DEC 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Great photo Mark. Was this the maiden voyage for the Orion also? Thanks for the report on the AlumiGoose. Mine is delayed in the USPS Black Hole.

 

Sorry to hear you package has 'The USPS Blues'. Thanks Clint and yes, the Orion's first time out was today. It was an auspicious day, the Alumigoose also sailed today.

 

Glad to hear about your most excellent shave. I've been following your PS progress. Your technique is improving and you're having a good time.

 

One of the coolest things about Straight shaving for me, is that you can tailor the edge based on your maintenance. At least to a point. Blade tuggy? Strop an extra 100 laps with no pressure. Skipping a little bit? Strop on green paste or 10 passes on a finishing stone. Just not cutting well? Reset the bevel and take it all the way up. Each different stone affects how the blade feels, (to a point) so instead of doing blade trials, I can use the Purple Dragon's Tongue or Translucent Arkansas to change the feel of the edge. To me, maintenance isn't a chore, its a really fun part of shaving.

Hmm, I might have an idea for January's focus.

 

“Psst”… (came the sound from the dark alley next to the Barber Shop).
“Yeah, you.” whispered the gravelly voice. “Yousa William right? William the Executive Shaver, no?”

Listen, lemme tella youse sumtin. Tomorrow yousa gonna hava greata shave, no? Da best shava you life, yes? :ahem:


I know, I know, you thinka that Vicenzo have all the righta answers, yes? Eh, you thinka he’sa funny guy too, huh? Ha, he thinksa he’sa the Groucho o’ sumtin!

Buta looka here Mister Shaver guy. Thisa Samurai. He’sa the smarta one and donta forget it. Nota Vicenzo, nota Groucho - nota even this Ivan the Russian. Fahgeddabowdit!! :ahem:


You sticka wida the Samurai, everyding be A OK, capisce? :ahem:


Ok, yousa good guy, smarta fella. You gonna hava da best BBSa ofa you life.
You hava good time now, eh? Atsa boy, go hava cappuccino anda cannoli, fahgeddabowdit!!

 

Outstanding!!!

 

Dec 9 Shave 2.2

The focus is now creams and crops so I decided to include Barrister and Man, a shout out to @Drygulch for sending me this soap. It is a soft soap so it is in. This reminded me allot of the lather I get from my favourite QCS. The scent was nice too, Fireside smells just like a camp fire. The lather was wet and slick. Four passes with my Futur and a close irritation free shave. Next we will see how the B&M works with a straight.

Irritation A Closeness A

Barrister and Man Fireside
Rooney 3/2 silver tip
Whitehead scuttle
Futur with Rapira Swedish steel
Speick AS
Edwin Jagger ASB
Dior Cuir Cannage

 

You will find after using the pain stick using a straight razor is easy.

 

I was thinking about doing something similar for January. A JNAT, my first natural stone just arrived. It is a Nakayam Aisa. I also have a Shapton ceramic 12k to maintain edges. Combine this with my CrOX, diamond paste and Dovo pastes there are allot combinations to try.

Adam if you decide to focus on different finishing for your edges I will do the same.

I also like the fact that I can tailor the shaving angle. One the problems I have with mild DE or SE razors is that the effective cutting angle is no narrow.

 

Just an FYI I'm about to lap my natural stone flat and hone my razors up to snuff. I don't have much but I have a King 1k/5k combo, a natural stone that is mostly unknown( its mined locally and sold as "razor stone" ) and a barber's hone of my grandfather's and I have a balsa board pasted with 0.3 micron chromium oxide on one side and 0.1micron iron oxide on the other. Then I have a Whipped Dog poorman's strop.

 

I'm in.

 

Hot shower
Gillette fatboy
Feather blade
EJ badger brush
Taylor sandalwood cream
Cold water splash and Nivea AS Balm

So my shave tonight went well. Up to this point I have been doing just 2 passes (WTG, XTG) but tonight I tried to do some touch ups with ATG and just as before, I got irritation. So I'm thinking I will just be one of those guys that gets a 2 pass DFS and it is what it is. And honestly I'm ok with that! I also have come to the realization that I'm shaving more of my neck with the razor then where I actually have hair growth. Again, this is causeing a tad bit of irritation but nothing to scream about.

