DEC 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Neal, congratulations on your first TSD anniversary and your first conventional straight razor shave! I've enjoyed following along on your shaving journey over the past year!

I baked a cake, so we're putting the cookies aside for the day.

 

Yikes! I just realized that when the tour box was here, I shaved with the straight razor bare footed. I never gave it a thought. I always shave bare foot. Something to consider in the future.

 

Thanks! Cake for everyone!

 

Congrats on the one year anniversary. Looking forward to the next year.

 

Beautiful photo, Doug! Did you get much snow?

 

Another great photo Doug. You my friend are on a roll.

 

December 20

Z3 Gillette Super Speed
Feather (1)
Semogue 830
Route 66 Lumberjack
Two passes plus touch-ups
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Floid Vigoroso

I enjoy using my flair tip Super Speed. It's very intuitive, and I consistently get near-BBS shaves with no irritation. Yesterday, I went ATG on my lower neck for both passes, giving me a much closer shave. I tried it again today, and I plan to make this part of my normal routine. I can go ATG on both passes due to the mildness of the razor combined with frequent rinsing of the head. With the limited blade exposure, I figure anything I can do to keep the blade edge cleaned off will help the shave.

I'm usually three and out with my DE blades. I lost count yesterday, so I changed the last one after only two shaves. That bad decision cost me nearly a dime! The Semogue 830 and the Route 66 Lumberjack go together like mac and cheese, Sonny and Cher, Scooby and Shaggy, and power and corruption.

As we head into Christmas week, I hope everyone enjoys some relaxing family time. My Bride and I are watching a "It's a Wonderful Life" this afternoon. It's one of our favorite movies.

 

Congrats on your first TSR shave.

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Beautiful picture Doug.

 

Congrats on a year!

I am finding the same thing on the angles as you. With the Pain Stick, I could go almost flat against the skin, and since the razor was thick at the spine and tapered down to the blade, it seemed like the angle was almost perfect with just a slight tilt from there. The straight seems to need a bit more of an angle to it. I had a slightly larger angle today as compared to yesterday, and this seems to have helped improve the shave a bit.

 

That is my all time favorite movie. I am trying to get my kids introduced to it properly.

 

It's really helpful to follow all the straight razor conversation as I await mine. Please continue.

 

I"m not sure if it's a greater angle than the pain stick or just appears that way due to the difference in head shape. But, I was getting best results at about 25-30 degrees until the lather dried up on me today. On the pain stick I was keeping it closer to 15-20 percent, or it looked/felt that way.

 

Hmmmmm. Maybe we should be charging for this information since it's predicated on our flesh and blood at the moment. Yuri and Igor will drop by to collect. :ahem:

 

Neal, I had a crazy thought. Maybe you could shave while standing in a large pan. That way, you could collect your blood and just reintroduce it. I bring this idea to you free of charge.

 

I love getting ideas that are worth their price!!! We may have the next million dollar idea on our hands my friend!

 

I move a bit slower when using a straight, at least I have the past couple of shaves, so my lather has been drying out on me as well. I have adjusted by not lathering my whole face at once, at least not on my ATG/XTG pass.

You may be right about the angle just being perception, but it sure felt very shallow with the Pain Stick when compared to what seems to work with the straight.

 

Dec 21 Shave 2.13

Second chance for Cyril Salter Rose, the first shave was with a straight and it was a failure. Today the bar is lowered and I am using my Cobra Classic. I also added some lanolin to improve the aftershave feel. Four passes with the Cobra and no blood, it still felt a little rough so I was surprised.

The irritation is a big improvement from last time, despite the rough feeling when I applied the alum it was just a light tickle. But... the closeness was a huge disappointment, just a B-. This cream will put away for 6 months and tested again. Well at least I smell good, it Guerlain Derby today.

Irritation A Closeness B-

Cyril Salter Rose cream
Vie Long silver tip
Cobra Classic (day 2 Feather Pro)
Derby AS (vintage)
L'Occitanee ASB
Guerlain Derby

 

Congrats on the year and finishing with straights.

As you gain confidence handling the steel you shaves will improve.

The dark side is growing in numbers!

 

I thought about that and tried the blade the next day with AoS tallow soap and had a great shave. Today I tried the cream with my Cobra and substandard shave. It's strange because I remember having good shave with a DE and this cream.