April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

That is an awesome looking razor. The Portlands get such praise. I have a Hydra coming from them with a shortened blade, to make it sized more like kami or a feather. It has been nearly six weeks, so I am impatiently looking for a shipping confirmation.......

I know there are a lot of schools of thought on stropping, but I do 60 ish on the leather before shaving. More the first time after touching up the blade. The way you are doing it laying it down like that, I don't see how you could hurt it by doing a few more.

 

Thanks, Clint. Omega 10066 is on order and inbound from Maggards along with some AS samples and tucks of Russian blades just for giggles. (Pretty sure that's as much levity as they get in Russia, but what do I know?) fisticuffs averted. Nothing to see here…

 

One of my favorite boar knots. If I didn't already have one in a custom wooden handle..... Maybe a pair of them would look cool.

 

Beautiful picture, Mark!

 

After seeing this pic, I shimmed up my elite manchurian a bit. Bigger, softer, better. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

I haven't done anything to oil them yet except rub my palm on them.

I don't know if it helped anything except my confidence when I bought a paddle strop, but it really let me focus and see what I was doing. Your laying it down would do the same thing. If nothing else it let me know I wasn't doing any damage to it with my hanger. So with that boost in my step, I started stropping more laps, and it seemed like my edges were keener. Who knows, I am only a couple of months into this, so it is still a major learn factor.

 

Today was a good shave.

-Schick E3 Injector with Schick Blade
- Maggard's 24mm Synthetic Brush
- Conk's Pre-Shave Oil
- Stirling Pharaoh's Dreamsicle soap

And for the post...
- Thayer's Witch Hazel
-Alum
- Conk's High Desert Breeze Lotion

No shave yesterday (no work), so once again I am faced with two days stubble. In an effort to avoid lather drying out on me, I decided to take a different tactic. I soaked my brush, but instead of shaking it out I went right to work on the Stirling soap. It didn't take long for the suds to start foaming and sloshing out, so much that I had to pour some of it out. But I kept working, and more came, so I decided to transfer it all into my shaving mug to finish it off. So much lather, so little face.

I did two passes, WTG/ATG and then some touchups. First pass went well, but I got a tiny weeper on my chin. Don't know how, because I was actually looking real close when I was shaving that part. I got a second weeper not far from the first on the second pass, but that one I felt. For my touchups, I decided to first do some with some lather, applying it where I could still feel some stubble. After that, i rinsed and dried my face, and then splashed on some WH for a few more touch ups. Worked like a charm.

I decided to test the alum, and it was 90% quiet. The only place it burned was where I knew it would, on the neck where I had touched up with some witch hazel, and then was foolish and touched up some more. But it silenced quickly.

Some Conk's high desert breeze lotion to round things out while I cleaned up the area, and then some spritzes from Invictus (my favorite cologne) and I'm ready to go watch the Blues beat the Wild.

 

I bought a set of the Welsh Slates on Ebay that a guy sees talked about a lot. It is three stones with approximate grits of 8,12 and 15k. Of course naturals don't have a grit rating so it is all guesswork for me. I am sure Glen or Kevin could run a blade across one once and say "it's around a 10", all I know it they actually do a pretty good job. Those were $60 shipped from the UK.

I have a 1/6k King stone which sells for about $30 on Amazon. So basically I have a full progression that cost me a little under $100.

I have also been experimenting with lapping film, and it is a ridiculously cheap way to do it, and it works insanely well. I built a little base out of hockey glass plastic and some rubber feet I found in my junk drawer. It cost me $3.



You can buy enough lapping film to refresh razors for years with a sawbuck.

So my answer would be that like all things wet shaving, it is only as expensive as you make it.

 

AFAIK

 

Top grade #1 boar brush. Putting the knot in a similar shaped handle Crafted by Jim @Jayaruh ? Priceless!

My hesitation, too. I've seen a few hones in my travels. Only invested in a Barbers hone so far. Not suitable for setting a bevel - it's a ceramic type, but not a great finisher either. With my straights in disrepair for lack of proper sharpening it's time to ship em out, or go shopping and get my stones wet.

 

They both look terribly abrasive and you should just PIF to someone

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Adjustable April Focus

Palmolive Classic Stick, JR#130 Cypress & Synthetic
1959 Gillette #195 Fat Boy, Dorco ST-301 Platinum SS
Alum block, rinsed off, and Proraso Refresh Lotion


The Soap Pass around samples haven't been making my rotation lately. I sniffed a few and selected the light green sweet smelling sample without knowing what it was. Not knowing it was from a stick I placed 1/2 the sample in the Osaka suribachi and set about whipping up a fine glossy. Good glide, nice scent, and I used very little of the chunk stuck to the textured bowl. All the Dorco chatter had me curious. This is one of those "Buy blades as a Newbie/ Don't like em/ Set them aside/ Revisit later" stories. Been too long to recall my thought from Newbdom. Today's efforts started at #9 for WTG, same for ATG, down shifted to #6 for XTG, G-slides, and lots of extra lather clean up passes. Between the great performance of the Stick soap sample & my improved Technique I could make these Dorco's work for daily use. Scored one little leaker on my chin that left a bright red spot in the light green lather but sealed up on alum swipe. No excessive heat there either. I won't say there are my favorite blades, but I can purchase locally so I got that going for me.
Good Shaves Y'all!

 

APShaveCo (find them on Etsy.com) knots aren't for everyone. I started my wet shave journey with brand new scritchy Omega & VDH boar brushes. Tried a few (to me too floppy) badgers, eventually learning about fine tuning those by setting them deeper for more backbone. Then, like Neal, picked up a synthetic. Huh?!? These things are top notch! There have been 3 or 4 generation of bristle type. I'm gonna say the Tuxedo is 5th Gen. Imagine a brush that has enough backbone to load a hard soap, but isn't so springy it flings lather around. Soft tips? With absolutely no breaking in time or animal stink the best part is you only feel the lather. The bristles are there... but you don't "feel" them.
Well worth the investment and wait time going through Customs from Canadia to the USA.
(This Product Endorsement is my own opinion. I purchased my knot.)

 

Great looking razor Charlie.


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I may refurb a bush so thank you for the in depth info!

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/371583111830?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

You can buy from this seller in grits from 1k to 30k. I have not set a bevel with it, but having used it from 8k up, I see no reason it wouldn't work just fine. Cut it into 3x5-6" strips, put it on top of a piece of paper on a flat base and you're a honemeister in training.

A cheap way to keep you going while you hunt down some rocks.

 

Well if you don't mind I might do exactly the same.


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It's worth the price of entry just for customizing something yourself! Gives the brush a little history and personality, in my opinion.

 

Like someone said recently on this thread, "mediocre minds think alike"! I say go for it. (Although if I like the spiffy blue omega handle enough, I may fall back to the Tuxedo recommendation from @PickledNorthern or go in on the power buy on the other synth.) So many mediocre minds to align with today I'm like a deer in headlights right now. Guess I'll wait for the brush to arrive and see what general direction the other lemmings are charging once it gets here. This one may be an audible called in by my buddy Peyton...

 

Humm, been a while since I broke in a boar knot.
Cashmere...Omega #10066. Now I'm conflicted!
At least I'm not mentally divergent.
Anyone seen my bunny slippers?

Hunnng! Get outta my chair!