OCT 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

I'm a little late getting back to the thread but wanted to join the others in wishing your daughter a happy birthday! Enjoy that age. It really is a magical time. Also hope all goes well for the new little one and your wife.

Prayers for your mother's health and for you and your family.

 

What, no Twisty the Clown?

 

Nope, the kids are too small for that and they chose the costumes for my fiance and I. The girl is 10, and the boys are 7 and 4. I unfortunately will be unable to trick or treat with my boys because of the legal mess. They are 6 and 2.

 

OCtober 30 Day Focus -- Cadet Open Comb

October 25

Razor – Cadet Open Comb
Blade – TREET Platinum/GSB/TREET Platinum
Brush – VDH Boar
Soap – Arko/ Stirling Gin and Tonic
Post - Cold Water Splash, Witch hazel, clubman

I have missed posting my last couple shaves with the TREET Platinum blade. I shaved Thursday morning and then Saturday morning. Thursday was OK. No highlights really. A good shave, probably DFS, nothing great but definitely nothing bad.

Saturday a little different. I used Arko for my soap. Decided I needed to try it some more since it is a popular soap and could be a travel soap. I wet my face while soaking the boar brush. Took the Arko stick and smeared it all over my face. Shook water out of the brush and started lathering. The lather exploded everywhere. Great coverage of great looking lather.

Started my shave. Nothing felt smooth. The blade was not gliding at all on my face. Really felt like no slickness at all. Maybe it was the blade. It was my third time using it so maybe this was a two and out blade. I switched to my standard. The GSB. Nope. Something else was wrong. The GSB did not even go smoothly. Took a deep breath started over making sure blade angle and everything was right. The shave just stunk.

Washed my face off and tried again with the Arko. Exact same result. It just does not provide any slickness for my face. Almost like it leaves a sticky residue or something. Not sure if I am doing something wrong like using too much soap or not enough water but tried everything I could think of over the course of about 6 tries. More product/more water, less product/more water, etc and etc. Nothing generated a good base to shave on.

Got frustrated went back to my Stirling gin and tonic. Put the TREET back in the razor and started over. Wanted to make sure I could still properly shave. No stuttering by the blade. Slid very well and sliced well. The blade was probably a little tired and so was my face after starting and stopping the shave trying to get the soap right. On the second pass I got a little irritation but the blade did pretty well overall.

Now I need to figure out the Arko. Maybe the soap just doesn't work for me or maybe I am doing something wrong with it. Thoughts? Advice? Suggestions? Just needed a cookie? What to do about the Arko??

 

No worries, no stress on the 30dc. The likely issue was simply water ratio. Just experiment. Arko really is a top soap, just have to get the consistency down right.

Slice off a coin or two and bowl lather it.
It will help you see how it should be.

 

From your experience does it prefer more or less water? If you ever have used a cheap bar soap and you rub your hand across where you put the soap and it is almost sticky, that is what my face felt like with the Arko. That was even after using way more water than I do with the Stirling. Guess it could be the bowl versus face distinction.

 

What I do:

Scrub beard gently with cold water and a cloth. No soap, leave face wet.

Rub Arko all over beard. When you feel you have enough, add more.

Lather with a wet brush. Add water as needed to knot of brush. Keep adding until it looks and performs the way you like. Be sure to soak your boar. It make take more soap, and more water than you think, and more time to build than you used today. It takes about 1-2 minutes of adding water and lathering for me, albeit with a synthetic, though I've used your exact VDH brush model to the point of wearing mine out...

 

Arko works well for me. I wet my face then before I load the stick on my face I dip the end in hot water and if it decides to grab at my face while I'm loading it I dunk it back in the hot water. I load it up until my face is nearly white and each hair of my beard has some soap on it then I take a damp brush and lather away. I spash at least one cupped hand worth of water on each side of my face as I'm lathering and add any more to the brush. It isn't the slickest soap I have but it is very protective for my face. My straight razors don't like it as they prefer the slicker thinner less rich lather I get from my soaked Williams.

