March '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion Thread

The Sam Seong razor is about $1 more than the CJB. I may have one I, I will check tomorrow to see if I can find it. I prefer the CJB but it is good to compare at these prices.

 

03/22/2016
Ikon B1 OC with Triad SS
Feather (2)
BSB-2 with Vie-Long 2 Band
Jabonman Citricos
Witch Hazel
Folsom & Co. Shambala
Whipped Shea Butter

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Finished up the Jabonman Citricos today. @Drygulch , Adam I really enjoyed the soap and want to thank you again for the opportunity to give it a try. After the weekend with the Ikon B1 OC, I decided to alternate days this week between it and the Wolfman. Like I mentioned earlier the Ikon B1 OC is a modern SS razor that looks and shaves very much like a vintage Gillette New Deluxe OC. The Wolfman is my favorite DE razor but both the B1 and New Deluxe are close behind. The 2 pass shave this morning was very smooth and after minor touch ups ended in a near BBS. I have one spot on my neck that is very difficult to get perfectly smooth. I really enjoy the Ikon OC a great deal. Finished up the shave with a splash of F&C Shambala. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

 

Great stuff!

 

Straights Focus March 22:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
TSD Lanolin Iced Sub-zero
Frederick's Celebrated Razor
Stirling Unscented PSB -- Mentholated
Barbasol Brisk AS

I took yesterday off, and I got back at it this morning with my Frederick's Celebrated. It was a great shave. I did one pass with a little touch up for a CCS. I am just about out of the TSD Iced Sub-zero, which will be the first full sized puck/tub I have ever finished.

 

SOTD March 22, 2016
March focus shave 20

Prep: Warm shower
Blade: Personna lab blue
Razor: Superspeed
Brush: Satin Tip 'The Purest' synthetic
Lather: TSD Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme type
Post: Witch hazel splash, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up



This was my maiden voyage with a Superspeed. What a great razor! I am going through items from the Nationwide Tour Box at the moment and this soap and razor were part of the box. I don't own a Superspeed yet and therefore gave it a run. Really nice audible feedback and efficient cutting. No nicks or weepers, no irritation. Pretty smooth shave for one pass with touch-up!

The TSD Yves Saint Laurent soap has a nice cologne scent. It looks to be an older tub from TSD. But that didn't stop me from whipping up some great lather. TSD products are tremendous.

I hope you all have a great Tuesday!

 

March 22 - Straight Shave 22
Friedr Schlemper Focus Spezial
PSO, hot shower
Jayaruh #40 Synthetic
Route 66 Barbershop Hop soap
Alum, Nivea balm, Pinuad Clubman

Chased the baby just a little today, 3 pass with cleanup. Still not quite there, just some ever so slight stubble in a couple places. But a DFS nevertheless! Hope everyone has a great day!

 

SOTD
March 22, 2016
Prep: Hot Shower. Noxzema
Razor: Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip E1
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: Mike's Natural Coconut
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft
Post: Thayers Rose Petal WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Pitralon Pure
Received my Mikes Coconut yesterday, wow! I absolutely love the scent and performance of this soap. I used my Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip this morning and the one reminder I have is this razor stands tall with every razor I own. Great shave.
Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try

 

Injector Focus
I have now tried all three combs in the Bunny. Being an aggressive razor fan, I saved the mild for last. I did my usual two pass shave and was pleasantly surprised. I only had to do a little touch up for a very smooth shave and the alum was extremely quiet. I really like this razor a lot.
SOTD
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Rubberset 400
Bunny V3 with mild comb
Chick bade (4)
Alum
Thayer's Witch Hazel
Ogallala Bay Rum
Have fun!

 

I have resisted the Sam Seong if only because of the plastic lock mechanism that releases the blade. My understanding is they ship the razor with an extra one of those.......because they tend to break easily. The CJB is a much better value, especially if it's a buck cheaper.

 

I'm in.

 

Razor: Gillette Aristocrat 1947
Blade: Feather Hi Stainless Platinum (2)
Brush: WDC-6 TGN Silvertip Premium 24/50
Soap: Route 66 The Perfect Gent
A/S: Route 66 The Perfect Gent

 

Lovely photo Doug.

