March 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Use whatever works for you! Hang around and have fun!

 

Lure him in with those.

 

March 19 (Sunday - late night) - SE and soap focus

EverReady 1924 / Gem PTFE (8) + shim
Supply Provision synthetic brush
Kent MWF
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Aftershave plus styptic pencil

I was a bit stubbly and wanted to see how a 1924 worked with a shimmed blade so I shaved again tonight.

I have never used "the Fat" before (mine is the Kent-branded puck in a wooden bowl), so I started off with that. I put a bit of water on the puck to sit for a couple minutes, then loaded a damp synthetic brush and got to work in my lathering bowl. I had no apparent problems getting what seemed like a decently thick and slick lather.

Then I hauled out my brass EverReady 1924, loaded and shimmed the blade and tried it out. Again, shimming the blade turned an unpleasant razor into a fairly decent one. The razor didn't glide as smoothly as the 1914 or the 1912s - the cap almost seemed to stick a couple times. That was not due to the blade, however, but to (a) a razor with all the plating worn off the brass cap leaving a surface less slick than the original nickel or chrome and (b) not quite enough water in the lather. The blade itself was no longer noticeable and no longer almost "chattered".

Overall, the shave took me down to a near BBS. There was only one weeper on my chin, where I tore the scab off the scab off a pimple I cratered three days ago. That took a dab with the styptic pencil to go away, but I suspect I would have had the same problem even with a Schick Krona by now.

So the bottomline is that shimming the blade clearly makes the 1924s usable for me too. Mind you, even though I could make do with them as my daily driver if I had to, I still don't particularly like either the 1914 or 1924 design, I don’t particularly enjoy using them, and I doubt either model will become a fixture in my razor rotation. But at least I know I can get a decent shave with them if I have to...

 

March 20 SOTD:

Razorock Plissoft Brush
Cremo Cooling SC
Gillette New LC
Stirling Unscented PSB
Artique AS

 

Day 25 of 30 days of straights

Another DFS shave, this time with 3 passes. Only one weeper today.


DIY Pre-shave Oil
ABC
30mm High Mountain White set an extra 10mm deep
3 passes, WTG, XTG, XTG
Sampsons All Natural Aftershave Balm
6/8 Round Toe Henckel 17 1/2

 

One focus that has crept upon me has become to make sure I shake the brush well enough so as not to blend too much water with the shave soap. I did better with that today.

 

I had a great visit with my daughter. Just said good bye to her. That is always tough.
SOTD
Mike's Natural Soap
Wolf Whiskers Brush
Wade and Butcher Frame Back
Lucky Tiger
Ogallala Bay Rum, Sage and Cedar
Have a great week!

 

Great lineup and photo Jim.

 

Great lineup. The razor looks fantastic.

 

I find it is much easier to get good to great shaves from a cartridge razor now that I have mastered DE razors. Love the brush.

 

March 20, 2017
Mongoose B2 with Triad Ti
Feather Pro Super (9)
Romera Olive Wood Synthetic
Reef Point Tranquility
Fine Lavender

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Monday morning physical therapy makes everything feel more rushed. Such a morning is made much easier with good technique and products that work well together. Tranquility was very easy to lather and provided a nice slick base. I find that a thinner slicker lather works better with the artist club razors. Two passes and minor touch ups ended with the expected near BBS results. I finished off with a splash of Fine Lavender and made it to therapy on time. I hope everyone has a great Monday.

 

Nice razor, Charlie!

 

Thank you, Clint!

 

Glad to hear you had a good time with your daughter.

 

Wonderful picture, Clint. How do you get the black background?

 

Beautiful picture, Clint. It looks professionally done!

 

Thank you Jim. The photo was taken on my black computer desk. On the Mac, I have a choice to darken the photo which I did. Then I used there standard Vignette adjustment to increase the density and radius of the black circle around the edges. The Mac and iPhone make editing photos so much easier.

 

Thank you Jason. I am back to using the DSLR for this weeks photos.

 

Definitely looks great! I need to work on my photo editing skills.

 

The same basic tools are available on the iPhone. I just find them easier to use on the Mac.