DEC 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Ok so day 3 and my focus this month is technique. I realized today I need to get the mindset of letting the razor do its job and only make a single pass with each swipe of the razor. In other words, I've noticed that i will think any certain area needs to be hit repeated times and what I should be doing is hit everything with one stroke of the blade for each of the passes (wtg, xtg, atg) that i make.

To often when i slide the blade across my face, i have the tendency to think it didnt cut anything and so ill swipe it again and again when in reality, it did its job the first time and all im doing is irritating my skin.

My technique and shaves have improved drastically in the kast 3 weeks since i used a DE razorfor the first time. I'm looking forward to that time i spend shaving instead of dreading it. I cant wait to see what its going to be like in another 3 weerks haha.

Oh and shave consist of:

Gillette fatboy
TAylor sandalwood cream
Nivea sensitive AS balm

 

Thankfully, I am in the early stages of my DE shaving so I have not spent much on brushes. The VDH boar was obviously pretty cheap included in the deluxe set and the AOS was PIF'ed to me by someone who face lathers and wanted to see if it would work better for a bowl latherer. Well, I can say that the AOS is not terrible having spent all of last month with it, but I will say that there is a very good chance it will get PIF'ed on to someone else after using the Stirling.

I have a handle that is in need of a knot (probably 20 or 22) and I am trying to determine which knots that are out there such as the Ubersoft the AMack4Shaving the Whipped Dog or others are most similar. I would love a smaller one to use for travel since the Kong really is a massive brush!

 

+1 to all of it!

 

Congratulations on making one of the leaps forward in DE shaving, recognizing the need to just let the razor do its job. @Bama Samurai looks like we have a quick learner here!

I switched from carts to the DE razors over the summer. This was one of the big lessons I had to learn as well. With the carts, irritation was a given no matter what I did. So the fact I added a little irritation by going over a place several times did not seem like a big deal. It of course made shaving much less enjoyable, but I really had to go over the area several times to get it smooth. With DE shaving, getting the technique down and realizing things have to be done a little different (albeit simpler when you get right down to it) makes a huge difference!

Keep it up and that shave you get 3 weeks from now will be a great shave compared to anything you have had before!

 

I'm right there with both sentiments. I picked up the Kong as well during the recent Stirling sale and love it!
Had just purchased a couple of vintage brushes for aesthetic value so they'll all get time in the rotation.

 

It's going to be amazing in three weeks. Nice Work! You've got it!

 

I picked up Stirling's new smaller version called Li'l Brudder. Here they are side by side for comparison.

It fits perfectly in the medicine bottle making it perfect for travel.

 

Yep, that is exactly what I am wanting! Thanks for the visual! I know something I am asking for for Christmas!

 

Whoa if you're a newbie and you're realizing this so soon after beginning the journey, then you are light years beyond where I was at that point. Though I did all I could to focus on technique, I was guilty of repetitive strokes. Once I steeled myself to refrain, I got a better sense of my technique and was moving faster through the learning curve. Now, I try to think about just a slight overlap to parallel strokes so I don't miss any spots.

Good luck!

 

Day 2 - DEcember 2015

Planned Shave - 3 December 2015


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Day three on tap with the DeFitch. Looking forward to another nice shave. This razor was a cool little discovery, and is suitable for shavers if all experience and skill levels. I will catch this shave in a couple of hours...but until then, more work to be done on the prairie. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a great afternoon!

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I'm sure that would have happened to me if I hadn't started with the 30 Day Rule group.

 

It happened to me. GDCarrington pointed it out to me and that's how this group actually started, as I realized there was no organized discussion of the 30 Day concept.

 

+100 for me!

AND...that the core group that's here now was there at the time when I joined.

30 Day Rule Concept + 30 DayCrew = the best start any wet shaver can have!

 

You mean those of us who are just perpetually bored and come here to escape reality. Yep, that's us. Plus, the virtual couch is comfy.

 

and the cookies, and the popcorn and the SHENANIGANS!!!