 

March into Artist Club Blades

March 22

Razor - Feather SS
Blade - (2)
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Soap - Proraso
Post - Cold water, Alum, Nivea

I'm a bit stunned and humbled to see everyone who is suddenly jumping on board to buy the Dorco AC blades based on my review. Either you trust me or else I've been around long enough to begin to wear off on people and warp some minds. And, that bandwagon got started based on one shave. So, hopefully before you all race off and buy something you'll later blame me for, here's day two.

First of all, apologies to @Keithmax for another shave with no blood. Sorry, just didn't happen. However, I can't say that it was quite as smooth as yesterday's shave, though not significantly worse. The main thing I noticed was just a bit of tugging, especially on the left side. And, the irritation level on the neck was higher than yesterday. Not a lot higher, but it definitely had a bit more burn with the alum.

Two things come to mind. One, that the blade isn't going to have the life that the Kai and Feather blades do. Those blades are good for a solid week and more, depending on how far you like to push them. Based on two shaves I can't say what the actual life of a Dorco will be, but I have decided to find out. I'm going to stick with this blade until it's done, just to provide the data point. If it's a shorter life blade, I want to find out. Second, it is also possible that I am the cause of the lesser feel and greater irritation today. I did notice it was only the left side that seemed to have a problem and that is my weak hand. It's a bit tougher sometimes to get fine angle control on that side and to keep pressure right. So, user error is a possibility. That's why staying with it at least 7 days (or until it fails) makes sense to figure it out. Especially with the group buy and all that going on in the background. I don't want to be getting bomb threats (or worse, packages full of Flying Eagles and Tigers) sent to me in revenge!

I did finish with a DFS today, and again, maybe not quite as good as yesterday. The grand experiment continues another day.....as do the hopes of blood for those so inclined.

 

I

I wouldn't send you flying eagles or tigers. I would send you questionable cold war era soviet razors and good blades. More of a chance for bloodloss fun that way. If it shaves as well as the Kai mild but doesn't last as long thats good enough. Besides I don't know if I could handle not trying every blade in my painstick. What if this is my grail blade for it?

I think you're rubbing off on us. What's the worst that could happen?

 

Well cold war era Soviets are always welcome around here. Glorious hunks of nearly useless metal from glorious motherland always brings a smile to my face. Even if it is bleeding profusely from all of that fine Soviet engineering. As for what's the worst that can happen....well, I'll just leave this here.

​

 

Great picture, Doug!

 

March 21, 2016
The month of March has focused on two Schick E type razors: a Canadian E and a US E2, while also trying out different blades with each.

Hot Shower
Razor: Schick E2
Blade: NOS Schick Platinum (Holland) (2)
Soap: Nancy Boy Signature
Brush: Ever-Ready 1CS Badger Black/Lucite
TSD Witch Hazel
Myrsol Blue



Two-day growth. Two-pass shave - XTG, ATG
Getting more used to this very sharp blade - warning: don’t even think of day dreaming while using it! Got a much more enjoyable shave today. Technique? Shave cream? This particular cream has excellent glide that seemed to really help.

Cheers!
RT

 

We can't find our guy, but send your guys over to pick up the soju. Fortunately it is just $3 a bottle so well keep the 'fridge full.

 

If anyone else wants in please send me a PM so I can order these blades tomorrow. You can also ask for a CJB or Sam Seong razor.

 

Day 2 for the Merkur slant, 37C. Today the razor delivered a very nice shave. Much better than the first. Zero irritation and just barely caught the baby. This is a tough decision but I have two of these razors. One I keep in the office and the other at home. Given my move to the dark side one the slants will find a new home. Besides my rock breeding program has failed so I will need want another stone.

Irritation A+ Closeness A Smoothness A Keenness A-

Definitely staying:
Genco Easy Aces SR, hard to let go of cool looking, great shaving piece of vintage American steel just because it is smaller than I like. It is also my only vintage American SR.

Leaning toward staying:
Wade and Butcher will stay in the SR stable until a much nicer specimen can be sourced.

Leaning toward releasing:
Jerry Stark 5/8 SR. Looks great, shaves great just to small a blade. I would prefer to sell this and trade up for a larger blade

Will be released:
Sight unseen Whipped Dog SR. This shaves great but I want to PIF it to someone who wants to get started with SR.
Merkur Vision - despite major coolness she can't compete with an aggressive Futur.
BBS-1 - Give my move to the dark side it is just not aggressive enough to remain in my DE stable. (sold)
Mongoose
Merkur 37C slant