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

Lovely brush, great cologne!

 

It is one of the two biggies. It fell perfectly, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so I had 5 days off. It is great to be in Seoul, there is no traffic.

 

Thanks, Kouros isn't for everyone but I love it.

 

Who made the brush? Butterscotch beehive, nice

 

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Soap: MDC Fougere
Brush: Elite Razor Onyx & Gold Silvertip
Razor: AlumiGoosewith Triad Ti Helix Hex
Blade: Kai Captain Mild #2
Post: Folsom and Co. Capri

 

Its made by Rudy Vey.

 

February Focus - German blades

February 12

Razor - Merkur 23c
Blade - (3)
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Soap - Tabac
Post - Cold rinse, Alum, The Veg

Happy Friday and welcome to Valentine's weekend and President's Day Weekend. Holidays are just raining down on us over the next few days! Today, however, is special because it's the third and final shave on the Bolzano. The blade started a bit slow on day one but hit its stride yesterday. Hopefully it continues today. I went into the shave optimistic but guarded.

The boar and Tabac produced a great lather. I did order more MWF today so hopefully that will arrive before I run out of that. The Tabac, however, seems to be regenerating so I'll never be out of a great soap. First pass, WTG and it was smooth as silk again. Really nice. No drag, no pull, nothing. Just a great feeling and a great reduction on that pass. Second pass, XTG produced an equal result. Smooth and near BBS. A few spots left but I did a full third pass, mostly because I had the lather and just felt like it. Went ATG and G-Slide as is my custom and the baby was on display again. Fantastic feel and result and I'm sure there are more shaves in this blade. As I had hoped it picked up steam after day one and is rolling right along. At some point I'll revisit this blade and the Wilkinson to see how they compare in longevity.

Today's score, nothing but the baby, no blood and alum was as quiet as can be. Five steins to finish. That puts the Bolzano and Wilkinson Sword in a tie for first on stein count.

Tomorrow we move to a blade with a not so stellar reputation. It's the Merkur Super Platinum. They make great razors but the blades don't get the love in most cases. We shall see. Have a great weekend!

​

 

Shaves of the week
All with cream. All with gem star custom sheffield 5/8 square point.

Trufiet and hill 1805 was nice.

Great shaves unfortunately the sheffield bit me near the corner in my mouth. First blood drawn in a while.

Finished with TSD lemon grass post shave milk.

Shave den Sunday coming up!
Cheers,
Eric

 

Mark, thanks for posting the link to Celestino's thread on unrefined shea butter. I read it a couple of years ago, and that's when I started using it. Most days, I use it morning (post-shave) and night on my face, and it has made a difference in the quality of my shaves. It moisturizes and reduces irritation. My hands dry out severely in the winter, and USB is the very best hand moisturizer I've found. The downsides to using it IMO are the greasy feel and the scent. I overcome this by the amount that I use. If I use too much, I just wipe off the extra. It doesn't take much at all.

Our family went to the beach a couple of years ago, and my sister-in-law got a bad sunburn. She didn't have any burn cream, so I shared my USB with her. She couldn't believe how fast she got relief. She uses it now as well.

We took an Alaskan cruise last year. I left my tub of USB home because I was trying to save space in my luggage. I was doing a 30 day focus with my Slim at the time. I came home with some noticeable bumps and a bit of irritation that I don't normally get. It was all gone after a few days back home with the USB.

And it's cheap, cheap, cheap to use compared to the expensive hand creams and moisturizers that I've purchased in the past. I don't get the super cheap USB. I pay a little more to get a USB product of certified purity. But even then, a 16-oz. tub lasts me a year.

Brooke, my beauty expert, demonstrates how I use it. I just take a small amount in my palm, rub my hands together until it all melts, and massage it into my face or hands. I give it a few minutes to absorb, and then I use a Kleenex to dab off any extra. I'm one of Brooke's more challenging clients, but please remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.



I'm sure the soap makers here can chime in with much better information on USB. I'm just a guy that found something that works. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

 

I avoid the whipped stuff.

 

Martin, that's a beautiful set up and a lovely photo. I love using my Weber too!

 

Congrats Jim. Lily Grace is an absolute beauty! I hope you are all doing well, especially Lily Grace and Mom.

 

That looks like a brush Neal would use.



Clint, your restoration is beautiful, and you have a great talent. I love the brush. Just having some fun above with Neal.

 

2/13/16

Gillette Old Type
Wilkinson sword (2)
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
The Strop Shoppe Baker Street
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Pinaud Clubman Original



Second shave with the Wilkinson Sword in the Gillette Old Type.
2 passes, touch up with what lather remained on the face, a cool water rinse followed by some moderate touch up to capture the baby. Clubman was relatively mild and there was enough slick creamy lather left over for another pass if I'd needed it.

A nice BBS from the Wilkinson sword in my Old Type with lather provided by The Strop Shoppe Baker Street courtesy of @clint64. It seems that it took a little more touch up today than yesterday, but it still ended nice.

I hope everyone has a nice Saturday.

 

Thank you Charlie. I enjoy restoring and working on brushes.

 

Second Week Update: Gillette 7 o’clock Sharp Edge (Yellow)

I have completed my second week of shaves with the Gillette 7 o'clock Sharp Edge (yellow). I evaluate these blades as most do, in terms of sharpness and smoothness. I also tend to evaluate a blade in comparison to the Astra SP, since I am so familiar with this blade. I won't evaluate these blades in terms of cost, because as far as I am concerned they are roughly in the same ballpark, i.e. pennies per blade. In the grand scheme of things...very inexpensive.

After one week of shaving with the Gillette 7 o'clock Sharp Edge I found it to be a top quality blade. The blade is very sharp, especially on the first three or four shaves. I found it retained its sharpness for the full 7 day trial. Indeed, I could easily have continued shaving with this blade for several more days. It was a bit edgy for the first three shaves, and then it very noticeably got smoother for the remaining shaves. The 6th and 7th shaves were an absolute delight.

No complaints with this blade. No nicks, cuts or weepers from this little charmer. And I didn’t experience any post shave irritation from this blade. Overall: this blade provided a nice clean shave and provided a good post shave feel.
Sharpness: 8/10
Smoothness: 7/10
Comparison to Astra SP in terms of overall performance and comfort: The Yellow is slightly sharper than the Astra SP, but the Astra SP is slightly smoother. Astra may have a slight edge in terms of comfort perhaps because it is not quite as sharp or edgy for the first few shaves. A very close race. I could see myself switching to this blade.

This coming week I load up the Heavy Tech with a Derby Extra blade. This is one of those “love it/hate it” blades, so I am anxious to give this a whirl on the dance floor. I will report again next week after my 7 days!

 

Sorry NB crew but my early birthday gift to myself just arrived!

 

Very good write up.

 

Nice haul. Enjoy.

 

Thanks Clint I think I will take the wool fat for a spin first any advice for lathering? it's my first hard soap