 

Yeah . . . ALL that!

 

December Focus

The Twelve Blades of December!

Hard to believe we've almost put this year to bed. Wow. Where did the time go? But, here we are and as a gift to everyone here I'm offering up my shaves with twelve blades that have never touched my face, randomly paired with twelve of my DE razors. Two shaves with each setup to finish on Xmas Eve. So, sit back, get the fire burning and enjoy what I hope is an enjoyable month of further proof Technique Trumps Tools. I hope for that....my expectations aren't as optimistic.

December 3

Razor - '46-'47 Gillette Aristocrat
Blade - (1)
Brush - Vie-Long 12601 - The Pony
Soap - Tabac
Post - Cold water, Alum, Aqua Velva Ice Blue

Welcome to Thursday! Short day today for me as I transition to a new job (didn't I just do that?) and I needed a great shave today. So, of course, rather than switch off of the plan I'll just have to see if I can do it with the gear at hand. The Prime Platinum with it's classy looking moustache on the wrapper. Has to be a quality blade right? Well, it's made by our South Korean friends, Dorco. So immediately there is a bit of distrust. Now, full disclosure, I've never used a Dorco blade but common wisdom based on reading SOTD's and other reviews is that they are not a top blade. Not by a long shot. Some have expressed their satisfaction with them but the majority says no way. The Prime Platinum is a different offering than their standard ST-300 series though so we'll see.

The razor is the Aristocrat, the best DE I own, IMHO, and a solid performer in almost every case. If a blade can make the Aristocrat a bad shave it's saying how horrible the blade really is. The Pony and Tabac today for a great lather. It's all up to the Prime now. First stroke was surprisingly smooth, if a bit ineffective. Not horrible on reduction but no better than the Centwin. After the first pass it felt very similar to a mid-level blade like Derby. Not horrible again, but could be better. Lather up for the XTG and work through it and I'm still not DFS. Close, but not there. Full lather, full third pass to finish with a nice mid-range DFS. Nothing to be overly excited about but it's a solid, nice, comfortable shave. Like the Centwin (and the Derby) this blade delivered an acceptable shave with no discomfort, and the alum proved to be mild as well. All in all you can't complain about that. No fancy bells and whistles, but a journeyman shave in the Aristocrat. We'll see how it performs in its second day of use, but for now I can't complain. Three decent shaves in a row on a blade trial month? Didn't see that one coming!

 

Razor: Merkur 38C Barber Pole
Blade: Wilkinson (4)
Brush: Omega 10066 Boar
Soap: Route 66 Barbershop Hop
A/S: TSD Iced Barber Shoppe

Excellent shave tonight with this combination. The 38C gives a good shave, however, I'm not sure if I like how it feels in my hand. The Route 66 Barbershop Hop is a great shaving soap that building into a great slick lathe. TSD Iced Barber Shoppe is a very good A/S. I added a little M Bomb to it just for fun.

 

I normally don't go back and follow up on shaves but I wanted to revisit the Durham Duplex from Sunday and Monday. I was aware that the original blades with the razor are carbon steel, and in fact the razors were sold with a stropping attachment so you could strop the blade as needed to keep it going. Mine did not have the attachment with it, and most don't anymore as many were lost because, apparently, people forgot what they were and what they were for as safety razors took over the market. Since I used a new Personna Durham Duplex blade I didn't consider what it was made of, I suppose assuming stainless steel.

As you may recall I used the razor two days. I didn't remove the blade between shaves, but I did dry the razor and put it in front of the small fan on my desk to allow it to dry between shaves, and overnight Monday. I finally took it apart last night to put it away and here's what I found.



Talk about a rust machine! Wow. This may explain a lot about the quality of the shave, or lack thereof. Definitely not a high quality blade, and that kind of rust is almost a scary thing. I'm tempted to put in one of the originals at some point and see if they are equally low quality, but I suspect they were.

 

Congrats on a great start. What brush are you using?