No Variation November - A TSD Challenge

Day 17 - 17 November 2015

No Variation November!



Utopia 3-piece
Gillette Silver Blue (17!!)
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Red
Alum
TSD ISZ AS Splash under the Veg

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

​

 

Day 17

 

Today was day 17 for me with the Feather AC SS and I am in a groove. I haven't had any blood or significant irritation for days. I decided to go longer than a week with a blade this time and did day ten today. I still got a DFS with no tugging and think I'll go another day or two.
SOTD
TOBS Grapefruit
Rubberset 400
Feather AC SS
Feather Professional (10)
Pinaud Clubman AS
Have fun!

 

November 18

Feather Artist Club SS
Feather Professional (2)
Semogue 830
MdC scented
Two passes plus touch-ups
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and CC Bay Rum

Goals
Further develop my two-pass shave technique by practicing the basics
Break in and get more experience with the Semogue 830
Get more experience with MdC

Another good shave this morning, although I was a bit overconfident with touchups. WTG, ATG, and I'm DFS+ with no visible irritation. I'm approaching BBS in many areas. I had one tiny weeper on my cheek, but it sealed off with the cold water rinse. Alum was quiet except for the areas where I chased the baby a little too much. Overall, I'm pleased with the result.

Happy Wednesday!

 

​

Wednesday's ​

Dove Men Face Wash
Tabac Shaving Soap
Jayaruh #27 Silver Tip
Gillette Super Adjustable
Astra Super Platinum
CWR, Asma Alum Block
Thayers Rose Petal WH
Aqua Velva AS​

The Tabac Shaving Soap face-lathered well with my Jayaruh #27 Silver Tip brush. Two passes with my Gillette Super Adjustable razor and an Astra Super Platinum blade gave me a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse, alum block, and a final cold water rinse, I finished off with Thayers Rose Petal WH and then Aqua Velva after shave. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed...

Eighteenth shave of No Variation NoVember.
​

 

Day 18

Great two pass BBS this morning. A little touch up required below my jaw line as this area does not clean up well wtg.

 

I just love the looks of that razor.

 

It is a thing of beauty all right. I really want to get it polished like the guys have been doing with their Rubberset brushes.

 

Today was day 11 on the same blade and one of the best shaves yet. I did a two pass shave with some XTG cleanup and have a DFS+ with no irritation. The Florida Water barely stung. I'm pretty danged excited to be figuring this thing out. I have a question for my Feather AC Brothers. How many shaves do you get out of a blade? I was making a mistake tossing them after one week.
SOTD
TOBS Grapefruit
Rubberset 400
Feather AC SS
Feather Professional (11)
AoS AS Balm
Florida Water
Have fun!

 

November 18, 2015

No Variation NoVember
This month is perfect for me to learn skills with new-to-me equipment.

Razor: Mongoose B3
Blades: Feather Artist Club Professional (5)
Soap: Saponificio Varesino Manna
Brush: Omega 31025 Scarlatti Boar
AS: Changes at will. Today: Proraso Green



Two-pass shave. (XTG, ATG) Face-lather.

Building a foundation for the correct shaving angle for this razor. Excellent, clean shave for the second day in a row. I think I’m there in terms of establishing the angle. Now I need to build muscle, visual, and audio feedback memory.

Cheers!
RT

 

It has been a while since my last visit and I have to admit that I have not been too dedicated to shaving lately.
But when I have shaved I am happy to report that I have stayed "on topic" and used the same tools mentioned above.

And that includes the blade as well. It had already been used quite a few times at the time of my original post, and I guess I have used it somewhere around 15-20 times by now.
The performance is still comparable to an Astra blade and was sharp enough to cut down three days worth of high quality stubble yesterday.
I am quite impressed by it and will continue to use the same blade for as long as I can.

At first I did find it a tad boring that I had to use the same stuff all the time, but now I am intrigued by it.
The soap is truly a wonderful product. I load the brush for eight seconds and have just enough lather for three passes.

The razor is a marvel, a truly wonderful shaver that works with every blade I have tried it with.

I guess the conclusion so far is that I am very happy to have participated in this little "experiment" and I look forward to shaving with the same tools for the remainder of this month

 

Progress 4
TOBS Grapefruit
Astra SP
Asylum Brush

First shave since the big burn above my upper lip from going ATG. I must say I'm surprised at how bad it was. Had to take a few days off from shaving to settle things down.
Today I just did a two pass shave WTG and XTG with a new Astra SP. No AS.
Tomorrow I will go back to my usual routine of a three pass shave. Will not be trying ATG anytime soon.
Hope everyone had a great day today.

 

I change my blade weekly, but I suspect I could go for a few more shaves.

 

Day 18 - 18 November 2015

No Variation November!



Utopia 3-piece
Gillette Silver Blue (18!!)
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Proraso Red
Alum
TSD ISZ AS Splash under Pinaud Clubman!

Have a great Wednesday evening!

​

 

Bama how do you get 18 shaves out of a blade! Is it getting rough?

 

No it's hanging in there nice and smooth. Many new shavers use a blade angle that is much higher than optimal. This scrapes the bevel and dulls it prematurely. Ride the cap!

(Disclaimer: if you are new...two and out. Don't let a dulling blade alter your technique.)

 

What you describe is me - high angle - more of a scrape with lots of sound/feedback. I find that I am opening up the Progress more looking for a closer shave. I also find that I like hearing the sound of the razor cutting whiskers. Perhaps I have trained myself to hold high to hear that sound.
I guess there is good feedback and bad feedback. Thanks for the reminder to ride the cap.

 

Audible feedback is dependent on the razor design. Just keep those angles low for comfort and long blade life.

 

My no variation November is taking a slight turn...I'm not changing anything out, but I started growing my first winter beard in about 10 years. No photographic proof is available at the moment as I simply look a little scruffy since my last full face shave was on Sunday. I will document this "event" soon. But, I won't be growing a hipster urban lumberjack wild beard, no, at my age, it will be a well defined and trimmed beard. So my Weber will continue to clean up my neck and cheeks.

 

Day 18 went off without a hitch... Still focusing on blade angle and skin stretching.