 

October 25

New LC head on Mongoose "Dr. Bomber" handle
Feather (1)
Semogue 830
TSD unscented
Two passes
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Fine Platinum

A near-BBS, two-pass shave and a great way to start a Sunday. I really enjoy my OCtober set-up. The Feather Artist Club SS will be a real change of pace in NOvember. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

 

I am thinking about doing my 'dangerous' straights, those with sharp points and heels and of course the CJB or hard soaps. Maybe I will join you for some bleeding...

 

10/25/15
Gillette NEW LC
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Proraso Sandalwood cream
Aqua Velva Ice Blue

Shave #3 with the Rapira Super Stainless in my New LC.
Face lather and 2 full passes: Pass 1 XTG. Great reduction. Pass 2: ATG. Back to side to side (ears toward the chin) on my neck today. Rinsed and did some touch ups where I could easily feel stubble. Very nice DFS at that point. A cold water rinse followed by a small amount of touch up captured the baby. Aqua Velva stung pretty good again today, then the menthol kicked in to give that icy feeling.

A nice BBS from the Rapira Super Stainless in my New LC. Once again the Aqua Velva let me know that I came close to irritation. I'm starting to wonder if I'm not using the best angle with this razor. It looks right, and I'm getting nice reduction on my passes, but I end up with the A/S singing. It feels great though once it quiets down. Perhaps it’s just that I haven't have enough time with the razor to find that sweet spot. I’ve only used it 9 times. Tomorrow I’m going back to the GSB so I can try some new shave creams. I'm also going to focus a bit more on the angle I use during my second pass and especially during my touch up.

Have a great Lords Day

 

SOTD
October 25, 2015
Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost
Razor: Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: Gingers Garden Vetiver (Tallow)
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Gingers Garden OakMoss
Gingers Garden has replaced MdC as my Sunday setup, I love this soap/aftershave. The Aristocrat is a joy to use, I'm searching the bay for a Shearton to see what that would be like. Anyone have a comparison? I'm watching Buf vs Jax on Yahoo streaming on my tv from London.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE

 

30 day focus - Day 25
Fat Boy set to 9
Sputnik Blade
MDC Face Lathered
3 passes

Another very nice shave. The more I use the Sputnik blade, the more I get used to it. After 25 days of MDC, I think I am having LPL withdrawal symptoms.

 

10/25/2015
Razor – Gillette Red & Black New Deluxe
Blade – Feather (3)
Brush –Olivewood with TGN Finest Fan
Lather – TSD Yin Yang
Post - Witch Hazel & Fine L’Orange



Another excellent shave this morning. Not quite perfect but I would rate the shave as a solid A. TSD soaps really perform very well. Now with use, the Yin Yang scent is rounding out and I pick up the lavender along with the lime. This is really a very nice scent and a pleasure to use. Finished off with a splash of Fine L'Orange. Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday.

 

OCtober Focus Day 24:

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling Synthetic Brush
Bain Amour Southern Gentleman SS
Phoenix Dbl OC
Stirling Unscented PSB -- Mentholated
Fine Platinum AS

So I tried another new product today, Bain Amour Southern Gentleman. The initial use was good. This was the first time I have tried a product from this maker, which I found while in Louisiana. The scent is great, and performance seems to match. It is thirsty, though.

The Phoenix and Voskhod combo worked well again this morning. I am definitely going to spend some time with this blade. Tomorrow, will probably be my last shave with the Phoenix for the month, as I will go back to my New LC. But I am going to pair it with the Voskhod to see how well it does with that razor.

 

The cartel is pleased. Even got some smiles now.

​

 

I would never want to run afoul with the Cartel.

