January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

Thank you Chris for the info and update. Prayers for Neil.

 

I am doing no buy for me, but always want to know about the higher quality options. The NB16 knocks me out off the market, but your post made me change something...will use the 48 today for fun.

 

The only problem I have is I don't stick with one natural hair brush long enough for it to really reach its potential, I could see myself using the 830 for a month straight to really get it right.

 

Prayer lamp is lit for Neil. Thanks for the heads up Chris.

 

I've been on Plisson forever now.

 

Razor: Gillette Black Handle Flare Tip (P1) 1970
Blade: Feather Hi Stainless (1)
Brush: Ever-Ready 100T 1950's Boar
Soap: Route 66 Bourbon Jungle
A:S Fine Platinum
Excellent 3 pass shave today. This is not a very aggressive razor, but performs very well when the right angles are used.

 

Yesterdays shave went very well. Williams lathered up into a creamy yogurt like lather in no time with the Semogue 1438. The Our leader straight pulled a bit on the toughest hair in M goatee area so Ill take it back to a pasted strop before I use it again. I'm not sure I like the hollower design, it seems like I have to pay way more attention for less of a shave and some redness. I ended up with a near bbs in 2 1/2 passes with redness and irritation around the corners of my mouth. Don't know if I need a shave today.

 

Throughout this January focus, I have been using Voskhod blades and getting to know them better. I really enjoy them for daily shaving because they are pretty sharp but very smooth. I usually use Personna Lab Blues, however I actually prefer Voskhod's for daily shaving. The Personna's are slightly sharper, and therefore not quite as smooth (still incredibly smooth overall). Voskhods are not as sharp, but for daily shaves work fantastically. They are super smooth. I have been mainly pairing them with my Merkur 1906 razor and it works well. I'm glad I got a 100 pack. They are also a few bucks cheaper than Lab Blues. Overall very happy with the January focus!

 

Nothing wrong with the Plisson. Use the 48 for a month you'll be pleasantly surprised how soft it'll get.

 

Sorry to hear that. I am definitely praying for his recovery.

 

Let's see what she says about Clubman if you ease off some. I thought about doing more frequent switching of my aftershaves-you say "live and learn"; my lesson from this is to not get anything in bulk. I'm getting tired of my 16 oz. Clubman AS....perhaps from here on out, I'll just get 6's at CVS.

 

Jan 22 Focus Shave 16

Today's razor is a Dovo Bismarck 2, on it's 3rd shave after being refreshed with a Shapton 12k followed by Dovo red/black paste.

This razor almost always gives me a nice shave and today was no exception. The smooth bad not as smooth as the last shaves from the razors finished with Shapton 16k. Even though the shave was not as smooth the alum produced no reaction, no irritation and just a slight hint when I applied the AS. Missed the BBS but a solid DFS. I think this razor needs to hit the pasted strops before it's next use.

Irritation A Closeness B+ Smoothness A- Keenness B+

LASS Topanga Fougère
M&F silver tip
Whitehead scuttle
Dove Bismark 2
PRC strop
Speick AS
L'Occitane Cade ASB
Guerlain Habit Rouge

 

Thank you for the update and I am wishing Neil a speedy recovery.

 

Jan 21, 2016 - Day 1
Edwin Jagger DE89
Feather (1) <-this number is how many times that blade has been used?
Omega 10066 Boar Shaving Brush
Reef Point Dragon’s Blood
Alum, Pinaud Clubman, Nivea post shave balm

So I got a package in the mail today, all kinds of new stuff. If you haven't seen from other threads, I'm new to this. I started with some Van Der Hagen I picked up at King Sooper and Walgreen's. I've been working with that the last few days, trying to get the basics down. I couldn't get a very good lather going, but it was good enough. I got massive razor burn the first time, because I didn't read at all, and just dove in. Watched a ton of videos, and read a bunch, practiced, and was doing pretty good yesterday. I didn't want to start the 30 Day Rule until I got all this stuff though. So, I see there is a new thread each month, are you supposed to start new each month or carry over? Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong for this..

Anyhow, I like everything I have now better almost immediately. I don't think the VDH razor was too bad, I will hold on to it and try it again later, but I will stick with the EJ for a while. The Feather blades are far better then the VDH blades though. I know I'm supposed to stick with as much same as I can, but I got a sample pack, so I will need to try some others for a bit. So far, I love the Feathers though. I had read the VDH brush in the kit I got isn't very good, the other VDH kit is pretty decent. The Omega is noticeably better than the VDH I have. It's a Boar, so I understand it will be even better once I break it in. The Reef Point Soap is a lot better than the VDH too. I grant I couldn't make a great lather, and that could be the brush. I will try lathering the VDH soap with the Omega and see if it's better. But I will stick to the Reef Point soap for a while. Still not making a fantastic lather but I'm sure I just need practice. Dragons blood smells fantastic, really like it.

So lathered up, did a WTG, XTG and ATG pass, then a couple touch ups. Love the weight of the EJ, didn't feel any pull or roughness with the Feathers. Definitely was running out of foam in the brush at the end, think I need to load the brush a little better. I found that face pdf a few days ago and drew out my pattern, so I was using that, not north-south. This was the first time I used an alum block, was using witch hazel. Wet it, rubbed it on my wet face, dried the bar and set aside. hardly any sting, and I understand if I scrape or nick, this will let me know. I like how if feels though. Left it on a couple minutes and rinsed.

Splashed some Pinaud Clubman, which has also shown me some places I was being rough in previous days, and hardly any burn. Then a dollop of Nivea. End result was a really fantastic shave. I didn't achieve a BBS, but from my limited experience it is certainly a DFS, I wouldn't be too sad if I could just achieve this on a regular basis. There's a couple little lightly rough spots, especially Adam's apple and jawline. I have a goatee so some of the harder spots, like chin and upper lip I get a pass on for now.

Oh and I see I get to indulge in another hobby here as well! Love photography, haven't ever done any real product shots, so I get to practice that too! Bonus!

 

Ha ha, nope, not a honemiester. I am a guy with rocks he rubs razors on. Sometimes they turn out sharp. I have tons to learn. I am actually going back to the stones with The Magnet, because the irritation was so high. There is a direct correlation to level of keenness and the comfort of the shave. Learning to hone a razor is a different skill set than just maintaining one that has been professionally honed, which is a different skill set from shaving with it, which is a different skill set from DE shaving. Its a lot of fun to learn though. And the cookies are great.

 

SOTD January 22, 2016
Focus day 19

Prep: Warm shower
Blade: Rapira stainless
Razor: Wet Shave Club
Lather: C.O. Bigelow cream
Post: Witch hazel splash, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up

Quick travel shave today. I'm at a work conference out of town. I hand-lathered the Bigelow but used a little too much water. It was a little thin but still got the job done. I really like the Bigelow cream. I'm looking forward to trying Proraso green soap and compare it to this cream.

This weekend I'll revisit my enormous Omega boar along with a soap that's in a deeper dish so I can really load it up! It may be MWF or VDH or a couple of other choices.

Have a great Friday!!

 

Shave Nine of my january focus. Another good one, and I'm still using the same blade!

It's funny, but I don't miss my other razors during the focus, so much as I am champing at the bit to try some new soaps I bought -- steady on though. I will stay with my Stirling soaps until february. After that it's Everybody out of the pool!

 

Interesting handle. What razor?

 

That pic is cool. I looked at it real quickly and thought the black rock and the wispy bits of snow looked the side of a volcano. I was wondering how you got the shot.

 

Bullgoose sr108
It's a great handle. Love it