July 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

I noticed today that I have been doing a focus almost accidentally. I have been using the same blade (Sharp Star) the same After Shave (Florida Water) the same brush (WD synthetic). The only things changing are the razor when I change a blade and the scent of Route 66 as I use samples. I started with my Super Speed and got 8 glorious shaves from the Sharp Star in it. Now I'm 1 shave in to the evahs razor and it was an amazing, quiet aftershave, all over, easy BBS.

Mayhem distracted me from my soap trials regarding Route 66 scents. I have worked through Black Pearl and, Sweeny Todd. I had started Ghost Town but stopped in the middle. I recently got a few more scents in sample sizes "cough cough 7 cough''. I started using the Ghost Town so I would have a container to work through the new scents with. I have a shave or 2 left. I seem to get nearly 3 weeks of shaves out of the samples but I have gathered that this is not typical. I'll continue on with what I've been doing and probably only post important updates like blade longevity or blood bathes. So far I rank the scents in this order:

Black Pearl
Sweeny Todd
Ghost Town

I like all of them but from what I have used I prefer the black pearl to the other two and the sweeny todd slightly over the ghost town. It is very close. I have the following new to me scents that I will work in with as random of an order as I can ( reaching into a dark basket at 4:30am when I run out of the previous scent):

Lumberjack
Frozen Margarita
Twisted Tweed
Barbershop Hop
Perfect Storm
Retro Spice
Cavendish

I was going for the whole set but as usual with a good product some things were out of stock. I only have 4 scents before I have them all and 7 to use before I would want them so I'm sure they will be avalible again before I run out.

 

The wait is over!!



Shiny! The Slim has made its way across the Pacific, across half of the country and survived a stormy day in St. Charles on its delivery. Great looking razor. Flawless function as well it appears. Thanks to @Keithmax for offering it for the raffle. And, now that it's here it's time to start in on my list of blades. The longest consistent focus begins on Monday!!

For those who are going to try and shave along when they can here is the schedule for the first ten blades.

July 11-13 - Sharp Star
July 14-16 - Dorco ST 300
July 18-20- Dorco Prime
July 21-23 - Zorrik Super Stainless
July 25-27 - Shark Super Stainless
July 28-30 - Rapira Swedish Supersteel

Aug 1-3 - Royal Red
Aug 4-6 - Gillette Stainless
Aug 8-10 - Silver Star Stainless
Aug 11-13 - Timor

As we approach the final blade of those ten I'll post up the next ten with dates. Basically I'll be shaving Monday through Saturday for the rule/focus and taking Sunday off to use something else just to have a free day.

I'll be compiling my observations and results as I go, most likely on my blog in detail but also hitting the highlights here as well. And, if you share the shave with me I would love to have your feedback so that I can add that to my observations as well. It would be interesting to see some outside data from other people to see if our experiences and preferences match up or not. With blades I expect we'll see a variety of opinions. If you don't have a Slim or other adjustable and want to join in feel free. Just tell me what razor you used so I can gauge its aggressiveness. Again, I"ll be using the Slim on 2 the first day, 5 the second day (a slight change of plans) and 9 on the third day to get three different trials at different levels of aggression from the razor.

I still have 109 blades on the list but will be adding a few more to the list as we go.

Oh, the soap. After much thought and consideration and a little advice here and there I have decided to bite the bullet and use one soap only. After all, this is more a Rule than a Focus. The only variable will be the settings from day to day. It's kind of like a 3 day Rule at a time with a change in aggressiveness making it a Focus as well. If I want consistent data I need to eliminate as many variables as I can. I need a soap that is easy to lather, consistent when it lathers and would be a choice of beginners or at least represent that choice. So, it's Arko. I'll switch up after shaves in order to bring a little variety on board. I don't mind Arko. I like it actually. But one of the challenges will be the long hauls between MWF and Tabac. Maybe the rotating A/S idea will keep it more fun. I'm not going to lie....while I"m excited to do this and hope to produce something that will be valuable to at least someone.....I see myself getting a bit bored and bogged down. You know me.....I like variety. And, just for the record, if I'm still doing this next Cinco de Julio - I'll be taking that day off to do something stupid amazing with the rest of the crew.

Here's to a whole bunch of blades, a Gillette Slim, Arko - and everything we will and won't learn from all of this!

 

SOTD
7/7/16


Razor: Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Sharp Star (2)
Brush: TGN Finest
Soap: Soap Commander Passion
Post: cold water rinse, alum, Old Spice aftershave

It was a late shave tonight and kind of a quick one. I got an almost BBS shave tonight as I was tired and didn't want to push it. First pass was WTG and got good reduction of my beard. Second pass was XTG which I could feel got even better reduction remembering it's all about reduction. Third pass I tried the ATG/XTG again and got a near BBS shave. I was tired and decided to stop there and call it good. I rinsed off with cold water and applied the alum again tonight, with it wanting to stick to my face and neck. Am I getting that close or do I have a defective alum block? It gave a little bit of sting in one small spot but stopped almost immediately so I braved the Old Spice aftershave. I splashed some on patting my face and there you have it a quick 3 pass shave. It's taking me longer to clean up and wright this than the shave itself. I haven't used the Aristocrat in a little bit but decided to try it out tonight. It seemed a little aggressive to me the in the past, but with the Sharp Star it was a pleasure. I guess I will try this blade in a few more razors and decide which razor I'm going to use to follow the trials when I have the blade that matches.