So as far as what I've learned so far in these first 8 days is this:

"When in doubt, change it out". 3 shaves and change the blade, they are too cheap to push the limits and end up with pesky irritation.

One consistent swipe of the blade at a time and let the razor do its job. Stop hitting a single spot multiple times. It'll become clean and smooth with the next lathered pass.

Check for hair growth on my neck BEFORE shaving and only shave where there is stubble. No sense in shaving over smooth skin on my neck both passes just to irritate it when my neck is sensitive to shaving anyways.

 

Do you cold water shave?

 

OK game is on for January. New Years Day I will touch up all my straights using both finishing stones and various pastes. Should be interesting.

 

12/9/2015
Razor – Gillette New Long Comb
Blade – Feather (3)
Brush – Brothers Bristles with WD HM
Lather – Chiseled Face Trade Winds
Post - Witch Hazel & Captain’s Choice Bay Rum



Another great shave this morning. I went with just normal 3 pass shave and with a few touch ups ended up with a near BBS. The CF Trade Winds is a very easy soap to lather and when well hydrated is super slick. Finished off with a splash of CC Bay Rum. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

 

Pain Stick Focus December 9:

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling Synthetic Brush
L'Occitane Cade SC
CJB Pain Stick
Stirling Unscented PSB
TOBS Sandalwood AS

Shave number 10, and it was much like shave 9. I am definitely getting more comfortable with this razor. It isn't automatic by any stretch, but I have been getting shaves that are close to being as good as I could get with a DE. I still need to focus on technique, and I have to keep reminding myself to stretch my skin, but I really see quite a bit of improvement in these 10 shaves.

 

12/9/15

Gillette New LC
Rapira Super Stainless (1)
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
WSO (Wet Shave Obsession) Signature
Pinaud Clubman Original

First day with WSO Signature and the Rapira Super Stainless in the New LC.
I put a few drops of warm water on the top of the soap to soften it a bit while I soaked my brush. Afterwards, I poured the little that was left from the soap container into my scuttle. I squeezed out my brush, then went to the soap container to load up. I swirled the brush for about 30 seconds and then went back to the scuttle. I added water from time to time and the lather began to look pretty good in just a few minutes.

When I took the brush to my face, I found that the lather went on much thinner than I expected. I worked it on my face and neck, but it seemed that the soap was dissipating, so I went back to the scuttle to whip it a bit more. I added some water when it looked like it needed it. Back to the face. The lather was better, but still pretty thin.

2 full passes: Pass 1 XTG. Good reduction. Rinsed and saw that the lather in the scuttle had begun to dissipate. Many large bubbles. I worked the lather in the scuttle for a bit to try to thicken it up. Applied lather for the second pass. It was thinner than I liked, but offered enough protection. Pass 2: ATG. Normally at this point I do some touch up with the lather still on my face but there wasn't enough to do much. I did a cold water rinse and had enough lather for some touch up but it was pretty much exhausted. Fortunately, my skin felt near BBS so there wasn’t much temptation to go on. The Pinaud Clubman stung a little, but not nearly as much as yesterday.

A near BBS from the WSO Signature and the Rapira Super Stainless in the New LC. The WSO lather was a problem today. It was too thin and it wasn't stable. It could be that the water in the scuttle chamber was too hot. Unlike last week, I freshened up the hot water in the chamber just before beginning to lather. Or, it might be that 30 seconds in the tin didn't give me enough proto lather to work with. I'll make adjustments in both of these areas tomorrow and see if I can get a better lather from this soap. I like the fragrance, it did offer sufficient protection, and once I rinsed my face it felt as though my skin has absorbed some soothing lotion. My skin felt BBS for a little over an hour before I began to feel hints of stubble. We'll give the WSO another try tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great Hump Day!

 

No but debating on giving it a try.

 

Are you still on your first blade?

 

First pass was with the Mongoose, first mistake. Next 10+ passes was with a fresh Atra blade, second mistake. I'm still feeling the effects of my madness!