30 Day Rule/Focus; October 2023. All Are Welcome!

Hi everyone!

September is over and October has arrived! For most of us, we are in the early stages of fall and the cool weather beckons us to switch to more warmer and darker scents. I know it can be a hassle to bring these items to the fore and push back the summer sundries in your den, but such is life for the traditional wetshaver.

Before I continue, I want to thank everyone again for their contributions last month. There were some excellent shaves and awesome items that were shared. I know that we are going to continue to have awesome shaves this month.

Moving forward, it is my 2nd Anniversary at being the overseer of this wonderful thread. I want to say it has been an honor and privilege serving you in this capacity during these 25 months. I want to thank all of you for putting up with me because sometimes I don't always hit the mark. I am referring to my recent post on writing in this thread. My tone was harsh and that's usually not me. I guess my Brooklyn Italian background surfaced. Again, I apologize to all of you, but I still prefer that you be more specific in your posts so that there's no confusion. I will try my best to be more professional in my tone and verbiage when I offer correction. In turn, I would ask that you all keep me accountable and correct me when I step out of bounds.

Monthly Themes
I have a few suggestions for the monthly theme.
Obviously, it's Open Comb October. That's right! Get out your open comb vintage and modern razors. There's no need for further explanation. I want to thank Joe @JACarbone in suggesting OUDtober. So, if you have soaps and aftershaves that have an oud scent, then go for it. Another possibility is Omega October. Some of you have Omega brushes that you haven't used for some time. Here's your opportunity! If you have Omega Soap, then that also will fit this suggested theme. However, if you are adventurous, then you may want to go the Only One October. That's a fancy way of saying to do a Focus/Rule. If you go this route, then it's up to you as to how you want to proceed.

Ok, let's continue with the basic tenets of this thread!
I want to welcome all the veterans of the 30 DC and all the newcomers. This thread is for the purposes of improving your shave technique so that you will consistently get great shaves. There are a number of ways to do it. These are suggestions so feel free to do whatever you want in regards to your shave.

The 30 Day Rule
Take ONE razor, ONE blade, ONE brush, ONE soap/cream and use them EVERYDAY this month. Yes, everyday. But Trigger, I want variety! I know you do, but until you perfect your technique, it makes little sense to constantly change the variables of your shave.

The Focus
For you out there that are not up to the rigors of the Rule, there is this alternative:
Vary the gear for each shave, save for perhaps one or two elements.
This is a more accessible challenge for the majority of shavers. I like to pick a particular aspect of the shave, be it the lather, a certain blade or a new razor, that needs breaking in, and not change it daily, until I have mastered those tools.

Ok, to keep the thread on a nice even keel, I ask everyone to follow the thread etiquette as listed below:
1. New Members always welcome. Start anytime.
2. Old Members always welcome.
3. Respect everyone.
4. Refrain from political conversation.

I also want to suggest that we should try to assess our shaves as to why it was good or why it was not up to your standards and express these reasons in your comments. The spirit of this thread is to improve our shaves and if we share the reasons why a shave was good or bad, then we are giving our experiences to encourage good technique and discourage bad technique so that we have great info to get better shaves. I am not suggesting that we do it for every post, but I think it would make for a healthier thread if we start to do it more than we have in the past years.

Moreover, you don't have to do a rule or a focus. You are free to change your setup on a shave to shave basis.

Finally, I want this thread to continue to be a friendly place. It is ok to disagree because that is how we learn from each other, but let's encourage and respect every member. Yes, even if you think they are off the wall. Let's face it! We all are a little off because of our different Aquisition Disorders. Lol!

Let's have a group hug!



Also, let's have some great October shaves and fellowship.

