Razor - 1964 Gillette Slim (J1)
Blade - (1)
Brush - Vie Long 12705
Soap - Proraso
Post - Cold water, Alum, Nivea Original Post Shave

Back to the slim today and will probably stay there the rest of the month. After discovering how easily I caused a weeper yesterday on the spot on my right cheek I've decided no more AC razor for the time being. For whatever reason I pretty much battered and abused that one spot all month with the Feather with nicks, little cuts and the one nice slice. Going to give it time to heal properly and toughen back up. After reviewing all of my 30 day activities I remembered that the best blade in my blade trials in February was the Super-Max Super Platinum. (I used blades other than Voskhod and the Rapira gang mostly in February) So, let's load one up and start at 5 on the Slim and see if it's as good as I said it was. I don't think I've used one since. Well, maybe one.

Grabbed the horse and Proraso green and got a very fast and effective brush load. I'm used to working MWF with it so the almost instant load and lathering of the Proraso was a bit of a shock. First pass was excellent. Smooth as silk, no issues. Second pass was XTG and when I finished it I realized I was done with a DFS. Yeah, I could have chased the baby with a third pass but why? I was already where I usually end and love it. Wow. Yep, this blade and of course the Slim on 5 were just perfectly dialed in. I have debated all day whether to just call it good for that blade but I am going to dial up to 9 tomorrow and see if that improves or destroys the shave. No stepping up to 7, just slam it open and find out. Maybe the grail shave? One pass DFS? We shall see!

Mail call today. I'll be in the haul a little later. Hope you all had a great Wednesday.

I love my ball end as well. Like you said, I think it gets a little under appreciated until you spend some time with it. It's a go-to for me when I need a great milder shave. Awesome on the Fat too! I've come to love that soap and the learning curve to get it to lather at its best is definitely worth the effort! Gonna have to start a Fat Lovers section here I think! Mitchell's Wool FAT that is.

It's been awesome having you here this month. And I'm glad to hear how well the Feather did with the Krona. You've confirmed my suspicions!

You seriously underestimate his reach. His reputation as a low-ball wannabe player is global.

Nice razor. Love the look of it with that handle and the grind. Sweet.

Thank you. This has become my favorite thread on TSD. I really enjoy the participants and am learning a lot. I'll be hanging out for awhile

Sonoma was me I'm in that 100 mile radius and have managed to find a few he missed.

Well I'm very happy to hear that. I'd miss your smiling face and your adorable floppy ears.

Day 24 - 25 August 2015

30 Day Rule - Phoenix OC


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Decided to change to a fresh blade today, and I was rewarded with another very nice shave. Loaded my face up with La Toja, lathered and the 2 pass automatic was in effect. Temps were back up near 100F late today and the TSD ISZ was especially refreshing after the normal alum treatment. Time flies when you're having fun! Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a triumphant Thursday!
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May you find the Grail tomorrow!

I am really happy to hear this! It's been great fun having you as a part of our little corner of the web!