January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

Cold weather kills the bugs.

 

Cool pic. Your straights always look great and make me want one.... My time will come.

 

January 14, 2016
30-day focus with my Schick Type C1 - The Simplified Schick Automatic Razor.

Shave 9

Razor: Schick Type C1
Blade: NOS Schick Platinum Plus circa 1980 (USA) (3)
Soap: RazoRock P.160



Decided on a two-pass shave to solidify technique. Another great shave. I have gone through three different blade types so far with three more to go, so I’ll be switching blades again tomorrow.

On another note…I switched to the P.160 today just for a bit of variety from my test soaps of Arko and La Toja. I search for soaps that not only work to set up my shave but also help condition my skin. This one seems to accomplish that need.

But this time of year, especially during the cold, dry days of winter, I notice my skin can dry out a bit more than usual. So I’m going to try using a skin conditioner. I’ll continue my post shave routine of a cold water rinse, followed by witch hazel, but instead of an aftershave splash I’m going to start using a skin conditioner.

Today it was one from Ginger’s Garden.

I was fortunate to win the TSD Monthly Newbie Giveaway when I joined back in May ’15 and part of the great package was a gift certificate from Ginger’s Garden. Their aftershave balm is excellent. I really do not like balms that go on greasy. They just seem to get greasier as the day goes on. With this one, after a few minutes the balm has been absorbed by my skin. If you like that great aftershave feeling of your BBS shave, this product heightens and prolongs the feeling. No scent, but 6 hours after my shave I still have that smooth feeling to my skin that I had immediately after the shave. I have their Beard Oil too. Real solid products!

Cheers!
RT

 

That greasy feeling that develops is one of my biggest hates I might get some. I am trying to build a big list of wants from TSD to justify the shipping charge.

 

I'm feeling better today!! I took a nap and I was able to sleep on my side (non injured side) which I couldn't do yesterday. I'm thinking by this weekend I'll be back up to full speed. Thanks for asking.

 

I really like it a lot! I hope he's still around next year.

 

I just googled it and it made no sense to me. But I'm not surprised..

 

The blues and snow go well together. Great photo!

 

Sorry for the "excitement" of the shave! The razors definitely have a tendency to provide reminders when we become overconfident. Great attitude as Clint said!

 

Tom I really recommend TSD products, and not just because proceeds aid this forum - they are quality products. I learned this by trying a few of their unscented items. As far as scented ones, I have my favorites, but I started with samples before ordering full size items - just to make sure I really liked the scent.

On the subject of after shave balm. I really like the TSD aftershave milk. It's a cross between aftershave (liquid) and balm in consistency. So in regard to your feeling about greasy balms, I believe you will be in good shape with this one.

 

Glad you had a good shave. I assume the balm is unscented? Or maybe a menthol scent? Have you ever used the TSD aftershave milk? If so can you compare the two?

 

Ignore the part of my question about the comparison. You basically answered it here while I was topping my question.

 

Well that was weird!

I just wrote to Tom recommending the TSD aftershave milk - great product in between AS and balm.

Yes - the Ginger's Garden balm is unscented. Ingredients on the label if you can zoom in on my photo.

 

SOTD 1/13/16
Prep: Hot Shower/ Nivea Original Moisturizing face wash
Pre-Shave: PAA Ice Pre-Shave Soap
Soap: Barrister & Mann Latha Limon
Brush: Semogue OC Badger
Razor/ Blade: Merkur 37c Slant/ Personna Lab Blue (2)
Astringent: Alum
Post-Shave: Soap Commander Integrity Balm
Aftershave Splash: Fine L'orange Noire

Last night's shave was a great one. I'm not going to talk about what i used, but I will talk about what I used relating to my January focus. First time using the Semogue OC Badger and I am very impressed. It whipped up a great lather and was noticeably softer than a boar, however still had good backbone because it is so dense. It also is a great sized knot--not too big or too small. I really enjoyed it. I will continue to break it in and see how it goes from there. Also used a 37c slant 2 days in a row with no irritation. Pretty surprised and now another razor is in the running for my primary daily razor. Is it too late to add a focus for January? The focus I want to add is to choose my primary razor by the end of January. Right now, I'm stuck between 4--Muhle R89/ Maggard MR5, Merkur 1906, Merkur 37c Slant, and 1965 Superspeed Flair tip. Thoughts?

 

SOTD January 15, 2016
Focus day 12

Prep: Warm shower
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Razor: Wet Shave Club 3-piece
Brush: Omega 10049 boar
Lather: Arko
Post: Witch hazel splash, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, XTG (neck and jaw only)

This combination produced a nice, efficient CCS this morning. I had never used the Gillette Silver Blue or the Omega brush before. Both seemed to be fantastic, especially the brush. I had tons and tons of lather on the brush from the Arko in the shaving mug. I soaked the brush during my shower and then shook out the water so that it wasn't dripping wet. Then I went to loading for about 20 seconds and then on to face lathering. Huge amounts of lather! That brush is much larger than any others I have, but that worked really well in the deepish mug and then on my face. I really enjoyed it.

The GSB blade seemed to work well also. I've been using Rapira mainly over the past three weeks, and have tried Personna lab blue. The GSB was smooth for me.

I haven't used Arko in a couple of weeks and today's experience was different than any other Arko use. The boar brush just made so much lather with nice consistency. It helped the shave tremendously.

My focus has been focusing on general technique with using the same razor all month. I can happily report my technique has certainly improved. I only had one small weeper this morning around my Adam's apple but haven't had any nicks or weepers much in the past two weeks. I generally am irritation free. So those are all victories in my book. I still need to work on reducing pressure from time to time but all in all I'm feeling more comfortable with it each day.

I hope everyone has a great Friday!!

 

Well, I know little to nothing about razors. It looks like you have a great selection. Why select just one to use more than the others? Why not rotate through them, or pick one that strikes your fancy on that day? If you're set on finding a primary razor then I do feel that would be a great 30-day focus.

 

Day 14 - 14 January 2016

90 Day Intro to SR



Whipped Dog "Sight Unseen" 5/8
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Route 66 Lumberjack
Alum
TSD ISZ AS under Pinaud Citrus Musk
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Days 11-14 were spent wth the WD straight. The first couple of days were a bit of an adjustment. After two weeks, my strong point is skin stretching, and my weak point is still blade angle. I am definitely getting there, I can get to DFS regularly now, and if I chase a bit, I can get BBS everywhere except the point of the chin bone. But on the bright side, I am gaining confidence and trying to improve each day. Decent shave today, the Route 66 was a treat as always, the alum felt cool today, and the TSD AS is a guaranteed winner! My hand is feeling great, no issues, no worse for the wear. Typing is feeling better, so I will try to read and post more often, I see great stuff here each day! Warmer today and then back to the snow tomorrow. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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Kerry, for science....could you photograph the new Ikon next to a Tech if you have one, side view? I wanna compare the geometry. Thanks.

 

Sorry to hear of your injury, welcome to our club. You are official now. Hang in there! What's the worst that could happen?

 

I'll see if I have a Tech, I may have given it away to my son..