January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

Here is a picture of my Tiny Boar taped to the proper loft and backed up by the Semogue 1438, the JR#8, the WD 20mm synthetic and the RazoRock Plissoft.

 

January 2016

RECAP
30-day focus with my Schick Type C1 - The Simplified Schick Automatic Razor.
I tested 6 different injector blades this month with the C1, that I hope will serve as my travel razor.



Blades used:
Schick - China
Schick Platinum - Holland
Personna 74* (1970s)
Schick Plus Platinum - US (1980-ish?)
Feather Pro (Artist Club) Cut down to fit the C1.
Schick Twin Injector (1973) Just thin enough to fit the C1.

First about the Schick Type C1. (YMMV)

Like most any razor, once you get the angle right (extremely shallow) and get used to its handling (square body, slick-when-wet sides) this razor will give very good to great shaves with almost any blade as it did in my focus. A very light touch (no pressure!) and maintaining the razor head flat against the face are the keys to a great shave with the C1. I’ve had more shaves that resulted in 1-pass shaves, due the previous day's great shave, than I’ve ever had.

Also, I insert blades manually into the razor head. This razor was made before the injector pack with the ‘key’ were invented, so you cannot load them like other razors. The razor has its own “repeater loading” feature for blade loading, but i do not use that either.

Limitations for loading aside, the C1 gives great shaves and will work for me as an excellent travel razor, though probably not as an everyday razor.

Blades

Schick - China (A ‘Chick’ blade as it is referred to)
In my beginner’s foray into injector shaving, this is my go to, journeyman blade. It just works. - and they're still being made! In the C1 they do the job really well.

Schick Platinum - Holland
Very sharp blade compared to the Chick. Took a bit of time to get used to the sharpness, especially around my chin, in order to find the right approach. Technique focus and a slick, hydrated soap really helps with this blade.

Schick Plus Platinum - US (1980-ish?)
This blade started me down the path of perfect (for me) shaves. Close, smooth, comfortable and sharp, this blade led to shaves that were so good that the following day’s shave became a one-pass ATG shave that just repeated with the next day’s shave. I don’t know if it was the sharpest blade in the trials, but this one may become the regular blade for me with this razor.

Personna 74* (1970s)
This blade appears to have achieved legendary status with injector experts. Now I know why. Very sharp and very smooth, this blade gave me as good a shave as any other blade in the trials. Extremely pricey however - if one has any luck in finding them! But the legendary reputation has as much to do with the longevity of each blade. Some people report a single blade lasting an entire month of shaves. Having found a pack that includes 11 blades I certainly look forward to testing this claim. Even so, considering its price, rarity and with so many other great blades available - I’ll probably not get a second pack.

Feather Pro (Artist Club) - Cut down to fit the C1.
Or the FergieFeather as I call it, having got the idea from @Billyfergie
Yowzer! this is one sharp blade! Even though I had gotten used to a Feather AC Pro in a Mongoose, as well as the unusual blade angle for the C1 - this blade requires laser-focus and does not have much blade angle forgiveness. If you can maintain strict focus and blade angle, this blade will give excellent shaves on a daily basis. I will need much more practice with it and will do that as I test this blade in other razors as well. *NOTE: it requires a sharp and strong metal cutter in order to cut the AC blades to injector length.

Schick Twin Injector (1973)
The wider and thicker twin blade was not made for this razor, but the ‘press fit’ head on these early injectors does not require a “key’ so this blade can fit by manually loading. This blade is also wider, so the blade exposure is significantly different than using other blades in this razor. Once I got used to the blade efficiency and sharpness, I was getting daily one-pass shaves. A one-pass with some buffing on my trouble spots, rewarded me with the closest and smoothest shave since I left carts about 9 months ago. It shaves so close that it requires a light touch with a deliberate pace. I've found that I cannot safely rush a shave with this blade. Which may not make it ideal for this razor on the road where I seem to be a bit more rushed to get out the door. But anytime you have the ability to take your time and mind your technique — this is a great combo.

Conclusion
Blade preference is a YMMV issue if there ever was one. But for me, I would be comfortable using any of these blades regularly with this razor - as long as I adjust for the small differences in each.

My favorite, by only a thin margin was the Schick Plus Platinum. It’s sharpness was just enough for me, but its ease of use makes it a quick and easy shave while on the road and perhaps having to rush out of the hotel in the morning.

