February '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion Thread

February 2
Edwin Jagger DE89
Feather (2)
Hot Shower, Nivea Face wash
Omega 10066 Boar Shaving Brush
Chiseled Face Summer Storm Soap
Alum, Chiseled Face Summer Storm AS

First shave with chiseled face, I really like it. Went with Summer Storm, which smells fantastic.

 

2/2/2016
Mongoose B2 with Triad Ti
Feather Pro (2)
Romera Olivewood Synthetic
Mystic Water Orange Vanilla
Witch Hazel
Fine L'Orange
Whipped Shea Butter



A very good 2 pass with touch ups work morning shave. The shave was a near BBS but not quite as close as yesterday's shave. Finished off with a splash of Fine L'Orange. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

 

Nice photo, Clint.

 

Thank you Perry.

 

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Pre: Hot Shower, Sterling Pre-Shave Soap, Chatillon Lux Pre-Shave Butter
Soap: Mystic Water Barbershop SS
Brush: Varlet Beehive
Razor: The One Blade
Blade: Gem Super Stainless #6
Post: Alum, Menthol Witch Hazel, Cucumber Melon Whipped Shea Butter, Sterling Barbershop Aftershave

 

SOTD
February 2, 2016
Prep: Hot Shower. Noxzema
Razor: Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip 1959 E1
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: Bronson Distinguished Goat
Brush: Semogue 830
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: NeverMoreBodyCo. Guinness
Lovely shave. The Bronson soap is a local product, fantastic stuff. NeverMoreBodyCo. Guinness aftershave is very nice. These both pair really well. I'm going to have to rotate my 830 and 610 brushes in, I noticed the 830 wasn't completely dried out this morning. I switched back to this 1959 SS it definitely shaves different from the TV Special I was using the past couple of days. I really like this SS.
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE!

 

Is that Guinness as in the beverage? Cool looking bottle.

 

On the road again. San Francisco today.
Travel kit SOTD
Palmolive shave stick
AoS travel brush
EJ DE 89
MK Sport cologne
Have fun!

 

3rd shave of my Ever Ready focus. Going with my new Italian Barber products today and the JR 13 brush. This month will also loosely be a focus on this brush, as I need to get used to badger hair

 

Do you own a Weishi? Would you do some science since you switched to SS?

 

Focus #2 - Feb 2
New Forest Tubby 2​

Continuing my NF brush focus

Chubby 2
Loft 56mm;
Handle Base diameter: 46mm
Handle height: 45mm.
Knot: Two-Band Super, 26mm

"Rating": I'd give it a 7/10 - love the knot but the shape and size of the handle does make it just a bit less comfortable, to me, than a lot of Peter's other creations.

​

 

Just for perspective, what are you ideal specs for a brush? How deep do you like the knots set?

 

I find that I really like 26mm knots.
I think 'best depth' sometimes depends on the type of knot/how much backbone the knot have but somewhere around 48mm

 

Great pic clint

 

Thank you, Tom

 

February Focus - German blades

February 1

Razor - Merkur 23c
Blade - (2)
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Soap - Tabac
Post - Cold rinse, Alum, Aqua Velva Ice Blue

Second day of the Timor as we work our way through the German countryside of blades. I chose the BoS and Tabac for lather today. Tabac has become SWMBO's favorite of my soaps based on the scent. I may have to invest in the after shave and other Tabac products. She also likes MWF, but not as much as Tabac. I started lathering up and she walked by the closed door and stuck her head in to comment on how great it smelled and how sexy. So, a good choice. The lather wasn't quite as rich as I wanted it but I added a bit of water and got it to an acceptable texture. I seem to have to work Tabac a bit more than The Fat to get the right lather. But, it's a fantastic soap and puts the other half in a good mood so I can't complain at all!

The Timor blade felt the same today as yesterday. Incredibly sharp and smooth, though it took a bit more effort to get to the final result. I also didn't get quite to BBS, ending on a high DFS after two passes and some extra touch up work. The question in my mind is how much difference the lather from the Arko made in yesterday's result. As usual, the face lathered Arko made a sinkful of lather that was slick and cushiony. The Tabac lather was less rich even when I adjusted it today. Another note in my experiment book to try these two soaps on identical new blades to remove the second shave variable. And, I want to work Tabac a bit more to see if I can produce a better lather than normal.

DFS after 2.5 still qualifies for a great shave and the first German is proving its worth. I can't give it a perfect score today, mostly because it set such a high standard yesterday, but 4.5 steins seems reasonable.

​

 

Bit late to the party with a photo, but work got in the way.

Here's my focus-group this month, with reasons described in my previous post.

 

This is a great focus. Very informative and I'm already enjoying it.

 

Day 2 Of February Focus

Gillette Fat Handle Tech/ Voskhod (2)
JR #23 Silvertip Brush
The Fat
The Veg


Day 2 into my focus and I am pretty surprised... I have found the sweet spot for MWF and am no longer struggling with it ( I even did a test lather with my Synthetic and my Boar Brush just to make sure I had it dialed in). Also Thanks to @Bama Samurai I started messing around with the angle and my neck is irritation free and BBS and my upper lip is no longer all jacked up and I can happily say it is DFS approaching BBS. A few healthy splashes of The Veg and I am ready for the day.

 

What a difference!!
Within the first stroke on the first pass my razor felt much better. I couldn't believe the reduction from 1 xtg pass. Followed up with atg and touch ups I was BBS.
Now for a few additions to my focus.
I will continue with the 2 passes on the 1924, using maca root cream with alum and kistna balm. In addition I am going to count my touch ups In a effort to get the number down. Since only doing two passes my touch ups seem to have doubled. I am also pledging every head shave from now till the 15th will be BBS regardless of time or irritation. If I haven't mastered it by the 15th I will step away and use a new razor. Not giving up but taking a break. Hopefully on the 15th I will step away because I have nothing more to learn. Forgot to post my touch up count was 7 I aim for 6 or less next.