DEC 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

12/31/2015
Razor – Gillette Super Speed (J4)
Blade – Feather (3)
Brush – DK7 with Druida Manchurian
Lather – Route 66 Lumberjack
Post - Witch Hazel & Folsom & Co. Shambala



The Route 66 shave soap is a top notch soap and exceptionally easy to lather. If you are looking for a top performing soap, I would suggest adding one of the Route 66 soaps to your list. Another great 3 pass with touch ups shave this morning. I can consistently get very good shaves from the SS Flare Tip. The shaves are not the closest or the longest lasting but the shaves are some of my most comfortable. I finished up with a splash of F&C Shambala. I hope everyone has a great Thursday. Have a fantastic New Year's Eve be safe and have fun.

 

December 2015 Vintage Focus
Recap



Well another monthly focus is in the books. My goals for the month were.

30 Day December Focus

• Focus on my vintage razor with particular attention on my birth year Slim & Super Speed.
• Use various brushes
• Use various soaps with the hope of at least finishing B&M Seville
• Participate weekly in The Shave Den Sunday thread
• Continue to improve my technique

For the most part I think I succeeded in achieving the goals. With the exception of 2 shaves I used vintage razors for the entire month and in the final count used my birth year SS and Slim for over half the shaves. I did manage to finish the B&M Seville soaps but with Christmas gifts the soap inventory has increased. This month, I did confirm some of my earlier thoughts on certain razors. It's certainly a YMMV thing but I do not like the Slim. The shaves are good but honestly it would have to be the only razor I own for me to use it on a regular basis. Since it is one of the 2 birth year razors I own, I'll keep it around in hopes of passing it down to a grandson some day.

I have participated in each of the 30 day focus threads for 2015 which has helped me continue to perfect my technique. The shaves I now achieve easily with the SS Flare Tip were much more difficult in November and December of 2014. I now feel that I can get a good to great shave with any razor. Now it is just down to personal preference in terms of likes and dislikes. Just some general stats from 2015. I am a numbers geek and can not help myself.

• Of 365 available days to shave I shaved 362 days.
  
• SE razors accounted for 211 shaves 58%
• The Mongoose was my most used razor at 167 shaves or 46%
• I did a good job using all the brushes but my 3 favorite brushes were used 47 % of the time
• I finished 3 soaps entirely.

Overall I am very pleased with the progress, I made this year and look forward to further improving my technique in 2016

 

I still am planning one more shave this month, but I cam say I have definitely learned a lot over the last 30 days or so. I started with the Pain Stick and have spent the last couple of weeks on straights.

I got 19 shaves in with the Pain Stick and towards the end, I really started getting some nice shaves. The shaves got comfortable, and they were nice and close. I only had one significant slip with the razor, and I learned a valuable lesson in the process: there are times when to just out down the Pain Stick and pick up a safety razor.

The last two weeks with the straight razors have been very good. They do handle a bit different than a pain stick, some of which is mental. Once I got past that, I found the shaves to be more comfortable than the Pain Stick. The last two shaves with the straight have been particularly good. I still have a long ways to go with straights, but I am pleased with the progress.

 

Spectacular photograph!!

 

SOTD
December 31, 2015
Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost
Razor: Grafco-Merkur 3-Piece Open Comb
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: RazoRock Son of Zeus
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: RazoRock Son of Zeus
SOZ is a citrus, woodsy, cedar scent. Simply AWESOME. I've been through a bunch of OC razors and this Grafco-Merkur is hands down the best! Plissoft is a fabulous brush, a great buy. I really like this SOZ gear.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE!

 

Razor: Gillette Aristocrat 1947 Birth Razor
Blade: Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum (1)
Brush: Omega Professional 10098 Boar
Soap: Route 66 Frozen Margarita
A/S: Captain's Choice Bay Rum

A big thanks to @Bobcat for sending me the Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum blades. This was my first shave with this blade and it was great. My big find of the year had to be the Route 66 products. Every soap I tried work up a great slick lather easily.
Happy New Year and be safe.

