August 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

-Frederick Reynolds
-Vie Long White Horse
-Stirling Glacial Lemony Orange and Lime Soap
-Stirling Lemony Orange A.S.

@mrchick helped me pick my razor for the day, and @Douglas Carey 's awesome color coordinated, citrusy shaves made me want to do a little soap combining to get a full spectrum of citrus. The half a load of Glacial made for a nice chill without a hard freeze, so it was an enjoyable three pass ending in DFS territory.

 

Blades are cheap. No point on pushing one past its prime unless you are Focusing on that aspect. As to a FB on setting Neal? I use mine with any ole blade. Even Feathers. On Nine every time & three passes plus chin buffing & G-Slides. Maybe an error 1 out of 7 shaves. I did work my way up to that over several months. Whereever you comfort zone is - go past it one click until it's routine. Then click it again!

 

First shave of the week on a two day growth, crank it up to "9" for the first pass, "7" for the second and "5" for the third or half depending on how much reduction occurred. During the week, "8" "6" and "4"

 

Yep, agreed! And I'm not hurting for blades. Granted, I don't have the stash that many others do, but I'm not gonna run out of them for the next few years. I don't know why I keep using them so long. I'm not exactly a tightwad. I know that a FB dialed to max is nothing to many others, and if I had decent technique, it shouldn't be an issue for me either. I'll get better eventually! Some days I get great shaves without any problems whatsoever. Other days, it's a very minor weeper or two. Today was worse than normal - but I don't really have any irritation, despite the blood I drew on my neck. I'll admit it - I'm a slow student. But I keep on keepin' on!

 

Not true, Sir. It's not a race so take your time and find your Comfort Zone. If your best shave happens at 3 - enjoy it there. I took my time and challenged myself to keep upping the setting. Along the way I used straights, shavettes, and a Fatip that's notorious for punishing incorrect technique. I have learned to get a great beard reduction from a Red Tip because I took time with a Blue Tip & a Flare Tip. Not every shavers wants or needs razors on the aggressive side. I have found I do. Your Shave Journey is your own.

 

Nice razor choice Mine gives great shaves.

 

Very valid points! Although some days it can be frustrating, it's still enjoyable to learn a new skill!

 

Adjustable (Arko) August!!!

August 15 - Grand Blade Trials

Razor - 1959 (E4) Gillette Fatboy (63)
Blade - (2)
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush - Jayaruh #46
Post - Alum

Some research has paid off. I'm still trying to find out what's different about the Titan and Prime blades. I found out today that Prime blades have a Teflon coating as well as the platinum. Bang! That explains why I found them more to my liking as Teflon is my fave. However, the Titan is a fine blade too so far, and I'm running down the actual coatings on it. If anyone beats me to it let me know.

Tonight's run with the Titan was extremely smooth and effective. Very nice feel at the mid-range on the razor and no issues whatsoever. I keep checking the finish and I want to say the baby showed up. Then the next feel I think maybe not. Then the next one I say yep, he's here. Well, if I keep going back and forth it must be the baby. I'm calling a BBS. Very nice shave. And....the alum was quiet. An improvement over last night.

Head shave first tonight proved no challenge at all. Just a quality chrome dome courtesy of the Merkur 23c and Astra SP. It's a good night at Cartel Central.

 

Aug 13-15

Head and Face shaves

Prep is a shower or some witch hazel
Progress on 5 w/ Israeli Personna blades & Bic chromes
Simpson's best Commodore x1
Haslinger-seaweed & marigold, Derby, and Arko
Aqua Velva & British Sterling AS

I have been having more and more success with irritation free shaves while getting fine shave results. For me Astra greens are hard to beat due to the balance of sharpness and smoothness, but I am really liking the red Personnas and Bic chromes are running second behind the Personnas.

Great shaves everybody!!

 

4 times on one blade is generally my Max sometimes just 3

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks very much Jim.

 

Gem OCMM
Gem Stainless (4)
Chubbz (Rubberset 300n with Omega Baby Pro Knot)
Iced Orange Arko Shave Soap

14th shave in and feeling like I have the OCMM dialed in again. The shaves were not bad to start, but have gotten better. I am getting used to the thicker SE blade again and also fine tuning the muscle memory. They should only continue to improve over the next two weeks. Enjoy your day.

 

Fantastic citrus theme Jared.

 

August 16, 2017
OneBlade Genesis V2
Feather FHS (3)
“The Rowl” Shavemac D01 2 Band Flat Top
Mystic Water Lavender Lime
Myrsol Agua Balsamica

​

Well the big Shavemac Flat Top ate through the last of the MW Lavender Lime soap. At least I had a great slick lather for my 2 pass and 1/4 pass shave. Paying attention and skin stretching helped me get great results. My lower right neck is consistently better than it was even a couple of months ago. A splash of F&C Capri and I am ready for the day. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

 

Great shot, Clint!

 

After a few days with a Personna blade, I definteley prefer the Astra SP. They both get the job done. I just find the Astra SP to be smoother for me. That is all.

 

Thank you. My wife noticed I had used her figurine outside. I probably won't do that again.

 

SOTD August 16, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Personna injector
Brush: Surrey two-band badger
Lather: Reef Point Classic Barbershop
Post: Witch hazel, Reef Point Classic Barbershop aftershave
WTG, touch up

I continue on an unfocused focus for this month. I'm just rotating through various combinations and enjoying all of them. Today was no exception. This is the only Reef Point soap that I have and I really enjoy it. Slick and protective and lathers easily. Clean and refreshing scent as well. The Personna injector is quite mild but still works well for me. Overall a really nice shave to get through the middle of the week.

Hope you have a great day!

 

Wednesday morning August 16 - if at first you don’t succeed, repeat

Rockwell 6s on plate #3 / Topaz Platinum ( 1 )
Chinese hardwood boar reknotted with Maggards 24mm plissoft knot
Kent / MWF in wooden tub
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Alcohol-free Rose Petal

Yesterday, I was dismissive of this brush handle's aesthetics and then managed to bloody myself with the Rockwell on a "safe" plate setting. So I repeated the setup.

First, I realized I was unfair to the brush. The problem wasn't that the piece of wood had little or no grain pattern, the problem was that it had been "finished" with a thin coat of shiny, opaque, chintzy varnish that was flaking to boot. So last night, I sanded off the varnish (with almost no effort at all, incidentally), then refinished the handle with an oil/wax coating for salad bowls. I now have a very handsome little handle with a strong grain pattern very similar to the ones on Jason's figured maple handles. I don’t think the wood is maple, but it's some sort of similarly grained hardwood. And is now fully worthy of a plissoft quality knot.

The brush whipped up an excellent lather from the Fat. I then shaved a little more carefully today, paid attention to my skin stretching, and was rewarded with a two pass near BBS without irritation or blood.

Today's set up, including the newly improved brush. Also my assistant testing the water quality for me - a 16-year-old Siamese pretty much does what she wants:

 

After two weeks of the Fat, I was ready for something new. Time to get out my favorite soap. I absolutely love the easy slick lather I get with Route 66. Other than a small nick, this was an excellent shave.
Route 66 Sweeney Todd Soap
Jayaruh #155 Brush
Art Razor Le Chef Razor
Lucky Tiger
Pinaud Clubman Special Reserve
Have fun!