April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Great photo. The MdC Fougere was originally a limited edition soap but now it is available all the time.

http://savonnerie-martin-de-candre.com/en/home/263-savon-a-raser-fougere-.html

 

C'mon Col., figure something out an' jump in(at least it won't be out of a perfectly good aircraft).

 

I'm baaack starting tomorrow. Saturday is a no shave day. I'll be auditioning blades for the Travel Razor that @Sparrow donated to the raffle. Gonna lead off with the 7 o'clock Blacks he included. Can't wait

 

Thank you!

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The Soap: Stirling Baker St
The Razor: Gillette Old Style short comb frankenrazor
The Brush: RazoRock Plissoft Big Bruce
After Care: Clubman Pinaud

My first go with the the old style was less than stellar, and I felt up for a challenge today. When I first started, it felt a bit tuggy. I pulled out the Treet blade that was in it and swapped it out for a new Lord. Much better. The Stirling did its thing, and I made it through two passes. I finally found an acceptable angle. For a razor with virtually zero blade gap, I really can feel the blade on it. I had to ride the cap pretty hard and keep the touch super light. I won't say it was an exceptionally comfortable shave, but I did end up with a very close shave in the end. I think I will be working with this one some to see if I can make it a keeper. Soccer with 5 yr olds to ensue, and that's always hilarious. Then my Gamecocks play in the Final Four, so it looks to be a pretty exciting day. I have suffered through 40 years of mediocrity, so this season has exceeded expectations no matter how it plays out from here.

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The shipping is not as bad if you buy more than one item or go in with a buddy to order multiple things. With the exchange rate it is cheaper to buy from MdC and ship than buy in the US

 

April 1 - First lather with Arko

'57 SS Flare
Voskhod
Dark Chocolate brush(JR#148)
DIY PSO
Arko
Alum/Thayers WH/ Nivea SPSB

For April I will be changing the rules to Anthing Available April. I have lots of samples on the way and several razors to try so why not aim to use whatever is available and have some fun!!!

Decided to give Arko a try after all The suggestions. Chris sent me some a while ago and I have been saving it for a trip. Having determined how much my demitasse spoon contains, I used it to take a sample of soap on the order of 1.5-2gr of soap and pressed it thinly into my bowl. Wet the brush well and made tons of lather. I mean tons! The more water I added, the more lather was created. It got to the point of completely overfilling the bowl. It was very thick, possibly thicker than any I have created to date. My 4.5" bowl was full to the rim and then some. It looked very shiny and extra thick and dense.

Since anything goes, I grabbed the newly acquired Super Speed Flare tip. It is the regular silver one, not a red. Using a Voskhod I found it to be rather buzzy and somewhat scratchy in action. I guess this is proof I did not get the angle correct. 3 passes and a little touch up and I got the baby nearly perfect. Since it is the weekend, I did not push further. For a first SS shave, it was excellent. The only downside was a cut trying to clean my upper lip near the nose on the final pass.

Arko was great in shine, density and thickness but failed for me in slickness, scent and moisturizing. My face felt dry after each pass and I felt no residual slickness after the lather was removed. The scent reminded me of medicinal baking soda. It was not bad nor strong but not good either. It was just there and slight. On each pass I added more and more water trying to improve the slickness but I never got it with my rather soft water.

As for quantity, here is a photo of how much lather was left after my 3.5 passes and final watering down.



Almost lost the brush in it! Also, I never squeezed out was was still loaded in the brush.

Again, I find the Voskhods ok but not my best. Will need to retry this razor with an Astra SP.

Alum was slightly stinging and later when I applied the WH, it relit the alum again. Shave was very close but I haven't found the best angle yet.

 

"perfectly good aircraft"? Try jumping with the West Virginia Air National Guard. We went in on a night jump in the old C 119s (no longer in service). I remember sitting there waiting for them to find the drop zone - which they missed by over half mile (but thats another story) - and in the red glow of the jump light - watching the rivets rotate in their sockets and the sheet metal bending. I was never so happy to exit an aircraft.

 

April 1

Gillette Old Type w Sharp Star (1)
Jeeves of Hudson St Apothecary
TGN Boar/ Maple Handle
Thayers Unscented
Barrister's Reserve Cool AS

Day 1 of the Canadian Old Type focus. No serial #, with CAN PAT Mar 7 05 on the band above the ball end. Started with the Sharp Star this time. Will also run Astra SP, Polsilver SI and Voskhod through the razor this month with a rotation of soaps.