 

October - Trick or TREET
October 25

Razor - Gillette 1948-49 Superspeed
Blade - (3)
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - TSD Lanolin Bay Rum
Post - Cold Water, Alum, The Veg

Well it's D-Day for the Treet New Edge. If it can pull of a third shave it will avoid being a trick blade. It is a carbon blade so that could factor in, but again it looks clean and smooth after leaving it in the razor and allowing it to dry and store on my desk. It's also my head shave day and that went well, though the lather threw me. How in the world I can miss lather with VDH that I do every Sunday is beyond me, but it took a couple of tries to get the lather right. Sheesh! Anyway, with that one out of the way it's the Treet's turn.

The Pro 48 and TSD Lanolin are an automatic combo. Did I mention that lather threw me today? The original lathering process wan't horrible but just didn't feel right. Seemed like the brush load was light but I got a good lather for the first pass. And, the New Edge performed well on that pass. A bit noisier than yesterday but still very smooth. Second pass. Lathered from the loaded brush and it was way too thin. Reloaded and got a passable lather. Seriously. What am I doing? Second XTG pass was also smooth but I did notice it's lacking in efficiency. The blade is fading but not to the point of discomfort, just the point of not cutting as well. Lathered for the third pass and stopped. Nothing left in the brush to work with except a thin soapy mess. Did I lose my mind? Thought about it for a second and shook the brush hard, then went back to the soap. Seemed a bit better so I added just a very small couple of drops of water to the soap and tried again. Bingo. There's that lather I'm used to. I had the soap a bit too dry and the brush a bit too wet, like what happens with MWF. Well, why not? They're both Lanolin based. Finally that third lather was awesome. Went ATG and XTG and Gslide on the neck to a DFS finish. Not the finest but still a very nice shave and finish. The blade, while becoming lame, still got the job done. So......the Treet New Edge is a TREET!

Where does it rank in the world of carbons? Well I still like the Black Beauty at number one, but this one or the Silver would be a good number two blade. I think this blade is actually smoother than the Silver so maybe the New Edge by a razor's edge.

Tomorrow - the Treet Classic. Carbon blade again. Schedule says Schick Krona. I may switch the razor to the Gillette Aristocrat. It wasn't an option when I started the month as it was awaiting opening on my birthday.

 

Shave Den Sunday!

25 October 2015




1959 Gillette Fat Boy
Gillette Silver Blue (1)
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
TSD 2x Iced Barber Shoppe Shave Stick
Alum
TSD 2x Iced Barber Shoppe AS Splash

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A beautiful morning on the prairie, crisp chill in the air! It feels like a TSD Sunday! Kudos to @Douglas Carey! Looking forward to his calendar release, and glad he reminds us how great TSD Exclusives are! Be sure to check out my links, TSD Exclusives are hand made...order yours before the holiday rush ensues! Today is separation day in the NFL! Spending the day with the dogs and Mrs Samurai. Weather is perfect and the dogs are happy. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado!

Have a great Sunday on TSD!


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October 25, 2015

Shave Den Sunday

Fell off my OC October to prep for No Variation November.
I’ll be using a Mongoose in NoVember, so I need to determine a blade for that month. (Spoiler Alert: I think I found it!)

Morning shave
Hot Shower
Scuttle: Georgetown Pottery G12
Soap: TSD Lanolin Unscented
Brush: Butterscotch Fauxmere
Razor: Mongoose B3
Blade: Feather Artist Club Professional (1)
TSD Witch Hazel
Aftershave: TSD Yin Yang



Two-pass shave.
Observations:

• Damp, cold weather has started to move into Seattle. I’ll appreciate using the scuttle for the next 5 - 6 months! Warm lather…mmmmmm.
• This blade passed the test. I’ll be getting a 30-day supply for NoVember. Though if I’m to believe some of the hype from the Mongoosers - I may only need two blades! (We’ll see - YMMV)
• All the time while I was shaving and as I sit here two hours later just rubbing my hands over my smooth face I’m reminded of the Big Red Button at that office supply store!

And I always seem to enjoy Shave Den Sunday!

Cheers!
RT