 

No shave for me tonight, I had too much sun and wind, and not enough energy left to care.

Off topic:

Let's all get our hearts right. If you've seen the news from from Baton Rouge this week, from Minn and from Baltimore, and from TX tonight, you realize we are in for some hard things this summer. My heart breaks for all who are hurting, and I pray that we, as a people, reject those who practice immoral violence against their fellow man.

 

Finally it arrives. Looking forward to your write ups.

 

Travel safe and I hope everything turns out all right.

 

Day 6 Detox, day 6 shavette focus

Wanted to use the Feather DX again but my mind was just fuzzy so I went with the Dovo with a Fromm hair shaper blade. Just 3 passes given my diminished mental state. No irritation but middling DFS.

Irritation A Closeness B Smoothness A- Sharpness A

 

I'll be praying for you and your aunt.

 

July Focus Day 8:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
La Toja Shave Stick
Barbasol Floating Head
Stirling Unscented PSB
Canoe AS

Another great shave with this razor. Between the La Toja and the razor, I can't believe how nice my face feels. Most of my shaves with this razor have been at the gym when I am a bit rushed. I do a pass with the grain, then one across. Using this pattern, I get shaves almost as close as a full three passes on my other safety razors, and I have pretty much zero irritation after. I am now comfortable saying this is my favorite safety razor. It is just a great shave.

After this razor, I topped everything off with one of my favorite AS: Canoe. It was just perfect finish for a great start to my day. I hope everyone has a great day.

 

Amen, brother. I don't understand what is so wrong in our country that this is a normal state of affairs. Even more, I don't know what we can do to fix it. No one wants to be civil and talk to anyone anymore.

 

Friday Shave

Brush- RazoRock Tri-Colored
Razor- PAL InjectoMatic
Blade- Schick (1)
Soap- Stirling Spice
Post Care- Crystal Alum
Thayers Witch Hazel with grapefruit EO and M-Bomb
Osage Rub

What an incredible shave this morning. Thank you @Robyflexx for telling me about this razor, it's efficient, easy to maneuver and it just mows down my whiskers. It also has great audible feedback. I did two passes with minor touch up and I'm dolphin smooth. Considering I haven't shaved since the Cinco de Julio popsicle stick shave I had a lot of beard growth. This razor made quick work of it. My first pass equaled two with the Schick Type G. Second pass I was close enough to go ATG, I had a few areas to touch up but that was it. The Stirling performed great, excellent scent and protection. The alum was completely silent and I finished up with Osage Rub. Have a great day folks!

 

I've slipped back to the Dark Side this month. I've missed my straights.
Route 66 Perfect Storm
AoS Pure Badger
Hien 650
Alum
Thayers WH
Nancy Boy Balm
Ogallala Bay Rum
Happy Friday!

 

In the Good Old Shavertime!!

July 8

Razor - '46-'47 Aristocrat
Blade - (6)
Soap - Proraso Green
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Post - Witch hazel and the Veg

Three more days, counting today, of the Détente setup and some really magnificent shaves. I'll be starting on the blade project Monday so will ride this blade out until then. I went back and counted and this was the 6th day on the blade. Still performing flawlessly.

Proraso and BoS made a great lather this morning. I added just a touch of water before face lathering and it make a fantastic slick and cushy lather. Two passes as usual got me to a very high level DFS. Some touch up work on the neck and a partial ATG pass got the baby up this morning. No sign of drag, pull, or any other issues that would indicate blade fatigue. I could shave for two years on 100 Voskhod.

More thunder this morning but it's just cloudy right now. Might keep the heat out of the 90s until this afternoon. Enjoy your Friday!

The Voskhod blade is amazing smooth and a high performance blade. Much better than the original Voskhod....the spacecraft! Although the Voskhod performed much better than the Soyuz 1. The Voskhod delivered its crew back to earth alive!

​

 

It's kind of hard to believe it's going on in this country, then again as you said those who practice immoral violence against their fellow man maybe not. If caught I think there should be stiffer penalty's for those committing violent crimes against there fellow man.

 

I'm following this thread this month. I just don't have a focus for July. I am just free wheeling it for July. Some great posts and information here as usual.
I'm learning how to use my new smartphone. It's smart I'm not.

Razor: Gillette Flare Tip A4 1955
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (2)
Brush: Omega Barber Pole Handle w/Silvertip
Soap: Jeeves of Hudson Turkish Bath
A/S: Myrsol Agua de Limon

Another fine 3 pass with a cleanup shave tonight. The Flare Tip although it feels light to me, it provides an excellent shave. The Omega Barber Pole w/Silvertip loads easily and fit my hand perfectly. The Turkish Bath shave soap is sure to remind you of the bygone era of old-time barber shops. A masculine scent with a clean, sharp finish. Our take on combines the scent of aromatic spices, Merlot and orange zest. Very slick protective shave soap. The Myrsol Agua de Limon has a great scent and is a very cooling finish.

 

That is a great brush Doug!

Sent from my Galaxy S6 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks very much Andrew. It's a joy to use.

 

I like your new avitar @Douglas Carey it just, just so you!

 

Thanks.

 

I agree! It's very Doug.