But for the near-term, I will probably go with the Personna 74 I used in the trials (3 shaves) just to test the longevity of the blade. Imagine going on the road for 2, 3, or 4 weeks and not having to change the blade. Tough problems to have!

Cheers!
RT

I'm in for the February Focus with my new (to me) Schick Type D.
(the razor that doomed NB'16 for me!)

 

Great write up, Vince. I find the Repeaters to be among the best safety razors. It was interesting to read about the different blades you used and the differences between them. I will keep this in mind for my future use!

 

What a fantastic write up Vince..You have offered a great insight into these blades for folks that haven't used them..

Billy..

 

Jan 30 Focus Shave 22

Today's razor is Rasurpur Western grind kamisori which was on a Shapton 12k followed by Dovo red/black and 200k grit diamond paste. This is the third shave since the touch up.

It feels a little rougher than the past two shaves, it does need to at least go back to the pasted strops. Went through the 4 passes and no blood. Yesterday's shave with the Feather DX gave allot of irritation so I do not know if today's irritation was left over from the feather or due to this razor. The alum gave some feedback, a little bit of burning. I was pleasantly surprised that I was BBS

Irritation B Closeness A Smoothness B Keenness A-

Razorock Mudder Focker
Shavemac silver tip
Woodhead scuttle
Rasurpur Western grind kamisori
Dry Gulch strop
Lucky Tiger AS
Speick ASB
Davidoff Silver Shadow

 

Great write-up. Thank you!

 

Jan 31 Focus Shave 23

The last shave of the month is with a Feon 172, a Japanese western grind straight. It was finished on Goyumoko 20k by someone far more experienced than I.

It really has a smooth and sharp edge and has me thinking on and off about buying that stone but its more than $300. The first pass was smooth but there was some irritation and a couple of weepers in the following pass. The alum test stung, I think it is still the impact of using the Feather DX two days ago, just short of BBS today.

Irritation B Closeness A- Smoothness A Keenness A

What did I learn this month:

I really can't tell the difference between Dovo red/black and CrOx/FeO finished razors.
I did not feel any improvement using the 200k diamond paste.
Not sure if I can make a judgement between the J Nat and Shapton 12k. Clearly I don't have allot experience with the J Nat
A side note is that this month my skills with a SR saw a big improvement, allot more consistency in low irritation close shaves.

So...... next months focus:
J Nat Vs. Shapton 16k

QCS Vetiver
Etsy silver tip
Woodhead scuttle
Feon 172
PRC strop
Speick AS
L'Occitane ASB
Chanel Coromandel

 

General announcement: since February has 29 days, I will start the new thread around midnight tonight. Lots of great stuff this month! See you all in a couple of hours with my Shave, wrapup and a new thread for a "focused February"!



@RaZorBurn123

 

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Pre: Hot Shower, Sterling Pre-Shave Soap, Chatillon Lux Pre-Shave Butter
Soap: TSD 2X Iced Barbershoppe
Brush: Elite Razor TGN Super
Razor: Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Feather #1
Post: Alum, Witch Hazel +Menthol, Whipped Shea Butter, Fine American Blend

 

Finishing January on my feet!

Razor - Mongoose
Blade - (4)
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Soap - Proraso Green
Post - Cold rinse, Alum, Nivea, The Veg

Another day with the Mongoose and Pro blades. Having used this razor as much as I have this month I can honestly say I like it. But, I don't love it. Not sure how to explain it, exactly, but somehow I just don't prefer it necessarily over DE. It may just be because it's SE and, while I like to use a Gem or Schick every now and then, I really do prefer DE shaving. And, with my work with straights over the last several weeks, I really came to appreciate the level of technique required for straights as well as the results that were beginning to show. So, the Goose is indeed a very nice razor. Certainly one of the finest examples of SE, especially modern SE, but not something I can't put down.

Having said that, today's shave was again a great DFS in two passes and touch up and a good way to finish the Mongoose portion of January. Tomorrow I'll give the Rabbit a last use for the month as my hands have settled down now. Then, February and a new month of focus and work. Still deciding my exact course of action.

A huge thanks to @Rufus T. for the loan of the Mongoose. Glad to have had it around for a bit. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

Nice focal distance! Makes the chrome really explode visually.

 

30 January 2016

Day 30 - 90 Day Intro to SR



Ralf Aust 5/8
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Route 66 - Lumberjack
Alum
TSD ISZ AS under Pinaud Clubman

Best straight razor shave yet!

