JUNE 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

World Tournament of Blades - Russia vs. the World!!
June 15, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Arko
Razor - '59 Superspeed
Blade - (1)
Post - Alum, Nivea Balm

The tournament arrives Stateside today! It's the Personna Lab Blue which is made in the USA, well at least for a bit longer anyway. This blade is a favorite of many and is the same blade as the more expensive Med Prep. The same you say? Yes, with one different.....the Med Prep undergoes an additional wash before wrapping to make it suitable for use in sterile environments. The Blue? Just a bit "dirtier".

Lathered the Arko with the 48 and awayyyyyy we go. The Blue is a sharp blade, definitely up there with the better ones in that category. Smooth on the first pass, though I'm not sure it's quite as smooth as the Treet it is up against. Very, very, very close. I did the XTG pass and had no issues with smoothness so will have to think about that one. Did a clean up pass for the neck and definitely felt like I was getting irritated before I was done. Oh-oh....the alum is going to bite hard. So, pick up the alum, apply it as usual and yep.....ummmmmm.....nope.......welllllll........maybe.......I could have sworn I felt a burn before but it's not........ummmmmmmm......yeah I'm awake and......seriously....that's it? A minor sting and then nothing? Wow. The result? A very nice DFS.

Ok, let's try scoring. Sharpness? Another 1. Can't call it anything else. Smoothness? While I feel it may have been ever so slightly rougher than the Treet the point is to grade this blade. I have to go with a 1. Irritation? Well if 1 is no irritation and 2 is a bit of burn that lingers then this is a 1.5. Had an initial burn that died right off. And the areas I expected it to be bad, it wasn't. Result? DFS=2. That one is simple.

Total - 5.5

The winner........PERSONNA LAB BLUE!!! But by the closest of margins. A very even match.

One more round of the Sweet Sixteen...The Derby vs. the Feather. I know it's like a David/Goliath thing for most but we'll see. I've never actually used the Derby and I don't like the Feather that much as a DE blade. We'll see how they perform. I leave you with my first ever, and you may perhaps hope last ever, Meanwhile in America meme. Get ready for it, I had to make it special.






Wait for it.......you may want to close your eyes........








Here is comes........








I know, I know....go back to Russia. Apologies for the eyeball damage.

 

The resident Yuri........now there's an original name. I'll raise a glass of vodka and a spoonful of caviar to the compliment!
спасибо comrade! (or thank you for the capitalist imperialists who don't read glorious Russian).....or use Google translate.

 

As a kid of the early 60s, I was enthralled by early space travel so his name has never left my memory - Yuri Gargarin - the first human being to travel into outer space!

Nostrovia!
RT

 

This guy, on the other hand, should be given a one way ticket to outer space!

 

And the man who tried to take the ride on the Soyuz 1 to save his friend's life. As an aside, you might want to study some of the further history of the early Soviet space program. There's some pretty good evidence that Yuri, in spite of his importance and courage, was not the first human in space....but rather the first human to survive and return from space. I'd be happy to share more about that privately if you're interested. Don't want to bore the masses.

 

Cool info...I'm off to Google, which I would not have had back in the 60s!

 

Woke up 5 minutes early so I decided to 2 passes with the straight and then 2 passes with a DE. Smooth and irritation free. Finishing up with my R41 left me BBS and very little irritation. Not enough time for 3 passes with the straight but still I am happy to get some more practice in.

Proraso Pre-shave
Razorock Son of Zeus
Simpson Tulip 3 super badger
Ralph Aust 5/8
Dry Gulch strop
Alum block to keep my fingers dry
Aclolado Glacial
Spieck ASB
Hermes Terre d' Hermes EDP

Have a great day!

 

The 30 day rule was easy for me in the beginning because I only had one razor, one cream and one brush. I quickly settled on a blade and used this set up for a couple of months before getting bitten by the soap and brush bug. Formalizing the process with the start of these threads in January allowed me to focus on what I want out of my shaves and established a baseline for new or different razors. @Bama Samurai , thanks for starting these threads. They have been a big help to me and the others that have participated.

 

I almost couldn't like this post because of that image!

 

Cold water shave focus day 16:

Homemade PS Oil
Vie-long Horsehair Brush
Stirling Bay Rum SS
Fatboy
Stirling Unscented PSB
CC Bay Rum AS

I almost wonder if I should keep posting in this thread this month. It is the same thing time and time again: the cold water shave works! I can't believe I didn't try it earlier, but I do credit the 30 Day Focus for setting me up to try it.

 

06/16/2015
Razor – ATT R2 with Triad Helix SS
Blade – Feather (3)
Brush – Rubberset 400-3 with WSP HMW
Lather – Strop Shoppe Baker Street
Post - Witch Hazel & Myrsol Antesol Sample



Decided to change out the M2 plate for the R2 plate. I like the shave much better. I find the R2 to be very similar to the New LC in terms of efficiency but perhaps not as smooth. Very nice near BBS 3 pass shave. I look forward to using this set up for the next couple of weeks before sending it back to it's owner. The Strop Shoppe was super easy to lather. Loaded the brush for 15 to 20 seconds and had enough lather for at least 5 passes. Finished off with some Myrsol Antesol from my sample pack.

 

6/16/15 - A Month of Proraso!!!

Proraso White Soap
Plisson Synthetic
Gillette LC New
Pol-Silver Blade (3)
Osage Rub

A good shave. It's taken me 3 shaves to get the LC New down after not using it for a while. Wonder if that's the case with all razors for me?
I'm usually not one to swap out razors everyday. I usually will shave with one razor and one blade for 4-6 days before changing them out.
Just an observation I thought of.

