DEC 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Dec 13 Shave 2.6

An early date today and since it Sunday I wanted to use a straight, so I had to go with a cream I know is a winner. Today's cream is Santa Maria Novella and my go to brush a Thäter two band. SMN is great for straight shaving, it produced a very wet slick lather, the negatives are there was lather all over the counter and the menthol is a bit numbing so not sure if I am getting irritation or not.

First two passes with out incidence and on the third pass a slight nick to my chin. Everything felt good so onward to the fourth pass. When I did the alum test I was surprised, I thought I had a perfect shave but there was some stinging. I think the menthol obscured the irritation while I shaved. On the other hand I did get a BBS.

Irritation B Closeness A

Santa Maria Novella Creama de Barba
Thäter 2 band
Whitehead scuttle
Hart Steel 6/8 round point
Restored by Drygulch Leather Works Scotch Heather strop
Lucky Tiger AS
Castle Forbes Lavender ASB
Frederic Mallle Musc Ravageur

 

We don't just have cookies, we have dark chocolate fudge cookies.

Beautiful razor.

 

That's funny!

 

Dark chocolate was the clincher. If they were milk chocolate I would have bought a Trac2

 

Thanks. I share your feelings in regards to the look and especially feel of their work.
My blade of choice is also the Feather, I hardly ever load anything else. Am looking forward to discover the most comfortable setting for my needs..

 

12/13/2015
Razor – Gem Damaskeene
Blade – Gem Stainless PTFE (4)
Brush – Romera Olivewood Synthetic
Lather – TSD Yin Yang
Post - Witch Hazel and Fine L’Orange



Today was the second outing with the 1912 Damaskeene. I went with a 2 pass shave, XTG and ATG, this morning. With a few touch ups I had a BBS everywhere expect above my lips and around my nose. I still have not mastered these spots with the Gem Razor. So I used a Schick Injector to get the last little bit of stubble above my lips. I am sure with more practice my skills will improve enough to get good results above my lips and around my nose. Even with that issue, this little razor gives a long lasting close shave. Finished off with a splash of Fine L'Orange ending a great shave. My oldest daughter and I are off to visit my Mom and take her to church. I hope everyone has a fantastic Sunday.

 

12/13/15

Gillette New LC
Rapira Super Stainless (3)
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
WSO (Wet Shave Obsession) Signature
Pinaud Clubman Original

Fifth day with WSO Signature and the Rapira Super Stainless in the New LC and my second face lather with it this month.
I loaded the brush for about 45 seconds and was rewarded with plenty of product. After working the brush a few minutes on my face with just a small amount of water added from time to time, I had a nice thick coating of creamy, slick, lather.


2 full passes: Pass 1 XTG. Very good reduction. Pass 2: ATG. I did small amount of touch up where I could feel stubble. A cool water rinse and a moderate amount of touch up in my trouble spots brought home the baby. The Pinaud Clubman stung a bit but settled down quickly. The brush still had enough for another pass.

Another nice comfortable BBS from the WSO Signature and the Rapira Super Stainless in the New LC. The WSO lather has been very nice recently, good and slick and plenty throughout my shaves. I think I'll bring out another soap and the scuttle tomorrow.

Have a blessed Lord's Day.

 

My Semogue 830 is coming along nicely, I think once it's broken in it's going to be a brush I won't be able to put down.

 

I have la Cigale soap too, I think I used it once? I'll give it a go tomorrow, thanks for the remainder.

 

SOTD
December 13, 2015
Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost
Razor: Gillette Red Tip 1958 D4
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: Gingers Garden Vetiver (Tallow)
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Gingers Garden OakMoss
Great shave. The Red Tip is efficient. It's no secret I love GG products.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE

 

Pain Stick Focus December 13:

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling Synthetic Brush
TSD Lanolin Iced Sub-zero
CJB Pain Stick
Stirling Unscented PSB
Canoe AS

I got a great shave this morning, probably the best yet with this razor. I got up a bit early, before the rest of the family, and got my shower and shave in. It was nice ad relaxed, and now I am nice and smooth. I one itsy bitsy weeper on my neck, and I ended with almost no irritation. I really enjoyed the TSD Lanolin this morning as well. My Sunday is off to a great start, and I hope everyone else has a great day as well.

 

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 13

Razor - Rimei A2002
Blade - (1)
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Silvertip
Soap - Tabac
Post - Cold water, Witch Hazel, Nivea

Well, back to China this morning. These overnight trips around the world are exhausting! The randomizer saw fit to hand me a Chinese razor as well today, with the Remei up in rotation. The Rimei razor is a very inexpensive 3 piece but actually delivers a decent shave. I compared it to the Weishi when I tried it the first time. Mild but effective with the right blade. The one difference in the Remei and Weishi - the three piece design doesn't bend the blade quite as much as the TTO on the Weishi so there's a bit of extra gap between guard and blade, so it isn't quite as mild.

The blade is the Vincent VT300B, made in China by or for Sewicob, Inc. Sewicob is a hair care/salon supply business based in Lansdowne, PA. So, I actually expect the blade to be decent because once again it's a foreign owner using Chinese manufacturing to their specs. Schick injectors are made in China and most around here love the blades. Same thing should apply here........I hope.

The WW Silvertip and Tabac for an amazing lather this morning. Really cushiony and slick. First stroke was a bit on the "oh-oh" side as it felt rough, but I went for the second stroke and adjusted angle a bit and got a smooth result. The blade seems very sharp. Not Feather sharp but sharp. Comfortable, though. Smooth with no tugging or other issues. First pass was quite good, although I picked up a small nick right under my chin against the goatee. Most likely I went in too steep there. It happens.

Second pass was also nice. Still smooth and when I finished I only needed a touch up on the neck to get DFS. For a Chinese made blade that is an awesome result. No complaints at all on blade or razor. Given the overall feel, though, I was expecting a bit of irritation but the witch hazel went on quietly and Nivea finished it off for a really nice shave. Day one on the Vincent is a good one! Whew! We'll hope day two continues the trend.

I have been noticing a trend in my shaves this month that I'm going to share later this evening. For now it's off to work. Hope you have a great Sunday!

​

 

@Bama Samurai, Did you survive the Christmas Party?

 

I agree. I find I have to "overwork" things with such a mild razor.

 

Of course. Just not my favorite thing to do, but it turned out ok. Apologies for whining publicly.

 

Rimei appears to be a Tech clone.

 

No apologies necessary. Shaving with a dull Flying Eagle is better than company xmas parties in my opinion.

 

Nice!

 

Hence the dentist/sewer combo!