Got a little nostalgic, I guess. Realized I'm using a razor that is around 100 years old. We live in a house that is 110 years old and I think it is kind of cool to shave with a razor from the same vintage. We have quite a few knick knacks from that time period and I thought I'd photograph the razor this week with some antiques from its time- some big, some small. First up is a 1910s time clock from a pulp mill town (which is now a ghost town) where my grandmother lived as a young woman. It has been handed down through my uncle to me.

As for the shave, I was prepared for the worst after hearing how aggressive the razor could be. Whipped up a slick lather with the Jeeves and my big boar, rode the cap and had a nice, blood-free 3 pass shave. It did have my full and undivided attention, though. One thing I did notice is that this is a loud razor- no problem getting feedback. FWIW, this was also the first time I'd used an Open Comb shaver.

I did have some redness on my neck and lower jawline but I would call this a DFS. Will spend the month improving technique with this beautiful old razor, but I think I'm off to a decent start. Finished with the Reserve Cool. These Reserve ASs are quality products.

Have a great weekend all!

 

April 1, 2017...

- Feather Popular TTO with Polsilver Super Irdium
- Simpson Case Best Badger
- Dr. Jon's Savannah Sunrise Soap
- Alum + Stirling Margarita's in the Arctic

So the prep was like normal, a nice shower. I didn't use any pre-shave oil, but I think I will tomorrow. Not using it I haven't seen a difference, and I'm a routine guy so it will go back into use. The Dr. Jon's soap, this has been the easiest soap to lather in my limited experience. I had the brush soaking in some hot water while I showered, and gave it four flicks in the sink. Started swirling on the soap and suds just started forming. I had to get rid of some of it to keep it from getting anywhere before it started looking good. I then went to my face and started lathering directly on the face. Real nice and easy like. Scent wise, it was stronger than my previous soaps, but not room filling.

As for the razor... It is definitely different from what I was using before. The (mostly) plastic construction made it feel like a toy, like going from a M1 Garand to a M4 carbine. The plastic comb was also different, and something to get used to. I did three passes that were so-so, my first being that "Gillette Slide." After three passes, not a single nick. But still some stubble. So I went and did touch ups, just using water. My first nick came when I was touching up under the chin, which I will blame on too much pressure.

It will take some time getting used to this, the angle and pressure. I took a low grip on, so we will see what tomorrow brings for the razor.

The alum wasn't terrible, I was expecting fire under the chin from what I was really touching up, and I got it. And the Margaritas in the Arctic set fire to whatever hairs were left (oh if it were only that easy), for the faux BBS shave.

 

The old "Flying Boxcar"(hey, I built a lot of models when I was a kid). By the way is it true Sgt. York was your jumpmaster on that evolution?

 

SOTD April 1, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick adjustable injector
Brush: Surrey badger
Lather: Arko
Post: Witch hazel splash, Stirling Piacenza aftershave
WTG, touch-up

Arko Adjustable shave! I haven't used Arko in quite some time. I remarked on Chris's challenge thread that I have better performing soaps and it has been relegated to the third string. Today's shave was actually really good with my homemade Arko stick. I only rubbed on a little bit. The Surrey badger made TONS of lather with just a little bit of soap on my face. My previous attempts with a shave stick were not great and I am certain I was using too much soap.

One big pass with touch-up and I'm smooth and clean. I'm really pretty surprised at the lather and the quality from the Arko. Maybe I'll use it again some this month!

Have a great day!

 

Mother Natures April Fools Prank.

Razor: Merkur 34C
Blade: Personna 74 Tungsten Plus (1)
Brush: Elite Razor Tres Amigos Desert Ironwood Beehive w/Envy White
Soap: Route High Mountain Mist
Aftershave: Folsom & Co. Capri
Bowl: Symmetrical Blue & Lt. Purple Dottie Bowl

Needless to say I was a little surprised this morning. Very good 3 passes with a light touch up this afternoon.
I will work in an adjustable this month. I may even try some Arko.

 

@clint64 - I've been wondering if your commute or travel has been affected by the I-85 collapse in Atlanta? That's a terrible deal.

 

Excellent photo Clint.

 

My commute is not directly affected. However indirectly the entire northern ark has been impacted with people using I-285 as an alternative. This is going to be worse than the 96 Olympics.


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That's a cruel prank but a great photo.


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Thank you Doug.


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Thanks very much Amigo.

 

He was - he had just graduated from the 82 nd ABN Jump Master School. The old Flying Box car wasn't a bad design for jumping. The tail booms were high and above the fuselage so when you came out the door you were away from the aircraft immediately. Unlike C 141s, C 17s, and C 130s where if you don't really push off, you run the risk of scraping/bouncing along the side of the aircraft. That C119 jump was the only one I had from that aircraft - they were being retired at the time. Those were the times when life was good. I'm going to go listen to "Blood On the Risers" now.