July 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

Late post Day 14 - 14July 2015

30 Days of Maggard and MITA!


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Day 2 of Platinum. The shave today was much better. I think yesterday was just an off day. These are also perfectly fine blades. No weepers or irritation, and the edge seems quite sharp. AS today was TSD 2x iced Barber Shoppe. Will start with the GSB tomorrow, then select the four blades that live on, a miniature tourney, if you will. Other than a lot of rain tonight...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a great Wednesday!

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Yes. If you like the ball end you'll like the Rimei. The Long Feng is a bit more aggressive and raised the irritation level.

 

It has a certain Yuma look, like you say. I did the Yuma thing, will skip it for the Rimei. The last two days were a cool detour!

 

Well good things come from broken razors. lol. I enjoyed trying them out, especially since they both performed above my expectations. I usually can't say that when I experiment. I might have to plan a 2 day event during my monthly focus or rule.

 

It was cool they both did so well. Honestly the Yuma wasn't that bad either, just not an attractive razor. Rimei and Weishi both seem like bang for buck champs. As for me, probably back to a formal 30 Day rule next month...it's just my thing.

 

Phoenix Dbl OC Focus Day 14:

Homemade PS Oil
VDH Boar Brush
Stirling Port-au-Prince SS
Phoenix Dbl OC
Stirling Unscented PSB
Fine Fresh Vetiver

Loaded an Astra SP this morning and was rewarded with a great shave. The Gillette Platinums I was using previously are not my favorites, and I could tell a big difference this morning. Looking forward to see how the next few days go with this blade.

 

1956 Gillette Super Speed Flair
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Proraso Sandalwood cream
Aqua Velva
Current Blade under review: 4th Shark Super Stainless

Shave #1 with 4th Shark Super Stainless blade. A nice shave with near BBS results. Very close, pretty comfortable, no nicks, weepers, irritation or razor burn.
Pass 1: WTG on my face (N/S), and XTG on my neck (N/S except for the outside wings where I went out to in).
Pass 2: ATG. I had a near BBS at this point, but not as close as it was yesterday with the Silver Blue. There were more spots left that needed attention. I lathered up and chased the baby for a while, but he was always just out of reach. After my Aqua Velva dried, I could feel stray whiskers in one spot, but all the others had snuck away. I think the Aqua Velva tightened up my face and caused most of the short whiskers to recede below the top layer of skin. At least, that's what appears to have happened.

A nice result, but with a little more work than I spent with the Gillette Silver Blue. The Silver Blue seemed a bit more comfortable. Based on this shave, I think I'd rate the Shark a little under the Silver Blue. Less sharp and less comfortable, but still a good blade for me. I will keep the Shark in the razor for two more shaves and then try another Silver Blue to try to confirm this assessment.

 

07/15/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2
Blade –Feather Pro (6)
Brush –Rudy Vey with Shavemac Finest
Lather – Jabonman Citricos
Post - Witch Hazel and Fine L’Orange



Another great 3 pass BBS shave this morning. I find that 3 passes are required with the Feather Pro where I was able to get the same results with 2 passes using the Super Pro. This Jabonamn soap is fantastic being super easy to lather with good slickness and cushion. The scent is out of this world. A big thank you to Adam @Drygulch for the gift. Finished off with Fine L'Orange. Happy Wednesday.

 

July 15th, SOTD (Shave 9 of this focus)
Two days’ growth
Prep: Hot shower
Razor: W.R. Case & Sons “Registered No. 23 Warranted For Life” Purple Heart Wood scales
DE Razor: Gillette Old Type with Hibco handle and Gillette 7 ‘O Clock blade
Strop: Prototype Travel Strop- Vegetable Tanned Goat hide (10 flesh side/ 10 grain side pre and post)
Soap: Homestead Ranch Goat Butter Shave soap
Brush: Omega Boar Travel
Post Shave: Cold Water Rinse, Alum Block, Thayer’s Witch Hazel
Aftershave: Pinaud Clubman with M-Bomb added

Shaved in a hotel room today. Included a DE for touch up, because I need to look my best today. Continued testing of a new type of leather for a travel strop. So far, it’s not looking too good. The grain surface of the leather is not holding up well. Did my normal N/S and S/N pass with the Case razor, then did my touch up with the Old Type. I think this might be my favorite DE razor, thanks @clint64. Chased the baby more than normal for me, and I actually caught it. Had some burn on the alum, and three weepers, but overall not bad. Ended up with a BBS! Woo hoo!

 

I am happy you are enjoying the razor. I thought it might make the perfect travel DE razor for you.

 

30 day rule - Day 15
MDC Lavender Face Lathered
Ladas blade
Slim Adjustable set to 8
3 passes

Another great shave.

