Mandatory.

The ninja working the door has a basket.

Weaponized Veg? Nice....

September Summary

September was a really nice month for me. I used the Fat Boy for the first 4 days, The Old Type for the next 3, followed by my Birthday Tech for 13 days, and then my gold Tech for 10. I tried 9 blades.
My stand out blades this month were the Astra Superior Platinum, the Rapira Swedish Supersteel, the Gillette Silver Blue, the Lord Platinum Class, and the big surprise: the Rapira Super Stainless. Misses this month were the Personna Platinum (Israeli Reds) and the Gillette 7 O’clock Super Platinum (Black). They weren’t bad shaves, but I just couldn’t seem to get any BBS shaves with them.

Looking back on my impression of shaves over the last 3 months, I've narrowed down the blades I'll continue to try in other razors to five. Oddly enough, they are the ones that were really good in the Tech! I didn't count anything from the first month because my technique wasn't established.

These gave me a 2 pass (plus touchup) BBS shaves in more than one razor:

Gillette Silver Blue – 25 shaves, in 3 razors – 76% BBS. No irritation
Astra Superior Platinum – 17 shaves in 4 razors – 76% BBS. Only 1 shave had irritation with dry lather.
Lord Platinum Class – 7 shaves in 2 razors – 86% BBS. Only 1 shave had irritation due to poor lather.
Rapira Swedish Supersteel – 7 shaves in 2 razors – 71% BBS. No irritation
Rapira Super Stainless - 6 shaves in 2 razors - 83% BBS. No irritation

Looking forward to OCtober with the gang!

Great summary, Bill! You have made a tremendous amount of progress in a short time.

I take it they do better with shaving brushes than hairbrushes/combs.

September Focus Conclusions:

First, thanks to everyone here for all the great discussion, information, tips, and...above all...the shenanigans, this month. It's been a great time working on technique and friendships. I only regret that I didn't have more time to devote to the thread.


Second, I really enjoyed shaving with my Schick Injector Model J, Schick Injector Model G and my Star SE. What did I learn? I learned that, from my short experience, SE razors are much more forgiving than DE razors. I was able to be a little more aggressive - technique wise - and didn't have a nick or weeper all month. I gained a new appreciation for the injector razors and mostly for the SE of the Star/1912 design. The Star provided me with comfortable, close shaves every time and it's now part of my regular rotation.

So, onward to October and whatever your focus will be!

Nothing makes me smile when read a thread like reading a post about The Veg. I even like The Veg, but the comments are always so funny.

You seem to have hit the nail on the head Danger. It may be my favorite razor already.

Thanks again, Vince!

The Crazy Ivan in SEptember!
September 30

Razor - Van Der Hagen (Weishi)
Blade - (2)
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Soap - TSD Lanolin Bay Rum
Post - Cold Water, Alum, The Veg

Final day of SEptember and I'm not going near a Tiger 3H again. Time for a throwaway shave to finish the month. Let's see.......well we'll use the BoS and TSD Lanolin because they work very well together. I get the same basic results with this combo as I do BoSFat. I love the lanolin soaps. Plus the bay rum scent is awesome with the TSD. The razor? Let's look in my razor drawer (it's the locked one by my desk) and hey, there's my VDH...or Weishi if not in a VDH box when you buy it....and it's the first safety razor I used. So, why not. The blade? Well the VDH is super mild so I need something uber sharp. I have a Kai I used once during the tournament of blades. Perfect.

Lathered away and started the shave and knew I had a great setup going. Even though this razor is one of the mildest I have, when paired with a Kai or a Feather it really offers a great shave. The razor takes some of the fierceness out of the blade and the blade provides the extra sharpness to overcome the razor's mild side. Two passes to a very nice DFS and I'm sure I could have gotten BBS with just a bit more work but just not in the mood to chase the baby. Calling it a great shave followed by the greatest of after shaves, the Mighty Veg! Alum first, of course, which was nearly silent. I'll have to remember this setup for those mornings I just want to keep it simple.

