March 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Thanks very much Jim.

 

I believe I will replace the knot in this brush. Thanks Clint.

 

March 12, 2017

Razor: M3 Schick Adjustable (4)
Blade: Personna Mini Hair Shaper (2)
Brush: Razorock Plissoft 22
Cream: KMF fragrance-free

It's been a busy last couple of days, so this is the first shave since Thursday. With 3 days of growth, it seemed like a good time for an SE and a good test for the Personna. I spent a bit of extra time making sure the KMF was properly hydrated and was rewarded with an effortless BBS with no blood, no irritation, and quiet Alum. I'm starting to think I might prefer the Personna blades over the Chinese Schick ones.

I did have one near mishap during the shave which I'm a bit embarassed by. I was shaving a bit too high up on my cheek and felt the razor catch on the bags under my eye. No actual damage, but it made for startling moment.

 

The brush handle looks great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Weekend Shave

Canadian Tech w Sharp Star (1)
Tcheon Fung Sing Mastro Miche
TGN Finest/Maple Handle
Thayers Unscented
Stirling Unscented Balm w Menthol



Went away from the focus last night. Not exactly sure why. I guess I wanted to use the Sharp Star in a razor I'm comfortable with before I throw it in the Focus rotation. First blade I've ever bought in bulk without sampling first (Not wise, I know...). Will go back to my birth year SA focus tomorrow.
Shaved late last night, which is out of my routine. Nice, smooth shave. The soap and brush face lathered a large quantity of slick suds. Blade performed well. One day isn't enough of a sample for a decent review, but I found it a little sharper than say a Voskhod. Not quite as sharp as an Astra or Polsilver for me, but very smooth. After one day, in one razor, I'm not regretting my purchase. Even did some touch up on my neck which is usually not a good idea, but I'm not shaving tomorrow so I thought 'What the Heck'...resulted in a DFS+ shave with only some redness, actually.
Finished with an unscented balm as all I was doing afterwards was reading and going to bed. Great feeling on the face from the Stirling unscented. I'm slowly becoming more of a Menthol fan, and this was plently for me.
Have a great sunday all!

 

March 12 - Scientist with an Astra SP

Fendrihan Scientist
Astra SP Day 1
23mm AOS Pure Badger
DIY PSO
Stirling Sandalwood
Alum/TWH
Nivea SPSB

Received some blades in the mail and decided to try an Astra SP in the Scientist. I found choking up on the handle takes some of the bite out of this razor. It seems to me the weight of the handle helps me counter the aggressiveness nicely. 3 passes and I got a BBS.


Stirling bugs have been worked out. I feel I can now get a consistent lather. Had enough for 5 passes.

Today, there was no need for touch ups. I can see why some like aggressive razors. What I am starting to like about this razor is it really broadcasts the angle. I find the sound gets louder when the angle gets steeper. Not sure if this is the case with other razors or not. Being that I only have been DE shaving since Feb 1, '17, I am not sure if this is expected or common.

I do agree this is a razor for tough beards and more experienced shavers. I find treating this razor as if it was a SR in being precise and methodical in speed and precision will yield a great shave.

This is not a fast razor but a clean cutting one. It needs more time to do each pass so as to not get cut but it cuts very clean on each pass so you save in the number of passes. 2 passes would easily been DFS but 3 gets the BBS.

As for the Astra SP, I like them and they cut nicely. No blood today.

 

That is correct, this brush has some backbone. As you can see.

 

Thank Mark, that's the picture. One of the coolest photos ever. Another very cool photo showed the same knot in a bulb shape holding up a cup of coffee.

 

Looking ahead to this spring&summer(which is kinda hard to do in this freezing cold), I figure on cutting back with my soap-shaving. I will make a purchase of one, and I have a Williams, which I want to combine with Aqua Velva(after all, at one point both came from the same company), so it'll be just those 2. But I expect my current cold-weather ones will be set to go come October/November. Other than the purchased shave soap&the Williams, we're talkin Barbasol and Rise in a rotation.

 

Good afternoon everyone! Hope everyone is having a nice afternoon, and enjoying your Sunday. Yesterday was one of those days where even as I was sidetracked by many unexpected occurrences, I just kept getting sidetracked again. I left the house at 6:00 and didn't roll back in until 23:00. Hope to be on later and get in a double shave report and maybe a shenanigan or three.

Have a groovy day....!

 

you're good with the shennies.

 

Always look forward to your shenanigans

 

With a brush that tough, do you just scrub the hair off or do you no longer have any skin left?????

 

Neal, congrats on your new addition to the stable! Looks like a good one!

 

Groovy new razor, Keith!

 

The perfect picture for those that say badger brushes have no backbone.

 

March 12

I had an uneventful near-BBS shave with the FB this morning, even though I was a little rushed due to the Spring forward time change. I really like the Voskhod blades. They're very smooth and forgiving and not irritating in the least. The Chubby 2 adds a couple of minutes to my shave, as it takes a big load of soap to get it going. It doesn't seem to give up the lather as much as I'd like. I'm still getting used to it, and I believe it will perform better as it breaks in.

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday! Best of luck to your college basketball team...as long as it is the Louisville Cardinals! Go Cards!

 

Another shave tonight...

- Maggard's MR5 Handle with V3A Head and Polsilver blade
- TSD's Gunmetal Lanolin Soap
- Maggard's 24mm Synthetic Brush
- Alum+Thayer's Lemon Witch Hazel + Conk's Desert Breeze Aftershave Lotion

So another night, another shave. Instead of using the TSD Monkey Farts cream, I decided to use one of the TSD OK Corral samples I ordered. I choose Gunmetal, which is supposed to smell like Hoppes #9. I'm going to have to find some #9 to huff, because the scent off the puck wasn't strong at all and didn't liven up as I lathered. Of course my sense of smell could just be shot. I did find it a pleasant scent though, but that could just be the gun lover in me. I mean, who doesn't love the smell of napalm in the morning?

The soap lathered well, and gave me a nice cushion. I was able to get close enough to the mirror to witness the hairs being cut right off. The Polsilver blade works with this razor, but as it is the first blade to use with this razor I don't have anything to compare it to. After this week I'll switch blades. Maybe some fine Russian steel I have.

A few nicks, but only a couple that didn't seal on their own. I did have to do some touchups and buffing. The alum burned, primarily where I had to buff but didn't linger. Final grade will be DFS Minus.

 

Can you describe the feeling you get when lathering? What type of badger is it?

Duh. Never mind. I read it but forgot you stated it.

 

That request just screams for shenanigans!