May 2015 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic-Discussion Thread

So far it's the Soyuz and 7 a.m. combo on day 1 of that blade. However, not before drawing blood a few times. And that was all before getting a good start on the second pass. Used the emergency exit to the Aristocrat/Voskhod to avoid anymore damage. The Rapira/Baili was the most painful, however, as I couldn't even get through the first pass from all the drag/tug/dullness. Ouch.

I think my worst DE shave overall during 30 day fun was my Russian Roulette shave which was the first time I used the Rapira. Had the blade a little off center and even with a Voskhod it felt like rough rusty steel across my face. I've since learned how to hold the blade in position while loading and just expect some issues as it is very aggressive and inconsistent.

Most blood overall? Has to be the morning I set the CJB down wrong under my neck and opened up a nice cut. Bad enough that everyone at work immediately asked me what happened when I arrived.

 

Swallow? We have people eating Arko on this board and now swallowing MdC? I'm afraid to think where my SAD will lead! How about some MWF on a bagel? Or maybe a nice snack of crackers dipped in Tabac. Mmmmmmmm good. We could just "lather" Williams and suck it through a straw. No chewing required and our breath could keep the mosquitoes away!

 

Face lathered the TSD Wheat cream today with my synthetic brush. It was much better. I will try doing the same with a badger tomorrow and see what happens. The lather today was fine, so I know it is not the soap, it must be operator error with the badger brushes.

 

05/14/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade –Feather Super Pro (2)
Brush –Rudy Vey with TGN Finest
Lather – B&M Latha
Post - Witch Hazel and Floid Blue Sample



Another great near BBS 2 pass shave this morning. I was not paying enough attention and managed to nick myself. I have to remember that the Super Pro blades have much more blade exposure and must be placed gently against my face. The B&M Latha was easy to use and provided a very slick and protective lather. I'm not a real fan of the scent but at least it all but disappears during lathering. Finished up with witch hazel and a splash of Floid Blue from a sample pack. Hope everyone has a great day.

 

MAYhem & Mercy
May 14, 2015
Prep - Hot shower and towel
Brush - Tweezerman Badger
Soap - Williams (Finally??) Mug Shave Soap
Razor - Soyuz 1, Rapira
Blade - (1)

The final blade of MAYhem!! The one I've certainly been looking for and one that I generously received from @Keithmax for this month. The Flying Eagle has quite a reputation....check out this review from another forum:

"I found it painful to shave with these blades in my Merkur long handle HD, even after prepping with Proroso pre-shave and my best shaving cream. After quite a bit of noisy ineffectual tugging and scraping on half my face I gave up trying to get a smooth shave and swapped in my standby Lord blades to get a smooth shave."

Well you know what? He wasn't kidding!!!!!!!!! This thing is a disaster. I didn't get three strokes in before I realized how bad it was going to be. Extremely rough, pulling, not cutting....as in no beard reduction on that part of the pass. So, I switched it to the Rapira and found it just as bad if not worse. It cut a little better but pulled a LOT more. Nope, it's done. Grabed the RR TTO and Vokhod and finished the shave. This blade is done....done.....done. Definitely the worst blade in the bunch. By comparison the Baili Blue is a fine piece of engineering! If you're ever offered some Flying Eagles.......RUN AWAY!!!!

Thus ends MAYhem. Not sure if I'll go straight to Mercy tomorrow or take a day to recover with a great setup before going back to these blades with good gear. We shall see.

 

Day#13 of the 30-Day Focus—Anniversary Day Shave!
..and Day 6 with the Otto Deutsch Straight Razor.

Another early morning shave today. It's going to be a long day of meetings and and work deadlines. I needed a good close shave as I'll be taking my sweetheart out for dinner later tonight as we celebrate 32 years of marriage. The Otto Deutsch didn't disappoint as I was able to pull a near-BBS result with this fine razor! Using both the Otto and the Böker from last week are two razors that makes it so easy to get a smooth, comfortable shaves!

 

Just...wow. They've got me covered huh...grandpa didn't use one...I think they may have dropped a "high fashion" blast in there as well.

 

I never tire of seeing that razor. I've seen them on ebay going from 50-200 dollars depending on condition...congrats on 32 years. No easy feat this day in age.
Cheers,
Eric

 

May 13 - shave 7
Prep: AoS Lavender preshave oil
Soap: AoS Lavender Soap
Straight: Whipped Dog Sight Unseen Straight - Clover Brand, 5/8, Round
Strop: Gemstar Bench Strop x 30
DE Razor: Gillette SS
DE Blade: Wilkinson Sword (1)
Post: Cold water, alum, TSD Shop milk, AoS post shave balm Lavender
Growth 3.5 days

Shaved last night but didn't get a chance to post. So here it is. There's been lots of chatter the past couple days on the quality of soaps/creams got me thinking that maybe the Col Conk WASN'T giving me protection I needed for the learning curve of the straight. So, I switched over to my original AoS setup in lavender scent. Great smell for an evening shaving. I was also going to make my first lines in the handlebar goatee - day 3.5 of growth (counting half days of beard growth is like the parent counting the age of their kids in months - "Jimmy is 25 months old..." No - your kid is two years old...I digress)

Plan today was to only use the straight and limit the need of the DE clean up. AoS lathered up great and I was confident that I had eliminated one possible cause of my recent irritation. First pass (WTG) with the whipped dog - great. I tried the short multiple passes down once then a couple longer strokes over the same area. I stopped well short of the goatee area so I wouldn't accidentally mess up the lines (could have used the goateesave - thanks @Bama Samurai) 2nd pass XTG - funny how after 7 shaves of focus this month, I've found a grip that's working for both W and X the grain. Three fingers on the spine, one on the tang. Final pass was another WTG pass - got a wonderful shave this evening with little irritation - confirmed by the alum rub post shave. DE was only used this evening for cutting in the first lines of goatee. DFS results.

Post shave thoughts: combination of changing the soap and eliminating the ATG DE cleanup helped my face so much! Very pleased with my results last night

 

Congrats!

 

Encouraging progress! Keep at it!
LOL at the Goatee Saver reference.....

 

I think it's real...but the ad almost seems like SNL satire.

 

Nice that you started lining up the goatee. I've had mine for 145 months.

 

Happy Anniversary! 32 years is amazing. You're either easy to live with or just well trained!

 

Happy Anniversary to @HolyRollah ! I hope you and Mrs Rollah have a great day!

 

A little of both......plus my wife is amazingly patient.

 

Behind every good man is a better woman!

 

Not quite the milestone, but my first date with Mrs Samurai was 14 May, 2010. We went to Blue Bonnet Cafe, the ultimate Tex-Mex place in Denver. We married 15 months later after realizing we had each found the one God had set aside.

 

Nice!
May 14th was not only our wedding date, but also the day of our first real date in college, May 14, 1979...four years prior to our nuptials.

 

Happy Anniversary to @HolyRollah and your wife. Hope you have many more.

Brush Focus: Day 14/30
Brush: WDC-1 Black Badger, (Whipped Dog knot).
Gillette Super Speed, A3 Flare Tip (1955)
Gillette Platinum Blade (7)
Bowl: KO Shave
Soap: Jack's Soap
AS: RE9 Post Shave Balm
Old Spice Coffee Mug.

Back to the beginning for my brushes. This is an amazing brush that loads well and applies an outstanding lather to my face. Have nothing negative to say about this brush. Seventh day for the Gillette Platinum Blade. I have been very happy with the performance of this blade. The Gillette SS Flair Tip(1955) is a joy to use. I will change Gillette's tomorrow and load a new Platinum blade. Three passes. No clean up needed.