May 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion

May 6 MAYhem ,,, or I thought it would be MAYhem

Today I loaded the Dovo Shavette with a Fromm hair shaper blade. I was expected blood, I was expecting to feel jagged steel on my skin. But.....

The blade exposure is very small and it felt, well it felt mild. The blade was smooth and reasonable sharp. This does not qualify for MAYhem, this razor is the Gillette Tech of the straight razor world. Like a mild DE the effective cutting angles is a narrow window. That combined with the fact it is a very light razor I find myself annoyed constantly reminding myself not to use pressure and keep the razor's angle in the narrow window.

That said I did get a good shave, BBS but with some feedback from the alum. Also there was no blood. If I want MAYhem I will need to stick with the 'true' pain sticks CJB and Feather DX.

Irritation B+ Closeness A Smoothness A Sharpness A-

 

I'm so sorry to hear about what happened. I am impressed by your self control. Best wishes!

 

Mystery May!!
FB Day 3, Cinco de Mayo, 2016


1959 Gillette Adjustable
(mystery blade)
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Route 66 - Lumberjack
Alum
TSD ISZ AS Splash - A little every day...
Pinaud Lilac Vegetal
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Fatboy, Day three. Placing the cap against my sideburn, I started the shave by focusing again on "Riding the cap", and was rewarded with two pass near BBS. Alum verified it, ISZ solidified it, and the Veg is still for the heroes, so I'll wear it! A nice end to a good day! Still 66f at 23:25. Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.
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Have a fabulous Friday!

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I hope this day marks the beginning of great new chapter for you. Some opportunities are too thorny to be comfortable at first. Now, you're free to seek...

 

Spend a couple weeks mastering angle and pressure on a round point, you'll be good to go!

 

Thanks. I'm pretty discouraged right now after butchering myself yesterday. I need something that will help with my confidence.

 

It's OK to step back, regain composure and just try again. Learning on a spike point is a tough proposition!

 

05/06/2016
Mongoose B2 with Triad Ti
Feather Pro (1)
WDC-8 with Druida Manchurian
Route 66 Lumberjack
Witch Hazel
Fine Platinum
Whipped Shea Butter

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Happy Friday everyone. A great shave this morning. But it's hard to have a bad shave starting with Route 66 Lumberjack. The soap lathers up effortlessly and is super slick. I did change out the Feather Super Pro blade to a Feather Pro blade. I will run with this a couple of days to reacquainted with the weight of the Mongoose. The shave today was much smoother with no nicks, weepers or irritation and ended with a near BBS. I finished off with a splash of Fine Platinum.

 

Good setup Clint. I'm sure you are happy it's Friday. Have a great weekend.

 

Thank you Doug. I also owe you a big thank you for the Route 66 soap. I truly love this soap. In fact I ordered a combo of Frozen Margarita and her aftershave balm.

 

There is, of course, always the possibility that Soyuz 1 is the "magic razor" that the Tiger was designed to excel in. (I figure, Czech blade, Soviet razor... a match made in heaven, right?)

Or not...

FWIW, you are definitely a braver man than I for even considering such a combo. Me... I'm a coward, I have one bad shave from an aggressive Pearl OC TTO and can't even look at it right now.

 

Ouch. I try to avoid pressure, but when I am angry, it's had to do. Hope something comes up for you and your crew, and soon.

 

SOTD May 6, 2016
Injector/SE Focus



Prep: Warm shower
Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Schick G1 Injector
Brush: Omega 10049 boar
Lather: Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post: Witch hazel splash enhanced with Fine American Blend, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, generous touch-up

Fat Friday! Mitchell's Wool Fat never disappoints. I bloom it while I'm in the shower and then load the fool out of it with the enormous Omega boar brush. I get tons and tons and beautiful lather. It's a great soap.

The Schick G1 performed beautifully again. I got a pretty smooth and close shave. A little Fine American Blend mixed with the witch hazel followed by Nivea balm added excellent finishing touches.

Have a great Friday!

 

I'm sorry that you are going through is, I'm a firm believer that a better job is ahead for you. Take what you learned from that experience and move on and grow from it. I'll keep you and your family in my prayers.
A better tomorrow takes your best today!

 

Clint, you always have a great setup. Happy Friday!!

 

May 6, 2016- Soap/Lather Focus

Razor: Standard 160 Goodwill (New LC-based)
Blade: GSB (2)
Brush: VdH Boar
Soap: Marvy w/ Dove Hydrate+ Pro-Moisture Shave Cream

Following the failed chemistry experiment of yesterday's Marvy shave, we turn our attention to that old standby- Superlather. Superlather, for those just joining us, is formed when using a hard soap and a cream together to form a lather which is usually denser, thicker, and more protective. It is often used to help with a difficult-to-lather or underperforming soap.

The Dove cream was chosen for one simple reason- it was the only cream that I had. I actually started my wet shaving journey with it, before buying a VdH Deluxe kit. I haven't used it in a while, but my recollection was that it did not produce a particularly great amount of lather by itself.

I began by loading the brush as usual from the puck. Then, before starting to face lather, I applied a dollop of cream to the center of the brush. The difference in the quality and quantity of the lather was immediately apparent. I decided not to go overboard with the water for fear of having the Marvy break down, but definitely got a nice shiny, meringue-like lather. The shave was pleasant and, best of all, there was little or no dissipation of the lather. All-in-all, a DFS marred only by the reopening of one of yesterday's weepers.

Frankly, I feel a bit like Adam Savage after a particularly energetic explosion. I have heard good things about Superlather, but was a bit dubious going into this shave due to the suboptimal performance of the Marvy soap. Frankly, I expected the soap to bring the whole thing down, but it seems to have held its own in the equation.

A question for the group- I've been tending to treat this focus as a TTT exercise with this particular soap being a poor-performing tool to be mastered with Technique. Within this context, does Superlather count as a Technique? I'm honestly of two minds on the issue and welcome the input of the rest of you.

 

I agree with everyone here, Ray. I'm very sorry for this situation but I am betting and hoping that something even better is right around the corner.

 

SOTD
May 6, 2016
Prep: Hot Shower. Noxzema
Razor: '62 Gillette Slim
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush: RazoRock Three Color Plissoft 24mm x 57mm
Post: Thayers Rose Petal WH.
Aftershave: Floid Blue
Nice shave. MWF isn't as slick as I like. So, this is my second '62 Slim (birth year and quarter) sold the first one. I've been have killer shaves with it, I set it on 6 and go. I bought an atomizer for the Floid Blue, I'll say it makes the aftershave smell so much better than if I had poured some into my hand. Fresh, crisp and clean. Even the wife said it smelled nice. This RR Plissoft is great! Plenty of backbone and soft. Plus it looks great.
Look at the bright side..

 

I think a superlather counts as a technique, you added an extra element into your shave that produced a great lather.

 

Great write up Ben!