February '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion Thread

Welcome! No one is worried about being in for exactly 30 days, etc. Anyone is welcome whenever they can join! This is a great group with terrific advice and camaraderie.

 

What was your impression or review of the Route 66 Sea and Citrus soap? I want to get some of their samples one day, but I certainly don't NEED any. I've seen so many great reviews of Route 66.

 

Day 8 Schick repeater focus

Day 2 with the Schick type B and it was a good one. Once I got the angle right, it was smooth sailing. The type B is a quite solid compared to the type A and doesnt require any pressure at all. I cant seem to get BBS with this razor but a decent DFS is easily had.

 

Welcome aboard.

 

Glad to see you are finding something that works better for your neck. I have better luck with the Mongoose using ATG and XTG passes on my neck. This seems to play to the strength of the blades and cuts down on the number of passes.

 

Razor: Gillette Red Tip C2, 1957
Blade: Gillette Platinum (2)
Brush: Fendrihen Silver Tip
Soap: TSD Irish Spring Type
A/S: Route 66 Sweeney Todd (TEST)
Focus this month is working very well. There is something to be said about using the same product.

 

I love the performance of Route 66 soaps. They lather wonderfully and are slick. Up until today, all of my experience was with the Sweeney Todd scent. While the Sea and Citrus is a very nice scent, I still prefer Sweeney Todd as the Sven lasts longer. You can't go wrong with Route 66.

 

Thanks, I'll try that.

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Love the car it fits really well with the blackbird

 

Great pic very clean and simple. At first glance I wondered why you were displaying a condom

 

February Focus - German blades

February 8

Razor - Merkur 23c
Blade - (2)
Brush - Vie-Long 12601
Soap - Proraso Green
Post - Cold rinse, Alum, Nivea, Clubman

Ah, the weekend has finally arrived. On my schedule at least. Nice cold morning with a few snow flurries to remind us it's still winter in the Lou.

Second day of the trial for Wilkinson Sword. This blade was absolutely amazing yesterday. I've seen good reviews from others who have used it and am happy to find they were apparently spot on. Still trying to nail down the actual facts about its manufacture and such, but that's just my obsessive curiosity at work. The quality of the shave was impeccable.

Used the horse brush today along with Proraso for the lather. These two really work well together. Great lather and feel from the brush. I changed my technique a bit on the WTG pass. Normally I use one edge for the face and the other for my neck on the right side to start, then rinse, and do the same on the left. I decided to try using a single edge on the entire right side today, then flipping to the other edge for the left, eliminating the need for a rinse in the middle. The result on the first pass was excellent. The blade is still super smooth and the only change I noticed was a bit less reduction in a couple of spots. By not spinning the razor to the second edge between face and neck I changed the angle of attack on the jawline a bit. That left a bit more work in that area.

Second pass, XTG, I went back to a spin between face and neck on each side and worked a Gillette Slide into the pass on the neck. Definitely achieved a very near BBS after that. Similar to yesterday's result that I finally declared BBS, but two small areas that just barely missed. So, since I had to do that touch up I decided an entire third pass with ATG would be helpful to judge the blade. Not necessary to finish it, but it would be a check on its smoothness and whether or not it would increase irritation. Finished that pass with yet another G-Slide on the neck and there's the baby again. Fantastic. Unless, of course, the irritation is off the charts. With Proraso I have a bit of trouble deciding prior to alum whether or not it's a problem. The menthol and eucalyptus in the soap provides its own tingle and freeze so while it feels like I may have roughed things up it can be just the effect of the soap.

Alum all over - and - nothing. Absolutely quiet again. I'm not even sure what to say. Two shaves, change of technique, extra pass, two slides and a BBS with no bite. There is no way this doesn't get five steins again. Unless this blade just drops off the cliff after the second shave I expect a great day tomorrow with it. I may have a contender on my hands for the chance to win the "top blade" competition around here.

​

 

Welcome to the focus. If you don't already love the idea, it will grow on you very quickly.

 

I hear nothing but good things about the wilkinson swords. 5 steins 2 days in a row can be bad.

 

I really like the Kai blades. Even though I've focused more on the Feather Pros the last few times I've used AC blades I always look longingly at the Kais. I feel a comparison coming on suddenly. The only question is.....compare in the Feather SS or a Mongoose? I have a few weeks to ponder.

 

I vote pain stick.
Why not both? That way we can see you injure yourself twice as much...

 

LOL I thought you'd be impressed.

The Wikipedia page for Wilkinson Sword appears to be accurate with regard to these blades in that they are made by Edgewell Personal Care (same parent as Personna). What it seems to missing is the explanation of how Gillette (P&G) owns the Wilkinson Sword name for use in India.

 

Now that's funny

 

I may have to do the same comparison in my AC. I really liked the Pro in that razor.

 

I hope you all will indulge me in a little exercise to determine my next soap. Part of my focus is using the same soap, brush, razor, and blade for Tuesday-Thursday to help eliminate variables, learn to lather that particular soap better, and on and on. But I can't decide what soap to use. My options for this exercise are:

1. VDH luxury scented
2. Arko
3. Soap Commander Vision (sample)
4. Mitchell's Wool Fat
5. Country Club Cahaba Blues
6. TSD shave stick unscented
7. Proraso red**
8. Ginger's Garden salty mariner**
9. Trader Joe's shave soap
10. TSD lanolin bay rum

** denotes new, unopened soaps

I will turn to the trusty folks at random.org for some assistance.

The setup:



And, the result:



The winner is.........Proraso Red!! I've enjoyed both Proraso White and Green so I'm pleased with this choice.

Thank you, gentlemen, for a brief sojourn into picking my next three shaves! I appreciate your indulgence.