DEC 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Thanks Tom! The Mongoose razors were worth the wait. Hope to see your's soon.

 

I'll take enjoying "most" as both a compliment and proof you still have your sanity.

 

He may actually have over-engineered it compared to Soviet technology. Pretty sure he has some Russian ancestry going there.

 

Derby is much maligned but really does produce a smooth shave, at least for me. Not the sharpest but it definitely gets the job done.

 

Glad to know the "better" one performed so horribly. I mean, so well in comparison to its cousin sitting here waiting for its turn. I know I'm just learning TSR's, but I'm assuming having to hone in between passes is a bad thing? As for the no blood, I'd say it's only because it didn't rip the hair out by the roots. Apparently it barely cuts hair so skin should be way too tough for it. Those Ruskis and their advanced tech!

 

Not quite that far east but pretty close with Estonia, Romania and Belarus. It was Soviet for awhile. Maybe it counts?

 

Close enough for me. Back in the day Soviet was Soviet. It's all good.

 

Straights to the Finish Line!

December 21 - It's MONDAY!

PART 1

Due to the time needed to work on the straight razor I shifted my main shave to this evening. I had to be at work for a bit this morning so just did a quick one pass with the '59 Super Speed and Ladas to make it presentable. I'll be back with the real shave later.

 

Yeah, with one straight razor, you should be able to use it for months without having to re-hone it. Maybe a few passes on a pasted strop or finishing stone every 10-15 shaves if it starts to tug. The fact that the well honed edge on this one didn't make three passes worries me. Today's shave was a good example of Technique Trumps Tools though. I got a SAS/CCS with no blood on a razor that wouldn't stay sharp. I am quite confident that this razor would be happy to cut skin, since hairs seem to be so difficult for it. I can't wait to see how yours does.

 

Razor: Gillette President Y1 1953
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (2)
Brush: Semogue 1305 Tri Color Wood Handle 22/55
Soap: Knock Out Shave Cool Blue
A/S: Fine American Blend

 

Mediocre shave tonight I've started giving up on a BBS if I'm not there on my 4th pass. Still nice but BBS is always the aim. Something I have found during this focus is I get a much better shave when my blade is on its 2nd or 3rd run. Does anyone have an idea why this would be? It is consistent I don't believe my technique just happens to be poor every time I change my blade

 

Nice pic again Douglas. You put me off even trying to put a pic together. I just don't have the eye. However I'm aware of a photographer that is new to TSD, so watch your back

 

How long do we have to wait for Neal's soviet Shave? The popcorn is getting cold.

 

I have people who have my, "6".

 

but the burn means it's doing its job

 

December 21/22, 2015

This month I’m focusing on my two birth quarter razors.
Gillette Ball End Tech A4
Gillette SS Red Tip A4

Morning shave
Hot Shower
Soap: Route 66 Bourbon Jungle
Brush: Omega pro 48
Razor: Gillette SS Red Tip A4
Blade: 7 O’Clock Blue (1)
TSD Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Myrsol Plastic Shave / Agua Balsamica



This Focus month hasn’t gone quite as expected. I’ve spent most of the past few weeks on the road spreading holiday cheer to my kin on the East Coast (USA) - upsetting my Focus quite a bit. Aside from a couple of days at home now, I’ll be hitting the road again. This time heading to the in-laws in Vancouver, Canada to celebrate the season - Christmas Eve through Boxing Day. (ding, ding, ding…and in this corner in the red, white and blue trunks…oops, wrong use of the word me thinks…)

So after just a week or so of shaves with the Ball End Tech, I’m needing to move on to the Red Tip now.

With the timely arrival of a Yuletide gift of Route 66 soap from Mr. TSD Calendar 2016 , I chose to use the soap to help celebrate my first shave ever with this birth quarter razor.

After loading my trusty Omega with 15 seconds of swirling (and experimenting with water addition) - Boom! - oodles of lather for my usual two-pass shave. I found the lather to provide great cushion and slickness accompanied by a very appealing scent. I wasn’t certain of either of my choices for an aftershave combo, but I’ll experiment more with AS pairing while I also look to dial in the water content for the soap as well.

As for the Red Tip - I am so thankful for having spent my first two months on TSD with one razor and one blade type. The DE skills that I developed back then allowed me to get two near-perfect shaves right off the bat while ‘riding the cap’ of this razor.

If I don’t get the chance later this week -
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!
Cheers!
RT

 

Definitely a TTT victory, especially given the amount of "defectiveness" of that razor. That's what we were looking for.

 

I appreciate that you are always looking for BBS. I guess my standards are a bit lower. DFS is good for me in most cases. If I happen to catch the baby, so be it, but a nice DFS works and keeps me from chasing the baby to the point of burning pain. I also focus on getting DFS on two passes in case of a time crunch.

Some blades will perform better on the 2nd and 3rd shaves or even beyond. Sometimes it seems like they are a bit rough out of the wrapper but the first shave aligns everything and smooths them out. Some people will hand strop the blades before the first use and seem to think that makes them better too. Something to try if you find one is consistently worse on the first day.

 

@Rufus T. is back on the 30DC!! All is right in the world again. Good to see you my friend. Glad you made it safely back and forth the good ole' US of A and wish you safe travels to Canuck land and back as well. I'm doing my best to keep things shenanigated around here. Still, without your touch I fear it's a tad more boring than normal. Happy holidays!