 

It took me several days as well to get adjusted to the New LC after not using it for a while. I think your observation is correct.

 

I started the year with the intention to do a focus, not specificly a rule each month. January-March went well, focusing on one razor and one brush and learning each of them. April was my Kamisori Feather AC, and half way through May I got into straights. I have kept a little bit of a focus each month. Last month it was learning to lather Barrister & Mann soaps, with a variety of brushes. This month it is learning to use my Synthetic Brush. I think every month I have done this I have built on the skills of the previous month. With only shaving 15-20 times a month, I don't get as much practice as some people on here. My RAD went kind of crazy with the straight razors. I currently have five shavers, plus three being restored. I also have five others to use for learning to hone. I have officially cut myself off from purchasing new razors, soaps, brushes, or blades for the forseeable future. (Hones and aftershave are still on the menu, however.)

I will agree that the ADs can easily get out of hand. I have enough razors right now, between Saftey and Straight to use a different razor every shave for over two months. That won't help anyone's techniques. I plan on continuing the focus for the next few months, and getting to know each of my straights. For soaps and brushes, I will be trying to use up some of the existing stock of soap, and reducing the number of brushes in the rotation.

 

Well written. You've been pretty consistent on your focus over the months. My biggest problem is I have a very short attention span. I want to return to some of my favorites long before the month is up. I think once you have a solid baseline and your primary equipment dialed in that 1 or 2 days a week to go off focus might help. I know for me I have far too many soaps at this point to limit myself to one soap for 30 days. After this focus is over, I am going to focus on my work morning razor and allow myself a pass on the weekends to use some of my other collection of razors.

I do know that by participating in these monthly rule/focus threads my shaves have improved greatly. I fully expect to achieve a near BBS each shave. When I fail to achieve this result, I can spot the problem and get it corrected.

 

June 16, 2015

30 Day RULE - “Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Lather, Rinse….”

Morning Hot Shower
Prep: Pre-Shave Oil - The Art of Shaving
Soap: Arko
Brush: Omega Pro 48
Razor: Gillette Tech “Fat Handle”
Blade: Gillette Wilkinson Sword Stainless (India)
After Shave: Proraso Aftershave Splash Green



Great shave again today.


Just "riding the cap!"

Cheers!
RT

 

Day #5 of 5; 30-Days of June
Final shave using this large Wostenholm. Truly a comfortable and efficient shaver! This one will undoubtedly remain in my regular rotation as I really enjoy using it.
The razor takes and holds a very keen and more importantly, smooth edge. Strops easily, too. Some razors require some careful adjustment when striping due to shape and thickness. This one glides beautifully and noisily across the strops.
Speaking of stropping: I've gotten a few PMs from people asking about the type of strop stroke I use (angled; 'windshield-wiper' pattern) in lieu of the X-pattern many use on a 2.5"wide strop.
Its probably easier to demonstrate than use words to describe. I'll see if I can get my son to capture on video a demonstration.

 

World Tournament of Blades - Russia vs. the World!!
June 16, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - VDH Boar
Soap - Proraso Green Tub
Razor - '59 Ball Handle Tech
Blade - (1)
Post - Alum, Nivea Balm

Off to the final round on the World side of the sweet sixteen. We're on our way to Turkey to pick up one of the most common blades found...the Derby Extra. This is the usual blade sent with new razors unless they're Merkurs. Everybody has heard of Derby, everyone has learned to hate Derby from the day they first receive them (even if they don't use them) and yet they continue to be bought and sold in great numbers. Is it because they come from the land of Arko? Is it because they are so common to newbie shavers that they just get ordered automatically? Or....and hold onto your hats here.....could they actually be a good blade with a bad reputation? Shaving minds want to know!!!

I have never tried a Derby but SWMBO loves them. So, I chose to include them in the tournament given their ubiquity in the hobby. Now, putting it up against the Feather might seem totally unfair but hey, I'm no huge fan of the Feather so why not put two opposites together (if they really are) and see what happens?

Great lather with the Proraso and VDH Boar and off we go to the first pass. The Ball Handle Tech is a mild razor, chosen to match up well with the Feather, but I assumed it would also perform well with a blade like Derby. I was proven right. Very nice first pass. I've seen this blade called dull...it isn't. It's not the sharpest but definitely far from the dullest. Got a nice first pass, very smooth....as in I had to look to make sure the blade was loaded. Second pass, XTG again very smooth and effective. Decided to go for the full third pass given the fact my neck was still not quite DFS and just to see what was left. Much to my surprise the third pass proved there was little left to do ATG on my face and I ended with a rather aggressive Gillette Slide on both sides of my neck to finish with..................BBS! Wow.

The problem with an agressive Gslide is the fact that irritation is often born there. I rinsed with cold, grabbed the alum and discovered the faintest hint of irritation on the one spot I went at hardest. Other than that it was so mild I nearly forgot to rinse after a minute. I applied the Nivea with no further irritation and had a great shave! Apparently the multi-coated (Chromium/Ceramic/Platinum/Tungsten/Polymer) while taking some of the sharp edge off adds smoothness that compensates for it. At least for me.

Scores - Sharpness - 2. Not bad at all but definitely a bit less sharp than ones I usually use. Smoothness - 1. No worries here. Irritation - 1. It has to burn before it can get anything less. Result - BBS - 1. Who saw that coming, right?

Total - 5!

A great score that sets the stage for the Feather to have to go even further. Can you feel the tension?

 

I never would have guessed this one at all. I remember trying this blade along time ago as was not impressed at all. Maybe I need to revisit it.