April 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

April 16

Stirling Sheep facial soap
Merkur 37C slant bar razor
Feather blade (day 1)
Kent BK8 silvertip badger brush
D.R. Harris Almond shave cream & glycerin
Two passes
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, & unrefined shea butter

Just for something different, I shaved after work today (instead of before like I normally do) and used D.R. Harris Almond shave cream instead of Arko. I also used a smidge of castor oil as a PSO. I love the smell of this cream, and I had a nice shave. Based on my limited experience, I think Arko provides more protection and slickness than this cream. Back to Arko I go tomorrow!

I hope you all are having a great week!

 

Another great shave tonight. This is day 6 for the Lord platinum blade. I thought it left the neck a little rough tonight, but that could also have been me. I will try it again tomorrow, and see what the result is. I am curious to see if my gentle result is due to the arko, or better technique. I guess I will have to try the injectors with the arko, to see if I get better results than I have had in the past. Did I mention that I really like ARKO?

 

FB focus day 17

Homemade PS Oil
LA Toja Shave Stick
Vie-long Horsehair Brush
FB w/Astra SP set on 4
Tabac AS

It has been a while since I last used Astra, so I have tried to keep things consistent for a few days. Tomorrow, I will start adjusting the razor a bit.

 

My first USA made soap, not that impressed :/ In the razor is Rapira Swedish on its 2nd shave and I'm very satisfied with it, seems to perform better on the second shave

 

04/17/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade –Feather Pro (3)
Brush –Rudy Vey with Shavemac Finest
Lather – B&M Seville
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol F/Extra



All the stars aligned today for a fantastic work morning shave, very near a BBS. Since this is my first use of a B&M soap, I skipped any prep except for my morning shower. After blooming the soap, I whipped up a fantastic lather. Having noted that the soap could be thirsty, I added water to the brush as I face lathered. This is one seriously slick soap. In fact there was enough residual slickness to clean up the trouble areas with just water. The post shave feel was great and ended with just a splash of Witch Hazel followed by Myrsol F/Extra. Happy Friday everyone.

 

Arko April Focus - CJB Kamisori
April 17, 2015 - Week 3 Day 6
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Arko
Razor - CJB
Blade - (6)
Post - Alum, Clubman

Kamisori style again with the CJB. One hand, one side of the blade only. A couple of minor nicks on the left cheek and next to the goatee line while positioning my hand right. Otherwise a very decent shave. Due to time constraints I finished the last pass with the SS and Bic and finished DFS. All in all a good morning with the CJB.

 

Aggressive April - Day 10 (4/17/15)



Prep: Hot shower
Soap: TSD Barber Shoppe shave stick
Brush: Omega 13522
Razor: Cadet OC
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Post: Witch Hazel, Nivea Sensitive Balm
Scent: Tommy Bahama Very Cool

Great 2 pass shave today. WTG & XTG.

 

Congrats! Now back to the CJB!

 

Taskmaster.

 

So my focus is on the Feather Artist Club this month, but I think I am going to use a different razor tomorrow. Freshly back from getting honed and repined. Can I get a pass on this one?

 

Waited all week for my barber shop straight shave. It is certainly a dfs, but not BBS like I can get with my de setup. I will say that I'm now interested in at least trying to learn or spend a month of focus.

I'll post somewhere more appropriate on suggestions for first straight razors and reasons for each suggestion.
Cheers,
Eric

 

Certainly, you get a pass. How could you resist?

 

Well if you really feel it's necessary I'll let you have a pass this time.

 

April 17

Stirling Sheep facial soap
Merkur 37C slant bar razor
Feather blade (day 2)
Kent BK8 silvertip badger brush
Arko & glycerin
Two passes plus touch-ups
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Nivea Sensitive Post-Shave Balm

Enjoy the weekend!

 

Your new razor looks great! I look forward to reading your SOTD report tomorrow!

 

Friday night's shave was using the SuperSpeed, and a new Lord Platinum blade. The shave was good, and I realize that both DE razors are great..... I just have more experience with the Krona.... Here it is, 6 hours post shave and the face only has a little whisker action. A DFS to say the least.

 

Razor: Bluebeards Revenge
Blade: Wilkinson Black
Brush: WD Marble Handle Silvertip, 24/67
Cream: Bluebeards Revenge
A/S: Lucky Tiger

Day-14, Started shaving last night with a new Wilkinson Blade and it started pulling right away. Had to change the blade and everything went well. Still like the PSO, razor. brush, cream, and really like the The Lucky Tiger. Lucky Tiger also make a very good lip chap which I purchased when I bought the A/S.

 

FB focus day 18:

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling San Antonio SS
WD Silvertip
FB w/Astra SP set on 5
Stirling Glacial Lemon Chill AS

A couple of first time uses for me today. The San Antonio SS was great. The performance I expect from Stirling, and the scent is just great. It is like a unique candy, but not too sweet. A lot of fun. I also used the Glacial Lemon Chill AS for the first time. I have some Stirling Bay Rum, and this is the AS that burns the most of all of my AS, but I like it. The Glacial is no different, until that Menthol coolness kicks in. Then it is a bit of fire and ice: Fantastic! It is colder than the Osage Rub, so it moves to the top of that list. The scent is great as well. My face is still chilled.

I also dialed up one click on the FB. Good shave, but I am going to go one more tomorrow to see how that plays out.

 

Automatic!

 

Arko April!!

Late post for Day 2, blade three, 53 tech!
And plan for Saturday!
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Still on the road...took a detour through Alabama to see my family. Back to KY on Monday for a couple days. I used the Arko as a stick again and was still very impressed by the performance. The Tech is milder than the injectors I used for the last couple months, but provides really nice shaves with the vintage platinum plus...

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One thing I have really enjoyed this trip is Mennen Skin Bracer. I was a little lazy and just used the travel bottle I had filled with Skin Bracer. It's menthol blast is fairly potent...and besides, I like all things old school! @Jayaruh is where I got the idea to use the little spray bottles for AS, a great tip. He even makes cool labels for his spray bottles, you see them on SOTD often. I am loving this kit, and ready to have a great day here in Alabama!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
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