 

Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Mongoose Shave #15

Shower, Mystic Water Soap Yemaya, Neutrogena Face Wash
B-3 Mongoose with with Triad Helix Hex TI
Feather Professional #8
Paladin TSN LE #33/100 Two Band Blonde Badger
MDC Le Bol En Bois – Fougere
Alum Block, Dickinson’s +Menthol, Unrefined Shea Butter
Fine – Platinum Aftershave

Today’s shave was near BBS in two passes including clean up. XGT-WTG/AGT worked well especially on the neck, around and under my chin. Shave #8 with the Feather Pro went very well. There was some slight pulling, near the end of the second pass. It may make it through one more shave. This was my second shave with the Paladin TSN LE. It is a Lather Monster. It held the lather well, had good flow through and performed flawlessly. The knot specially designed for the Shave Nook is a Hybrid Fan that measures 26 X 52-23mm. It is Two Band Blonde Badger, marginally dense, and rather floppy with a very impressive splay and not much backbone. When wet the tips clump well and have a gel like feel. The MDC left my skin somewhat dry but the Unrefined Shea Butter solved that rather well. Finished with a generous splash of cool and refreshing, Fine Platinum. I love this razor and will have no problem with another 30-day Rule with the Mongoose.
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Another fantastic picture. How does the TSN LE brush perform? I know it looks great.

 

30 Day Rule - July 2015
July 15th
Razor - Feather SS AC/Gillette New LC
Blade - (1) (1)
Brush - VDH Boar
Soap - MWF
Post - Cold Water splash, Alum, Nivea Original

Ok, back to the rule now that the Feather is in the house. I made a couple of other changes as I restart things. I'm using a Kai Mild blade instead of the Feather Pro, mostly because I'm changing razors and feel so I want a bit more forgiveness in the blade for now. Second, I'm going to rotate my boar brushes with the FAT to see if one has better performance. Now, off to the shave!

Chose the VDH Boar today as it is a stiffer and low loft brush. It really puts the lather out with MWF and that is what I want. Great performance with those two. Grabbed the Feather and I have to say the handle is very grippy and comfortable. First pass felt pretty good and got good results. Right side is better as is usually the case but the left side went well too. Lathered again and went for the second pass, XTG. As I was working on the right side I noticed a couple of spots on the left...near the goatee on the jawline and near the ear. A couple of nicks I didn't feel or notice. Oh well....keep going on the right, work back from chin to ear and then my mind slipped....you never want to rotate the AC razors against your face. I basically tried a quick spin of the blade, just a hint of a hook and the blade tip found a grip and I felt that old familiar slice. It wasn't bad, and in fact I had to wait a minute for it to bleed. Stupid move, wide awake again and continued. Worked the XTG on the left cheek which is a bit difficult using only the right hand and made a quick run on the neck with no pressure at all. Checked the bleeding and went ATG on my face with the New LC and finished my neck XTG and G-slide. Cold rinse, Alum burned pretty hot all over, and I did a final cold rinse and used the Nivea to cool down.

So, one major error on my part led to a bit of a problem but overall it felt pretty good. It's off to face the day....but only in the 80s today instead of the 98 degree days we've had so far this week. Almost like winter.

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July 15, 2015

30-Day Focus - Blade Trials for Gillette Tech
Weekly Trial for: Personna Red, Derby Green, Gillette Silver Blue, Voskhod

Hot Shower
Pre-Shave Oil: Gingers Garden
Soap: TSD SubZero (Iced with 2 drops of TSD M-Bomb)
Brush: Omega Pro 48
Razor: Gillette Tech “Fat Handle”
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (1)
TSD Witch Hazel
After Shave: Myrsol Blue



Decided that 5 shaves was enough of a trial for Derby, which happened to Personna Red as well. Onto the GSB, a nice PIF from @Bama Samurai

Nice? I’d say! Interesting that I happened to follow the Personna Reds and Derby with the GSB. Felt like night and day to me. The others were ok sharp, but the first pass with GSB took off more depth and then was noticeably more smooth. A very comfortable two-pass shave!

Refining my jawline stretch approach is showing progress.

Cheers!
- RT

 

The TSN LE brush is a soft Lather Monster. It held the lather well, had good flow through and performed flawlessly. The knot specially designed for the Shave Nook is a Hybrid Fan that measures 26 X 52-23mm. It is Two Band Blonde Badger, marginally dense, and rather floppy with a very impressive splay and not much backbone. When wet the tips clump well and have a gel like feel.

 

Razor: Gillette SS, 1948-49
Blade: Personna Blue (5)
Brush: Omega 10066
Soap: Razo Rock Don Donato
A/S: Pinaud Musk
Day 14.
Outstanding razor, blade, soap, brush, and after shave ending in a DFS & BBS. What more could you ask for. Okay 8 under par would be great also. This brush has performed above and beyond the call of duty since my wife bought it for me. Couldn't be more happy with it. If someone is looking for a first or second brush you couldn't go wrong with the Omega 10066.
Out..

 

Nice gear.

 

I really like the Gillette Platinum blade. Does it work for you? Nice picture.

 

Great knot. Really like my Whipped Dog High Mountain Badger.