It's been an incredible and fun SEptember everyone! Well over 2000 posts in this thread and I see OCtober setting up to be as good or better! Thanks for the great time and I'll see you on the October thread!

Hmm, monthly wrap up.
1) Tested a travel set up with a DE razor. I can get a good shave from a DE, and can actually get the SR kryptonite strips with a DE. How ever, I have been using straights so much, my muscle memory needs to be rebuilt with DE. At this point, I will honestly say I prefer a straight.
2) Two razors this month- Case Red Imp 133 and Henckels Friodur Inox. Red Imp gives a good shave, but the spike tip is mean. Friodur is very smooth, but I need to get it sharper. I will work on that before it reenters the rotation.
3) Two pass shave- I can consistently get BBS on face, chin, and jawline in two passes. The strip that runs ATG from my ear to my Adam's Apple is still eluding me. I will work on that next month.
4)

Great thread this month. I only shaved 13 times, so actually didn't do too much of a focus, but I got pretty good with that badger brush. Looking forward to next month.

September 30 Day Focus--Blade Search

Sept 30

Razor -- Lord L6
Blade -- Vaunted Voskhod
Brush -- VDH Boar
Soap -- Stirling MITA
Post -- Cold water splash, WH, TSD Bourbon Vanilla

What a great month on the 30 Day thread! Lots of different razors involved in focuses from single edge to straights with a few of us DEs in between. Today was day three with the Voskhod. Last time I used it the blade was not good on day three, especially compared to days 1 and 2. Well, that was all my fault. It was all technique related before I spent a month really learning how to shave and being assisted by all the great people on this thread! This time around, the Voskhod was great for all three shaves. Definitely in the top rung of blades I have tried. Not quite the GSB, but it was darn good!

I took a brief "detour" during the month and ventured into SE territory with my Schick G. It was a great switch and I got some good shaves. Definitely a razor that requires attention to angles and pressure. A great reminder of the importance of technique.

Thank you to everyone for the serious, classroom like environment around here that really makes learning the way it should be. YEAH RIGHT! This is the best thread for a newbie to learn on. Not only are y'all great and helpful, but it is definitely one fun thread! Looking forward to the October thread and all new shenanigans!!

All I'll say about your time with the Voskhod this month is.........I TOLD YOU SO!!!

You did. Which is why I did not give up on it and went back to it when I actually knew how to properly use my equipment. It gave me three great shaves. Definitely a great blade (not quite the king of the world like someone seems to think, but a top tier blade).

I'm going to miss my Voskhods this month. And my Ladas, Gillette Yellows, Silver blues, Etc....I have vowed to try only blades I have never used. I think perhaps I shall start with the Bics. Never tried a Greek blade, but I do like Gyros and Souvlaki, so.... We'll see.

Now that's a focus I can get behind! I'll be following closely to see which blades you choose and how they treat you. I know how mine will TREET me. I think you'll find the Bic CP to be a very fine way to start the month. One of my favorite non-Russian blades and the number two blade in the World Tournament of Blades! Nice choice.

I'm hoping they treat me nice. They're almost as cheap per hundred as Astras.

Well I will definitely be doing that one week lather focus.today's lather was ...uummm.. Bubbly so day one lather :it was slick and did pertect enough to not get irratated.... How I don't know because it was extremely bubbly and I mean big bubbles.I could see them with my glasses off so I know they were big but overall a good shave.

Oh any one have any lather tips

Please tell us what brush, soap, cream, etc. you are using and give us some details about how you are building your lather. It would also help to understand how much product and water you are using and how much time you are taking. Maybe we can offer some help, particularly if you post it over in the OCtober focus thread where more folks will see it. I have been wet shaving for three years, and I'm still learning how to build my lather. As my lather improved, so did my shaves. All I can say is that you will get better over time, so stick with it.

Wait a minute where is the October thread