The black code was not for me smell wise so didn't try it. The PdP OK on smell. It is a rosemary sage i think. I bowl lathered the PdP and spread it on just to test it but never used it actually shaving. It lathered really well but I had to load a bunch and used a decent amount of water. Load what you think you might need and then add some more. Made a very think and pretty slick lather for me but again I did not actually shave with it so looking forward to your thoughts on it.

Exactly! Well played, sir, well played.

NOVember - NO Variation

November 18

Razor - Feather SS AC Pain Stick
Blade - (7)
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water, Alum, Nivea

Well, this could be the day. After several days of good shaves and yesterday's excellent.....is this the day to pay with blood? I'm saying it's day 7 on the blade but it may be 8. I've honestly lost count with the day off I took, but it clearly wasn't hurting from yesterday so I'll use it. BoSFat is becoming so routine I almost forget it's supposed to be tricky. Just totally dialed in. Twelve days to go and I may have to make a variation and change brushes. We'll see if I can hold off. On to the shave.

First pass was good. Trying to stop thinking about the blood sacrifice due. Settled in and got a good pass, no issues. Maybe not a perfect reduction but I feel like I'm backing off just a bit with angle. Lathered for the second pass and went XTG with some diagonal work. No cuts or misses but still not as close as some. Again, I notice myself backing off a bit with the aggression. Went for a third pass, mostly ATG on the face and WTG on the neck again. Got a DFS. Not my best but not my worst. I probably psyched myself out of a better shave but I'll take it. Another good day with no pain, though the alum was a bit hot. Most likely the extra pass caused that. Still, nothing horrible and another day's in the books.

​

Alum is still my favorite part! Is Ivan coming to the Xmas party?

He's insisting on wearing an elf costume for the party. Not sure any of us are ready for that. A big dumb Russian enforcer dressed like an elf. Well, I suppose enough vodka for the rest of us and it would work.

All of the Kyoto associates generally insist upon wearing their daisho... What's the worst that could happen?

There's a question we never seem to get tired of seeing answered around here.

It's the same reason some people love Nascar, hockey, mma, etc.

Schadenfreude, y'all.

@Marverel -

Have things calmed down a bit in Germany? I trust you are well.

Hey @Bama Samurai - yes I'm good, thanks for asking Things have calmed down a bit actually, though police and intelligence are still on high alert. At the moment there's a discussion about wether or not the big sports events on the upcoming weekend should be canceled as well. But I really don't think they will - we won't let them scare us that much.

But all that is just nothing compared to what the French are experiencing right now...

I have a few days off now, wife's not home, so it's pretty relaxing. I'll have a loooooong shower and shave later today

Shave of the Day

30 Day Focus - Shave 5



Prep: hot shower, hot towel, Somerset's PSO
Razor: 1959 Gillette 195 Adjustable
Blade: Feather (1)
Brush: Rubberset 400-4 Silvertip Badger
Lather: The Strop Shoppe Barbershoppe with Tallow
Shave (setting): 3 passes; WTG (7), XTG (7), ATG + Cleanup (3)
Post: Alum, L'Occitane Cade ASB

Continuing my focus on technique, I really focused on not drawing blood around my Adam's apple area on swirly part of neck.

I achieved it! For the first time in a long while I didn't have even a drop of blood. I pressed a towel on my neck after rinsing and there was absolutely no blood. Feedback from the alum was good. I adjusted my direction of ATG pass while on the swirly part and it really helped.

I hope I continue to develop good habits and muscle memory.

I hope you enjoy your break from work and are able to relax.

The brush, the razor and the bowl - just gorgeous

I just love Jermyn Street. On top of my TOBS list. Though I started with Mr Taylors Shaving Cream, which has a wonderful, old-fashioned, gentlemanly (ist that a word actually?) scent and will be restocked as soon as I finish the bowl. I also love St. James and Eton College, but I'm not too fond of their "fruits and vegetables" section, because to my nose they all seem to smell a bit artificial and strong.

Congrats on the bloodless shave I hope your towels did not look like this before

Nov 19 Focus shave 19

Epic shave alart.

Day 2 for Valobra and the Mühle 2011 R41 test. Load the R41 with a new GSB blade and then went after the soap like I hate it. Lots of slick wet yougerty lather. The razor felt like it was gliding but I knew it was making quick of my whiskers. 4 passes and then pass the alum. The alum test revealed nothing, no reaction at all. The result was a long lasting BBS. An epic shave.

Irritation A+, closeness A+

Valobra
Etsy silver tip
2011 Mühle R41 with Gillette Silver Blue
Clubman AS
Chanel Antaeus ASB
Chanel Antaeus

November 19

Feather Artist Club SS
Feather Professional (3)
Semogue 830
MdC scented
Two passes plus touch-ups
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Fine Platinum

Goals
Further develop my two-pass shave technique by practicing the basics
Break in and get more experience with the Semogue 830
Get more experience with MdC

As I continue to feel more confident with the Feather AC, the "pace" of this shave approached that of a DE shave. I decided to call it a day after two passes (WTG and ATG) with few touch-ups. I'm DFS with no visible irritation, but I have two small weepers on my chin due to overconfidence and youthful exuberance. Alum was quiet. A splash of Fine Platinum, and I'm ready for the day.

Enjoy your Thursday!

11/19/15

Gillette Super Speed Y3
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Pre de Provence shave soap
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Pinaud Clubman Original

Pre de Provence shave soap and shave #3 with the 4th Gillette Silver Blue in my Birth Quarter Super Speed.
Put about a half dozen drops of hot water in the soap container to soften the soap for a while. Afterwards, I poured the little that was remaining into my scuttle. Squeezed out my brush, then went to the soap container to load up. Today, I went to town with my initial load. I loaded to the point where the proto soap was overflowing the container. I moved the brush to the scuttle, then used my fingers to get all of the proto lather from the soap container into the scuttle. Then I started working the brush in my scuttle. I added a few drops of water from time to time until I had an embarrassing amount of lather. The most I've had loaded on a brush. It was super thick:

I wet my face and started to apply the lather. It was so thick that it was almost lumpy. It was clear that I hadn't used enough water. I sprinkled some water on the brush from time to time as I painted my face and neck. The lather was still thick, but I managed to smooth it out. I ran hot water over my razor and began my first pass. Nice and slick. Seemed very protective. I had to rinse my razor after every couple of strokes because I still didn't have enough water in the lather, but it was usable and better than too wet. A rinse revealed that I had gotten very good reduction from my first pass. I added a little water to the brush and went back to the scuttle to try to make the lather a little more moist. Applied the resulting lather to my face. This time it was nice and smooth. Much thicker than the Proraso I'm used to, but it may be that I could do a better job with creams also. My second pass was very nice. The lather provided good protection and I had no trouble. I wet my face and neck and did a small amount of touch up where I could easily feel stubble. This gave me a near BBS. A cold water rinse followed by a small amount of touch up and the baby came home. The Pinaud Clubman stung a small amount, but nothing like the last few days. I still had plenty of soap when I finished:


After I took this picture, I squeezed it out and believe I could have gotten at least 3 passes from what was left.

A nice BBS from the Gillette Silver Blue in my Birth Quarter Super Speed. The Pre de Provence soap was nice and provided good protection. The advice that Clint, JR, and others gave me helped me overcome my initial difficulty with getting a good lather. The Pre de Provence fragrance was mild and pleasant. And so was this morning's shave.

I hope everyone has a terrific Thursday!

Adam, that's very kind of you and it's a great way for someone to dip their toes in the water with a straight.

Bill, great write up. I am glad that the soap worked for you. Now you can dial in the load time to get it just where you want it.