Have a superb Sunday!

​

 

Still working on a wrap up, but, as promised before midnight arrives:

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

The Intro does contain new material. If anyone spots errors/omissions....PM me! Thanks in advance...

 

1/31/16

Phoenix Double OC
Supermax Super Stainless (2)
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Pinaud Clubman Original



Back to my primary setup for this month with the exception that I gave the Supermax Super Stainless another try.
2 passes with average reduction followed by moderate touch up. After doing a cool water rinse, I embarked in a more determined effort to catch the baby. As I mentioned yesterday, this blade isn't as efficient as the GSB or the Rapiera SS. Even with multiple passes in my trouble spots, I still wound up with a near BBS. It actually behaved similar to the Lord Platinum class. While the Lord wasn't able to give me a BBS in the Phoenix DOC either, it did a great job in the other four razors I used it. Perhaps one of my other razors will like the Supermax.

A comfortable near BBS from the Phoenix DOC loaded with the Supermax Super Stainless despite the heavy touchup needed. The Clubman didn't sting as much as I expected and settled down quickly. The Vulfix Super Badger is a great brush and I had enough creamy MWF lather remaining for another couple of passes.

I hope everyone has a nice Sunday.

 

It will be a No Shave Sunday for me today, as I am still fairly smooth after yesterday's great shave. It has been a great first full month dedicated to straight razors. I have definitely gotten better at skin stretching, which has improved my straight razor shaves significantly, but should also help with a safety razor. I feel I have also made improvements in my angles, and in general the razor feels much more natural now. I am now able to get close to a CCS on a single pass fairly consistently, which has helped on work mornings. If I work in a second pass, it is very close to BBS results.

A few of things I have found: 1) a straight razor shave just seems to last longer for me. I am not sure why, but it seems that I can go much longer on one of these shaves. Maybe this is related to the winter, so I continue to watch this. Second, stropping fast doesn't help. I got a few nicks (minor) in my strop by moving too fast. Even when I seem to get a rhythm going, if I don't focus, I still nick the strop a bit. I have also learned that I still have some improvement needed on my lather. I did make some progress, but still have my lather drying out a bit. Dividing my face into three parts (left, center, and right fields) has helped, but there are mornings where I don't need to worry about and others that I have some problems.

All in all, it was a great month. I really enjoy the feel of a straight razor, and as @Drygulch noted, it is cool to say I shave in a way that 80% of men would say they are afraid to try. I am looking forward to continuing next month.

 

One more thing I have learned: I am going to have to step up my photo game. The pics keep getting better and better on this thread. I appreciate the eye candy!

 

Shave thirteen of my january focus. This will likely be my last shave of the month, and it went very well. While I have to admit that I'm champing at the bit to try something new, I must say that taking a month to focus on one set of gear was very useful. On this last shave, I was on the third use of my Astra blade, and I was going to go out to dinner with my wife, and so I wanted an extra smooth face. As a result, I may have tried too hard, which left me with a slight case of razor burn, and one tiny weeper at the corner of my mouth. Nothing that alum and aftershave didn't take care of, but I think this might be the last nugget of wisdom I will take away from this focus; I will pay a little more attention to how my skin is feeling during the shave, and a little less attention to removing even the slightest hint of beard.

Still, it was a marvelous shave -- the idea of a similar focus now and then on my own seems like an effective tool for solving the little problems that evolve over time.

 

I learned something important today.
I donate plasma every Sunday and have to check in with no fresh wounds. You guessed it, I decided to shave with a square tip straight this morning. I nicked an earlobe and a cheek with the tip. After much hand wringing and an examination by an RN, I was cleared for donation and am posting this from the chair. Maybe I should do my straight shaves after donating
SOTD
Route 66 Sweeney Todd
Omega Boar
Otto Deutsch Hans
Alum
Ogallala Bay Rum
Have a wonderful Sunday!

 

Thank you!

 

01/31/2016
Razor – Ikon B1 OC with Triad Ti
Blade – Feather (2)
Brush – Rudy Vey with Shavemac Finest
Lather – TSD Yin Yang
Post - Witch Hazel followed by F&C Shambala



Since I was taking a motorcycle ride this morning, I went with a very quick 3 pass shave. Luckily the Ikon B1 OC is a very efficient and forgiving razor. Without really any thought I was able to end up with a near BBS. Finished up a very good shave with a splash of Folsom & Co Shambala. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.