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

Beautiful color! The bowl reflecting the background and that green brush look amazing!

 

February 2016 Focus -- Schick injectors

February 20

Razor: Canadian Schick Injector E Type
Blade: Personna Electron microscopy Sciences (EMS) supplied blade (1)
Brush: Stirling Kong
Soap: Stirling Gatlinburg
Post: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel, Fine Platinum


I shaved Friday with the E type and the Chinese Schick blade for the seventh time with that blade. Ended with another near BBS two pass plus touch up shave. Decided instead of starting the J type I would switch over to the Personna blade for a few shaves to compare.

So Saturday's shave was the first with the Personna blades from EMS. They are Stainless Steel "PTFE" Coated 0.010" thick, packed 20 blades in a dispenser. After shipping they were about $11.50 so a little cheaper than the Chinese Schick's per blade. Buying in a greater quantity would also prove much cheaper per blade but I just wanted the one dispenser to see if they would be as effective as the Chicks. If so they are a great deal. If not then not much lost on trying.

The shave started OK but was not quite as smooth. The blade seemed every bit as sharp as the Chicks but just a little rougher on the edge. Finished the first pass. Good reduction. No bad irritation and no blood.
Second pass was basically the same. It was a little rougher and there was slight irritation but nothing terrible. Some touch up necessary along jaw line and at the Adam's apple but it cleaned up nicely. A touch more irritation than usual but still a near BBS shave. Will be interesting to see how the blade progresses and whether it gets smoother after a shave or two.

 

Simpsons Ch3, Wolfman SB with Feather and Chiselled Face.

 

Beautiful brush!! What a work of art!

 

umm, yeah...I'll be a head shaver soon enough. 1/2 guard on a Wahl is how I do it now.

I am 41, he's 67. I hope I look as good as him in 25 years. He works out 3x weekly on weights and machines, runs the treadmill, and is a competence tactical handgun shooter and reluctant horseman. At 67 he is 6-1, 170ish... Not too shabby!

Thanks for the wishes! If you have a dream chase it, my best friend George is 74. Great man, career (36 yrs active duty) retired E-8 in the Army. His constant advice is "do it before your heart grows old."

Thanks Charlie! Change is always both scary and exciting. What's the worst that could happen?


And, I almost forgot,


Rammer Jammer, Yellowhammer! Give 'em hell, Alabama!

 

Thank you!

 

Thanks Clint! Been thinking this over for a few years. Time to get busy!

 

Day 51 - 90 Day Intro to SR
SOTD - 20 February 2016



Ralf Aust 5/8
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Route 66 - Lumberjack
Alum
Osage Rub

"BBS"
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Day 51. I love SR shaves. That is all. Carry on....

Have a Superb Sunday!!
​

 

2/21/16

Gillette Old Type
Feather Hi-Stainless (3)
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
C.O. Bigelow cream
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Pinaud Clubman Original



A nice BBS from the 3rd day of the feather in the Gillette Old Type.
I wasn't able to shave yesterday, so today was the first day the feather was challenged with a 2 day growth. Went with C.O. Bigelow for a mild menthol feel. Plenty of slick creamy lather to help the razor's glide. Did my normal 2 passes. I needed very little touch up today. It seemed the blade and razor were more efficient. It might have been the 2 day growth or my increased attention because of that. I'll catch up on my forum reading later. I’m about 100 posts behind. So far.

I hope everyone has a great Lords Day!

 

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Pre: Shower, Sterling Pre Shave Soap, Noxema
Soap: Dusy Kabinett
Brush: Wolf Whiskers Burnt Whiskey TGN HMW
Razor: The One Blade
Blade: Gem Super Stainless #5
Post: Chatillon Lux Post Shave Toner, Fine Platinum, Whipped Shea Butter

 

STOP THE PRESSES! Hold the front page!! This morning was my first shave with the Gillette Silver Blue and I was absolutely blown away. This blade is nice and sharp and very smooth. In fact at one point I had to check to make sure I had a blade in the razor. Effortless and the post shave feel was amazing. No irritation, no weepers, no blood. I usually expect a new blade to be a bit edgy, but not with this blade! Smooth sailing all the way.
I called the Proraso White Team into action this morning. An awesome combination of products. If only every day could be this magical!

 

SOTD
February 21, 2016
Prep: Hot Shower. Noxzema
Razor: Blackland Blackbird
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: Chiseled Face Trade Winds
Brush: RazoRock Natural Boar 26x64mm
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Chiseled Face Trade Winds
Great shave. Trade Winds is my second offering from CF and I'm not disappointed! The Blackbird is very easy to maneuver around, smooth automatic DFS. I love this brush. Love!!
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE!

 

February Focus - German blades

February 21

Razor - Schick Krona
Blade - (3)
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip
Soap - Arko stick
Post - Cold rinse, Alum, Clubman

Final day of my trip through Germany. Seven blades in 21 days and it all ends with the Schick Premium in the Krona. I went to the Wolf and Arko face lathered for a great lather to finish with and went to work. The Schick combo has worked very well over the past two days producing two find DFS shaves with no irritation or drag or any other problems. Hoping the final day works as well.

