FEB 2015 30 Day Rule/30 Day Focus Pic and Discussion Thread

02/05/15 February Focus on Blades

Prep - Hot Shower
Razor - Mongoose Satin B2
Blade – Feather Pro (5)
Brush – Rudy Vey Rover Briar with Shavemac Finest 26mm/52mm
Lather – MdC
Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm



Excellent 3 pass shave this morning. While remaining extremely sharp, the blade has smoothed out. In fact it feels sharper after 5 shaves than the Kai Mild Blade did at the start. Negative of this is a couple of small weepers that were my fault. I plan on finishing up this week with this blade and then moving onto another for next week.

 

Day 5 Feb focus on Slim Adj
Bumped up to setting 5 on the adjustable (made adjustment when I loaded the blade after photo was taken). A little scraping first few strokes, adjusted my angle of attack and results were very good to DFS. Will work a few days at this setting and see how it goes.

 

February Focus - Blades
2/5/15 - Day 6
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Cream - C.O. Bigelow
Razor - EJ89L
Blade - (3)
Post - RazoRock Alum and Proraso

Final orbit of the Sputnik. Oh, come on, you knew I'd say that at least once. This blade really intrigues me. Today was as smooth as before, no nicks/weepers etc. Two passes produced a near BBS and I do believe if I'd stopped there the alum would have been quiet. However, since I am on a protocol I did the third pass on my neck only, caught the baby yet again and yet again felt the alum biting after. Proraso, however, produced no further burn.

A for the BBS again and by the amount of alum feedback I have to go 2. So, A2 to finish.

FINAL GRADE = A-/1.7. This puts it just behind the GSB. However, I plan to revisit this blade for a couple of reasons. Number one, it feels like this blade could have a long life. I'd like to see how long this blade can last. Number two I'd like to try some 2 pass for DFS/BBS and check irritation. I believe this may be a great choice for the 2 pass when needed.

COST = Best online price right now is $7.70/100 or 7.7 cents per blade.

I'm putting the Sputnik after Voskhod and edging ahead of GSB based on overall comfort and price.

Sputnik is manufactured by Gillette in St. Petersburg. Tomorrow - the Gillette Sharpedge (yellow). A platinum blade also from St. Petersburg.

Final gratuitous Soviet space picture today features Valentina Tereshkova - the first woman in space. She piloted the Vostok 6 for three days in June 1963. It would be twenty years before the first American woman would go to space. Also, Valentina was the first civilian to fly in space as her appointment to the Air Force was only honorary.

​

 

Today was a lot better although it still could have improved. This water to soap ratio is kicking my butt but I'll eventually get it down. Shaving while listening to Dean Martin was a nice way to wind down after work. Sinatra was yesterdays musical choice, who should it be for tomorrow?

 

Glenn Miller...

 

Good choice. Honestly I don't have a lot of knowledge about this music other than hearing it from time to time but I must say I enjoy it. A lot more relaxing than my normal musical choices and it really does help after a hectic day. Classical is also a favorite of mine.

 

When I was in Florida early December, at one of the zillion flea markets I bought a 4 cd set of big bands...at only 48, my wife says I was born in the wrong generation..I tend to agree

 

@txskimo and @dbersh - You mean to tell me I'm the old man and I'm the one with Pink Floyd and Emerson Lake and Palmer going? I do like big bands however, and classical. But I also like a lot of modern stuff too.

 

Razor: '52 Gillette Super Speed Black Tip (X2)- Steel Handle and Baseplate
Horsehide leather razor cover
Blade: Astra Platnium-First shave
Soap: Homestead Ranch Goat Butter Shaving Soap- Naked in the Woods Scent- face lathered
Brush: Omega 50014 Boar Travel Brush
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block
Aftershave: Theyer’s Witch Hazel, Cucumber scent

Apparently the hot water at my mother's house doesn't work in the bathroom. Cold water shaving does not work well for me. Two pass socially acceptable shave with two weepers. My neck feels rough, but no long term irritation.

