January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

I had 40 face and head shaves in January. 28 were with the Blackbird, 7 with the Ikon B1, 3 Weber and 2 New SC. 21 shaves with 2 Persona blades, 12 with 2 Astra SP blades and the rest with a couple of Shark SS blades. I learned that the Blackbird is the finest razor I've ever used and the Weber and Gillette New SC are close seconds. The Ikon B1 was a bit too aggressive for me and I traded it off. I used up a tube of Palmolive cream! I also made a sizable dent in the The Shave Exchange soap and only had 1 bad lather all month - I blame the fact that I tried to bowl lather a soap instead of face lathering. I almost could go for a "30 Day Rule" approach for February..in fact, I think I will. No changes, except for when I use up the TSE soap in the next couple of weeks.

 

Thank you for an excellent recap. I have also been able to cut out a full pass because of doing these focuses. It's a great tool.

 

Tonight at 9pm PST January's Newbie Give-Away announced will be made.
Thank you to all the members that have donated past and present.
I would like to acknowledge Eric aka @Seabs for his 1 year dontation to the Newbie Give-Away. Thank you so much! Your generous donation not only helped TSD but helped introduce TSD wonderful products to our new members.
Kerry

 

Thanks kerry. The den has given me so much more than a common place to share the passion for traditional shaving - always give back.
Eric

 

January 2016 Focus -- Blade search for the 1958 Executive

My month was spent trying several blades for my 58 executive. Enjoyed getting to know this razor better and thing it is to the point I can shave with it without thinking about it. Love the weight and balance of the razor and the 6-7 sweet spot makes for some great shaves.

On the blades I learned SuperMax Blue Diamond are not bad and Ladas still perform well. Dorco was not a good blade for me at all. Of course it was eclipsed on the horrible side by the worst blade I have ever used. The MEM which made everything seem sharp.

On the positive side I used a feather blade for the first time and while the blade lived up to its hype about sharpness it was really only a good blade for the second and third shaves and not so much for the first and fourth. Next time I may try palm stropping or corking to see if it helps the first shave.

On the really positive side I think I have found a blade that I will continue using. The Bolzano was an excellent blade! Sharp as the feather or so close I couldn't tell the difference but significantly smoother! Significantly! It and the GSB will definitely be my go to blades for the foreseeable future. Excellent combination of sharpness and smoothness!

Enjoyed the month and thank you Chris for keeping these 30 day threads going and thank you too everyone who participates in them. I learn new things every month and not just from the old vets. I enjoy reading the progress of the new shavers especially since it was not that long ago I was right there. Looking forward to February!!

 

January Focus Roundup
The wade and butcher straight easily became my top straight after this month of foucs. Seemed like every shave was was buttery smooth without much effort. Helped me a great deal with the amount of pressure placed on the blade. I will be doing a pif in the coming weeks to reduce the amount of hard soaps cause by my (s)rad - I've been leaning heavily on creams this month and will continue that theme for the next months as well.

Looking forward to Feb - all cream all the time! I picked up a number of higher end cream samples from the TSD shop and will be testing those out with a larger straight blade - 9/16"
Shave on brothers!
Eric

 

Finishing January on my feet!

Razor - W.B. Speed Rabbit
Brush - Vie Long 12601 - The Pony
Soap - Tabac
Post - Cold rinse, Witch Hazel, The Veg

Final day of January and I finished with the Rabbit. What a month, eh? I didn't get all the shaves I intended due to my time in the hospital but I did get some good work in with the Mongoose and with the Rabbit as well. Today's shave, well let's say it was a bit rough due to my lack of use of the Rabbit and I'm still a bit shaky from meds. That didn't really become a huge factor, though I did have a couple of nice nicks and a weeper on my neck in the end. I did get a two pass DFS, though not the best, but it was nice to have the straight back in my hand again. I also think using the Fat may have helped as it is a bit slicker than Tabac for me, but all in all it was a fine way to end the month. Now, on to February!

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Thanks Clint! I wouldn't have been able to lather as well as I do without the encouragement and help that you and others on this thread and TSD have given me. I focused on lathering soap in December and y'all just helped me along. This is truly a great place to learn.

 

If anyone has larger blades than 9/16" they'd be willing to let me to borrow for a month or so, please pm me.