April 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Avon!

 

Cool bottle...didn't catch it at a glance! Nice new avatar!

 

Arko April!!!



Arko!!!
GSB (2)
Cadet OC
L'Occitane Plisson
Cold Water - Alum
TSD Exclusive AS Splash - Iced SubZero
The Veg

Getting it back to automatic!
Happy Hump Day!​

 

Almost time to start a new thread....

 

Yes it is. April flew by!

 

I am thinking actually that I will be doing a rule. Either a new injector or the ferocious Cadet OC. And maybe a little mayhem, or maybe not.

Ideas for a poll?

 

For the month? Well since it's MAYhem you could poll which one of us using aggressive/straight or just bad razors will suffer the most physical harm. LOL I'm wanting to try a Cadet from what everyone keeps saying. Sounds like a great choice of an aggressive shave.

 

I got better angles on the cadet tonight and let me tell you...it's a close shaver. Ride the cap with a little skin stretch and it's possible to get the Grail shave, IMHO. Maybe I should go for that.

 

Bama Samurai and the Rule Quest for the Holy Grail!

 

Hmmm...pondering...

 

The Cadet is in my top 3 DEs.

 

04/29/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade –Feather Super Pro (4)
Brush –Rudy Vey with TGN Finest
Lather – Strop Shoppe Baker Street
Post - Witch Hazel and Floid Amber Sample



Very near BBS 2 pass shave this morning. I was a little careless with and ended up with a nick above my lip. I have to remember that these Super Pro blades make the razor more aggressive. The SS Baker Street was easy to lather and paired well with the Floid Amber.

 

Arko April Focus - CJB Kamisori
April 29, 2015 - Week 5 Day 4
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - VDH Boar
Soap - St. Charles Shave Sandalwood
Razor - '46 Gillette Aristocrat
Blade - (1)
Post - Alum, Nivea Replenishing Post Shave Balm

Finishing the month with a couple of comfy shaves. Pulled out the Aristocrat and a Voskhod and decided to try the St. Charles Shave Sandalwood soap I got a few weeks ago. I've tried some practice lathers with it but never shaved with it. It's a bit difficult to get a lather from it but it is very slick once you get it going. the lather seems to dissipate quickly but if you add some more water to it while loading the brush it seems to perform better. Great scent and no issues. Finished with a nice quiet alum and the Nivea balm just to help smooth things out and quiet the few areas I've left rough after a month of straight work. Nice shave and I'll do it again tomorrow. Now, I've had three hours sleep after a late night at work and off to do more!

​

 

I worked with my Cadet OC on a prior 30 day focus. Put a sharp blade in that thing and spend some time with it! It will get you as close to the "grail shave" as anything out there in the DE world possibly can. Or it may send you to meet your maker and see The Grail in person.

Either way, it will be entertaining for the rest of us

I took delivery of a new Mongoose B2 on Monday, and plan to quickly work my way up to the dreaded Feather Supers. You may not be the only one contributing to the bloodletting for this years Mayhem!

 

April 29th , SOTD (Shave 13 and last shave of this focus)
Three days’ growth
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor Feather Artist Club SS non-folding with Kai Mild blade w/guard (2nd shave on blade)
Razor Finish: Gillette Red Tip- B2 (1956)
DE Blade: Shark- Stropped 30 times per edge (1st shave on blade)
Soap: Barrister & Mann's Bay Rum
Brush: Tulip Wood Brush- TGN Best Badger Knot 22mm x 54mm loft
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block, Styptic Pencil
Aftershave: Pinaud Clubman

Decided to go back to the Feather Artist Club SS for my last shave of April. It’s amazing much more confident I felt with it after four shaves with a true straight. I did my N/S pass, and honestly had a CCS, almost DFS on one pass. Did a S/N pass that went great. Since I have been focusing so much on the angle of the blade with the straights, I found it much easier to do a steeper angle with the Feather. Two passes with the feather, I had a DFS, almost a BBS. Decided to use the Red Tip to get the trouble spots. J-hooking away on my neck, and felt the bite, right before the blood started. Got a pretty solid cut on my neck, below my ear. I decided to wear a red shirt to work today, so I didn’t have to worry about blood on a light colored collar. First deep cut this month, and I did it with the safety razor.
So for my focus for April:
1) Use my badger brush. This was my least favorite brush, but I think it was because I wasn’t using it right. It needs a large bowl to build a lather in. It will face lather like a champ. It also needs more water than my other brushes.
2) Razors- Artist Club and Red Tip. Used the Artist Club for 9 shaves this month, and a true straight for 4 shaves. Every time I have stepped up to a new type of razor, it has made be more confident in the types I have used before. At the beginning of the month, I was using a 45 degree angle on the Feather, today I used between 25 and 30. And I didn’t over think it, I just did it. Red Tip- Using the Feather and straights has changed my mind on what an aggressive razor means to me. This is a solid performer, and will definitely stay in my rotation, but I don’t feel it is overly aggressive.

What I learned in April:
1) Arko burns. Apparently my skin doesn’t like something in this soap.
2) Canned shaving cream is horrible, especially if you have been using good stuff for several years. Just don’t.
3) SWMBO gets final call on soap and aftershave scents.
4) W&B post 1890 Straight Razor- This thing kicks butt! Honestly, it’s more difficult to use in the sense of stropping and concentration required to shave, but I really enjoyed my straight razor shaves.
5) I need to build a travel kit. It will include at a minimum, DE Razor, Kamasori Style replaceable blade razor, soap mug, travel brush, small strop, blades, styptic pencil, and an extra rock of alum. Hopefully I won’t forget stuff again.

 

Congrats on the B2 Mongoose. I look forward to following your progress during May. Based off of your previous use of injectors, I think you'll be surprised how intuitive the Mongoose is to use.

 

Aggressive April - Day 20 (4/29/15)



Prep: Hot shower
Soap: Arko
Brush: Omega 13522
Razor: Cadet OC
Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum
Post: Witch Hazel, Nivea Sensitive Balm
Scent: Tommy Bahama Very Cool

I feel like the Chrome Platinum is a very sharp blade. Cut myself under my nose just placing the razor, before I even started to shave there! Decent 2 pass WTG & XTG shave. Had that cut and a little irritation. We'll see how she does tomorrow.

 

Thanks Clint, and you are correct. I am two uses in and think I'm hooked already. I am going to start off May with a review thread, than jump right into Mayhem with you all!

 

What would the other two be?

 

Do I seek the Grail from the OC? No idea yet, but in the meantime...

!!NEW!! May 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic-Discussion Thread is up and ready for a new month. Spread the good word!