DEC 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Thank you. The folks at Delta Echo have indeed done a stellar job.
Yeah it looks like I'll be settling around the 6, that seems to do the trick and I usually don't enjoy more aggressive blade gaps. I'll keep you posted here in the discussion

 

WSO soaps are some of the best I ever tried. Did you recently aquire it or have you had it for some time and just decided to try it?

 

Lakewood, CO as in Denver suburb?

 

That is a very nice razor to start with! Glad your first use went well. What did you think of it compared to the pain stick? What is your next straight going to be?

The dark side welcomes you.

 

Never...

 

Planned Day 12 - DEcember 2015



Day one went well, but the mild Tech made me work a bit harder than I am used to. Xmas party tonight, I'd actually rather go to the dentist via crawling through a sewer tunnel...but that's another gripe for another time. Winter is in full effect today, snow and wind on the prairie. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a Super Saturday!
​

 

Razor: Gillette Super Speed 1948-49 No Date Code
Blade: Gillette Platinum (6)
Brush: Brass Handle Boar (I know nothing about this brush)
Soap: RazoRock Don Donato
A/S: Booster Iced Lime
Very good shave tonight. Although this brush needs a little work, I think it will break in nicely. Nice weight to the brush. DFS. 3 passes.

 

I picked it out of the Nation Wide Box Tour III that came my way last month. @JR Reyes contributed it to the box before it got to me. I shaved with it twice and while the lather was thin, I still had comfortable shaves and even snagged a BBS. Up until the last month or so, I didn't have much experience with soaps, but I've almost finished off a tube of Proraso Sandalwood cream. This soap (and the ones that @clint64 gifted me) inspired me to focus on soaps this month. I've discovered I like them!

 

Its easy to be drawn to the darkside with such a fine example of a straight razor. You also have one the the best edges you can get if Glen honed it for you. I need to find the time and energy to fix the edges on my razors sometime soon.

 

Pain Stick Focus December 12:

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling Synthetic Brush
la Cigale SS
CJB Pain Stick
Stirling Unscented PSB
Wholly Kaw Fougere Bouquet AS

Shave 13 with the Pain Stick, and they do keep getting better. Every day, I feel a little more comfortable with it. I had a little complication towards the end, as my two youngest kids came into the room, so I got a little distracted, but managed to finish up with a DFS. I think this is on the second time I have used the la Cigale soap, and it is really nice. Very lightly scented, and it provides a nice thick lather. The Wholly Kaw Fougere Bouquet was the perfect end to a great shave. It is my younger daughter's favorite scent, so she was very excited.

 

It's a lot noisier than the Feather. I think I will like it better after some practice. I just need to figure out how to strop it without damaging this great hone job.
Funny you should ask about my next straight. I found this s in an antique shop today and talked them down from $45.00 to $32.00. I'm not sure if it was a deal or not, I just love the look and feel. I'm happy

 

Thank you.
It's a little different than the Feather, mainly because of the shape. I think working for a month with the a Feather was a great way to prep myself for a straight. It will be an easy transition.

 

Glen did a great job. It shaved great right out of the box.

 

I never find straights like you do in the wild. That will be a sweet shaver!

 

Thats a great razor as well. Is it as heavy of a grind as it looks in the pictures? looks like a wedge or near wedge.

 

Keep trying. I problem passed on a hundred straights in the last couple of months to find these two. There is a lot of junk to weed through.

 

December Focus

The Twelve Blades of December!

Hard to believe we've almost put this year to bed. Wow. Where did the time go? But, here we are and as a gift to everyone here I'm offering up my shaves with twelve blades that have never touched my face, randomly paired with twelve of my DE razors. Two shaves with each setup to finish on Xmas Eve. So, sit back, get the fire burning and enjoy what I hope is an enjoyable month of further proof Technique Trumps Tools. I hope for that....my expectations aren't as optimistic.

December 12

Razor - 1918 Gillette Old
Blade - (2)
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Proraso Green Tub
Post - Cold water, Witch Hazel, Nivea

Saturday and another day of work. One more day on the Concord to see if it does any better than yesterday, or if it gets worse. Again, not horrible. About Derby level yesterday which didn't surprise me. Kind of what I expected. Chose the Pro 48 and Proraso today. An "old school" combo for me. One I started out with, or near enough. Great lather and the menthol/eucalyptus was a nice wake up call. Grabbed the 1918 and went to work. First pass was surprisingly good. This blade definitely seems to have improved a bit as far as smoothness goes, and it seems more effective than yesterday after one pass. Very nice. Second XTG pass and I finished that pass with a DFS. Wow! Now that I wasn't expecting. Considered going for a third pass but decided to stop and enjoy the DFS the way it was. Excellent way to start the day. I think the Concord may be a bit better than its Turkish cousin the Derby. Another blade I won't buy in bulk, just because I have better ones, but nice to know it can be a go-to if needed at any point.

Back to China tomorrow so I will enjoy today's shave until then. After then? Well, we'll see.

 

I'm such a rookie that I don't know the difference between wedge or near wedge. The spine is very thick. Does that help

 

That looks like a wedge to me. FYI, even razors we call wedges are actually near wedges, with a slightly shrunken belly to allow for easier honing. I don't have the picture, but Google straight razor grind profiles.

 

It looked like a wedge to me. The difference is hard to tell.