 

Old and Classic rock (50 thru mid 80's) is what I normally listen to, but big bands, swing, country is also in my playlists...98% of anything made after say 95 is hard to listen to for me....

 

Etta James

I found the angles harder to judge at lower settings. Angle is everything on a slim, IMHO.

 

Focused February


​

Dad's Schick Revere Handle Injector
Chinese Schick
L'occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Eucalyptus Tub
Today's Great Cheap AS™ is Pinaud Clubman!

This is going really well. I thought I would need a few days to get used to the angles, but this razor is giving me great results. It's been nice to revisit Proraso, super slick, smells great...super easy to lather!! Looks like Focused February is humming along! Hope everyone had a great Thursday!

 

My Thursday shave was at about 26 hours after the last one. I decided to try to prep without a shower. The results were good, with me getting a DFS on 2 passes plus touchups on the neck. AS Bama said, this is going really well! Tell me again why the Schick injectors did not do better than they did against the Gillette DE razors??? (day 5)

 

February 5 (day 5)

Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser
Feather Artist Club razor
Feather Professional blade (day 4)
Two-band silvertip
Stirling Naked and Smooth soap plus a few bits of leftover soap & glycerin
Two-passes - WTG and XTG
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, & unrefined shea butter

My February goal is a close and comfortable two- or three-pass shave with this set up. Today's shave was not as good as yesterday. I had to break out the styptic for weepers on my upper lip and chin. I hurried through the shave, so lesson learned.

I hope you all are well. Apologies for the late post.

 

I do that from time to time even though I know I'm going to end up with a bad shave

 

02/06/15 February Focus on Blades

Prep - Hot Shower
Razor - Mongoose Satin B2
Blade – Feather Pro (6)
Brush – Every Ready with TGN finest 22mm
Lather – Strop Shoppe Barbershoppe
Post - Witch Hazel and Clubman AS



Very nice 2 pass shave with no touch ups this morning. Not BBS but more than good enough for a Friday. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

Day 6 Feb focus Slim Adj
Very good shave today. Decided to live on the edge and use the adjustable as...an adjustable for all 3 passes. Started on 6 WTG, 5 XTG and 4 ATG. Very smooth comfortable shave with very good results. Was going to wait until further in the month to attempt this once i had my angles down better....but...oh well.

 

February Focus - Blades
2/6/15 - Day 7
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Cream - C.O. Bigelow
Razor - EJ89L
Blade - (1)
Post - RazoRock alum and The Mighty Veg

Onward and forward to the Gillette Yellow. This is a fairly popular blade on the boards and is a Platinum coated blade. I've had good luck with Platinum (Rapira PL) so was eager to see how St. Pete's work compares to Moscow.

Blade feels very good, smooth with more auditory feedback than the last few. I like that. First pass went well but seemed to lack a bit of closeness. Second pass left me just short of DFS. Third pass (ATG) turned draggy, especially on my face. The blade just seemed to want to stick in spite of the lather being very slick. Finished the third pass and checked for cleanups. Found WAY more than I expected. Almost needed a full 4th pass on my neck to get the DFS. I know what's coming with that much work.

Alum lit me up. Yep, that extra cleanup ramped up the irritation and The Veg only turned the fire up. Just ran my hand back over my face and honestly, it doesn't feel like a great shave. Found a couple of spots still too rough for what I went through.

So....grading. Difficult because I can't say it isn't DFS but it isn't the level I'm used to. I'll split the difference. A- for the result, 2 for the irritation. A- /2 to start. Two more days to see if this thing will settle down.

I haven't shown off my setup since starting so here you go.

​

 

Focused February


​

Dad's Schick Revere Handle Injector
Chinese Schick
L'occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Eucalyptus Tub
Today's Great Cheap AS™ Is TSD Iced Subzero AS Splash

 

So far, I have yet to find a platinum coated blade I like as much as PTFE. I notice the tugging as well.

Is the Slim causing any neck soreness?

A hasty shave can lead to a bad shave, to be sure!