 

Thank you Kerry. A good photo app does wonders for sure. "Blind Squirrel" and all.

 

Thanks Douglas!!!

 

Oh yes. Where would we be without our apps

 

Just FYI, Coke Zero through the sinuses is overrated.

 

DEcember 2015 Wrap!​

• I regret not using the Feather Popular earlier, it has been near TTO perfection. It's another SS clone basically, $15 and strongly recommended as a starter or budget option. I could use it daily, it's that good.
• I don't really enjoy the Tech. My technique has evolved around more aggressive razors, and I try to push it too much to catch the baby.
• Fatboys are still the finest TTO I've tried.
• The more blades I try, the less I think they matter. The range of blades I can successfully use is so much greater than in 2104.
• The biggest surprise this month was Route 66 Lumberjack shave soap. @Douglas Carey has a keen eye for the good stuff. This, IMHO, is lanolin soap perfection, so protective I will use it as my primary soap for SR learning. The soaps are crafted by @Salty Belle (TSD supporting vendor), through www.route66shave.com.
• After a year of rules/foci, safety razors have become automatic. After spending a year doing these exercises, I feel like DFS from any kit not designed by @NCoxSTL is possible!
• Another great month! 2015 really seemed to fly past! Thanks everyone for being a part of this, and looking forward to regrouping for January and the New Year!

 

Stuck on the freeway somewhere near Monterey?

 

I am definitely going to use the DE safety net as well. Good luck to you!

 

New Year's Eve SOTD:

Homemade PS Oil
Simpsons Commodore X3 Best Badger
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Deja Fougere
Schick Repeating Razor Type A
Stirling Unscented PSB -- Mentholated
Wholly Kaw Fougere Bouquet AS

I got busy this morning and lost track of time. My wife and I had arranged a baby sitter for a lunch date, and I didn't take a shower and shave until just before we had to leave, so I had to rush a bit. Given that, I thought I would go with the Type A. I was shocked I could say that I savored the shave, as it seems to be a great razor, but time time demanded I be quick. I got a complete two pass shave in under 10 minutes, and I got DFS results. This is a nice, smooth shaver. I really enjoy all the repeating razors, they shave so nicely. I finished off the Fine shave with some Wholly Kaw Fougere Bouquet, which is one of my favorites, and also just happens to be one my wife enjoys. It set the state for a really nice lunch date with my wife.

Hope everyone one had a happy and safe New Year. I am looking forward to a great January with the 30DC.

 

It was a valuable lesson. One thing I figured out about straights: they require a little more fore thought. I have found that stropping the night before really seems to help me save a bit of time during my morning shave.

 

Ahh, but if you can get DFS on a kit I design......you can join the Hall of Shaving Gurus!

 

12/31/15

Gillette New LC
Rapira Super Stainless (2)
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Mama Bear's Soaps Black Code type
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Pinaud Clubman Original

Loaded soap for 30 seconds in the tub, then whipped up the lather in my scuttle.


2 full passes: Pass 1 XTG. Good reduction, but picked up one small nick near my mouth. Pass 2: ATG with a small amount of touch up with the lather remaining on my face, this time I wound up with a small nick on my neck. Had to use the styptic pencil to stem the blood on this one. Did a cool water rinse followed by light touch up in my usual spots. Stopped because it seemed as though my neck was starting to get irritated. Still had a plenty of lather when I finished. Enough for at least two more passes. The Clubman burned like fire.

A surprise BBS from the Rapira Super Stainless in my New LC with the Mama Bear's Black Code type. I took my time and the lather was very slick when it went on, but for some reason I ended up with two nicks today. That hasn't happened in a long while. I'll post my focus summary later.

I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve.

 

Happy New Year to you!

 

Bill, Happy New Year