Sincerely,

Joe (Trigger)

 

I’m in with a pledge to at the very least, alternate every other shave with an open comb razor

 

OCtober isss my favorite shave month because..best time of year for fall scents,plus i love gillette OC razors.truly their best era.. it will be a full on OC month,DE and SE

 

This month I will hit a significant milestone in my wetshaving journey. On October 18th, I will have 500 traditional straight razor shaves and 500 shavette shaves that will total 1,000 open blade shaves. Technically, if I count shavette shaves as straight razor shaves, then I can say that I have 1,000 straight razor shaves. I only need 9 more straight razor and 9 more shavette shaves to hit that milestone. So for the next 18 days, I will be using open blade razors.
After the 18th, I will use my Mühle R102 and my GEM MMOC for the next 7 days. The rest of the month will be whatever suits my fancy.

 

I like your plan Charlie.

 

I always enjoy your collection Gary.

 

thank you Joe.while it's old news to most of our 30 dc followers it still cool that i have a place to be.,., once we are gone,well that's it..we are gone.count your blessings and lucky stars..

 

You should be very proud of your Gillette treasures Gary.

 

well we all know about Pride.. but i am thankful to be the latest caretaker of the collection..

 

good evening gents..​

 

Another great introduction Joe.

 

1st October 2023.



​

Shaving Recipe for today.

Prep: Warm shower:/Nivea Men Power 24H Fresh Effect Shower Gel.

Pre:
Cold wet flannel to my face & head.
Wrights Coal Tar Bar Soap.
Brush: Wilkinson Sword Synthetic.
Bowl Lather.
Bowl: Home Bargains Stainless Steel Side Bowl.
Lather: Gillette Original Scent Shave Foam. (Red)
Blade: Gillette London Bridge. (D1)
Razor: FaTip Grande.

Post:
Cold water face wash with brush squeezing's, Cold Water Face Rinse. /Homemade (~Autumn/Winter mix~) peppermint lavender, eucalyptus, + Tea Tree essential Oils Mixed Together With 200ml of Care+Witch Hazel./L'0REAL Barber Club Reinforcing ASB./Milton Lloyd London 2000 EdP.

Greetings,

Open-Comb October focus month.

I will be using the FaTip Grande & Parker 24C paired together with the Gillette London Bridge blades for my face shaves and continue to use the Gillette Guard for my head shaves for October. Starting off with the assertive FaTip Grande fitted with the GLB was a great duo mowing through my stubble with effortless ease. I forgot how smooth & assertive this razor is.

I received two cans of Gillette shave foam ( red) & sensitive (green) with many other gifts from family & friends for my 60th birthday in June and out of respect & courtesy to them I'll start to give them a try out.

I gave the can a good shake for a minute or so then put a more than generous dollop in to my shaving bowl, Its hard to control the amount that comes out once you have pressed the release cap. The foam was far too thick with no slickness on release but with the wet synthetic brush adding a small amount of water I started to mix gradually which turned the foam into a workable shave cream with good residual slickness protection without dissipating or drying out in the bowl or on my face in-between each pass.

The post shave was very acceptable with no dryness or irritation to my skin. I'll be honest, I didn't expect a canned shave foam to give such good results. Mixing the foam in the bowl with the synthetic brush and additional water was the the key to it's performance. I will continue to use foam with the rest of my shaves throughout the week and try out the sensitive version in next week shaves.

Finishing the shave off a with a few small squirts of Milton Lloyd London 2000 EdP to the pulse points.

My face is feeling super smooth & smelling divine.

Keep safe and enjoy your Sunday ladies & gentlemen.

 

awesome Barry

 

Thanks Barry.

 

I think your wetshaving experience helped you with getting a good shave, despite using shaving foam. As we always say, "Technique trumps tools." Enjoy your afternoon.

 

SOTD 20231001 Giallo

ischiapp.blogspot.com​

 

"Technique trumps tools.".. Absolutely correct Joe, whatever the soft/hardware. Something we all forget from time to time. Enjoy your Sunday.

 

Thank you Gary.

 

Love Stirling Satsuma Pierpaolo.