January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

Thank you for another great month in the Focus Group. My goal was to learn to use hard soaps consistently. It was a success. I have been able to lather up several soaps that used to frustrate me, including MWF. In fact my new favorite cream/soap is a soap. Route 66 Sweeney Todd is now my favorite, replacing TOBS Grapefruit. Without this focus, I would have probably given up and just used creams. Thanks for being here for me. Time for a group hug!

 

January, 2016 Wrap Up



My focus this month has been on the razor my wife gave me for Christmas: the Phoenix Double Open Comb. Also to find which of my top blades would give me close and comfortable shaves with this razor, and then stay with one for the majority of the month.

I enjoyed shaving with the Phoenix Double OC this month. It is a mild razor but can be very effective with the right blade. I found the Gillette Silver Blue, the Rapiera Super Stainless, and the Feather were all capable of providing me with nice BBS shaves without a lot of effort. I ended up using the Gillette Silver Blue more than any other blade. This razor's most efficient angle appears to be while riding the cap and removing almost all of the lather during a pass. If I don't, then I'll have rows of lather left to let me know. The remaining lather allows for comfortable blade buffing. I found myself employing more techniques than on some of my earlier razors especially when working with blades that aren't quite as sharp as the GSB and its cohorts. This month was the first that I made a conscious effort to regularly copy the effect of a slant razor by angling the DOC like a guillotine when going over some of the trouble spots on my neck.

I used three of my brushes in January. The Vulfix Super Badger was my primary brush, the JR #27 with the Wet Dog Silvertip knot was adopted from @Jayaruh, and I used the Frank Shaving Pur-tech Synthetic for travel. The C.O. Bigelow cream was my travel soap, but my primary soap this month was Mitchell's Wool Fat. MWF provides a consistently slick cushion and I really appreciate the kindness of @clint64 in gifting me the soap.

I hope to see you all in the February focus/rule!

 

Bill, you have become the lather master over the last several months. The ability to lather MWF with a variety of brushes is a testament to your lathering skill. I am glad that you are enjoying the MWF.

 

January 2016 Focus -- Blade search for the 1958 Executive

January 31

Razor: Gillette 1958 Executive adjustable
Blade: Feather (4)
Brush: Stirling Kong
Soap: Stirling MITA
Post: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel, Fine L'Orange Noir


Decided to work in another shave with the feather today before I head out to spend the rest of my day with my father for his birthday.

Not the best shave. The feather is a good blade for shaves 2 & 3 but not 1 & 4. Today the blade felt a little less sharp but definitely lost any smoothness it had during there last two shaves. When using the feather I definitely have to stop after 3 shaves. Ended with solid DFS but the Fine AS definitely told me my neck was worked over by the blade.

Will be back this evening after time with dad to summarize my blades with the Executive and to figure out my February focus! Look forward to seeing everyone next month!!

 

Good looking pic!

 

My January Recap.

King Cobra gave me the closest shaves of the month when paired with a Feather Pro Super blade. It's slim design allows for better control and efficiency. The Cobra has a larger blade gap and more exposed blade than the AlumiGoose. It was the most aggressive razor used this month.

AlumiGoose took over for the heavier Mongoose in my Den. The lighter weight gives the AlumiGoose greater maneuverability in and around the nose and chin. It may be slightly more aggressive than its heavier older sibling especially when loaded with a Pro Super blade.

The One Blade has a high tech flex-head design which maintains an ideal shaving angle while keeping the entire head of the razor against the skin. It hugs the corners of the chin and jaw line. Short strokes worked better and it performed best when used with some pressure, like a cartridge razor. The blades designed for the OB (Feather FHS-10) performed well for only 2 shaves. The longer lasting (8-10 shaves) and less expensive GEM single edge blades fit in the OB. The Gem blades proved to be the best blades for the One Blade.

The Blackland Blackbird was by far the best DE razor used this month. It provided consistent two pass BBS shaves. The BB holds the blade tighter than the RR Black Mamba or any vintage DE razor I've used. The Blackbird is also one cool looking razor.

 

I have noticed that ANYONE who uses the Blackbird has sung its praises. @Troy M has certainly had tremendous success with it. @Boojum1 sings it praises in the post above this. May have to get one someday, but not any time soon!

 

Great comparison Mark. I find the Cobra Classic to be pretty aggressive with just a feather blade. I will work my way up to a Super Pro when I get more comfortable with the CC.

The One Blade is on my list to buy. Even more so now that I know Gem blades can be used in the razor. I am holding out for a sale similar to the sale they ran last Christmas.

 

January 30 Focus Summary

So I thought to write up my thoughts gleaned from the month. Overall I loved it and learned a lot, but I also hated it and cheated a little from time to time. I am nothing if not undisciplined.

• I'm pretty sure that none of my boar brushes are fully broken in yet. They all seem further along though. I figure another month should do it but in won't be February since February will be a synthetic brush month. If anything, I like boar brushes better now than I did going in. I also look forward to a break from them.
  
• I've learned to use Old Type Gillettes effectively. That being said, the two examples I have remain subtly different and require slightly different technique.
  
• Old Types will not be my favorite razor. They are too finicky and require too much thought and precision which leads into too much touch up.
  
• Old Types are fabulous for trimming around goatees and mustaches. Mine have never looked more precise as a result of using Old Types. I credited it to the much thinner/sleeker head design.
  
• The knurling of my gold Old Type is much shallower than on my silver one making it much harder to hold onto. I don't know if that's just my two examples or a general trend.
  
• Are there long comb and non-comb Old Types? If so, I wish I'd had them for inclusion in the focus as both my examples were short comb. Short comb seems to be the predominant model on eBay.
  
• I really could content myself with three soaps: Cella, Mitchell's Wool Fat, and Tabac. They all provide me a very pleasurable experience and are distinguishable enough for me so as not to get boring. That being said, I'll continue to mix in others from time to time.
  
• The jury's still out on razor blades. I think settling in on a final rotation could take awhile if indeed it ever comes about. I do think it might be that certain blades work better in certain razors, but ultimately, I don't think I will want to go into that much detail because the differences are nuanced and can be compensated for via technique.
  
• For similar streamlining, I'm about 90% settled in on 3 shaves per blade. For some, even that limited number seems a stretch and others I could go longer with, but 3 seems a good compromise. The fly in the ointment remains Voskod which really seems to require one shave to "break in." I'm experimenting with "corking" Voskods to see if that eliminates the first shave syndrome.
  
• I've managed to cut out a full pass via improved technique. What was a 3 pass plus touch up shave can now be accomplished in two pass + touch up.
  
• That being said, I've decided that daily shaving is impractical. It leads to skin irritation for me and less good shaves. I'm now on a every other day routine with daily thrown in when necessary.

As you can see, I benefitted a lot from 30 day focus. I've got a fairly solid plan for February which I'll post tomorrow.

 

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

 

Mark, great focus and summary! Thanks for detailing your journey with these four beauties!

 

Congratulations! You've come a long way during your first 30 day focus! I've also managed to cut out a full pass via improved technique over the past couple of months. I'm sorry you're dealing with some skin irritation from daily shaving. One thing that helps me is using unrefined shea butter after my morning shave and again at night. It also took me a few months to settle into a decent technique that allows my skin to be happy with daily shaves.

 

Troy, I enjoyed following your progress with the Blackbird. So it's better than the Weber or a Gillette SC. Hmmmm.

 

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.