First pass WTG was just as smooth as day one. Very nice feel as always and I felt like the result was a bit better than yesterday. Went XTG for the second pass and hit a nice DFS. Nice! Not quite as good as the three passes I've been doing but I could easily stop here and be totally happy. However, it's the last day on the blade and I've done three passes so far with it. So, third pass on the way, ATG and G-slide. Really nice feel and after the slide and one minor touch up with a bit of buffing.....there it is...the elusive BBS with this blade. Awesome finish! Now, did I irritate things too much? Alum is on and.......quiet as a sleeping baby. There it is....the perfect five stein rating for this blade on its last day!

​

Now, to name a champion. Best in class as it were. Clearly the Elios, Merkur and Croma aren't in the running for the Grand Stein award. That leaves the Timor, Wilkinson, Bolzano and Schick. The Schick, while excellent, took a bit of extra time to reach BBS. Although it was exceptionally smooth. The Timor.....great BBS and overall great feel and again, very smooth. The Bolzano......the first day was a bit disappointing but days two and three rocked it out. The Wilkinson Sword.....BBS city and smooth and seemingly ready for more shaves.

While all four of the finalists were and are great blades, I think the winner, based on overall feel, results, and consistency has to be.................

and it is hereby awarded the "Stein of Excellence" award!!


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The remaining eight days of February will be a "best in country" shave, featuring the best blades by country in my collection (so far). So, I'll be using the Bic Chrome Platinum (Greece), the Super Max Super Platinum (India), the Feather (Japan) and, of course, Voskhod (Russia). Two days per blade and it will be off to March and a new challenge!

 

Sunday
Focus items -- Omega 20106 / MEM Olive / Swedish Supersteel



I recently discovered some issues with certain type of razor designs.
Since I switched to the Tech, I can go much much further on a blade.
I put in a new blade today after I lost count, but it was at least 5, maybe 6 shaves on the old that still felt nice.
Decided to try a new blade to see the difference but also pay attention to count.
Still sick of the MEM.. lol. But it does its purpose perfectly. No issues.
The Omega is just nice. I really really like it.​

 

Straights Focus February 21:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
TSD Lanolin Iced Sub-zero
Frederick's Celebrated Razor
Stirling Unscented PSB -- Mentholated
Canoe AS

A nice one pass + clean up resulting in a DFS. Very smooth and comfortable. The TSD Lanolin provides very nice, cushiony lather. Canoe has become one of my favorite AS, and my my really likes the scent. She always comments when I put it on.

 

Mongoose Focus
I think this may be the last day of my Mongoose focus. I have a business trip this week and am planning on packing an Injector for the trip.
The Mongoose is a great performer. I really like the Feather Pro Super blade in it and this combo will stay in my rotation.
SOTD
TOBS Grapefruit
Doug Korn brush
Mongoose
Feather Professional Super (2)
Alum
Chrome Azzaro cologne
Have a wonderful Sunday !

 

You really have the Mongoose dialed in. Congrats. I have always felt that it's just different enough that one needs to really do a short focus to master the razor. Working up in blade aggression helps a great deal as well. I agree the Super blades take the Mongoose from a really good shaver to a great shaver.

 

02/21/2016
Cobra Classic
Feather Pro (7)
DK7 with Druida Manchurian
TSD Signature
Witch Hazel
Captain’s Choice Bay Rum
Whipped Shea Butter


​

A great cast of characters assembled for a superb Sunday morning shave. Everything worked together wonderfully. After rubbing the TSD shave stick on my face thoroughly, the DK7 whipped up a mountain of lather. Since I was in no rush, I went with a traditional 3 pass shave. With just a few touch ups I managed to catch the baby easily. Overall this was my best shave to date with the Cobra. Finished off with a splash of CC Bay Rum with menthol. I hope everyone has a fantastic day.

 

February 21
Edwin Jagger DE89
Feather (3)
PSO, Hot Shower, Nivea Face wash
Omega 10066 Boar Shaving Brush
Chiseled Face Midnight Stag soap
Alum, Nivea balm, Chiseled Face Midnight Stag AS
Doc Elliott's beard balm

Working through a bunch of samples from Route 66 and Chiseled Face. Both are great soaps and have great scents. Except maybe this one. It smells strong in the sample jar, but they say scents change on your skin. This one did too, but I still don't think I care for it. It did lather up great, and I will be buying the CF Ghost Town Barber and Summer Storm, maybe Sherlock, too.

I am trying to take a little extra luxury on Sundays. I did my usual pre-shave oil before getting in the shower, let it soak and steam, washing my face last with Nivia Face Wash. After shower, i added a little more PSO, and the bloom water from the soap. Then I added hot towels for 4-5 minutes. That cleaned off and PSO sitting on my skin. I've found that hurts my lather so I don't leave PSO on most days. Then back to the usual routine. Three pass and cleanup, Alum (no bite at all today), cold rinse, Nivea Balm, Beard Balm and After shave (no sting there either).

Great shave BBS+, one of the best I've done so far. Happy Sunday, go Kenseth!

 

What is the scent of Midnight Stag? I remembered seeing recently that it was a leathery, masculine scent, perhaps reminiscent of motor oil. Is that anywhere close?